I am the one

This Facebook post had us really laughing last night as we could identify with most of them already, 'even' after only 6 months! Yes, I am the one.

AN EXPATRIATE OR A FOREIGNER KNOWS HE'S BEEN IN UGANDA FOR TOO LONG WHEN:

…seeing someone speeding towards you in the wrong lane seems completely normal …You find yourself pointing with your lips and saying "yes" by raising both eyebrows. …You can masterfully employ a variety of "Eh!" and "Eh eh!" noises to convey a range of meanings …You know "Come back tomorrow at 10:00 a.m." means whatever you're trying to get done is NEVER going to happen …You start using the words "even" and "ever" in places you never would have ("Even me, I'm feeling hungry," or "I have ever done that") …You start referring to people as "this one" or "that one" …You willingly drive into oncoming traffic just to avoid the potholes …you can speak Uganglish so well that - you talk with a Ugandan accent; use words like 'shocked,' 'fearing,' 'extend,' 'balance,' ''somehow,' 'even me,' and 'can you imagine' and 'are you sure?' far too often... …you know the load shedding schedule by heart …When you come back from being out of the country and conversations go as: Them: "you have been lost!!" and your response: "I have been found!" Them: "how is there?" and you: "there is fine!" Them: "you have gone fat!!!" and you are lost for words because you have forgotten how frank Ugandans are …You emphasize how you like something and they say: "Are you sure?" …someone calls out your name and your reply is: "I am the one!" …you end the conversation with "ok please" …You ask for someone, and you know the answer "He's within" means everything from "He's within the building" to "He's within the city" or even "He's within the country". …you start sentences with 'As for me, I ….' …you get 'Am Fine' as a reply to your 'hi'. …Clothes becomes a two-syllable word. Clo - thes. …You know the man asking for Lose actually refers to Rose. …your handshakes last an entire conversation …your home does not have an address …people walk into your house and you say "You are all most welcome!" …you think "eh" in a high pitch tone is the correct way to respond when a boda drivers price suggestion is too high.


We are now local already folks somehow, yes, you are shocked? Eh! Even me, I am a local! 

Extend your eyes this way and enjoy the pictures - can you imagine? You are all most welcome. 

Ok, please.

I feel like I fit in much more and just disappear into the background when I dress like this. Healthy tan, eh?

Jam anyone?

I'm never letting Sue drive a lorry ever again.

Now it all suddenly makes so much more sense!

Visiting in the slums

I don't often get the opportunity to visit families in the slum communities as I am busy with the girls and other commitments but recently I have had the privilege of visiting some families as part of some research that John and I are doing. Whenever I visit families I am overwhelmed by the welcome we receive and the warmth that is shown among the desperate situations that we witness. I just wanted to share with you, my visits to a few of these families to give you a picture of some of the people we are working with.

Mama I is a 19 year old mother originally from the Congo. She has a little boy who is around a year old and is bringing him up alone. My visit to this Mama's house was one of joy and hope. Mama had recently returned from a 3 week trip to a re-feeding and training centre which Revelation Life had paid for and taken her to, due to the severity of her son's malnutrition. As I sat in her one roomed home, she excitedly told me about her experience at the centre and how well her little boy was doing. She had the laminated timetable from her stay at the centre on her wall and was now following the same routine at home. She laughed and chatted, showing me the forms with baby I's weights at different stages and spoke with confidence about how she knew that baby I would not become malnourished again, as she now knew how to cook well for him. She spoke so fondly of the revelation life team and their faithfulness. She showed me the cream which the team had given her which healed a terrible rash that innocent had had. I was left so humbled and grateful for what I had in my own life. This Mama was so over the moon and grateful for having been given a pot of cream, some mentoring in how to cook and people that truly cared for her. Her home was very simple, she had few possessions, no husband to take care of her, no job but she now had a healthy son and was full of Hope. The team continue to visit her a few times a week to check in with her, deliver her food for her son and monitor her progress. Well done Mama Innocent for your positive approach to life and for showing me how small things can make a world of difference.

