August to December 2012

I will never tire of giving thanks to those who are supporting us we are hugely grateful for your prayer and donations to enable our being here and to experience the privilege of helping the destitute, extreme poor and badly maimed burns victims. The two college age students from Kyazanga you help support are doing well - Betty will finish and look for vocational training at the end of the year and John finishes college and he is working hard to get a scholarship. The young man Emmanuel (24) whose house is falling down (we are still trying to raise funds for a new house for his family – he had to sleep in a chair yesterday because his bed was floating!!!) has been doing well at the job I arranged for him. He is a cook in a well known restaurant but it is hard living for him on $75 a month but it is better than wandering the streets with the millions of other unemployed youth. A warning flashed across our TV while watching the Cranes - Ugandan soccer team v Zambia – that there was an alarming increase in HIV Aids to 350 infected people per day – I believe this drastic increase is directly related to massive unemployment, poverty and boredom. That’s why I keep encouraging my young friend Emmanuel to hang in there. He finishes work at 4.00am on Saturday and Sunday morning and has to pay “special” taxi fares to get home which costs 10,000 UGX shillings ($5 NZ) per day which cuts into his wages big time. We will try and get a scooter but the problem is where to secure it at work! Bright spots – Pauline who is back with us permanently has started schooling in a Ugandan school next door to our house which is more at her level – the British curriculum, social setting and age related year groups at my school were setting Pauline up for constant failure – Pauline has many skills, which are not academic. Sharron and I are providing resources and reading books into the school as well. Pauline is in her element and a happy girl. I have arranged a swimming coach for her so she is picked up twice a week by a boda taxi (motorbike) and delivered to the swimming pool near my school – she absolutely loves the water and has a very powerful natural stroke and kick – we had to work hard to get her out of the water! Nicholas, Moses and Dennis are all flourishing (with me on their backs) at school. We home schooled Nicholas and Dennis over the holidays to catch up there numeracy and literacy levels but it is a long hard process to recover what was lost in their early years in very poor Ugandan primary schools. It is incredible how crucial it is for a child to get the right foundations in numeracy and literacy between the ages of 2 – 7. Moses is non - stop reading chapter books at age 11 – 13 level and what a pleasure it is for him to find such a world of adventure in print – getting the other two to go down the same road when they did not have any books or anybody to read to them in the early years is a major challenge but with good modelling it is slowly coming – all of them just love being in our new school library. I have pulled the plug on the clothes shop we helped set up for a neighbour and we are finding another location with more foot traffic. There were too few people coming through the doors so with some money in her bank account and some clothes left over we are looking for a new shop for Monica. I don’t believe in sitting around watching good profit eroded by fixed costs. So the land cruiser had all the shop furniture, clothes bags and shelving loaded on her yesterday as we bailed and stored while we seek a location near our local market which is frequented by millions each week. Our hospital ministry is our church at present. We meet in the middle of the ward, give out protein, sometimes linen, worship, sing and pray – what more could you ask for in a church!!! I think sometimes the “church” needs to think outside the “box” of always meeting in one place, at one time with mostly the same saved people who then go home after a small chat and a cup of tea together. My friend Emmanuel still attends a church (mostly white) and he turned up 2 Sundays ago (walks 5 km) with Malaria and Typhoid (again) – sick as and broke because of medical fees – they prayed for him and then he walked home!!! I found him half way home very sick so managed to help out with medication and huge doses of vitamins and fruit. Praise God he recovered and went back to work. I am not sure any more about the effectiveness of singing gospel songs to each other who already have heard them over and over and then hearing a very deep theological message that has little meaning to the local populace while the suffering hurt (usually young children) walk by the church gate carrying 20 litre jerry cans of dirty water!!! No wonder Jesus said to his followers, “you go and feed them....and all they had were five small loaves......” just a small challenge to the “organised” church!!! We need of heaps of intercessory healing prayer for a dear friend and mighty powerhouse of a woman who runs an orphanage and school for 65 orphans – she has every sign of serious cancer and so the battle has begun. We managed to pull a few together to pray because I feel it needs an