Dyck's Hot Spot

JustPotters

2012-01-23T17:58:00.001-08:00

JustWork focuses on three different enterprises; JustRenos, JustCatering, and JustPotters. Although my focus right now has been in JustRenos, I've really enjoyed spending time in the pottery studio which happens to be in the basement of the church. Meeting all the potters and volunteers that help out in the studio has been a highlight of my first couple weeks with JustWork.

Here are some photos of some of the pottery that has been made recently, email me if you'd like to come by the studio to see more or I can send you a catalog.

jeff.dyck@justwork.ca

You can also check out the Etsy website to buy these or custom products online:

www.etsy.com/shop/justwork

All images belong to JustPotters.

JustWork

2012-01-09T18:48:00.001-08:00

About 18 months ago when we first began to prepare and think about coming home from Uganda we started looking at different organizations that focused on poverty alleviation in our home community. During our time in Uganda we became very passionate about providing people with opportunities to sustain themselves through education and employment. We stumbled across a website for a company, JustWork, that does just that in East Vancouver.

JustWork is a non-profit organization that works out of Grandview Baptist Calvary Church in East Vancouver. Their main focus is providing employment opportunities for people that might be considered unemployable or have employment barriers such as physical disability, mental illness, addictions and homelessness. They offer employment in catering, pottery, painting and construction.

As the new General Manager my main focus will be trying to grow the construction/painting divisions as well offer support and overall management to the organization.

I will need to raise around $20,000 as part of my salary for the first year, if you'd be willing to partner with me on this please email me for more information. JustWork is a registered charity.

Here are links to the JustWork website and blog:

A big thank you to Photobooth Vancouver {& their adorable baby} for the great night and very fun photos!!!

Snow Day

2011-12-31T21:45:00.000-08:00

Our kids have been wanting to play in the snow for a long time!!!

Baby, it's cold outside

2011-12-23T12:07:00.001-08:00

It's been a while since we've had Christmas in the cold!! There are a lot of things we miss about Uganda; our friends, the slower pace of life, and at this time of year the weather, but we're also enjoying this Christmas season back in Canada with family and friends. It's been a lot of fun to see it through Mazzy's eyes, a lot of firsts for her!! Actually Avin and Finn don't seem to recall much from their holidays before Uganda either.

We've all been excited for gingerbread houses, ice skating, lots of lights, visits with Santa, school concerts, shopping for the Christmas hamper, youth group events (can't believe we have a child in YOUTH!), and just playing games or baking cookies at home with our family!!

We hope you are all having a wonderful season too, Merry Christmas!!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-30T14:00:00.000-07:00

The kids were all pretty excited to go to the pumpkin patch this year, Joel was the only one to remember ever going before! We were happy to have such a beautiful afternoon last Sunday to explore and pick up a few pumpkins to carve.

Christmas in Kibaale

2011-10-21T10:43:00.000-07:00

Have you thought about buying a Christmas gift for a student and their family in Kibaale? Here is the updated Special Gifts List!!

Shop online now @ www.kibaale.net

100% of your gift goes directly to Kibaale!!

Mosquito Nets (X2)	$15
Shoes	$20
Reusable Feminine Products	$20
Solar Lantern	$20
Single Gift Basket	$27.50
Maize Flour	$30
Goat	$35
Shoes and Clothing	$40
Bed Set (mattress, blanket, sheets)	$55
Double Gift Basket	$55
Household Items (jerry cans, utensils)	$58-$105
Water Collector	$80
Bicycle	$110
2000L Water Tank	$650
Property (plot of land)	$900
Mud House	$2100-$2500
Brick House	$4200-$5400

You don't sponsor a child in Uganda but want to give someone a gift? Mark your donation "Where Most Needed". You can also designate a specific gift to a child in any $ amount to "Items Most Needed" and the Kibaale staff will purchase the necessary items for that family.

If you'd like your gift to be given before Christmas, it needs to be made by November 15th.