My visit with Mama T (in the picture above) was somewhat different from the one I described above. Sometimes when I chat with people and they tell me their story, I can't believe how so many tragedies can happen in one persons life. It was like this with Mama T. I sat on the floor on the edge of a thin dirty mattress as there were no chairs or beds in this tiny windowless one room home. Never the less, mama was extremely welcoming and was happen to tell us about her life and her situation. She had 2 babies living with her, baby T who is a year and a half and B, his younger sister, who is about 6 months. Both looked weak and unwell although there was an obvious bond and love between them and there mother. As we chatted I found out that her first husband had died and that her three children had gone to live with her in laws family (am unsure if this was against her will, her choice or just a necessity). She had left the countryside for the city in search of work and found a new man. She gave birth to a boy but sadly due to illness and lack of money for medical fees, he did not reach his first birthday. This profoundly affected Mama and she has not really been the same since. To add to all of this, when she was pregnant with baby B she found out that her husband had been killed in Somalia where he was a soldier. So much loss in one persons life. Life is tough in Kampala's slums, especially when you have no man to take care of you. There is no benefit system, so if you want to eat you have to somehow earn money even if you have no job. My heart went out to Mama T and her desperate situation. I wanted to hold her and for all the pain to go away. Although she had been given lots of help and support from Revelation Life, her situation failed to improve significantly because of the severity of her situation and her loss of Hope. We, however, are not losing Hope in her and now look to the future, considering what Mama T and others in a similar situation need to help get them back on their feet and re-find hope for their lives.

Making toys

Short and sweet!

Not just this blog post but these two lovely children who are about to teach you some cool new skills to try out:

a) with your own kids

b) with pupils at school

c) on your own, on a cold, wet, English Sunday afternoon ;-)

I made this one the other day. Daniella is Mayah's friend and our friend, Harriet's daughter.

This is an old one, but please watch it as I'm trying to break the 250,000 views mark! 

Round houses and mud chairs

I went up to Gulu last week, which is in the north, where the LRA (Kony and his mates) and the Ugandan Army did some very, very terrible things. But let's not just define the place by it's post conflict status - it was a really great place to visit and is doing well at getting back on its feet.

We spent two days 'in the field' out in Amuru (about 2 hours each way on very potholed and slippery roads). The homes were all like those above and the compounds were exceptionally clean and tidy, I did feel a bit of a slob when I imagined how they might react if they came round to ours - even though it's actually pretty good (you do a great job Sue!). My main reason for going was to find out about mud furniture and a bit more about groups and how they work well together, so we had lots of questions and listening to do.

I was also there to make a video about building a chair out of mud and bricks so that I could a) show it to the people in the slums where we work b) share it with the world on Youtube and c) make a bit of money by doing it for Send a Cow - fair enough eh? Making the video was simple as we worked with Jennifer, her friend and Andrew (below), who were really great and let me boss then around to help me get the right shot - which isn't easy when there is harsh sunlight outside and darkness inside their homes. Isaac King and I surprised ourselves by actually feeling really sad when we'd all finished up at the end of the day, that's how nice they all were (Isaac also said that he would like to spend a holiday in one of the huts, which I'm sure we could arrange).

So, because of the light I decided on a photo-video as it would have been too blurry otherwise. If you want to know how to make one of these beautiful items of furniture then watch this and you'll be rolling up the carpet and getting bricks from the garden quick sharp.

Make a mud & brick chair 

Or just take a look at these beauties...

Mud up north

Next week I'm heading 'up north' to a place called Amuru. Unlike going up north in the UK, this trip doesn't involve extra rain and extra eyeshadow, but it does involve strong accents. Why the 5 hour drive? Well, there's a group of Send a Cow farmers there who have been innovating in making all sorts of household furniture out of mud and a few sticks. I must admit, I've no idea how they do it so well, but that is why I'm heading up.

I'll also be gate-crashing the Send a Cow Social Development meetings, which will give me a really good idea on how to help groups increase their resilience to shocks, change and challenges - which we all know come our way in life. I'll be updating when I return, for now, here are some pictures of the kind of things these groups make. Maybe you'll start seeing them in IKEA soon?

For those who like maps like I do, here's a  map...

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Rain, rain

We are all anticipating some heavy rains over the next few months. For us, this will just mean coats on and a few slips in the mud, but for many in the slum communities it means flooded homes, cold nights and sick children.

It's not something that can change overnight, but it is something that we can work with the communities on; helping them to adapt their housing and run off trenches as well as trying to get in touch with the local council so that they can do their bit too.

I made this little video to show the impact of just one mornings' rain so that if I do meet up with a local political bod, I can whip my phone out and show them this...

Expect the Unexpected!

