8th , January, 2023
Good morning friends,
The weather has changed, no rain, brilliant sunshine and very, very hot – I’m not complaining!
The boys welcomed the New Year at Entebbe. Watoto Church was closed but they enjoyed the fireworks. Bethel was frightened to begin with as he thought it was gun fire! I cannot imagine what this little lad must have been through in his short life.
I seemed to spend a lot of time at Entebbe Hospital last week. Benard and I were there with Tim last Saturday for a few hours and then when I arrived at George’s Place on Tuesday I found Bethel had hurt his ankle on the swings on Sunday afternoon and his foot was badly swollen. Tresor and I first took him to our local clinic and then went to Entebbe Hospital for an X-ray to be taken. This obviously took hours, they said he hadn’t fractured any bones but as he wasn’t improving by Thursday we had another doctor check the X-ray and he now has his foot in plaster! All the boys and staff have been writing words of encouragement on the cast.
‘For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,’ Colossians 1 9/10
Peace and Petra were back at work on Wednesday, which was a busy day catching up with things and planning the coming week. Hopefully, Johnson (Musumba) will have his eye operation next week. A member of staff will stay with him, if he stays in hospital, to buy food for him and also get water for bathing etc. very different from our hospitals! We also need a family member or P.O. to sign the consent form.
Many of our older boys are now back, Joseph was first, followed by Victor and Derek. Griffin next, then Saviour, Joshua and Robert. Kodet and Ivan arrived today. Asaph came back for the weekend and Godfrey called in to check on us, he is working hard.
I have been talking with the boys and some of them have been earning themselves some money during the holidays, digging for their neighbours. We are therefore going to start a savings scheme, and I will give them some small interest when they have saved 50,000UGX as a way of encouragement! Saving doesn’t seem to be part of the Ugandan culture, so hopefully this will be helping our boys to learn money management. Johnson (Musumba), who has been cleaning at the hotel, has saved enough to buy a pig and Uncle Patrick has arranged for his family to rear it in his village.
The noise levels have gone up and there are boys everywhere – let’s hope colleges and schools open soon! I have agreed for Eric to stay and work for the coming week, Uncle Patrick is back now but we have lots going on and the older boys are all excited to be back. We took them to Sky Beach to enjoy the swings and play football Saturday afternoon, it was cooler there.
Dan is still with us but we are planning to take him back to his family next week and sort out his and his brother’s school fees, meet with the local Probation Officer and check on the latrine. Tim is still weak and asked for tinned sardines, so I bought him a couple of tins, but these seem to have mysteriously been eaten by someone else! Just off to buy some more.
I also visited the director of the clinic we use this week, as the prices have risen recently – we have agreed a reduction in prices for tests – you can negotiate on everything here.
We begin 2023 praying about our future vision – we ask for your prayers –
- Finding a church/Bible study group where the boys can learn more about their Christian faith, through healthy discussion, to enable spiritual growth.
- Either rent or buy land near the home, encouraging the boys to cultivate and grow more of their food.
- Rear chickens/rabbits.
- An organised savings plan for boys and staff.
Thank you for all your love and support. Every blessing.
Love Jane x
