Adventures With Sarah & Kids… The Home Front

How is the summer everyone? We’re thinking of you there in Canada eating berries and other summer fruits and in the States buying bags of fresh field corn for only a few dollars. (Soon anyway!) Evening picnics and long days with plenty of daylight to work outside on projects or just play in the yard. That’s how we envision you these days and we pray you’re all having great family time and safe travels if you’re camping or holidaying!
We’re very fine… life here is going along as normal. A few flu bugs here and there and an unexpected exposure to a tropical parasite which everyone but mom needs to be treated for (lovely!). Otherwise we spend our days at home doing some low key home school, baking, playing trains and marbles, and cooking together almost every day. Seth and Jodie are both very good at cracking eggs and mixing without splashing. Jodie’s favourite kitchen utensil is the whisk… and she loves to say that word. And Seth’s favourite meal to make is pancakes. Then he and Mark play a fun game where one flips the pancake as high as they can and the other tries to catch it with the plate. The cats benefit from that game quite a bit. Number three seems to be growing just fine…. Squirming around lots… especially when we play monster with the kids and run roaring through the house. This one is going to come out ready to play! We will be finding out the sex of the baby in a few weeks. Fun! We’ll let you know! This is me at five months pregnant.
That’s all from us this time. We wanted to be sure that this month Mark has a chance to share plenty about the school. We’ve done lots of thinking back this year too many of the goals Mark had during his first year and we’ve seen that many of them have been reached! It’s been exciting to think about. And there’s plenty of goings on to fill you in on. So we’ll sign off and turn the computer over to Mark.
Lots of love to all of you! Sarah, Seth, Jodie, and?

Adventures With Mark… Utilities & the School Front

Where to start? Well unfortunately let’s start with the power and water problems that we are now facing. Last week began with an announcement that load shedding (power on for 12h and then off for 12 hours) was going to be kicking into high gear. Yes, the government was in the arrears with a few private generator companies and owed them hundreds of thousands of US dollars. So they said they’d generate no further power until payment. Then last week ended with no water as a result of private companies shutting down who pump the water in this area of Uganda also as a result of no pay by the Ugandan government. Needless to say things go into high gear when there is no water and the communication that it will not be there for at least a week. The only water in the area came through the local police department and to Seth and Jodie’s excitement when we paid for a water truck to deliver it turned out to be a red police fire truck with a full tank of water for our tanks and then some for the school. A second load was brought to the school for drinking water and in the meantime at the school, the children haul water from the lake for showers and toilets while even our bath water is re used for flushing. Yes, you are all welcome for a visit…
As far as the school goes I guess I’ll start with the most recent highlight at the school. We were honoured to host the national volleyball championship tournament at our school for the second year in a row and to participate in it as well just this past weekend. It was remarkable to see how excellent some of these teams were! Considering that this country is extremely focused on football (soccer) it was great to hear that in some parts of the country volleyball is actually ‘the’ sport and these teams work hard and excel! Our girls took second place! And sadly our boys were beat out in the semis. Our junior boys came in second and our junior girls came in third. It was kind of fun for me to be interviewed for the television broadcast and then get phone calls in the evening from people excited to see me on TV. Unfortunately we don’t have a TV so missed it! It was a great day all in all.
Our organization was also a finalist for the Tumaini Awards(Swahili for hope)in Uganda that look at NGO’s that are involved in helping Ugandan children. One of the categories was NGO’s involved in Education and yes you guessed, the African Children’s Choir was voted the top NGO doing education work. Later the judges said that if there was an overall NGO category we would have been it! Yes, some satisfaction to see the hard work continue to bear fruit and be recognized and yet most importantly glory to God!
Yes…. Looking back…. Having moved out into the country on the lake has been a dream come true for the school and I’ve been so privileged to be here during this time. The years we spent smack dab in the city were not the most fun. The fact that I walk to school is incredibly amazing considering the long dangerous driving I’d been doing for 5 years. God has been to protect me and all those around me anytime I drove!
And this year has been very encouraging in the aspect of the teamwork displayed by the staff. They seem to be finding a good groove and are mostly all pulling in the same direction with passion for the students and for excellence! As the principal that is extremely encouraging!
And the students are displaying a much improved level of good behaviour. I remember saying so many times to Sarah when we were there in the city, ‘If these kids (especially the boys!) just had more space we would not be dealing with so many issues of conflict and frustration from them.’ They were always well provided for but the space they have now is a really ‘feel good’ space and has been such an advantage in this area! It has been great to see that we deal with much fewer cases of anger, fighting, and bickering than we used to. And I believe the well trained staff have so much to do with this. I am so thankful!
My big challenge this year has been the soaring inflation rates. Please keep this in your prayers as we struggle to keep the school running to an acceptable standard under great financial pressure. I know this is a global concern right now so it almost seems silly to ask for prayer about it. But it’s a very real concern for our school and our staff and their families, as I believe I’ve mentioned earlier this year. You can pray for good health for everyone… students, staff, staff families, and ourselves. The added financial strain of sicknesses, whether minor or major, would be wonderful to avoid! God has provided for the school this year in many unexpected ways and some of you have been His provision. I thank you for that and more importantly I thank Him. I know the school and these students and staff are more important to Him than they are to me and I am blessed to see how He cares for them.
That’s all I have for this month. Let me close with a picture of two of my biggest supporters in my office enjoying a treat from dad. I hope this letter finds you all well and enjoying the summer! We look forward to our time home this winter!
Take care!
Mark