Before we moved to Uganda, when we were  just in the preparation stage, we were given a prophetic word from a friend that we should expect the unexpected. This has been true over and over again here. This has definitely been true of our journey into school life. Back at school in the UK, I remember a colleague asking me if I would get a teaching job in Uganda. I answered very strongly that no I wouldn't be and had no intention of working in a school. I also was fully expecting to be homeschooling the girls for at least the first year. Well things aren't always as you expect and I am now working in an international school (2 days a week) and the girls are attending the school 3 days a week.
It has been a beautiful journey and has God's blessing all over it! The first few months homeschooling went really well and the girls loved having so much time to play and enjoyed the schooling part, but it soon became obvious that they were desparate for friends of their own age and something more.  School fees for international schools here are really high so God seemed to have it all sorted that I could work for a couple of days at the school (which I love doing) in exchange for school fees. The school we found has just 60 kids in it from 3 - 11 and the largest class has only 15 children in it. In Ava's class of 12, there are 10 different nationalities, making it truly international. Mayah has settled in really well and loves her teacher and classmates and the small setting suits her down to the ground. It is such a joy to hear her chat so happily about school and to be so settled there. She even gets to do ballet as an after school club! Ava also loves school and participates in all activities with enthusiasm!. She has made some really strong friendships.

The other totally unexpected part of all this is my role in the school. I am overseeing the early years class (3 - 5's)! My experience in teaching has mainly been with 9-11 year olds. However, God's grace has totally been on me and I have really enjoyed this new challenge, especially having the opportunity to shape how the early years class operates. Working with an amazing Ugandan teacher and lovely Dutch lady has also been a joy.
Before we came, we felt really strongly that God would take good care of our children, that he wouldn't call us to work here and then abandon our girls. I am so excited to be able to testify to God's goodness that he really has taken care of the girls. It has been a journey with some homesickness and tears, but they have now developed strong friendships with 3 or 4 children each, are loving school, generally are enjoying life and will openly talk about how they are happy living here.
I am sure there will be many more trials to come but I trust God that he will continue to look after our girls and fill their lives with blessing.

The must-have, miracle tree Moringa

Anyone who has spoken to me recently has probably heard me mention something about this special tree.

There's a lot that can be said about it, but to be brief, here are some pictures and a few words to give an idea as to why this tree now has a special place in my heart.

Let me introduce my personal (2 and a half month old) tree. They grow really quickly and in poor soils and as my mission is to replicate what is going on in the slums in mini-tests, this one is growing in a large water bottle. 

 So, what's so special about this tree? Well, there is almost too much to say. It has so many nutritional benefits, here are just a few:

It's used around the world and grows very well in the tropics - basically it grows in just about all of the countries where malnutrition is a problem. Handy eh? Also very handy is the fact that after doing some research and wanting to find a Moringa expert locally, it just so happens that one lives next door! He even helps publish book about the tree.

I'm not saying it definitely does all of the things below, but sometimes the wisdom of generations past can know best.

My plan is to trial growing Moringa in the slum communities, on roof tops in pots, in old jerry cans and water bottles. One great bloke called Fred is very keen on trying out some new ideas and so I'll be putting some pictures up soon of his home in the slum with pots on top and around the sides. I want to go slowly and carefully though, as the government tried to popularise Moringa a few years back and sold the idea as a get-rich-quick crop, but there was no market for it as people were not aware of it's many benefits. That's where we'll start - with telling people why it's so good.

If you want more info and a bit of hard evidence to back up some of these claims, try this site out.

Oh, and you can use the seeds to purify water too.....

Words of wisdom - by John

I've been enjoying some proverbs again recently and so here are a few that have made me stop and think about how we do things here. Hopefully they will make you pause and ponder a bit too.

This is an interesting one. It's obviously not good to help people in need so that you get a reward, but the idea that we are 'lending' to God when we help people is quite an eye-opener.

This one challenges my perceptions of development. We assume that it's all about having clean water, making money and improving conditions. Well, it is those things, but if there is no love in the heart or the household then aren't we missing the point?

Ok, seems obvious really. But this scary one reminds me that there are probably ways in which we all oppress the poor without realising it. Although it's not intentional that we buy products and services that oppress the poor through poor wages and conditions, we are still active in the system that exploits people. And I'm not sure if those who are oppressed really care whether we meant it or not, they just want it to stop.

Another development related one. How? Well it seems that many NGOs have the 'answer' to issues, problems and a communities' concerns well before they listen to the people they aim to help. It's so easy to do and, of course, you can only help in ways that you are skilled in. But I'm really keen to listen as much as possible before coming up with a list of answers to everyone's problems.