incredible miracle – and so Jesus said in John 11 – this is for the glory of the Lord. Sometimes I have wayward doubts racing through my mind as I pray for a seriously mangled face in the burns ward – can my intercession make a difference in the life of this acid attack destroyed person? The answer came last time we were at the ward – there were only three men left in the men’s ward – all the rest had been discharged as well enough to go home. God forgive me for my finiteness and lack of faith – God is working – just take a look back and see – faith and prayer reaches into tomorrow which is Gods domain – I must be faithful in prayer so God can do his business - so to all those who pray constantly into seeming darkness and “nothing happening” – keep praying because it is prayer that keeps it all going in the right direction - most of the time without one even knowing what is happening at the time – we see dimly but then clearly!!! In the ward last time we visited were lightening strike victims – a very common problem in Uganda – whole classrooms of children have been killed. This family were sitting in their “unearthed” mud brick home and took a direct hit which killed their young daughter instantly and severely burned the parents. The young mother was distraught and still in shock as we ministered love and healing to her body and soul. Lost young ones are dancing in heaven and fully healed – although small comfort at the time to her brokenness there was a small positive reaction from her because of her faith in Jesus in the middle of terrible suffering. I managed to talk to her about our loss of Bridgett at birth and saw how the suffering and comfort of Jesus entered into her soul. The father was a lovely man who deeply received our ministry and comfort as he wept at the loss of his only daughter. There is never a suggestion of deep anger towards God in this ward but only a recognition that all of life belongs to God and we return to him someday as we hold the hand of Jesus – better to hold his hand inside terrible pain than have no hope or comfort in the journey. Jesus journeyed through incredible separation and loss and was victorious for our sake and this family’s sake. Oh God keep me humble and in prayer before your throne with my heart sensitive and open to my own blindness and the suffering of others!! Kenneth (25 – intelligent and unemployed) our dear friend and neighbour has been left without accommodation because of unforeseen circumstances – his carers (Ken was looking after their children and helping to maintain their flats) have ditched him just as he was ditched at eight years old and left to fend for himself. I am trying hard to find pathways for his career because he is a very good writer and speaker on youth and political issues – he wants to be a journalist/reporter but this demands huge degree education fees which I do not have. It is a sad fact in Uganda that only the rich can afford high quality education. There are millions of Ken’s walking around getting bored and living off meagre labourers earnings because they cannot access higher level education. No education in Uganda is free despite a 30% tax rate, 49% duty and 18% GST or VAT and 15% compulsory retirement savings scheme which is used by Government!!! Ken is a good worker and very strong. Sharron and I have given him a small outside room we were using for our bikes until he can find other accommodation. Please pray for him that a career/job door will open for this kind young man searching for a place in a brutal world. We took Ken to Lake Nabugabo for camping – his first camping trip away!! What a joy and delight as we hired canoes, swam, took photos, watched monkey’s seeking our food, played sports, open fire cooking, marsh mellows and went to bed early (nice one) to escape mosquitoes. I built a lean – to against our tent to create more sleeping space so the kids enjoyed watching the stars through their mosquito net. Getting away from Kampala is so nice - the air pollution here is getting bad when there is no wind. I am now teaching Year One – and guess what – apart from spasmodic yearnings to engage with higher age group intellectual levels – I am thoroughly enjoying having miles of fun with these bright big eyed little ones and learning how to build very basic foundations in numeracy and literacy. Sometimes I forget how young my captive audience is and wonder why they are collapsing and nearly asleep by the end of the teaching day!!! But they are little sponges taking it in all in – even to my horror what I do and say that is wrong even though I was only comparing to the right way!!! It is like building bridges for them so that they can cross over to new meaning and ways of communicating using letters, numbers, sound, movement and art forms. Some have the ability to keep constructing the bridge on their own while others need tug boats and plenty of scaffold to support the bridge until it is strong. The ability range in my class is staggering which makes teaching very interesting. I have a poster on my class wall that says – no two flowers are the same!! I have already used all the plasters in my Oops box!!!! My classroom assistant is a rugby player in