Rock of Ages Building Project Before and After

Covid19 Help Feed 5000 in Uganda

You can watch a short little video showing a small window into our life in Uganda on the day we heard about the first covid case back on 21st March. We were already having some restrictions...no school, no transport. no church or large gatherings. Flights needed to be arranged from EDRC back to Uganda for passengers hoping to make the last flights available out of Uganda before borders closed. Currently Uganda now has 55 cases (6/4/20), flights have all been discontinued, private cars are not allowed to be used without special permission, only food markets are allowed to be open but workers are required to stay on site for 2 weeks possibly more, and gatherings larger than 5 are not allowed. 

My kids are busy working at home with online school but feeling the globally felt disappointment of end of school year trips, proms and graduation being cancelled and not knowing if they'll be allowed to say goodbye to friends in person before seniors leave the country. Comforting factors have been still being able to walk and see Ugandans greet us and each other even if from a distance...hearing our local neighbours having time together as families...having at least 2 of my 3 daughters close-by and enjoying rare quality time together, catching up on all of the things we never have time to do, knowing we can be on standby to help the local community when we're needed as the effect of livelihoods being frozen takes hold.  In the lull of life suddenly slowing down in some respects, although not for Greg or my girls who are working even harder its seems online, I decided to take on a crazy challenge of attempting to Feed 5000. I think I was in a dreamlike state when I put the challenge out there, but watching friends around the world and donorsee donating has been the reason we've managed to feed almost 4,000 people to date.   It has been a miracle watching the world stepping up to help us even though the entire world has been hit by lockdowns and impacted in one way or another.   

Initially we were hoping that Uganda was quick enough to hem the passengers who first brought Covid19 over its borders and that the cases soon would recover and decline but more cases have unfortunately come in over this landlocked country's borders and so cases have risen to over 200. The damage to the population has not been so much from the virus but just from the tight restrictions that have carried on for 7 long weeks.   The poor don't have safety nets.  No livelihoods means no food. 

We are praying also for the rest of the world to soon see this tide ebb, for solutions to be found by all of the brilliant minds across the globe that are working 24/7 to help this happen and for the phenomenal medical workers that have been soldiering on tirelessly. 

Praying that our world changes in a good way from this trial we have all been in together and that we turn our hearts to God and ask for His healing touch on all of our nations both physically and spiritually.

Rust Disease

As promised, here's my second installment for you.

Rust Disease

It's ironic that at exactly the same time this virus began, my raspberry plot seemed to be overtaken by something called 'rust disease'.   As I've been focusing on defeating this highly contagious disease, I've been thinking about some parallels, as I often do when I'm gardening.   Firstly, the plot looked healthy and was bearing fruit, functioning well when this disease was unknowingly spreading on the underside of the leaves.  The outer appearance looked fine until the rust disease eventually began to make itself known turning the leaves yellow and the fruit speckled with an orange powder. The only solution is to pick off every infected leaf, burn them or remove the entire plant if its been totally overrun.   When Covid19 erupted, so much of our world and its habits seemed to be spinning out of control.  Scientists have been sending out warnings that if we didn't address our selfish ways urgently then our planet's future would be impossible to turn around. Making money and building economies have taken precedence over having a healthy planet for all of us to live on.  Its amazing how a virus could force us to stop like nothing else.   Lakes and rivers are being given a rest, our skies are quiet and the oil industry is having to slow down.  Even the alarming issue of wildlife markets is finally under the hammer.   The worldwide church seems to be waking up to praying more than before.  Families are slowing down and having much needed downtime with each other.  

Have we been given this unique opportunity to reassess our rushed, distracted, 'confetti' juggling lives and remember what matters most?  I'm not underestimating the stress this has created for so many who have lost their jobs and are facing various uncertainties etc.  I'm trying my hardest to remember the good that may come and is coming out of this time of waiting.  My plot looks sad and vulnerable right now after losing 80% of its leaves but it now has a chance to breathe and the regrowth has been springing up remarkably quickly after many back breaking hours of tending its well being.  I'm hoping that as we stand together in the communities we're in and help as many as we possibly can through this crisis, that we will come out of this with new regrowth, better fruit and a world that is changed for the better.  

Thoughts in Lockdown

Hi everyone out there who may sometimes click on this sporadic blog.

I've had so many thoughts about this time we're experiencing in history...the first time so many people have been locked down and impacted together (208 countries to date), more-so than any even World War 2 (190 countries). I'm planning on blogging 3 installments in the next couple of weeks...the one below about too much quail and the effects of moaning. The next one is about the wilderness which I hope will encourage you and bring you some reassurance. The third one is about rust disease...if you haven't heard about it before then please read my post in the next couple of weeks.

