Reading Week Three

I'm home again from Kuffu village where we just taught the final reading week. What a fantastic week!

On Sunday we were still in Kampala... well, we were actually in Entebbe. We went with our church - KBC, to the 'Love Feast'. As a church we all traveled down to Lake Victoria where we held the service outside and shared lunch and fellowship together. We sang, prayed, read the bible, ate, chatted and some people swam (and others got pushed in!) which was fun to watch. It was such a brilliant day and had a really lovely family feel to it and we all had so much fun.

Watching people swimming at the Love Feast

Early on Monday morning, Clare, Esther, and I went to join Joe in Kuffu. We arrived just in time for the first lesson so we literally arrived and got straight into teaching. Having taught the first week and then been away for a week it was wonderful to see how much the children had improved in just one week. Whereas in the first week we had just been teaching letter sounds, this week we were able to focus on key words and sentence construction and also to give the children some time each day when they could read story books. I was very proud of some of the kids in my class who were even able to read the word 'antidisestablishmentarianism'! Wow!

Reading a book

Learning to read

We decided to make use of our free time in the afternoons by twisting Esther's hair which we think took three of us about 10 hours in total!

Esther's hair after twisting for 10 hours

Friday was the final day which concluded all three of the reading weeks, so we made it a really special day. We spent all of Thursday afternoon and evening preparing for it, and on Friday morning we split the children into 4 teams and held a big competition. We had lots of games, including a 'slap the board' tournament, a treasure hunt and an anagram challenge among other things - all related to reading and writing. 

Getting into the anagram challenge

We also realized that this week was likely to be our last time to stay in Kuffu and we had lots of food left over, so we decided to bless the children with lunch on the final day. It was so great to see them coming out of the kitchen with HUGE portions, and grins on their faces to match. We asked them to bring their own plates, and one of the children brought a bucket!

Lining up to get lunch

This was likely to be our last time to stay in Kuffu which is really sad. Although we know that we'll be back to visit for a day, this feels like the first of our 'goodbyes'as we approach the final month of our gap year. Kuffu had been such a blessing to all of us and I know that for me personally it has been a place which has really allowed me to grow in so many ways. The first time that we stayed in Kuffu I really struggled, but 3 months on and its like another home from home for us. The family that we've become a part of there has been so welcoming and we've shared some beautiful memories with the people that we have gotten to know so well. It also gave us a much more typical experience of Africa which is something that I really cherish. Being away from technology especially is something that I've found particularly relaxing (If you're ever feeling a bit stressed, try turning the power off). But more than anything, this is a place that God has used to teach me so many things and to grow me in so many ways. I'm so thankful to all the people there and I count myself very blessed to have had the opportunity to become a part of the family at Kuffu.

Everyone at who lives with us at Kuffu after church.

And so another week is over and we're about to start a new one. As I write this I have no idea what we'll be doing this week, but I do know that God has it planned and therefore it will be great!
I really want to thank everyone at Christ Church (My home church), for their support of the building project at Blessed Word of Life Church. The money you've raised will be such an enormous blessing! Particularly thank you to the Pathfinders, I'm so proud of you lot!

Thanks also to everyone who has been supporting me in so many ways over the past 8 months. Your support, emails, letters, prayers and everything else is always such a blessing to me and I really do appreciate you all so much.

Please continue to remember me and the rest of the Smile Uganda team in your prayers...

- Pray for the children that we taught in Kuffu and that they will remember what they learnt and that it will benefit them in their education and their future.

- Pray for us gappers as we approach the end of our gap year. That God will prepare us well to move on, and also that he will prepare the people that we'll be leaving and those that we'll be going back to.
- Pray that God will use us this week in whatever work we do.

Thanks so much.
God bless

What a week!

This week I've been back in Kampala with Clare whilst Esther, Finch and Joe were teaching the second reading week in Kuffu. The children here are still off school for the school holidays so we weren't teaching this week. This has given us a bit more free time than usual and we've had a brilliant time!

On Monday we were sitting on the front porch of the house writing up the report from the reading week, and Brian and Shavan came back - they has just driven the others to Kuffu. Brian walked around to the boot of the car, opened it up, and inside was a chicken! We decided to name her Beatrice.

