Season's Highlights

Dear friends and family

Welcome to 2013. I trust you had a beautiful Christmas and New Year celebration. The past few weeks have been pretty sweet for Bryan and I. We’ve been able to catch up with a few people and (hoorah!) even got guidance on what to do for work for 2013. Our friend Duncan, the founder and director of Uganda Orphans Fund which has the orphanage/school in Kamuli District, needs some help. And here we are – willing and available!

It’s been really nice to have contact with some of you over this time. I’m prone to missing you in such seasons, so it’s a real booster to get a note, a message, or a call. Thanks so much.

So what are the key events of the past month, this glorious Christmas season? Let me tell you...

A birthday mate for Bryan

On the evening of Bryan’s birthday, 10th December, we got a call from our friend Vikash that Shalu had just delivered a baby boy. It’s their first baby – there’s still some debate about the name, but I think they’re settling with Vaishnov as the first name.  A “v” either end for “victory”. The pregnancy and the delivery were scary times for mum and baby (actually, I think Vikash was most scared – but least at risk). I saw them that Thursday at the hospital; and again last Friday once they were home. He’s a cute little thing, and he sure likes to have his eye on his mother. 

Brave young Bill 

I met with Bill and his uncle in the city, although they stay with an uncle in the next district. He is moving well on crutches and looking healthy; it seems his morale has greatly improved. Thank God he enjoys and has a talent for drawing. He has since CARE4Kids days. We had a lovely time chatting, updating one another on each one’s life, seeing if we knew the same cartoons, and so on. Bill’s English is getting really good, so most of the conversation was in lzungu, fortunately for me. I gave Bill a full bag of games, puzzles and drawing books. That should help keep him occupied, entertained, and somewhat mentally stimulated while he waits to go back to school. They plan to put him back in school next year. They’ll continue to stay with the uncle’s uncle until Bill gets the artificial limb (which the doctors gave the go ahead for just yesterday), then return to the uncle’s family in Jinja. Quite a year for a 13 year old!

 Kasozi village Christmas

Christmas itself was spent at Kasozi Village, where Bryan and I are going to work for the next few months. We drove up there Christmas Eve, thanks to the use of Bob’s car while they’re away. Unfortunately, it broke down just half an hour outside of Jinja. We were driving up a series of hills, and the car just stopped. It wouldn’t clutch start and none of the electrics would work. We called a mechanic from Jinja, and in the meantime had at least 10 people come and give their 2 cents worth on what was wrong with the vehicle. Fortunately, where we had rolled back down the hill to happened to be near water and a village mechanic (yay God!). So as we waited we were able to get some basic things checked, which didn’t actually help but it did eliminate some options. I think it must have been the highlight of the day for that little section of village. The men and children gathered around, leaning in to have a look at the inside of the bonnet. A few threw out that it “definitely” needed a new this or that (yeah right!) then finally the Jinja mechanic rocked up with 3 buddies. Fortunately, one of these mechanic buddies was good at the electrics and did get the car going. At first they assured us that the car would only work once, so we had to go back to Jinja driving carefully with them. We insisted that we needed to keep going because it was Christmas (not ignorant to mechanic games) and funnily enough, the car was able to be fixed properly. After just 2 hours of breakdown, we were back on the road again. Up hills, across the plains, through a minor river, and finally to the Kasozi Village property.

We were warmly greeted by the head teacher, Mr Odida Morris, who sat and chatted with us for a while until we went off to hang with the kids. Duncan and Rob got back shortly after, but the kids rushed up to send them out again for Christmas flowers. I’d heard them talking among themselves about who was supposed to have asked for them already, and failed, and seen the blame get shifted around, and now here it was. We needed to get “Christmas flowers”. They made spring motions with their hands to try and explain the necessary Christmas decoration, and finally resorted to directing us as to where we could find them. Bryan did indeed find them –shiny foil decorations that could be thrown around a tree or hung from the ceiling, that did in fact spring apart as the hand motions suggested. Other Christmas necessities included balloons, string, sweets (which we had come with, phew!) and branches. What an interesting day!

 
Christmas day was a delight. The kids got up at 3am, or some ridiculous hour, to continue cooking the food that they had started preparing the day before. A “proper” Christmas lunch includes matooke, rice and chicken. For breakfast the kids’ request was “dry tea” (black tea) and mandazi (fried bread), which they made themselves. It was the first time for some of them to know what baking powder is; I informed them of the purpose when some held out their hand for the special sugar. That would’ve been a taste surprise!
 
Before the church service we praised God in song and dance. I’ve got the hang of Busoga and Baganda dancing, but the northern dances (many of the kids are from Gulu or Soroti) are a whole new thing. Seriously, it’s a work out! You stamp your leg, jump, thrust your body, and push with your hands. I didn’t last very long before I decided to go and see where Bryan was. The kids are the ones to direct the service, which they do quite well at. They’re not without their problems, but there are some very mature and spiritually attuned kids in Kasozi. Duncan, Rob and Bryan all preached, followed by a time of ministry in which we adults prayed for any who wanted. It’s always a treasured moment for me to see people seeking God, because I know they have and will find more of Him. Lives are getting put back together in a new order, piece by piece.

Bryan and I made good friends with a few of the kids. Hopefully this sets a positive foundation for a productive time being part of their lives 2013.

Christmas presents to care4kids

I once again got to have the joyous position of being the distributor of gifts from you. We split them into 4 groups: big girls, young girls, big boys, young boys. Then they had to answer a  question: why do we give presents at Christmas time? Of course they got it: God gave us the gift of Jesus, we remember that gift in our giving, and likewise we give gifts to show our love and appreciation for one another. So they know that the gifts are a sign of your love for them – what a valuable lesson to grasp.

Let us thank god for:

- A safe and joyful Christmas season
- Guidance of where to work in 2013
- Fausta’s girls, Nangiro and Lapuche, are in the top few in their classes
- Presents and the love they represent for CARE4Kids children
- Clarice’s mum and sister visiting
- Steve got a job. Now he, Kelly and Amulet can find where to live and school from
- Baby Vaishnov’s birth, and his and Shalu’s health
- God’s protection in all our travels and activities

Let us pray for:

- Fausta’s leg, which is getting the cast off in the next 2 weeks
- Loke (Fausta’s husband) was operated on and has not recovered well. He’s back in hospital for the second time since getting discharged after the operation
- Bryan and my orientation and settling into working life at Kasozi Village
- The hearts of matrons, staff and children towards one another in the orphanage homes
- Provision of school needs prior to the start of term at the beginning of next month

L-R: Night’s firstborn, Lapuche, Mary, Night (Fausta’s sister), Muya, Nangiro

Enjoy the rest of the holiday season!
Love Emily