Hope there was a good slice of food for thought for you there too!

Keeping clean - by John

Just a quick update here. It's been really busy with lots of visitors to the team on a 'Missions School'. I say visitors, but some are actually from the slum communities so we are their visitors really.

One of the things that we tried out with the team was making 'Tip-Tap' handwashers. These are made out of sticks, string and a bottle and so barely cost a thing but keep hands clean. The cleaner the hands, the less likely disease is to spread.

Here's one that our friend Charles helped to make in one of the slums. Part of the test is to see how long it lasts. It may be that the wood finds a new home in a fire and the bottle makes someone a nice water carrier - we'll wait and see!

You may notice that we have two posters on this toilet too. And if your eyesight is commando-like you'll see that one is in English and one Luganda. Part of the plan is to popularise techniques like this through posters etc. Maybe soon I'll be blogging about a giant Tip-Tap mural on this wall, that's if the tap itself stands up to pilfering hands.

Half full or empty? - by John

As you may have picked up from previous blog posts, I am a big fan of seeing waste as a resource and focusing on opportunities rather than problems. With that approach I thought we should try out an idea in K1 in lieu of the bad floods which enter some of the houses at least once a year.

There is a lot on the internet about an interesting technology for building houses and water tanks through using plastic bottles as bricks. To make them strong like bricks, sand and soil are rammed into the bottles, which are stacked to make walls. Simple eh?

I thought we could try something out on a different scale by making use of the large bottles that are used by hotels and Muzungus (white folk) over here. They also find their way into the slums, but by that time you have to pay for them, although they are only about 12p a pop.

So, a few of us got together and set to work outside one mama's house, who gets filthy water flowing into it, to try this idea out. We also had help from the self-appointed 'Chairman', Obama, a fun chap who was trying to convince us that he fought in the First World War. He is old, but surely not? Mind you, he is also a witch doctor so you never know.

Here's how we got on.

We placed the bottles facing into the ground to hopefully prevent them from getting washed away (they are also very heavy!). Other, smaller bottles and stones were placed below and in the gaps between the large bottles.

A soil bank was piled up behind the bottles to help hold them in place as people walk across, compacting them over time. Obama is having a break here.. well, he is apparently over 100 years old ;)

Ta dah! The finished job looked good, but we will see how it fairs in the floods. We will be going into the community each week to see how it's doing. And to check if Obama has his letter from the Queen yet too.

Rolex and hub caps - by John

A quick update with two new things from the past week:

#1

This video I made for schools about making a 'Rolex'. Not the time-keeper, this one is edible. Try it, they're tasty!

My new BBQ, made out of an old wheel hub. Proper Ugandan style!

That's all for now. Carry on as you were.

Trial and error - by John

Before I start suggesting that people living in the slums try some techniques out, I want to try them out myself. 

So, my veranda and garden patch is slowly becoming a test bed for a few ideas to see if they work. I'm also very fortunate to be able to make videos for Send a Cow that are useful to them and me too. The solar tyre oven video below is an example of this. It may not be quite right for the slums, but the principles can be transferred to other materials.

The solar tyre oven works on the principle of reflection and a mini greenhouse effect. The glass costs about £5 and so is a bit too expensive for the people we are working with. So, I've tried out a smaller, cheaper (almost free) version that still works, just not as well (pic above). It's made out of a large water bottle, a little newspaper and silver foil. I cut the top off the bottle and inverted it and placed silver foil around this dish shape - this is where the black cooking pot sits. Then, I put the bottle base on top, creating a mini-greenhouse that heats food up, or even just generates hot water in the bottles to wash clothes with.

My other experiments involve growing plants in containers that you can get hold of in the slums. The idea is to keep the plants well fed with manure and 'plant tea' so that they do well in a small container. I'm also trying out growing an amazing tree called moringa (3 times the Potassium in bananas, 7 times the Vitamin-C as in oranges, 25 times the Iron in spinach, 4 times the Calcium in milk, 4 times the Vitamin A in carrots, 46 Antioxidants, 36 Anti-Inflammatories, Omegas 3, 6, and 9!) and an anti-malarial called artemesia that will both be very useful for the communities. Other than that, I'm drying out orange peels in the sun to use to light fires, and to repel mosquitoes. They burn really well due to their sugar content (thanks for the tip John and Sue Hill!) and are usually discarded and wasted in the slums. So, these are just a few things that I'm looking into during this research phase, as well as talking a lot with the community members and other NGOs.

