Eruptions and Disruptions (June 2012)

As I write this I am looking out of the office window at a grey cloudy sky with the wind blowing through the trees. The last few weeks the sky has been unusually grey, due it is thought, to the ash from an erupting volcano at the end of the chain of volcanoes which starts here with Muhabura. The erupting volcano is in the Congo and fortunately the lava is flowing through forest so human life has been spared; I doubt that the animals are very happy though!

The closeness of Kisoro to the Congo has also been highlighted by the amount of Congolese refugees we have seen in the town during the last few days. Kisoro has a transit refugee camp on the edge of town and it is becoming steadily busier. Reasons for this vary; rebels in the Congo are known to come out of hiding when a harvest is due to raid the crops of local peasant farmers; many of the local men send their wives and children out of the country for protection whilst they stay to try and protect their homes; there are also rumours of dissatisfaction with the Congolese government and talk of the rebels trying to reform into an army to fight for their rights. Whatever the reason many thousands of lives are being disrupted.

Co-incidentally (we think) we were invited to a meeting held by the British High Commission and amongst other general information we were given notes on their emergency evacuation procedures! However we are not too alarmed as local people here are used to these intermittent “flare ups” and do not feel we are likely to be affected by the trouble.

We are now fully back into work with the normal one step forward two steps back procedure. The missing computers from the Vocational Training School mysteriously returned and Malcolm managed to repair the broken one. A part time computer teacher has been appointed to teach registered computer students, but now Irene has been asked to give basic word processing lessons to all the other students instead! New computers with Internet access which were promised before we even arrived are still “on their way” and dormitory accommodation is still a big problem. On the plus side the centre is going to be able to provide an accredited computer course module from next year and the current students are being allowed to sit for the exam at a nearby centre.

Malcolm has been busily occupied at the Potters Village Home for Vulnerable Children helping with their book-keeping and making a video for the CMS Mission Partner, Jenny Green, to show at her supporting churches when she returns to England in early June. He has also been developing new finance procedures for the Vocational Training Centre

Plans are being made for a large celebration taking place in August as it will be 100 years since the first missionary arrived in Kisoro. He was actually a Ugandan from a evangelism training school set up by the first CMS Missionaries about 150 miles away. Sadly he was killed with a spear by a local tribesman. However, he must have made an impact as the area is now predominately Christian with many growing churches. When you realise that Christianity has only been in the area for 100 years it is easy to see why there is still some confusion in outlying areas about the Christian faith, some still adding it as an “extra“  to pagan beliefs. Others don’t realise it applies to everyday living, its as if it’s a ritual just  for Sunday and is taken off with their Sunday best clothes until next week They are pleased to hail Jesus as Saviour but it has no effect on their normal lives. In England we have 17 centuries of examples of good Christian living, years of teaching and bible exposition but how much does it affect our daily living? (The first martyr in England, St Albans, was  killed about 300AD.)

I was recently very challenged by a sermon given by Jenny Green. She said that many people come to know and love Jesus as Saviour but how many go on to know Him as Lord? Recently I found the definition of Lord as “A name we call God or Jesus when we do what they say”. Makes you think, doesn’t it?

Prayer requests:

Thank God that:

- we continue to enjoy good health

- the adoption of Jojo, Jenny Green’s son, has been approved

Please pray:

- that the visa for Jojo will arrive in time for him to travel with her to England in early June

- that problems in the Congo will be settled peacefully and people will be able to return safely to their homes

-  for Irene's mum, that she will settle into a palliative Care Home following  the operation to remove her bowel

- for our friend Bea, who has cancer, and has just returned to Germany for 3 months where she will receive further treatment

 - for guidance about what we do after we leave Kisoro in October

-  for continuity at the Potters Village babies home whilst Jenny Green returns to the UK and when the African administrator Ezra, who has worked there since it opened 5 years ago, leaves in October

The Return (March 2012)

So here we are back in Kisoro. We have spent a large part of the first week trying to turn our house back into a home after having packed most things away so that it could be used by others during our time in England. Irene has been busy ironing clothes which had been packed in a cupboard for three months and Malcolm has been replacing our string washing line with a “real plastic coated” one, and hanging up our new pin board. We still haven’t quite found all the bits and bobs we stowed in the spare bedroom but we did manage to humanely catch the little mouse which has lived there for some time, and set it free at the far side of the playing field behind us!

