We're 'Singing in the Rain' - Davies Dispatch Feb 2012

February has flown by, with plenty of work and play to keep us busy. Rob and the office team successfully prepared the accounts for the auditor to examine, we've had some good times with Mary (one of the founders of River of Life, who was back here for 5 weeks), we've said goodbye to Geoff who had been working with us for 4 months, and Elena has started potty training!

January was very hot and dry, and everything was getting browner and browner - with the dust and the heat. And then suddenly it was rainy season, and everything is green again! Here are some highlights from Masaka...

If you'd like to see more of what we get up to, check out our photo-map!

Rain = avocados. Lots of them

This month the rains have started (a few weeks early), which means it's time to start planting out the garden. Henry, our gardener, has been making fantastic progress planting out sweet potatoes - his digging really does put our attempts at our allotment in England to shame. We're also hoping to grow carrots, onions, green peppers and a few "English" plants like courgettes and lettuce. The rains have brought with them a surplus of huge and delicious avocados - Elena is well into guacamole.. no cutlery required!

We got out rainwater tank washed out - it was disgustingly dirty - and in the process discovered a leak in the mains supply. Mr Fred our plumber quickly fixed that, and now the pressure is much better. So now our rainwater tank is starting to fill up again which is great - next time the mains water stops flowing for a few days, we won't be totally without!

The downside of the rains is that our house floods when the wind blows in a certain direction - we've set Maintenance Man Mayiga the task of trying to seal up any cracks!

Moving on and Flying High

The major event for this month was the graduation of 4 of our White Eagle lads from the Project. They are now living independently - here’s Brian showing off his new pad - and working to support themselves. We had a party to celebrate their achievements since joining the Project and to set them on their way on the next step of their journey. The Project will continue to support them, through education, training, employment, mentoring, support - whatever is needed to help them fly high!

There have also been some big changes at Playgroup. Several of our "regular" kids started school at the beginning of February, so numbers at playgroup dropped. We've been telling mums at church about the playgroup, and are beginning to see some new kids, but it's been a slow transition. Elena misses her old friends, and every morning asks if we're going to see them, but she seems ok once we get the puzzles out! She's getting quite good at a little alphabet puzzle where you have to match the letter to a picture, though she made us laugh yesterday by declaring that the letter j is for "marmite"! Well they both go on toast...

“Something-Danish-Fest”
We've been trying to find time this month to prioritise getting to know other "bazungu" (expats) who are living and working in Masaka. Many of them are involved in similar projects to River of Life, so there's a wealth of experience out there for everyone to learn from. Rob’s been meeting with some of the Directors - it’s been great to get to know them, and their work.

We went to the international Church one Sunday and met several Canadian, American and Danish families. We were invited to join the birthday party of one of the little Danish girls who was turning 3 - her birthday coincided with some Danish festival which involved all the children hitting a big wooden barrel full of sweets with a very large stick for a very long time until it smashed apart. Apparently in the old days, I mean the really old days, the barrel would have a cat in it, and it was something to do with beating the devil. Elena did her bit, going up with the stick, which was about as big as her, and tapping the barrel.

Anyway, it was also an opportunity to dress up - Elena loved pretending to be her little spotty woof woof!

Food glorious food!
February has been a good month for eating! Gerald was introduced to Pancake Day traditions, and managed some decent flips! Elena wasn't as interested in the pancakes as she was in the sugar bowl we foolishly left near her...

We went to the fantastic Cafe Frikadellen barbecue with Beth and Sarah - never have you seen so much meat in one place... it's awesome! Cafe Frikadellen is run by one of the Danish families here, and Rob likes to personally thank them for setting up the establishment every time we go there - he can't quite believe he can get such a good burger (not to mention the lasagne...) here in Masaka.

