WUNDERLI WANDERINGS

We trust this post finds you all well and enjoying this special time of year.  Our Christmas was very different for us in that we spent it not in Uganda or Scotland but in Australia.  God was gracious in that we got to spend it with some "African" friends.  Some we knew by name as they were in MAF Tanzania and Kenya and the other family, the Cousleys we had spent more than one Christmas with in Uganda as well as holidays together.  We had a lot of fun talking about our African experiences and the kids had a blast reconnecting. It has been quite the month for us and are thankful we have made it through.  After leaving Switzerland in November the race was on for Simon to pass his exams so we can proceed with paperwork for our more permanent visa.  Thankfully, after many hours of study he passed both the flight and written exams.  We give thanks for his diligence, patience and perseverance through it all. Whilst Simon was busy the kids and I kept sear...

It has been three weeks since we moved to "Jurassic Park".  It has been a sharp learning curve on various levels but we are making progress.  We have two pieces of good news and answers to prayer in that Simon passed his written exams and we found a house. Simon has been studying hard for his exams and sat them on Wednesday.  We haven't seen a lot of him in the last couple of weeks as he has been busy with his nose in the books.  However, it has paid off and he passed his two papers on Wednesday so there was much rejoicing when he came home.  He might be able to fit in the flight exam next week and then we can make progress with our visa status.   We need to move to a different visa than then one we came in on and so the sooner the application goes in for the more permanent visa the better. While Simon has been busy studying and figuring stuff out at the flight school t...

This morning as I sit outside our door having breakfast overlooking the sugar cane fields I felt like I was in Jurassic Park.   The noise of the birds was incredible and some of them are the size of China (okay that is an exaggeration) but you get the point.  Not too far from me is a smaller version of a turkey scratching in the dirt.   The colours of the birds are amazing. We have parrots in the tree not far from our room and cockatoos are readily flying around. The other day we had a spider outside our door.  It was also the size of China (haha). Thankfully it was not of the poisonous variety.  Then there are the rhino beetles that really do look like their namesake. In this part of the world the sun shines 360 days of the year and the temperature is the 30's every day.  It is a bit warmer than Uganda but the humidity is higher.  On some days it feels like the sun is out to get you (haha). Today Simon left early for Mareeba which is about 1 hour ...

The last few months have been quite the whirlwind as we prepared to uproot from our home in Uganda and make a new one in Australia.  I would love to have said it has been a easy process but that would be far from the truth.  It has been a challenge in many respects but we also knew it was the right decision so we pressed forward. We left Uganda on the 8th November and flew to Doha, Qatar and then onto Switzerland to be with Simon's family for two weeks.  Before we left Uganda Simon, Joshua and Zara had bad coughs.  Joshua being the worst at that stage and any medication we gave him didn't seem to be shifting it.  On our arrival in Switzerland the coughs got worse.  Thankfully a friend of Simon's in Switzerland is a doctor and so he was able to check out Simon and the kids.  He put it down to atypical pneumonia and put them all on an antibiotic.  To cut a long story short they are still coughing but not quite so bad anymore.  However, we hav...

We have delayed in writing an email regarding our progress with our move to Australia as it has all been up in the air up until yesterday.  Just last Friday there was a chance that we would have had to wait another few months in Uganda due to visa issues.  However, God worked it out and we now plan to leave next week.  It is all going very fast now.  The packing company come in on Thursday to pick up our belongings that will be shipped to Australia. Simon and I have been busy pulling the house apart the last few months.  It is amazing what you collect over a 15 year period despite doing clear outs once in while.  However, thankfully we had the presence of mind to start early so that we didn't have to do it all at the one time.  It has been a gradual process. Our plan is to head to Switzerland next week for two weeks before heading down to Australia. We are looking forward to seeing family again as well as Simon's Dad's  fiancée  to be who...

Zara loves to swim and here she is in action at the school's swimming gala. Photos courtesy of Nadia Dick

 What is not to love about the African landscape....enjoy! Look what you see out the window of this office......approximately 90 elephants When the fuel pump is broken then it is time to improvise.....a fuel drum, a bucket and a ladder should do it. Photos courtesy of Simon Wunderli and Dave Forney

Things are moving along at a faster pace now.  This week, amongst other things, we have been gathering paperwork for our visa to enter into Australia.  We managed to get it all together and send 70mb worth of information through cyberspace.  The application went into the relevant authority yesterday so we are praying that everything is there that they need and we have no surprises. At the end of October Simon needs to sit an English proficiency test.  They won't take his one from his FAA license so needs to do another one.  Thankfully this test should be pretty easy unless he puts a "Scottish" slant on it :) We are still in the process of packing up the house.  Most things that we need to get rid of are sold and so this has been a blessing.  We have also found a home for wee Sox which was a concern.  It won't be easy to say goodbye to her.  She has definitely become part of the family. We will keep you updated as we hear more.  Tha...

Thank you to all of you who have prayed for us and are continuing to pray as we transition to Australia.  One of the biggest hurdles we have faced is having Simon's aviation medical approved by the Australian CAA.  Simon had all his checks done via a doctor in Nairobi who is certified by the Australian CAA but one of the tests wasn't in the right format.  There was a chance that if it wasn't accepted then Simon would need to fly to South Africa or Dubai to have the test re-done.  However, thanks to those on the ground in MAF Australia, prayer and God working it all out we now have the certificate in hand.  Now time to jump through the next hoop. Just yesterday I was reading about a Pastor who was preparing a sermon about the parting of the Red Sea.  The Israelites made it to the Red Sea but could not see a way through out of danger from their enemy, the Egyptians.  However, God had a plan that only He could deliver.  God parted the Red Sea and t...

