Adventures With Mark

We were blessed with another amazing year at Music For Life Primary School. The entire staff worked extremely hard and very well together as a team in 2007. It was exciting to see the work of the staff being reflected in the students with so many good results and changes in so many different fields. It is also exciting to see these children who were extremely needy when they joined the African Children’s Choir doing so well and excelling at Music For Life Primary School. As we continue to try and make history little by little at the school, we are eager to blast into 2008 and make it even better!
The Lord was very good to us as the grade seven class worked very hard to prepare for their year end exams in November 2007. Their final marks are based on year end national exams that make up 100 percent of their grades. Percentages are turned into aggregates with the best possible combined aggregate from the four exams being a 4. Aggregates 4 – 12 make up division one and division two is from 13 – 24. Divisions 3 and four make up aggregates 25 – 34. MFLPS has been blessed with only division 1 and 2 results with the bulk being first divisions in our short history. We were blessed once again this year with 23 out of 26 students receiving division one grades and the remaining three reaching division two. These results place us as one of the top schools academically in the country. To top it off one of the division one grades was an aggregate of four! A perfect score! Almost as equally exciting was to have some of the students who struggle with their grades, work hard and come up with those good division two marks and even some division ones. If we our school was registered and we did not write our exams under another school (we are working on that) we would be the 18th best school in Uganda. Yes, this is a big deal as students and schools appear in the front page of the papers here for a few days once results are announced. These results are outstanding when you consider there are over 30,000 primary schools. Praise be to God!!!
Most importantly though we have seen students make changes and living a life that will help make a positive change in Uganda now and in the future. The nearly 30 staff at the school are working together very well with the burden to do all they can for these kids. Sarah and I are excited to be involved and to just be a part of the team that is working here.
Lastly we had my parents here for the Christmas season which was fun for us. We had a chance to see some of the country side, but more importantly time to just hang. They had a great time and especially with Seth. He misses them already and is getting over it, but a little grumpy at times. Thanks for coming mom and dad, being so supportive and getting to know and understand our very different world here.

Adventures With Sarah

Well, I think I’m going to let our little guy share little pieces of his life with you because that would quite sufficiently summarize my life! Just add between sentences, poopy diapers, teething trials, ‘what’s giving the baby a tummy ache?’ quizzes, making and freezing baby food, baby proofing the whole house, and giving snuggles to a wailing 10 month-old who fell down ‘again’. I am really loving this phase. It’s a riot! But, man! All I can say is, everyone warned me!
And I just want to add two things that were special for me. Having mom and dad Williams here was so good. Just to share Seth with family and see the love they have for him and him for them. Mom helped me so much while she was here! I was able to accomplish some projects that had been hanging over my head while she was on the feed, change, wash, play, chase, soothe, cycle. And dad played with Seth outside, read him stories, put him down for naps, and took him for stroller walks (the city graded and packed our road! It used to be impassable with the stroller. It’s a brand new day!) What a blessing mom and dad were to me!
And one more special thing about January…… we went to Rwanda to visit our students on their holiday. I was so blessed to see them all and to have a bit of an understanding of what their country and families have been through. It can’t be explained and to be honest the trip was not completely a pleasure. But to be able to connect with them now a little better… I’ve always loved them and even now, I won’t be connecting with ‘pity’ but more with respect and determination to see them succeed! To know that they are Rwanda and to be able to sow into it! It’s exciting to see them striving to be educated, to grow in character, to glorify God, and to love their brother. I’m so proud of these kids and am so thankful for God’s plan for them!
Okay that’s all from me! We miss you all so much. As soon as we know when we will be back, we will let you know! With love, Sarah

Adventures With Seth

I’ve been getting in a little bit of trouble. Because now I can crawl all over this house and I can pull myself up on everything!!! Isn’t that so cool? I am having so much fun. It takes me just one half of a minute to be somewhere else and checking out new stuff. But there are some things in this house that mom and dad say I can’t have. Not very many but it’s all the really fun stuff (like mommy’s plants and the stereo with the cool buttons and especially the Christmas tree!). So usually when I think no one is looking I try to touch them…. Then mom or dad says ‘Seth, no-o-o.’ Then I sit right down. Then usually I just smile and start doing something else. But sometimes I still really want that fun thing so I grab it again. That’s when I get the trouble. But all of mommy and daddy’s friends say I am a good boy. I am having so much fun! You know what was my best thing? My grandpa and grandma from Canada came here for a long time to see me. Now I love them so much. In the mornings grandpa or grandma would come and get me and I would play with them in their bed for a while and we would read stories and play with the balls I got for Christmas. And I really liked having grandma on one side of me and grandpa on the other side and I was in the center of the world! It was like that in the car too. When we went to church or took little trips. When daddy wasn’t going to work we traveled to see Uganda and I saw cool stuff. But my favorite thing was being in my car seat between grandpa and grandma and they would feed me and laugh with me and it was the center of the world! But then one day we took a car trip to where the planes are and everyone had tears except for me. And grandpa and grandma went inside but we had to stay outside and I played peek-a-boo with them through the window. I was smiling and they did too but they had tears. I didn’t know why but then when we went home grandpa and grandma stayed at that place. Now this house is too quiet and I keep looking for grandpa and grandma. And guess what? They are on the fridge! I miss playing with them but daddy says I will see them again when we go to Canada. But you know what? At my house there’s a man who guards the house at night. His name is Francis. He is my favorite black person in the whole world! We are buds! Then at my house there is Auntie Ann who cleans the red dirt form the floor every day because mommy says otherwise I am the little mop. I love Auntie too. Then there is a boy named Kenneth who lives here too. Daddy says he was kidnapped to be a child soldier for the LRA army in the north. But Jesus rescued him from that place and he knows Jesus and he works for the school with my dad. And you know what? Every day he plays the guitar and sings songs about Jesus just outside my bedroom. And when I hear him my arms and legs can’t stop moving and I want to go out there and clap and sing with Uncle Kenneth. So he lets me sit with him and listen and watch while he plays and sings for me. We are buds too! So you see, at my house I have so many people that love me. I don’t know this word but daddy says I might get ‘spoiled’. I think it means something like ‘famous’ because he always says it when everyone is really noticing how cute I am. Anyway…. I have to go now and make a mess of my toys. But next time when I write to you I think I will be walking all over this house. So then I will have more bumps and scratches on me (today my lip has a little cut because I fell down). Good bye. Seth

Seth The Garbage Man

Mom calls this making a mess but I love it. This waste bin is one of my favourite toys. The more clicks dad took with his fancy camera gadget that he won't let me touch the more of a show I put on. I want to be a garbage worker when I grow up but dad says "no"

Seth Goes Bananas

My first time feeding myself! I had a banana. Okay, maybe not the whole banana, but part of it. I tried hard to find my mouth, but not easy. Bananas are fun!