We have observed a few changes. The African apple trees planted last year as 1 foot high “twigs” are actually bearing fruit; it is an amazingly fertile area. The fir tree in front of our house has almost doubled in size and a breach in the wall surrounding the diocese complex has been repaired. New shops are evident in town and we are told that a smart new hotel has opened.

As yet we have not formally started back to work although Malcolm has spent a couple of days helping to set up the budget for Potters Village and Irene has been chatting with staff members at the Vocational Training School. There is good news and not so good news. The V.T.S. has more students than ever before with over 70 enrolling this year. 22 girls and 15 boys are boarding which has presented accommodation difficulties resolved be turning one of the classrooms into a dormitory! Unfortunately 2 of the computers upgraded last year by our son have disappeared and a third has a broken on /off button leaving only 1 working computer and still no official computer teacher. Trying to trace the p.c. whereabouts and encourage the “powers that be” to employ a proper computer teacher (rather than rely on her limited knowledge) will be Irene’s first task next week.

Having spent so long in the luxury of England with shops which sell almost anything you desire, carpeted floors, dishwashers, washing machines, baths etc. we did wonder why on earth we were returning to Uganda with its concrete floors and limited food choices. Leaving behind friends, family and good churches. Then it struck us. Look what Jesus did for us. He left behind Heaven! He left wonders we can only guess at. He left behind angels worshiping and he left His father, a relationship so close we cannot imagine what it must have felt like to be separated. Nor was it only for a few months; Jesus spent thirty three years living amongst people who for the most part didn’t appreciate His presence or his work. Then at the end He was betrayed and deserted by his closest friends and killed by a brutal regime. If He can do all that for us then surely we should be prepared to do whatever it is He calls us to whether in our own country or another.

Prayer requests;

Thank God for the generosity of family and friends:

-  providing us with beds, hospitality and transport during our 4 months in England

- giving many items for the tailoring students

Please pray that:

- Irene’s mum coming to terms with the death of her son and a move into a nursing home.

-  we may be able to settle back into Kisoro life quickly and easily, and come to terms with any minor ‘challenges’

-  we will be able to continue the work we have started and been willing to do the tasks God wants us to do.

- our Swiss friend, Bea, who has been diagnosed with cancer and her husband, may find healing and peace as they continue to work in Kisoro.

Time flies - and so do we (February 2012)

In some ways the past three months in the UK has flown by; however, an awful lot has happened.

-         we’ve celebrated 4 family birthdays and Christmas

-         we’ve driven over 7,000 miles visiting family and friends, with just one breakdown (with smoke coming from the front brakes)!

-         we’ve attended 2 Church Mission Society (CMS) Conferences

-         we’ve slept in umpteen beds, and several Travelodges, receiving generous hospitality from many people, some of whom we hadn’t previously met

-         we’ve put on several kilograms of unwelcome weight (but the ‘African Diet’ should sort that out)

-         we’ve worshipped at many churches and talked about our work in Kisoro to 4 groups

-         we were fortunate to attend the commissioning as CMS Mission Partner in Manchester of our friend , Dr Corrie, prior to her departure for 7 years to Kiwoko Hospital in Uganda, and the consecration at St Paul’s Cathedral of Tim Dakin as the new Bishop of Winchester

-         we’ve visited doctors, dentists and opticians for check-ups and treatment

-         we’ve seen snow - in Cyprus

-         we’ve packed our bags for our flights on 6^th February, including gifts for students at the Vocational Training Centre in Kisoro and items, such as a decent saucepan and books, requested by friends there

-         we have discussed with our CMS manager our future work in Kisoro and beyond

We thank all those people who have been so kind and loving to us in the last 3 months for their prayers and generosity and we take many happy memories with us

Prayer requests

Please thank God for:

-         our time in England, our safety and for all those who have blessed us

-         the news we have had from Potters Village Baby Crisis Centre about the building developments that have been completed and the work carried out by a team of volunteers from High Wycombe

-         for our meetings with CMS as we consider our future work

Please pray for:

- our safe return to Kisoro, and that we quickly re-acclimatise to the altitude, weather and culture

- our discussions with Bishop Cranmer about our future roles in Kisoro, Potters Village and Kisiizi Hospital that we will have a unity of mind and spirit

- the trustees of the Church Mission Society as they interview and select a new General Secretary to replace Tim Dakin, designated Bishop of Winchester

- guidance as we consider what we might do after the completion of our assignment in Kisoro in October 2012

- Irene’s mother still in hospital after major emergency surgery and keen to get home!

