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NO 4 – FRIDAY 11TH APRIL 2014
Bear
with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against
one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Colossians
3 : 13
After
speaking about forgiveness in an Activate session we were reminded
how easy this is to say, but just how difficult it can be to do,
after we were passed a note from one of the students which read:
'Someone
killed my brother in 2013 and up to now I have had difficulties
whenever I try to forgive him. I now feel I want to forgive him and
ask for God's help to do it'.
It
reminded us that many of the students here have had, and are still
having, such awful events in their lives that we would find it hard
to imagine.
As
a result of this note Stan preached in the WTA church on Sunday on
the theme of forgiveness and many came forward for prayer afterwards
asking for help to forgive others, and to receive closure
themselves. We prayed that the student who wrote the note was amongst
them.
On
looking at our prayer requests on the last blog we are reminded of
God's grace.
The
S5 intake who arrived late seem to be settling in well, the
distribution of the malaria nets is almost complete, the students
with Hep B and TB are both now back at school and recovering and the
stolen items and money following the theft have now been recovered.
God is so good.
In
the last few weeks we have been involved in such a variety of things
-
Teacher
training day, a birthday weekend (for Sue) in Kampala complete with
cake, a football tournament (Stan), a discussion on 'peer pressure,
sex and personal hygiene', (Sue) with all the girls and some female
teachers, she learnt a lot of new information about African customs
too graphic to go into here. The boys had a separate session at the
same time but we can't comment on that, Stan was at the football
tournament and Sue kept well away!.What was commendable (certainly
from the girls meeting) was the close relationship and trust between
the girls and the female teachers.
In
addition Sue accompanied Michele to the Sanyu babies home in Kampala.
They take in babies who have been orphaned, abandoned or removed
from the family following cruelty. They were told that the police
often turn up in the middle of the night with a new born baby that
has been found in a drain or a ditch. They went there without
appointment and feared the worse, but came away pleasantly surprised
that this old, dark building was clean, welcoming and joyful with a
large happy staff (almost one-to-one) and well-cared for babies.
What
was also surprising was to be told that they have a waiting list of
Ugandan families for baby adoptions, and children going to ex-pats
and abroad are now the last resort, often for older children and
children with disabilities. As they explained, children are still
better off in any loving family than in a children's home, however
good it may be.
Also
in the last week we have been involved in presenting some sessions on
exam revision techniques, remedial English grammar and a prayer
session prior to the end of term exams, which started Monday.
We
have found over these last few weeks that just 'being around' when
there are students around and being available for a chat about
anything and everything has, we think, been helpful to them. This is
even more noticeable now that exams are on as they are under such
incredible pressure and offers of help with reading or revision have
been well received.
Exams
finish on Good Friday and most of the students will be leaving, apart
from Senior 5 who are not doing exams (as they started the term so
late) and their lessons continue until the following week.
It
will be very strange to be here when the only people around will be
us and the askari (the guards).
However
we won't be completely alone as our first 'official' volunteer
arrived on Saturday – a gap-year student called Peter who is here
for 6 weeks, together with his cello!
He
is rehearsing this week with the students to play in church on Sunday
and has been helping out at The Bridge with some of the children from
the community, together with helping us with the exam techniques and
prayer sessions. In addition he did some 'touch rugby' training,
something completely alien to us!
The
rainy season is certainly upon us, in the last few day we have had
some amazing storms and an awful lot of rain. The good thing is, the
plants we have recently put in – banana, avocado, mango, coffee,
tamarind and orange – seem to be growing as we watch them, so
hopefully we will soon be seeing the fruits (literally).
Thanks
for your messages of encouragement, it is so good to know we are on
your thoughts.
Finally (1) - things we have learnt since being here -
- 'later' means in the next day or so - possibly
- 'somewhat fair' - means 'that was a terrible exam'
- 'it was fine' means ' I think I did ok'
- how to work a generator
- that a banana is a herb, not a plant
- how to tell the difference between the call of a monkey and a monkey bird
- a large blue Turaco is a real bird and not a figment of the imagination of someone writing a script for Jurassic Park
- how to get water out of a bore hole
- the words of the Ugandan national anthem (the shortest one in the world by the way)
- that we CAN find our way to Kampala on our own
- lots about Wole Soyinka (Google him!)
Finally (2) - we have tried unsuccessfully for the last 3 hours to add photos to this blog, so we are now giving up and will publish it anyway - will try again tomorrow :)
Prayer
requests
For
peace and calm for the students taking exams over the next two
weeks.
For
protection for us during the school closure – this is the time in
the past that the school has suffered break ins and theft and we are
vulnerable as the only ones left!
For
Elspeth and Jerry back in the UK – pray they can have a blessed
time and a well-deserved rest.
For
Peter, that he enjoys his experience here and knows he has made a
real difference.
For
our work permit – still waiting for our application to be accepted
- our visas expire at the end of the month.
For
the primary school children who visited WTA for a quiz and a tour –
that they tell their parents to send them here next year!
For
wisdom for Charles and the team as we investigate and consider ways
to improve timetabling and teaching methods.
For
our family and friends in the UK – we miss you!
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