Apologies

Apologies to those of you who check this space much more frequently than we write in it.

And, what to write? I always find the length of lapsed time between blog postings proportional to the challenge I face at what to say next?  Inevitably the joys, faux pas, surprises, drone of daily life, answered prayers or answers still yet not seen swirl together to create a mass of choices I must sift through for sharing.  This time is no different.

Let's start with the hilarious things the kids say. Kevin, age 9,  at 6 in the morning with his wild mane jostling as he stretches out his arms and exclaims, "All I need today is a little bit of coffee and a whole lot of Jesus!" It's good to have a gut laugh that early in the morning--starts the day out even better than coffee could.  And he was serious about both, by the way. He and Acacia are our little coffee buddies. I'm not sure whether I should be proud or embarrassed at Acacia's coffee snobbery,  Me: "Acacia, would you like some coffee?" Acacia: "Only if it's the good kind, otherwise, no." (She meant dark roast from Starbucks.) Oh my, I've started something . . . 

Here is said wee coffee drinker wearing the shirt and shorts he wears 6 out of 7 days a week. WHY did I bother to pack the other 7 shirts and shorts that occupied precious space in a trunk from the U.S.? Kevin's theory on his minimal wardrobe preferences---"If I only wear one outfit, I have fewer clothes to wash come Saturday."

On a serious note, we spent the month of December battling malaria which intruded our lives one by one starting with Geoff and working it's way through all of us. I was fairly laid out for most of the holiday and didn't truly begin to feel back to normal until a little more than a week ago. Some of my indecision on what to write here is the cloudy memories I have of recent. But, praise our God, we're all healthy again and moving forward in the blessings He gives each day.

Blessings. A great next topic.

Luke 14:26-27, "If anyone comes to Me and loves his father, mother, wife, children, brothers and sisters or even his own life more than Me, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple." These words became the plumb line for the heart of one of our daughters struggling with a major life decision.  I've spent many hours of prayer and showing her the truth of God's words in scripture, hoping that these guiding and defining words would become reality for her. And they did. But, it was a long journey requiring patience and trust that God Himself would be the voice she heard the loudest.  She comes from a strict Muslim background, being the only Christian in all of her family. Through the years her mother has honored her daughter's choices to stand against Muslim tradition while choosing to follow Christ. For the past few years there have been an increase of threats from family members that she must follow their desires for her future. She is an obedient young lady, desiring to honor her family, especially her brothers and uncles. And this was the crucible upon which she writhed for weeks as she sought for a way to honor them while simultaneously following her Lord. As she recently announced with conviction her decision, she cited what had finally moved her from attempting to straddle the desires of opposite camps. "Aunt, it was from the book of Luke. Jesus said I must take up my cross and follow Him and I must." She does so knowing that her decision cuts off all financial provision from her family, for they made it clear that unless she attends the school of their choosing, they would give no provision for her further education. When I asked her if she had any ideas on where financial provision might come from she quickly replied, "The more I grow, I trust God with money." I asked for more of an explanation and she related a recent dream she'd had a few months ago. "I dreamed that all my treasures were taken from me. I dreamed that my cow that I was planning to sell died. The next day I received word that my cow had died in the night in childbirth and the calf died as well. But, God alerted me and I was not surprised." For me I saw a taking away of financial provision in that story, but she sees that He is in control, so she need not worry. Lessons from the young and faith-filled.  We took her application papers to the school of her choice last Monday and expect to hear in the next couple of weeks regarding her acceptance letter. Pray for her as she continues walking with her Father God, trusting Him for all things. (And on an extremely mild note compared to all of that, I drove her to that school on Monday---about an hour's drive from our home which is the farthest I've driven in Uganda to date. Yes, the road offered the usual obstacle course of was swerving buses, tail-gating taxis, police stops, and other vehicles passing us on visually-impaired inclines and corners, but the conversation with this young lady was rich and I wouldn't have traded it for any other transportation arrangement!)

