Newsletter No.9 - sent early September 2014

Here is newsletter no.9, just 14 months after newsletter no.8! OK, so we are a bit infrequent with our newsletters.

Our last visit to Australia was to be 3 months but extended to 6 months when Pam broke her wrist and needed an operation and physio. We have been back in Uganda for 5 months and the Aus visit seems a bit like a distant memory already, although we continue to greatly appreciate all the kindness and support we received.

Because of the gap this one is a bit long but is mainly pictures with few words. The pictures can be scanned quickly for an impression in less than one minute. Reading some/all picture captions will take longer, but are there for more information for those that want to know more.

The last 5 months has had its usual ups and downs but with God’s help we have gotten through. A huge thank you to those who have supported us with prayers and encouragement, and financially, and listened patiently to us unburdening via skype and email.

For the pray-ers we always greatly appreciate your prayer support, even if you fit us in on the odd occasion.

First things first .. Proud Grandparents! No.2 has just arrived (Fri 15/8/2014)  (Son Andrew and wife Michiko live in Tokyo, Japan)	Proud Parents Brother Daniel practicing for a sister – ‘They are not going to make me look after her are they?’
Brand new baby Emma	It can get a bit cold (and also very hot) in Tokyo.
Produce from Pam’s Garden
There are great growing conditions here in the region where we live with plenty of rainfall. Here is some produce from Pam’s garden in our compound ..

Scenes from Pam’s Garden
Pam’s garden in our compound has a serious purpose in demonstrating ‘Farming God’s Way’ and testing which vegetables and greens grow in Uganda; but there are also butterflies and flowers! (OK, one is not Pam’s garden but two are; all are in Uganda)

Mattresses for Prisoners
When our church family in Australia heard that the prisoners in the prison we visit most Sundays slept on a concrete floor, they initiated and got behind fundraising to correct the situation. About 150 mattresses were purchased, here are some being delivered. A few are being moved on to a small close by prison via motorbike! (motor bikes carry amazing loads here in Uganda)
Bezallel Primary School
We have had a fair bit to do with Bezallel Primary School across the road from us. Here are a few random pics to illustrate:
One of our sponsored children at Bezallel is very glad to see Pam back from our Australian visit	We invited the staff at Bezallel for a meal at our place
Allan at the staff meal	Simon Peter the Askari (night watchman and caretaker) at Bezallel who also glances our way during the night to see if any suspicious characters are hanging around near our compound
Sponsored children collecting 'requirements' such as book, soap,toilet paper and other things.	Extra Tuition for some of the sponsored children on our front veranda

People .. A lot of our time is spent with the young people that we, or our friends in Aus, are sponsoring. There have been many meetings to sort things out, discussions, counselling etc. It is especially challenging at the moment as we have just taken on three street children who are not easy to handle. Of course, apart from young people, we have some adult friends as well! Here are just a representative few ….	Julius needed medical attention from nurse Pam
Ronnie and Ivan hamming it up	Our friend Budhala has been a big help to us in many ways. He has started nursing training in another town but returns to Kamuli every few weekends.
A recent new sponsorship ‘Gift’ visiting Pam and Allan.	Paul is in his final year of high school and is doing well. He acts very responsibily. Allan and Paul ready for prison ministry,

People Continued .. Ronnie with some text books we supplied	Pam’s 71st birthday gifts a rooster and some roasted Sesame seeds. The rooster is a gift from Gift’s Mum.
‘Powerful Women’ - Nurse Prossy, Pastor Angela and Damahli. We work with Angela and Damahli in prison ministry	A neighbour’s children – Susan, Jackoba and Omega
A muzeyi (old man; pron moo-zay) from a village – he said it was the only photo ever taken of him. We have to remember to print it out and take it to him.	Budhala and Christine (that we employ as house manager etc) with chilren from the same village as the muzeyi (left picture)

Our Home .. Welfare officer Wilson gave us one of the fat ducks that waddle around the prison. Here we are enjoying a delicious duck dinner. Pam is taking the picture.	We have electrical and plumbing problems; we get frequent electrical shocks and there is always a plumbing problem somewhere; the power supply comes and goes each day
Christine can cook ‘western’ style food; here a delicious shepherd’s pie using a recipe she found on the internet.	Christine oversees one of the boys mending clothes on the sewing machine
Two of the sponsored girls, sisters Lamulati & Aisha, getting computer tips from Christine in the computer lab room. We host formal computer lessons each Wed and Sat afternoons.	We brought back quite a few seeds donated by our church in Australia on our last visit. Here they are being sorted for distribution. Nearly all have been distributed and greatly appreciated.

Our Home (continued).. Chilling out	Visitors (and us) leave their shoes at the door. The floor still needs a thorough sweep each day. (Computer lesson in Progress.)
Homemade carport from stuff purchased locally; constructed mainly by our friend Budhala	Christine giving a catch-up school lesson to one of the (ex-)street children James; he has missed a lot of school
We have just reached middle class decadence and purchased a twin tub washing machine that we keep outside behind the house. Christine doesn’t have to do arduous hand washing anymore .. if there is power.	Gardening help from James.