We thought that Beatrice might get a bit lonely, so on Tuesday, Clare and I went with our friend Jacob to a local market where we bought two more local hens which we named Clare and Lorna. We chose them to match the colour of our hair, and the idea is that when we leave Uganda to go back to the UK our family here will still have Clare and Lorna in Uganda. Genius!

Clare and I with the new additions to the Smile family

Now, Clare, Lorna and Beatrice had nowhere to stay, so on Wednesday we spent the morning building a house for them. We named it 'The Kitchen Hut' because Jacob gets the words 'chicken' and 'kitchen' confused. We had great fun building it and the 'kitchens' love it!

In the afternoon we wanted to bless Alex, our project manager, because he does so much for us and for Smile, so we confiscated his phone and went for a walk to the top of the hill behind our house. From there we sat and chatted until the sun went down and we watched the beautiful sunset.

On Thursday we had our weekly slum ministry when we go around the community talking to people about God and praying with them. This was a lovely time as usual and I had the opportunity to meet some people that I hadn't met before.

On Friday we had our weekly children's club. Clare taught the bible lesson to the older group this week about Moses and she did really well. She had made a story board and the kids loved having something to look at.

Of course, we definitely didn't miss the opportunity to bake and cook some exciting food this week with more time on our hands, so in the past 7 days we've enjoyed home made chicken pie, banana loaf and even mango crumble!

I finally got a memory card adaptor this week (thanks mum!), so now I can take the photos off of my camera... I've included some here that you've missed over the past few weeks.

Collecting water in Kuffu

Primary One class at Goshem - Kuffu

This is where we cook at Kuffu

Everyone gathered to say goodbye to Andrew

Esther and some local children helping to clean the community

The men that came for the KBC men's walk

Clare teaching at Reading week

We've had such a lovely week this week. This Monday I'm going back to Kuffu for the third of three reading weeks. I'm going to be the team leader this week so please pray for me as I lead the team.

As always, I really appreciate your support and prayers.

My prayer requests this week are...

- Thanksgiving for such a great week.

- Pray for me and the rest of the team as we run the last reading week. Also for the children.

- Pray for provision for Smile.

Thank you so much.

God bless

Lorna

Reading Week - One

Last Sunday, Finch, Clare, Marina and I traveled to Kuffu for the first of three reading weeks that we're running there. We left Kampala on Sunday afternoon to give ourselves enough time to get organised. It was really great to be back in Kuffu; it's so peaceful and beautiful there, and we've gotten to know the people who live there really well too so its always lovely to see them when we stay.
This week we focused on teaching the children the sounds of each letter, how to write them well, and how to put them together to form simple three letter words. We came up with an action for each letter sound, like hitting a drum for 'd' and shaving your head for 'v'. We quickly realized that we would have to do a lot of work on handwriting, and it was brilliant to see how much the children's handwriting improved by the end of the week. They really enjoyed the idea that letters can 'sleep', and by the end of the week they had moved on from writing individual letters across two lines, to writing "My teacher like to rub out my sleeping letters" neatly on one line.
We only had a few children, and the small classes were fantastic. On Monday and Tuesday we split the children into three separate ability groups, but by Wednesday we decided to merge the top two groups. This meant that the lowest ability still had a small class, and a fantastic teacher (Clare), whilst the top group was still relatively small with around 11 to 14 children, but with 4 teachers. Finch and I had some great characters in our class and we really enjoyed making the lessons fun and having a bit of banter with the kids.
We did lots of treasure hunts, either for letter flash cards that we'd hidden around the compound, or for letter challenges, for which the kids had to find something around the compound that started with the letter we gave them - we had everything from live ants for 'i' (insect) to a clay head for 'h' and one of the boys even brought us a jack fruit fresh from the tree for 'j'. (It did make us laugh when one of the boys brought a jerry can for letter 'y'. I asked him what he had brought and he said, with a sheepish grin "Yerry can!").