Email: info@paoutreach.net

Donate on-line with PayPal.

Thank you for considering a gift to a student in Kibaale!!!

Every Donation of $10 or more will receive a charitable tax donation receipt.

Thanksgiving

2011-10-10T08:59:00.000-07:00

Our long weekend began by taking Mazzy to the States for the very first time!

Our friends live on beautiful Whatcom Lake and invited us to spend the day with them.

The kids loved playing with their dog, adorable baby, fishing for the first time and were pretty amazed at their Dad's rock skipping skills, we had a great day!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Birthday, Mazzy!

2011-09-29T15:14:00.001-07:00

She's 4 today, our baby, it goes soooo fast!!!

We spent the morning making Lion King themed cupcakes, actually we helped our good friend and talented cupcake creator, Megan, they turned out great and it was a lot of fun!!

A couple more "helpers", they did a great job ... of tasting!!

So cute!!! Thanks for everyone's help, we're very excited to celebrate this fun, loving, creative,

AMAZING little girl:)

Back to School!

2011-09-26T21:00:00.000-07:00

Finn on the first day of Grade 2. It was his very first day going to school, he didn't even go to a neighborhood preschool because we were already going to Uganda when he was just 3 years old!! We were most nervous about this big change for him, but he has wonderful teachers and has made some good friends in his class. By Friday he usually asks to switch to homeschooling, but on Monday he's more than ready for the week!

Avin on her first day of Grade 3. She hasn't been to school since her 3 year old preschool class and was very eager to go, she LOVES it!

Joel's first day of Grade 6! He's been to private school, public school, homeschool for 4 years, back to private school for the end of last year, and again at public school, poor child. He's adjusted really well though and is very happy with his new school!!

Mazzy, she's homeschooling "preschool" and going to an Awana Cubbies program at church, she loves it!!!!

Summer

2011-09-21T18:36:00.001-07:00

We can't believe how quickly summer flew by!! It began with us moving (after being incredibly blessed by AMAZING FRIENDS who invited us to live with them as long as we needed!!) to a great townhouse in South Surrey. It quickly felt like home, having both of our parents and many friends close by helped with that!! The clubhouse with pool might have too!! Then life got busy. It didn't surprise us. We have 4 kids, we're living in North America again, it just took some getting used too, it still is taking some getting used too!!!

We had a lot of fun and really enjoyed our summer back in Canada though, especially the warm days in August. Our time was filled with VBS, soccer camp, dog sitting, swimming pools, beach days, the park, waterpark, meeting new friends, Whitecaps, celebrating birthdays, Anvil Island for a week {for Joel}, BBQ's and lots of time spent with friends and family. We even got away for a few days to the beautiful Okanagan!!

Missing Uganda

2011-08-09T08:14:00.000-07:00

I think we're in a constant state of missing our home of 4 years; the sunny days we're having in Vancouver are making it even worse right now though!!

Happy Birthday, Joel!

2011-08-07T22:10:00.000-07:00

We can't believe he's 11 years old!!

Joel is spending a week away at summer camp so it was his first birthday where we didn't even get to see him!! We know that he is having a great time though and we're happy his best friend Michelle was there to celebrate with him!

Kibaale Walk

2011-04-18T08:38:00.001-07:00

The funds raised through the 2011 Kibaale Walk will go toward raising the overall well-being of our Kibaale Community. These donations will help to support our educational, medical, and agricultural programs, which have given these desperately needy orphans and their families a hand-up and a step forward in developing a healthy society.

Pacific Academy students and staff will participate in the 5K walk, which will take place Wednesday, April 27th. You can contact Jenny Nel for more information or make a donation online

www.kibaale.net

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING KIBAALE!!!

Snow!

2011-04-13T19:31:00.000-07:00

Mazzy saw snow for the first time this week!!

She first said "icing" when she saw the snow, and after touching it, and of course tasting it, "it's freezing cold!" It was a lot of fun to watch her first snow experience!

THANK YOU!!