I'll let you know how I get on!

Hope and dreams in Banda slum - by John

A trip this morning to Banda made quite an impact on me. It was part of my series of trips into the communities to ask lots of questions and find out what their priorities are and what they want training in. Although I've got bags of ideas, I need them to tell me what they feel is important - at the moment anything to do with food growing, health and small business help is a winner.

See those containers next to the homes? Full of petrol!

After talking to several mamas <'mothers' in English> I got a real sense that each had a fairly well thought out dream for their lives, and some even a thorough business plan! I shouldn't be surprised as I'm a strong believer in the power and importance of dreams in our lives, I did my degree dissertation on the power of 'envisioning' a utopian future for our lives and society. I even put some stuff about dreams in our leaflet for coming to Uganda. But when you speak to people about how they want to sell charcoal at such-and-such a profit so that they can invest in a piece of land with goats and cows to farm and provide for their children it's really humbling. It's also hard not to act like a bank and offer to provide the capital they need right there and then, but more on that in another blog to come.

I think it reminded me of the importance of having vision in our own lives so that we go somewhere. Ironically, the word utopia is a play on words, meaning 'the nowhere place'. In other words, 'why dream of a perfect world, you know it won't happen.' But that is part of the point, it will only start to happen as we dream and have hope where there seems to be very little. I want to help these mamas kindle their dreams, and be careful not to fan too much expectation on them to begin with, but to help keep their dreams going and growing.

As I was thinking this walking around Banda, (yes, I do get myself into deep mode at times), an unexpected event happened that took me straight back to the here and now. A group of men, many holding gnarly sticks, ran angrily through where we were standing shouting and pointing into the distance. I'd heard of this happening - it was mob rule. They were after a man who had cheated and stolen money from them and they were getting fed up with it, so they took it into their own hands to finish him off, and yes, I do mean finish him off. The only hope for him was that someone had called the police. I was fully expecting to half watch this man being bludgeoned to death and was told there was nothing we could do as they were set on punishing him and people who interfere get the same.

Thankfully the police intervened.

It was all over so quickly. Mercifully, a policeman did come, and the mob strangely gave in to him straight away; perhaps the AK47 helped. The man was taken away to the station and it was over. Except that it wasn't. As we made our way over to the street, the mob was advancing again, now looking for the man's accomplices along with the police. The rest of the story? I don't know. They were angry and as I took this shot, they threatened me, so we thought it best to leave them to it.

What has this to do with the first half of this post? Well, after talking to my friends Bumba and Soloman, I learnt that this 20 something had been beaten to within an inch of his life many, many times before. Soloman had shared about the love of God with him several times, but he wasn't interested. This man had no dream, no hope. He knows at some point his nine lives will run out and the mob will get their justice. His only dreams are immediate; stealing and cheating people out of their money, despite the dire consequences. And although he fulfills his short-term dream time after time, he'll always come back for more until it's too late. But there is still hope for him yet.

So, what to make of all this? I'm not wholly sure. But I know that the power of what we dwell on in our minds, and dream about, has profound consequences. It has galvanised my intention to do my best to help people have a hope and to take steps towards their dreams. 

Let's see what happens. 

I'll also let you know what the end to the mob story was as soon as I can find out - I don't want to leave you in suspense...

*please leave a response using the boxes below :~)

Getting into life in Uganda - by Sue

We've been here now for nearly three weeks and are feeling surprisingly at home. I've thrown myself into setting up home and helping the girls adjust to life here. I thought I may share some of the more minor details and differences of our life here, before I become so accustomed to them that they seem normal!

Our house here is lovely, a 2 bed bungalow with veranda, tiled floors, shower room, small but adequate kitchen, and a great view. We have finally finished unpacking and bought the things we need and our house definitely feels like home now. I'm getting used to the frequent power cuts, lack of water in the kitchen tap and no washing machine! And I am continually reminded of our blessings as I watch families living all around this area, walking to fetch water, sometimes children as young as two or three embarking on this job.

I love the walk to the local market stalls. Along a little path, goats often standing in our way, chickens pecking around, locals collecting water, men chopping down banana leaves with machetes and sometimes cows or other animals being led along. As we walk past some small settlements, children wave shouting 'bye, bye' or 'muzungu' which means white person! The women will be bent over a bowl washing clothes or dishes or sat by a cooking pot.