To read our weekly blog search for ‘Malcolm and Irene Crawford’ or go to:

http://malcolmandirenecrawford.blogspot.com

A Nation of Animal Lovers?

We were sitting in our favourite café one day when a local woman came in and started chatting. She was commenting on the “muzungu” tourists that come to the hotels in Kisoro to stop over before going gorilla trekking

“It drives me mad that people come and pay $500 to see gorillas but they don’t want to bother to come and see me!” she said, “Why is that no one wants to see what I do, the way I live; I am a human being. Aren’t I more important than gorillas?” she was really perplexed.

She had a point. Why don't people want to visit her, or other local people? Is it because they would feel they are intruding, that it wouldn’t be polite? (Ugandans love visitors especially white people who some think confer a blessing by their touch.)

Or is it because animals are undemanding?. We can “ooh” and” ah” at them in their natural habitat without feeling guilt at their life styles in comparison to ours.

Or is it because we want to boast about our great, expensive, holidays and the marvels we have seen?

Or is it because humans can be seen any time; they’re no longer “special”?

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it’s bad to want to see exotic wildlife and endangered species. We went on safaris in Tanzania and God’s creatures are marvellous to behold, but are we sometimes in danger of forgetting God's most important creation, the ones He loves most of all; our fellow men?

Here people are very amused at the way we Europeans treat our pets, they find it comical that we should allow them in our homes and give them their own special food, and hilarious that they even have their own beds. They would probably shake their heads in pity and disdain if they knew the amount of money we pay on vet fees and 'treats'.

Maybe next time you buy a treat for your pet you could put the same amount of money into a box to help support people in need too. Next time you pat your dog or stroke your cat you could say a prayer for a struggling family in Africa. All God’s creatures are wonderful, let us just make sure we are giving them all the right priority.


What have we been doing?
In the past month Irene has received confirmation of an order from shops in the USA for clothes to be made by the tailoring students. If the trial is successful it will mean an income to assist students with their school fees, which though modest by our standards require sacrificial giving by their poor parents.

Our son, David, and his wife, Sarah, have returned to England after 3 months volunteer work at the Potters Village Home for Vulnerable Babies. Although their help was very much appreciated they did find some of the experiences and culture difficult to adjust to.

The details of the Church Treasurers' manual on Book-keeping that Malcolm has prepared, and details of the training programme are being finalised. With time running out before our return to England it may be that the training will not be completed this year.

Prayer requests
Please thank God for:
- the safe return of our son, David, and his wife to England

- Hannah, the daughter of the CMS Mission partner, Jenny Green, as she seems to have settled in well to her new school in Nairobi

Please pray:
- that Irene manages to establish the tailoring student’s workshop before leaving for our break; they have many orders to fulfil for the USA.

- that we do not get too exhausted on the trip home on October 27th (A night time 5 hour stopover in a very uninspiring airport is included!)

- that we keep safe on the roads during our many miles of travelling to see family and friends

- for Malcolm as he winds up his work for the break

- for wisdom as we meet with the CMS Regional Manager for Africa in December to discuss what we might do in future

Pre-packaged, or the Real Thing?

During the latter part of August a team of visitors from a church in Manchester stayed in the guest house next door to us. They had come to offer support to Potters Village for Vulnerable children and do some leadership training. A friendly bunch of various ages (7 women and one male vicar!) they enjoyed seeing the cockerels strutting freely around the compound. However when they were told that these were for their dinner the next day they were somewhat nonplussed and at the meal itself the chicken was left barely touched! Even though the cockerels had probably had a much better life than most of the chickens brought from the super markets in Britain they just didn’t like the idea of eating something they had seen alive and walking around. They preferred the sanitised, pre-packaged, oven ready version which looked nothing like the real thing!

Is our Christianity like that? Do we see our Christian lives in the terms of our civilised Sunday services, sociably arranged meetings and organised mission outreach; nicely packaged and parcelled, separate from our Monday to Saturday life? Or do we live out our Christian lives in the real world every day. Showing love to that cantankerous neighbour, befriending those noisy teenagers, taking time to talk with the lonely; picking up someone else's rubbish, telling the shop keeper they have under-charged us. Loving as Jesus did, to the point of putting others before your own wants and desires. Are we a plastic packaged or the real thing?