the Ugandan women’s team – she is just great – we have no behavioural problems accept fidgeting and tiredness!!! Schools cool and fun – we have a new building which is delightful and gives more room to everyone to breathe and teach and administer. Well the church next door is in full swing with plenty of praise and prayer – they now have a key board and kids choir so it is delightful as they play all the common worship songs – loud enough for us to jiggle and sing along with. They pray for 2 -3 hours and I am right with them – I think – they do not speak English!!! September Blog Steve says it’s my turn to write the blog even though I think he has the gift for writing. We have returned today from our court hearing for guardianship for the boys and I must say I did well holding my tongue. It’s a difficult process to sit and listen to a whole lot of jargon between the lawyer and judge and you are not even asked a single question. I wanted to scream and say “We love these kids and they love us. We just want to have our amazing family unit legalised.” We were told we need another document ahhh....on top of many already attained....paper war - give us patience Lord and I am not talking of the lord judge so he is called. I don’t mind saying your honour but I am not going to call him my Lord.... as the lawyers do. Pray for Ken as Steve managed to get an interview for him at the main newspaper as a freelance journalist - through a parent at school. He has not yet been told when or where his first story will happen as a budding journalist. It will be free lancing and he only gets paid if the article reaches the printer. He is staying in our out house until he can earn a decent living as washing clothes and digging don’t afford a proper income. This morning I found him sweeping the path and on inquiry realised he had no food. THE LORD WILL PROVIDE as I invited him in to eat breakfast with us. Jesus would never turn a hungry person away and we will not either. Thankyou to those of you who make donations into the trust, you are literally feeding the hungry as we could not afford it on our wages. Another friend arrived in need of transport money for his mum to attend her mothers’ funeral in the village. It is difficult for people here to even attend the burial of loved ones for lack of funds. On a lighter note our boys amazed the onlookers in their most recent basketball fixture. Along with their incredibly talented team mates they were assured a victory with the gutsiest match I have ever witnessed. They even lay prone on the turf to attempt dives for the ball the most fainthearted would certainly give up hope for. Our hearts certainly worked double as our pulses ran furiously watching this match as our boys’ tenacity was a sight to behold. Watch out New Zealand basketball when we return. Do you think I might be a bit biased.....possibly but watch this page. Moses landed a lead role in our schools Robin Hood production. He is very excited about playing the baddy Guy of Gisborn. I am in charge of wardrope help... Pauline has settled into her new Ugandan school and made some friends who come to play on the weekend. She is doing well in her swimming lessons and the coach has already hinted in her doing club competitions. I don’t think I have ever seen anybody have such a love of being in the water as she does. It is difficult to get her out after a lesson she suddenly becomes deaf. I am looking for a sewing machine as she has a flare for creating clothes by hand sewing. I will try to find a tailor to teach her as my sewing skills are rather rusty. We are noticing a difference in the conditions in the burns ward at Mulago Hospital. Praise God for those carers who volunteer and sleep alongside and provide the much needed love and support. Margaret stirs my heart. We gave her a bible and she holds it close to her chest. She is blind after having acid thrown on her. Tubes help her to breathe through her nasal passages. She sings with us when we sing as her lips were spared, some are not so fortunate. Holding her hand brings my soul ever so close to Jesus. What a privilege. We have decided to extend the love offerings that you give into this ministry not only to food, medicines and bibles but to sourcing some MP3 players for those who are blinded by acid attacks and also purchase pressure suits for those who are not able to afford them. Joseph who is a recipient of a pressure suit comes to the burns unit with us now. He is a young Ugandan man that was meant to die from his burns however after being treated in Mulago for a year and with your prayer and support he now sings with our group to other burns victim. How awesome is that. “Weeping comes by night but a shout of joy comes in the morning”. Thankyou again dear friends for making this possible through your giving. The favour of God is with you..... Steve speaking now – just been down with all the neighbourhood men killing a large pig – they do it in the traditional way – machete to the neck and then boiling water to get the hair off. Dennis and I filmed it while Moses and Pauline looked on. We were then given half the liver and a large chunk of pork for frying later. Sharron treated us all by getting