A catalogue of Domestic Disasters

Rain, rain, rain and more rain.... that has been Kampala's daily weather for almost the past 2 months!

All this rain brings certain hazards...

1. Soggy ground....

 The ground has become so wet that trees have become dislodged. Beautiful trees have been toppling all over Kampala during recent months. This is such a terrible shame in a city so polluted that it needs every single tree to help us breathe better.

Imagine our shock last Tuesday lunchtime when the majestic jacaranda tree in our neighbour's garden came crashing down into our garden!

Apparently, the roots simply couldn't hold the weight of the tree any longer, as the sodden ground began to give way. There was one almighty crash- and lo and behold, the tree which gave us welcome shade and housed a mulitude of birds, was suddenly lying across our garden! I could barely believe my eyes...

We all felt extremely thankful that the tree fell sideways. If it had fallen straight ahead, its massive weight would have crushed our house and could have killed someone. It fell so unexpectedly and so quickly that it would have been impossible to get out of its way.

As it is, the fallen tree smashed the brick pillar and metal fence of our neighbour's wall and crushed the roof of our children's outdoor fort- but not even our dog was hurt.

It took several days, several workmen and supervision from Andrew to eventually cut the tree into manageable chunks and move the debris out of the garden.

There were some sad casualities- a nestful of pretty baby birds who came to rest in our garden, but sadly didn't survive very long.

Now there is a sorry gap where the kites used to nest and a strangely open skyline above our garden. What a shame- but what a mercy that nobody was hurt and that our house is still intact!


2. Health hazards

Rainy days lend themselves to coughs and colds and the spread of viruses. Our family ended up victims of a particularly nasty virus. First Esther, then Joel, then Ben, then Liz fell under the attack of a virus of high fevers, a wicked cough and general weakness. Many MAF families have also been hit.

Liz is still battling with the horrible cough, which awakens its victims at night with coughing fits and steals our sleep. The rainy weather also makes asthma worse, so Liz's health has been pretty bad for the past 2 months...

Poor Ben came under attack the day before his birthday and suffered through his 12th birthday with a high fever and generally being unwell. Since his mum also got the fever that day, it was not the happiest of birthdays - yet Ben managed to open his gifts with a smile and even smile for his cake! None of us felt like eating birthday cake, but we enjoyed the sparkling candle display!

A few days later, Ben was to celebrate his birthday with 5 friends- but the fever crept up on him and Liz again. The birthday party which should have been so much fun ended up rather a battle to try and be cheerful in company when actually feeling pretty rotten!


3. Cancelled outdoor events

Coming from England, I ought to be used to inclement weather creating havoc with outdoor events. However, I have become a little spoilt over the last 14 years of living on the African continent. These days, I expect sun more than rain! This makes the disappointment heavier when RAIN ruins plans for an outdoor party event.

Last Saturday, the day of Ben's party, dawned with the worst rainstorm that our Kampala friends say they have ever seen!

We had planned an outing for Ben and his friends to a paint-balling event. However, the paint-ball centre had to close due to flooding! With Ben feeling unwell anyway, the party ended up a little subdued. Thankfully, the other boys were still full of energy and good spirit and ready to adapt to a change of plans.

In desperation, Andrew called the cinema to see what was on... There wasn't a lot of choice, so what was supposed to be an energetic party with paint-balling fun actually ended up being a carload of boys being driven to the cinema to watch, "Frozen 2 " ....!!!! Horray for having a cinema in Kampala!

The best-laid plans...

4. Leaking pipes and moudly interiors

When we woke up to the pounding rain and a flooded garden on Saturday, we also discovered puddles in our hallway! The laundry cupboard has some kind of leak and water was merrily making its way from a swollen, wet bubble on the wall at the back of the cupboard, across the floor of the cupboard in a stream and plopping down into our hallway... Argh!!

There seems to be little we can do to rectify the problem, but having a damp laundry cupboard adds to the generally mouldy smell and feel of a very humid house. This may be Africa, but it is a very wet and humid Africa...