Last month we mentioned the work of the Organised Useful Rehabilitation Service (OURS ) who ran a one day outreach clinic for disabled children at Potter's Village. This was a wonderful witness to both the locals and ourselves. The compassion and love that the doctors showed to each and every single child was incredible. The team worked non-stop all day and much to our amazement they were able to assess all 140 children. For some, advice and support was given; many carers were shown physiotherapy techniques which they can now do themselves to help their children; and some children will have further treatment and follow up at a later date. Five children were offered the chance to go with the team for treatment for club feet but only 2 could afford the small amount of funding needed for transport. Very sadly there were some children who were not able to be helped, and little could be done for them. Despite this, the parents or relatives who came with them said that it made so much difference just to know that theirs was not the only child to have the disability or illness and so they went away feeling a little less isolated and alone. Potter's Village staff hopes to work with the OURS team again in the future, so that this programme can be repeated regularly.

In the meantime, Malcolm had one more “bachelor week!” at Kisiizi hospital helping the treasurer to prepare the draft accounts ready for audit, and has almost completed drafting a Book-keeping manual for church treasurers in the Diocese. Irene has been working on some promotional leaflets for the Diocese and teaching some of the V.T.C. staff basic computing. With great excitement she witnessed the arrival of about 30 sewing machines donated by Tools with a Mission. Some of these will be used by the tailoring students but at the moment they have all been put in store awaiting a sort out.

Please thank God for:
- the work of the OURS Team and the care they show to children and families in medical and emotional need
- our continuing good health and for Malcolm's safe journey to Kisiizi Hospital where he was able to assist the Finance team

Please pray for;
- those families of children with disabilities, that they would see God's love at work through the children, and that they will get the physical support they need
- Malcolm as he plans for a training course for treasurers and leaders from the 140 churches in the Diocese
- the arrangements as we begin to prepare for our 3 month break in England from the end of October
- the family of the CMS Mission partner, Jenny Green, as her daughter, Hannah, flies to her new school in Nairobi that they will quickly adjust to the change

To read our weekly blog search for ‘Malcolm and Irene Crawford’ or go to:
http://malcolmandirenecrawford.blogspot.com

Wholeness

July has been a busy month. Malcolm has spent 2 weeks at Kisiizi Hospital to assist the Treasurer with preparing the annual accounts. Irene has been concentrating on the Vocational Training Centre; ensuring that tailoring samples were ready to be taken back to the USA by a Peace Corp Volunteer who will try to find possible outlets for their work, as well as preparing for end of term exams. And on the last weekend of July she went to help with a Mission at a local village church. In the meantime our son and daughter in law have arrived for a few months to help at the Potters Village Home for vulnerable babies.

During July Jenny Green, the long term CMS Mission Partner here, has been using all possible means to publicise far and wide that a medical team will be coming out to Potter’s Village to treat disabled children free of charge. She has been able to join in partnership with an organisation known as O.U.R.S. who send out a team of doctors to work amongst disabled children up to the age of 18. The call has been for parents to register their children ready for the day in August when the team arrive and about 100 children are expected to register.

Caring for children with disabilities here is very difficult. Parents are often ashamed that they have a disabled child, thinking that they have done something wrong. Maybe that they have been “cursed” and fear witchcraft. One of the mothers who registered with Jenny cried out to her, “Have you ever seen a child who has suffered so much as my son?” Her 2 year old son was suffering from hydrocephalus (water on the brain) and his head was very enlarged. Jenny gently explained that it was not an uncommon illness and pointed out that she already had five other children with hydrocephalus on her list. The mother was stunned; she had thought her son was the only child who had ever had this illness. She had hidden him away and suffered in isolation having no one to talk to who she felt would understand.

The day when the medical team arrive will not only be a day of physical healing and assessment for the children but also a day of emotional and physiological healing for the parents. A time when they can unburden themselves to others in similar situations, and learn how to help and support each other. We pray that they will learn of God’s love for them too.

