Proud Mummy Moments

It is the last week of the school year for Amy & Joshua.

Both have worked hard and done very well at school this year. Amy is always enthusiastic about school and Joshua has even admitted to enjoying school this year!

This week has been a time for celebration and some proud moments as a parent.

Joshua has just completed Yr 2 (Infant School) so the whole year group performed in a special celebration assembly to mark this milestone.  They performed dances from celebrations/festivals around the world and each received a certificate.  Joshua is pictured with his best friend Jona.

Amy is completing Yr 3. She was thrilled last week to finally receive her pen licence.

She is been working hard to improve her handwriting for several months.

This week she also received an award for creative writing at the special assembly to mark students achievements this year.

While not at school, Abigail is always working hard to keep up with her big brother and sister. Physically, she will attempt almost anything!  She has just started talking with more and more words that we can recognise….communication has been frustrating on both sides for a few weeks.

She is a lover of animals…any animals… fascinated by ants & cockroaches and affectionate with cats and dogs. Here she is having a special hug with Spinner, our pet dog.

New diesel 182 update.

Since the new diesel engined Cessna 182 arrived we have been hard at work on it.  As well as the physical maintenance to be done there is a lot of paperwork and preparations to me made as well behind the scenes.  It has been assigned to me to manager the introduction of the aircraft into our fleet.  So far I have:
- attended training on the engine and propeller in Europe,
- put in applications for the Registration of the aircraft,
- researched and determined what parts we need to stock in order to keep the plane flying,
- ordered specials tools we need to maintain the engine and propeller,
- ordered the Maintenance Manuals and Parts Catalogues we need to maintain the aircraft,
- written and sent reports to update the donor of the aircraft of the progress of the work,
- liaised with the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) to find out how to get the type ratings we need to certify work on the aircraft.  Due to this engine being the first of its type to be registered in Uganda it is new to everyone!

Aside from all this desk work, work is happening on the aircraft to:

The aircraft as it looked this week:

Training and Licencing.

Following a couple of days of online theory training Myself, Ronnie (our Ugandan engineer) and one of the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) Airworthiness Inspectors attended 3 days practical training at the SMA engine manufactures facility in France.  This training covered;
- replacement of cylinders,
- replacing components of the fuel management system and the setup that follows and;
- downloading engine data from the Engine Control Unit (ECU) and uploading new software.

Myself and Ronnie then went onto Germany to visit the Propeller manufacturer to receive training on carrying out a Service Bulletin required by the manufacture to re-torque the prop blade preload nut.

Having done this training we will now be applying for the Type Ratings required by the UCAA to certify work carried out on the airframe and engine.

Maintenance and Modifications.

On Friday (4^th) we received the shipment of parts for the remaining modification that we are to install.  These are; a heavy duty nose gear fork and large tyres, a brace to add rigidity and reduce vibration in the cockpit area; hand holds and steps for the pilots to get to the wing fuel tanks for checking fuel levels.

Old (right) and new nose gear fork

Old (left) nose wheel tire and new size tire

The installation of the rear seats is progress:

Fitting up for installation of rear folding seat.

Whats New with the Newnhams?

  I thought it would be good to give an update before we get too far into the New Year.  It's still January, I have friends whose Christmas trees are still up, so I can still safely say Happy New Year.
I hope you had good times with your family over Christmas.  We had a very special Christmas together as a family and with friends and enjoyed a few days holiday in the new year.

However, It was also an eventful time in which we were reminded how much we value your payers for our families health and protection.
In December, Sarah was involved in a traffic accident when a small petrol tanker rear ended our vehicle.
The vehicle thankfully sustained only a little damage to the rear bumper and the door which was a little dented/bent.  Although, Sarah felt some pain in her spine at the time of impact there has been no pain since.
Also, on Christmas Day some thieves attempted to break into our home. Thankfully Mark interrupted them, they fled and nothing was stolen.

For the MAF Uganda program, Christmas was busy, as our pilots in particular flew extra hours to assist in the evacuation of many expats from Southern Sudan when political tensions triggered fighting there. We are seeing some missionaries now returning to Southern Sudan but the political situation continues to remain tense.  Please pray for this fledgling country and its leaders....that there would be peace.  Pray that the church would be salt & light at this difficult time.

Mark & I continue to keep busy.  I shall be doing a fair amount of work overseeing the care of MAF visitors in our program for the next few weeks.  This involves shopping for their food, planning meals and making sure the 'empty' home they are staying in is prepared for them.
As of today, we now have two new planes in the program. The diesel 182 arrived from the Netherlands this evening. Our new caravan was recently licenced and has just started operational flights......so Mark is definitely not bored.

I shall leave you with some pictures of the children doing some of their favourite activities.
Amy (now 8 yr) has been doing ballet lessons for 6 months . She is quite a dancer and this picture was taken at her first performance in December.
Joshua (6) is turning into  a caring and thoughtful boy. A favourite past time of his is lego....you can never have too much lego and it's even more fun when Dad is there to build with!
Abigail (15 month) is a cheeky little monkey who keeps us all on our toes and gives us something to laugh about every day.

Helping hands...

