Hi from Joel

Joel here...hard at work (we think!) on the computer. Joel has settled into year 8 at school and made some friends,...highlights of the school day being swimming lessons, and football and rugby clubs!

Sunday Roast!?

Eating lunch outside with some of the IYs. Sunday is a day that they cook...today was meat, chapattis, beans and 'doh-doh' (a type of green leaf!). Not quite roast chicken and crumble but very good nevertheless!

fun in the sun.

Silas here - demonstrating our very simple solar water heater : a plastic bottle with a black plastic bag in it, filled with water and left in the sun. As long as its a lovely sunny day, we can get warm water for washing...not exactly a hot bath but its not bad!

school days

Silas gets to spend all day with us! - here he is in the area that has become his school room.

Joel and Anya leave for school by 6.45 each day, they get picked up by a school minibus, - so we are now all attempting to eat breakfast at 6.30. Quite a challenge for all of us. Here's Anya after school with one of our neighbours friendly dogs Haki .....she's trying to look as tired as possible!

giddy up!

Anya and Silas got a chance to go for a horse ride while we were away with the IYs - lots of fun for both of them.

..Kampala

.

..Just in case anybody is still reading the blog, it has been a long time since the last post, but heres a quick update from the last few months......

We have now made the move into the capital City of Uganda - Kampala. We are

settling in well to our new home and surroundings.

There has been a lot of change over the last month as we have returned to Uganda, spent 4 weeks at New Hope, reconnecting with friends, as well as packing up to leave. It has been quite a tough time of goodbyes

yes and changes, but also busy which has kept us all moving ! We are very happy with the house and it is a real blessing, the kids are very excited especially now we go upstairs to bed! Our neighbour has 3 dogs, hence the dog in the picture, the dogs have become Silas' best friends as each morning the minute the door opens he's off to find them and if he could i think he would ride them as a horse!

Joel and Anya have both started at a new school here in Kampala, its an international school so a complete change from home school / english school in Derby / village Ugandan school at New Hope! They get on the bus at 6.45 each day and have been adjusting well...though the differences have been something to get used to as well as all having to eat breakfast at 6:25am, its too early to talk let alone eat...

Since we have been here in Kampala, it has been fairly hectic, after a few days settling in we set off for a retreat with the IY's It has been good to reconnect with our Investment Year students and as they returned from their 2nd work placements, we all went away for a “Father Heart Retreat” where we spent time as a group seeing and experiencing God as our perfect father. It was a fantastic time and a real privilege to be involved with our I.Y’s as they started to deal with past hurts and pain and starting to see what God their father is like. In the afternoons we all enjoyed swimming in lake victoria which is always a highlight as its not often they get to experience swimming, as well as a few getting on a horse for the first.

Last weekend we have had them all come and stay with us to introduce them to the I.Y. house and for them to feel part of the new developments in I.Y. It’s been a bit of squash but a lot of fun

Life again changed for us as a family this week

as our first group of IY's arrived to live with us, so we have now become a family of 10, makes for a house full with all the challenges that it will bring as well as fun and successes. We are very excited as well as feeling slightly daunted with this new challenge we are entering in as a family and we will try and keep you posted.