Rob and I also managed to get a rare night out on our own for Valentine's Day - we went to another restaurant in town, which has a new rooftop terrace - it was very romantic under the stars, even if the advertised smooth jazz was actually the best of the Backstreet Boys! Gerald and Beth were Elena's babysitting team, and Gerald was very proud of himself as he managed to settle Elena back to sleep after she woke up for a drink. He's offered to babysit again anytime :-)

Aunt Sarah returns and declares DEATH TO ALL RODENTS!

There's a recurring theme in Sarah's Story, namely her intense dislike of the many rodents she gets to share her accommodation with... It's been a while since we've heard from her, so read on to find out more!

Helloooo! I hope that you are all well! I haven’t sent a newsletter for a few months now, so this one is a little overdue! Here’s what I’ve been up to over the last few months....

The month in Uganda before I came home to the UK for Christmas was very busy... It was the school holidays over here, and we ran our White Eagle Project holiday programme (which included sport, Bible teachings, drama, opinion forums, life skills, aerobics, and all sorts of other things). We also did lots of special events, including a mini Operation ARK (– Acts of Random Kindness – where we cleaned up the local area), and a Parents’ and Relatives Sensitisation Day (where we did workshops for the relatives of our kids to prepare them to receive their children back home, and teach them to look after their children well). And there were several other special events which I was involved in (either leading, teaching or attending), such as a youth conference, singles teaching, a parenting seminar, etc., etc. So December was a pretty packed month, and I came back to the UK rather exhausted!!!

Christmas and January were spent in the UK, having a wonderfully restful time with friends and family... and then I returned back to Uganda at the very end of January. Since returning to Uganda:

Our youngest member of the Girls Home - a little lad - has started school and looks very cute in his shorts, which look like a basketball player’s shorts because they’re so big (see photo). He's started getting the school bus, which is apparently SOOOOOOOOO exciting – the first thing he says EVERY morning upon waking is “Aunt Sarah - getting School bus today?” His little comrade in arms, our youngest girl, cannot stop waxing lyrical about the curtains on the windows of the bus – she’s never seen a bus with curtains, so she thinks it’s the most amazing bus in the whole wide world!

Also since returning to Uganda, I have managed to kill 1 mouse, 2 rats and an ENORMOUS spider. I’m getting very brave... although the mouse and rats were caught by my mouse traps that I purchased before returning to Uganda, so all I had to do was biff them on the head once caught, in order to kill them (-although I succeeded in releasing one of the rats when I tried to do this... but it turned up dead the next day under one of the girls bed, so it must have got concussion when I biffed it on the head!). The ENORMOUS spider was in the girls’ bathroom, and our little lad had got to the stage of refusing to go to the toilet because he said that the spider was going to eat him! So the spider met an unfortunate end too! (I think that I’m becoming very brutal!!! – Sorry to animal lovers! ...although in my defence, the spider was so big that I didn’t dare go near enough to catch it in order to set it free outside, and I decided that killing it was the only safe option!).

The girls are all doing very well. They are lovably crazy(!), and spend many an evening putting on shows, singing and dancing, playing silly games, or playing hide and seek (- which is actually quite fun when the power goes off, because you can’t see a thing!). They also get a huge amount of homework, which for one of them in particular is a bit of a trial to be got through each evening (it takes her about 5 times as long as it takes the others because she’s very distractible!).... but we’ll get there eventually!!!

We’re continuing to work towards resettling lots of our kids, and after successfully resettling some children last year, we had 4 young men graduate from the boys’ home this month – they are all now working and supporting themselves, as we continue to sponsor them in further education/vocational training/through business grants. We had a big party, and sent them off in style – it was a really good celebration of everything they’ve achieved, and also of how God has completely turned their lives around - from being in a place of utter despair with no hope for the future (e.g. living on the streets for some of them, not knowing where the next meal would come from, and having no hope of going to school or getting a good job), He has given them all such an amazing hope and a future!

