Another week has flown past, kicked off by an amazing Church service, which really set the tone for the week. It was Miracle Offering week for all of the Watoto churches. People were encouraged to give over and above their usual offerings, for the upkeep and development of all the churches across Uganda. Each church has its own needs and projects - a toilet block, an entrance road, a children's church facility and so on. The challenge was to give extravagantly, trusting that God provides seed to the sower and rewards our giving with abundance. The church service was a riot of sound, colour, music and dance - all done with so much joy and celebration that I was moved to tears and thoroughly humbled. What a privilege to witness such joyful, grateful and lavish giving-back, to the source of all provision.
As my time at Suubi draws to a close, I have been taking every opportunity to continue my work here and spend time with the children and nannies. The sense of family has been wonderful as these relationships have continued to flourish beyond my expectation. It's going to be heart wrenching to say goodbye to all 'my' babies.In the spirit of giving, I went round each unit yesterday with my newly established ministry in chocolate! I gifted a sing-along songbook, with cd, to each babies unit - to support their efforts to engage positively with the children; I also shared my appreciation and encouragement to all of the nannies through words and chocolate. The nannies were delighted to receive a small treat for all their hard work. They were also really grateful to have their commitment and devotion recognized and acknowledged in some way.
I was surprised, moved and really humbled to be gifted a book of thanksgiving, which each nanny (and some others) from the current shift had written in, sharing their feedback and appreciation towards me. It's something I will treasure for all of my days - more so because I am the only volunteer to have received something like this, that I know of. It's a relief to know I have had some positive impact in the lives of the nannies and the children. I will be spending my last few days with the next shift of nannies and with the children, in a similar vein...as long as i can restrain myself from sampling the chocolate. Actually, the chocolate is pretty safe, but thanks to my fellow roomies, I seem to have developed a rather nasty Pringles addiction!
This week I felt moved to invest in some more teaching aids, for the remedial reading unit at the primary school here. Many children are still struggling with the basics, given their limited grasp of the English language, which is the medium of instruction here. I bought a set of 50 books, which teach phonics and literacy at 4 different reading levels. This unit is not resourced or supported all that well, so Jean (the sole teacher there) was really excited to receive them. I have also been led, in careful consideration, to contribute a sum of money to a recent Watoto graduate who feels called to establish a ministry in evangelistic media here. The money will go towards the equipment and supplies required to get his business up and running. He is one of the first generation of children, that started out in the babies homes as abandoned orphans, to leave Watoto villages and establish themselves as contributing members of society. Many of these young adults are stepping into professions as doctors, lawyers, teachers, managers, engineers and the like. Amazing, given their humble beginnings and a real testament to what Watoto achieves here. I believe he will do very well as he is a hard working, zealous and disciplined young man.
I will make my way back to Kampala, for our monthly volunteer's meeting, on Wednesday. From there it will be an overnight stay and an early start for the long trip to Gulu, on Thursday. I will then be working hard to establish new relationships with a whole new set of nannies and children, many of whom have experienced a lot of trauma through war. I will also have to acquaint myself with new routines and find my way around the village...by boda boda (motorbike taxi) this time! I also remain hopeful that my good run of health will continue in Gulu as it is far more remote and the services far more basic there. It's going to be a busy week!
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