Lake swims and a sick little boy

The last week has just involved settling into the new house. All the tailoring girls love the new place, and I have also been running regular bible studies here at the house as well.
Farouk and I have begun getting everything ready for the agriculture class today, and we have selected three boys who will begin the training next week. All of these boys come from very poor backgrounds and have had hard lives. This program will be able to assist them to get ahead in life, and empower them to run their own small business with all the skills that they will learn. As well as starting them up with some financial help and business guidance once they finish the training program.

I have also been asked by a local pastor to teach the youth in his church, some of which I am good friends with here. When asked what he wanted me to teach he responded with "everything! please teach everything the bible teaches on all aspects of life".
So perhaps that may look like a regular weekly or fortnightly gathering of worship, prayer and teaching in our house with a group of youth.
It would be an exciting but daunting thing to undertake. I feel that perhaps the last few years of constant study of theology, bible reading and hours listening to podcast have helped prepare me for a position to teach those under me with less knowledge. Even though all those hours were a result of a hunger I had in myself to learn more, I realize we all have a responsibility to teach what we learn. This is daunting though as I recognize those who teach have a greater responsibility on them. I have a very big sense of needing to watch myself, to make sure I don't try and teach my opinion, but search genuinely for truth and teach what the Word says, not what I say. It also means constantly feeding myself, every day, every morning. If there is one lesson I have learnt from being away from my home church in Australia, it's that out here, I do need to stand on my own feet and learn to be feeding myself spiritually, not relying completely on a Sunday service to do it for me.

The other day Farouk and I also decided to go for a bike ride and for a swim. It was such a hot day and I was really missing my old Aussie lifestyle of weekly beach missions and swimming, surfing and spearfishing. So we hit the little walking trails on our bikes and gunned it down bush tracks and past sugar cane plantations to find a place to swim in lake Victoria. It was a bit of fun and felt a bit adventurous, especially since Farouk and I decided to push each other and see if we could keep up with each other on the little trails. Farouk took me to a small little fishing village with grass thatched huts, right on the edge of lake Victoria. The local elder said it was fine for me to swim, so I hopped in and had a dip with some of the kids who were already swimming. I do have to admit I was weary of catching some kind of sickness, ear infection or bumping into a crocodile in the rather suspicious looking swamp reeds. I didn't spend too long in the water, as every time I placed my feet down on the ground, these big fish came and started biting at my feet and toes. After thinking about crocodiles it kind of freaked me out.
It didn't entirely stop me though, as today I went with a group of youth to another place and went swimming in the lake again, this time doing front flips and back flips off a half submerged tree. I feel like I need these little getaways sometimes, as I was so used to little adventures down by the coast in Australia, so it feels nice to swim and be a bit adventurous.