We held our annual Envisioning conference earlier this month and received rich teaching for five days! It was fantastic to be with all the staff while we focused on "Hallowed Be Thy Name" as a theme and guide for this year. Guest speaker Brian Watts taught the bulk of the teaching on the theme as well as Christian education, parenting, marriage and singleness. Others of our staff shared on New Hope's history, and some practical issues we face as we serve together in this ministry to the fatherless. As always, it was a week filled with challenging messages, but the highlight was the passion with which both Godfrey Kyazze and Dr. Gillian shared their vision for reworking Christian education in this country. The Master's Institute of Education is moving forward and it's progress in bringing glory to God through a new educational curriculum and the training of the teacher's of tomorrow is more than exciting--it's life-changing for this society. Check the New Hope website for more information www.newhopeuganda.org

We took opportunity at Envisioning to capture a visual record of the New Hope staff for 2014

And in other news, our goat, Holy, yes--the Holy goat, birthed her second kid earlier this month. The children and their friends were enthralled at the process and stood transfixed for more than 30 minutes as Holy labored and finally produced little Quentin.

Holy gives her new little one kisses only moments after he emerged.

He belongs to Sam as he was the one who took her to be mated while we were out of the country last year. This new arrival has proved a daily draw for the babies of the Hope Family baby house as they take their afternoon stroll around New Hope.

These little ones are also learning to enjoy the big black dog who is twice their size. As they tentatively reach out to touch her she relishes the attention and gives them as much time as they need to gain confidence.

And for this next week, Geoff, Jay and Jonnes are in Kobwin leading the teaching for the staff there on manhood, womanhood and marriage. They will be there through Monday when they will travel to Musana Camps for another set of meetings focused on programs aimed at strengthening our children's spiritual development.  The kids and I will travel to the camp on Monday as well. The plan is for all of us to stay through Thursday.  Toby, Acacia and Kevin had a short break from school planned this week already, so they are VERY excited to be filling their time with swimming at the lake, hiking, exploring and for Toby, hopefully riding an ATV. Unfortunately, Sam will have to stay behind as this is his first week of his first year in secondary school and it is too important of a time to be missed.

With the onset of a new year we enjoyed a rapid influx of staff returning from the holidays, nationally and abroad. This gave us many opportunities to host friends for dinner and one of our favorites was Auntie Jennie and her daughter Elizabeth. Elizabeth loves to be read to and apparently so do Kevin and Sam!!!

The holidays are quiet around here and give lots of time to do the unusual. To that end, we spent an evening around the campfire in our yard, roasting pineapple.  Mmmmmmm

Last Saturday I accompanied new staff members, Steve and Virginia Agosto into Kampala in an attempt to acquaint them with the shops and what they offer.  Brandy, the cat, didn't care about any of that. She only wants to know which of our bags is holding her food! Indeed, she watched my every move as all bags were emptied until the cat food was unveiled.

Another holiday activity was Acacia getting her hair braided by Jennifer, one of our dear David Family daughters. It took about 10 hours for her to complete the task, while Christine's hairdo only took about 4 hours.

Acacia removed her braids last Saturday while I was in town, so Geoff and the boys did it for her. THAT process only took about an hour! After 4 weeks, she was happy to have her own hair showing again!

Toby planned and hosted an impromptu surprise birthday party for his friend Stuart this week. When Stuart didn't show up at the intended time, Abraham rode out to the village to retrieve him. The surprise was a success, complete with Stuart entering the house while foam nerf bullets pelted him. Only an hour late, the party started with cake and ended with a football match.

Yup. Nothing like a game of football in the blazing afternoon sun! It is the hot and dry season, notice the browning grass under the boys bare feet.

Due to an insufficient gutter system combined with the dry season, we've had to bring water in and add to our cistern and above ground tanks. Geoff and the boys spent about three hours one evening hauling water last week, and Sam and Medi spent all afternoon on Monday hauling jerry cans from the water tower to fill the above ground tank for use on our garden and for clothes washing.  Notice Quentin the kid trying to help lift the jerry can at Medi's feet.

Currently, the insufficient gutter system is in shambles on the ground, having been torn off earlier this week as we prepare for a new gutter system to be installed. After that, let the rains begin!!!

Hopefully all those words and the few pictures I've shared give you at least a snippet of what's been going on here.  Thanks for your prayers, support, emails, FB messages and love! As I usually say with guilt after a post like this that has come long overdue, I'll try to not let so much time pass between me and the computer keyboard.

Blessings to you!!!
Mary