As we write this letter we have recently arrived in our new
home in St Neots having arrived back in England on 25th 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USAID announced in April that they had withdrawn much of the funding for our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.
No comments:
Post a Comment