From Nobody to Somebody

Greetings to you all. This morning in our Monday devotions with the staff we were asked to look at the slogan for NACMU, From Nobody to Somebody., and asked about what it meant. There were many interpretations, mine was' from trash to treasure'. Many of the children who come to us are abandoned and nothing is known about them, they are 'nobodies'. They have no name and no known date of birth and have just been discarded. When they arrive they are given a name and a birthdate and are loved, cherished and are a treasure. We dedicate them to God and they truly become 'somebody'.
Rhode is just such a case. She was abandoned when she was about 6 weeks old, her mother just left her in a hut one day and never returned. A neighbour took care of her for a week in case the mother returned then took her to the police who then contacted NACMU. She was given her name, Rhode, and a birthdate  (2nd April), and as the photos show she is certainly somebody special now. We have had much delight in watching her sit up, hold onto toys, learn to clap hands, making noises and blowing bubbles. She is rolling over from her front to the back and is starting to try to use her feet. She is indeed a treasure.
Please pray for us in our continuing care for her and the boys, pray also for Reny who has typhoid at present and is finding the medication she is taking saps all her energy. Pray also for Piet as he collapsed today as a consequence of food poisoning but is improving having had several drips to get fluid into him. We had gone to Kampala last evening and had a meal with them at an Indian restaurant and fortunately the rest of us are OK.
We have also had two more treasures arrive in the last few days, a girl Vivian who is about 6 weeks old I think arrived on Friday, and a boy as yet unnamed about a year old arrived today so our family continues to grow. Please pray that these little ones will settle in well.
That's all for now, until next time
God Bless

Rhode & Rhode

Pretty in purple
See my dimple
Learning to clap hands
Sitting up and playing with my toys

Girl's Turn

About to leave.
Yummy chicken!
Marjorine enjoying her girls.
The group photo

Girls Day Out

Another week has passed, we have been busy sorting out shoe boxes for the school children for the end of next week as their departing gift for the holidays. Many of the boxes have sweeties in them which get all sticky during the trip over so we need to sort through them. I love it as it is better than looking through a $2 shop. We have also been getting Rhode down each day for an hour or two and we are seeing some real progress. She is now sitting up a lot more and is beginning to vocalise and blow raspberries. We are also getting some nice smiles. She loves sitting up with the boys at afternoon tea time when they arrive home from school.
The highlight of the past week was our trip to Jinja with the girl's family unit, for chicken and a swim. It was a similar outing to the one with the boys the previous week and was every bit as enjoyable. The weather was kind (no rain and lots of sunshine) and the girls didn't argue once (which is unusual) so we had a good day out. Again Karel and Beirdeke paid for it all which was even better for us. I have tried to put some pictures on the blog without success but will keep trying. The girls loved the pool.
The boys have their exams this week so they have been working hard and today brought back their results from English on Monday. They have all improved markedly and were quite chuffed as indeed we were too. We'll wait and see what the other results are like, but really feel that they have learnt the value of some extra study.
Only one more week after this before they have nine weeks holiday which as you can imagine we are REALLY looking forward to.
There has been much going on here recently with several changes in the wind. Piet and Pita are away for 10 days much needed R & R before we begin the build-up to Christmas. Please pray for the work which is going on here, lives are being changed. It is a joy to see the changes in the children as they develop and grow. For years in NZ we prayed for more children for Sunday School, now we have an abundance of them and we are enjoying the challenge.
That's all for now, till next time
God Bless

Rhode and towels drying

Rhode
wouldn't sit still
starting to blow bubbles
This is how the washing dries in Uganda

The Armour of God and Rhode

some warriors well protected
getting ready to share the Armour in church
our dear wee Rhode, still a bit unsure of us
the boys ready for their day out

Back on air again

It has been too long since the last blog and in that time there has been a lot which has conspired to prevent us from writing. We firstly had a virus on the laptop which we had to get rid of which took a few days, then we needed to renew our internet airtime which didn't load properly the first time and since then we have had only intermittent internet connection. However, today, hopefully, that has been sorted and we are back on air.
Since we last wrote we have had a three day break; we were going to spend it in Kampala but one night there was enough so we moved out to Entebbe to stay at the airport guest house there which was much more pleasant. Unfortunately though I took ill again so didn't feel like doing anything. It is the third time I've been ill on holiday which is rather disappointing. After we came back Marjorine next door had three days off so Marilyn went next door to stay with the girls each night, which was good to check on how they are doing. She will have another two night stint this coming week too.
We have been working during the week in one of the containers sorting through shoeboxes again. This is always an interesting task, even better than visiting the $2 shop, as it is good to see what people put in the boxes for the children. These boxes are going out to children in other places near here.
In Sunday School we have just finished studying 'The Armour Of God' (Ephesians 6:11-18). It is one of my favourite studies as we make each piece of the armour. It has been a challenge to find the materials for over 50 children to make their breastplates, shields, helmets, belts, shoes, and swords but it has been a lot of fun. We presented our finished products to the church last week which was well received.
One of the things Marilyn was able to do while we were away was to make up a photo album of some of our favourite photos of Raghma. This has let us remember much of the joy she gave us, it is hard to realise that it is four weeks since she died. We decided that there are many more children who need some 'special time' so we have chosen another wee girl to help. Her name is Rhode and she is six months old but has had very little stimulation in her life so doesn't move at all, just lies there. She has beautiful eyes and is just starting to smile at us showing off her dimple. We hope to give her some special attention to help her catch up on her development. No doubt you will hear more about her in future blogs. We have tried to post some photos tonight, one lot went but the other has not, we'll try again tomorrow.
The photos which did go were some taken today when we went to Jinja with the boys for a swim and chicken. Two Dutch volunteers had offered to pay for the outing. We had a really fun day. I said to the boys that it was nice to have a day without arguments, the weather was sunny and warm, it was great to get out. The only blot on the day was that there was an accident directly in front of us and as I braked heavily to avoid hitting the bus in front of us, I was hit from behind by a taxi. Fortunately we were not injured (God is good) and the damage was only minimal to the bumper (All the time) so we were able to continue on our outing. By the time we had checked that all of us were alright, the taxi had long gone so there was not a lot to do but to go on to get chicken.
We continue to enjoy being here and have heaps to fill in our time, we do like hearing from NZ and we thank those of you who continue to pray for us.
Till next time
God Bless

Jinja Day Out

All the crew
Karrol and Berdika who paid for the day out
Josh learning to float
Chicken on the way

just checking

Just checking the blog pictures