2011-04-10T18:35:00.000-07:00

Since returning from Uganda we have looked back through thousands of pictures and thought about a million memories, what a blessing we were given to serve there as a family these past few years! We could not have done it without the help of our family and friends who have supported us financially, with emails of encouragement, gifts and supplies sent over, and most importantly, your prayers. We can't thank everyone enough for their love and support of our family, which has continued to make our transition back home a much easier one!!

Since coming home many people who supported us financially have asked us if there are other projects they can designate their support towards, YES, we highly recommend sponsoring a child in Kibaale!!!

We are very proud to say that 100% of the money you send for sponsorship goes towards the student and their family, it covers education, participation in the feeding program, medical care and family needs, all administrative costs are covered by Pacific Academy and other sources!

One of the areas in Kibaale particularly in need of sponsorship is our vocational school, it's $35 Canadian a month, and only a 2 year commitment! Please take a look at the kids available online, www.kibaale.net or email Jenny Nel for more information!!

Thank you for considering sponsoring a child in Kibaale!

London, Baby!

2011-03-22T19:30:00.001-07:00

We spent a couple days in London en-route to Vancouver; it was great to have a few days as a family to relax and sightsee such a cool and beautiful city after our tearful goodbye from Uganda!!!

Day 1 was a bit rainy and very cold, hats and scarves were bought immediately!!!

Day 2 was beautiful, a very bright and sunny day, but still cold!

We checked out Stamford Bridge on our final day, the kids were very excited to meet the Chelsea coach while we were there, it was a great finish to our very fun weekend away!

He's 7!!!

2011-03-20T00:26:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Finn!!

After celebrating his 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th birthdays in Uganda, Finn thought it was pretty exciting to spend his 7th in London!

Welaba

2011-03-17T08:55:00.000-07:00

Welaba is goodbye in Uganda, it feels like we've been saying that a lot lately!!!

See you soon, Canada!!!

See You, Kibaale!

2011-03-16T21:22:00.000-07:00

It was hard to say goodbye to our home of 3 years this week, Kibaale will always have a very special place in our hearts.

It's not just because of the amazing programs that go on there, although we're very proud of those, not because of the adorable 900 students running around the school compound every day, although seeing their smiles makes our day, but because of the staff that make it all happen! The staff in Kibaale work so hard, they truly love all these children, they love this community, and they work together as a team which is why it works so well!! We were very fortunate to work with such a great group of people, who we will miss SO much!!

On our last day we had the opportunity to go to our good friend Vincent's family home, to meet his parents, sister, and to see where he grew up. Vincent started at the Kibaale Community Centre when he was a young boy and is now a leader in the Community Services office, he is a true testament of the centre!! His family was amazing, there was such joy in their home!

A few tearful goodbye's with some of our good friends, we look forward to the day we can see them all again!

Bull Roast

2011-03-16T12:12:00.001-07:00

On Monday the builders at the Timothy Centre wanted to thank Paul and I for their consistent employment this past year. They pooled their resources together and managed to purchase a cow to roast for us, it was delicious!

To thank them for all their hard work every builder got a new hat and a flashlight.

These two guys, Steven and Robert, are very good friends of mine, they have been building in Kibaale for the last 15 years! We were fortunate enough to bring them along to the Timothy Centre to help with the construction of the girls college.

Thank you Paul & Megan for the photos!!

African Killer Bees

2011-03-16T05:59:00.001-07:00

Earlier this week I took Joel to the Honey Bee Training Center, at the Timothy Center. Joel was nervous but incredibly excited to get this close to African Killer Bees. Even though technically that is exactly what they are, if they are treated properly the chance of actually being killed by them is extremely slim.

With that said, you'll notice there are no pictures of me in here (Jeff), just Joel, I was happy to keep my distance!!!

Lester Lowe is the primary "bee guy" in Uganda and we are fortunate enough to have him working at our bee project in Masaka! He is an excellent teacher, Joel learned a lot and had a great morning!

