Greg and Jill Vine

Rock of Ages Building Project Before and After

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Vine) — Sun, 17 May 2020 10:23:00 +0000

Covid19 Help Feed 5000 in Uganda

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Vine) — Mon, 04 May 2020 16:32:00 +0000

You can watch a short little video showing a small window into our life in Uganda on the day we heard about the first covid case back on 21st March. We were already having some restrictions...no school, no transport. no church or large gatherings. Flights needed to be arranged from EDRC back to Uganda for passengers hoping to make the last flights available out of Uganda before borders closed. Currently Uganda now has 55 cases (6/4/20), flights have all been discontinued, private cars are not allowed to be used without special permission, only food markets are allowed to be open but workers are required to stay on site for 2 weeks possibly more, and gatherings larger than 5 are not allowed.

My kids are busy working at home with online school but feeling the globally felt disappointment of end of school year trips, proms and graduation being cancelled and not knowing if they'll be allowed to say goodbye to friends in person before seniors leave the country. Comforting factors have been still being able to walk and see Ugandans greet us and each other even if from a distance...hearing our local neighbours having time together as families...having at least 2 of my 3 daughters close-by and enjoying rare quality time together, catching up on all of the things we never have time to do, knowing we can be on standby to help the local community when we're needed as the effect of livelihoods being frozen takes hold. In the lull of life suddenly slowing down in some respects, although not for Greg or my girls who are working even harder its seems online, I decided to take on a crazy challenge of attempting to Feed 5000. I think I was in a dreamlike state when I put the challenge out there, but watching friends around the world and donorsee donating has been the reason we've managed to feed almost 4,000 people to date. It has been a miracle watching the world stepping up to help us even though the entire world has been hit by lockdowns and impacted in one way or another.

Initially we were hoping that Uganda was quick enough to hem the passengers who first brought Covid19 over its borders and that the cases soon would recover and decline but more cases have unfortunately come in over this landlocked country's borders and so cases have risen to over 200. The damage to the population has not been so much from the virus but just from the tight restrictions that have carried on for 7 long weeks. The poor don't have safety nets. No livelihoods means no food.

We are praying also for the rest of the world to soon see this tide ebb, for solutions to be found by all of the brilliant minds across the globe that are working 24/7 to help this happen and for the phenomenal medical workers that have been soldiering on tirelessly.

Praying that our world changes in a good way from this trial we have all been in together and that we turn our hearts to God and ask for His healing touch on all of our nations both physically and spiritually.

Rust Disease

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Vine) — Wed, 22 Apr 2020 10:39:00 +0000

As promised, here's my second installment for you.

Rust Disease

It's ironic that at exactly the same time this virus began, my raspberry plot seemed to be overtaken by something called 'rust disease'. As I've been focusing on defeating this highly contagious disease, I've been thinking about some parallels, as I often do when I'm gardening. Firstly, the plot looked healthy and was bearing fruit, functioning well when this disease was unknowingly spreading on the underside of the leaves. The outer appearance looked fine until the rust disease eventually began to make itself known turning the leaves yellow and the fruit speckled with an orange powder. The only solution is to pick off every infected leaf, burn them or remove the entire plant if its been totally overrun. When Covid19 erupted, so much of our world and its habits seemed to be spinning out of control. Scientists have been sending out warnings that if we didn't address our selfish ways urgently then our planet's future would be impossible to turn around. Making money and building economies have taken precedence over having a healthy planet for all of us to live on. Its amazing how a virus could force us to stop like nothing else. Lakes and rivers are being given a rest, our skies are quiet and the oil industry is having to slow down. Even the alarming issue of wildlife markets is finally under the hammer. The worldwide church seems to be waking up to praying more than before. Families are slowing down and having much needed downtime with each other.

Have we been given this unique opportunity to reassess our rushed, distracted, 'confetti' juggling lives and remember what matters most? I'm not underestimating the stress this has created for so many who have lost their jobs and are facing various uncertainties etc. I'm trying my hardest to remember the good that may come and is coming out of this time of waiting. My plot looks sad and vulnerable right now after losing 80% of its leaves but it now has a chance to breathe and the regrowth has been springing up remarkably quickly after many back breaking hours of tending its well being. I'm hoping that as we stand together in the communities we're in and help as many as we possibly can through this crisis, that we will come out of this with new regrowth, better fruit and a world that is changed for the better.

Thoughts in Lockdown

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Vine) — Mon, 06 Apr 2020 21:22:00 +0000

Hi everyone out there who may sometimes click on this sporadic blog.

I've had so many thoughts about this time we're experiencing in history...the first time so many people have been locked down and impacted together (208 countries to date), more-so than any even World War 2 (190 countries). I'm planning on blogging 3 installments in the next couple of weeks...the one below about too much quail and the effects of moaning. The next one is about the wilderness which I hope will encourage you and bring you some reassurance. The third one is about rust disease...if you haven't heard about it before then please read my post in the next couple of weeks.

Overdosing of social media...could it be a cure?
One thing that demotivates me to blog is the thought that blogging has gone on the back burner as instagram, tik tok, facebook, twitter, snapchat etc etc have taken off and seem to distract all of us with their serotonin powers. Now that we are all hemmed inside, our need for social media still continues unabated but maybe some of us have more time to read in these weeks of being inside...

