Our final Sunday

The Sunday service a NVI was handed over to the UgandAid team, and we set a very different tone to all the African singing and dancing that went before us. Our small but splendid choir lead  songs of worship, and we blew them away with our ‘skit’(drama) which acted out the parable of the sower. This spectacle involved nearly all the team and a large number of balloons! Our final song ‘bind us together Lord’ where over 100 people held hands and sang was extremely emotional. After the service we officially  handed over the business studies room and also had an official opening of Yunusu’s  shoe workshop. As well as his wife Yunusu’s  parents were present, a massive feat as they are old and extremely frail.  The whole family were totally bowled over – another emotional moment.

And we had a rather splendid cake at the celebratory meal afterwards!

A couple of days later Yunusu moved into his workshop, and welcomed his first customers – the beam on his face hardly left him for a moment – what a dream come true for this young man

 And so home.....

Monday morning was time for hugs and tears and the long journey home  - thank you God for a wonderful two weeks.

Christine Booth

Saturday morning... visit to Isaac's house

Isaac graduated from the Nile Vocational Institute in October 2018 after completing a two year course in Building and Concrete Practice. Geoff & Julie were his sponsors during the course having already sponsored him during his Senior 4 year at school.

Together with his four younger siblings and his baby nephew, Isaac lives with his parents, Topista and Francis, who are both HIV positive.  Isaac is the third born of seven children. Thankfully none of the children have HIV.  Isaac was the first child to attend school as the family were unable to pay school fees.

Geoff & Julie had previously visited Isaac’s home, which is on the edge of the Masese slum, and they asked Isaac if it would be possible for a small group from the team to visit them. So on Saturday morning Geoff, Julie, Mike, Sandra, Janice, James, Rachel, Millie and Annie set off in the bus to meet Isaac , who escorted them to his home.

We were warmly welcomed by Topista and shown into the house, which consists of a small living room and two small bedrooms.  They had made sure that there was a seat for everyone. Julie & Sandra handed over gifts, which were warmly accepted.

Isaac welcomed us into is home and introduced his parents, who never stopped smiling. He gave the team a history of his family and their circumstances. Topista and Francis are extremely proud of Isaac and what he has achieved. They are also proud that he is training to be a Pastor. Both Topista and Francis thanked the team for all they had done for their son.

Sandra prayed for the family, which was very moving.

Hospitality is a normal part of Ugandan culture and we were provided with bananas and sodas.  It is difficult to accept this generous hospitality from a family who has very little, but it makes them very happy to see us enjoying their gifts.

The family were very proud to have had such a large group of visitors and having presented Julie with a large bunch of bananas walked with us linking arms back to our bus.

The team members who came on the trip to Masese, especially those on their first visit to Uganda, found the experience to be humbling and very emotional. 

Julie Christiansen