ScoobieDoo the Subaru

Scoobie Doo... my Subaru (Forester) is now 16 years old and I think I have a love/hate relationship with her.  She has been good, but she has a low wheel base and that is not always helpful on the rough village roads.  For the past year, she has been in the car every month and consuming a lot of time and money.  Yesterday I was in the garage again, for six hours, trying to bring Scoobie Doo back to life - replacing a rear shock, installing lights (since two were not working), oil change, replacing the steering pump, and so much more.  

 I think I just get sad that she is costing more money now, but at the same time, I don't know if I should give her up.  She's still a strong car, when she's not weak.  :)

 I'm thankful that I have a mechanic or two who know how to bring her back to life.

Please pray for my car and safety on the roads - always!

Looking Back

Good morning friends,

Lately I have been hanging out with many people....

 Kids at Vineyard Christian school were preparing for a memorial fundraiser.  I teach at this school every Wednesday.

 They were making bags, purses, and cakes for the auction.

 Then, every day I am currently teaching the "RE" class (Religious Education) at Little Flowers primary school.  The kids have been hearing the 17 Stories.

 It's all about God's big plan of Salvation - and this was review day.

 Four groups were competing to complete a 16 piece puzzle.  It's actually a very long, hard task for the children here.  But well worth the learning experience!

 Fun with the boys!

 Delightful girls!

 One of my great friends and team-mates put on a ladies retreat.  I was welcomed for brunch with this charming place setting.  It ended up being a day of prayer, bead work crafts, fellowship, eating, storytelling, Bible study, and relaxation!  Thank you Mandy Shaarda!

On Saturday I was the driver for my friends Denis and Frances.  It was a big wedding, celebrating love and connection.

Praying for Soroti

On Sunday, the pastor asked that we pray for Soroti, and I thought I would also ask you to pray for this town that I have come to love over the past 6 years.

• Pray for spiritual awakening in the churches
• Pray against spiritual strongholds like witchcraft, corruption, immorality
• Pray for the various religions - Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Muslim, Tribal

• Pray for the leadership and government authorities - mayors, local chairmen, municipal council, police, and military
• Pray for the many schools that teach our children

• Pray for our water and electricity systems
• Pray for the flying school

• Pray for the market vendors and shop keepers
• Pray for honesty and integrity

• Pray for all modes of transport - bicycle, motorcycle, taxis, buses, cars, planes
• Pray peace and justice

• Pray for the many villagers who make trips to Soroti town
• Pray for the welfare and success of all those who work

• Pray for a testimony of righteousness - that Christians would live up to their name
• Pray that we may be ready for Christ's return

CNN named Uganda's "Rolex" as
Africa's No.1 fast food!
(Chapati and Fried Egg) 

• Amen

My 40th Continued...

I am blessed with some awesome and giving colleagues and friends here in Soroti.  Last week, three ladies and a baby showed up at my house to kidnap me for a few days.  It was supposed to have been a complete surprise, but due to scheduling and ministry, we had to postpone and plan this amazing getaway.  The ladies came at lunch time and blindfolded me and took me away to Murchison Falls National Park for a two-night getaway.  

 On the first night, we relaxed at Fort Murchison Lodge, overlooking the Nile River and Lake Albert.

I shared a safari tent with Ronnie and baby Corrie.

I loved the sunset the first night!

We got up at 5 the next morning to drive into the park, but I ended up with a seriously running stomach, and we had to delay the trip by 5 hours.  When we got to the park gate, I was the only one with a passport and a work permit, proving that I was a foreign resident, so the ladies sent me out to use my strength of "woo".  Delightfully the man at the park gate was also from Soroti and he believed my story that we were all working in Soroti, but that the other ladies had their passports at immigration.  It's a $60 difference in price per person.  :) God is good!

Then the safari drive began...

Beautiful!

Nature at it's finest

Too close for comfort... his buddy on the other side of our vehicle raised his ears and trumpeted to warn that we were in their territory... we quickly drove away.

Bones got tired during the game drive

When we got back in the afternoon, I was so hungry, I wante

d to eat from the Sausage Tree!

But, instead, I waited for the delicious meal the lodge provided!

(Now, the rest of the pictures are actually Rachel's!  She has a far better camera... I honestly need to get a good camera, I'm so disappointed with most of my shots.)

Here I am being "Kidnapped" from home.

Don't worry, I only had to wear the blindfold for a few minutes.

Hippos, which we almost hit early in the morning on the second day.  On the first day we drove around the park ourselves, but on the second day (since we were given a 24 hour park pass) we decided to hire a UWA (Uganda Wildlife Authority) guide and purposely look for cats.

My favourite - WARTHOGS!

Cape Buffalo

Did you know that giraffes can live up to 28 years, and the male giraffes get darker the older they get?  Starting around aged 20.

Majestic

We had an incredible time with the UWA man... who spotted this leopard in a bush... we watched this pregnant mama walk through the grass for some time until she found a nice branch to rest on.

When we found a pride of 7 lions I actually choked up.  God has created the most magnificent animals and I had the joy of seeing a family, with 5 cubs relaxing freely in the wild.

The thousands of Uganda Cobb in the back we not relaxed though.. they were very aware that there was a predator in the area.  So incredible!

This was our last animal sighting as we left the park.  Wow!

Murchison is 5000 square kilometers of wildlife.

I am beyond grateful for the gift I received from Ronnie, Jennifer, and Rachel.  

Happy 40th Birthday to me!

June 27, 2016... Happy 40th Birthday

In Uganda, all day long on your birthday, people call you "Baby" and baptize you with water. 

I was able to get most of the way throughout the day without getting wet... until the cake cutting ceremony at the party.

I decided to throw a big birthday bash and I was blessed by a great crowd of friends, colleagues, neighbours, church friends and more.

 The first of two baptisms

 The food table was a hit

 Standing in line

 Choosing treats that came "40" in number

 Dancing

 Eating

 Playing a game... I wrapped a small gift in layers and layers of newspaper, and then had a fun game of "Musical Unwrapping".  When the music stopped, a participant had to put on a pair of oven mitts and use two forks to rip through the tape and paper.  Super fun!!

 I also had people filling in a personal quiz about me  throughout the night.  40 questions to see how much my friends knew about me.

 I have a feeling many people learned even more things about me when I revealed the answers.

 Peter won!

 Cake cutting ceremony

A birthday letter from a sweet sister.