I have also been visiting the local children's hospital run by the government here as a young boy my family has been a part of sponsoring, has been very sick. I have been close friends with his family for many years now, and this boy holds a special place in my heart. The problem is he has sickle cell anemia, a very serious disease which effects the red blood cells in the body, and can cause serious infections and organ failures, as well as the painful experience of having blood cells not being able to pass properly through the veins. He caught malaria which set of his sickness, and he has almost died from the disease a number of times in the past. He is such a beautiful bright young boy, but the sickness can cause people to die very young if not treated right.
Of course the government hospitals are your typical 3rd world type, full of dying children, a lack of resources, under payed weary doctors, and corridors and sick rooms that smell like urine, vomit and feces.
The boy almost died last Friday night, but a community of prayers have been with him, and thank God he seems to be getting better. I went and visited him when he was in a lot of pain, in fact the whole hospital was full of his screams of pain due to the red blood cells blocking up his veins. His heart and legs seemed to be in excruciating pain.
I remember when I went to visit him, he grabbed my hand and rested it on his chest and wouldn't let me go. I stayed with him for a while with his parents, but when I went to leave, to go continue the things I had to do that day, he started crying and wouldn't let me go as he begged "uncle Luke don't go". I stayed for a little bit longer, and then a little bit longer, every time he gripped my hand harder as I went to leave. Eventually his parents pried his hand of my wrist as I said good bye. He started crying again as I left the hospital ward.
I still feel guilty about that.
I should of stayed with him longer.
The whole time it gave me that gut sinking feeling, one that I hadn't felt in a while, but I remember well from my first year in Africa when I was exposed to many of these things for the first time. It is almost like as you see and hear more of this kind of stuff you grow accustomed to it. But seeing that little boy in that pain, in a hospital that we in the west wouldn't deem fit for our pets, certainly brought back those feelings.
Many thoughts and emotions can run through my head, including frustration and anger at the government, whose corruption for greed can cause them to overlook the health of the people. To thinking about the consumer driven culture of the west and the greed that is in all of our hearts, while people around us suffer, largely that we are unaware of because of the walls we place up. But for some reason a real sense of my own brokenness sunk in. All the good moral intentions, the right government systems in place, NGO and charity funding, Utopian type visions, all of it can never eradicate the line between love and greed, good and evil, within our own hearts.
I had a very real sense, as sharp as a knife, that we are all terribly hopeless without God. All the internal analyzing of morals, self betterment and improvement will never do. It is an external help outside of ourselves that we as humans need .. It is a Savior that the human race must seek, and that savior will not be ourselves. I believe that Savior has to be our creator.

It has been a week since he has been in hospital, and it does seem he will be coming out soon, but please keep him in your prayers as he continues to go through pain.

Lastly I was able to have an evening of joy as I celebrated the HopeBuilders team farewell dinner. A big pot of pork was cooked up, and an evening of speeches, traditional dances and songs were enjoyed. It was great to catch up with some good friends and I do hope they all enjoy their time here in Uganda.

Pork!

I am looking forward to the next week as I get to introduce Agnes to some more close friends of mine and as we keep preparing for our wedding.

God bless

New home and team visit

The last few days have been spent enjoying my new home! I really do feel blessed in this place, it really is a great place to be living. My room has its own private upstairs balcony overlooking the gardens, where I can sit and read or cook my food.

My room

My balcony and the garden view

It has also felt really nice having the community feel to the house, and sharing a meal together with Farouk, Beatrice and Alice (the young girl staying here while she completes the tailoring course). It’s been designated my job to pray for the meal before we eat, and there is always lots of laughter around the table, especially with the funny facial expressions Farouks little boy makes.

The place is very comfortable and the security is meant to be very good in this area. Seeing as I am living with Farouks family in the same house it just adds to the security of the place as well.

The other night though I was awoken to banging downstairs, as if someone was trying to open the backdoor. I checked my phone and it was 3 AM, so I stood out on my balcony for a while trying to see if I could spot any thieves. After a while I went back to sleep when I couldn’t work out what the strange sound was. In the morning I told Farouk about it and asked if he had heard the banging as well, to which he laughed and told me that on his first night in the house (he moved in a few days earlier then me) he had heard the same thing and spent half an hour sitting in the downstairs room trying to catch a thief. He told me that after a while he checked outside to see that it was only the goats, which are kept in the courtyard, banging their heads against the backdoor.

It is funny how when you move into a new house you need to get used to all the sounds, especially those strange ones that occur at night.

I do have to admit it will be nice not being awoken and kept awake from my night guard at the previous place I was staying. Now I would like to say the night guard Godfry is a fantastic fellow and works very hard at his job. But it was amusing the amount of times I would be awoken by something he was up to.

This includes the following:

Godfry having passionate sounding discussions on his mobile phone outside my bedroom window at 3 in the morning.

Blaring the little radio on his phone, which is kept in his pocket, and waking me up by standing outside my room every half an hour throughout the night.

Placing his larger portable radio, which is blaring upbeat African music, on the veranda right outside my bedroom morning at around 2 in the morning.

Getting a new dog which howls and barks all night and tying it up right outside my bedroom window during the night.

Chopping wood outside my bedroom window at 6 in the morning.