Thus life has not been as predictable and jolly as other birthday and Christmas seasons. Yet we are thankful that we were spared the danger of a fallen tree on our house and that the children at last are recovered from their virus! :-) And for those of you who pray, please would you keep Liz in your prayers, as she struggles to get well again after a long-haul of not being well and not being herself... Thank you! :-)

Girl Power!!

One of my many flaws is a weakness for the series "Charlie's Angels", especially the 2000 film where three young women stage unlikely but outrageous stunts to save the world from certain doom.

There is something appealing about the often unexpected victory of these young women: fighting crime in spectacular fashion against all odds.

I may no longer be young, but I do still enjoy a challenge reminiscent of the Girl Power flaunted by "Charlie's Angels"!

Recently, while all the men were working and while my friend's husband was away, four of us ladies, plus a granny and a toddler, took on the challenge of "Removal Ladies"! My friend was moving from one side of our local town to the other and needed some extra hands.

We had one morning, two vehicles and some extremely bumpy, bad roads to navigate.

Three out of four of the Removals Ladies, plus Granny and Toddler! Getting ready to move another load in one of the cars....

Most of the packing had already been done by the time I arrived and one load of goods had already been moved from the first property to the new house, but there was still plenty to do!

Dismantling beds, emptying the fridge, trying to squeeze as much as possible into the 2 cars available... then bumping along the muddy tracks from the old place to the new...

Carrying all the furniture up the stairs to the new place, then reversing back out of a very small parking space and extremely narrow gateway onto a slippery, muddy road. Returning to the old home and repeating the process...

It was quite the morning!

One of my favourite memories will be the dreadful noise that the gas cooker made as it protested noisily all the way from the old home to the new! A jangling of metal, a crashing of doors opening and shutting, the shaking sound of knobs and buttons shifting about and even falling off the oven-top! My friend tried to steady it with one hand, whilst clinging to her toddler with the other, but the stove wobbled furiously about the vehicle every time we crashed over a pot-hole. And there were many of those! I tried to drive as carefully as I could - but a Prado can't defy gravity!

Thankfully, the gas-cooker arrived mostly intact, minus one of the stove-top buttons. A fault which is hopefully fixable.

At the end of the morning, the lady of the house, a friend, another MAF lady (Sarah) and myself were able to stand back and see the happy results. Granny and the toddler approved too! Most of the goods, the bedding for that night, the kitchen equipment and even the family car had all been safely moved. The new home was ready to be organised and settled!

 Later, an actual professional removals company would be moving the fridge, bookcases and adult beds from one building to the other. But for now, us girls had done the best we could. A fun and satisfying morning of Kampala Girl Power!

Special Edition Blog: Our Tenth Anniversary of working in East Africa with MAF!

This month, Andrew and I celebrate TEN YEARS of working with Mission Aviation Fellowship in East Africa!

We started in Tanzania, but had no idea back then of the adventure God would lead us on ...

Onward to Kenya, next to South Sudan, back to Kenya and now Uganda. Phew!

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November 2009-  January 2014

On November 2nd, 2009, we arrived fresh from England, from the cold onset of winter, to the heat of Dodoma, Tanzania.

What a world away from London. And what a world away even from Kampala, where we find ourselves today.

Esther and Ben were just 3 and 1 years old as we began our Mission Aviation Fellowship adventure.

Here they are, so tiny and cute, standing in our Dodoma garden just a few days after their arrival on East African soil!

We were so excited for the work that Andrew would be doing with MAF! The Dodoma MAF hangar was right next door to our home, so it was easy for Esther and Ben to visit Dad at the start or finish of his flying days.

