WUNDERLI WANDERINGS

It has been a while since I have given an update and that is largely due to Joshua, Zara and I being unwell and then having some holidays in the west of Uganda for the Easter school break. Prior to the holidays Joshua first of all came down with a stomach bug which lasted about a week on and off.  Then Zara and I came down with it.  Thankfully Joshua and Zara only had a stomach bug and it righted itself within in a few days although Zara was given medication from the doctor to stop her being sick.  I, unfortunately, had an amoeba (will let you google that one :).  I haven't felt that sick in a long time.  The medication also had some side effects so it took a while to get over it.  Thankfully, as of today we are all healthy again. Simon and I took some days off while Joshua and Zara were on school break.  We headed with our tent to the west of Uganda to Lake Albert.  It took us 3 hours on a tarmac road and then a further 2 hours on a dirt road...

Joshua and Zara playing before they go on the Northern shuttle flight round Uganda  Simon preflighting the plane and getting the plane ready for the arrival of passengers  Showing our position on one of the legs of our flight  Flying over a village on our way to Kaabong  Kaabong airstrip which looked more like a disused path from the air  More scenery as we were flying from place to place  Joshua enjoying some time outside the plane at Kaabong   Kalongo - one of the first places I flew to when I arrived in Uganda over 9 years ago   Children excited at the arrival of a plane.  Simon had a challenge keeping them away from the plane when he started up again.  Thankfully security came and were able to move them out of harms way.  A boy taking a stroll along the airstrip coming to see what all the commotion was about.       Zara stretching her legs when we arrived at Kaabong Du...

On Friday we have elections here in Kampala. So far it has been peaceful and there have been no cases of riots. This week we are seeing more and more rallies taking place as the time gets closer to people voting. Today we had the opposition leader speaking at a rally round the corner from our house. Apart from being loud and busy things went well as far as we know. Museveni (current President) brought parts of downtown to a standstill today as he went on his campaign trail. We would value your prayers that the situation would remain peaceful during the voting process and the results would be fair and a correct representation of how people voted. Pray also that the opposition of whoever gets in will accept the decision and not retaliate with violence. Joshua and Zara have a week off from school starting Wednesday for half term but also an extension added on because of the elections. They are not complaining :) We have made provision in case things do go pear shaped in stocking up...

Landing at Kidepo in "Scotty" One of the two pick up trucks that we went in for our morning safari. You can see Zara in her pink rain jacket sitting on the cab of the truck....who needs seats :) Daddy and his little Princess In search of lions..... Joshua our junior tracker found some antelope like animals African vulture A herd of giraffe which included a baby one....not shown in this photo. A buffalo with an interesting horn decoration Our home for two nights. Bulbul the elephant who hangs around the bandas on occasions. He was on a mission to find some food and had smelled some pineapple. I wasn't about to stand in his way. This is him finding the kitchen entrance, he drank all the water that was lying out in a bucket as well as trying to get into the kitchen for the pineapple. He also raided the bin and made a lovely mess. Who is going to tell him off? One way to get rid of him is to light a fire which one of the staff members did. He then trundled off. Joshu...

Last Sunday was the start of voting in Sudan. This voting is to decide whether or not the largest Country in Africa will divide into two separate Countries. We have been praying that there would be peace during the process and for the most part there has been so we give thanks for that. We should find out the preliminary result during the first week of February. However, the way that the voting has been going it looks almost certain that the country will divide. A separate voting will take place in the oil rich side of the country to see whether this part will join the North or the South. This is, most likely, where there will be tension. Next month we will be seeing elections again in Uganda. As always we are never sure how things will go so contingency plans are made in case things go pear shaped. We do pray for a peaceful and fair election. This past weekend the government rolled in some new police trucks with tear gas and water canon capabilities into Kampala. These were ...

I can't believe we are already well into January. The Christmas season just seemed to fly by. We trust you all had a great time with family and friends celebrating the birth of our Saviour. We had a lovely time over Christmas with friends and my Mum made it out just in time before the snow closed the airports. Of course Joshua and Zara are loving all the attention and the extra homebaking that is going on. We had a week off during Christmas and New Year and travelled up to Kidepo National Park for two nights with friends. It was wonderful to be out of the City for a couple of days and enjoy the wonder of God's creation in this part of the world. Because of the remoteness of the place (north of Uganda bordering Sudan) we had to take our own food up and the the accommodation is basic but nevertheless adequate. We enjoyed game drives in the back of a pick up and some folks including Zara went on a three hour safari walk. It was wonderful just being out in the open space and...

Please note the updated Praise and Prayer requests on the side bar. Prayer is to the skeptic a delusion, a waste of time. To the believer it represents perhaps the most important use of time. Philip Yancey Thanks to all of you who make the time to pray for us. It makes a difference!