The Crawfords - Whatever Next? (December 2014)

This is the last church letter that we will be writing for some time.

Malcolm arrived home from Uganda in the last week in November, and is now settling back into British life. At the moment we have no plans to return to East Africa although both Kiwoko Hospital and Potters Village would like us to go back next year, even for just a few weeks, to help finalise the end of year accounts.

Malcolm's work went well over the past 2 months and the audit of accounts for both the Hospital and Potters Village were completed. Malcolm also found time to prepare a short video of the work of the HIV department which is back to normal now that USAID has restored its funding.

As for the future, we are in God's hands. We are both trying to recover from heavy colds / man flu and are currently having some work done on our home. We have not yet finalised on which church to join but are grateful that in St Neots there is a choice of good churches.

Finally we would like to say many, many thanks to all those who have supported us in prayer and encouragement over the last 7 years when we have been working with the Church Mission Society in Tanzania and Uganda. Your support has been invaluable and has held us up in difficult as well as good times.

Please pray for

·         Thank God for:

o   our safe return to England

o   the work and witness of Kiwoko Hospital and Potters Village Child Crisis Centre amongst the poor and desperate people of Uganda

·         Please pray that:

o    a Business Manager will be found to build on Malcolm’s work at Kiwoko Hospital

o   God will show us His plans for us in due time

o   we will establish a home in St Neots which will glorify God

o   we find and settle into the right church

o   our 8^th grandchild will be safely delivered next March

He's at it again (October 2014)

This is the first church letter that I have written on my own. Having returned in the last week to Kiwoko Hospital to help finalise the annual accounts over the next 8 weeks, Irene remains in St Neots to unpack storage boxes, sort out our new home and to get to know our grandchildren better.

The hospital seems to be thriving with some changes in the 2 months. The best news is that the funding of the HIV treatment and prevention service has been restored because USAID has found a replacement partner through whom they can channel funding. This is a clear answer to prayer as earlier in the summer future funding was most uncertain. The result is that the hospital has been able to reorganise aspects of the service, and though some staff have left we have retained the most capable ones and refocused our activities.

Some key personnel have gone to college for 2 or 3 years to enhance their training and replacements have been found. In particular the Deputy Medical Director has gone to college in Tanzania to be replaced by Dr James, who has been working at the hospital for several years

Please pray for:

·         Kiwoko Hospital. Thank God for the good news that USAID have restored most of the funding to test and treat HIV patients. Please pray that a Business Manager will be found to continue Malcolm’s work, and that Dr James will successfully take up the role of Deputy Medical Director.

·         Us, that

o   we will survive the 2 months apart (being the longest we have been separated in our marriage).

o   we will establish a home in St Neots which will glorify God

o   we find and settle into the right church

o   our 8^th grandchild will be safely delivered next March

The End of an Era - or the Start of a new One? (August 2014)

As we write this letter we have recently arrived in our new home in St Neots having arrived back in England on 25^th July. At present the house is almost bare as most of our belongings are in store waiting to be delivered in a few weeks time.

It was a mixture of emotions as we said farewell to our friends in Kiwoko. On the one hand we were sad to leave those we had worked and lived with for the last 15 months, but looking forward to re-acquainting ourselves with our growing family – in the last 3 months the number of our grandchildren have increased from five to seven.

(It was not a final farewell. Malcolm intends to return to Kiwoko in September for a couple of months to help get through the annual external audit.)

In our final week we saw God’s answer to some prayer. Since USAID announced in April that they had withdrawn much of the funding for our HIV prevention, testing and treatment work because it had been channelled through the Inter Religious Council of Uganda the hospital had stopped much of its work. The good news is that USAID have found a new partner and have told us that they intend to re-instate most of the funding. This is good news as the people who have been suffering as a result of the decision to punish the IRCU for its support of he Anti-Homosexuality Bill were poor, infected or at risk patients and their families who could not afford the cost of testing and treatment.

As we look forward to the next phase in our lives it is with excitement, but some trepidation. Not only is it adjusting to a new and strange culture (British) but it is in a new home, a new town, and a new state of mind – retirement!

Please pray for:

·         Kiwoko Hospital. Thank God for the way He has blessed the mission of the hospital for the past 25 years and for the good news that USAID intend to continue most of the funding to test and treat HIV patients. Please pray that a Business Manager will be found to continue Malcolm’s work.

·         For us. Thank God hat we have returned in one piece to England. Please pray that:

o   we will establish a home in St Neots which will glorify God

o   we find and settle into the right church

o   we will make the right arrangements for Malcolm’s return to Kiwoko in September.