 Andrew flew the smaller Cessna 206 aeroplane into the isolated, dusty airstrips of Tanzania, bringing missionaries, doctors, medical workers or church teams to share God's love:

We celebrated Esther's first day at "real" school early on during our time in Dodoma:

A year later, I led Ben across our hot and dusty MAF compound towards the school bus, for his first day at nursery school:

Two and a half years after arriving in Tanzania, Joel joined our family!
He learnt by early experience some of the more African traditions, such as how a baby should be carried:

We now had three little ones, keeping me out of mischief! I loved caring for these tiny tots at home while Andrew took to the Tanzanian skies.

 On the ground, domestic chores such as food shopping, took some getting used to. I learnt Swahili and learnt how to shop in the local market:

On visits to the doctor or clinic, I learnt how to drive through Dodoma traffic (!!):

Towards the end of four years in Dodoma, we started plans to move to South Sudan. It was time for our family to bid farewell to dusty, dry Dodoma!

January 2014-July 2014

We didn't get to South Sudan as soon as we expected. Due to the South Sudan fighting of 2013, we had a 6-month detour in Nairobi. Six months where Andrew built up experience flying the larger Cessna 208 aeroplane. This was all helpful experience for South Sudan...

Nairobi for those interim six months was a tough life lesson. Lessons in patience, learning more about trusting God's plan for us when we couldn't see the way ahead. It was a new challenge, living unexpectedly in a different country, working with a different MAF team, with Esther and Ben at a new and very different school.

Nobody knew when, or even if, the fighting in South Sudan would abate. They didn't even know whether we could move there.

With all of our household goods packed up and stuck in far off Tanzania, we lived in a kind of limbo.

 Looking back, it was a limbo which showed us that life goes on; that kind people can be found everywhere; that there are always blessings, despite the struggle of the unknown.

Our temporary Nairobi home, 2014:

August 2014- July 2016

Finally, in August 2014, we arrived at our next MAF home! Juba, South Sudan.

Andrew's flying was busy, but truly amazing.

Day after day, MAF planes in South Sudan carry food, supplies, medical help and pastoral care to impact the people of this war-torn land. A MAF plane can also bring a strong message of hope:  that people care, but most of all, that their Creator cares and loves them.

This was a flight where I joined Andrew, transporting supplies and staff to remote Kuron. Here, a wonderful centre of training and education was established by the church:

All in a day's work.... snapshots of Andrew's work days:

                                                     (photo credit: LuAnne Cadd)

                                                     (photo credit: LuAnne Cadd)

Medical evacuation flight: 

While Dad was busy, Joel joined the brand new, tiny JCA (Juba Christian Academy)- a pre-school set up by MAF and SIL missionary staff.

 Joel's first day at school, surrounded by all of his school-mates:

Esther, Ben and their mum did home-school for the first few months in the front room of our house:

Thanks to a hugely generous gift from a supporting UK church, we soon moved into this fabulous classroom! It was set up a few minute's walk across our MAF compound:

South Sudan was intense. Rewarding. Exciting. Frightening. Hot. Exhausting. Eye-opening.

An incredible place, where I set out thinking I was going to work for God but instead found that He was working on me. Teaching me lessons about His goodness and constant love in the midst of hard work, struggles and conflict.

We saw miracles and transformation in the lives of people we met. We are especially grateful for the miracle of healing that God brought for our precious Joel, when he somehow contracted the extremely dangerous periorbital cellulitis. From this:

To this- our little boy is restored to full health:

I was so grateful that God sent us a brilliant doctor from England, just when we needed her and enabled me to find the correct medicine. We were in a city without good medical facilities; yet we are never in a city without our good Father God.

Two years of tight-knit compound living, deep friendships and a marvellously eclectic church community. Two years of sowing into my children's education, of late nights and weekends preparing lessons. Two years of deeply fulfilling work for Andrew, of getting to know beautifully resilient South Sudanese friends and colleagues. Two years of deep family bonding.

When we suddenly evacuated from South Sudan with the onset of the 2016 fighting, it was with heavy hearts.