Slashing grass outside my bedroom window at 5.30 in the morning (using a torch because it is still dark)

I always felt safe with him around that’s for sure .. But on many nights I also felt very awake with him around as well haha.

The other day the HopeBuilders team came to visit the Tailoring class. Agnes and I were able to work together to explain what we do at the tailoring class, so all of the team could get a picture of some of the other work HopeBuilders is involved in.
It is really nice to work alongside Agnes, she usually is always the one translating and helping me run things with the team and the girls. Often I feel like we are going to make a good team together, and I really love having her stand by my side as we work together in connecting the two cultures that are present.
The team was able to bless the tailoring class as well. Rob gave a devotion to the girls on going through hard times which was encouraging to many of them (especially since many of them do go through tough times). We also had two of the team members sing a great acoustic version of Hillsong United’s ‘Oceans'. One of our girls Damelee also sang a song of her own to the team.
Afterwards the team got to spend time socializing with the girls and being taught how to use the tailoring machine. Lots of laughter was shared around, and it is always encouraging for the girls to have visitors.
Often people may not realise just how special it is for the girls to get these visitors, and just like last time when the schoolies team came, the girls ended up talking about the experience for the rest of the day.

Otherwise not much other news here. It has been very hot as usual, and yesterday, for the first time in a while, we got some rain (which was nice to stand out in and have a bit of a shower in the heat).

Interestingly when the team was here the other day two electricians came to the house to hassle us, and Farouk had to spend some time dealing with them (which meant he couldn't be present during the teams visit). The electricians work for the power company here and were decked out in their full working gear. They came up to Farouk to tell him that our power has been connected illegally, and the house has an outstanding bill of 3 million (about $1,200). They were threatening to disconnect the wires there and then and remove our power, so Farouk called the owner of this house who said everything had been sorted. Farouk ended up having to give the men 20,000 for them to give us a few days to sort it out.
It was very unusual as the owners of this house have been great to deal with and very thorough and professional. We called the woman we have been dealing with and she said everything should be fine and she has the papers to prove everything is legit.
Later we ended up finding out from our neighbors that the men (who were actually legitimately working for the power company) were also con men, and they were going around telling lies to bully people into paying bribes to keep their power on.
All of it was a lie, the power is connected legally, and there is no outstanding bill.
Apparently they had tried the same tactic on our neighbors, only to be surrounded by the neighbor and his friends and threatened to be beaten.
As we had just moved in we were not really 100% certain on our situation with electricity here, they got the better end of Farouk.

Farouk told me how people who work for the power company’s here can often do that. Corruption really is ingrained right through the country here, starting from the top with the government, right through to local workers of a power company.
Farouk also told me a story of how one time two con men tried to do the same thing to a house full of young men who were a part of a gang. The young men ended up murdering the con men just for trying to trick them into paying a bribe to keep their power on.
The differences in how things are done here can be stark to say the least.

So we are a few dollars poorer, but a little bit wiser. Luckily the owners of the house came straight away to give us all the papers and documents we need in case they come back to try the same thing.

Otherwise this year we are looking forward to more programs being started, and making use of this house to benefit the community and show the love that we feel Jesus has called us to.

God bless

Moving homes!

A busy week as we kick into the new year here. 

There is lots to be done, including moving houses, moving our office, organizing sponsorship, commencing old projects and starting new ones.  It has been very hot here, and they say January is going to be a very dry month, so with all the running around and the heat, by the end of the day you can feel pretty spent.

The HopeBuilders team also arrived here a few days ago, so it has been good seeing people like Damian and Rob from HopeBuilders.
It has also been really special to catch up with my old friend Jeremy. Jeremy and his wife Sarah lived here at the village of hope for six months with me in the same house. During that time we developed a great friendship and I really value those two! Sarah has had to stay back in Australia with their two children, but Jeremy has come all the way from Brisbane to be a part of the team. The last time I say Jeremy was in September 2011 at the very same place that I saw him again for the first time! At the Village of hope. So catching up with him and chatting and even being able to introduce Agnes to him has been great.