TGC Opening

2011-03-15T14:27:00.006-07:00

One of the last tasks we were asked to do was organize a grand opening event for the Timothy Girls College with our co-workers in Masaka. This past Saturday we hosted around 350 people consisting of builders, friends, pastors, members of the community and many of our staff from Kibaale.

Our Executive Director, Ray Sutton, and a few members of the board also made the trip from Canada to see the new project, join in the festivities, and continue to work on plans for the future.

It was a great day; to celebrate years of planning and hard work, as well a good chance for us to say goodbye to a lot of people at one time!

21 Timothy Girls singing away!!

In honor of our Director and his wife the dining hall is officially "Sutton Hall"!!!

After the speeches we had a delicious lunch, ribbon cutting, and tour of the property. We loved to watch the girls as they were showing their families around their new school, they were very proud!

A big thank you to our friend Peter Lorenzen for the great pictures!!

Thursday in Kibaale

2011-03-11T05:38:00.000-08:00

We just had our last Thursday in Kibaale.

We especially love being there on Thursdays because of staff chapel in the evenings, which is one of our favorite church services in Uganda!

We tried to spend a lot of the day just visiting with everyone, not saying goodbye, although we know that is coming soon. It's really hard not to think of all the 'lasts' these days, but even with those thoughts in the back of our minds we managed to have a really nice time just connecting with our friends.

One of our favorite parts of the day was meeting

ETHAN ANDREW

Congratulations PJ and Samalie on your new son, he is beautiful!!!

Avin had it in her mind that she was going to give her bike to Stella when we leave, so we brought it along yesterday. She was very excited to see it and then to spend the afternoon learning how to ride it with the help of Avin and Finn!

Avin and Finn loved getting a ride on Bira's new boda boda!!

Lastly, taking in the sea of blue uniforms!!

Mpigi

2011-03-09T10:10:00.000-08:00

March 2011

We spent this past weekend in Mpigi, knowing that this was our last one made it an emotional few days!

When we first arrived in March 2007 there were only 13 kids living on the 10 acres, they were especially hard for all of us to say goodbye too this weekend. A highlight of our time has been watching how these 13 have matured. Many of them are leaders in their homes; we've watched them accept all the new children as brothers and sisters and show them how things are done, they have always included everyone and been great examples of love, even to our own kids!

March 2007

The five oldest kids in Mpigi are now in high school and going to a nearby boarding school. Sunday was a visitation day at the school so we were able to spend the morning with the kids and had a tour of their new school. They are all settling in really well and are very happy, it was fun to see how excited they were to show us around!

Christine is a a very special young lady, being the oldest at the home she has always been a huge help with organizing events or games and even with translating. She was very sad when we had to say goodbye, which was heartbreaking for us. She was such a blessing to our family when we lived in Mpigi, a true friend, we will miss her so much!

2007

Cissy was Avin's first best friend in Uganda, she was great at including her in games with the girls and taught her how to skip rope. We love that she is always smiling!!!

Cissy and Avin, 2007.

It's not a weekend in Mpigi without a soccer match!!

Even though we know this isn't "goodbye", it's "see you later", not knowing when we'll be back makes it hard to leave.

4 Years

2011-03-03T12:34:00.000-08:00

We first arrived in this beautiful country 4 years ago today, time really does fly by when you're having fun!

Kamuli

2011-03-01T05:47:00.003-08:00

One of the director's at the Kibaale Community Centre, Samalie, and her husband, Pastor Joseph run a project in a nearby village called Kamuli. They pastor a church, and have now started a community school for needy children in the area. Which pretty much describes each child in this village, it's a very impoverished area of Uganda.

The school has 180 students and 6 staff, two of the classes meet in the church building as they don't have enough money for proper classrooms. The families of the children are asked to pay school fees but few can pay more than about 40 cents per term. PJ and Samalie struggle on a month to month basis to pay these teachers and keep the school running.