Our hasty retreat, the sound of heavy gun-fire still ringing in our ears, was a difficult wrench from the place we called home. We carried with us rich and joyful memories, along with some more difficult memories. We look back now, smile at the photos of the happy times, the birthday parties, the people we met and are thankful for the happy memories AND for the harder lessons which we learnt on this part of our MAF adventure.

July- December 2016

Back to Kenya!

Andrew was thankfully able to continue flights in and out of South Sudan during its time of crisis and post-fighting. He often spent a week up in South Sudan, then a week with us in Kenya. Many aid organisations were able to continue their help to the people directly affected by the trauma and chaos of war.

Andrew also flew within Kenya, an extra pilot for the MAF Kenya team, so his days were busy.

Home-school continued, but in our new Nairobi home. We moved into the ground floor flat at Black Rose Appartments.

Peek through the open door at ground level, into our latest temporary home:

 Here in Nairobi, Joel actually joined Esther and Ben for home-school. We bought him a little desk of his own:

Home-school in our Nairobi flat:

Ben celebrated his 9th birthday in this appartment. We felt so blessed, because God put an amazing community around us. Despite ending up in Nairobi unexpectedly again, there were two other MAF families temporarily placed at Black Rose at the same time, plus some lovely neighbours who came to celebrate special events with us:

When we organised Ben's birthday outing to Naiorbi's Quad Biking Track, there was no lack of friends to come and join him! 

I am indebted to these two lovely MAF ladies who ended up living at Black Rose the same time as us: Ruth and Kathie:

What incredible support and friendship God blessed us with as he put us all there at the same time! He never makes mistakes. And it was no coincidence that Ruth and Kathie are also teachers and that Kathie "happened" to be home-schooling her 2 children, similar in age to Ben and Joel :-) When I take time to reflect back, I see a strong pattern of God's faithfulness at every stage of our MAF journey.

December 2016- present-day November 2019

So here we are in Uganda!

Flying for MAF Uganda has a very different feel, according to my MAF pilot husband. For one thing, Uganda has a generally more pleasant climate.

In addition, the kinds of places he flies to and the organisations and passengers using MAF have a very distinct "Uganda" flavour compared to Tanzania, Kenya or South Sudan.

Two weeks ago, Andrew had a long day of flying, which involved two stops at neighbouring South Sudan airstrips. When he came home, he commented that flying in Uganda can cause him to forget how hot and how politically intense it can be flying in South Sudan.

For these past ten years of flying for Mission Aviation Fellowship, both Andrew and I consider it a huge privilege to have played a very small part in seeing hope and healing reach many through the MAF flights.

And whichever country Andrew is piloting his MAF plane in, there is extra joy on the flights where this pilot gets a chance to grab a welcome cup of tea from his thermos:

                                  (photo credit Tim Parker)

As for our children, we are now the proud parents of a teenager! Despite growing up in East Africa, she was able to keep alive a little of her British heritage at a recent Bonfire Night event in Kampala. Time for Esther to sparkle!

Our boys embrace their east African childhood. With his typical enthusiasm, Ben tucked into a snack of fried grasshoppers on our drive across town last Saturday:

His younger brother shared the "tasty" (!!) treat and delighted to show his mum the graphic detail of this edible insect, before popping it into his mouth and swallowing it down:

For all its western development, the roads we drive on in Kampala can be of varied standards:

Even on the paved roads, there are stark reminders that this is definitely east Africa, with this rather angry looking bovine bearing down on my car last week as I attempted a drive to school:

 A little throw-back to those early days, ten years ago, of learning to drive in dusty, undeveloped Dodoma!

It has been an amazing ten years. Ten years I am grateful to have lived and ten years I never could have made up if you had asked me, early in 2009, where I thought I might raise my children and see my husband work.

Through it all, I have seen over and over and over the faithfulness of a God who doesn't just call us to places we never could have dreamed of, but teaches us, equips us, protects us and provides for us along the way.

What an adventure! An African adventure, with God at the helm: I am so thankful for these last ten years with MAF!