I also experienced a bit of a strange medical issue over the last week which has taught me one solid lesson.

Never squeeze a pimple that is not ready.

I did exactly that to one which had settled underneath my chin, and within a day my whole chin had blown up like a balloon due to an obvious infection.
It was really sensitive and was rather large for a few days as I self-medicated on general antibiotics. After a few days I happened to knock it and a little bit of icky stuff came up. I then proceeded to squeeze it as tremendous amounts of pus squirted and popped out. It was truly disgusting and relieving at the same time.

I actually was really tempted to film it, as I kid you not it could have competed with some of the stuff you would find on youtube (think of like a big boil or something under your chin being popped).
Unfortunately (or fortunately) I couldn’t hold my camera and squeeze at the same time so you are just going to have to imagine.

my balloon chin

In other news Farouk and I managed to find a new house to stay in (I should really say Farouk found a new house as he does all the work in looking). This house is awesome and is owned by a very wealthy professor in Kampala.  It is a double story house and all of our YSU projects will be in the downstairs part, while the top will be just for bedrooms. Farouk and his family will be staying there in one room while I stay in another. We will also have 2 spare rooms in case we find potential youth who need a place to stay for a bit, or if we have visitors and guests.
We got so lucky with this house and it feels a bit like God’s working (which we are very thankful for, especially since it had to be found very fast before we needed to move). Apparently the house has been vacant for many many years, with lots of people trying to get it to rent but always being refused. The owners have not wanted to rent it out and don’t need the money, but for some reason when Farouk felt compelled to ask, something made them decide they would let us (and for very very cheap). So after perhaps 30 or more years we are now the first people to move into this big house and we really feel blessed about it.

We really feel like this will be a community house, and we look forward to inviting the outcasts and down low type youths to this place. We hope to use it as a place for training and education, as well as fellowship, prayer, worship and bible study. So Farouk is already living there and I will move in next week on Monday before Ron and Anne return.

It was really nice today as we shifted everything into the house. It took four trips back and forth with the truck to move everything, but unlike when Farouk and I shifted into our first place and were alone, this time we had a whole community we have built helping us.
All the tailoring girls where there sweeping, mopping and shifting things into place. We also had a few of Farouks friends and Agnes and Beatrice helping out. Even my boda boda (motor bike taxi) transport driver Moses took a few hours off work to help us shift heavy things, just because he likes us. It really felt special as everyone chipped in to help. And to think this community of friends has only been built in the last few months and we already feel a bit like family. I think it is a good picture of the things to come with this house and with YSU, as community is something we really want to build and nourish.

On the moving truck

Tailoring girls helping us carry things

Some girls hard at work resting

Our house from the front

Our front garden area

 Lastly, I have just finished completing something I begun near the start of last year (2013), which was to read the entire bible. I really think that it is important for people who profess the faith to actually read the book that they believe in and dig deep into it, asking many questions.

I have often heard people say how the bible contradicts itself and makes no sense. But I wonder if those people have actually read and studied the bible in depth and as a whole, instead of just taking obscure passages out of their context here and there to justify their claims.
I can’t help but feel, after reading the whole book, that it is a beautiful grand story of redemption, liberation and love from God towards broken sinful people. That He makes a path, bright and beautiful, back to Him so that we don't have to experience the wrath and punishment which we all deserve, and that He gives us the grace to now experience new life, full and beautiful. And that the whole book (not just the new testament) quite clearly points towards Jesus (the Son of God, and God Himself) and His atonement for us, dying on the cross, so that He may save us from ourselves, if we make the choice to trust in Him. If people have not read the whole bible before, I really would recommend they do it, with the help of some background information for the context of the different scriptures (go deep!) It really did open my eyes more to the wonder of the faith! What a beautiful book we are blessed with! What a life transforming Word we have had granted to us.

