3rd December, 2017

Dear friends,

It’s early Wednesday morning, the rain is pouring down and has been all night – which makes me aware of the many people living in the slum areas here, with leaky roofs, dangerous electricity connections, mud flowing in torrents; I also think about the boys living on the streets trying to keep dry and warm – how we need to count our blessings having warm homes, fridges full of food, the NHS and so much more.

School holidays have started, a football match has been arranged for this morning but I presume the rain will cancel this – so 17 boys in the house on a wet day – hopefully the sun will come out later.

‘If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.’ Psalm 139 v 9/10

Outings – We took the boys to Munyonyo on Monday afternoon and Bob and Sam took them swimming Tuesday. Uncle Sam gave them for an evening walk to the top of one of the nearby hills where they had great views of Kampala and of course we had our weekly visit to KK beach. The house and compound aren’t very big when everyone is at home, the garage roof is being turned into a garden area and tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, water melons are all being grown, interspersed with a few pots of flowers. Most of the boys will be back visiting their families over Christmas but surprisingly three of the four new boys want to stay at George’s Place, I think they appreciate the security, stability and comfort of being here.

Godfrey has been resettled in a small room near his aunt, he has also begun work at a local garage, we bought him a bed, some floor covering, and a few household things, unfortunately we have been unable to talk to the aunt since we took him, but I will check up on him before returning to the UK – prayers please as he settles into his new life.

We took Anton to A Roche which is a really small project here mostly making brickets for stoves and water purifiers. Anton wants to do farming and was not interested, they recommended another place, Agromax a company that teaches young people good farming techniques, so we visited – It was a wonderful organisation but the six month course is very expensive so we need to look into this and see if we can negotiate a better price.

Karo came and stayed with me on Thursday night following her visit to George’s Place, the boys as well as I love seeing her, she is so full of enthusiasm and energy. On Saturday, Martin How from London Diocesan House and his wife Gill visited, they were returning to the UK that evening after a safari holiday; we appreciated that for the last two weeks they have carried around an extra suitcase with things for HoP that have been donated, including a new pair of size 10 football boots for Augustine, which he is thrilled with (he has finished his building course and is staying at GP until he returns to his mother in the village at Christmas and starts looking for work). Next week Karo is back here with her brother and two work colleagues to stay for a few days – so we are being blessed with visitors.

Advent blessings.

Love and prayers.

Jane