rothwellsmission: June 2015

Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

1 John 3 :18

A good reminder for us, who, being British, want things to happen – now!

We are learning, slowly by slowly (as they say in Uganda, for good reason), that sometimes we have to have words and speech, and what seem like endless meetings before the actions happen – but yes it is then (usually) in love and in truth, so message to self – stop grinding your teeth and pacing up and down!

When we look back on the last term so much has been talked about – sometimes at great length and so slowly that we tend to forget that eventually many matters are resolved and action then happens.

There is a saying in Uganda that you should aim to complete four things in a day and count it as a success if one of them is achieved, and it's good to be reminded of this. In fact much of what was discussed in meetings last term has been achieved.

The fencing around the girls dormitories was completed. The girls are delighted, and not only has it made them feel safe at night it has the added bonus of being an additional clothes drying area – as you will see from the photos.

Discussions on security has resulted in no student entering the school without at least part payment of fees this term, which means that the teachers can be paid and items such as maintenance can continue. Term officially started on May 18^th, but still, two weeks later, students are returning, some having travelled long distances to get here and some having waited and prayed for the provision of school fees.

Mid-term exams will not be held this term, giving two more weeks of teaching time – something we had hinted at for some time.

Changes have been made to the end of term exams to ensure they are finished before a team of 12 from Christchurch London come to provide the end of term programme which will be appreciated, firstly by the students who love anything that is a little different from their usual routine, secondly by the teachers who can then get on with marking exams and preparing end of term reports for 500 – all by hand – and thirdly by the team themselves who will take away memories of an experience that will never leave them.

When we were in the UK in January we spoke about the possibility of a team trip coming out from St Andrews to provide the end of term programme for the end of Term 3 (end of November, beginning of December). We have heard no more so presume there were not enough people to make a team of 12, but all is not lost!

If any individuals from St Andrews, or indeed anyone who reads this, are interested in being part of a team at that time, check out the ServeDirect website www.servedirect.org. ServeDirect in the UK are in the process of putting together a team for the next end of term programme so please contact them if you are interested, but do it soon as places will be limited. You can also read many of the testimonials from previous volunteers and you will see that not only will you change the lives of people here, your lives will also be changed.

Library lessons have become a popular (and very necessary) part of the school programme, and it is clear to see that reading and their knowledge of English is improving. The weekly dictionary quizzes have become very competitive!

Also Activate! continues to be well received, and a great platform for further (often very in-depth) discussion. We have included (and often written!) sketches this term to illustrate the point we are trying to make, and students are now volunteering to take part, something we found difficult to orchestrate in the past. It is really not the Ugandan way to put yourself forward without being asked (or told, more often), so it is particularly pleasing to us to see this change happen – again slowly by slowly.

During the WTA holidays The Rock and The Bridge continued to operate, The Bridge offering it's usual holiday club and this time also adult computer lessons, which were taken up by some local teachers together with some students wanting extra tuition.

We were delighted to welcome back Chella on her fifth visit to volunteer at The Bridge (from Holland) and Rebecca (from Wales and Redcliffe college in Gloucester) for her first visit. Chella was only able to be here for a few days, but Rebecca was with us for a month so was able to immerse herself in the work at The Bridge – teaching, reading and art and craft.

Whilst Rebecca was here we introduced her to various forms of church – the international church in Kampala, Ebenezer church in Wobulenzi, Maranatha church in Katikamu and then in her final week WTA students returned and she was able to enjoy the service here at the school which she said (as we do) was her favourite.

It is difficult to describe the exuberance (and the noise) without a video, which alas the weak internet signal does not allow us to send, so we can only suggest you come out and see for yourselves.

We have been delighted in the last couple of weeks to harvest the first crops of tomatoes, paw-paw and bananas, and ready next week will be mangoes. Uganda is such a fertile country, with two rainy seasons and two growing seasons even we can grow crops here - we have the photos to prove it!

