Greetings from the rainy season in Uganda

Our plans are often not God's plans - thank the Lord! I was hoping to have a day off today sunbathing and swimming in a nearby hotel but we are well and truly in the rains! Everyone else is so happy to see them come at last, and also I really believe it's God telling me 'Get that newsletter done'!

I'm going to change the format a bit this time - "There was a format?" I hear you cry. Well off sorts, I think I used to have a 'blessings' bit then a 'challenges' bit. A quick recap on some aspects of my last newsletter, which seemed to really touch many folk. I believe many were challenged by my description of the streets, and seeing a very different side to them. Maybe even some of you will see your own streets in a different light now. Baby Samuel Tendo is growing fat and happy, and he is loved by all of us, we were recently blessed with another baby called Esther. The car is still fantastic and I am often reminded what a blessing it is, both personally and for the work.

The work as a whole in Dwelling Places has settled alot since our fresh start last Sept, and yet it's also growing bigger and stronger. It is a great encouragement to us all and yet it is filled with challenges, both in the added workloads and also to really see and know each individual child in amongst growing numbers. We have 92 resident kids at the moment, with 3 non-resident teenage boys who are studying Vocational Skills Training nearby. We are in school term at the moment and that helps a great deal in both routine and discipline for our children. For those who don't know about that aspect of our work - we have an interim school at the Home where children study for their first year off the streets, to both assess them academically and also teach them the discipline of school routine, and then they progress to mainstream education in the local school. For anyone that is particularly interested in education, both the children and our teachers need alot of prayer. When the children first come from the streets, they have led such erratic and troubled lives, it can take them a long time to settle both in our Home setting and also in a school routine. Then when they progress to mainstream education, they are often the oldest in their classes which can be difficult for them, e.g we have many 14-16 year olds in Primary 4 - 6 levels.

I would like to share with you 2 very different experiences from last week:

The first was a visit to Kampinigisa on Wednesday. For those who don't know about this place, it's a remand/detention centre that the authorities are using to keep street children of the streets. They, and many others around the world have tried this tactic to solve the 'problem' of street children. They round them up, we are not allowed to say arrested, and take them to this place 1 hour away from the city. It breaks my heart to see our children there, they have 134 at the moment, some have been there since last year, they are still not having any education programme, and many feel without hope. It is always a difficult visit for different reasons, but mostly just to see the children living their lives there, it's not the place for children to grow and find a future.

The second experience was radically different and such a joy. Watoto Children’s Ministries is one part of a local church’s work, their aim is to have ‘Children’s villages’ around Uganda to host the growing numbers of orphans. They are committed Christians and they build houses that each has one Mother (usually a widow) and 8 children, and each ‘village’ has a school which also takes in vulnerable children in the surrounding community, so they aim to be integrated in the local community life. We have known this work over the last few years and we were delighted to place six of our children there on Thurs. Off course it came with mixed feelings, as these six really felt like our children yet we know that it is a great opportunity for them long-term. They were three brothers that were orphaned due to the war in the North, two sisters were orphaned due to HIV, and one little girl whose mother is mentally ill and stays on the streets. They are beautiful children and I have often seen them happy yet they were beside themselves with delight at their new home and school. I know that we will visit them often and we hope that Watoto will be able to take more of our children in the future.

Health at the Home continues to improve, yet it still keeps me very busy. Many of you will have heard me ask for prayer for Nalule Sylvia, she is 13 and has multiple health problems, she has sickle cell anaemia, heart problems, a huge liver and has recently had surgery to remove her spleen. Please continue to pray for her, she has had such a difficult life on the streets, and loves to be with us in the Home, yet is often laid low with sicknesses.

On a personal note, I want to share with you some of what has been a particularly difficult four months in our family. Around Christmas time my Mother was found to have an abdominal mass, she then had to wait one month for a scan, and then had to wait till 7th April for surgery. I am so thankful to be able to tell you that she came through the surgery and is now recovering at home, and the mass was not cancerous. I believe many of you will appreciate that it is difficult to put into words what that experience has been like for us as a family. I found it difficult to share with others what was happening, either here with my friends and team, or with friends at home and around the world. It’s a horrible feeling to feel ‘overwhelmed’, and I don’t think I had felt that since our turmoil at Open Door last year where I felt so confused and hurt, and disbelief at God as to why He allowed that to happen. This time it seemed even closer to my heart, with my own Mother that I love so much. I do remember sharing with a friend here, saying ‘I just don’t know how to do this, I don’t know how to be here when my Mother is sick there, and yet I don’t know how to be there and not be here with our children’. Thankfully that episode is over and I pray that Mum will continue to recover and grow stronger again.

I'm struck that I have used the word ‘difficult’ many times in this newsletter. Some people comment that I sound so upbeat and happy in my work here, I AM! I do love so many aspects of living and working here in Africa, my home life is so much more settled, and I love to have the peace and quiet of my flat, and also to have many visitors at times. The stresses involved in travelling has reduced markedly with my car, yet continue to pray for safety on these roads. I love the children and they continue to bless me richly. I love my team here. Yet life can be SO difficult also. Everyday things like the heat and pollution of the city, struggling with the language, the huge poverty with the unfair distribution of wealth, children’s sicknesses, and numerous and multi-factorial problems both on the streets and in the slums.

I have really blethered alot today. I want to finish but giving each of you my heartfelt thanks again for all the ways that you help me be here. Most of all for all the prayers, also for all the emails, letters and gifts that you so generously give - THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
WITH ALL MY LOVE FROM AFRICA AND GOD BLESS YOU RICHLY
MARSALI