More memories

First day of school at Acacia

 

First day of school at the Senior School for the MAF kids

 

Zara and one of her best friends.  They are now in the same class.....double trouble.

Memory lane....first day of school at Rainbow....2007

 

 Joshua starting Reception class and Zara starting Nursery Class

 

Me and my bro....awesome

 

Is school a really good idea....oh yes says Joshua :)



Meet Sox

 Meet Sox our new wee furry friend.  She is 3.5 months old and trying to figure out how it all works with being the only small puppy on the compound.  She had 6 brothers and 1 sister.  Now she has to tough it out with Chewy.  She is one wee cutie.  We wanted another female and Sox was the one that took to Simon right away.  The puppy has taste. :)

It is officially happening...

After many years of hearing talk about MAF Uganda moving their office to the airfield at Kajjansi it is hard to believe it is actually happening.  It will be a joint effort with eMi  (www.emiworld.org).  We will be sharing the office with eMi and they are also the ones doing the construction.  It has been a lot of work for both organisations to get to this stage but we are grateful for their perseverance.

Yesterday Simon and I, with Joshua and Zara,  went out to Kajjansi for a picnic.   It was fun to play frisbee together, throw stones for Chewy (our dog) in the water and go for a walk along the airstrip.  The sun was shining and it was good to be out in the open.

We also got to see the work that has been started for the new Office with Drainage pipes being installed.  Wow, it is actually happening.  At the moment everyone is crammed in our little office opposite our house.  I just heard the other day that we are up to about 70 staff, including national and international, in this programme by the time everyone arrives (we have new families still arriving).  Our programme is growing bigger and bigger.  Anyway below are some photos I took yesterday of the ground work that is being done.  Thanks to all who are involved in making it all work.

Drainage pipes have been laid and the preparation work is ongoing.  In the background you can see our newly built hangar (well it is still new to us)

Happenings within the MAF Uganda Team

We have just been back a couple of days but already we are getting the sense that life is busy here in the Programme.  A Swedish MAF family, who used to work in our Tanzania programme, have returned to the field to work in Uganda.  We also have a family arriving on Friday from Tanzania to live and work with MAF in Uganda.  Just before we left for furlough an Australian family arrived to help us out in the hangar on specific projects.  It has been quite the turn around in one year.  We also have two families leaving us but are unsure of the time frame due to complicated circumstances.  Pray that clarity comes soon for them.

MAF, this year, has been recruiting for a new MAF programme in Liberia.  We have had one family move to Uganda to do some training here before heading west.  Unfortunately due to the Ebola outbreak the timing of their move is uncertain.  This can be unsettling for all those involved but, more importantly, to pray for those who are trying to stop the spread of this disease.  A challenging time ahead for many and to remember those who have already lost loved ones in recent weeks.

The flying in MAF Uganda has been a bit difficult the last three months or so.  Without going into too many details the CAA has canceled all international flights with operators working out of Uganda.  This has posed a nightmare challenge for the team here as we fly regularly into Congo and South Sudan during the course of a week.  We have had to put temporary measures in place to accommodate this challenge and so would value your prayers for the whole situation to be rectified soon.

Currently we have Samuel Wicky, a MAF short termer, staying with us for 3 weeks before his 6 month contract finishes.  He has been a real blessing to the IT team here and will be missed when he leaves.  Pray for him as he transitions back to Switzerland and starts a new job there.

Many of the MAF kids will be starting school this week after their holidays with others starting in two weeks time.  For some of them it will be the first time they will go to a school in Uganda and for others they will be starting a new school.  Please pray for smooth transitions for all and that we will adjust to the new schedule again.

Thank you for your continued prayer support, it makes a difference.

Back in our African home

On Saturday we arrived back in Uganda via Doha, Qatar.  We had a good furlough and it was great to catch up with family and friends.  As is ever the case we were not able to see everyone but we were grateful for the ones we did see.  Thanks to all the folks at Wester Hailes Baptist for organizing a buffet and enabling us to catch up with so many people at that event.  It was very helpful.

Rather than formal events we had a lot of informal times with friends and supporters which made it a bit more personal.  We shared about our work and lives in Uganda as we walked along a beach, drinking coffee and tea in a coffee shop, visiting places of interest, in people's homes or taking a stroll along a river.  Thanks to all of you for taking the time to ask questions and inquire about our life in Uganda.

In amongst meeting with people we were able to do some fun things with the kids and show them some of their Scottish home.  Thankfully we had wonderful weather the whole time we were there which meant we lived outside as much as possible.   J and Z were able to have bikes when we were home so they loved riding them any time they could.

In addition to spending time with the Scottish clan we also had a visit from Simon's Dad, sister, and brother-in-law.   They were able to see some of the sights of Scotland without rain which is always a bonus.  We were thankful for the time that we had with them and also for the time they were able to have with Joshua and Zara.

As always it is never easy saying goodbye and something you never get used to.    Thanks to my Mum also for hosting us during our time in Scotland.

Below are some photos of some of the fun things we were able to do with Joshua and Zara.

Time to get wet

 

Playing on Nairn Beach

 

Fort George

 

Joshua at the Culloden visitor centre learning about one of Scotland's many battles.  He enjoyed looking at all the weaponary.