a 1 litre ice cream to enjoy with the pork – all part of Independence Day today celebrating 50 years of dynamic change!!! The extravagant celebrations are being held today in town with all pomp and manner along with the newly bought jet fighters. The Ugandan marathon gold medal winner - Kiprotich - visited our school to join with us in our school celebrations. Our school is very good at celebrating so it was pretty cool having Kiprotich at our school to share his medal and encourage the kids. He is a humble man and hopefully many will follow in his footsteps. There is such a huge untapped group of highly skilled sports people in Uganda who never get the chance to to be seen. We have finally received the last affidavit and signatures to finalise legal guardianship of Nicholas and Dennis. I used up a fair bit of airtime searching the country for a person to provide further evidence to support their paternal grandmothers testimony. I rewarded the person well for travelling all the way from the high country to Kampala to swear an affidavit in support. The courts here demand sufficient evidence to prove that the old grandmother of Nicholas and Dennis is the only remaining distant relative. What is strange to me is that while we were at court American families were receiving legal guardianship within two weeks and heading back home – a situation which to me is fraught with social and bonding issues – the American government have different adoption laws to NZ which allow families to finalise adoption once back in the states – NZ law will not allow this and demands that the adoption (from a non-Hague country) be completed first in the country of origin. Hence we need to stay for a period of three years – we have been here two – Pauline will have had three years end of next June and the boys two – if I cannot swing the judge for a special circumstance application then we may be looking at another year (up to August 2014) to complete the 3 years for the boys!!! All is in God’s hands and we intend to make the most of it, enjoy and serve God in his leading. Its Sunday the 14th today - we decided to go on a love walk down through the slums to visit Emmanuel’s family who live in a mud hut nearly a pile of sodden clay – I learned again that unless you are moving physically (supporting others) or prayerfully close to the place and proximity of need you will not see or hear from God – if one remains distant you can pretend to hear and worship but never see God really moving! All our children were given pocket money and had to find a raw material – rice, beans, nuts, maize, eggs - shop to purchase supplies for the family we visited. Moses usually thinks outside the box and bought soap as well. Pauline bought a chipati to eat on the way but as we walked through the rubbish tip bordering the mud hut of our friends we found a young boy rummaging to find food – the chipati went his way and what a picture of joy. When we arrived at the sodden broken mud hut (I have been canvassing a local white church which Emmanuel attends, to help Emmanuel and finally they have turned up and are planning to build a 2 room brick house – Praise God). The timing of God is beyond our thinking – Emmanuel’s wages had not turned up in his bank account - he and his family had no food or money and it was his birthday – God had other reasons for prompting our little love walk!! I believe that our children need to be directly involved in giving in order for them to know God. So we walk back to our safe haven and lovely house giving thanks for our prosperity and blessing and the opportunity to be involved in other people’s lives. I do not think we should dwell on the massive, bigger questions of “did our miniscule little effort change the living circumstances of the great mass of poverty stricken families in our neighbourhood and because the question/problem is so big we remain motionless!!! The bigger problem is in the hands of God. Jesus says a little leaven leavens the whole bread – the principle of being obedient to God in the small things remains - the five loaves and fish went a long way – and so did Pauline’s chipati and the boy’s food purchases from pocket money. God responds to a faith move and brings healing and joy in the middle of suffering. We are his hands in the middle of desperation to bring hope springing from the cross and resurrection of Jesus. We are not there to carry the whole mass of suffering – this is playing God which will crush us in the end. We are asked to help our neighbour – my daily challenge is the size of my neighbourhood!!!!!just joking – God leads Sharron and I in our giving – Jesus did not heal everyone as he walked through the village!!! But he gave hope of a better life and the power to be healed to all who receive him – what else is there on this planet to live for? Yesterday we went to watch the Ugandan soccer team – the Cranes – play Zambia for a spot in the African Nations competition - we arrived at the massive Mandela Nambuli stadium to be confronted by huge throngs of dancing people crowding the stadium and adjoining streets. Unfortunately and much to our disappointment they had doubled the ticket prices which prevented us from