Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Day 5 of trip (day 3 in village)

This is Vanessa writing... 

At the FH office we met some new faces that are working with FH. Jean works with FH in Burundi and was here for a brief visit so see the current projects in Mbale communities. Patricia is a student at Uganda Christian University and is doing her practicum with FH. We were also welcomed with a familiar face, Edith, who is a community administrator in Nashisa.

After introductions Stephen led a devotion from Psalm 23. This was just what was needed to start the day. The reminder that God is our Shepherd who is walking with us for guidance and provisions through this journey He has called us to.

While we waited to go into the village Livingstone went ahead to find Manjeri, Diniz and Marisa’s sponsor child, to arrange the visit for today. We visited with each other with tea and boiled eggs that Justine graciously prepared. Marisa, Ajoo, Rita and I strolled around the lush grounds where Julius showed us the giant snails that live among the banana trees.

 

 

Then we were off again to the village!

 

 

We were given a warm welcome from the excited primary students and had the morning to bring out the bubble gun and play. It was a grand time that filled the school field with laughter and soapy ‘balloons’ as the kids call them. Some of use stayed at the school to continue playing and go into the classrooms to teach the kids about Canada. Vicki, Rita, Naomi and Mandy left with the FH staff to do some home visits with sponsor children.

The first visit was to the home of Porssy and her younger brother. They are living with their grandparents who have been dedicated workers on the projects in Marare. It brought the grandparents a lot of excitement and pride to show the progress in the construction of their new house. Making the bricks themselves and buying the concrete mix, Porssy’s grandparents are slowing building a much bigger house for the family so they can move out of their mud hut. This brought A LOT of encouragement to the team to see that the people of Marare truly are self sufficient.

 

 

While walking to another house, they ran into Abdu, Natasha Korner’s sponsor child, whom we had tried to see yesterday but wasn’t at home. This was perfect because Mandy was able to show Abdu the video that Natasha had recorded for him. Her message was incredibly encouraging for him and touched the team members as well.

Back at the school I was pulled (literally) into the primary 3 class to be their teacher. Diniz joined me with their actually teacher, Justine. The kids asked lots of questions about food, like if we grow maize, bananas and sugar cane. Diniz explained our short growing season and cold temperatures that are more suitable for other fruits and vegetables like apples, potatoes, and cabbage. Ajoo and Marisa visited the primary 4 class who decided to quiz them on their science and math knowledge. They passed the test in the end!

In the afternoon we had the privilege to visit Manjeri and her sisters at their home in Mbale. She was elated to have us there and especially to be reunited with Diniz and Marisa. A highlight of the visit was hearing Manjeri sing. She shared her original music which Diniz and Marisa sang along to as well. The visit was much too short as always but the time there was won't be forgotten.

 

 

 

 Back at the school the kids were excited for more play time. We played several “circle” games, net ball and sang a lot of songs. The one that always seems to gets suck in our heads…

    “Jesus, Jesus my savior. I love you Jesus because I do do do!”

A lovely end to the day came from a surprise meeting with Suzan at the school. With her were two of her children, Joshua and Violet, all wearing beautifully tailored clothes. Right now her third child is ill and with the recent passing of her husband she has a lot to manage on her own. Please pray for God to keep Suzan and her family strong in spirit and in health.

Overall, it was a day full of connecting and reconnecting, with God’s hand in each interaction to guide conversations and keep the energy flowing.