Final comment - written from home

All the Uganda 2009 team are now safely at home and I would want to thank each one of the team for all their efforts at making the 2009 trip so productive and a blessing to those we met in Uganda.

In total we delivered programmes in 24 different places (20 schools and 4 other church/projects) In all 58 programmes were delivered to pupils, teachers and parents.

Additionally 18 different items of playground equipment were erected and over 90 cases/boxes of mercy items distributed.

What was achieved was quite amazing and considering for many on the team it was their first time in Uganda I would have to say they all adapted and worked brilliantly to achieve our purposes.

As is always the case in Ugandan trips what will linger longest in the minds and hearts of the team are the people we met, the relationships we formed and the memories of Uganda as a place and the Ugandans as a nation. We will continue to remember all the children, teachers, pastors, parents we met during our short time in Uganda. They can teach us much about humility, thankfulness and simple faith. In this they are definitely our teachers.

Many, if not all of the team were challenged by their experiences and it is our prayer that it will not be the last time that they work in Uganda.
We are thankful to God for safety during our trip and for good health that we all enjoyed – no one from the team missing a single day with sickness during what was a very busy schedule is testimony to Gods grace and is quite an achievement. We are thankful for the prayers of many that were answered on our behalf.

As this Blog closes can I ask you to continue to remember our Charlene. She was scheduled to go to Uganda but her health did not allow her to make the trip. She very bravely sent us on and although there were times when we felt we could not go through with the trip or that either Janice or I would have to return early, Charlene continued to encourage us to complete the task she had sent us to accomplish – namely selecting the school build for Charlene’s project. Basil, one of the team prayed with us a few nights before we left as we agonised over our decision. He said that God had called us to go and if that was the case He would look after Charlene at home while we were gone. Basil was right. Charlene remained in Belfast City hospital the full time we were in Uganda receiving excellent care and made very significant progress.

She met us in the luggage collection area of Belfast city airport and it was wonderful to see how well she looked. She had progressed so much that she was able to travel with Dickie to the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne for her inpatient lung transplant assessment the Monday after we returned from Uganda.

Charlene in Newcastle

As this Blog closes Charlene will begin her Blog which will keep you informed of her progress and the project she is starting which will allow others in Uganda to be educated during the time she is unable to complete her education as a result of her ill health. It is found at http://charlenesproject-theschool.blogspot.com/2009/08/and-so-dream-begins.html#comments

Thank you for sharing with us in thought and prayer through our UgandaCrew2009Blogspot

Day 17 and 18

Ok......so somehow I (Becs) have escaped writing this blog so far....as my way with words is most definitely not one of my strongest points. As always Uganda has been such a challenge and a humbling experience. I have felt overwhelmed at times....and I have to admit at times have been very heavy hearted at what I have seen. But again God has been teaching me, that it is not up to me to solve all of Uganda’s problems.....it is our responsibility to examine our own lives under Gods word and see what He requires of us.....to bring these people before God and leave it to Him.

Yesterday, we visited the school for the blind at Salaama and the visually impaired unit at the associated secondary school. Programmes were delivered to the children at both schools and it was encouraging to see all the excellent work being done with these disadvantaged children.

Many of the cases of blindness that we saw, in the west would simply not have occurred. Some became blind after getting measles because of lack of immunisations and others from living in unhygienic conditions, with conditions being carried on household flies, and through dietary deficiency of Vitamin A. It seems so unfair that things we take for granted like immunisations, diet and hygiene, so deeply affect people here. However, it was encouraging to be at this school and see children in education as the blind in society here are not sent to school as it is seen as pointless to educate the blind. They were such joyful children, despite not being able to experience the amazing beauty within their own school grounds.

Close to this school we stopped the bus to watch a troop of monkeys do their stuff above the trees at the side of the road and got some pictures of workers harvesting tea in a field at the road side.

