Something I have wanted to do...

Today I have uploaded a video to YouTube. It is something I was looking forward to doing since the day that we made the video. It is the footage of my first drive in Uganda. It was particulalry exciting because it was a drive through the bush from New Hope Childrens Centre to the Clays house 3km away, where the 5 girls were staying. What made this drive fun was the road the context and the fact that it had just rained VERY hard!! Watch and enjoy!

Also I have uploaded a selection of photos to Flickr. You can see the album here:

Uganda 2007

Facebook folk can see them here Uganda 2007, and Anna's photos can be seen here New Hope Uganda part 1 and here New Hope Uganda part 2, and Emily's Photos can be see here: Uganda and here Uganda 2

UPDATE:
You will be pleased to hear than Leanne is due to be discharged from hospital after lunch today. Everyone is looking forard to having her home!

Oh, and I liked these giraffes too!

We're Home! eesh!

Ok, so we made it home!
i thought i'd just give a quick update of what went on after Mark's blog on the wednesday :)
Well, wednesday was so lovely for us girls - going to see Leanne was fantastic, because the 5 of us together had bonded so much, and we felt completely wrong with just 4 of us, even if it made the vocal harmonies easier...
Leanne seemed in really good spirits, despite the constant jibes at how long it took her to walk to the toilet, especially when we were desperate to get there! then spending the evening together just laughing about everything we'd missed out on together (on her part and ours) was fantastic, and although tearful at the end, was a fbrilliant way to leave her :)
On the thursday, Judith was great and took us to the Port Bell textile market, which was like a little heaven on earth for me! i love all the material and stuff, and was revelling in how cheap it was (like 3000 shillings a metre - that's like £1!!!) for such lovely stuff! so i spent myself happy there, and we hadn't even gotten to the craft market yet!
After lunch, and a lovely splash about in the pool with the kids (i only have pics of them in the pool though...didn't want to risk taking the camera in, and wasn't smart enough to get anyone to take a pic for me while i was in there...duh!) we went to a market in Kampala, which was GORGEOUS! i adored it, and really appreciated the chance for some retail therapy...especially as i was buying on leanne's behalf as well as mine (yep, spending someone else's money really is as fun as it sounds ;) hehe leanne, i hope i did a good job for you :p). The bartering (sp?!) was something which i didn't quite grasp until about half way through, but after some serious example setting by miss white, who would only buy for like half price, i managed to get the hang of it :D great times.
The final evening together as a team was spent at the Pavement Sizzles and Flames restaurant, which was lovely, even though the chicken was rank :) And yes, Mark isn't smiling in the picture...but this is the best of 2, in the other one his eyes are closed. never mind *sighs*

The final morning, although slightly interrupted by a quick trip to the doctor with asher, who just needed calpol and a bit of mum love, was great, and spent sunning it up by the "pool" (which was tiddly, but great fun!) and then we left during the afternoon, trekking our way through the jam packed city centre to Entebbe, where we queued for what seemed like an eternity to get the plane.

and the rest, as they say, is History. The journey's were as smooth as, and ran without a hitch. The boys behaved like GOLD in Dubai, and we all got some sleep, pretty much, and it was all very God-controlled, which is what we like to see.

Reflecting at church was good for me today, cos it kinda got it all rooted in my head, and i'm so happy that iw as a part of the team and got to experience what i did.

Mark and Maddy - thankyou for adapting your ways for an all-girl team, and taking us and leading us, we all appreciate it :)
Steve and Kathryn - you are the lovliest people alive, and you had a crazy household for the time we were there! thanks for putting up with us, and always being gracious and hilarious, in equal measure, and making us feel so at home.
Mica - hope you remember your 18th, it was weird for sure! it was awesome to spend all that time with you this hol...and thankyou for being such an angel when i was sick, i appreciate it big-style.
Anna - it was ace to get to know you more while we were away, it's going to be weird not being around you at all for such a long time now!
Leanny - we missed you so much when you were ill and away! i can't wait to come see you (and give you your PJ's back! hehe!) i'm so glad you're getting better, you had us a bit worried there for a while.
Catherine - you really are too hilarious for words, and i love you so much!

Right, it's awesome to be home, i'm kinda in that torn stage where i miss everything but am so glad to have warm water and my family at the same time! :)
I hope you have all enjoyed the blogging, and thanks for the comments and stuff, it's been great that you've all taken an interest :)

but for now, i'm b-logging off,
Em
xxx

Together Again

It is great to be able to see the blog again as I have not seen it since last weekend. Thank you so much for all your prayers it is fair to say that they were holding us all the way home.

Leanne is now safely reunited with her family albeit in a hospital in London. She is still awaiting a diagnosis but is feeling a little stronger each day. She is hoping to be back in Northampton as soon as possible and is persistently reminding the staff of this fact!!

