Happy holidays from Uganda! The holiday season has been a busy time for both me and Daniel. Although we may not be rushing to the next Christmas social or caroling outing, the holiday season is bustling whether we are in America, Nigeria, or Uganda. Rather than giving you a play-by-play, I figured a flyover in photos may be even better. I provide you with a caption or so for each photo, but feel free to follow up with any questions!
In November, Good Shepherd's Fold officially sent out our first letters for our Class 2 Class Program, a program designed to connect classes from around the world with our classrooms here at the GSF Nursery & Primary School. 420ish letters later, all GSF students from K3 through P6 had written their first letters to their new sponsor class in the USA.
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Daniel and I celebrated Thanksgiving with all of the GSF missionaries + a few others! We even ate sweet potatoes, one of my Thanksgiving favorites =) I brought mashed potatoes and carrots. The mashed potatoes were an extra challenge given my kitchen limitations, but (believe it or not), I eventually got them boiled and mashed!
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The GSF staff organized a Day of Thanks. The service lasted from 9am - 3pm and included hours of singing, dancing, testimonies, speakers, etc. It was a special time reflecting on God's faithfulness over the past year.
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| Some of the GSF staff leading worship |
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| Daniel with one of the GSF toddlers, Joseph. |
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It's the end of the 2014 school year here in Uganda! The school year here runs from January to November. The end of the school year = graduations! The GSF K5 class is one of the major graduations here at GSF. K5 is the final class before Primary School, and it was an entertaining day of dancing and presentations. There are 8 children who live at the GSF children's home who graduated along with the other children. I loved seeing both Mark and Paul, the two boys that stayed with me and Daniel for a few days last school holiday, graduate from K5
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| Mark is the one smiling in the center |
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| Paul =) |
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| Esther Namaganda, one of the GSF special needs children, also graduated. She is a great dancer and singer! She led several songs. |
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Light of the World completed a building project - they redid the walls! Our new walls are made of bamboo and have a great way of allowing the breeze to pass through the church while protecting the congregation from any Sunday rains.
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Did I mention that it's the end of the school year? No school = an abundance of free time for the kids. I was nominated to do a game time with our GSF kids (ages 10+ in the morning for 2 hours, ages 5-10 in the afternoon for 2 hours). Although I wasn't sure how to keep that many kids occupied for that many hours, it ended up being a lot of fun! We did the parachute, relays, more relays, and then ended with soccer.
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| Parachute time! It went better with the older kids than the younger ones. |
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| Relays! |
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| At one point, I was out of ideas and just had all the kids run laps around the field to kill some energy. Ha. |
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| Soccer! Daniel would call this "Bumble Bee Soccer" |
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The end of the school year also means it's time for our GSF to visit their relatives in the village (for those who have known relatives). Some of the kids go for over a month, others for a few weeks, and others just for a day. Of course, there are other kids that don't go at all; it all depends on the child's situation. I had the opportunity to accompany one of our GSF girls during her visit with her aunt. It was such a sweet time together!
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The house project is making steady progress! The walls and ceilings are plastered. Daniel's been busy juggling the plumber, electrician, roofer, carpenter, welder, tiler, framer, painter, and masons. It's as crazy as it sounds!
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| Plaster is finished! |
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Thank you for praying for us!
Here are a few ways that you can be praying for us over the holiday season:
1. Pray for the GSF children that are visiting relatives over the holidays. Pray for their physical, emotional, and spiritual protection.
2. Pray for Daniel as he continues to manage the building project. The job can be taxing, especially as the Christmas break somewhat complicates things with the sub-contractors.
3. Pray for Daniel and I as we spend Christmas and New Years away from our families! Living far away is never easy, and the holidays seem to make the distance seem extra long.
4. Pray for Nigeria as Daniel's hometown, Jos, experienced two bomb attacks on Friday. We praise God that his family is ok, but the bombings are a sad reminder of the deep, ongoing conflict in Nigeria.