As we are now moreso dependable on the web and all of its entertainment and mindless scrolling, but without our in-person community, it made me wonder whether it could be possible for one to have an overdose of online addictions to the degree that one gets sick of them? There's an example when this happened in the old testament. While the Israelites were in exile they started moaning and asking for more than their daily manna, so God gave them quail. God gave them quail, quail, quail until the thing they most desired became the very thing they would loathe "Although the Lord gave the Israelites quail, He was displeased with their grumbling and their ungrateful words against Him. He told Moses to tell them, “The Lord heard you when you wailed, ‘If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!’ Now the Lord will give you meat, and you will eat it. You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it—because you have rejected the Lord, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’” (Numbers 11:18–20). When we come out of this, could it be possible that we'll all put down our phones and focus on the real people around us, knowing how much we missed community, hugs, eye to eye contact, fun together? I pray that this could be possible, although I know it may sound naive.

The effect of moaning against the effect of gratitude
While we're in this time of being hemmed in, its interesting how each morning our attitudes can swerve from hope to despair, from fear to faith, from being motivated to demotivated, from complaining to trying hard to be thankful. Its been really hard for our teens to stay positive, understandably due to so much disappointment, plans changing, uncertainty etc etc. I'm trying out a 'glad game' challenge like the lovely Pollyanna...sounds young I know, but it does work so please give it a whirl. I've asked all of my fellow inmates to try to say thanks in their mind for simple things they do throughout the day...for eg. thanks that I have water to drink, thanks that I have my family with me, thanks that I have pets, thanks that I can still work in the garden, thanks for my neighbours' laughter and music, thanks that MAF care for our well being and are looking at contingency plans etc, thanks that the British Embassy are also checking on us, thanks for electricity and gas, thanks for my family and friends who are praying, thanks that we're all being held still for more than we know. We can all think of something that we can give thanks for....even if it's for brushing our teeth. Our minds will be healthier for it and this exercise, although it sounds simple, will elevate our moods and make us much nicer people to be around for our fellow prisoners or if we're on our own, those we talk to. The opposite effect is when we give way to moaning, we start to repel people, we lose hope, negativity starts its paralysis and we become positively ineffective.

Weighing up Covid19
Our world is experiencing a paradigm shift which we cant yet estimate the effects of, where it will take us or whether we can recover from most of the globe being brought to a standstill for more than a month. We're now in Uganda without any options to fly out and we're watching each night the cases going up by a few each day (currently on the 6th April at 55). We're on our knees praying that this virus stays away from the very poorest in the world who have no alternatives, no options, no back up, no safety nets. Also that a solution is found quicker than predicted when its affecting the entire planet. Saying this, the third world deal with a much greater killer everyday. The death toll of people dying of hunger is a shocking 25,000 everyday which currently would match Covid19's death toll over 3.5 months in just 3 days. 405,000 people died of malaria in 2018 with 280 million cases. Uganda has been dealing with a much deadlier killer, Ebola, over the last 3 years lurking just over the border and on top of this they are coping with AIDS, typhoid, cholera, yellow fever and the list goes on and on. And yet, COVID19 has been filling Ugandans, and all of the world with fear as we watch the worldwide death toll every night and read endless articles about the way its spreading. Ironically, now that the poor community have had their livelihoods put on hold, the daily death toll of hunger will rise while we address getting this contagion under control and its hard to know how the global economy will recover from this epic lockdown. Its all very perplexing.

Pass Over us Lord

I don't think its a coincidence that this is all happening while we're going through Lent and coming up to Easter and Passover. I received one word from a friend drawing out the significance of UK lockdown starting on the 26th March and ending on the 16th April. They pointed out that Isaiah 26 vs 20 says 'Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until His indignation has passed by.' Uganda's President quoted this verse the same night I had just read these words. This year Passover ends on the 16th April, hopefully the same night UK's lockdown ends, unless it ends up extended. Regardless, the Passover story has come to life in this time when we are looking at what the Lord's blood represents...His covering over the doorways of our homes to protect us from the death angel passing over....His love is able to watch over those who cry out to Him...'Hosanna' or quite literally, 'Save us'. 'For love is as strong as death, jealously as unrelenting as the grave. the fiercest blaze of mighty waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away.' Solomon 8:6 He knows how to save us from this pandemic, but the concern of our Father is the way our world has been turning away from Him..the sickness within our souls is way more of a concern to Him then this virus which will pass. Let's stop moaning, blaming our leaders or any country and just stop....turn to Him and ask Him where we've gone wrong, for He promises 'If my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.' 2 Chron 7:14 This is an antidote laid out for us thousands of years ago that is of grave importance.

The Word is coming to life through this strange and uncomfortable time...Isaiah, Hosea and many of the prophets seem so relevant. I wanted to end with this one from Nahum to hopefully bring you comfort. 'Who can stand before His indignation? Who can endure the heat of His anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and by Him the rocks are broken in pieces. The Lord is good, a stronghold in a day of trouble; He protects those who take refuge in Him, even in a rushing flood.' Nahum 1:6.

One of the most magnificent sunrises I've seen over Kampala was on 22nd March
when we heard the news of Uganda's first Covid19 case

If you would like to watch a short video online of our first day of restrictions in Uganda, please click on https://youtu.be/_CW9wQ1WCDo

Be strong and lift up your heads...

Love the Vines in Kampala

Whats the first thing you reach for?