What stands out above all else is the friendliness of everyone you pass. The little stalls are all along the road, some with only a handful of veg and some with a lot. I fill my bag from various stalls with potatoes, avocados, tomatoes, buga (red leafy veg like spinach), mangos, a pineapple, green pepper, onions, garlic and am still likely to come home with change from the equivalent of £2. Mayah and Ava happily walk or skip along with me, waving to locals and acting as if this is no different than the UK!

On our last shopping trip when I took my eyes off them for only a moment and looked down to see them sat in the charcoal dust drawing pictures in it, with blackened faces, I thought maybe they had become too familiar with life here!

Even though it is warm all day, every day and all night, darkness falling at 7 (all year round) is taking some getting used too. This comes together with the mosquitos meaning that all doors and windows must be shut leaving us to the mercies of our electric fan! Even with everything shut, we can hear the crickets clearly!

Driving is the other main area that is so different to the UK. The rules of the road just don't seem to apply here. You have to just pull out whether something is coming or not and hope for the best. Little motorbikes called 'bodas' dart in and out of the traffic carrying the most interesting of loads; 3 people and a baby, 2 people and a pig, 2 people and a bed and almost any other combination you could imagine!



Despite many differences, as I mentioned earlier, I feel very at home here and am falling in love with beautiful Uganda and the beautiful people here. I hope this enlightens you a little into daily life here for us.

.

Slum opportunties

My first week of work has been all about getting to know the team and visiting the slum communities. I'm used to visiting rural areas in Africa with their large plots of land, and huge distances between houses interspersed by cows, chickens and goats roaming at will.

Slums are very different places. Today I went to Katogo 1 (as settlements they're given names like this, much like the schools in Russia, 'School Number 263', not very warm and fuzzy), where the houses were really tightly squeezed together in places. So much so, that a few times I literally had to inch my way through between them and was glad that I didn't eat more dinner last night. This close proximity all seems to work ok for people here, until there is a crisis or shock, like heavy rainfall for days on end. In those times the narrow passages become filthy streams carrying effluent right past, and often into, people's homes.

This is just one of the many complexities of slum life. All seems well until there is a problem, and the problems seem to overtake people, who are willing, but unable to do much about them.

As I walk around the slums I try not to focus on the problems, but to remember the words of Ida Hadoto, Send a Cow's Social Development Manager, who said that you should look for resources, not the need. It's all too easy to see need and you can't really miss it, but you can miss spotting resources if you don't look in the right way. It's an exciting way to view the slums as there are plenty of opportunities and resources there.

For example, there are hundreds of people (if not thousands) looking for work and eager to make some money. This could be seen as a problem, but actually, it's a huge resource as these are people that the charity can train and then employ to build, make things and pay to train others, or who will eagerly learn new skills to start their own micro-enterprises. And with these new skills their willingness to work can take them all sorts of places, especially if they organise themselves together.

Another simple thing that I've noticed is the colossal amount of plastic bottles that are collected to be sold for recycling. They get a tiny amount of money for huge bags of bottles sold by the kilo, when they could be re-purposed and used for all kinds of things like growing food, purifying water and even as bricks to make long-lasting structures.

So, I plan to continue to see the slum communities with eyes of hope, noticing the positive and looking for opportunities where there can seem to be none. That should keen me on my toes!

Here and happy in Uganda

We've now been here a week and after many hours sat in traffic and trips to various places we are pretty much set up with the house, phones, internet and car.

There's also been time to get to know the team a bit better and we have met some really lovely people and had fun with them already.

I have been learning more about what Rev Life do in the slums, made a visit to 'the land', and have made links on Twitter and email with some great organisations. And I've secured a steady supply of manure from the cows up the road for my bottle gardens - cherry tomatoes, chillies and cucumbers will hopefully pop up quicker than in the UK! Plus Sue has made things more homely with hearts, pictures and tidyness and is gearing up for home schooling next week.

There will be more to come soon about the work in the slums as we get stuck in, but for now we have made a little video that sets the scene for you...

Fond Memories and New Beginnings

April was the month where we packed up our house, prepared it for renting and bid farewell to our home and many friends. It was exhausting and emotional yet beautiful all at the same time. As the move has crept closer and closer, I have come to realise what a wonderful place Bath has been for us and how many meaningful and special friendships we have as a family there.
Our goodbyes started with a lovely (indoor) picnic for the girls and some of their closest friends.

