So things are moving forward at the project with all of this resettlement that’s happened and is going to happen over the next few months.... We keep on having some very important government officials visit us to check that we’re keeping to policies (as far as being a children’s home and resettling children are concerned), and we’ve had some very positive feedback, with one of them even saying that she considers us to be an example for other projects to follow because of our work on resettling children back with their relatives! So that was very encouraging, especially because resettling them successfully (so they don’t run away/leave home) is such hard work with so many challenges!!!

Anyway, that’s all for now. I hope that everyone is well, and that you’re all having a wonderful 2012!!! Love Sarah

Geoff in Uganda - a fond farewell

So this is my last monthly newsletter as I am wending my way home next Saturday...I know I know I can hear your gasps and thoughts of ‘hasn’t four months gone quickly’. And you would be right, it has gone quickly, very quickly, however I do feel that it has been enough time for me to get to really know River of Life, it’s ministries, it’s heart, and it’s people. So although I am more than a little sad to think I will not be here much longer, I am more than happy knowing that I have become part of this wonderful church/charity, and look forward to supporting it and visiting it in the future!

Any way the month of January was another busy month with much going on right throughout the ministry. We had the White Eagle holiday program, a football tournament ran by Synergy Sports Strategy, hospital and prison ministries still running, roots ministry, assisting at a youth conference, and a trip to the local lake - have a look at my other posts for all the updates.

The last few days of January we took as a bit of holiday. Beth (another volunteer out here) and I went off to Murchisson Falls in the north of Uganda. It was a truly amazing experience and the landscape around there is breath taking enough. We saw hippos, giraffes, elephants, rhinos, crocodiles, along with many other exciting animals. We also, after a boat trip up the Nile, got to take a walk up to the amazing waterfall that is Murchisson Falls. In all it was an awesome experience and if you ever go on safari, Uganda should be in your thoughts. One very special experience was that on the first night I woke up to some strange sounds outside my tent. After lifting the window flap I could just about make out the shape of a hippo! It managed to come closer and closer and eventually I was pretty much nose to nose with it through the tent. I endeavoured to keep quiet and the hippo moved on but that memory will certainly endure.

That's a Rhino! A RHINO!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported me out here in every way. Whether that be through the money donated to the charity, the prayers, the emails, the skype chats, the people who helped to fund the pigs, those who have blessed me with gifts for personal use, thank you all so much. I knew I was blessed to have such an amazing network of friends and family in the UK but I am not sure I realised how blessed I am, so thank you. Also the people out here in Uganda, all have welcomed me with open arms and it has been a real treat to learn from you and serve alongside you. I will miss the people and all that the ROL for but I am looking forward to serving you in different ways back in the UK and I will be back!

But the big thank you (here comes the cheesy bit) has to go to God. He has provided and sustained in so many ways for me out here and has allowed me to grow at all times. Without Him all is not possible, as it says in Matthew 19:26 ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’

Geoff has been volunteering with River of Life for 4 months - to read all his blog posts, just click here

Holiday Time! - White Eagle Project Report

Our first White Eagle report for 2012, from Emily, our Director of Training:

Throughout January, I have been continuing to prepare our young men to leave the WEP home. Some have started renting somewhere to stay and have been working to become more independent. Most of our White Eagles returned to school at the end of January, and we have several White Eagles starting nursery school.

The holiday programme ran intermittently, as there were several other events during January (such as visits home, the football tournament, youth camp, etc.). It involved:

• Life skills - we did a series on relationships (between God & Man, friendships, and relationships between males and females)
• Fellowships led by Staff – We had a session on “Jesus the King”, looking at different scriptures about the kingship of Jesus, and what that looks like and means.
• Games and sports, including a mini-Olympics, football, volleyball, table tennis, and indoor games
• Fellowships led by White Eagles – a prayer session, and a talk on Jeremiah 29:11, on not worrying about the future, because God has good plans for us.
• Craft - involving card-making and chalk-drawing.
• Lake Nabugabo - a beautiful day and a wonderful time swimming, playing football and volleyball, and eating chicken.
• Youth Conferences - 'Let Your Light Shine Youth Camp' (theme “A Call To Purity”) and 'GRIP' (theme “Armed and Dangerous (2 Corinthians 10:4)
• Week at home - most of our residential White Eagles went to stay with their families from 2nd - 7th January.