Visitors to welcome to the volunteers house this term – Will and Amanda (if Will arrives back from his tour of the USA in time!) in June, then Michelle, Beth and Charlotte at the beginning of July, plus Jerry and Elspeth from ServeDirect and Jody (from Gulu) who will be presenting phonics teaching at The Bridge to local primary school teachers over three days. The last time teacher training was offered we had 60 teachers attending, so we are preparing for another full house!

Finally, at the end of July, we are delighted that the team from Christchurch London will be here to provide the end of term programme – a full house of 12 in the volunteers house for the 10 days of their stay!

As always, thank you for your prayers and messages of support – such a moral boost on difficult days.

Results of prayer requests last month –

That Rebecca settled in well – she certainly did and was a great asset to The Bridge – and was very good at Bananagrams!

For safety during the holidays – the site is always at it's most vulnerable when there are no students or teachers, but there were no mishaps. We continued weekly prayer walks around the site during the holidays and will continue through this term.

Prayer requests this month –

For the young girl badly burned by a saucepan of boiling porridge being pulled on to her arm. Thank the Lord that her mother brought her immediately to The Rock, who have been dressing the arm (blistered from hand to elbow) daily, have given antibiotics and so far, two weeks later, the wound is healing, there is no sign of infection and the girl is smiling again. However we know that until the healing is complete she needs our prayers.

For the young boy who was abandoned by his parents and has been taken in by a local family. He was so traumatized he has not spoken since it happened so healing prayers for him as well please.

For the disabled unit attached to a local school, where the matron has been unkind to the students and the school is seeking a replacement. Pray for safety for these young children until a kind, caring person can be found who can learn to sign very quickly.

For the students still to return, that they arrive safely and with school fees found.

For the volunteers coming this term, that they are blessed whilst they bless.

With love Sue and Stan

And – before the photos – a little true story by Stan.....after a traumatic trip to Kampala......

Now here's a funny story of how I saw the President.

Well once upon a time there was a very handsome chap called Stan who decided to pay car insurance at AON (that Man U supporting insurance company), in Clement St. Kampala.

Well I drove all round and found the very last parking space in the road and walked down the slope to AON, called over the nice askari chappie and went in to Reception where a very nice lady called Irene Kakade came to see me. I went inside spent a lovely 10 minutes chatting about WTA and how I used to be in insurance, paid the premium, got the receipt and went back to the car......and do you know what I found there?

Well the Wicked Wizard of Parking had told one of his marauding parking elves who wing their way all over KLA on a motorbike looking for victims to ensnare had clamped my car. Well, I could not believe my eyes so I rubbed them (perhaps it was a dream?) no I wasn't dreaming it really had been clamped and there on the windscreen was a note advising it had been clamped for WRONG PARKING (wrong parking!!!!!!???......in KLA???? Are they serious???).

Well the note explained where I had to pay the ransom of 20,000 UGX to the wizard so cheerily waving down a passing boda-boda I went on my way to the land of Nakasero.

Having paid the ransom to the Palace Guards I went back on the same boda-boda only to be halted by a massive traffic jam where smart men in white uniforms and crash helmets who had escaped from a Village People convention were stopping the traffic.

'It must be the President', the boda-boda man said in excitement. I replied 'Oh joy, great, that's just what I need', and other words of excitement and interest which the friendly boda-boda man took as words of encouragement and drove me to the front of the queue for a better view.

And then....and then ....there was a blare of trumpets and flashing lights as a motorcade of black 4x4s and limos flanked by the Praetorian Guard drove past and in the limo escorted by general staff with more medals than an American boy scout convention was the man himself !!!!!

No sooner had he driven by when the traffic parted as if by Charlton Heston (keep up - he played Moses), and I was back at the car just in time to see the evil elf remove the clamp and so I gave him a cheery wave goodbye and went on my way to Good Africa for that elixir of life called cappuccino.....

And that is how I got to see the President...

And the moral of this story.....always make sure that last parking space is in fact a parking space ...it could be a trap for mzungus.