For the last 3 Christmases that we have been in Uganda our home church, Peace Portal Alliance, has taken up an offering we receive a portion of, as missionaries. This year we wanted to make sure that this project in Kamuli received part of this gift, it has been on our hearts to help them out.

On Sunday we had the chance to attend their church, meet some of the students they are teaching, enjoy a wonderful Ugandan lunch, and walk through town. It is a really beautiful area of Uganda, and we felt very welcomed!!

If you would like to read more about this project or give a tax deductible donation, here is the link:

Kamuli Village

This is their unfinished school building, the money that we were able to give them from Peace Portal Alliance Church will pay for the roof and finish the walls, so the students can start using this building!! This block is actually good for 120 kids, believe it or not, and would be for students in Grades 2-6.

Thank you, church!!

To Kampala

2011-02-25T05:53:00.002-08:00

Some of the sights we see driving from Masaka to Kampala!

He won. Again.

Drive thru!! Cold drinks? Or meat on a stick? Which is actually better than you'd think:)

Bernard's Mud House!!

2011-02-24T06:30:00.004-08:00

Our good friends came to visit us in Uganda last year and were able to bless so many families with supplies, food, water collectors and gift baskets with money they raised before they came. One of the water collectors was put in at Bernard's house, but when we got there we realized he needed much more, his mud house was falling apart!

With the help of their family and friends they raised money to build Bernard a new house!! Our family loved that we were able to help mud the house with the P5 students, as part of their Outreach program for Term 1, they worked very hard!!

Thank you to everyone who donated to Bernard's new house!!!!

Communities of Hope

2011-02-23T10:08:00.006-08:00

We really loved this program, to care for a few very needy families outside the catchment of the Kibaale school, when it first started last year. We had the opportunity to go with our social worker in the Community Services office to meet these 8 families and hear their different stories. They have all been sponsored since then, and we're happy to report doing so much better. The oldest children in the homes are now going to school, they are getting medical care at our clinic, and our social worker regularly checks in on them to see what other needs they may have and how the Kibaale Community Centre can meet them!!

This is the family that we are sponsoring, Mama and baby were home when we dropped by. It is amazing to see how much better this little girl is doing, she was so malnourished last year, but now she's gaining weight and even starting to walk, so cute!!

She's 8!!

2011-02-20T02:34:00.003-08:00

Happy Birthday, Avin!

Graduation Party!

2011-02-16T05:58:00.000-08:00

On Saturday we were at a graduation ceremony in Kibaale to celebrate many of the staff who completed their studies last year. It unfortunately rained that morning so things were quite delayed, but it was great to be a part of this special day!!

The best part of these events, the kids!!!

Praying this little one makes their arrival before we leave!!

Joel & Jody Visit Uganda!

2011-02-14T07:09:00.000-08:00

We spent last week in Kibaale with our friends, Joel and Jody, from our home church in Canada. They were only in Uganda for a week, but we managed to fit a lot in ... baby immunizations, a mud hut, visits in some of the Primary classrooms, home visits to both Kibaale sponsored students and two families from the Communities of Hope program, a tour of the new Timothy Centre project in Masaka and even a visit to our church project in Mpigi!!

It was such a blessing for us to spend a week together in Kibaale; to see the project again through fresh eyes, to feel a connection to home while we share meals together, and to feel supported and prayed for, it was a very refreshing week!!

Visiting one of our mutual friend's sponsor child, Judith, and her lovely family:

Visiting one of our sponsored Communities of Hope families:

This family is in need of a new house!! If you'd like to give a financial gift towards this need, please contact Jenny Nel!

2 Friends & A Wedding

2011-02-08T16:08:00.001-08:00

Elijah and Vicky, from the Kibaale Community Centre, were just married in Jinja. We have loved Jinja for little getaways these past few years, we actually went for the first time on our 10th wedding anniversary! We knew this was going to be our last chance to get there before going home, so we decided to make the trip a weekend away with Paul and Megan!