Thanks to all the girls for ensuring the safe return of the boys. It feels like we have been apart for ages and seeing you all round the corner at the airport was incredibly heartwarming. Reflecting on our trip is a little different than I might have expected. Although I think we have all grown through the experience and found God in ways we didn't know we needed too.

For those of you who have followed the blog and would like to hear more the team will be giving a more full account of the trip at the parklands gathering tomorrow @ 10:30am you are all welcome if you can make it.

Thanks again all for bringing the boys back safely and don't forget to keep taking your malaria tablets. Have you drunk tap water yet and enjoyed a bath????

Steve and Kathryn if you read then this know yourselves dearly loved and sorely missed by me, thank you for everything. I think a long phonecall may be in order soon Kathryn just to catch up on the rest of all that happened together if you are up to it. Thanks for your pressie and especially the note (right back at you babe).

love Maddy xXx

Kampala

Yesterday we all came to Kampala. We stopped off at Red Chilli, where we will be staying, to drop of bags then came to see Maddy and Leanne. They have been staying with a wonderful lady called Judith. Looking at her visitors book she is a common stop-off point for many a British visitor. In fact my parents have stayed with her a number of times. Her help has been invaluable. Not only in offering the use of her fantastic house, but also because she seems to always know someone who can sort what needs sorting.

Last night Maddy and I went shopping for some souvenirs and for a take away for the team altogether at Judith's house. Other than some terrible traffic delaying the food, it was a great evening and it was so great to have the team back together. Clearly the girls had missed each other, and it brought a smile to my face to see everyone excitedly bring Leanne up to speed so she didn't feel like she had missed out too much.

There was a tearful goodbye when it was time for them to return to Red Chilli. The Norridges stayed and Judith's house and I am now sitting at her computer.

Maddy has just called from the BA business lounge at the airport - we finally got confirmation last night that they were booked on the BA flight home this morning. They get a nice business class seat home and a chauffeur-driven car back to the house. [boy are we glad we took out good insurance!!].

Once Judith gets back from the airport, we'll [the remaining Norridges] head over to Red Chilli ourselves. Judith flys a fair bit and so knows the BA staff. She is planning stay with Maddy and Leanne as long as she can.

Today we will shop and bit and relax a bit, and generally get ready for our flight with leaves Friday afternoon. Maddy and Leanne fly at 8 this morning and get in around 4 this afternoon. We leave around 4 on Friday afternoon and get in around midday on Saturday!!

There are loads of other really great stuff to blog and tell about. But there has been so much going on on both fronts that there hasn't been chance!! Sorry! I will try to encourage more blogging and some post trip reflections, so there is life in the old blog yet!

Prayers would be appreciated

The last couple of days have been a little challenging. Leanne has had some health problems. The hospital down the road from here were great, but sent her on to a specialist in Kampala [he's Japanese!]. Maddy, Katherine Brown and her are there now, and have stayed there over night [the journey is only 60 miles but there are so many potholes it is not a pleasant journey and can take over 2 hours]. The medical support has been brilliant, a good number of tests have been done, which have all come back negative. Ugandans first reaction to any illness is that it is Malaria [you have a cut on your toe? better test for malaria!] - so you will be pleased to know she doesn't she definitely doesn't have that! Still she is not fully fit and we all would appreciate prayers. We are not sure how it will affect the end of the trip, as we may have to adjust plans for returning Leanne. Not quite the end of the trip we had planned!

Leanne spoke to her parents last night, and that cheered her up a fair bit :o).

Sorry this is really vague, but i am not really the medical one! As you can imagine Maddy has come into her element and she has been impressed with the care they have received [Leanne think its beats the General!].

UPDATE:

Rather than transport Leanne back up here in order to go back down again the next day or so, we have decided to leave Maddy and Leanne in Kampala for another night, and for the team to leave New Hope a day early to be with them. Katherine is not back yet because her and Maddy have been working hard to communicate with the insurance company to ensure all costs are covered. For some reason emails and faxes have not been working!? Part of the insurance company enquiry is to consider the doctors suggestion that our laborious journey home with 8 hours at Dubai airport would not be the best for Leanne. There is a direct BA flight on certain days of the week. The policy says it covers her flight back plus a companion. Will update more later. Mark.

A quickie from Reuben

Hi everybody!

Hey! It's Reuben!

Hope you are all having a great time. we've just been to devotions and Emily did a game ["challenge Emily"] where you have to move around the room blindfolded and get to the end pick up a pen out of flour [and then go outside and wash your mouth!]. Then the girls taught a song to them, and that was really fun [i was up there with them]. Then daddy did a talk. The team are doing 3 of these devotions, and this was the second one.