Yesterday, Simon had a flight to Mweya, Queen Elizabeth National Park.  He was flying a group there from Switzerland who had been doing some ministry with a school a couple of hours outside of Kampala.  The group was led by a couple who are friends of Simon’s Uncle and Aunt back in Switzerland whom we had met on a previous trip.  It was fun to catch up with them and the rest of the team. I was able to join them on the flight.   Simon and I spent a few hours at Mweya Lodge with the team before flying back in the afternoon to Kampala.  This trip was special to me since it was the first lodge we ever went to with guests 14+ years ago.  Many memories flooded back of all the people we had enjoyed fellowship with in that area. (You know who you are!) It was a true gift to make this short trip before, God willing, we head to Australia.  The weather was amazing and we just enjoyed God’s creation as we looked out over the Kazinga Channel and watched el...

We would value your prayers as we continue the process of moving with MAF to Australia.  We are having some problems with the paperwork for Simon's medical not being in the right format despite everything going through an Australian approved Doctor in Nairobi.  This process is holding up everything else so we would appreciate prayers to know how to proceed and for the staff in MAF Australia who are doing their best to handle things from that end.

A couple of weeks ago Simon was due to fly up to South Sudan to do some food drops for an organisation called MedAir.  Food is scarce in some areas and the only safe way to get food in is via aircraft in some regions.  However, the flight had to be cancelled due to heavy rainfall which made the airstrip unusable until it had dried out (this can take three days).  The black cotton soil on some of the airstrips makes it very difficult to land and take off when it has rained.  It gets very sticky. Thankfully, last week the flight was able to go ahead so Simon headed up to South Sudan on Wednesday and was able to do two food drops on the Thursday.  The airstrip was located one and a half hours north of Juba.  Below are photos of Simon and some of the MAF team in Juba loading the aircraft.  Simon said the temperature on the ground was around 50c.  Hot, Hot, Hot!!! The situation in South Sudan is not good.  Two days before Simon got to Juba the...

You might be thinking as you read the title of this post that that is nothing new for the Wunderli's especially with Simon's job.  He is regularly in EDRC or South Sudan during the week with occasional trips to other parts of Africa.  Even for Joshua, Zara and I this year we managed to travel through Turkey, Scotland and Qatar all in the space of three weeks and then not forgetting a 10 day trip to Zanzibar. However, this move is more permanent.  God willing in November of this year we will be moving to Australia.  We have been making plans for this for a few months now but nothing was confirmed.  In some ways it still isn't as we wait on paperwork to be processed.  However, time is marching on and we felt it better to let you know our plans before November rolls around. We will continue working with MAF but in Australia rather than Uganda.  Simon will take on the role of a Standardisation Flight Instructor at the MAF Training Centre in Mareeba (50...

It has been a while since I have written anything in our blog due to life just being a bit hectic but hopefully now I can sit down and write a bit of an update. Joshua, Zara and I were in Scotland for 2+ weeks which ended up being three due to the problems in Turkey and subsequent change in return flight.  Thankful to avoid a bomb attack and being in the middle of an attempted coup.  We enjoyed the time catching up with family and friends without the pressure of a hectic schedule.  Thanks to all of you for making it a fun time. Simon was not able to join us as he was one of the few remaining pilots covering the Uganda programme during the busy summer period.  He also spent a week upcountry helping with evacuations from South Sudan.  As I write he is currently on an overnight doing some more flights into South Sudan.  We were thankful we got to see him last night before he took off again.  Please pray for the people in South Sudan in these uncer...

Last week Simon flew a plane load of medicines up to Yida which is in the far north of South Sudan. A MAF South Sudan flight also joined him full of medicines.  There is still a lot of unrest in this area with frequent bombings.  FRM (Far Reaching Ministries) work in this area and supplied all the medicines.  Below are some photos taken of the unloading of the planes with the much prized cargo. MAF South Sudan flight en route to Yida. Cargo being unloaded from both planes to be taken to where it is needed most.  There have been articles in the news recently of hospitals in South Sudan really struggling to find what they need for all the patients that regularly arrive at their door.  Please pray for this country and for the many needs that there are. So good to see MAF South Sudan and MAF Uganda working so closely together. :)

On a recent flight to Gulu, Northern Uganda, Simon noticed an oil leak coming from the strut on the nose wheel.  After consulting the Chief Engineer on his opinion it was recommended that a piece of rubber tied tightly around the strut would suffice to get him back to base at Kajjansi.  Thankfully, when Simon asked around at the airstrip if there were any strips of rubber available there were.  Below you can see the black rubber strip just above the nose wheel.  Thankful for a practical husband and Chief Engineer that think outside the box.  The plan worked and the plane made it safely back to Kajjansi with no damage done.

This past two weeks has been busy for us.  I have been doing a course called Living Wisdom.  You can check it out at www.livingwisdom.com.au.  It was an intense two weeks and not much got done aside from it.  There was also homework in the evenings as well as time to process the lectures of the day.  My head is still a bit dizzy. Simon left last Thursday for a trip to South Africa.  He flew the Chadian caravan down to be repainted.  He left Thursday and overnighted in Zambia.  He thought he might need to make a stop in Congo for refueling but thanks to a good tail wind it was not necessary.  From Ndola, Zambia he flew onto Lanseria, South Africa.  He just made it in time before the hangar closed. I guess they shut up shop earlier on a Friday.  He flew back via Rwanda yesterday and made it home safely last night.  Zara was so excited to see him.  You would have thought he had been gone for months. (haha) Joshua and...