Life is certainly colourful...there is never a dull moment here!

Hello there, I hope this update finds you all well.  Thanks for your prayers, love and support, as always!

Things have been busy as usual since I last updated you.  There certainly never is a dull moment here in Uganda!

I am so thankful that Zalika has faithfully been coming to school these days.  I think that the major thing that is holding her back with her studies is that she struggles with English...so we have decided that during our times together we will work on this.  Today we were reading ‘The very hungry caterpillar’, which is one of my favourites.  She is a sweet and appreciative girl.  Please pray for her. 

The children in my healing hearts group are starting to open up.  I just hope and pray that these sessions help some of the children, even if it is just in small ways.  During our last few sessions the children have spoken about the pain of losing parents and siblings, the pain of feeling unloved and that their siblings are favoured and the pain associated with living with an alcoholic stepfather.  They wrote poignant lament letters/prayers.  I will share some photographs of these, so that you can be remembering these precious children.

I love the children in the slums so much.  Whilst their situations are dire, they never cease to make me smile and laugh.  Just yesterday one of the street girls was pleating my hair.  Her name is Shadiah, so we were joking that I was in Shadiah’s saloon!  She is a special girl, please pray for her. She is about 17, but has only completed primary 4.  Pray that an opportunity and a door would open for her.

One of my other slum friends, Dennis, is a special boy.  His story is so sad. He is currently about 16/17, but when he was just a small small boy a marching band came through his village.  He was so curious and intrigued by them that he followed them.  He followed them so far that he got lost, and being so small did not know his way back home.  As a result he spent many years on the street.  When he got a bit older he went back home to look for his family, only to discover that his mother had died and his father had moved.  He managed to track his father down just some few years back.  I subtly tried to find out why he hadn’t stayed with his father.  He explained that he was now 16/17 and that he couldn’t depend on his father to support him, so he came back to the slums to look for work.  He appears to have lots of potential and he seems to be  humble, appreciative and hardworking.  He is keen to learn a skill like welding.  Please pray an opportunity comes up for this sweet boy, who ended up on the street, pretty much by accident. 

Another one of my dear street friends is Brian.  I have known Brian for some time now.  Yesterday I felt it was appropriate to broach the subject of his ‘sniffing’.  Sometimes muzungoes come in the slums and without even knowing the children tell them off for sniffing their drugs.  I don’t think this is helpful, but felt I could talk a bit about it with Brian, as we have now formed a relationship.  I explained that I wasn’t judging him, but just wanted to find out a bit more.  He said, ‘Aunty, this petrol...it’s like my jacket.’  I asked him to explain to me what he meant by this and he talked about  when the rain came and he couldn’t cope and when he thought about all the bad things that had happened, it comforts him.  Brian is another boy who has so much potential.  Please join with me in praying for a miracle in Brian’s life. 

Two of the boys at the boys’ home are missing classes constantly, so I am trying to encourage them daily to be in class and fight for them.  This morning I literally had to wake Wasswa up and get him out of bed...the other day I literally had to take his hand and walk him to class (he is about 15 years old!).  I keep telling them that I am doing this because I love them and care about them.  Many of the teachers seem to have given up on them, so it is understandable why they have such attitudes...but I will keep on fighting for them, even if it doesn’t make me popular!  Please pray for Wasswa and Alex.  It is challenging as they are so much older than their classmates and come with lots of ‘baggage’. 

There is never a dull moment that is for sure....and nothing ever goes to plan.  On Saturday evening I was just walking back to our compound, planning on picking my things and then going for fellowship with the kids.  Well the neighbour’s guard dog had other plans!!!  As I walked towards our gate I realised that our neighbour’s gate was open.  Their gate is never open.  I have never seen their dog before.  But there he was, standing there, focused on me, growling and about to pounce.  I did exactly what you tell children not to do. I turned and I ran and I screamed. Who knew I could run so fast or scream so loud? I have never been chased by an animal before, it was terrifying.  I ran into our other neighbour’s compound, hysterical.  They were very sympathetic.  They all wanted to see my leg.  The bite was minimal.  I was not crying because it was sore, I was crying because I was thinking... RABBIES!  So off I went on my boda to get my first shot of rabbies vaccine. And then I sat on my boda, with my vaccine in a little poly bag with some ice, and brought it back to the local clinic.  Is actually like a comedy...I think it must have given the neighbours much to talk and laugh about – the muzungo being chased by the dog!  I don’t want to worry any of you.  The bite was tiny and my vaccines are well under way, so hopefully I won’t start barking like a dog!     

The comedy continues...yesterday I was sitting at the boys’ home under the tree, just waiting on my boda.  All of a sudden I felt this deluge of warm water running down my back.  I jumped up.  Guess what it was?  Rabbit pee!  So the boys keep their rabbits in the tree, in a hutch, so they don’t get eaten by wild animals.  But the rabbits had strategically stuck their bottoms out of the hutch and fired their pee right down my back.  Rabbit pee is somewhat pungent!  I will know in future not to sit under that tree. 

Well on that disgusting note I will leave you to picture the scene and the smell – not pleasant!