Land Purchase .. Pam and I have recently purchased some land nearby. It is 5.4 acres. We have formed an Association together with Wilson the Welfare Officer at the main prison and intend to start a work aimed at ex-prisoners. We will have a program for ex-prisoners for two or three days a month. To start with we will teach Farming God’s Way and brick making. Hopefully these bricks can help us build some structures. Somewhere in there will be behaviour change, life skills and biblical teaching. We are seeking advice, input and training, and hopefully will be able to effectively minister to ex-prisoners and later, the local village.	At the time of purchase the land was mainly under maize. This has been now harvested by the previous owner
Preparing the 10 foot long measuring stick. Neighbours and witnesses are present. Our partner in the Association, Wilson, is moving towards the camera with the note book to write measurements.	Measuring the boundary with the measuring stick. At some point someone brought a tape measure for more accuracy.
After measurement and agreement on the boundary, previous owner, witnesses and neighbours gathering to sign papers.	Signing of documents, one handwritten in Lusoga. Note the ink pad for finger prints.

Land Purchase Continued.. Wilson and Pam looking at a Jack Fruit tree on the new land. Jack Fruit are very large and heavy and can maim, or even kill children, if one falls on your head! It is a very popular tropical fruit and is supposed to be very rich in vitamins.

There are quite a few coffee trees. The previous owner harvested this coffee but we will be able to harvest it in future. Bananas trees in the background. Our Association’s Constitution

Different kinds of sponsorships .. Apart from managing the ‘usual’ education sponsorships we are involved with a few other different, but related, kinds of sponsorships ..	We have two young men (and trying out a third) doing a motor vehicle repair apprenticeship in the next largest town Jinja, Bosco pictured here has a slight physical disability and comes from a remote village but is excelling at motor vehicle repairs and maintenance. P.S. A younger Bosco is the one with the big smile and purple shirt in the newsletter heading graphic.
Fred has appeared in other of our newsletters. His is about 23 y/o and has cerebral palsy. He is severely disabled. In the remote village his clothes were filthy rags and he smelled. His care wasn’t that great (we are not judging the people around him; life is hard in these villages).	We have brought Fred into Kamuli and arranged care. Thanks to some of our young friends and a caring neighbour willing to take him on he is always washed and clean and has clean clothes, and is well fed. We will be taking him to a dentist and doctor in the next large town Jinja for teeth work and a checkup.
It is a long story but we somehow got ourselves involved with three street kids, left to right Abraham, Daniel and James. They have long and complicated stories and are pretty messed up. They look like little angels but that is definitely misleading. After one particular day Pam’s hands were shaking. We are in school break at the moment (what to do with them?) but hope (and pray) that next term Daniel and James will settle in local schools (NOT both in the same school), and that Abraham will be doing a motor vehicle repair apprenticeship as above.

Different kinds of sponsorships .. continued ..

In the town of Jinja 60 kms from Kamuli we discovered training for village pastors that is 3 days per month for 10 months. This allows the pastors to be trained in personal devotion, biblical training, counselling etc. Being 3 days per month is minimal interruption to their farming, duties and life in the village. Here is the graduation of the first village pastor to complete the course, Ps Sosani. Starting Aug 2014 Pam and I (Allan) started attending the same course together with 2 pastors that we are sponsoring for the course.

We have been sponsoring village pastors and some others to attend Farming God’s Way training in Kampala plus local training. This is a photo of Chris Sperling, the chief  trainer for FGW in Uganda, teaching in our local area.

Pam and a friend Pastor Wilber at a long abandoned rail/wharf British era infrastructure on the Nile river close to Kamuli. Ps Wilber has a plot nearby next to the Nile where he grows food for his school, Canaan Junior School.

Assisting BezCan …
Our long time friend from Australia, David Hey-Cunningham, has initiated a work to assist two primary schools; Bezallel Primary School (across the road from our home) and Canaan Junior (nearby to us). See http://bezcan.com/ for more information. We try to assist by being observers and helpers on the ground between David’s visits from Australia. Here are just one or two examples of the work of BezCan.	New ablution block at Bezallel Primary School.
Text books introduced to Bezallel and Canaan Primary Schools. The vast majority of primary schools in Uganda don’t have text books.	New metal beds for the girl’s (and boy’s) dormitories. Wooden beds harbour bed bugs which are difficult to eradicate.
Teacher Aidah, headmistress Beatrice, the Kamuli town Engineer and Allan examining erosion and drainage problems at Bezallel Primary School. BezCan has undertaken to look at helping with fairly serious problems in these areas.	A project at Bezallel just started and not yet completed. A system of rubbish ‘skips’ to control bio-degradable and non-bio-degradable rubbish to replace the existing unsightly smelly pile of rubbish on the school ground.

To Finish Off – some little additional glimpses of our life in Uganda…
Enjoying a meal at a Chinese restaurant in Jinja 60 kms from Kamuli. Jinja has some western style restaurants, our home town of Kamuli has no western style restaurants. We are with some friends from Aus plus our helpers Christine and Budhala.	Meeting with some relatives of Pam from Autralia that were visiting Jinja. The Nile river is in the background.
With a neighbour ready to head off to an ‘introduction’ – a pre-wedding formal occasion. In official garb; a Gomez for Pam and a Kanzu for Allan.	Banana Village, near Entebbe airport. We stay here coming and going from Uganda and come here on rare occasions to get away from it all.
Jinja, 60 kms from Kamuli, has quite a large missionary community, mainly American. Here are some very dear friends from that community, Jesse and Bev Rich. They have been about 30 yrs in Uganda. They are lovely and gracious people who have been a big help and encouragement to us.