We're all having a good time!

Bye!

Back by popular demand...

I have heard that people appreciated the techie blog on the internet provision, so I thought I would add to the series by describing the water provision.

In our understanding of the word I guess there is not really running water here. There are two places where water is supplied from. The first is for the the site as a whole. Water is pumped from a bore hole down into the valley to the highest point on the site. Here it is stored in a water house where it is processed and treated. There is a constant flow of kids to and from this water house with the ubiquitous Ugandan yellow containers [many which leak!] taking the clean water back to their family groups. This water is also used by the Browns [although they feed into the local economy by getting someone to collect it for them!]. They use it for drinking and cooking with - although not as it is. They poor it into a chalk based filter system before they drink it. This is a little annoying as the tape on the filter keeps breaking and the replacement have to come from Kampala - a challenging drive away. I think 3 have broken since I have been here.

The second source of water is what Steve likes to call 'harvesting rainwater'. The water that comes down the drainpipes is directed into a cistern under the veranda. The cistern is around 25,000 litres [we think]. All the family groups have one of these, but only a small proportion of them work. This is what Community Church Northampton gave money to fix when the Browns first moved out here. Those family groups with a working cistern access the water by dropping a bucket down through an access hatch. The Browns are have it a little more sophisticated. They have an electric pump that pumps the water to a tank on a tower by the side of the house. The taps, shower and toilet in the house are fed by this tank. Hence the water is only 'hot' if the sun has been particularly strong that day!! The other complication here however is that electric power is intermittent. Hence we have had a number of times in our stay the situation where the tank on the tower is empty and there is no power for the electric pump to refill it. Hence then no shower, no toilet flushing, nothing in the taps. Added to this [and this one is for Mark Hill to sort] when this happens the shower refuses to work for a while because of an airlock in the system somewhere!!

So there you are, does that class as 'running water'?

A day with Jack

[this is me and a Jack Fruit! I am holding about a half of a third (a sixth, dad says)]

Hi everybody

It’s me jack

This morning when we woke up we had toast with jam and butter – it didn’t come out of a toaster, but it came out of the frying pan! This is because there was no electricity at the time, and the grill runs on electricity, so we have to run on gas.

Then I went on my bike with Joel, that was fun, and then we stopped at the church and did some jumps off the ramp, where you come in with pushchairs. Then we dodged the benches, then came home!

When we came back, we played with the chameleon, and the colours were black, orange and yellow.

After having rice and beans for lunch (which was made by Gertrude, who works for Steve and Kathryn), we went outside and watched the chameleon climb, and Jeremiah came to play and we played on the Tarzan swings! Then we played a ‘cops and robbers’ sort of game – I was the robber! (And I nicked Jeremiah’s bike!!!) Ibra, Stuart, another Jeremiah, Mugabe and Kisa (pronounced cheesah) played volleyball, and played on the bikes.

For dinner, we had sausage casserole (“which was awesome” – Steve), cooked by Steve... it was Absolutely Excellenté! We just listened to Percy the Park-keeper, and people have been having baths which are in washing up tubs. But I am going to have a shower.

That’s all from me! Goodbye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Roar, Prrump, Munch.

Alriiiight. Safari was brill-yant. And we even saw a lion! Hunington (our driver) was craaazy and drove OFF-ROAD so that I (sat on the back roof grill thing) was literally no more than 10 feet away!!! It was mad good. She was only resting though, and didn't seem to be 'bovered' by our shrill shrieks of wonder and excitement when we saw her, or by the roar of our van's tired engine!

One of the most beautiful, gentle looking creatures we saw were the elephants, the sheer size of them was quite overwhelming, though they looked so peaceful we weren't scared! Bit disappointed we didn't get to hear them trumpet (and i mean with their trunks, not the other end...) though!

Funniest animals were, without doubt the knobbly-kneed giraffes! We saw quite a lot, but one time we drove past a herd (is that the right word when referring to giraffes?) right near the road, and one of the younger ones ran right in front of the van (most of us were still dangling from the roof) and almost fell over itself in a desperate attempt to get to the rest of the group before we passed. Smashing!

A few illnesses occurred during the few days - Em suffered the most (undoubtedly, poor thing), with sickness starting the first night, though Mica also suffered considering she stayed up all night with her. I think she still managed to see most of the animals though, only from the front seat in between drifts of sleep! Reuben also woke up the second night with sickness, though we're pretty sure it was just sun-stroke, because, thankfully, it didn't last long.

We arrived home on Saturday, late afternoon, to the joyful choruses of the Ugandan church choir practicing for church this morning, but I got the impression that I was really the only one in the mood for dancing after the 6-and-a-bit-hour journey! But you know me... always in the mood for dancing :)

I'll let Meesh tell you about today....
Auf Wiedersehen mon amie... 6 days mum.. I bet you're WELL excited (underberstandably).

