It is amazing to think that we have been back in Uganda for
two weeks already. We hit the ground
running after our time in Scotland.
However, let me backtrack a bit.
This was our second Scottish Christmas in 14 years and I had
forgotten how cold it can get (people were telling me this was a mild yearJ) and how dark. It felt like the sun had disappeared during
the weeks we were there. Despite that we
had a great time connecting with family, friends, supporters and made new
friends along the way which was encouraging.
Joshua and Zara wanted to see snow whilst they were at
“home”. Unfortunately, since it was a
mild Christmas (I wasn’t complaining) there wasn’t much to be found. However, we did take a trip to the Scottish
Borders on Boxing Day and found some along the way. It was enough for a snowball fight so their
prayers were answered. They enjoyed chasing
Mum, Dad and sometimes Gran with the snow.
The small pleasures in life J
Since we arrived back it has been full steam ahead for all
of us. Joshua and Zara were straight
into school on Wednesday morning and did great.
Simon and I were back to work also.
I had a Bible study to prepare for and needed to be ready by
Friday. Thankfully, I was able to do
some reading whilst in Scotland for it thanks to Amazon J Our International Bible study has started a
new series on Identity. I taught last
week on “I am loved and pursued by God” and a friend, Liz, will teach on “I am
saved” this week. It is exciting to see
what God will do with our time together in His Word.
On the 30th January there is a conference for
National Ladies. Two friends and I will
be speaking at it. Our focus is to
encourage and empower local women in ministry.
Please pray for those ladies who will be there that they will be
refreshed spiritually, physically and emotionally by God and through His Word.
Yesterday we had our first meeting for our Ladies Retreat
this year which is happening in April. People are already asking if there is one this
year so that is a good thing to hear. It
was a fruitful meeting and a great team of ladies to work with. The theme is still a work in progress but to
give you an idea read John 15 and Galatians 5:22-25.
A big praise that happened when we returned to Uganda is
that the conference room that we have been using for the Ministry Centre is
still available for us to use until the end of March. The landlord had a change of heart and is
allowed the tenants there to use it once more which enables us to use it. Please pray that it will be extended again
once the contract is up in March. Thanks
to those who were praying about this.
The room is already being booked up with MAF events, socials, Bible
Studies, conferences and Youth Group events.
J
Simon is back to flying and his desk job of Safety
Manager. He enjoys being back in his
“office” again and has the best view ever.
Today he will be spending time with a group up in Northern Uganda. Not sure all the details but it will be a
full day for him.
He is also busy making shelving for a friend of ours who is
setting up a Counselling Centre here in Kampala. Due to his flying schedule picking up a bit
he has been working as much as he can to get these shelves finished for her
opening at the beginning of February. I
will try to take some photos of the finished work.
Please continue to pray for his back. He had a bit of a hard time with it on
furlough. It is better now and seems to
have stabilized but we continue to pray for complete healing for it.
Talking of pain I go to the hospital today to have my
shoulder looked at again. We managed to
get an earlier appointment than the beginning of February. Just need to pray that the Doctor has the
wisdom to know what to do next to sort it out.
Joshua and Zara are back in the swing of things with school,
after school activities and their social lives.
Joshua was unwell this weekend with an amoeba but is on meds for it and
seems to be doing better. We hope he can
go back to school today. We will see
what he is like when he wakes up.
Joshua is in the school basketball team and just loves
it. They lost their first game last week
but since the team has only just been put together it wasn’t too devastating a
result. He is also in the school
play. They are doing Oliver this
year. Not sure what side of the family
he took the enjoyment of being in the school play from as Simon and I didn’t
enjoy those events as kids. Anyway, it
is great to see him step out in this way.
Zara is loving being home and playing outside. She loves our dogs Chewy and Sox and enjoys
the freedom to run around the garden with them.
Her creative skills have been working overtime as she makes things for
her little wooden fort. Yesterday, she
told me that she has an imaginary friend called Emily who she enjoys playing
with. The wonder of imaginary play.
On Saturday she had a friend to the house. They made their own splash pool using a
plastic tarpaulin and other things they could find in the garden. There was a lot of laughter to be had. Sometimes it is good not too look at what they
are up to. At one point, Sox, was being
dragged along the grass to be thrown in the pool but she was having none of it
despite Zara’s determination.
It has been fun to catch up with friends and birthday events
since we returned. Life has taken on a
new normal and we look forward to what God has in store in the next weeks.
Please do pray, if you think of it, for the elections
happening in February. Pray for a fair
voting system and that the whole time will be peaceful.
Thanks to all of you who continue to be interested in our
lives with MAF here in Uganda. We have
had an amazing 14 years in Uganda and look forward to what God has in store in
the next years.