God bless

Adventure

Over the Christmas break Farouk and I decided we felt like we needed to go on an adventure. After seeing so many facebook posts from home of people going away for the holidays, as well as having many people here going away, I started to get the taste for a little bit of a holiday of my own.
All of Youth Support Uganda's projects have finished up for the year, and Agnes has gone away on a short term mission trip, so I was feeling like now would be the perfect chance to go away for a few days, as next year will be very busy.
Farouk has been by himself at his home this Christmas period as Beatrice took their little baby to go and visit her family deep in her village.
So sitting and chatting at the office the other day we decided we should go on a little field trip for a day. What started as maybe a day exploring some scenery turned into 3 days of heading far over to the mountains of Western Uganda.
Western Uganda is a beautiful place and is shadowed by one of Africa's biggest mountain ranges, the Rwenzoris. These mountains divide Uganda from the Congo, and is full of beautiful green scenery, lush jungles, chimps and monkeys, and extinct volcano craters.
It took a full day to reach the west in public transport, and we only had our backpacks and no idea where we would stay.
There are lots of very cheap guest houses here that the locals use, which is basically a room with a bed for about $3.00 a night, so we made use of these places while during the day we took boda bodas deep into the mountains to go walking.
We got to explore a lot, and we found beautiful waterfalls that we went swimming in (even Farouk got to go for a swim, which is very rare) and there were also these awesome bright blue crater lakes that you could swim in.

We also got to see lots of wild life and there were plenty of monkeys running around.
Western Uganda really is a paradise, and we were both awe struck at the beauty of the place. I captured our little adventure on my GoPro and below you will find the link to watch our little adventure.
It was great to have a refreshing time out in creation before the busyness of next year starts. Those of you who know me, know that one of my biggest passions is exploring new places and being among wilderness.
I really get a sense of God's glory in the beauty of creation, and I feel privileged to have been able to go on a little adventure, even if it was only for three days. It was also great to take Farouk along, as he has never really traveled before and was especially taken aback by the waterfalls.
I'll leave you with some words from John Piper about creation which I think is fitting for my time in Western Uganda.

"When I look at this universe,
I am just so moved by what a work of wisdom it is, and what knowledge is displayed.
Everything that God made, speaks!
And since God never speaks in vain, everything ministers, if you have eyes to see it, and ears to hear it.
Everything ministers, because everything speaks God, and God is in ministry.
God heals, God gives hope, God gives happiness, God gives humility, in and through everything that He has made.
And you know that this was made!
This is a painting, not the painter, this is a design, it is not the designer.
And no evolutionary speculation to the contrary can shake loose the deep, primal, intuitive, normal, ordinary perception that this was made!
These stars were made. This little spider who carries air to the bottom of the lake and fills his little nest was made.
It is just amazing how God has put this world together, it should just stun us to silence as we look at how the world fits together.
In wisdom He has made it all"

You can watch me and Farouks adventure here: https://vimeo.com/82946264

A special Christmas party and getting engaged!

Christmas break has been good here! Its very busy on the roads and in the towns, as everyone has been traveling to and from their home villages for Christmas.

So far Farook and I have been searching for a new place to move into since we will have to be leaving our office in a few weeks, and I will be moving from where I have been staying as well. Things look to be ok, and we may have found a very nice double story house with lots of rooms where we will both live and have the YSU outpost as well.

Last Friday was a special day as we had our Christmas breakup party for the tailoring class! We had a big lunch of meat and rice, washed down with some bottles of coke! Farook, Beatrice, Agnes and I all gave little speeches as well to the girls to congratulate them on how they have been doing so far. During last week we designed up some little exams for the girls to do, to see how they are going and where their strengths are. All of them have been improving a lot in the 2 and a half months they have been sewing, so all of us had a lot to encourage them about. Farook had asked me to be the pastor for the day and give a short word, which I was able to prepare and do. It was special to be able to encourage these girls, and to talk about the love of the Father, and to talk about the value they have in Him, even when they feel like they don't amount to much considering some of them have gotten pregnant in the past, only to have their man abandon them. So to tell them that God is faithful to us, even when we are not, was a privilege.
After lunch we also gave out presents of sugar thanks to a donation from a schoolies revolution member! The schoolies girls also left a bunch of clothes, so in typical girly fashion they all squealed with delight as they tried on their new clothes. They also ended up blasting the radio and dancing around in their new skirts and dresses, and it was quite clear there was a lot of joy present. They even managed to get Farook up for a dance (pictured) and then pulled me up as well (not pictured) which caused them all to crack up laughing and to shout and hoot
Looking back on it, it was a really special day, to see so much joy on their faces and to be able to give them simple gifts was beautiful. I remember while eating dinner looking around at everyone present and the different walks of life represented at the table. Here was a table that was full of orphans, outcasts from pregnancies outside of marriage, single mothers, rejects, an ex gang member, former drug and alcohol abusers and those living in abject poverty, all sharing a meal together in fellowship. It felt like a feast that Jesus would be present at, all united together under the love and grace of a Glorious Father.