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Vine) — Fri, 08 Mar 2019 11:47:00 +0000

I’ve had some thoughts brewing over the last couple of months…
I’ve recently set myself a challenge that you can join me in if you feel up for it. I realised that our devices have become probably the greatest addiction of our age as we become hooked to our serotonin being tapped every time we pick them up and try to connect with all of our loved ones, the news, our banks, our google fount of knowledge, our address list, our note files, photos, film, music, even our alarm clocks… We’ve become completed mesmerised by these little mechanisms and our generation has never had to face a greater addiction than this all-consuming invention that commands our attention. I’m sure you’ve all experienced having friends or family over and everyone is browsing on their phones while you’re meant to be having some quality time together….and I’m also at fault. It seems as though no soul is immune to the effects of device addiction. So…..the challenge is this. Instead of reaching for your phone first thing in the morning and last thing at night, can you reach for something more sustaining? For the last month I’ve been attempting to reach for my bible and let God soak me with a deep word last thing at night and first thing in the morning, before switching wi-fi on to see who has messaged me. Believe me, this has been a tremendous challenge and has highlighted to me how much the habit of reaching for my phone has become entrenched in my psyche. Since setting this personal challenge, the last month has been a rich one.

The references I’ve been reading have all been pointing at one theme…entering His rest. The first word was from Hosea 14 about ‘what more shall I do with idols?’ reminding me how anything, whether it’s a person or a device, if in the first place, has become an idol in our lives. Then Psalm 46 ‘Be still and know that I am God’…surely one of the hardest things in our age of distraction to follow…to simply be still. The next day was about putting aside idols in Psalm 24. The next was from 1 Samuel 12 vs 20 – 22 about following the Lord and turning aside from empty things which cannot deliver you. The next day I woke to Psalm 29 vs 11 which describes the Lord blessing His people with peace. Another day started with Isaiah 32 vs 18 again about His people dwelling in peaceful habitations and in quiet resting places. Then Deuteronomy 12 vs 8 – 9 talks about His people having ‘not yet come to the rest and the inheritance which the Lord your God is giving you.’ After that, Jeremiah 6 vs 16 ‘Ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it’.

Our cat Christopher truly knows how to enter rest

So, my thoughts after mulling over these collective verses were something like this… God wants to give us rest, but we have a choice. We have to proactively choose to enter His rest. Who would think this would be a difficult thing to choose? This entering also involves laying down our idols, surrendering our addictions. Another friend mentioned to me the verse from Psalm 23 about Him laying a table before our enemies…right on the battlefield. Even then we have to choose to actually ‘sit’ at that table. The act of ‘being still’, ‘sitting’ and ‘entering rest’ are all hitched with verbs…The act of doing belongs to us. Whether you’re under financial pressure, you’ve been brought under fire, you’re stressed, you or a loved one is unwell or you’ve lost someone dear to you…whatever your battlefield, entering rest in that storm is something we somehow need to discover. Much like Jesus sleeping at the bottom of the boat while the disciples panicked on deck, His peace came from knowing His identity, knowing He had authority over the storm. I’m not trying to suggest we be in a comatose state of numbness when all is blowing up around us, but we can find our God, pulling out a chair and asking us to sit down and watch Him fight for us.

I hope this encourages you in whatever situation you’re facing and if you'd like to join me in the above challenge, let me know how you're doing. Please pass on this blog to anyone you know is struggling with device addiction who might be open to fighting against it.

Look for the silver lining in the people God has put around you

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Vine) — Sat, 27 Oct 2018 14:41:00 +0000

Some of the MAF Uganda International community representing 13 nations..
which means we can have our cultural challenges but we're better together than apart

Ever since my last post months ago I've had it on my 'to-do-list' to write another post but it always seems to get bumped to the next day which has led to months of bumping. The intensity of this week though has brought some thoughts forward I really wanted to write down.

The most dangerous thing our pilots do in Uganda is not actually the flying but instead the 30 minute drive to the airstrip..this might be because any crazy driver seems to have a license on these roads and many don't seem to respect road rules...unlike pilots.

One of our MAF wives received a call we all would dread to ever have to receive. Her husband had been hit from behind on his motorbike and then run over by a 4WD. He had a punctured lung, 6 broken ribs, broken collar bone, badly broken arm and a cracked hip and pelvic bone....I wish I could show you the photo of his shirt with a muddy print of the 4WD tyre mark all the way across to emphasise what a miracle it is that he's alive and doesn't need more than surgery on his arm...but it's their photo to share when and if they desire.

This week has gone from bad news, to relief, then relief and then more relief to hear each test and scan coming back clear...firstly no head or spinal injury, no internal bleeding etc..his one punctured lung began breathing on its own again. Then he was moved out of ICU 3 days later and into a regular hospital room and now we've heard he may be discharged soon. We're all so thankful that these developments are moving in the right direction and further away from a day that could have been very different. There were signs of God's covering even though the accident was so horrendous. A christian policeman happened to be driving and saw the car speeding away from the scene being chased by motorbike taxis...he was able to shield our pilot on the road and then flag down armed military to stand around him until they hailed a UN truck to safely bring him to a hospital. One of our colleagues had just returned from Holland who has nursing training. She was able to let a nurse know at the first hospital he was taken to that she could see swelling from a punctured lung or 'Pneumothorax'. The nurse argued that this wasn't the case but our colleague insisted they inject him. Afterwards we learned from a doctor that this helped saved his life because if he'd been moved by ambulance to the second hospital without the injection he probably would have died.

Then to witness the love in our MAF and wider community here in Kampala, spreading its wings over the family, rallying around them to help in anyway at all possible has been beautiful to see. We don't have our families close-by to turn to in time of crisis, but we do have each other and this is something I'll always remember about having lived in Africa for the last 11 years.