Today another six of our team left on an early flight this morning, leaving twelve of us still remaining. We went to a primary school within a prison compound, that had been scheduled for earlier in the week but was cancelled due to the death of a teacher from HIV related causes. The primary school was massive, with a total of about 1700 pupils. It was very difficult to begin with.....as all of us were extremely tired. The pupils were divided into two groups, primary 1 – primary 3 and primary 4 – primary 7. Wenford and Andrew worked extremely hard on concreting in the swings at the school, in extremely hot weather.

However, nothing could have prepared us for the mass number of pupils we met. We tried first of all to do the kids club with all 700 primary one – primary 3 (each year group has at least 3 classes of 80 pupils-with one teacher to each class) but it was just not possible as the children were too excited. We tried again delivering the programme three times to each individual year group. This worked and the programme was well received. The Love for Life programme was delivered by Ruth and David with the dramas being acted out by Bethany and Sarah in the packed prison church to over 1000 senior primary pupils – what a challenge. After the pupil programme input we addressed the teachers and left the pupil resources with them. What a difference teaching is in Uganda to what is the N Ireland experience.

Tonight Daniel, the headmaster of Shammah joined us for dinner. He told us of the ongoing impact in the little community near his school that we had visited two days earlier. We were able to provide him with more basic resources for his very needy community. Dad also got an opportunity to talk to Ian Clarke from International Hospital and Rory Wilson from Kiwoko Hospital (Denise and Rory had just arrived back in Kampala this afternoon). Both meetings occurred within 1 hour of each other in two separate places (total God incidence). He had the opportunity to chat around some of the medical situations we had encountered over the last two weeks. As I write this we have just receiveda text from the other six team members to say they have arrived safely in Belfast.

Well I better go here and get some much needed beauty sleep. Thanx for continuing to follow. God Bless...xo

Boda Bodas and Prayer??!!

RAGE!!!! Just deleted everything as I was about to post. Frustration.......

Let me try again. Ok here goes :-)

This will be my last update I imagine, as from tomorrow people much wiser than me will hopefully be using this blog for what it is meant to be used for - telling the tale of Love for Life in Uganda this summer. I apologise for high jacking it, as well as rambling on for extended periods! I have never blogged before, maybe I will do it in the future, who knows, though I fear I have a tendancy to ramble and speel (as was apparant!!!). Regardless, from now on you will be hearing from others on the trip.

Just killed a misquito.

Anyway, I have been in Kampala from Friday 3rd July, which also marked the parting of the ways, with Luke and Mark remaining to work on in Rwanda and DRC, and Chris leaving to serve in Romania with a team from his church. My task has been researching for my dissertation - 'Does faith help or hinder HIV/AIDS prevention? - Uganda - A Case-Study'.

I have interviewed and spoken to a lot of very interesting people, from WHO representatives, the Muslim co-ordinator of HIV/AIDS policy, Medsin San Frontiers workers and youth workers involved in HIV/AIDS prevention. Still hoping to meet World Bank, Family Planning and UNAIDS by end of week - we shall see. People have been so good about agreeing to talk to me, and I have been very fortunate.

Being by myself here, I have had lots of random adventures. Having to make my own way round Kampala, I have been using the motorbikes or boda bodas, where you hitch a ride on the back of said bike for a small fee. Business oppurtunity for Belfast? Anyway, I have learnt a lot of things from these daily dances with death, for example, never get on a motorbike that has no wing mirrors or speedometer. Especially when the driver seems to get a twisted satisfaction of playing chicken with buses (and fortunately winning). Also never let a driver take you on 'shortcuts' down 'roads' that have bumps that make you wonder if you are ever going to be able to sit down again!

Biggest lesson? Don't be fooled by helmets. I approached a driver with a helmet, thinking that surely this guy is a pro? Well in a way he was. The helmet seemed to give him the incentive to attempt speeds I did not know, nor wanted to know, were possible for motorbikes. Fortunately his attempt at actually becoming airbourne failed and I got back to Fields of Life where I am staying in at least a semblance of one piece!

One thing to be said for this all is your prayer life improves immensely. When you are staring at the bonnet of an incoming car your prayers become much more serious and desperate!!!!!