Back to the 'Pearl of Africa' - Davies Dispatch Jan 2012

Rob and Katharine Davies, (and their daughter Elena!), are serving with River of Life Church as Long-term Missionaries. Rob is Development Director at River of Life, and Katharine coordinates Missions and is establishing an Early Years programme... Here is the first of their monthly updates

Uganda! The Pearl of Africa, as the Victorian explorers and missionaries called it. It’s good to be back, and certainly after the wet and cold of Christmas in the UK, Uganda seemed to be shimmering pearl-lke as we drove south from Kampala to Masaka after our epic flight via Johannesburg. The rains have been good and long, so harvests are plentiful which has eased some of the pressures on local food prices. Our own garden is producing about a million tonnes of matooke, our favourite green banana staple, every week, which the children down in the White Eagle Project are enjoying!

We’ve got stuck straight back in with the work - although the team out here have done a marvellous job whilst we’ve been away. A new shallow well has been completed giving access to clean drinking water for more of the people of Nyendo (the trading post where we focus most of our activities), our offices, which were embarrassingly dilapidated have been spruced up, the White Eagle Holiday Programme continued apace and a new sports initiative, Synergy Sports Strategy, was launched.

Most of the River of Life news you’ll get (or can get) through the River of Life website, or by email if you are on the list (you can subscribe here) so we thought we’d give you our personal highlights for January...

Week 1: Flying...

As you know, in the first week of January, we were mostly flying and standing in queues. It took us nearly 3 days to get here, courtesy of high winds in the UK when we left. You may have assumed that would mean we had a nightmare journey - actually it was fine! We got the upgrade, Elena slept really well and we arrived in Masaka having had some rare time together as a family. Praise God! Probably the worst thing that happened was realising, on arrival, that we had forgotten to pack any cheese... can you believe it?! But then, thanks to Mary (one of the founders of River of Life) who came out a few days later, our cheese supply was re-stocked and Katharine made the most awesome lasagne ever!

Week 2: Giving blood...

This was a momentous week for me (Rob). I had always accepted the “just returned from a malarial-zone” excuse for not giving blood with relief, because I was pretty scared of the idea. But when Dr Sarah (our fellow missionary to River of Life) called to say that the local blood bank was absolutely desperate and children were dying, there was really very little choice. Now, I faint at injections, so it wasn’t going to be easy, but it turned out okay! Yes, I nearly fainted and had to lie on the floor (not at giving blood, but at the little blood-test prick they do first!) and they had to set me up my own bed outside, but with the help of Sarah holding my hand I did it! (Katharine got out of it because she’s still feeding Elena...) I will definitely be doing it again...

Week 3: A trip to the Lake!

Sand Beach at Lake Nabugabo is an awesome spot about half-an-hour’s drive from Masaka. There are no crocodiles, no nasty parasites in the water, and the water is shallow and warm. (Well that’s what the tourist industry tells us.. to be fair, I’ve never seen a crocodile there, and I’ve never got sick after swimming, so...) Elena absolutely loved it. She took delight in just wading out as far as she could go and then throwing herself further in, which made for a few desperate rescue attempts - but then she would just go and do it again! One such rescue killed Rob’s iPhone which he left in his pocket, but miraculously it resurrected 3 days later!

Week 4: Out to the village...

