P7 swimming day

The P7 class at the end of the day
getting in
Swabura who jumped in over her head, was saved by Marilyn then became confident in shallower water and by the end of the day was a real waterbabe.
Arnout, relaxing. It's a tough job but someonr has to do it!!

Progress Report

Now that we have more details about what exactly happened in Johannesburg last week, we would like to communicate this to you in order to set the record straight and avoid any conflicting rumors. Piet and Pita were in South Africa for a medical operation. The robbery occurred during the day, a couple of hours after they arrived in Johannesburg on the 16th of November. They rented a car at the airp...ort and went to a bank to get some money. They then drove to a guesthouse close to Sunninghill hospital - where Pita would be operated on - in the affluent Johannesburg suburb of Stanton. However, when they entered the guest house parking lot, a man walked in through the gate. Pita got out of the car and headed towards the guesthouse lobby as Piet finished parking. The man walked up to Pita, pulled out a gun, placed it against her head and told her to give him the bag she was carrying which contained their money and other important valuables. When she hesitated and refused (not realizing how serious the situation was) he shot her. The bullet went through the front side of her forehead. While the bullet missed her brain and exited the skull again, the hole in her head started bleeding profusely. When Piet heard the shot he jumped out of the car and attacked the robber who had grabbed Pita’s bag and bracelet as she lay on the ground. The robber fired his gun at Piet’s leg (though the bullet missed) and during the scuffle the man dropped the bag and ran out of the parking lot. However another robber then appeared. Piet attacked this man as well but when he heard Pita crying and saw her lying on the ground, he ran back to help Pita and the robber ran away with their valuables. Pita was conscious but bleeding heavily. They managed to walk to the lobby where they asked the staff (who were shocked and scared) to get a towel (to stem the bleeding) and call an ambulance. The ambulance and the police arrived about 10 - 15 minutes later. Piet and Pita were then taken to Sunninghill hospital and she was rushed into intensive care. The doctors quickly stemmed the bleeding and gave her new blood - which probably saved her life because she lost about 4 liters of blood. Meanwhile the police interviewed Piet. They told him that this was the 5th robbery in Stanton that week, and they suspected that the robbers had followed them from the bank. The next morning Pita was operated on. The doctors successfully removed splinters of bone from inside her head and patched up the entrance and exit wound to her skull. The police have, so far, been unable to apprehend the culprits or retrieve their stolen valuables. However Pita survived and she is now recovering well - and that is what is most important. As they say in Uganda: God is good, all of the time!

Have just copied this report from Facebook which Arnout keeps updating. It will tell you all what we know. Keep praying as they are both very traumatised as you can imagine.

Progress on Mama

Thank you all for your prayers. Pita (Mama) had a head wound not a chest wound. Yesterday she underwent a 6 hour operation to remove the bullet and all the bone splinters. She is making good progress and is now out of intensive care. God is good! Piet has a knee injury which is receiving treatment, so also needs prayer. We have sent Arnout there to support them and to deliver cash and clothes etc, and they also have their son there as well. Pray too for the renewal of their passports which were taken along with all their luggage.
Thank you again for all your prayers.

Please pray

We have just heard that Mama and Papa, who left for a 2 week break this morning have been robbed in South Africa. Mama has been shot in the chest and is in Intensive care. Please pray for them and all the children. We have had a prayer meeting in the church for all the compound and the children. Mama is to be operated on early in the morning. Please join us in our prayers.

Just walking Rhode

Coming to you Grandad
Made it
Now, what's Nana doing
All this walking makes me hungry and thirsty

Aunty Prossy

Aunty Prossy doing what she enjoys the most - NOT!!!

Where does time go......

Greetings to all, it has been so long since I last wrote an update but it only seems like yesterday. However some pictures will have kept you reasonably up to date. We have had the dentists here and gone. The opening of the clinic dental room was a grand occasion with a barbeque and entertainment to follow. We had a break of 4 days away as Marilyn recovered from another bout of malaria. We stayed in a wonderful place in Jinja called Holland Park, it was just what we needed at the time with a marvelous view out over the Nile and a really restful place.
This week the P7 students are sitting their PLE (Primary Leaving Exams) so we have been putting in some extra time on study. They had their SST and English exams today with Maths and Science tomorrow. Matthew, Owen, and Timothy are finally seeing some benefit from extra study so we wait for the results early next year.
Rhode is becoming more confident with her walking which is a real joy to see though she still likes her cuddles and banana.
There has been a lot of malaria in the home recently with many children and Aunties having a bout, the place has been sprayed but it is still happening so please pray against further cases. The twins, Rose and Fleur, have been in hospital last week but seem to be improving though they need our prayers as well. October was a very busy month with visitors and volunteers arriving, we will now have a somewhat more settled time in the lead up to Christmas. We received our first Christmas card a week ago and the children are starting to play and sing Christmas carols so it won't be too long, will it........?
Well that's about all for now, we still have variable power, it is often off at night and that prevents us from using the computer much
Until next time
God Bless