Overdosing of social media...could it be a cure? 
One thing that demotivates me to blog is the thought that blogging has gone on the back burner as instagram, tik tok, facebook, twitter, snapchat etc etc have taken off and seem to distract all of us with their serotonin powers. Now that we are all hemmed inside, our need for social media still continues unabated but maybe some of us have more time to read in these weeks of being inside...

As we are now moreso dependable on the web and all of its entertainment and mindless scrolling, but without our in-person community, it made me wonder whether it could be possible for one to have an overdose of online addictions to the degree that one gets sick of them? There's an example when this happened in the old testament. While the Israelites were in exile they started moaning and asking for more than their daily manna, so God gave them quail.  God gave them quail, quail, quail until the thing they most desired became the very thing they would loathe  "Although the Lord gave the Israelites quail, He was displeased with their grumbling and their ungrateful words against Him. He told Moses to tell them, “The Lord heard you when you wailed, ‘If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!’ Now the Lord will give you meat, and you will eat it. You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it—because you have rejected the Lord, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’” (Numbers 11:18–20). When we come out of this, could it be possible that we'll all put down our phones and focus on the real people around us, knowing how much we missed community, hugs, eye to eye contact, fun together? I pray that this could be possible, although I know it may sound naive.   

The effect of moaning against the effect of gratitude
While we're in this time of being hemmed in, its interesting how each morning our attitudes can swerve from hope to despair, from fear to faith, from being motivated to demotivated, from complaining to trying hard to be thankful. Its been really hard for our teens to stay positive, understandably due to so much disappointment, plans changing, uncertainty etc etc. I'm trying out a 'glad game' challenge like the lovely Pollyanna...sounds young I know, but it does work so please give it a whirl. I've asked all of my fellow inmates to try to say thanks in their mind for simple things they do throughout the day...for eg. thanks that I have water to drink, thanks that I have my family with me, thanks that I have pets, thanks that I can still work in the garden, thanks for my neighbours' laughter and music, thanks that MAF care for our well being and are looking at contingency plans etc, thanks that the British Embassy are also checking on us, thanks for electricity and gas, thanks for my family and friends who are praying, thanks that we're all being held still for more than we know.   We can all think of something that we can give thanks for....even if it's for brushing our teeth. Our minds will be healthier for it and this exercise, although it sounds simple, will elevate our moods and make us much nicer people to be around for our fellow prisoners or if we're on our own, those we talk to. The opposite effect is when we give way to moaning, we start to repel people, we lose hope, negativity starts its paralysis and we become positively ineffective.    

Weighing up Covid19
Our world is experiencing a paradigm shift which we cant yet estimate the effects of, where it will take us or whether we can recover from most of the globe being brought to a standstill for more than a month. We're now in Uganda without any options to fly out and we're watching each night the cases going up by a few each day (currently on the 6th April at 55). We're on our knees praying that this virus stays away from the very poorest in the world who have no alternatives, no options, no back up, no safety nets. Also that a solution is found quicker than predicted when its affecting the entire planet.  Saying this, the third world deal with a much greater killer everyday. The death toll of people dying of hunger is a shocking 25,000 everyday which currently would match Covid19's death toll over 3.5 months in just 3 days. 405,000 people died of malaria in 2018 with 280 million cases.  Uganda has been dealing with a much deadlier killer, Ebola, over the last 3 years lurking just over the border and on top of this they are coping with AIDS, typhoid, cholera, yellow fever and the list goes on and on. And yet, COVID19 has been filling Ugandans, and all of the world with fear as we watch the worldwide death toll every night and read endless articles about the way its spreading.  Ironically, now that the poor community have had their livelihoods put on hold, the daily death toll of hunger will rise while we address getting this contagion under control and its hard to know how the global economy will recover from this epic lockdown. Its all very perplexing.

Pass Over us Lord

I don't think its a coincidence that this is all happening while we're going through Lent and coming up to Easter and Passover. I received one word from a friend drawing out the significance of UK lockdown starting on the 26th March and ending on the 16th April.  They pointed out that Isaiah 26 vs 20 says 'Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until His indignation has passed by.' Uganda's President quoted this verse the same night I had just read these words. This year Passover ends on the 16th April, hopefully the same night UK's lockdown ends, unless it ends up extended. Regardless, the Passover story has come to life in this time when we are looking at what the Lord's blood represents...His covering over the doorways of our homes to protect us from the death angel passing over....His love is able to watch over those who cry out to Him...'Hosanna' or  quite literally, 'Save us'. 'For love is as strong as death, jealously as unrelenting as the grave. the fiercest blaze of mighty waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away.' Solomon 8:6  He knows how to save us from this pandemic, but the concern of our Father is the way our world has been turning away from Him..the sickness within our souls is way more of a concern to Him then this virus which will pass. Let's stop moaning, blaming our leaders or any country and just stop....turn to Him and ask Him where we've gone wrong, for He promises 'If my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.' 2 Chron 7:14  This is an antidote laid out for us thousands of years ago that is of grave importance.  