There is a massive difference here between town and country. Many rural areas are extremely poor, and the cultural norms that govern everyday life can be at best bizarre and at worst pretty abusive. Statistics suggest that over 70% of women experience domestic abuse in Uganda. So at River of Life we have a ministry called “Roots” that goes out to particular areas where domestic abuse is culturally acceptable, and teach and counsel people against it. It was amazing to see how the teaching began to set people free. Whilst the adults were in the Conference, we also did a 2-day programme for about 150 children, which was pretty awesome!

Geoff in Uganda - out to the village on Roots Ministry

Geoff's been with us since October, and recently took part in 'Roots Ministry' - here he tells us all about it!

The month of January also saw some people come back to Uganda. Firstly it was Rob and Katherine who had a good couple of months at home in the UK. It is good to have them and their beautiful 22 month old daughter Elena back as they live/run the visitors house where I stay and always make it a lovely place to be.

Secondly January saw Mary come back to Uganda after being away for around 14 months. The reason for her absence is that her husband and pastor of the River of Life Duncan was and is ill due to cancer. He has had some positive strides forward though and Mary felt called to come back to Uganda for 8 weeks or so. It has been good to get to know Mary a bit more as it gives a more holistic picture of the charity and it’s history. One of the reasons Mary has come back is to run something called Roots Ministry. This is where a number of people head out from the Church to a village outside of the area and run a couple of days of ministry. The main focus of it is abuse, and Mary runs those sessions, giving teaching and allowing the Spirit to heal where possible.

She asked me however to run the children’s ministry. Now the plural there is important because there were around 150 of them! We discussed what the talks could be on and we focused on 'achieving your potential' and 'knowing your calling'. It was a good success with the children and as well as the teaching we had songs, games, prayer, and face pulling sessions. Thankfully it wasn’t just me but Beth also along with some of our youth, and as a team we did rather well. Hopefully it was positive for the children, the prayer was that they may experience something positive from the weekend, whether that be through enjoying the games, learning from the teaching, or importantly that their parents would receive some sort of healing and that would improve their home, or perhaps they would stop being abused. In all it was a good few days and people seemed to take a lot from it which is really positive, and River of Life will be going there again in the near future to back up what took place.

Leading Children's Games

Doing the Sprinkler!

Teaching about how people learn

Geoff is volunteering with River of Life for 4 months - to read all his blog posts, just click here

Geoff in Uganda - Silky Synergy Football (most of the time!)

Geoff's been key in River of Life's Annual Community Football Tournament, this year re-launched as the Synergy Cup...

For a big part of January I've been involved with the football tournament ran by Synergy Sports, which is the sports ministry of the River of Life. This involved 12 teams from across Masaka and Nyendo, mainly made up of 14-18 year olds. There were 19 matches in all with group stages, quarters, semis and the eventual final. There was some really good football played (not all the time but often) and each team brought something different to the tournament. It was put on to be something positive for youngsters to do during the holidays, to promote the fact that Synergy Sports Strategy has been established, and to be another way in which the River of Life could reach out and be part of the community. It managed to do all of these things, and in many ways was a great success so we are thankful for that.

There was one very interesting point in the semi final though when a goal was disallowed for offside in extra time a fan walked on to the pitch to remonstrate with the referee, which then opened the flood gates for the most of the other fans to enter the pitch and try and have their stay. The crowd became unmanageable, and although thankfully there was no violence, we had to end the match prematurely. I’m not sure how the locals took to a Muzungu standing in front of the referees to protect them but thankfully all were ok and the tournament carried on!

Synergy had 3 teams entered into the tournament, the Sonics, Saints, and Sabres, and all did well and learnt a lot in the process. The Sonics reached the final which was a great occasion with a big crowd there to enjoy. Unfortunately they couldn’t quite manage the win losing out on penalties, however many positives were taken and it was a chance for the whole of Synergy Sports to grow as a group. Some of the Synergy lads have started coming to Youth Group and Church, which is just great as they want to be part of the River of Life community and learn and grow in Jesus, which is why we have a sports ministry.

Geoff is volunteering with River of Life for 4 months - to read all his blog posts, just click here