Esther and Katie signing off

We're here. We've done it. We've reached the end of our adventure in Uganda. To say we've enjoyed it would be an understatement- we've LOVED it. Having been here for almost 7 weeks we've been able to get really stuck into to everything at ROL and, as you may have read in our previous blogs, have loved experiencing new things and stepping up in ministry.

For our last weekend in Uganda we went on safari! We had the most amazing 3 days seeing lions, hippos, elephants, giraffe and almost getting killed by a buffalo when our crazy guide thought it would be nice idea to go for a walk in the wild! (Note to self- NEVER DO AGAIN.) Although we hiked up the amazing Murchison waterfalls and went on a boat along the Nile as the sun started to set, we missed our home in Masaka and all the amazing friends we have made there!

Our time in Uganda has been an amazing and unique experience and now it's time to fly the nest. We have met some amazing people here who have created a second home for us and taught us a lot. There have been so many highlights such as visiting a school CU for the first time, going on community visits to pray with people, playing with the amazing White Eagle children, meeting phenomenal people and almost getting killed by a buffalo (to name but a few). We've been incredibly blessed and hope we've blessed the places we've been too!

This is Katie an Esther signing out for the last time.

Please please...stay fresh.

Malaria, Prison, Bubbles and more!

Wow, it's been a while- we've missed you. Unfortunately we've been busy being ill and having malaria. As it's so common in Uganda they were able to quickly treat it with strong medication.

So now we have two weeks to cover in this blog as we missed last week. Last week we had the chance to speak at the youth group here and visit Masaka prison where we were asked to share a song. Both were great experiences for us and gave us the chance to step out in ministry more. In the youth group it was amazing to be able to share with people our own age our passions to see a courageous generation seeking The Lord together despite inevitable cultural differences. When we were given the chance to visit the prison we were asked to bring a song with us, they don't allow just anyone to have a quick look around. The idea of singing to a bunch of prisoners at first was slightly daunting but once we arrived and were joyfully welcomed with singing and A LOT of hugging, it was easy to relax and enjoy ministering to them!

This week, now we are on the mend, we have spent a lot of time with the White Eagles children. This is the last week before they go on holiday so we're making the most of the time we have together. Over the last 5 weeks we have spent our weekends with them playing, dancing, eating, singing, shouting, running and everything else. One of their favourite things to do it set exams for us to do - this has been embarrassing at time, especially when on of the topics was farming tools and we have no clue where to start! We brought some nail varnish with us and as they are know are on holidays we all spent the afternoon being pampered, even the boys joined in! Who doesn't love having pink nails? The White Eagles are a great bunch of kids and spending time with the has definitely been one of our highlights and we'll miss them when we leave!

Also this week, we had the privilege of going to our dear friend, Julius', Kwanjula which is kind of like a pre wedding ceremony where Julius was formally introduced to his fiancé, Martha's clan. This was a proper Ugandan day out! We were dressed in the traditional Ugandan party dress called a Gomez which as colourful and flattering as they were we will not be rushing to wear them a anytime soon- Ugandans have the right figure for it but we most definitely don't! Fortunately for us, the majority of the introduction was in English as requested by Julius so we were able to roughly follow what was going on. It has been such a joy to get to know Martha over our time here and we can see that they are going to be very happy together- what a match!

So, now we're preparing for our last week in this wonderful country and are looking forward to our safari trip which we'll tell you about next week.

Stay fresh.

Can you join the Gideons?

The Gideons? What's that? Well, faced with a powerful enemy of 120,000 swordsmen, God got Gideon to raise an army of just 300 to fight for freedom. The rest is history… (read about it in Judges 6!)

When faced with the challenges we face in Uganda, it can be easy to feel similarly outnumbered. And yet the opportunities to change lives, to see communities transformed and individuals flying high have never been so great! From the tiny babies on the Baby Unit to the budding nation-changers of the Leadership Academy, we know that we can dare to dream - but only if we dream together!

So we're recruiting ‘Gideons’ - people who want to be part of this dream and are ready to fight through regular prayer and regular giving, so that we will see more lives transformed.

We want to be snatching hope from the jaws of despair - as a Gideon you'll be on the frontline of the action! You will get regular prayer updates and the inside track on our news, and we also want to hear from you and be praying for you. Please consider signing up today from just £10 a month. It's easy - you can set up a regular gift on our BT MyDonate page.