The wedding was beautiful, and on time, which is very rare for weddings in Uganda!! It was such a treat for us to be able to hang out with so many of the staff outside of work, and having everyone there meant a lot to Elijah and Vicky, it's a 5 hour drive from Kibaale!

LOVE these women ... and this sweet baby girl!!!!

We had a lot of fun hanging out with Paul and Megan the rest of the weekend. We laughed - a lot, talked, read books, played games, went out for lattes, and had some amazing meals, it was a great weekend!

This gigantic bee had our attention!

Rebecca's New House!

2011-02-07T03:09:00.002-08:00

Rebecca is sponsored by good friends of ours, and when her mud house fell apart last spring we knew that they would do everything they could to help raise money to build her a new home! After some investigations we found out that their land was covered in termites, so if we built another mud house the same thing would happen. No problem, let's build her a brick house!!

After living with extended family Rebecca, her mom, and sisters have now moved into their new home!!!

Thank you to everyone who donated towards Rebecca's new house, they feel incredibly blessed!

Here is a picture from the side of Rebecca's home last spring!

What an improvement from their old little house, which continues to fall apart, it's time to tear it down!

Timothy Centre Tour

2011-02-06T03:46:00.005-08:00

Welcome, to the Timothy Centre!

We first came to look at the PAOS projects in Uganda in September 2007, we stayed at the Kibaale Community Centre, but spent a lot of our time planning for the new Timothy Centre which was going to be built in Masaka. At that time we were just looking for land and drawings were being sketched for the guest houses and school buildings. It was very exciting though for us to be a part of this brand new arm of the Kibaale Community Centre, right from the beginning!

We soon learned that in Uganda buying land and building a new project from the ground up can take a lot longer than we first thought! Although things happened at a slower pace, it's exciting to see where the project is right now. The majority of Phase 1 is finished and we hope to have 90 students enrolled in the Timothy Girls College later this month!!

As you drive into the compound there are farming projects right before the guest house complex.

It's a peaceful retreat with a beautiful view of the wetlands.

Head Mistress' house

Administrative Building

Dining Hall

The first school block

Classroom

Science Lab

Dormitory

Hope and Sylvia have been a part of the promotions team for the school. This week we will be in Kampala with a table set up at one of the local malls to get the word out about our new school and recruit new students. Please pray for our staff this week as we hope to register 90 students!!

More Mpigi

2011-01-25T04:48:00.000-08:00

Chores {In Mpigi}

2011-01-24T05:15:00.000-08:00

Last year, in an effort towards self sustainability in Mpigi, they planted a crop of maize corn. Growing crops is also a great life skill for the kids to learn!

We were there a few days ago while everyone was working together to get the kernels ready to be milled into a fine powder called posho, a staple food in Uganda.

They will be able to sell the posho for around $400 or eat it themselves, taking that money off their food budget. We were told that the crop was great in quality and quantity, especially for their first year!!

Some of the kids were doing their normal chores in the afternoon as well, fetching water, chopping fire wood, which Joel was very happy to help out with, and peeling matooke for dinner!! We love that there is always something for us to help out with when we're there!!

Visit from the US Ambassador

2011-01-21T03:31:00.003-08:00

Today we were honored to receive a visit from the US Ambassador to Uganda, Jerry Lanier, along with his wife and a large part of his staff. This past year the US Embassy awarded us with a grant that assisted with our agriculture programs at the Timothy Centre. We used that money to construct a bee keeping training shelter. This was the first chance that anyone from the embassy had to come and see the project first hand.

Fortunately for us our friend named Lester, who comes from Northern Uganda to teach the bee keeping courses, was here today doing a workshop. So the timing couldn't have been better for the Ambassador to see the training centre in use!

Lester is showing our visitors one of the hives. They took turns holding the hives which I (Jeff) can't believe, because I wouldn't touch it! These are what in Canada we would call African Killer Bees, but if they are treated properly they are safe, I'm told!