Adventures With Sarah!

I think it’s been two months since I’ve written… more? Maybe. Our move to a village-ish road just minutes walking from the school, (fabulous for Mark and all of us) hasn’t felt like a village move at all. We’ve been so busy that the adjustment has been very easy, considering that isolation was a small fear for me out here. But, indeed, no problem! God is good!
I’m gonna leave most of the writing to the kids because they’re so much fun and capture my life pretty well too (whatever makes them happy usually makes me happy… whatever they’re having trouble with usually bothers me too… so on and so forth).
Just one quick blurb of interest…. In November this year, Lord willing, our family will become a party of five! We made it through the first trimester (I say ‘we’ because all are impacted when mom feels gross, exhausted and grumpy). We know very little except all is well and we will have this little one in Canada as we have our other two. The only difference will be that we will not travel around this time. Our last baby delivery/passport obtaining/multi thousand dollar trip around North America fried me for good. I vowed to Mark and myself that I would never do it again with a brand new baby and I’m sticking to it! We will fly to Vancouver and plan to stay in the Abbotsford area somehow and not travel from there. I feel lots of remorse not to see so many of you but then I think of the reality and I know this decision is absolutely necessary! We’ll keep you posted as things develop! We appreciate your prayers for good health and development for the baby and a safe pregnancy. Thanks! Lots of love! Sarah

Adventures With Jodie...

I love living in Africa! It’s ‘spring’ all the time! I swim… I play outside in my underwear… I ride my boda boda (three wheel bike) every day… I help Seth plant stuff and we pour gallons of water on leafs that we plant and soon they will be trees!....I play with my cats every day (they catch rats so the rats don’t come in our house)…and I love to cook with mom. My favourite thing to make is soup and I put in all the vegetables and the meat. I even get to help pour in the flavour stuff. When we’re not cooking real food then we’re making play dough food and putting it in a drawer that is our play oven.
My brother is my best friend. I love to play with him most of anything. Sometimes he tries to boss me and tell me how to do everything but that doesn’t work with me. I tell him no way. Then if he keeps trying to boss me then I start crying and someone comes and tells him to stop bossing. So I have a trick…. Sometimes when I want to be the boss then I start crying too and people are supposed to think that he was trying to boss me. But usually that doesn’t work. I guess that’s not a good idea.
Guess what? I’m going to be a big sister! Mom’s tummy is getting a little chubby and sometimes I pat the baby. And sometimes Seth is too rough with mom and I shake my finger in his face and tell him very sternly, ‘Don’t squish the baby!’ I will be a very good helper with the baby because I have my own baby Kira that I got for my birthday when I was two and I take very good care of her.
I like to pick my own clothes. I do not like pretty things at all! If someone says it is pretty I don’t want to wear it. And I also decide for myself if I think something is pretty. Then I tell mom I don’t like it. I want to be handsome like Seth. I like comfy boy clothes and if mom or dad tells me I look handsome then I’m happy because I just want to be like Seth. Sometimes mom says I don’t get to decide what I’m going to wear and she picks and then I have a hard time with my attitude for a few minutes. Then I forget and start playing.
I better go. I have lots of playing to do. Bye bye. Jodie

Adventures With Seth...

I am such a big boy now. I turned four! Soon I will be five and ready for school. I keep telling dad that I want to be big like him and that one day I will be a dad too. There is so much to tell but two exciting things that has happened recently is that a team from dad’s old school came to our house to stay for a while and I got to go with dad on a safari with them. Us guys went and Jodie stayed home with mom… It was a long trip and we even stayed a night and saw lots of animals. Wild ones like giraffes, water buffalos, elephants, hippopotamuses, crocodiles, baboons and many other cool things. Then not too long after we got back dad had some time off from school and we built a ladder for Jodie and my bunk bed. We used lots of tools so I had my tool belt from grandpa Mike on. The ladder works great and now even Jodie can come for a visit on my top bunk. Until next time see you later and before you know it I will be turning five and also have a new little baby sister or brother.
Quote of the month: While driving by a row of electric poles along the side of the road Seth says: ‘Is that a clothes line for God?’