The Word is coming to life through this strange and uncomfortable time...Isaiah, Hosea and many of the prophets seem so relevant. I wanted to end with this one from Nahum to hopefully bring you comfort. 'Who can stand before His indignation?  Who can endure the heat of His anger?  His wrath is poured out like fire, and by Him the rocks are broken in pieces. The Lord is good, a stronghold in a day of trouble; He protects those who take refuge in Him, even in a rushing flood.'   Nahum 1:6.   

One of the most magnificent sunrises I've seen over Kampala was on 22nd March
when we heard the news of Uganda's first Covid19 case

If you would like to watch a short video online of our first day of restrictions in Uganda, please click on https://youtu.be/_CW9wQ1WCDo

Be strong and lift up your heads...

Love the Vines in Kampala

Whats the first thing you reach for?

I’ve had some thoughts brewing over the last couple of months…
I’ve recently set myself a challenge that you can join me in if you feel up for it.   I realised that our devices have become probably the greatest addiction of our age as we become hooked to our serotonin being tapped every time we pick them up and try to connect with all of our loved ones, the news, our banks, our google fount of knowledge, our address list, our note files, photos, film, music, even our alarm clocks…  We’ve become completed mesmerised by these little mechanisms and our generation has never had to face a greater addiction than this all-consuming invention that commands our attention.   I’m sure you’ve all experienced having friends or family over and everyone is browsing on their phones while you’re meant to be having some quality time together….and I’m also at fault.  It seems as though no soul is immune to the effects of device addiction.   So…..the challenge is this.   Instead of reaching for your phone first thing in the morning and last thing at night, can you reach for something more sustaining?   For the last month I’ve been attempting to reach for my bible and let God soak me with a deep word last thing at night and first thing in the morning, before switching wi-fi on to see who has messaged me.  Believe me, this has been a tremendous challenge and has highlighted to me how much the habit of reaching for my phone has become entrenched in my psyche.    Since setting this personal challenge, the last month has been a rich one.   

The references I’ve been reading have all been pointing at one theme…entering His rest.   The first word was from Hosea 14 about ‘what more shall I do with idols?’ reminding me how anything, whether it’s a person or a device, if in the first place, has become an idol in our lives.  Then Psalm 46 ‘Be still and know that I am God’…surely one of the hardest things in our age of distraction to follow…to simply be still.   The next day was about putting aside idols in Psalm 24.  The next was from 1 Samuel 12 vs 20 – 22 about following the Lord and turning aside from empty things which cannot deliver you.   The next day I woke to Psalm 29 vs 11 which describes the Lord blessing His people with peace.  Another day started with Isaiah 32 vs 18 again about His people dwelling in peaceful habitations and in quiet resting places.  Then Deuteronomy 12 vs 8 – 9 talks about His people having ‘not yet come to the rest and the inheritance which the Lord your God is giving you.’  After that, Jeremiah 6 vs 16 ‘Ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls.  But they said, ‘We will not walk in it’. 

Our cat Christopher truly knows how to enter rest

So, my thoughts after mulling over these collective verses were something like this… God wants to give us rest, but we have a choice.  We have to proactively choose to enter His rest.   Who would think this would be a difficult thing to choose?   This entering also involves laying down our idols, surrendering our addictions.   Another friend mentioned to me the verse from Psalm 23 about Him laying a table before our enemies…right on the battlefield.   Even then we have to choose to actually ‘sit’ at that table.  The act of ‘being still’, ‘sitting’ and ‘entering rest’ are all hitched with verbs…The act of doing belongs to us.  Whether you’re under financial pressure, you’ve been brought under fire, you’re stressed, you or a loved one is unwell or you’ve lost someone dear to you…whatever your battlefield, entering rest in that storm is something we somehow need to discover.   Much like Jesus sleeping at the bottom of the boat while the disciples panicked on deck, His peace came from knowing His identity, knowing He had authority over the storm.  I’m not trying to suggest we be in a comatose state of numbness when all is blowing up around us, but we can find our God, pulling out a chair and asking us to sit down and watch Him fight for us.  

I hope this encourages you in whatever situation you’re facing and if you'd like to join me in the above challenge, let me know how you're doing.   Please pass on this blog to anyone you know is struggling with device addiction who might be open to fighting against it.