Its so important to keep our eyes open to God's provision, protection and grace that can sometimes be so subtle we miss it. There is evil at work in our world but then God is still participating and can turn evil into good..I've been thinking about when Joseph said to his brothers who had wronged him on so many levels, 'But as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.' Gen 50:20. God's intention is not to run a puppet show but to bring us safely through to eternity. From my experience He will allow temporary trials only if they bring a weight of glory. For us it can appear harsh and we can wonder why He doesn't step in and stop things from escalating....but the balance of Him allowing us free will and Him wanting us to grow stronger and to use us more with the compassion we gain from these trials is a finite one.

I hope that anyone reading this can trust and perceive Him as a perfect and loving Father who has our best interests in mind even if in our earthly timezone it sometimes can translate differently. Also I hope I can inspire you to reach out to those around you and not be an island...we all can learn from each other through our various trials and community can help paint a silver lining.

The Termite Queen's Fateful End

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Vine) — Mon, 19 Feb 2018 08:31:00 +0000

Our raspberry plot that was under siege. We sell the
raspberries which then set women up into cottage industries

After weeks of no rain, with humidity rising and all of Kampala being covered in a layer of red dust, we've all been longing for rain to cool and wash everything down. We've been spoiled the last year with so much rain that it seemed the two rainy seasons joined into one. Uganda is blessed with cooler temperatures than you might expect most of the year round and rain that thoughtfully comes for a few hours at a time and then clears up, so we still get plenty of vitamin D! I have woken up this morning at 4:45am to a cracker of a storm. Kampala is in fact named "The Lightning Capital of the World". Outside it sounds like a war as the storm moves further away but occasional bomb-like thunder accompanies the widening gaps of lightning. At 5a.m. the mosque has started its call to prayer, gently and melodiously down the valley. So, unlike my normal self, I've surrendered and decided to get up while its still dark and write another blog. I know that I owe you one about Jackson....that will come. I wanted to share some thoughts I had on Valentine's Day last week.

How the termites take over with just one queen

Over the last few years we've been struggling with a large termite nest that has been gradually taking over our garden. I've arranged for fumigators to come and spray the nest, we've tried pouring oil over it and more recently we attempted destroying the nest over and over, hoping to wear them out...but each time we knocked the nest down, the very next day it would be back with scalloped rings of dirt, meticulously designed overnight! They killed off my rosemary bush and moved onto completely wipe out my two stunning rose bushes....the last straw was when they moved into my raspberry patch and began chowing down on my beloved plot! MAF's night guard, Chris, offered to search for the queen, and explained that unless she was found and killed, the nest would continue to overtake everything. Apparently the queen moves from one side of the nest to the other according to whichever side the moon rises so Chris was confident of finding her. I found Chris on the 14th, digging at first light a ginormous hole. He then exclaimed that he had found the queen and killed her with his spade. She was like a fat, huge, witchety grub from Australia! He then told me that all of the termites would run away and find another queen elsewhere.

Where the termites home used to be
after their evacuation

I've thought a lot about this picture given straight from nature. The bible talks about tying up the strongman before trying to take his goods. It also talks about filling our houses with the spirit after deliverance so that the enemy doesn't return after the house is swept clean. Often when we pray, its sometimes hard to see results. I'm often reminded to go for the strongman when praying about worldwide, local or personal issues. For example, one huge strongman of our age and throughout history is the spirit of deception which blinds peoples eyes so they cannot see truth. When we pray more specifically about the root causes of our hurting world, I believe we do see results. If talking about strongmen is a bit hefty and spiritual, I would also like to relate something I learnt from the Living Wisdom Counselling course I was able to attend 2 years ago. They talked about people's inner problems being like an iceberg that just shows a tiny percentage of its mass above the water. Their counselling offers to go right to the basement in people's lives and through asking 'Empowering Questions' they offer to really get to the root cause of why we react the way we do. They equip you with 'Truth Coaches' which help to make truth your friend, rather than toxic thinking. They're course also encompasses 2 advancing themes of our generation...'Neurol plasticity' and Emotional Intelligence. They talk about the phrase 'UBF', Unbearable Feelings which we all have (some have one or two or even more) based on whatever we've gone through as children...lies we believe about ourselves which go onto become buttons we try our best to avoid. One I have struggled with is the UBF of rejection. Like the Queen termite, I've had to dig down deep to address this reactor in my life and am attempting to downgrade it to a bearable button so that I can be more centered, balanced and respond the way a grown up should when I come up against it in my life. All of those lies in my thought-life are having to run away and find another home now that the 'Queen' has been dealt with. If you can get hold of Living Wisdom's course, or read up about it online, please do (or email them at info@livingwisdom.com.au). It has been a life changer for me and is exciting to know that we're not too old to change or unable to get free of crippling lies that can get control of us and destroy our garden. Our relationships with others can thrive when we're taking captive of every thought and making them obedient to Christ.

300 Brides and 300 Grooms!

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Vine) — Mon, 27 Nov 2017 22:21:00 +0000

I had such a peculiar day a couple of weeks ago which I've been meaning to jot down....