The other thing that I wanted to share with everyone is also pretty special! Agnes and I have really been enjoying our relationship and getting to know each other more and more as well as becoming best friends. We both entered into this relationship knowing that we were pursuing something long term. So I am happy to let everyone know that Agnes and I are going to be getting married in May next year! We really do love each other a lot and its both a strong desire on our hearts to get married and begin a family. There has been lots of fun (and scary) moments of meeting her pastor and her foster parents and being interrogated to make sure I am a decent enough guy for their lovely daughter haha.
Agnes and I are also really excited about living a life of ministry together, as our core values of faith and mission are aligned together. We know we will be staying in Uganda for a while to come, but we don't know where the future may lead us, and we are happy and willing to leave that one up to God.
We have talked a lot about marriage together, as well as reading books and hearing advice from older people. The picture of marriage that I have in my head is not some hollywood idea of finding 'the perfect one' to complete and fulfill me, to live happily ever after as we ride of into a sunset together. But instead the picture I now have in my mind is that of laying down my life for this woman I love, to serve and love each other regardless of our imperfections, as Christ serves and loves us. To hold strong to each other with Gods strength through the joyful, blissful times and also, if not especially, through the teeth gritting hard times. Ultimately I believe it to be a picture of the love of Jesus for His church, through grace, compassion, sacrifice and suffering (as I said, I have the picture in my head, but I humbly admit that now I am actually going to have to try and live it out haha)
We look forward to our life together, and we look forward to family and friends joining us in May!

                                        

               

                    Me and Aggie (who my parents happily said "outshines me a bit")

So big news and good times over here in Uganda, I have a feeling next year is going to be a very big year .. not just in the changes that will come with marriage, but also in the work God has me doing for YSU.

I want to leave you with a little youtube clip! The video really doesn't have much to do with Africa, but I guess for me, it has everything to do with Africa, as the person that the video is about is the very reason I find myself here.
God bless and enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dhlqPr4eS4&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PLv9GoRaYBpUV4E0t_pchCmYIj-uU_Hoz3

Skype dates, plots of land and relocation issues

It hasn't been a full week yet since my last post, but seeing as it took me almost two weeks for the last one to come out I thought why not write a little post.

                               

Another week in Uganda, full of joy and some frustrations as well, but enjoying it non the less.

I have been having a few visitors from the village of hope who want to come and check their emails and learn some computer skills, and usually when these friends come they spend a bit of time dancing around and playing with all my different types of musical instruments which is fun.

                                

I have also really been enjoying my Friday night devotion night with a few young guys here. I have seen them come along way, and this weekly experience has actually been one of my favorite times of the week. It's great to have young guys come and just be free and share their thoughts and issues and struggles, and then pray with each other. We often watch interesting videos on youtube together, and this last Friday we watched Luio Giglio's "Indescribable" video (check it out if you have some time). Two of the boys mentioned that they struggle reading the bible as they only have New King James versions, so of course I had to run to town the other day and buy some N.I.V bibles so I can give them out as a gift. This version will at least have language that these boys can wrap their heads around and hopefully get a lot of joy out of.