Many more small and large gatherings followed this and we all felt very loved and valued. The girls did amazingly, saying many goodbyes and leaving their friends in a really positive way.
As I write this in Exeter at my parents, I feel like we are in limbo - we have moved out of our family home, yet we have not yet moved to our new home in Uganda. This is a great opportunity for me to reflect on life, looking back with fond memories on many happy years in Bath and looking forward to our new life in Uganda. A time of goodbyes and new beginnings. A time to ponder on what is really important in life and how I can live life to the max, living wholeheartedly. I have been really inspired by Brene Brown and her book 'The gifts of imperfection' (highly recommend it) and have been pondering on how to cultivate gratitude and joy, play and rest, trusting faith, calm and stillness and many other traits in my life. I am so grateful that I have this little pause before our big move to stop, reflect, be still and be renewed.

A lesson in trust

For those of you who know me well or even those who only know me a little will, I am sure you will recognise in me that I am someone who likes to be in control! Trusting hasn't been easy for me in the past. This whole process has been a huge learning curve for me,  (and of course that is not over, only just beginning!) a huge risky step, a leap of faith into the unknown, uncertainty -  handing in notice to our jobs and finding tenants for our home before having even a penny towards our life in Uganda. Putting our total trust in God that He would finish what he has started and being totally out of control! Sure enough, the money has trickled in and on some days poured in, tenants were found, children excited, dog re-homed and many, many other little things have come together and fitted into place, in fact God seems to have had everything covered. I feel slightly surprised but not sure why - God wouldn't ask us to move to Uganda and then not provide for us!

So, in all of this I'm learning to trust, take a pause and learn to be still more. And I'm sure that's going to be valuable for all of us whilst in Uganda.

Sort, chuck, make-do-and-mend

There's been a bit of a marathon going on in our house at Cameley Green. Nothing particularly energetic and no distance covered, but the amount achieved means that Sue in particular deserves a medal (a giant chocolate one?). She has been through our cupboards, drawers and cubby-holes for many, many weeks. All the bits, bobs and stuff of life that we've accumulated over the years has now been classified as: store, take, recycle, sell or dump.

This kind of process is not my forte, but it really is Sue's. And even with her purge diktat of, 'if it's not been used for a year, get rid', we still had a lot of stuff. In some ways I was shocked. We are not really very consumerist and I like to make things last, so to find so many objects whose fate we had to decide has been like a course in decisiveness - one must be brutal!

It reminded me of the Philip K Dick book that inspired the Bladerunner film, where there is talk of 'kipple' filling the world. The urban dictionary explains:

'Kipple... refers to the sinister type of rubbish which simply builds up without any human intervention. Eventually, one day, the entire world will have moved to a state of kipplization.' Find out more about Kipple here ~> *

I now have a similar fear. Wherever there is some space, it will always be filled. So, may I strongly urge you to have a purge of your own, and deal with your kipple - you'll feel a lot better for it. I now have a great sense of cleansing and release (I know, this sounds like a spa day ad). I feel strangely free of things. Of course, we do have some stuff left and will be taking 11 suitcases as well as my bike, but the act of getting rid of all that kipple has really helped draw a healthy line under sections of my life that I hadn't quite done until now: my father's death; student days; old hobbies, seriously out of date clothes and past loves.

My reflection on kipple as we move on to Uganda is that you don't have to be a big shop-aholic consumerist to be connected to stuff. Objects, can and should have a place in our lives, but it's not until you look in your attic that you realise that you are a bit materialistic after all.

Houses

Here is a picture of our first house in Uganda! This is a lovely 2 bed house, nicely tiled and clean! It is in smallish compound with 2 other houses, one of which homes some guys from Revelation Life. We have been told that there is some grass too! The compound has a wall around it and is conveniently half way between the rev life offices & girls houses and Simon and Nicola's home. We are really grateful for this house and think it will be a great start to our time in Uganda. We may look for somewhere bigger when we are there (more space for visitors, homeschooling etc) or we may stay here for a while.

I am really looking forward to buying a lovely chair for the veranda and sitting there with a book (or kindle) to relax. Can also imagine it being a good spot for breakfast.

Feeling sad to be leaving our home of 7 years but am beginning to imagine our family here and can't wait to put up the butterfly bunting I have bought!

Here's a map of where it is (roughly). Our house is where the yellow balloon is.


View Rev Life in a larger map