We also had time at the end of their visit to give them a quick tour of the rest of the Timothy Centre and explain to them the different programs we will be running here.

We really appreciated the time they took out of their busy schedules to come and see our project in Masaka!

Welcome, Friesen Family

2011-01-20T09:23:00.001-08:00

Last week Mark and Sue, with their two children Ben and April, joined our team from Canada. Mark is coming in to fill two roles; both the Finance Director as well he is taking over the role of Field Director for Jeff. Please pray for their family as they transition to life in Uganda and take on these new roles!

Their arrival has made the fact that we are leaving in 2 months a lot more real! Although we are very excited about life at home again, especially seeing family and friends, we're also feeling sad as we start to say our good-bye's here. It's going to be a bitter sweet couple of months!!

Bugs!

2011-01-12T03:44:00.000-08:00

We're not going to miss finding these very large cockroaches around the house!!

Love.

2011-01-11T14:07:00.000-08:00

Malaria

2011-01-07T04:50:00.001-08:00

It's been a rocky start to 2011 for the Dyck family!! Jeff was diagnosed with Malaria this week, he's feeling better now, but is still a bit shocked at how weak and tired it made him! Avin had a fever late last night so we took her to the clinic for a blood test first thing this morning, and she has Malaria, not fun!!

Many of the staff have Malaria right now and Lizabee had a very bad case just before Christmas, so it seems to be particularly bad right now.

Please pray for the health of our family these last few months we are living in Uganda, as well all of our co-workers, none of us are any good when we're stuck in bed!!!

Thank You!!

Clinic Donation

2011-01-04T07:14:00.001-08:00

This weekend we received a massive donation for our medical clinic in Kibaale. There were a number of new hospital beds, shelves, chairs, and a lot of supplies to replenish the dwindling stock. This came from a hospital in Holland called Martini Ziekenhuis Groningen.

Last year our clinic was over budget due to a much higher volume of patients than expected, so this donation came at the perfect time to cover some of those extra costs, what a blessing!!

Happy New Year!!

2010-12-31T23:54:00.000-08:00

Christmas in the Middle East

2010-12-30T08:07:00.003-08:00

One of the perks of living in Uganda is unique and affordable vacation destinations!! We were very excited to spend Christmas in Cairo with the whole family. We went for a boat ride on the Nile River on Christmas Eve and spent Christmas day riding around the pyramids on camels, it was an incredible experience!

Nile River

Giza Pyramids

Walking around the Mohammed Ali Mosque, one of the largest mosques in Egypt

Avin, getting a taste of life for a celebrity! It seemed almost everywhere we went in Cairo people would stop to talk to her, touch her hair, or even take a picture with her. She didn't mind!!

A few days before Christmas I (Shan) went to Dubai with Paul, Megan and Lizabee. It was a lot of fun to be in such a new and exciting city, especially coming from Uganda!!

The Burj Khalifa, the tallest man-made structure in the world, 160 floors!

Here is a view from the observation deck, 124 floors up!!

We celebrated Lizabee's 40th birthday with tea at the Burj Al Arab, very fun! Not sure I will be able to top that!!

Old Dubai

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T13:58:00.000-08:00

Christmas Day 2010

Kibaale Blue

2010-12-17T03:17:00.001-08:00

December is the end of the school year in Uganda, which means no blue uniforms running around Kibaale. It is very quiet when there is no school, too quiet, we can't wait to see all the kids again in February!!!

Christmas PJ's

2010-12-14T20:59:00.000-08:00

Christmas Cup 2010

2010-12-10T03:48:00.000-08:00

The Game.

The 3rd Annual Christmas Cup kicked off last week. Even though we've moved to Masaka the guys kept a spot on the team for me, and I was happy to play! We've had three games, 1 win, 1 loss, and 1 tie, which was good enough to progress to the semi-finals next week.

The Fans.

Finn lost his first tooth a few days ago!!

Little friends sharing secrets.