This week I was also able to introduce Agnes to my family over skype! It was really awesome to sit there with everyone as we joked and laughed together. Agnes was really nervous as expected (it usually is scary for everyone the first time they meet 'the parents') but she did great and she felt a lot of love coming from my family, even if it is through the computer. I know it's just a bit hard for my family as they would love to be able to spend more time with her, but due to us living in Africa its obviously a little hard.

Farook and I also purchased a small plot of land for cultivating the other day. We had been keeping an eye on a small plot of land as we are planning an agriculture project that will help young boys in poverty to learn how to start their own little micro finance venture selling crops. Farook has been making money from his own small agriculture business for a while now as well as helping and training other people in the community, so he is the ideal person to run this program. We aim to have the plot of land as a training grounds where young men can learn the basics and make a bit of an income, after which getting a small loan to start their own business to help them get on their feet. Farook will also be a part of guiding them through the first few months of doing their own small business.
The plot of land we got is in the perfect location, and we have been waiting for an opportunity to get land in this place as it has a constant water source. It is in a swampy area as there seems to be a spring that runs out of a rock and has running water all year round. This means crops can be grown even in the dry season when most people on normal plots of land can't grow.
We got really lucky as the man who owned the plot fell into some financial troubles and wanted to sell it, and seeing as he knew Farook, we were the first people he approached. The plot we bought actually has the place where the spring of water runs from. This means we have the constant supply of water, but it also means we have a bit of a responsibility, because the way we channel the water can rather mean sharing water with the neighboring plots of land, or cutting off any water supply to them. Of course there is quite a few plots of land that many people own in the swamp that depend on this water source, and there is always a constant flow (as Farook has been using it for a few years now) so of course we will want to share the water and make sure everyone gets a good chance of growing their crops.

                                 

Farook and I have also had a bit of  an issue and a shake up in regards to where we operate from. We have been having trouble with the housekeeper of where the office is for a while now. He often will tells us one thing, then say another thing a few weeks later, but today we have really been messed around.
While I have been staying at Ron and Anne house, it was always planned that during this time I would organize a place to stay once they came back in January. Farook and Beatrice rent a room in the same house that the YSU office is in, and as there are a few rooms in there I had planned to move into the house as well in January. Farook has been asking the housekeeper for a few months now and he has been reassuring me I could come and stay and rent a room in the house in January. This would be a perfect option as I am in the same house as the office and Farook, and the security is good in this place. I was even going to get a room with a small toilet and bathroom (flushing toilet) which is a big bonus.
But today when Farook went to confirm with the housekeeper, he told us that the owners of the house are coming back in January and want to renovate the house, so the offer is not open anymore ... four weeks before I am meant to be out of the place I am staying in.
So now I am a little stressed as I was supposed to use this time to organize a place to live in, and have not been doing so because it sounded like a guarantee to stay in this house. This afternoon though I went back to talk to Farook and realized things were a little worse then I first thought. It seems that the housekeeper is now saying this also means the YSU office (tailoring class) and Farook and Beatrice also have to go. Never mind that he said it was perfectly fine for us to stay a long time, and we even payed for the January rent. This happens a lot here .. people telling you things and then changing what they originally said (this is why Farook and I really look forward to having a youth center, which is our own place to run all these programs from, instead of having to rent from untrustworthy landlords haha).
So Farook, Beatrice and their little baby are also most likely going to have to find another place to stay in one months time, as well as having to move our whole YSU office.
Interestingly enough when Farook told me, I wasn't even angry or surprised, and when Farook sighed and said "this is Africa", we both cracked up laughing at the silliness of it all.
It's not a guarantee that it will have to happen, but as Farook does not trust this man, and he may very well spring it on us that we have to leave in 2 days time or so, Farook isn't going to risk it and will start looking elsewhere for relocation.
As much as it is a big mess around we both trust in God, and what will be will be.
It really made me think though, as I often don't agree with the prosperity gospel, and will often speak against it .. but in a sense we all have a love of the prosperity gospel in us don't we! Because when something doesn't go your way, it can cause you to get upset and frustrated .. as if we are entitled to having everything go our way when doing Gods work.
But it has been a good reminder that I am not entitled to anything, and everything that I have and has been achieved with YSU is purely from Gods grace, and is most appreciated.
So I will continue to try and be joyful through it all and thank God for all things, and to know and trust that what will be will be.
So your thoughts and prayers would be appreciated.