We're back!

Hi everybody

We have just come back from our safari. We saw an amazing elephant that walked right in front of our car! It was REALLY cool! We also saw a really cool giraffe that was running. It looked funny! The best bit was when we saw a lion. We got really close, it was lying down in the shade.

I stayed in a Banda with Catherine and Anna. Jack and Leanne stayed in a tent. On the last night I was sick and so I moved to mum and dad’s tent.

Uganda is a really fun place to stay. Amazing things happen, like Robert found a Chameleon for me today for when I got back and now it is sitting on my top turning orange.

Bye!

Reuben

Uganda makes my lips dry...

We're off on Safari!!!

Right now, there's a little bit of questioning over where we're actually going to stay! unfortunately there was a bit of a booking mix-up, so instead of all staying in cottages, there are 2 of them, and 3 tents booked! ARGH! BUT, we have been praying, and Steve is on the phone, and we're hoping for an upgrade. We've all prayed really hard, and have complete faith that God is going to intervene to make this the nicest experience possible.

But anyways, we will be off shortly, our driver is on the way, so the blog will be quiet until about saturday. We will let you all know what happens with the accommodation, and tell you all the animals we've seen and how much fun we are bound to have had! I'm still very excited, even though it might end up being a camping holiday instead of a hotel break ;)

This week has been great so far - there have been emotional moments, and it's all quite hard to take in, but meeting all these people and actually making friends with them and building relationally with them has been fantastic. We dug for kasava (sp?!), which is like a root staple food, yesterday, which was really good fun, even though Reuben hoe'd his toe! oops! he is all good though :)

Right, we will be off now. i'm missing family and friends quite a lot, even though i'm having a great time here, so know that i'm thinking about you all while i'm here, and can't wait to have a chat with you all when i get back.

Much love, Em xxx

PS. we have had an update - there is no change with the accommodation, so as far as we know, most of us will be camping :s
pray that we will be ok, and that we'll be protected from the bugs!
PPS - oh, and Uganda makes my lips dry. dunno why. it just does. Praise God for vaseline...

And They Call it Kiddy Love

Today was a wonderful experience, Catherine and I went to the baby house and the others were gardening…worked out to be the perfect combo as both me and Catherine go attacked by biting ants the morning before whilst helping the Jonathon family do some spreading and slashing.

Whilst at the baby house we helped bathe the children and dry and clothe them. It sounds boring but believe me its not – the children are so funny and have wonderful personalities. Going to the baby house today meant that we had an extra special experience we took seven children to have their HIV tests. The trip to Kiwoko hospital took around 2 hours and with seven children and immense heat it was a very difficult (but enjoyable ) experience. Whilst at the hospital we were given a leaflet which talked about HIV in Uganda and it alos said that 60-70% of people passing through Kiwoko hospital are HIV positive.

The weather today is amazing…it’s mega hot and sunny but it is still thundering! At around 5 o’clock we have devotions with our family groups…luckily we’re not eating with them today as their food is very different and my (and everyone elses) taste buds do not agree with it!

Tonight is our last night with the lovely Clay’s. It’s a bit disappointing but they are going to Kenya so we wish them the very best! I will miss the Clay family but not their resident frog! It has given me nightmares since we first arrived but the fears have lessened as Raych prayed for both me and Mica.

Tomorrow we are setting off for a six hour drive to Murchisson Falls to go on safari.

Just to let everyone know that I am fine, had a bit of a bad day yesterday, but today has been fabulous and I have loved every minute of it.

Love to you all

Leanne xXx

P.S. Late addition news is that all 7 children tested today for HIV were found to be clear. Great, amazing, news!

P.P.S. Sorry this is on Mark's name, it really is from Leanne!

For you techies out there

There may be a couple of you out there wondering how we are managing this blogging business from the middle of nowhere in Uganda. If in doubt of its remoteness see the blog here.


The answer is in the picture above. This is a new addition installed by an American doctor who was so appalled by the communications here. He went away researched what was required and raised the $80000 required to install it. What you can see is a satellite dish, at an angle of 12 degrees (seems low doesn't it!), they had to chop down a few trees to give a clear line of sight. Also you can see two massive solar panels to power the system. What you can't see are the 32 massive batteries in a bunker to keep it all running in any conditions. Nor can you see the equipment in the building to manage it and the network. As you can imagine the actual computer equipment required to keep it running is not that great, it is the power and connection that are the issues. Oh and also you can see half of the wifi mast that sends the signal across the site. We are a few hundred metres away and have a signal strength today of 18Mbps. Normally it is around 5.5Mbps.

So there you go and now you know!! It is not just a matter of calling a broadband company. Nothing is that simple here!!

