Clearly the
most significant event of the summer was the safe arrival of a second healthy
boy Jonah in July, and we thank God for blessing us with such a calm baby, who
seems to have taken all the changes of his first three months comfortably
within his little stride.
It was a
busy summer, and we weren’t allowed to let the grass grow under our feet. In June and September we spoke at 17 church
services, 2 youth groups, 1 harvest supper, 1 ladies’ fellowship and 1 scout
troop all over England and Wales. Gareth
also completed a research paper for BMS.
Although this schedule was tiring for a young family, we were bowled
over by the generous hospitality we received wherever we went, and by the interest
and enthusiasm shown for the work in Kasese, often combined with support
through prayer and giving. One of my
favourite passages of scripture is 1 Cor 12 where Paul describes the church as
the body of Christ, united through the integration of very different component
parts. We were really reminded of this
as we travelled around the UK and witnessed the passion and commitment with
which so many churches are addressing the challenges of their own communities,
as well as supporting work overseas.
It was a
good summer to be British and in Britain with the Diamond Jubilee and London Olympics and
Paralympics, and thanks to my brother’s knack of seeming to know exactly how to
procure tickets we had the pleasure of going to both tournaments and being
inspired by everything we saw.
Undoubtedly the
highlight of the summer was spending so much time with our families, especially
for Sam to play with his grandparents and his many aunts, uncles and cousins. It was also a real pleasure to stay in our
own house and community in Cambridge and re-establish old friendships – often accompanied
by eating cheese, bacon, sausages and other delicacies not available in rural
Uganda!
Such a long
period in the UK therefore, made it hard to uproot ourselves all over again,
but it did also give us plenty of time to think, read and reflect about the
work we’ve returned to and to make plans.
We got on the plane on 11 October, mentally and emotionally refreshed
and excited to be returning to Kasese for another two years. The journeys went smoothly, greatly aided by
my Dad who has joined us for two weeks and helped us to shepherd our two
children and mountains of baggage through the airports. After a weekend in Kampala we made it back to
Kasese safely in our heavily loaded car followed by an even more heavily loaded
pick-up truck full of tools and sewing machines from the excellent charity “Tools
With A Mission”, despite torrential rain which flooded parts of the road.
It was
wonderful to return to beautiful Kasese and to catch up with all our friends
and colleagues here who greeted us with genuine warmth. Unfortunately our bodies have not yet caught
up with our minds and seem to have gone on strike in response to this
move. With the merciful exception of
Jonah, all of us have been ill with combinations of high temperatures, vomiting
and severe diarhorrea, which, when combined with incessant heavy rain and long
power-cuts, have really sapped our strength and dented our enthusiasm for being
here!
If you wish
to write to us our address remains:
Gareth and Bethan Shrubsole, PO Box 91,
Kasese, UGANDA, - and post normally takes 2 weeks.
Prayer
Requests:
·
Give
thanks that we’ve been able to return to Kasese for another two years’ work and
for all those whose support to BMS make this possible.
·
Give
thanks for baby Jonah, and for his health and his little charm.
·
Pray
that we all recover so that we are strong enough to get on with the work we’re
here for.
·
Pray
for Sam (now 2yrs & 4mnths) who is far more aware of the changes to his
life than he was on previous moves, but doesn’t always understand them.