Gift Baskets

2010-12-06T03:42:00.000-08:00

First of all, a HUGE THANKS to everyone who has given a special gift to a child or family in Kibaale this Christmas season. It is such a blessing, one that we love being able to see first hand!!

The most popular item is the gift basket. Last Thursday the day was spent giving out half of the gift baskets bought for Christmas, next Thursday we'll give out the rest! The gift basket is full of essential items in a plastic bin, which is very useful to these families and lasts them about 2 months. There is sugar, rice, matches, kerosene, salt, cooking oil, shortening, toothbrush and toothpaste, tea, spices, lotion, soap, and a few packages of biscuits (baby cookies) which don't usually make it home!!!

Thanks to a very generous donation from someone in Canada, Christmas gifts were bought for every student this year, even those without a sponsor!!

New Addition

2010-12-03T03:16:00.000-08:00

We've adopted again, this time, a tortoise!

The builders at the Timothy Centre have taken it upon themselves to capture various wildlife and present them to us as gifts. A couple weeks ago they caught a chipmunk, which after naming Alvin, we let go! A couple days ago they gave us a tortoise. Which is actually a perfect pet in Masaka, it grazes in the yard, digs holes in the garden and drinks from the puddles.

His name is Tony.

Sports Day

2010-12-01T05:15:00.001-08:00

Today the kids had a sports day with other missionary families in Masaka, there were kids from America, Denmark and of course, Canada!!

Joel said the stretching at the beginning of the day was the hardest part!!

Janice is Paul and Megan's niece and has been visiting them these past few weeks, all of our kids have loved hanging out with her!!

A serious pep talk:)

Christmas Baking

2010-11-29T06:38:00.000-08:00

Mazzy enjoyed hanging out in the kitchen while we started our baking this weekend!

It's Christmas Time!

2010-11-26T00:18:00.000-08:00

Although the Christmas season feels a lot different in Uganda, we celebrate pretty much the same way! Family pictures were taken, the tree is up, stockings are hung, Christmas music is playing and this weekend we'll start to do a little baking!

The kids are pretty jealous of the snow at home, but after a couple hours of it I think we'd be pretty happy to be back here, enjoying this beautiful tropical weather!!!

4 More Days..

2010-11-22T04:42:00.000-08:00

To buy a Christmas gift for a student and their family in Kibaale!!

www.kibaale.net

Thanks so much, your gift is such a blessing!!!

Grasshoppers, Yum!?

2010-11-19T06:30:00.000-08:00

We are in the middle of Grasshopper season in Masaka. Fortunately for us, our neighbor happens to be one of the many people who have set up grasshopper catchers through the night, all night, with bright lights, every night.

Here is a view from our roof of Masaka town, the green light is all the different places catching grasshoppers.

What they do is set up very bright lights to attract the grasshoppers, then below the lights they put a corrugated iron sheet in a barrel. The grasshoppers slide down the iron sheet and get stuck in the barrels, where the insides are coated in flour to prevent them from hopping or flying out. It sounds like hard rain as the grasshoppers hit the iron sheets, all night long!

They fry and season the grasshoppers before selling them in the market or along the streets. Our neighbor graciously gave us a plate for free!

Joel could not handle it, but he tried and then spit it out! The only one to not even try this Ugandan delicacy was our Ugandan daughter, she was having nothing to do with them!!

Visitors & Home Visits

2010-11-18T05:30:00.000-08:00

While some of our visitors helped with a mud hut last week, others went to the homes of their sponsor kids, to meet the families and bring them a few essential gifts!

One of the hardest things on home visits is when the family also wants to give you a gift, knowing that it was much more of a sacrifice for them to give.

Our truck filled with Mzungu's (white people) always gets the attention of the neighbors!!

Last stop, one of my very favorite families! These visitors made a generous donation for a brick house to "where most needed" earlier this year, and this is the family that received the gift!! It has been such a blessing to them, they are always smiling!

More neighbors stopping by to greet us!

Babies carrying babies, not sure we'll ever get used to seeing that!