Gardening with a Vengeance

Okay so here goes. Today has been the most eventful day all round except for Catherine who has spent the whole day having braids. She actually managed to read an entire book whilst chilling out!! Well not quite the whole day, she did have a rather eventful encounter with ants while gardening with the Jonathon family group this morning. Gardening was pretty challenging all round today. Leanne and Mica virtually came face to face with a frog (those of you who know them will have a clear picture of how that went). Both Leanne and Catherine separately encountered more biting black ants than any of you can imagine. Before gardening became traumatic Catherine and I had good fun racing with wheelbarrows loaded high with maize for mulching much to the delight of the children we were working with.

Today has also included a trip to visit Marion to help send letters to those who sponsor children from all across the world. Marion has been here for nearly 9 years now and has no plans to return home at present. It was very interesting to hear about the New Hope that she came to. There was no electricity or running water when she arrived and getting an urgent message home meant driving the arduous route to Kampala taking approximately 3 hours in order to send a fax!!!

This afternoon we visited various family groups. The Norridge family went on mass to the Calvary family devotions. We were able to join in the singing until they sang in Lugandan then it became somewhat tricky. The boys were quite impressed with the drums and there was a loud cheer afterwards when Jack suggested we could give them a football so they could take part in a tournament tomorrow - ahh! There was a very sobering moment when the family father shared with the family that there were no more beans in the store and this would mean that in order not to miss the season they would need to plant the beans they would normally eat. It is very difficult to get past what you are missing from your luxurious life and grasp how life really is here. Please continue to pray for us all as we deal with our responses to different and sometimes difficult situations.

We have been well cared for again by Steve and Kathryn and I think it is very safe to say the girls were greatly relieved to be eating potatoes and meatballs here than pocho and beans with the families.

Monday, 20 August 2007 (yes I know it’s Tues but there were complications…)

We were up today the earliest we have been since the start of the trip. Oh joy. Stevie B had told us the night before that he would be there to pick us up at 6:45am in preparation for our ‘garden’ work… We all rose at around 6:43am… cutting it a little close, but nevertheless, we were ready. Steve, however, didn’t arrive until 7:10am, much to our annoyance… proof that teenagers aren’t so lazy. 

The work in the FIELDS [note: NOT garden… thanks for an accurate description Mark] was, all in all, really good fun. Spent a few hours ‘slashing’ (naturally, we Brits found that amusing) and picking and checking ground nuts, which was… interesting. The Ugandans seem to take the NO FEAR approach with the slashers… and almost chopped Leanne to pieces until she realised in the nick of time that she was, maybe, a ‘little’ too close! Picking the ground nuts was pretty tedious, but it sure made me realise just how much effort and dedication their lives involve. Even for things that we wouldn’t know we were taking for granted, such a buying a packet of nuts (not that I ever buy nuts, cos I don’t like them, but you know what I mean…). I’ve never really given a proper thought to just how much (boring) work it takes to provide it! And also, that at first, we were all a bit give-or-take with how much effort we put into the work, but I thought – “if we don’t do this properly… that means they’re actually going to have less food.” I know it sounds obvious, but to me, I hadn’t really thought about that. Maybe because I’ve never had a task that will have real consequences on people other than myself if I don’t do it as best as I can, but this one reeeeally did. And that made me feel quite ashamed of my attitude towards it, and also towards the tasks I approach when I’m back home. Although I doubt any of those will really make so much of a difference… but you never know.

During the afternoon, we girls got to spend some time with the Clays, which was great. It was lovely to get to know them more, especially Rach and Jed (Rach and Dave’s 4 year old son, who’s a total cheeky tinker, but great). Then we walked back to the Brown’s, to take a trip to Luwero market, which was busy, wet (it had just rained… a lot) and quite funny. Most of our pairs were followed round by bunches of Ugandan children, and referred to as “Muzungu” constantly. Mica even got called over the speaker phone that was running from a big pick-up truck parked in the middle of the market!

Almost as soon as we got back, we were whisked off to family groups (Em and I went to Calvary family, Mica, Leanne and Catherine went to Ebenezer family), to join them for dinner and devotions. Em and I ended up joining a tournament of a game almost identical to ‘Rummy’ (which I LOVE) and I won! Well, the first game… but I don’t feel the need to go into details further than that…! For dinner we all ate (or tried to) posho and beans. Posho is basically their staple food, they eat it with everything, it tastes of nothing, and has a certain texture that is sure to make you want to vomit. Yummy. Em and I were so slow that they eventually asked us if we were finished because they needed to get on with devotions! We were very grateful for that.
‘Uncle’ Jeremy (all adults are referred to either aunt or uncle here at New Hope) lead devotions, which was quite funny, as most of the kids were totally unresponsive, except for Robert (16) who took to answering every one of Uncle Jeremy’s questions with either “God” or “Jesus”. Haha.