seeing the match – explains the masses outside the stadium. So we set up our own stadium in our lounge along with whistles and drums and watched our local team lose (oh so depressing for the boys) in a penalty shootout – 9 goals to 8 – what justice is there in a penalty shootout I ask? Monday the 15th - Sharron and Just got back from the hospital arranging pressure suits for our miracle man Joseph and what a shocking state of affairs we encountered – the queues for doctors were stifling – dark alleyways and corridors were packed with people waiting for consultation. The cancer wards were inundated inside and outside – they treat people on the verandas – wow NZ you have an awesome medical system!!! October News Great news the construction of Emmanuel’s house is under way. I hired some local guys to flatten the old mud house. We arrived early Saturday morning and had to carefully negotiate our way through a rubbish heap and mud swollen lowland. A broken down truck (very common in Uganda) blocked the narrow mud road leading to the swamp. We had a deluge (when it rains in Uganda it is bucket loads and torrential and fierce) the night before so their old mud hut was filled with brown swamp water. Their clothing and beds were submerged so we had much pleasure in dragging the sodden mess out and then collapsing the mud walls and roof into the centre to begin preparation of the foundations. Digging foundations in a swamp is very challenging – every spade is met with new water filling the hole. I did not stay because I had a dental appointment (dental fees are a ¼ of NZ fees so I try and have as much done as possible!). The guys finished the foundations just before another deluge at 3.00pm (usually rains around this time in tropical zones). Thanks to those in NZ who have contributed to the project. I managed to rent three little rooms (stony concrete floors and no water supply but dry and clean – all cooking is down outside) nearby for Emmanuel’s family while the construction progresses. There are some huge smiles on the faces of Emmanuel’s family. Typhoid is common here in the swamp because people drink contaminated water – Emmanuel has had it a few times but now he has a job he can buy treated water. So things are looking up for Emmanuel – a boy I met nearly two years ago. On the 28th October I had a wonderful time doing worship and praying with people in the burns ward at Mulago. Sharron stayed home this time because she was not well. Margaret is our heart stopper in the burns ward – she clings to her bible in hope of seeing the pages – her facial features and sight were removed by an acid attack – she is a humble rural working mother who was the victim of an unprovoked attack which in my mind is worse than the worst imaginable torture. We are going to see an amazing miracle as she reaches out her mangled burned hands to cry out to Jesus. For some beautiful reason I feel very close to Jesus as I get down and talk with these broken damaged people who have had their lives and livelihood (income sources) destroyed in a moment of terror. You can see their soul and spirit because everything else is burned. The lightning strike couple are enduring – just – I continue to pray over his toes which are burned stumps sticking out from heavy browning leg bandages. We have to complain to staff to get bandages changed! I am home sick today (November 12th) with some strange virus, muscle ache and no energy, Moses (heavy viruses) and Pauline with tonsillitis are home with me – with the heavy rains there is a lot sickness around. Tropical climates are a breeding ground for all manner of alien sicknesses. All of us have just had belhausier treatment (a horrible worm infection obtained from lake swimming) - it is pretty rugged treatment taken 8 weeks after entering lake water. Please pray for our health - the whole family have now been down at different times over the last 2 weeks. Sharron and I managed a night out at the Sheraton hotel watching a fund raising event led by a women’s reggae rock band doing local numbers – it was awesome just to be out together enjoying great music. I struggle with going out at night here because of the dangers and terrifying road conditions – there are no road lights so you cannot see the fringe or who is there - coupled with oncoming traffic who have their headlights on full!! I have been working with Ken (who lives in our little room outside) to suggest ways of earning income and to find opportunites – what a battle it is to find work. Most people in Uganda scratch out a meagre living by selling riffraff and imported cheap goods (the handles on our toilet flushing units have broken three times in the last 3 weeks – the metal is fake and cheap alloy), selling tiny quantities of fruit and veges – hence the thousands of tiny stalls, cutting hair, video shops, selling second clothes obtained from Oxfam, driving taxis or working for security companies as guards or as maids and servants for ex-patriots and NGO foreigners. There is little industrial reinvestment or job creation so for example - I have hundreds of young men and women in our neighbourhood alone without regular work. They scratch out a few shillings from labouring jobs