Time to celebrate and a course

This past week I handed in all my papers to the University of West Scotland for final grading.  I have officially finished my diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy with an A grade from the tutor.  It all still needs to go before the board for final grading but I am just glad I made it and passed. 

My brain, at times, felt like a washing machine on full spin.  Thankfully it is now down to a gentle slow spin :)  So what is next?  Good question!  I won't be signing up for anything before September as there are too many other things going on.

However, this coming week Member Care Kampala (of which I am apart of)  is offering a course in:-

"Helping others through conflict - Basics in Conflict, Coaching and Mediation"

Do you ever find yourself listening to a friend or peer in conflict and wondering how you can help?   Conflict in ministry, work, and family life are some of the top reasons people leave missions, leave ministry, and leave the church.    Learn biblical principles and practical ways of helping others resolve conflicts and bring genuine peace to the relationships around them.   Learn to help others assess the key issues, alter their perspectives, and move forward in constructive ways toward genuine reconciliation and peace.  This 2 day training will engage you in learning and practicing your ability to be peacemaker in the lives of others.

Please pray for this course that all who attend will be encouraged and feel better equipped to handle conflict in the future because of the insights and tools offered on this course.

An infection for Zara

The other day Zara complained of a sore under her arm.  We tried different creams to deal with it but to no avail.  Today she went to the doctor and he confirmed it was a boil or abscess.  It needed to be lanced and then she needed a course of antibiotics to take care of any infection.  Zara was already worried about going to the Doctor as that was her fear, the injection and the knife.   

The Doctor was sensitive to this and gave her some medicine to make her go off to sleep but, as in the past, it didn't work too well as she tend to fight it.  The Doctor gave up on that and told her he would do it under local.  J and Z, in recent years, have been apprehensive about needles (Understatement :)) however, thankfully she managed it and she is now home with a dressing under her arm.  Tomorrow she needs to go back for the dressing to be changed and then hopefully that will be the end of it.

I was teaching this morning so Simon took her at 7:30am to have it looked at as he had a later flight.  However, it took longer than he thought.  Fortunately, one of the other pilots took his flight so he didn't have to rush back.  We are thankful for a helpful team here in MAF Uganda.

Home Assignment

Simon and I were doing some forward planning and looking at what needed to be done in the next few weeks.  We realized that there are only 8 weeks left till we leave for Home Assignment.  This year we will be in Scotland and so hope to catch up with some of you whilst we are home.

For your information we will be speaking at Wester Hailes Baptist Church on Sunday, 13th July at 4pm with a buffet afterwards.  If you are in and around the Edinburgh area and would like to hear of what we have been up to in the last couple of years with MAF then please stop in.  If you need directions or have any questions then please don't hesitate to contact us.  (pam.wunderli@maf-uganda.org)

We are looking into other places to speak but they have yet to be confirmed.  Once we know, then we will be sure to pass the information on.

At the moment we do have space for visits between the 7th and 25th July so do let us know if you would like to meet up and we will do our best to be accommodating.

Morning adventures with Chewy

In the last couple of months I have been almost daily taking our dog, Chewy, out for a walk.  We do a circuit of our hill and we both enjoy it a lot.

Most times the walks are uneventful but there are occasions that are not.  I especially like going out in the early morning as it is quieter and its an opportunity, after J and Z have gone to school, to spend some time chatting with the Lord.  However, a couple of times its been quite the walk.  Last week as I was on the homeward stretch I was aware of a commotion up ahead.  I put Chewy on the lead and surveyed the situation.  A mama (couldn't describe her any other way) came up from a side road waving a big stick  She looked like she had just taken a shower as she was only wearing a kanga (wrap) and not much else.  She was a mama on a mission. Not far from her was about 5 people surrounding one young man.  As I got closer she started hitting him with the stick.  I shouted at them but got an earful in Luganda...I guess a brief translation would be "mind your own business" but I have a feeling it was of the less polite variety.  One of the men kindly translated for me that he had been caught stealing in the neighbourhood and so the "neighbourhood watch" were seeing that he was punished for his crimes.  It wasn't easy to watch and Chewy wasn't impressed either as she growled at them all.  However, I knew if I got the "higher ups" involved he would be worse off.  I prayed that he had learned his lesson from "Mama and her stick" and that he wouldn't be caught doing it again.

As I walked further on I came across a snake.  Thankfully the snake had met its end under the tyre of a car before I got there.  Sorry to all you snake lovers out there.  I still haven't worked out what is a harmless green snake and what is a potentially harmful green mamba as they both look similar.   Thankfully I didn't have to do anything about it.  We made it home and began the rest of our.....just another day in Africa...