Journeys

It’s been another difficult month or so since we updated our blog.  In particular, we were very sad to say goodbye to a wonderful man and leader, Pastor Duncan Kibaya, who after a 5 year battle with cancer, has ended his journey on this earth, and started a new one in Heaven. He was the one who sagely rubbed his chin back in March 2008, and told Tim: “I feel it in my spirit that she is the one for you” – so he has a lot to answer for….
And who could forget his melodious ululations, setting the tone and calming nerves at our wedding in 2009?  He will be greatly missed by all of us here at River of Life.

On the baby unit, we continue to see baby's fighting as their journeys just begin. We’ve also had up times and down times, but  one of the most gorgeous moments (which Sarah failed to capture on camera!) was walking into the Unit to find a mum and dad together in the isolation room, bathed in the blue light of the phototherapy machine, with dad feeding the tiny baby by dropping little bits of milk from a syringe into her eager mouth.  It’s always particularly touching to see dads really getting involved, as this is quite rare here in Uganda.   That said, here’s another proud daddy, showing off his preterm daughter, Precious!

And here are two contrasting babies for you… one, the tiny nipper of Asiimwe, born at 760g (that’s 1.67 pounds in old money), and at 27 weeks gestation (below the official Ugandan “survivable gestation” of 28 weeks).  We saw her back for review this week and she looks amazing!

Baby Asiimwe before and after!

Contrast this with Margaret’s baby boy – much respect for this mama, who delivered (by caesarean) a 5.62kg baby (12.39 pounds).  When Sarah expressed admiration, Margaret merely shrugged and said that her first baby was 7kg (15.43 pounds).  SEVEN KILOGRAMS.  Is that even possible???  Makes us feel a bit faint.  It definitely wouldn’t have been easy having a 7kg baby in the old Fiat Punto… Oh Baby Emily, we thank you for your petite 3kg frame!

Sarah made Asiimwe chortle by pointing out that Margaret’s baby looked like it had eaten 4 of Asiimwe’s (though strictly speaking, it would have been 7.39 of them, if you compare birth weights!).

Outside the Baby Unit, a lot of Sarah’s free time (hahahahahahahaha!) is spent managing the ROLC facebook page, so if we’re not that good at updating our personal blog these days, that is why.  But do have a look at the River of Life page to see what the ministry as a whole has been up to!

https://www.facebook.com/riveroflifeuganda/?ref=br_rs

On other news, we had a visitor staying with us for a couple of weeks in October - Pastor Nick from Saint Paul’s Church in Bristol.  This was good fun, as he was very laid back, well up for ripping up the dance [living room] floor during Saturday morning family dance sessions, and he was surprisingly tolerant of Noah’s delightful tendency to scream for no reason whatsoever. The night life in Masaka is not exactly “rocking”, so we have to find our fun where we can.  This means that whilst dancing in the living room is a highlight, we’ll also get amusement from other simpler things.  On that note, is this not the most astonishing pineapple you’ve ever seen?

And finally….

Lost in translation:

If you ever visit Masaka, don’t get over-excited if someone says they’ll flash you later.  It may not be quite as saucy as you think.  In fact, in Uganda, to flash someone is to give them a missed call (they "flash" you; you call them back, they save money!).  No, not quite as exciting, is it??