In my haste, I deeply regretted forgetting my camera and video camera and my mobile phone died in the 2 hour hunt! I did manage to borrow one of our neighbour's mobile phones for a few low res photos

A. so I don't forget the details if I get to be an old lady and am telling tales to my grandchildren

B. to hopefully provide you with some amusement.

One of our trainees, Irene, and one of our MAF night guards, Steve, invited me to come to their wedding. For many Ugandans, weddings and 'introductions' (like an engagement party) are so expensive they often settle with having a registry wedding without a service and reception. An evangelical church in Kampala has generously offered to host a mass wedding ceremony once every 6 months to help address this economical dilemma for many struggling couples. The church provide the wedding dress & accessories along with hair styling and make up, the groom's suit, rings (not real gold of course), reception for 7 guests per couple and even a wedding cake for every couple. I was a little daunted about going along, but my lovely Dina (house-help and trainer of our cooking school) was also invited as one of the 7 guests so we agreed to go side by side into the throng of 5,000!

We spent quite a long time getting lost having encountered a truck blocking the dirt road entrance to the church. To set the scene, the church is near a lake littered with garbage and surrounded by slums. We made our way through the first security check and parked our car in a crowded car park. Because of the swarming crowds, we decided to walk outside of the grounds to grab a chapati rolex (omelette inside a chapati...local roadside filler) We were already a bit of a spectacle because being a 'muzungu' (white person) you can't help but stand out and we were both coincidentally dressed in bright purple dresses and I was carrying a red and white polkadot umbrella for shade. I find a bit of 'L'Ugandan chit chat with the street sellers helps to level the attention to bearable the affect being the locals beaming back at you with further banter to test out how much you really know. It's hard to explain, but you either enjoy the experience of looking like an alien by acknowledging the locals or resist and feel uncomfortable standing out like a sore thumb. Its only taken me about 8 years to figure this out...

After we armed ourselves with rolex and fried motoki, we yet again attempted going through the security check, this time by foot. The girl checking me, decided I looked a bit questionable and so went through every single little item in my handbag...she pulled out my bobby-pins box and opened it saying, "What's this??" I explained it was for my hair...next she opened my headphones case, "and what's this??" "A headphone's case"...then she pulled out a torch as if it was some kind of a weapon..."And what is this!? Can you open it please?" At this point I was starting to feel like she was just being nosey as she continued rifling through my handbag. My low-blood sugar, (we hadn't eaten our emergency supplies yet) the heat, the crowds, her rifling...I could feel my hackles beginning to rise. I muttered something about not being someone who would have a bomb in my torch or bobby-pins box and added that I just wanted to go and witness my friends getting married...so could I please go now? And for good measure I asked for her name. So on Dina and I went...Dina slightly embarrassed that I asked for the rifler's name, being the gentle soul that she is, me explaining that I would have been much more pliable with her rifling once I had eaten something.

We got to entrance number one and a crowd of about 100 of us were barricaded and told we couldn't enter that way anymore. We then made our way around to entrance number 2 and were again told that they wouldn't allow anymore guests entrance. We waved our guest invitation in the hope it would magically open the doorway to us, but no, apparently the outdoor auditorium was already fully squeezed with more guests than expected. We plodded on determinedly to entrance number 3 but stopped where some other disgruntled, fatigued guests were sitting or lying in an overflow marquee area and wisely ate our supplies before facing the next obstacle. By this point we were about 2 hours late for the time that our bride and groom said they would be married. We attempted entrance number 3 and were again barricaded along with a pushy crowd. I then implored the security guard, "We are all wedding guests and have invitations, surely you can let us all in??" I was given a negative response so at this point I turned around exasperated and marched off in the direction of the exit. "Come on Dina, we tried our best. Lets go home....this is too much!" My marching drew the attention of some church officials who followed us and said, "Hey, Muzungu, what's wrong?" "I've tried to get into this jolly wedding for 2 hours and so I'm going home." "Ah, you come, you come...we will help you get in." At last we were led inside to another marquee with tables and sat down on the fringe of the ceremony...we could see there were hundreds of white brides and suit-decked grooms squeezed onto a red carpeted area.

The groom had asked us to call him once we were inside. He answered our call and then said, 'Well I'm about to do the vows so I can't really talk right now'.....I quickly hung up...only in Africa would you be calling a groom just before he's saying his vows! I then suggested to Dina that we may as well hunt them down ourselves. Dina asked, 'But how will we find them?' 'We're not going to find them, they're going to find us! I'm the only muzungu among 5000 people and I'm wearing bright purple and holding a bright red umbrella!' We started making our way through the sea of white dresses and black suits and as predicted saw 2 hands waving in the distance at us right at the very front....We miraculously made it to them just as one of the many Marriage Ceremony pastors approached to begin their vows! Suddenly Dina and I were somehow matching purple bridesmaids as the bride passed her somewhat wilted lily to Dina and we huddled together to hear the vows being recited! I suddenly felt a buzz of excitement which made all of the fighting our way into the auditorium worth this moment. The heat of the day and the fact that the female pastor had been marrying couples for the last 4 hours seemed to be taking its toll as she kept calling Irene 'Florence'. The previous bride married off who was indeed called 'Florence', asked if I would have my photo taken with her and her groom...maybe because Dina and I did so well as stand-in bridesmaids? Before I had time to comply I was ushered over to our designated table with the 5 other guests to admire the decorated wedding cake still clad in cellophane. We watched as the 300 freshly wedded couples began dancing in only the way I've seen Africans dance...with abandonment and freedom... Because after-all, they always look cool...they know instinctively how to move and they don't know what 'inhibition' means when it comes to dancing.

A dark rain storm was looming so Dina and I decided against joining the very long queue for food and legged it to the car park. On the way out we drove past a truck laden with police sitting face out towards our window....'Hey Muzungu...you getting married?' 'No sebot (sir), I've been married for 21 years!'...I should have added 'And you think I would get married in purple?'