Each morning before we started class, we would gather all of the children and teachers together for morning devotions. This was always a really lovely time when we would sing, pray and share a bible story to begin the day.
School finished between 1 and 2 every day, which meant that we had the afternoon free to chat, read, sleep, wash clothes, cook, and Clare and I even helped to style one of the teachers' hair! I also made hair braids for Finch and Marina and taught some of the kids that live close to us to make bracelets. It was really great to have this time to just rest every day, and by the end of the week we all felt much more relaxed.
We came back to Kampala on Friday afternoon after school finished. I must admit that I was actually a bit reluctant to leave this time! Despite this, it feels really good to be home and catch up with everyone here. Friday was also my big brother's birthday so I called John to wish him a happy birthday. It was great to speak to him and hear about his recent camping trip with a slightly over the top campfire from the sound of things! Happy Birthday John! 

Very early on Monday morning, Esther, Joe, Finch and Olivia will be going to Kuffu to run the second reading week. They're going to be focusing on consonant blends and forming 4 letter words.

Thank you so much to everyone who prays for us. Your prayers really do make a difference. This week I'd really appreciate prayer in these areas...

- For the second reading week at Kuffu - pray that the team will work well together, the kids will learn a lot and that everyone will really enjoy it.
- Pray for the rest of the team in Kampala, that God will use us this week for his will.
- Pray for protection for everyone.

Thank you and God bless!

Lorna

P.S. Sorry about the 'hungry African men' comment last week - didn't realize that this was offensive. My mistake. We loved cooking for you lot and it was great to have you all around at the house last week.

School Holiday

Last Saturday everyone came home from the village because school is now over for the holidays, so it was really lovely to all be together for the weekend before Esther, Clare and Joe traveled to Mount Zion school to work with disabled children for the week.
Wednesday was May Day public holiday and we hosted the KBC men's prayer walk. For Finch, Olivia and I this meant getting up at 5.15 to cook breakfast for over 40 of the men from KBC. I'm not sure how many hours I spent cooking pancakes! We also provided sausages, potatoes, tea, bread and lots of pineapple. It was great to have so many people at the house and they all seemed to enjoy the morning. The clean - up job was immense, especially as it had rained in the night so they'd been walking through mud all morning and then brought what seemed like half of the hill back to the house on their shoes! Many of these guys are close friends of ours and we all had a great time enjoying the fellowship with them and appreciating the opportunity to serve in this small way.
On Thursday morning we began this season's letter writing with the sponsored children. It was strange to be sat in an office with a cup of tea again, but it was great to help the kids with their letters. Education is in English here, so there's no need for their letters to be translated. We helped them with spelling and grammar, and also suggested some things to include. Unfortunately not very many children turned up before it was time for us to leave, but the letter writing will continue over the coming days until all of the children have written their letters.
In the evening I got the opportunity to go with a friend to visit her Mum and her daughter who is currently living with her mum for a while. It was brilliant to see her daughter again as I've missed her so much since she's been away, and I'm looking forward to next week when she's due to come home just in time for her 2nd birthday at the end of the month.
Friday morning brought a meeting about an upcoming project - This Monday we're beginning three reading weeks in Kuffu during the holiday season. We'll be teaching the oldest three classes phonics and helping them to read and write properly. We know that we're really going to be relying on God in this project, but we trust that he will lead us well.
Today, Clare, Finch, Marina and I will be travelling to Kuffu to begin the first week. As of yet I still don't know how long I'll be staying for - one or two weeks - so don't panic if there's no blog next weekend!

It might seem like there were a few days this week when I didn't do much, but throughout the week a lot has been going on with different people that I'm close to in the team here in their personal lives. For this reason, I've spent a lot of time this week supporting people in their situations. I believe that a huge part of my ministry here is to do with supporting people that I'm close to and being there to listen and pray with them. I'm sure you can understand how this is really difficult to blog about because I clearly can't write about people's personal issues. As a team (gappers and local volunteers) we all would appreciate prayer. I know that God has been using us to do some great things, and we're determined not to let anything stand in the way of his work. Please pray for us all...
- For protection physically, emotionally and most of all spiritually
- For health and safety
- For strength
- For people to be able to keep a good morale and for us to remain close as a team
- For us to be able to continue in the work that God has called us to

Please also pray this week for
- The reading weeks at Kuffu
- Those remaining in Kampala - pray that God will use them in whatever they do
- Provision

I'm sorry for the long list of prayer requests! Please just pick one or two and remember us in your prayers when you can.

God bless,

Lorna