Team Love for Life arrives tomorrow, and I am looking forward to seeing everyone. It has been good here, but as I have been on my own I have not really had a chance to talk to anyone except those I have been interviewing, so after a week of intense discussion of HIV/AIDS prevention, abstinence, condoms, sero-status and the role of faith in HIV/AIDS prevention, I will be glad to talk about other things!

I am especially looking forward to seeing my family, and I'm not going to deny I have missed them. It has been a while and it will be good to see all of them again. I am gutted Charlene is not going to be well enough to come, but I know that she will get another chance, and before very long she will be in Uganda again, and the poor country won't know what hit it! Shes a legend, and I am looking forward to seeing her when I get home. Continue to pray for her, especially as it must be hard for her not seeing me for so long (messing Charlene :-) ).

In terms of the interviews I made the mistake of bringing only 6 thirty minute tapes, and as some of the interviews have been close to an hour, I have been operating like a machine, trying to transcribe fast enough to keep going with the interviews. Bad call of mine with that one!

So now you are up to date. As for what has gone before, my head is still all over the place in regards to Rwanda and the Congo (see previous posts). I still trying to think through everything.

I guess one thing I am learning is that God is good. And He is at work, even when I refuse to see it or acknowledge Him. He knows what He is doing, even when everything looks a broken mess to us.

When I look at situations that appear desolate and hopeless I confess I find it hard to see. But one thing I do know is that our God is a God who heals, and who delights in taking broken lives and broken situations, and making a beautiful new creation. Sometimes the most beautiful things have to be broken first.

I am also acutely aware that we are not the answer - God is. Being honest, how could we ever heal a heart, restore a relationship, work in a situation or help a community? But God does. He is already ministering in these situations long before we appear on the scene, but by His Grace, He desires to use us.

I am aware I am rambling and repeating obvious truths, so I will say what I want to say and ask you to pray, pray for the people like Jaqueline, Davos, Zacchaeus and others I have mentioned before in previous posts.

We have to pray about such things. For one thing it can put things into perspective. I am fully aware that too much of my time I spend looking inwardly and getting down about things that really don't matter in the grand scheme of things. And my prayers can become so self-absorbed. But the world is bigger than the altar of 'I', and by praying for people and situations like this we can remember that, and gather some proper perspective, as well as bein to see things as He does. We all have knowledge of people and situations, whether it is a friend who feels overwhelmed and lost, a starving child in Africa, a Romanian driven out of their home or a co-worker who does not yet know Him, and by praying for them we can begin to look towards the things that matter. The change in our lives can begin even in what our hearts look at when we pray.

Also, how can we honestly say we love our brothers and sisters as we love ourselves, if we do not pray for them? I damn myself with many of these words, but I believe that there are sometimes certain things that are true regardless of our feeble attempts at living them.

God is big. And God is good. Even though I struggle and have struggled over the last month at times to see His Hand at work, it remains true that His Justice will flow like rivers, His Mercy will minister to the nations, His Love will light up the world and at His Name every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is LORD. All in His time, but He is at work. It will come to pass.

I have so much to learn. I need to trust Him like many of the people I have met do. And I need to remember most of all this story is not about me. God is working, and perhaps we have to wake up, open our eyes, cast off our bedclothes and ask and look to see what He is doing already, draw alongside Him and prepare to become the supporting characters in His Story. And that is when we come alive.

So I guess I am just asking for prayer. For prayer for the situations that have been laid on our hearts or minds. Even when we don't feel like praying for them.

So that is me, I bid you adiou (is that how it is spelt?). What shall follow is the story of Love for Life this summer (as long as someone actually is going to do the writing??!!). Thank you for your prayers, you are legends. Will see ye soon!

To finish, a quote from Philip Yancey, "God is already everywhere, no matter how dark the situation, how dark the life or how dark the path. Our job is simply to make Him more visible wherever and whenever we go." To serve Him right where we are, in everything we do, making the invisible visible and showing His Light in the darkness. It will come to pass.