A really nice boy called Moses (who has an incredible singing voice) walked us back to the Brown’s, which we thought was really kind of him, as we couldn’t see a thing by this point (when it’s dark… boy, is it dark)… But a few minutes after we returned, Mica, Leanne and Catherine were paraded home by their WHOLE family group, singing and dancing the calypso (or again… trying to)! Quite outdone!

Anyway, I have to get off to the baby house (alllrrriiiiight), so I best be off.

Love to my family (if any of you read this, I’m not sure) and friends (again, I’m not sure who reads this)… I don’t really miss you, but that’s just cos it’s brill here… so be consoled 

God bless you… every one.

That'll be me poughing with Oxen...

After a bit of a wait for the rainstorm to pass at 8am on Saturday morning i got the "chance of a lifetime"?! Francis gave me the chance to plough a couple of furrows in Calvary family's 'garden'. Francis is a fellow Man Utd supporter so we kinda clicked, as is Silva, who took the photos for me.

He told me it was just like riding a bike, just a matter of balance. I seemed to make hard work of it compared to him in his wellies, but he said i was good. i think he says that to everyone, but i'll take a compliment wherever i can find it!

My other first was driving the car to go and pick up the girls from the Clays. They are staying about a mile off site with a family from Oxford. The road is a real adventure, multiplied somewhat by the wetness of the ground. The girls have video'd it, you have got to see it. It is a dirt track at best and passes a number of houses in the bush.


I am so impressed with how the girls are handling themselves and all the challenges they are being faced with. They are getting on amazingly well, and are keen to get stuck in at every opportunity. They are definitely a pleasure to have around. I told them at Birmingham airport that I believed that God had handpicked each one of them for the team - and i haven't changed my mind yet ;o).

Oh one last thing, Asher was sick twice last night, and came out with a bizarre rash this morning, he seems fine at the moment. We pray that continues!

That's all from me!!

The Sabbath Rest...??!

We had an early start today. Church begins at 10:30, so in order to ensure that we were all showered and ready on time for an 8:00 breakfast, alarms were set for six. It was yet another late night last night due to torrential rain and frequent bolts of lightning which lit up the whole room! The rain was so loud it sounded as if we were next to the sea or a huge river. I was convinced we were going to flood! Church was not as lively as we expected, but the songs being sung in Ugandan were very cool! They even sang How Great is Our God! The service took a long time, partly because there was interpreter translating everything sentence by sentence! We have now just had a team meeting and were extremely unnerved by the large array of bugs feasting on us! Next is Youth Group at four where about 40 young people from aged 12-20 pile into Steve's and Kathryn's house! We are planning water bombs, relays,making origami frogs and other messy games! Whoever said rest on the Sabbath! Tomorrow is yet another early start...gardening from seven until ten am! Should be interesting...watch this space...

micas birthday

waayy today is my birthday! we got up about nine today tht was good! we came down to the browns house and it was all decorated with balloons and banners! looked v gud! umm thn i got prezzies and cards tht was reali nice! we also had reali nice weather this mornin was wel hot! we decided to take a trip down to the baby unit which was amazin i didnt want to let the children go!! i was also walking round with 2 giant badges and 2 small badges look very strange but the children liked the shinyness! then we had lunch together and we then went down to kiwoko on boda bodas!!(motorbikes) this was very good but started to chuck it down and we all got soaked! me and katherine shared one and nearly fell off a couple ov times was very funi! we both agree tht we dont think tht the boda bodas were made for ppl with giant bums like us! he he we have jus got bk from our trip down to towwn everyone was linin up to look at us! we must have looked very weird! now thy are cookin birthday tea! hope evryone is good bk home were havin an amazin tyme! (still not likin the frogs or the spiders! or lizard things its so gross)

anyway b bk soon bye love from all to all xxxx

The Journey and arrival...

wow, what an eventful couple of days!
We set out on wednesday morning just after 10 to Birmingham airport - flying was a pretty scary thing for me, having no experience of it! but wow, that was fun! me and jack sat and watched the ground disappearing below us, then settled down to the great array of films available for us! it was so cooool! :D i caught up on the films i hadn't seen but wanted to (Shrek 3 and Becoming Jane), and watched a good bit of Scrubs while having dinner (meh, it's aeroplane food!). it took my mind off the chicken anyway :p
Then the stop over in Dubai went on FOREVER!! we had about 8 hours...just imagine a GIANT supermarket, with like the moving walkway things and seats either side...we had to try and sleep there! haha! it was very comical, but sleeping people lined the pathways. trying to sleep with *bing bong*Emirates flight 291 to Singapore, boarding...*bing bong* every 5 minutes is not an easy thing though! so subsequently, yesterday we were SO shattered, all of us, including Leanne - even though she slept pretty much the WHOLE time! lucky so and so.
The second flight, from Dubai to Entebbe, was not quite as nice, as the seats were less comfortable, the films weren't as good and we were all so tired it was a bit weird. Also, the descent was V weird, and quite bumpy, but we survived! So all in all, it went ok, and pretty much on time, and we got through the flying part of the trip.

