Home Again

We are back in Uganda and adjusting to the routines of life here again. There has not been much of a temperature adjustment to make though, as the spring weather in UK was glorious.

Our time in the Uk was busy but as I reflect on it I realise what a time of blessing and encouragement it was. There were many wonderful times with friends, encouraging comments from folk who remember us every day in prayer and fun days out doing things we cannot do in Uganda.

Some of my favourite memories are our day trip to London when we saw the 'Changing of the Guard' at Buckingham Palace and the musical show 'Lion King'- we all thought it was fabulous even if the Hyenas were a little scary. (It was certainly something fun to look forward to after having medicals at Interhealth!)
As Uganda is land locked I very much enjoy seeing the seaside and we had two lovely days out at Ilfracombe, Devon and Folkestone, Kent. a bit chilly for swimming though...

One of the things we miss most about life here is being so far from family, so we are grateful to have had a weeks holiday in Devon with Marks family. We celebrated Nana's 60th and Joshua's 4th Birthdays that week.
It is a rare occasion when my family is all together, but with my mum and dad back from Chad we spent a glorious Easter weekend together and then were around for the arrival of our new nephew, Louis Benjamin Jones on 29th April!
God is sooo Good!

Newnham Family














Jones family

Firsts in the USA

Well our time in the States has been busy. We have visited many friends and supporters and been really blessed by spending time with each one. Many friends have been waiting a long time to meet Amy & Joshua. It was fun to see how our friends families have also grown - this provided many new play mates for Amy & Josh. Our visit also included a number of 'firsts' for the kids:
















Before leaving for Home Assignment the kids had been really wanting to see snow and their wish was granted



















Since our children are not used to living in a country with seasons they did well. The snow was closely followed by spring flowers like daffodils.
















Having left for Home Assignment before the end school term Sarah did some home school with Amy and Josh



Amy and Josh (and Sarah) got to go flying with Daddy at the controls
















We visited some friends with nearly 50 acres and went 4 wheeling (Quad biking in UK english!)


















We were also able to take them out into Amish country where the Amish were busy ploughing their fields and where horses and buggy's ride beside cars.














We are now beginning our month of Home assignment in the UK which will no doubt be just as eventful.

Ready to fly

We have a habit of getting important paperwork ready at the last minute.
On the eve of the elections I found myself driving across Kamapala to the British High Commission in order to collect the childrens new British Passports.

The children are both quite proud of their Ugandan & British nationalities as you can see here. Although, as a mother who has worked hard to get all this paperwork I was quite paranoid about how long I let them hold onto their own passports!

Aside from putting together a presentation and packing the suitcases (just small details) we are now ready to head off to UK & USA on Home Assignment.
We leave On 9th March - not long now...

Uganda's Elections

Elections here have been missed by most of the world because of all that is happening across North Africa.
Last Friday, the nation went to vote and we are thankful that it was all relatively peaceful. We had a polling station just 20 metres from our home and have had a heavy police precence on the road for a few days, so we stayed at home most of the time.
On Sunday 20th Feb, President Museveni was declared the winner. He has been re elected with 68% of the vote.
The opposition parties have already declared that they do not accept the vote, so we pray that in the coming days they will express their opinions in a peaceful way.
For more information and pictures check out http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12516562

Christmas Greetings

As we look back over the past year we have much to thank God for. He is blessing his work in Uganda. MAF Uganda has flown more hours this year than any previous year, the construction of the new hangar is progressing well and a second Cessna 206 joined our fleet, currently giving us six aircraft.
Within our family, we continue to praise God that the adoption of Amy and Joshua is complete. They are truly two of our biggest blessings.

Although we are many miles apart, what a joy it is to know that we can all share in celebrating the birth of our saviour, Jesus Christ. Mark & I are about to enter our ninth year of full time ministry and we are looking forward to what Christ has in store for us in 2011. Our desire this coming year is to know Him and become more like Him. In doing so may we be the light of Christ where we live.
We also pray for you, that the love and joy of Christ will fill you and surround you this Christmas Season.

Back to Routine Life

Well October was a whirlwind month.



Mark had a really good trip to MAF Madagascar. He travelled there with Larry Heintz (from MAF International office)to carry out a quality audit of the programme. Quality and safety audits happen regularly in every programme. Mark is the Qulaity Manager here in Uganda but on this occasion had the opportunity to see the way another MAF programme operates (and carry out a quality audit at the same time). He was also able to spend time with the Madagascan engineer, Michelle whom he had not seen since we were training in the USA. Being in Madagascar he could not miss the opportunity of a trip to the Lemur Park




I was grateful that Marks parents stayed and helped me with caring for Amy & Joshua while Mark was away. We visited a couple of parks, Amy & Joshua had their faces painted and enjoyed all the attention one gets when grandparents are around.
We managed to apply for and have since received their new Ugandan passports too! So on I plod with all the visa paperwork for our furlough and their British Citizenship Applications.


Life has been busy out at Kajjansi. Each time I visit there is a visible difference in the hangar building project. This last couple of weeks the walls and roof have gone up. Bids are being placed by contractors for the building of the offices inside the hangar, at this point in time.

Busy, Busy...

Well, since the sucessful court hearing we now have the actual court order in our hands and the childrens offical name change document! We will now apply for their Ugandan passports to be changed into their new names.
Marks parents are currently visiting and we all went for a holiday together to a game park and had a great time. This was despite Joshua, seeing the swimming pool from inside our room, and running straight for it and into the patio doors. Fortunatly, he bounced back off the glass a bit and the glass shattered it fell around him rather than him falling right through it. Apart from a gash on his knee and few small cuts on his face and legs he got away lightly! PTL!
Please remember Mark as he travels to Madagascar for a week to carry out a Quality Auditon on the MAF program there. Particulaly remember Sarah and Mark's parents as they entertain the kids for half term while Mark is gone.
At the new hangar site things are progressing well - the metal structure has been painted and work will begin this week installing the sheets to the sides of the building - it is really taking shape and it is very encouraging to see steady progress.