The team in the hangar has just said goodbye to a team of 3 guys from an organization called Brass Tacks that volunteer their time to help other organizations in practical ways. Ferenc (Frank) and Tim are both professional electricians and the team leader Paul who is skilled in all areas of construction have all been working in the hangar for two weeks working on some finishing touches to the new hangar.
For those that haven’t heard of Brass Tacks you can check out their website at www.brass-tacks.org.uk. In a nutshell, Brass Tacks has on their lists over 200 volunteers of all different trades that volunteer their time to work on all kinds of projects in Europe, Asia and Africa or where ever there is need.
In our hangar they completed the planned list of jobs which consisted of installing LED lighting on the hangar floor and in the offices; fabricating and installing ducting to complete our ventilation system; and installing lighting and power sockets on the top floor of the hangar. Since they completed all the planned work in the first week…..they were able to install the solar panel system as well as complete setting up the projector and speaker system in our training/conference room!
Paul, Tim and Frank completed way beyond what was expected and have been a great encouragement to us working in the hangar, who have been too busy maintaining the aircraft to complete these final projects in the new hangar.
Thank you guys!!!

Making Memories

It has been a week of celebration in our home.

On 8th October we celebrated Abigails 1st Birthday. It was all a low key afair, but you can get away with that for a 1st Birthday.
Abigails' smiles show she enjoyed the day all the same. She had a play date with a little friend in the morning and we celebrated as a family with a Birthday tea and presents. Our baby is fast becoming a lively, mischievous little girl who keeps us very busy but is never short of smiles and giggles, especially when she is surrounded by the company of others.

Two days later I drove through the Kampala traffic jams and reached my destination with about 5 minutes to spare.
Amy was competing in her first inter primary school swimming Gala. She swam the freestyle relay race really well, making her mummy very proud. The occasion was made even more special when Rainbow International School won the whole event.

Hitting the Ground Running

Do you ever feel like you are stuck on a treadmill that is going at a speed that is too fast for you to keep up?
Life has felt a bit like that since we arrived back in Uganda two weeks ago.
Is it only two weeks? It feels much longer...

Mark knew that three days after being in the hangar, the Chief Engineer would be leaving Mark in charge for a couple of weeks so that he could visit family in the Netherlands. Mark therefore has the extra responsibility for managing the 'small' team now remaining in the hangar and making sure that maintenance is completed on time.
Having told several people whilst in the UK, that Marks work rarely involves trips up country to fix broken down planes, one such trip was required on his first day back in the hangar! He had to fly up to Kotido to change a wheel whose tire got a puncture on one of our aircraft... a long day 'in the office'.

As well as running the hangar, Mark has been busy preparing for a team from 'Brass Tacks' in the UK who have come to help finish off some electrical jobs etc around the new hangar.

Life has not been dull at home either.
Our gardener/guard for the past four & half years told us he needed to leave that week to return to his home in Congo and care for his sick father. We knew this, but had not realized he had no plans to return to Uganda and was giving up his job permanently. Emile has lived on our compound. Not only has he been the most reliable worker but he has cared for our pets, played with the children and become part of our family. With great sadness we watched Emile pack his bags and said good bye.
As I faced the task of interviewing new gardeners, Joshua's only request was that I find someone who would bounce with him on the trampoline like Emile did!



Having just about emptied the guest room of our suitcases, we welcomed a guest for a week. Heather Swanson arrived on a 'look see' visit to check out schools, houses and other amenities in preparation for her families arrival here next February. It was great to get to know Heather better and our children enjoyed making videos for her children in order to help them look forward to the big transition ahead. The Swansons come from Scotland and Andy has just completed his training as an engineer at MMS Aviation in Ohio where Mark also trained. Andy, will be a most welcome addition to the hangar team which is short of staff right now.

Amy & Joshua have settled in well at school. It has been hard work for them as they have had to 'catch up' on the 3 weeks of school they missed at the beginning of the year. The general level of tiredness has meant we have all picked up colds this past week...Half term break is around the corner so we shall try and get some rest then.
Before that, Amy has her first swimming gala where she is representing the Rainbow School team and Abigail will turn 1 ! More photos to come.

Home Assignment

I was reflecting today on the Home Assignment we have just returned from. In many ways, the whole experience seems such a blur but I have tried to sum it up in the Acronym below.

Holiday. This is what many people assume we are doing whilst back in the UK, although we are very busy meeting supporters and speaking at churches. However, we did just have a most wonderful week together in the Yorkshire Dales, soaking up the English Countryside at its best.

On the move. It is a life of constantly moving around and staying in new beds...only 5 or 6 this time so not too bad at all!

Motorways. It's nice to travel on smooth roads for a change with not a pot hole in sight. However, the day we spent 3 1/2 hours on the M25 was not too fun.

Eating too much of the yummy foods we miss while in Uganda....chocolate, sea food, cheese, sugar puffs


Adaptable. That's is what you have to be when you are sleeping in different beds, changing routines on a daily basis and trying to juggle a family life with the demands of meetings with supporters etc.

Shopping and far too many Suitcases filled with clothes, Birthday presents, food and motorbike spares for the next year or two.

Speaking engagements. In four weeks we spoke to nine different church meetings and held two open houses

Icthus Motor Mission. A wonderful organisation that hire cars out to missionaries at very reasonable rates. Their ministry enables us to have the freedom to get around in our own vehicle on Home Assignment.

Great times with family and friends, building precious memories to hold on to an keep us going.

New experiences. Usually we try and do something special with the children that is just not possible in Uganda. Last year it was horse riding lessons. This year it was a wonderful trip to Lego land.

Mixed emotions. Our time in the UK and when adjusting back to normal life in uganda is usually a roller coaster of emotions. Joy at being with loved ones and sadness at saying goodbye again.

Exhaustion. I know our time in UK does include some rest and relaxtion but more often than not I often feel exhuasted and more than ready for 'normal' routines again at the end of it.

New people. Every time we are back we have the privelege of meeting new folk that pray for us and the ministry of MAF

Thankful that we have the privelege of serving with MAF in Uganda and humbled that so many of you choose to join us on this journey by praying for our family as we seek to glorify God each day.