March's Musings

... and the rains came down and the floods came up...

Not only in Japan (God help our brothers and sisters there)... but also in Uganda. The end of the dry season heralds rain and it’s wonderful. Dampening the dust, bringing green back to life, and relieving pressure headaches. Sadly Emma is not here to enjoy it but is back in the UK embarking upon a new adventure with Urban Expressions.

Emma’s Uganda

Emma and I loved the second half of her time in Uganda. She led a 2 hour Bible study for the teenage girls who are on Oasis’ Skills Training Programme, using rings as a visual aid for God’s value of us. A few weeks after, rings are still on!

Using Luke 19 as a guide, we hosted an Election Banquet for friends who work at the compound, and some neighbours. We had around 30 people in total on Sat 19^th Feb, and had great fun decorating the compound and learning how to make Ugandan food from Mama Julie and Mama Florence who catered. It was wonderful to see people ‘outside work’ and to serve them for once. Emma had great fun with the kids, and Elspeth, the neighbours and I fussed and pottered!

22^nd Feb was my 28^th birthday, and Emma and neighbour Elspeth went to town. I had a wonderful surprise gathering a few days before, with a home-made banana cake c/o Karen next door, and then the day before, the girls made a surprise treasure hunt and afternoon tea! The actual day was celebrated in style as Em and I went for 3 days to Murchison Falls.

Murchison Falls national park is a vast area of 4000 square kms and houses all kinds of animals. On safari, we were delighted and blessed to see 4 lions, 2 herds of elephants, scores of hippos and crocodiles, millions of warthogs and deer-like creatures (Emma learnt the names of them all; I did not) and 2 distant giraffes. We met people from Holland, USA and France, and thoroughly enjoyed Red Chilli’s facilities overlooking the most glorious view of the savannah.

Highlights include dancing in the rain, crossing the Nile at sunrise, absorbing the vastness and beauty of African countryside, cruising the river on the roof of a boat, and seeing elephants in their natural state. Low points included warthogs snuffling around our tent looking for a way in, and sleeping in a damp bed. Why damp? I don’t know.

On our final morning at ‘Murch’, we clambered over rocks to the top of the falls, and really loved seeing the crashing torrents of water cascading down their valley to the river. It was incredible. The amount of water passing through such a narrow space (6 metres at its narrowest) was breath-taking and beautiful. There was at least 3 rainbows down the falls where sun met water spray which provided relief from the BAKING hot sunshine. Emma was in her rock-climbing element scrambling up and down and wow-ing at the water. Ooh and for all twitchers out there, we saw 3 types of kingfisher.

Oasis

Things are going well at Oasis Uganda, and starting to get busy for me. On 5^th April, 4 girls arrive from the UK for 4½ months in Uganda as part of their gap year. They will stay and work at 2 fantastic placements in villages near to Kampala, and will come to Oasis each week for training and off-loading time. And possibly some chocolate biscuits.

There are also 2-3 other teams arriving over the next 3-4 months. Quite often a church group will come and spend time either in Kampala or Mbale (or a bit of both), and run a holiday programme or a sports week, or do some much-needed maintenance work with us. Hooray!

Health

Health has been a little ropey this month, most recently with a case of bilharzia (google it... urgh) which is a delightful illness caught from untreated water, in this instance, the glorious rainbow-topped Sipi Falls! Coupled with another infection, it’s made for a couple rough weeks, but hopefully I am on the mend. 

Frontline

Frontline’s Joseph and Richard are now at school in Entebbe, both of whom have recently started thanks to generous Britons! Frontline acting as a school-agency is a fairly new thing but hopefully this system will soon be smooth so that boys and families can be quickly coupled up and boys can begin benefiting straight away. 

Homeward Bound!

Between 6^th-29^th May I will be back at home for a mid-point visit! I’m REALLY looking forward to seeing family and friends, and meeting a few babies who were inconsiderate enough to be born whilst I’m away! I’ll be in Devon for the first and last week, popping by Nottingham 12^th-16^th and browsing Brentwood 16^th-24^th. Hope to see you all.

Godly musings...

Last Sunday, whilst worshiping at church, God plonked this thought: If we are the Bride of Christ, adorned and beautiful for our Groom, what makes up our decoration? God Himself provides the wedding gown, pure and white, and the gems and crystals which beautify the Bride are not merely glass. They are generous, self-less deeds done for the benefit of the poor. We are adorned with the good works we perform in this life. Good works do not save us (God alone drags us from the pit and stands us on the rock) but they do beautify us and relieve some suffering in this life; the only life where we CHOOSE how to live. So my question is: Is the Bride of Christ adorned? Today, how can we add jewels to her gown, rings to her fingers, diamonds for her tiara?  

 

(Elspeth’s) Memory verse:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:6-7

Thank you so much for reading, and thanks again to all who email, I really appreciate it and love hearing from you. May you know each of God’s blessings,

Lindsay x