or cutting grass or theft or the work that I gave 3 of them them digging foundations. So what is the future for millions of young people (85% unemployed) crowding into the city? Please pray for Ken – he has linked up with the coach of Uganda’s gold medal winning marathon winner – Kiprotich – he is training Ken as a bright prospect for the future – God is going to open doors for Ken who is a very faithful gentle man (for to those who fear him there is no want – Ps 34). School is cool. Ambrosoli International is a lovely little haven with good teaching facilities and motivated staff. I am loving my year ones – we have a fun time but I have high expectations and push them along. There are plenty of sports opportunities for our boys – yesterday they had their third basketball victory – Nicholas has the height and speed and shooting skill while Moses and Dennis push through and make the shots – quite a combo!!! Next term football starts again so that will be interesting – all three of them are very competitive – Dennis hates losing – he has a fiery personality and does not give in on the sports field. It is the 18th November and I (Steve) have just returned from the hospital burns ward – and what a time – my beautiful little Mortisa (7 years) – her whole head covered with burns and weeping wounds – both eyes and her mouth burned flat and both hands missing – sat up and called to me to come – she ate her egg all up and then did something that would make any heart jump for joy – she got off the bed – with little spindly burned legs and hobbled over to where we were conducting worship – and sat down to worship, her legs and arms moving to the beat. I don’t think there is anything else more heartening or meaningful in worship to join with a small suffering child to honour our God. The eye in the remains of her eye socket sparkled with joy!!! Sadly two ladies who we had ministered to (who had been attacked with acid) passed away last week from serious infections caught in the hospital. We find this very puzzling since we left both these ladies in good physical state and their wounds healing quickly last time we were there. One of them wanted to die and go to Jesus but the other was strong and getting to ready to leave the hospital!! This is quite disturbing for us coupled with the increasing incidence of the deadly Ebola virus - puts our hospital ministry on a higher risk scale and in need of a more intense level of intercession. We of course would not go near the place if Ebola came to Kampala on a larger scale. We were a little short of manpower this morning - Sharron didn’t come - she has some ugly cuts to her legs sustained at school. She sat on a wooden chair and it collapsed - the nails going into both her legs on the outside - she got some antibiotics today and is doing OK. God has a way of directing affairs - Ken, one of our hospital helpers had a ½ marathon practice this morning and he heard God saying to him to return to the hospital to help me after he had finished – well just as I was struggling with the task of handing out piles of food who should be standing behind me just as I started to feed the men – Ken – an angel from heaven. Please pray for the couple who were struck by lightning – it is a fierce battle to keep their hope strong and their bodies on the road to recovery. They had removed his back bandages to allow fresh air onto his flesh and I struggled with the sight – his whole back raw pussy flesh weeping all over the sheets – God have mercy on this man and his wife who has lost her fingers. I prayed that God would restore all she has lost and that she would not lose hope. November – December 2012 A massive thanks to all those contributing to our cause – Christmas time has seen many needs at our gate but we have focused on those Jesus has called us too. We had a lovely Christmas break time at a Safari lodge called Kingfisher Lodge in Queen Elizabeth National Park – our four children dominated the two level swimming pool overlooking the huge park – and wow they have improved their swimming heaps as I found out in a multitude of races – I keep telling them that they better know how to swim well if they want to go surfing and kayaking with me back in NZ. The nicest thing about a couple of nights at a lodge is no cooking – Sharron absolutely loves this!!! And boy do we tuck in – our children have huge appetites after swimming all day. We get missionary rates at this lodge which is the only way we can afford a lodge like this. After looking at our slim budget we decided not to endure the 5 hours of dusty roads and expensive park fees trying to find tree climbing lions on the Congo border at Ishasha. Many of our friends have done the trip and never encountered the lions. Our decision was richly rewarded as we came across a herd of Zebra close to the main road in the Lake Mburu area on our way home. A local farmer allowed us to go up close and photograph these beauties – no park fees here!! We then returned to our village and orphanage at Kyazanga for New Years Eve and a lovely time with the orphan girls – we brought a large amount of jewellery pieces for them to make earrings and bracelets. New years eve and day turned to