Adventures With Mark...

In many ways it seems like we have been gone for a while already from North America and yet it seems like just yesterday that Uncle John dropped us at the airport with our 16 bags and carry ons. It has been very crazy since we have returned with school very busy and lots to catch up on. We had a team from my old school in Abbotsford, MEI with 12 fabulous students some of whom were my former students. That was very fun and rewarding to see these young people most of whom I had not seen since grade six. It was great to see these young adults come alongside the students here in Uganda and bless them with love and different activities. Yes, I would admit that as an educator it is the biggest reason we do what we do or perhaps I should say that it is the biggest reason I do what I do. To see lives changed and that zeal for life and helping others that young people bring is so exciting. Seeing and working with young people from Canada and Uganda has also helped me focus on my own little family as they continue to grow up. I am trying hard and enjoying every minute spent with Seth and Jodie. God has blessed me with two, soon to be three great kids and fantastic students at our school and young adults from MEI that I can be proud of. Continue to make a difference wherever you are placed…

Adventures With The Williams Four!

Wow, what a busy but good two months we have had back in North America’s winter wonderland.
Our winter fun began with a bang as we landed in Vancouver on the 22nd of November to be greeted by the coldest weekend for that time in November in the past 55 years. Yes we all had a severe shock but thanks to my buddy John and his nice warm pick up service from the airport in his silver bullet Dodge Ram we managed.
After some unpacking and repacking we zoomed off on a night flight a few days later to Minnesota. Some of the many highlights included time with mom and dad Carpenter where Seth got his tool set and put it into action to build a bird feeder with grandpa Mike. A snow storm added to our fun as tunnels where built with Uncle Kenny and a big mound of snow was used as a slide with cousin Alaina. A highlight for Mark was taking the kids skating for the first time. The rink was empty except for us as it was a school day and no one around. Then one of Mark’s dreams came true…he was given permission to drive the zomboni around the rink! He of course put the kids on too and then went too far by singing Oh Canada at the top of his lungs in the heart of MN, USA while cruising around the rink. He will never forget it! Thank you Josh for making that happen! What a memory!
As a family we also enjoyed catching up with the Carpenter side of the family and our trip to the center of MN – International Falls. Seth even remembered Grandpa Bob and Grandma Dori’s house from two years ago when Jodie was born. He also created some new memories sledding with his big cousin Mason and wishes he could join him at McDonalds for another fun meal. Everyday Seth and Jodie checked on Smokey the Bear to make sure he was not sleeping. We miss you Grandma Dori & Grandpa Bob!
After a cold and snowy visit in the US we had some time chasing more snow around the Canadian prairies. A highlight was Christmas with mom and dad Williams and enjoying all the trimmings and partaking of too much good food. Grandpa enjoyed making ice cream with Seth and Jodie who sampled the homemade treat a few times before it made its way to the table. Not sure if Seth and Jodie enjoyed it more than grandpa. Jodie’s highlight was some New Years time in Canmore with her good cousin Ellie of two years. They are only two weeks apart in age and they were in their own little world as cousins.
Five days were spent together with the entire Dan and Winnie Williams tribe in Canmore – 8 adults and nine grandchildren to be exact. Sarah and Mark enjoyed a quick visit over New Years with good friends from the old Lethbridge gang who journeyed from different parts of Alberta. As fate would have it once a trip to Saskatchewan was under way the surprising warm weather stopped for another burst of Canadian winter. Edson Baptist Church, good friends and family were visited along the way with 92 year old grandma Clara being the highlight. She is still going strong and prays for us twice a day. Please keep the prayers coming grandma! Mark also enjoyed a few hockey games watching his Calgary Flames live at the Saddledome – thanks Shannon W. and Jeff for making this happen. After a trek across the mountains toward Vancouver and a good visit with relatives in Kelowna on the way we are ready for the final leg of our trip. We hope to see many more friends and family in the Lower Mainland.

Overall it has been a very busy and special time. Sometimes it has been challenging for us as a family and especially for Seth and Jodie. They’ve been sick a few times and their schedules have been topsy turvy. But what an amazing trip! People have opened up their homes, let us use cars and helped fill up our tummies and gas tanks from one place to another. The support of us personally and also our work with the African Children’s Choir has been amazing. We only hope that one day we can return the blessing of hospitality and generosity to so many people who have shown God’s love to us. Thanks Phil and Shannon for letting use your car along the Canadian part of this journey. If it were possible we would love to return the love to all of you when you visit us in Uganda. But we know we can ‘pay it forward’ by being generous with those we know in Uganda and blessing those God gives us. Thank you all for being the part of the Body of Christ that He has assigned you to be. We’ve had precious times of fellowship and encouragement with so many of you as we realize we face such similar things and serve the same great God!