Bidi Bidi...World's Largest Settlement

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Vine) — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 21:04:00 +0000

One outstanding day in my life...

BidiBidi..Largest settlement in the world - only opened in Jan 17 & hosts 280,000 refugees ovr 88.8sq mls

I was asked by MAFUK to blog a day in my life here in Uganda. I could have picked an average day that wouldn't be all that interesting but instead I chose to write about a day 2 weeks ago that I thought you might enjoy reading about.

I was able to fly with MAF to Arua to visit the largest settlement in the world right now, Bidi Bidi in Northern Uganda which is hosting 280,000 refugees and is only 1 year old. Thankfully, a friend of mine who is a fabulous photographer from South Africa agreed to fly in to Uganda and come along to take all of the photos. We had to get up at 5am to accompany the pilot to the airfield by 6am check-in...this always creates a problem for me the night before. I seem to have sleep anxiety if I know that I have to be up early, and so lay awake hour after hour counting down the few hours I would have left to function throughout a predictably grueling day. About 3 or 4 cups of coffee later my adrenaline was ticking over ready for the day by the time we boarded LDR for the 2 hour flight.

Warchild Canada kindly met us at the airfield in Arua and whisked us away in a van for the long 2.5 hour drive to Bidi Bidi settlement. Every minute of the day was spent interviewing every person encountered, gleaning as much information as possible to get an overall picture of how our partners we fly are impacting the beneficiaries (villagers, the people in isolated places, struggling with war, displacement etc) Bouncing around in the van I was switching between filming a diary log for this blog and also jotting down information on my phone (which is way easier than trying to write on a bumpy road!) At first glance, every staff of Warchild Canada were oozing with a passion for their work among the refugees from South Sudan and were great company for the long day ahead. We seemed to pick up one staff member after another as the day wore on until we had a jam-packed van full of staff and beneficiaries.

I had warned our photographer to brace herself for the stories we would possibly come across throughout the day. I had previously visited Adjumani a year before and the interviews were pretty harrowing. We met elderly women who had just run under gun fire, having to jump over dead bodies seeing their own children killed, sitting desolate on a mat with a handful of grandchildren and nothing else. This visit was different. The silver edge we found in Bidi Bidi settlement was encouraging.

One of the students from the Warchild Canada Accelerated Learning Program (Photo JV)

We interviewed quite a few students with Warchild Canada who were now attaining education when back in South Sudan they weren't able to. We discovered that the locals were helping lease the land needed to host all of the refugees that have been flooding in (at its climax, 2800 per day). We heard students tell us how the leadership training they were being given by Warchild Canada was helping bring domestic violence and other issues down quite noticeably in the refugee community through education and also accountability. We also witnessed how spread out the settlement is, allowing the refugees to have their own piece of land to build on and grow crops which they are allowed to sell outside of the camps. The refugees we interviewed mentioned the relief of just being safe and being able to sleep well at night. Although there are problems with the refugees finding ways to keep themselves pro-active and purposeful with creating small industries that can help them be self-sufficient, overall the elaborate way that Aid organisations are working together to assist these refugees, is impressive. It did seem to me that after all that Aid Organisations have learned over the years, Uganda's settlement model is worthy of being hailed one of the best in the world.

Filming the youth leaders at Warchild Canada

(Photo Claire Wise de Wet)

Interviewing in the Warchild Canada ALP Tents

(Photo Claire Wise de Wet)

After visiting a couple of Warchild Canada's education programs which entailed driving hours in between, we then drove from one Zone to another to visit Samaritan's Purse. Driving from one zone to another entailed 1 lengthy 1 hour and 30 minutes drive, just to give you an idea of how massive Bidi Bidi is. Because of needing to reach Arua by dark, we didn't have time to stop for lunch and managed two pit latrine stops over the 16 hour day!

Refugee family from Yei who are now safe and have benefited from SP's support

(Photo JV)

We were greeted by Samaritan's Purse who kindly gave us a cup of hot tea made by one of the refugee families. The regional manager showed us around the area which was just like a cluster of mud huts with straw roof-tops identical to the villages I had seen in South Sudan. Everything was very tidy and clean and it was very apparent how much Samaritan's Purse were assisting the refugees with latrine kits, hand washing kits, economically designed cooking areas, washing up elevated kits...all designed to keep outbreaks of cholera and dysentery away. Again, way more positive then I was at first expecting.

Using one of the SP's handy Tippy Tippy WASH kits

(Photo Claire Wise de Wet)

Although we were exhausted by the time we had made the 2.5 hour drive back to Arua, we tumbled into the little hotel there at 9pm, hungry, dirty, but totally satisfied with the day and all of the smiles we had met on every face that we had the privilege of meeting.

With the staff from Samaritan's Purse in Bidi Bidi seeing firsthand how SP has assisted refugees

(Photo Claire Wise de Wet)

MAF needs to be in the places in the world it is needed most. MAF Uganda are playing a significant role in flying daily shuttles up to the north of Uganda where the four refugee settlements are based.

The reality is that the South Sudanese are exhausted with having the hope of their nation being born and smashed apart, but the welcome and help they are receiving in Uganda has become the silver lining and is helping them bide this difficult time of waiting for their nation to repair itself hopefully in my lifetime.