custard as Moses ended up with food poisoning and starting vomiting everything under the sun – so new year’s day we pack up fast and drive straight to the Surgery - our doctors in Kampala – he got a powerful anti vomiting injection and we waited a hour and half to see if he held down a cracker before he got the antibiotics – it worked Praise God - made it home in time for bed and were wasted . Next day Sharron ended up sick as well with all sorts of amoeba – so off to the surgery again. This is life here - you just never know when you are going to be the victim of poor hygiene. What a privilege we have to be able to go to a good doctor and get the right drugs and then return to a nice clean spacious house – wow how blessed we are as I give a little money to an emaciated lady, in filthy rags and suffering from HIV begging at the supermarket where we buy our milk and bread on the way home late last night!! So despite the huge partying and drunken revellers not much has changed from the 31 Dec to the 1 Jan!!! Just more beggars crowding the main intersections pleading for survival. This horror is the result of a collapsing economy caused by never ending bribery, graft and corruption hidden behind the guise of officialdom. A young intelligent, outspoken lady opposition MP died under suspicious circumstances 3 weeks ago and the Government have blocked a post-mortem and the analysis of body/blood samples by arresting the pathologist and have now arrested the boyfriend – so who do you think is guilty? God will judge this heavily if indeed the Government had a hand in this crime. I have started the application for legal guardianship for Pauline. We have had to get a doctor who specialises in calculating age from bone structure to correctly estimate her age. This information will support an affidavit to have her birth certificate and passport changed. As we thought her age is a few years above her original birth certificate – as I said life is full of surprises. She is doing well in our family and slowly maturing. Pauline has a flair for clothes and colour – she changes about 5 times a day which drives mum crazy!! She is a very social girl so we have half the neighbourhood girls visiting regularly. I am working hard to get her reading age up and she is responding slowly as she builds her knowledge of sounds especially double vowels. Because there are very few reading books in the Ugandan system Pauline and her brothers have not been exposed to the sounds of words and the meaning of text which is unfortunate – how blessed NZ children are to have access to books and school libraries. The traffic officers are out in force looking for their Christmas gifts - we turned right at a main intersection – the lights were off and not many cars – officers pulled us over claiming we went through a red – did I have a Christmas gift for them to avoid a charge!!! Sharron is much more direct than me as she explained “clearly” why we were in Uganda and they had no right to be bribing innocent people and it was quite obvious what they were doing – we got away! A few days before I got waved over again for no reason at all but I got angry, distracted and missed the call – I should have stopped but I am fed up with the bribery. One time I had a mattress rolled up in the car and they pulled me over - officers saying it might inhibit my driving – I asked them “how”? I really feel for the numerous locals in poor beaten up taxis and utes carrying huge overloads that are pulled over and charged for ridiculous reasons – a bribe is always asked for but many of these poor folk cannot pay a bribe so they get charged!! I try and figure out routes to avoid the white coat terror but all the main roads have check points!!! What I need is to be an MP with an armed convoy of police shunting their way through and guided by traffic police – I did a naughty thing the other day in a massive fumy car jam extending for 2 km – nothing was moving until a MP entourage and armed guide beat their through the middle pointing guns at obstacle cars and creating a vacuum no one was filling – I jumped in behind and my old landcruiser was transformed into military presence as I stormed in behind and got through the packed intersection – I made it and no guns pointing back!!!! Just back from our holiday trip to Queen Elizabeth Park and got stopped twice – first one was for being overloaded – the roof racks had our camping gear and were just normal height – I asked what is the standard but had a language problem there – he kept on about it waiting for the bribe but I kept asking him what was overloading until his senior stepped in and let me go!!! Then we got stopped outside Masaka and they had a hand held speed camera (which doesn’t work – it is fixed on one speed!!!!) and they were waiting one metre inside the 50km zone - but I saw them from a distance and pulled the speed in but still got stopped!!! They check your licence and insurance - he was very rude and bullying but I did not respond – while we were parked a Government armed convoy shot past at over 120 km ignoring the speed limits – two rules in Uganda – one for officials and one for the common folk!!! Great news for our friend Emmanuel (we are supporting him and his family regularly while their house is built) – he was at the doctors having his leg seen to for the hundredth time – broke the ankle and bone just above when he was young and they never fixed it!!! So he has been on antibiotics every month for the last 16 years to quell the bone infection – a miracle happened while he was waiting for his dose, a couple noticed his leg problem and said they would finance an operation at Corso – so they booked him in and paid the 1M - he went in today Jan 3 Praise the Lord. This is an opportunity to help him through the rest of his life and enable him to work without leg pain. He is a gutsy guy with a real determination – he has lived off the street most of his teen life and got through a chef course with a little help from us, then I got him a job cooking and he earns 180,000 shillings ($90NZ) a month for 240 working hours (38 cents per hour) - this is a reasonable starting wage here but there is a catch – he pays 70,000 ($35 in taxi fees) a month because it is too dangerous to walk at night. He feeds his family – his mum and 3 sisters on the balance which is why we often find his family with no food. His mum has worked her back off for the last 35 years selling kebabs at a roadside BBQ but this business was wiped out the other day when the council cleared all the roadside stalls. His family have been sick recently with Cholera and various amoeba because of contaminated water around there hut (mid city)and lack of toileting facilities so we are desperate to get there house finished – please pray for the finances to finish their house – a local church have been supporting the project – bless them. This whole affair is only a microcosm of the bigger picture – millions exist in this poverty stricken way of life and it is getting worse as people flock to the city because of poor medical and education services in the rural sector. Vast urban slums are spreading close the city and I have noticed more and more people flooding the markets at these slum areas to try and make a shilling selling produce and “made in China” riff raff. The movement of people to the city is very sad – the countryside is lush and can grow anything all year but because of poor to market organisation, expensive transport, high taxes (30%) and lending rates above 30%, failing essential rural services, poor water management -people are still taking water from creeks and polluted streams – strange in a country with regular rainfall!!, and funds earmarked for the rural sector by foreign donors stolen by Government officials – this is a recipe for national disaster and the suffering of many as the urban population living in poverty explodes. God please bring wise and honest leadership to this precious country! The Gordons organised food and gifts for our visit to the hospital before Christmas. Jill Wypers team of New Zealanders joined us to minister to the burns and childrens ward. It was great to have so many NZs together. Thanks so much to those in NZ who have donated towards this ministry – it is a privilege to serve the severely hurt. I was a bit shocked to find some of the patients we help regularly had been sent home – some acid burn victims were in no condition to go home – blind and some without hands and severe open wounds needing continual bandaging – how do they survive in the village? The number of nurses and provision of basic medicines has decreased as foreign donor money has been withdrawn because of corruption – so I am seeing the first effects - the health sector has been strongly supported by overseas aid and will be the first to suffer as European donors pull out. Strange in a country with 30% tax – one wonders where all the tax money goes!!!! Back to another world on Monday the 7th – my school – a small protected oasis haven and I enjoy being there and teaching my first year treats – I have a cute class and they are making solid progress. My assistant is Josephine who plays for a top Kampala basketball team and the Ugandan woman’s rugby team. My whole family and a few neighbours went to watch her play in the basketball final and I believe our very vocal loud support made a huge difference to the teams psyche and win by 7 points. This country has some amazing talented sports people in athletics, basketball and football but they have little financial support to establish connections and make the big time or get known offshore. Our Ken who stays in our compound has linked up with Kiprotich’s (marathon gold medal winner) trainer but lack of finance for sports means it is hard to get opportunities or the right gear. Sports could be a world beater in Uganda with the right club and higher up support. A good thing has happened at my school – although at primary level – we have pulled out of the elitist International school league to be able to participate in friendly games with local Ugandan schools – my school supplies the gear. I am looking forward to this arrangement – some of the local boys who play football at my house are brilliant players who just need some exposure. Sometimes you just have to do things differently to give children an opportunity that otherwise would never get a chance!!