God bless you all, and much love from Uganda

Holiday Season

Sorry to everyone who is a regular reader, I have been a bit slack and it has been close to two weeks since my last post.
Holidays are on its way, as a result I have found myself having a bit more free time as a lot of my programs are finishing up for the year.
With holidays on I am not doing any classes in the schools, and the Tailoring class will finish up for the month at the end of next week.
One of the film groups have also finished up their film which they are all very super happy about! We are now in discussions on where we want to show the film. The boys want to approach TV stations here, as well as suggesting they play the film in schools to educate youth. This would be a great opportunity to get this group of youths to get up and speak about the film and the things that they learnt about social issues while making it.
The Schoolies team also left last Wednesday morning. It was good to be able to catch up with Johann and Joely Poppenbeck, as well as the team, and say good bye to them. Of course an in depth Theological discussion on the state of the church with Joel P last Sunday afternoon at a cafe in town was in order, always love a good deep talk with that guy!
The Schoolies team also left some dresses and skirts for the girls in the tailoring class, which we are going to hand out next Friday on the Christmas break up. This is going to be a blessed time, and I know the girls will love these new cloths.

We also had an anonymous Schoolies member donate some money towards the tailoring class which has been most appreciated. Farook and I discussed that we will use half of this towards some supplies for the girls for the Christmas break (soap, rice) and a nice meal for them, and then save the rest for an investment in the girls when they finish the course in April next year.

I have also had the chance to meet lots of Agnes family and friends this month, even having a lovely dinner with her foster auntie and uncle (who is the mayor of the local town near here). Her foster family have been so accepting and embracing, and it has been really special to feel welcomed. Her foster Aunt and Uncle in particular seem like amazing people who have spent a lot of their time, energy and money into running a foster home for young people in need.

The last few days here have been very rainy and cold, which has been a bit of a change. I don't mind it but the mud gets a bit annoying sometimes! But I know people are loving the rain for the crops, and people are always giving praise to God for the rain.

Yesterday Farook and I were given a chicken from a close friend of ours. So in African style Farook and I ended the chickens life (sorry chicken) and had a big feast last night with friends. It was a special time, as we laughed and joked and all tried to battle through the mountains of rice on our plates, all while sitting in a leaky room and listening to Ugandan Gospel music blaring through the little radio. What a lovely time of fellowship with my friends here, and while its only little that they have, they always wear a laugh and smile and are not far away from giving thanks to God for everything they hold dear in their lives.

                               

God is here and present as usual. It was great to have one of the schoolies leaders "Pete" give a sermon in the local church last Sunday.
He talked about how everyone is important to the body of Christ, and it doesn't matter what your position is, everyone has a unique purpose and calling. I thought this sermon was beautiful, especially when often it's thought of that a 'Godly' person has to be a pastor. It was all the more special for me when Michael, the farmer of the village of hope, came up to me that Tuesday holding his hand on his heart saying that the sermon was really special for him. Here is a man who never really had an education, and works as a laborer and a farmer, a position not seen here as vitally important or special. Yet he was holding his heart understanding that he is important to God, and the way that he does his work and carries himself can glorify God as much as someone who seems to have a 'higher' position in society.
I continue to love how the name 'Jesus' is so ingrained and knitted into society here. Coming from a place where the name of Jesus can easily turn people off or cause a mocking and sneering look thrown your way, it's nice to see the affection on peoples faces when this great name is mentioned. Jesus is more then a possible historical figure to many people here. Here He is often everything, and at the core of life for everything.
I will leave you with a little youtube clip I have been showing lots of my friends here. Every time I show it to my Ugandan brothers they well up with tears and start talking about how great God is.
Do enjoy and God bless.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB835wkz1Tc