See video blog at https://youtu.be/C4GW9o5-LyQ

Later this month I'm going to write about the following remarkable day finding Jackson Mataya after 4 years which had me riding on a high for at least 24 hours....so watch this space or search online for Jill Vine MAF Jackson Mataya to read more.

(https://www.mafc.org/how-maf-helps/medevac-and-flying-doctor-services/wheelchairs-delivered)

Imperative Symphony

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Vine) — Thu, 29 Sep 2016 19:53:00 +0000

One of my favourite classical compositions of all time has got to be Requiem K626 by W.A Mozart...I never seem to grow bored of listening to it with the genius layers Mozart somehow used to create his last and unfinished work. In fact, I would love to have the Lacrimosa movement played at my funeral. I ran a half marathon listening to Requiem and could run anywhere, anytime with it playing in my ears.

I witnessed something remarkable on Sunday which reminded me of this unearthly music.   It was so mesmerising…I realised I was watching something that I would remember forever. Here was this tiny old woman with blue cataracts in her eyes, legs that had long stopped working, sitting in squalor. Her eyes were raised, looking up at her holey roof when she suddenly began praising her King…she prayed with such fervor,
such warrior strength, such beauty…I watched, frozen in time. I felt like it was an eternal memory and I was glad that my youngest daughter was standing alongside me also witnessing it. This woman named Margaret reminded me of the widow in the temple who Jesus also ‘marvelled at’…he saw the beauty and the rarity in the gesture of her giving her all to her King….I was witnessing this same extravagance in 2016 in the middle of nowhere, an hour and a half from Kampala. I was challenged by her faithfulness when she had waited in squalor for so long, forced to drag herself around in the dirt, going for weeks without anyone bringing her water or food.   The poor in Africa challenge me with their undiminished faith.   I hear so many who are desperate and wondering how they’re going to pay their next rent, school fees and afford beans and rice to feed their growing families….and yet I hear them say more than any people I’ve heard on earth, ‘I know God will provide…I know He will make a way.’    This translucent faith is naked and bare….its not dependent on this worlds goods….they seem to know Him and trust Him regardless of what they see. They remember Him well and worship Him in the most exquisite way I have ever seen in my life. I wonder that we westerners think that our culture can give them anything of worth when they seem to have overtaken us in this independent and eternal hope.   They don’t need our materialism and often empty culture of 'me,myself and I-devices' and disintegrating community….we need to learn from them.   For so long I’ve been baffled at the way their children play in the dirt and look happier than the children I see back at home.

Of course, it’s not an option to just be baffled at a poor woman’s faith….we have our part to play in this symphony.    We can shoulder with them…not through disabling aid giving, but through empowerment…sponsored training & education which leads to employment, future industry or providing housing when things are just not going to happen without the help of others.   We are always praying for hearts to open, give and act….with the help of a few generous people we are currently sending over 50 children to school, paying 4 families rent, continuing a building project at ‘Rock of Ages’ church (see film link https://youtu.be/-vTcGyC9liE?list=PLzeUr4mJBUjuaj6c_OU703z_dyDojjHsW) where we’ve seen land fully purchased, housing built for 44 children, a kitchen and water tank installed and the church building built.   We are also in the process of building Margaret a sturdy home and we have someone willing to move out to the bush to care for her but need to raise a small salary for this.    If you are interested in taking part in any of the above, just email me directly and I will continue to update you on the progress you have made your mark on.

In 2004 our family went through the worst time of our lives after I contracted streptacocha A which led to heart failure, fluid around the lungs and kidney damage followed by hellish complications. I was in hospital for 3 weeks and then completely unable to function normally for 6 grueling months….in that time my sister-in-law flew over from UK and gave me a word which has stayed with me. She saw a man holding a violin and he was tuning it and tuning it till the strings were in pain with how much he had tightened them…..He then looked out at the audience with a knowing look, picked up his bow and began to play the most beautiful music….music that drew the people to Him and music that fully brought Him glory. This picture gave me hope which helped me get through. It brought sense to pain...Hope that God can bring beauty from ashes. He can use us through the trials we have come through to help others.. to hone us, to make us more clear. He can also stun us with the beauty of the poor laid low in the dust, when they’re still faithfully praising Him.

I want my requiem to be finished on this earth…but its not a solo…I’m sure and certain it is layer upon layer of many instruments all working to beautify this world to glorify Him together.

A little lighthearted story for you...

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Vine) — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 22:09:00 +0000

I'm so undisciplined about blogging...i'm not on fbook (don't want the distraction), so i'm going to endeavour to write short snippets more often of 'God stories' that I don't want to forget and I would love people to be encouraged by.

I was reminded of this story because I just stumbled across this photograph...it's of my youngest, Zoe with one of her best mates (she has one best mate per country she has lived in). Olivia and Zoe lived opposite each other in our compound in Chad. They built great childhood memories together, much like all of the 3rd World Culture kids that live close together in places where their world is made up of endless hours of imaginary games, climbing trees, making cubby holes, jumping over toads together etc. Olivia and Zoe went to French preschool together and I remember Olivia being faithfully protective of wee Zoe who was freshly dumped into the french language. They seemed to take on even the presidents son together if he couldn't resist bullying them. After being fairly inseparable like this day after day for 3 years, Olivia moved to Australia.