Arriving at Entebbe airport was really exciting, and Steve and Joel came in one car to pick us up, and Dan came a little while later (because we obviously couldn't all fit into one car!). Maddy and the boys went with Steve one way, and us girls went to Kampala to change our money with Dan. This was highly eventful! we tried the first place and they wouldn't change English money, and the second place was closed...the only way we could get to the third place in time before it closed was to get on the motorbikes which weaved through the traffic!!! So we all mounted a motorbike and careered through Kampala and back again! it was amazing fun, but slightly unnerving because the concept of stopping distances goes completely out the window! and no helmets either! but again, very good survival rate ;)
We finally arrived at Kasana quite late, because traffic has been pretty tragic, but the place was beautiful to look at, and we were all excited (and desperate for the loo) on arrival. and very tired.
So now, having slept, here we are! we've just had a properly tropical rainstorm, which was pretty cool, and the boys have been running around with HUGE smiles on their faces! so it's all good. all good.

Oh, and i got my As results on arrival, via email, too. Good Stuff :)
Anyway, lots to do today, so i'm sure there'll be another update soon! much love from us all here, Em x

Tomorrow...

Now this is getting serious. Anna has arrived from up north; Jack, Reuben and Asher have returned from grandparents in Oxford [and are TOTALLY hyper]; suitcases cover the floor of our lounge and I have just checked us all in for the flight tomorrow on-line.

I think, maybe possibly we are going VERY soon.

There must be something I have forgotten ... ah, books!!

For those who don't know here's the plan:

• Gather at our house around 9:30am tomorrow
  
• Leave Northampton at around 10:30am
• Arrive at Birmingham Airport in time for flight EK40 at 14:15
• Arrive Dubai airport 00:15 [local time]
• Depart Dubai at 08:25 for Entebbe on flight EK723 [yes, calculate that stop at Dubai!!]
  
• Stop briefly at Addis Ababa
• Arrive Entebbe at 14:45
• Embark on a journey of 3 hours on unknown road quality!

It could be that we are a little tired when we get there...

The compensation is the movies on the flight!! Take a look here: In-Flight Entertainment

Severe weather warnings?

In browsing the Met Office website (as you do! lol, i'm doing research for Biology coursework, honest, i'm not that sad) i see severe weather warnings of wind and rain for Tuesday and Wednesday...
Being the inexperienced traveller that I am, is this going to affect us flying at all?
And do we reckon we can pray it away?

Amen!

Hey guys, thought I'd give a little up date on the back situation...
have slept well for the past 2 nights, since i had my 3rd in the series of treatments, and it's feeling a lot better, though still uncomfortable at times... but praise God that His work is being done!
Thanks for all your prayers and things, it's been much appreciated, and clearly very helpful! Let's not forget the power of prayer and the authority Jesus gave us in the power of His name while we're away!
Can't wait for the next couple of days to pass and I'll be down with you getting even more excited!

Peace with you all in your last minute preparations!

Weather

Ok, what's this about? Looking at the weather forecast it seems that it is cloudy and rain is predicted on everyday for the next 5 days!?!? I guess at least the temperature is up there.

I never thought that I would be praying for good weather in going to Uganda!!

Still, I had a text from Steve Brown who said it is hot and sunny at the moment!

I actually enjoyed shopping today!!

Leanne and I actually had a great time shopping today for bits and bobs for the trip. Just in case anyone reading this needs pritt stick the best place to buy it is Woolworths - 5 sticks for 59p that really is a bargain!!!

We also found lots of little boy type things in Wilkinsons pens, rubber, etc so bought a few just in case.

We had been talking about getting a pressy for the families we are staying with but i cant put that here as they may read this. Suffice to say I will look in tesco tomorrow and if i have no luck Mica i will let you know and you can look in Milton Keynes at the weekend.

By the way please be praying for Anna at the moment because she has a really bad back and is unable to sleep.

I am so excited at times today i have felt like i might explode. I actually packed my clothes already has anyone else started packing yet or is it just me? Mind you i have got to pack for 5!!!!!