Half way point

It's 1/2 way day!

Today marks the middle of our trip. If the second half is anything like the first, we're in for a treat!
Although we have been here for over three weeks, this was a week of firsts! We helped out on the church's farm, went to an amazing BBQ and were involved in worship at church.

After 1 1/2 hrs working with Stephen and Gerald on the farm we now consider ourselves dab hands at farming. We raked the ground; cleaned up the matoke trees and pulled funny faces at the cows! To our delight one of the pigs recently had piglets - cute doesn't even begin to describe them!

Having mentioned in a previous blog that meat doesn't appear much on the menu, Rob and Katharine took us out for a night to get our 'meat sweats' on. The local cafe, every Friday, hosts an incredible meat filled BBQ buffet. After we had eaten our fill ... And everyone else's, we just about rolled out of the cafe... Like two giant meatballs ... With legs!

This week we also had the opportunity to help with the worship in church. Although at first we were a bit reluctant, we soon embraced it and definitely were glad we stepped out of our comfort zones! We told ourselves to say yes to the things that terrify us... However, we've now got ourselves into leading some songs in the local prison tomorrow - PRAY FOR US!

Until next time - keep it fresh.

Great news from River of Life!

Our Summer Newsletter is out! And it's packed full of news of the great impact that your support is having here in Uganda.

The Battle for Prayer Mountain has entered a new stage, the White Eagles Home has got a brand new perimeter fence, the Leadership Academy is about to admit a new cohort of young people ready to transform their communities and there's even news of a miracle baby from the Baby Unit!

There's also news of a brand new initiative - The Gideons! We face a golden opportunity to make real and lasting transformation in the lives of hundreds of people here in Uganda - but the challenges are great. So we want to recruit a 'Gideon' Army of people willing to pray and give a small amount regularly so that together we can snatch HOPE from the jaws of despair for more people!

If you are interested in joining the Gideons, just email us and we'll tell you more. In the meantime, please download the newsletter, and spread the good news by sharing it with all your friends and family!

Goats galore and more by Katie and Esther

We have spent over two weeks in Uganda now and feel very settled! The idea of taking a taxi or popping to town was once daunting but now we take it in our stride!
Masaka town and Nyendo are the complete opposite of the neat roads and pavements of Bristol. One thing we've loved in particular is the fact that there are a loads of goats everywhere- we have a new found appreciation for them!

On Sunday Cheryl, a law graduate from Singapore joined us. Her and her boyfriend Joel are here for the next two weeks. It has been great fun showing them round, feeling like proper locals.

On Mondays we have the opportunity to go to Masaka hospital with elder Betty and her team! We have gone twice so far and both times have left thankful for the opportunity to minister to the sick, but also grateful for what we have readily available to us back in the UK. The team go around the different wards, handing out bread and bananas to the patients and then offering to pray with them. Their dedication and love for the ministry is inspiring and we have learnt a lot from both praying with patients but also from watching the team sit with and chat with them, not being able to speak Ugandan means we're not very good at just chatting!

A significant moment of this past week, has to be going to a prayer and intercession meeting at church. Ugandans have serious prayer stamina! It has been amazing to pray and worship alongside the people here because their passion and faith is so fierce that it has encouraged us to fix our eyes on the Lord at all times until earthly things fade away and our affections are given to the one who is worthy. There is also such a beauty in Ugandan time keeping because sometimes it's non existent that time itself does not stop them from worshipping which is not a bad problem to have, as God is outside of time! We have also learnt a lot about interceding and praying for things that don't seemingly affect us, as if it's our own responsibility and how we are to seek first the Kingdom of God.

Latest White Eagles Report out now

With all the latest updates from the White Eagles, the May/June report is a must-read for your next tea-break!

There's news about our Holiday Programme, the hard work on the farm, going back to school, but we leave the best bit till the end...

Buckle up for the good news - we've managed to trace the relatives of one of our girls, and she is SO excited! She was the last child in the Resettlement Home without known relatives, and it was tough for her. But now we can get started on the resettlement and reconciliation work so that she might be reunited with a loving family and continue to thrive and fly high!

Enjoy the report - you can download it here.

The White Eagles on the Farm, enjoying some sugarcane!