Do you sometimes feel like that? That you are the only one with that ugly, marring sin? You hide it away, you don’t tell anyone as you are sure they will not understand; surely no one has been this bad before? God understands and sent His son to forgive you. No matter how big or impossible you think the problem is to solve, God has already cured it. It takes a lot of courage for parents here to bring a disabled child out into the open. There will be stares; there may be even open hostility, fears of evil being let loose, but those who love their children will bring them out for a chance to be whole. God loves His children and has given us all that chance to be whole.

Do not neglect the offer whilst it is there.

“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. – Isaiah 1:18


Prayer requests

Please thank God that:
- a couple of retailers in the USA have placed orders for items to be made by the tailoring students of the Vocational Training Centre
- there has been a good response from mothers of disabled children to register for the clinic in August
- the safe arrival of our son and his wife
- Malcolm has travelled safely to and from Kisiizi Hoapital

Please pray that:
- those parents that need help will hear about the free medical clinic and will have the courage and the means to bring their children to be assessed
- the medical team will have the energy and wisdom required to treat and assess so many in so a short time.
- Christ’s love will be seen in the work of the team
- Malcolm will be able to help the Treasurer complete the end of year accounts for Kisiizi Hospital when he returns on 8th August
To read our weekly blog search for ‘Malcolm and Irene Crawford’ or go to:
http://malcolmandirenecrawford.blogspot.com

Misunderstandings?

Time is passing quickly by and we are learning more new things about our surroundings and the culture of the people we live among each day. Going to the outlying villages on the two Missions we have been involved in so far has enabled us to see more of the everyday Ugandan life style but we are still very far from communicating clearly with people.

At one of the talks Malcolm gave during the Mission to teenagers at a Primary School (in Uganda you stay in school depending on your knowledge, not your age) he used a gesture of pointing upwards with one finger towards heaven, giving God the glory. It was a gesture made popular in England and USA in the 70s by a Christian rock singer called Larry Norman and the American preacher, Arthur Blessitt indicating that Jesus is the One and Only Way to Heaven.


Later however he found out that here political parties are indicated by holding up the hand, pointing with one finger for the Independent party, two fingers for the N.R.M. and three fingers for the F. D.C. etc. so he now wonders if the children he spoke to think he had some hidden political agenda!

Irene too saw examples of the difference between Ugandan and western culture whilst overseeing the work of the tailoring students who are preparing sample products aimed at a possible American market. The Peace Corp worker had asked the girls to produce examples of a long skirt and a short skirt for him to take back to the States. They duly did this and proudly showed him their efforts. Much to his disappointment the long skirt reached the floor and the short skirt was about mid-calf length! The idea of a skirt for a woman being actually above the knee was just something completely outside the girls’ experience, and it wasn’t until Irene showed them a picture of herself at 18 years old in a mini skirt that they actually believed that such an item could be worn. Their long skirt was cut in half and two short skirts produced, but even as they were being packed to be taken to America you could see the total disbelief of the girls that any woman would ever wear such things.

It is so easy for misunderstandings to arise between different cultures, but it’s also easy for them to arise amongst people of the same backgrounds and even within the same family. Particularly within the church family where we should be careful to ensure that we do not misunderstand and take offence at things which were never meant to cause offence. The devil likes nothing better than to cause strife amongst Christians and destroy the love that God wants for His family and which non-Christians are longing to see.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know”. Proverbs 3:5

We have enjoyed looking after Jenny’s children even though climbing the hill to the house each lunch time and again after work made us feel our years! Jenny’s staff cook local food which consists of rice, beans and vegetables and Irene very soon found out that she would never suit being a vegetarian as the lack of meat had her pining to go out to a café in the town to top up her carnivore tendencies. Jenny returned on the 24th June bringing our son and daughter in law (David and Sarah) with her which is a great delight to us and hopefully a great help to her as they are to work within Potters Village for three months.

Thank God for:

- Jenny’s successful but tiring Fund raising tour to England and her safe return, together with our son and daughter in law

- the completion of the tailoring samples in time for the Peace Corp volunteer to take them to America

Please pray for:

- David and Sarah to settle in quickly and be able to assist meaningfully in the work of Potters Village Home for Vulnerable Children.

- Malcolm travelling to Kisiizi Hospital to help for 2 weeks with their accounts, for safety over the winding mountain side roads

- Irene and her work with the tailoring students that God’s purpose will over rule with the possible connection with America

- the Mission later this month in the Cathedral deanery – that God will bring faith and renewal to many people