Last jabs are done ... for me

We are back after a great week away. It was great weather which was nice - really gets us primed for the equatorial sun... It was cool that Leanne could come along for a bit, gave chance for a little bit a 'bonding' before we go. Anna even stuck her head round the awning a couple of times - notably sometime after midnight ont he last night. We really are gonna have a laugh - i am just a little bit worried what might happen when you place Mica and Anna in the same place for an extended period...

Today i had my last set of jabs. My arms have that dull ache that we all know and love... The thing is that now it is only 9 days until we go! And we have got to get everything properly sorted. I am really hoping and praying that God does some cool stuff in us and with us.

Anyone nervous?!

UH OH!

I'm looking for some reasurrance...am I the only one feeling SLIGHTLY scared about our very VERY close trip to the land of scary frogs?

See what I mean...just look at Fred the frog, look at his hands and tell he isn't thinking of ways to join me in the shower?!

I am feeling just how Zoe the Zebra is feeling on George the Giraffe...scared stiff! (and yes Zoe told me herself-she emailed me!)

As the trip draws nearer my anxiety increases!

HELP ME!

More cash

I don't think I have put anywhere so far about the extra cash we are gonna take out? Maddy mentioned that people have given enough for some playground equipment - a little over £500.

But also the Oakleaf Trust - a trust given into by the various Oakleaf Companies - has also decided to donate a further £1000 towards school equipment, eg reading schemes and the like.

What a privilege to be able to take out a good chunk of cash that will really make a difference!!

£1500, by the way, is about 5,250,000 Ugandan Shillings!! [that's 5 1/4 million!!]

What do we reckon?

Does anyone reckon i'll actually be able to NOT read my new Harry Potter book before we go, and save it for the flight as originally planned?

The liklihood of this happening is seeming to get smaller and smaller as the event gets nearer! lol!

I think i might have to find some other riveting literature to take with me in its place to entertain me on the plane.
Either that, or you guys are going to have to be LOADS of fun for a really long time! ;)

i'm so excited about it now! Only one more jab to go for me now, then we're good to go.

BRING IT ON! :-D

hey guys - thought i'd give a little input into my run-up to the trip considering I live so far from you all, making it a lot harder to share in most of the excitement (and other stuff that happens during the run-up to exciting trips such as this one)...

so, just finished KBC and moved back up north. it's really difficult, not seeing everyone, and suddenly losing a lot of the close support you get so used to. i know God is my first port-of-call, and He's really been coming through for me (again!) and for that i'm really grateful. i know He's preparing me for university (in september), when i will most probably go through difficult times, but even with that in mind... i'm still struggling to keep my attitude positive about leaving! but on the other hand, it has been lovely to spend some quality time with my family.

i can't wait for the trip to Uganda, God's going to do so much in us and through us while we're there, it'll be so amazing. not too sure about the no-sleep approach though mica! love to know if there's anything people want prayer for - give me a little more info about you all, and a focus for the billions of free time i'm finding myself with these days!

blessings to you all and hope to see you at 28:18 :)
anna

hmmmm i wonder...........

do u think i will b able to smuggle ketchup into Uganda? i was thinkin ov buyin it wen we were at the airport! i hope it doesnt explode!! woops

Uganda here we come!!

Woo im wel excited and i cant wait till we finally arrive to our destination! ive jus seen photos ov the massive airport tht we have to stay at! tht looks wkd! a giant game ov hide and seek needs to be played! no sleepin for me!!!! let the party begin!! woo woo

Where is New Hope?

It is very possible that I am the only one really bothered about this, but just in case I am not, I thought I would share my findings.

It took a bit of a random route to find - some geeky gps/waypoint tracking website; an American camera man who happened to go there... I had to sign up and there it gave me the exact coordinates. The centre is around 3 miles WNW of the small village of Kiwoko. I can't seem to find it on Google Maps, but you can on Google Earth.

The coordinates are:
N 0° 51' 08.4600" E 32° 20' 12.8400" [or N 00° 51.141 E 032° 20.214]

Here are the piccies from Google Earth. Click on the image and look out for the yellow peg:




P.S. Yes you are right it is completely in the middle of nowhere...

Special offers

Just thought you should all know Boots own insect repellent with 50%DEET is on buy one get one free at present as is Dioralyte!!!

Post pub quiz musings

WOW. We have just had a great night at Parklands. Loads of people turned up for quiz & fish & chips. It is really amazing to see people taking part in that sort of event. I am amazed and humbled by everyones generosity. Not that the money is for us it is a gift towards playground equipment for the Kassana Childrens Centre. Even so a big thanks to all who gave time, energy and money to make it happen. More gifts were given as the night drew to a close. I thought you all should know that we now have the exact amount required for the playground equipment. God is cool like that don't ya think. So if any of you are worrying about getting money together for the trip (myself included) - don't worry just remember God is cool like he was tonight.

Testing ...

Every blog starts with a test post... this is ours ...