Since then we have returned to Australia twice to see my parents...Each time we've returned, Zoe has asked over and over whether she would be able to see Olivia. Because furlough is always fast and furious we haven't ever managed to see Olivia's family who live in the far north of Qld. Olivia's mum and I would try to negotiate how we could meet up, but we had failed to pull it off (its a very long way and internal flights are expensive). Also, in June/July the ozzie schools are in full swing while we're on our longest break. On this most recent trip back (2015), we returned from Australia flying through UK to see Greg's parents for a brief visit enroute to Uganda. One of my favourite traditions in Bristol is to go to a little cafe stand on the docks with my close friends, the Herbs...We were delayed getting there because it was raining first thing in the morning. While eating our breakfast and coffee at 11am I saw this large family walking straight past our table along the docks muttering about getting off at the wrong ferry stop....it was Olivia's family!! I stood up and made a fool of myself calling out to them and declaring to everyone in the cafe 'There is a God...believe me!" They didn't know that we were planning on going through the UK after Australia and we didn't know they were coming to the UK in their school term time to visit their grandparents. If it hadn't rained, delaying us and they hadn't missed their stop, we wouldn't have seen each other! I was then able to call Greg who was with the girls and asked him to come to the Docks pronto without telling the girls why. The emotional reunion was captured on film and although we only had a very short time together (we were leaving a couple of days later)...it blue my mind at how God participated in coordinating this chance meeting. We often bump into people when we're having trouble coordinating our time slots while we're back squeezing everything and everyone into a tiny corridor of time. It isn't the first time we've noted how He can create divine appointments when we're slow to realise them or he can help give back something dear to us that we had to let go of due to this crazy walk we're on with Him. And completely lush that God cared enough to bring Zoe and Olivia back together...Reminds me of a proverb..."Man chooses his paths, but God directs his steps.."

There will be more stories to come and I have resolved to write them more frequently...watch this space! Thanks for reading.

Uncomfortable waiting....

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Vine) — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 17:54:00 +0000

This week I put forward 7 applicants for 4 great positions with a wonderful organisation here. 4 of the women have been considered and we're waiting to hear if they've been chosen for the positions available. The suspense is kind of uncomfortable. I tell myself to not get my hopes up about this, but to just accept whatever happens. We're also waiting to see if people will buy tickets for a classical concert we've just advertised which is happening at the beginning of May to help raise funds for our friends, the Prados. Their daughter, a close friend of Ariela's, died of malaria last year and they had to borrow money to fly their daughter home to the Philippines for her burial. We're hoping to finish off paying the outstanding balance in one evening of music, but this again depends on whether people rally for the event. I feel the vulnerability of putting together an event that may not be the success we want it to be...we could just sit and do nothing because the fear of failure is too great a monster to face..or we can try and succeed and accept either fate, knowing that we have lived more by at least trying. I have just been gathering testimonies from the pilots here about how they managed to get into flying with MAF....many of their stories include them having to wait against the odds, giving their all financially to follow their dreams. I'm sure not one would have regretted what it cost them now that the gamble has paid off and they're doing what they love. In fact, aren't all of the things we wait and strive for the most, the things most precious to us? I'm pretty sure that the hardest and risky things we've ever undertaken or been forced to go through, have always turned out to be the most valuable experiences of our lives.

The first ever blog from the Vines after 7 years!

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Vine) — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 14:49:00 +0000

Just a regular kinda day which seems a bit boring for the first ever blog entry from the Vines...I'm making myself do this though after saying I would for the last 7 years! I'm a slow starter. I don't like advertising too much of what we do online, so I will keep our entries a little cryptic. Greg has suddenly had to fly out to the North of this country to help take an engineer to one of our planes which broke down. Last week he went on a trip with a formidable Baroness for 4 days in a neighbouring country...she is definitely using her life for good...will tell more in our next newsletter.

Zoe has just finished her football season..so excited that one of our girlies is finally a football player. Ariela is practicing for "Fiddler on the Roof" which will be performed in May...she's the 'Matchmaker'! Esther has not long returned from her school trip away to Mt Elgon and Sipi Falls. She's not enjoying ISU socially, so we would appreciate your pryrs re making the right decision about whether to move her to the same school as Ariela and Zoe. I've just loaded film shots to MAF Australia for their South Sudan appeal & I've completed stories about a picnic in the slums of Sessi Islands (see photo), interviews with evacuees from South Sudan along with another interview of a stoic partner we fly regularly from near the border of Sth Sudan...so keep your eyes peeled for these stories.

I guess it would be good to mention something about the current issues that have been in the news recently about this country. I've been thinking a lot about Jsus and Zaccheus...if religion was at the bottom of that tree, it would have yelled up at Zaccheus to come down, repent and give back all that he'd stolen. But instead what did this great man do? He invited himself to Zaccheus' for dinner! Even in the privacy of Zaccheus' home he didn't preach at him, but instead showed him love..the type of love which is v v v rare & hard to comprehend. Grace changed Zaccheus & he came to salvation through his encounter with a baffling love. This should be our inspiration & has been very much on my brain these last few weeks.

Saying this, the decisions this week from the western world which are pressuring this culture with its very different ethics to conform to them, are going to affect the very poorest who don't have a voice. But some say that AID has ruined this country and that this will be a good thing for them to turn from aid dependency. On the other side, my good friend & I help to train women how to cook, and then through word of mouth we attempt to find these women work in a 45% unemployment climate. Its been really disheartening to think of how much more unemployment is going to rise from the hard decisions made this week. Knock on effect, it will eventually make things incomprehensibly even harder for the poor than things already are for them. So, we do need your pryr. The speaker of parlmnt was given an accolade by her people when she declared, "You keep your aid, God will help us."...interesting days.