Mark and Sarah Newnham

And We're Off to Kenya ... Almost!

noreply@blogger.com (Mark, Sarah, Amy, Josh & Abby) — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 19:48:00 +0000

Our move to Kenya is feeling real now. A mix of excitement and apprehension given that international travel is a little more complicated these days.

We have tickets booked for 2nd October, the bags are being packed, visas applied for and we are sorting out last minute things like Covid Tests for travel.

As we reflect back on these last 3-4 months which have not been anything like we planned, I realise that we have had all that we needed and more, in many ways.

The provision of this 'home' in Newcastle has been one of the biggest blessings, giving us space as a family to be ourselves and to process so many emotions and changes in this transition. We have thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful scenery, walks, castles and beaches this area has to offer, We have been able to have day or weekend visits with our parents and siblings and created memories to hold on to.

Whilst we have not been able to visit churches in person or attend retreats/conferences we are grateful for the refreshment received from events like virtual Keswick and for the ability to connect with some of you through phone calls, zoom meetings, and to be part of church services online.

Next week will be the 15th Anniversary of our departure to begin serving with MAF in Uganda.

September 2005 we headed to Uganda

March 2016 we moved to Liberia

October 2020 we head to Kenya

Our family has certainly changed in those years but our desire to continue to serve isolated people and share the love of Jesus through the ministry of MAF has not changed. How thankful we are to have such a wonderful support team like you, alongside us as we embark on this new adventure in Kenya.

In the coming days please pray that Marks work permit application would be approved. We need this for our belongings to be shipped from Liberia. Pray that all the final preparations to leave would go smoothly and pray that we would settle quickly into new roles, schools and a new team.

As we head to Kenya the words of Paul to the Ephesians are my prayer for ourselves and for each of you;

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20

Thank you from a MAF Partner in Liberia

noreply@blogger.com (Mark, Sarah, Amy, Josh & Abby) — Tue, 21 Jul 2020 09:52:00 +0000

A Missionary family in Liberia whom MAF flies asked us to pass on this letter to our support team.

It was humbling for us to read their words but a reminder to us of the reason we serve in a remote country.

We wish to see people spiritually and physically transformed in Jesus Name. You are a part of that and we hope reading this letter will encourage you too.

Dear Friends of Mark and Sarah,

I have been wanting to reach out to express my appreciation for your support and prayers for the Newnham family. While we were sad to see them leave, they served well in Liberia for the last few years and we want to thank them and you for that.

My husband and I, with our three young children, serve with SIM with an unreached M* people group. We have been living in the bush area of Liberia for more than seven years. My husband is a bible translator and literacy trainer and I home school our kids, work with the women and children in our community and do trauma healing counselling.

Our remote town, Voinjama, has no supermarket, convenience store, or bank and only an ill-equipped ‘hospital.’ Apart from a couple Irish nuns and a Peace Corp volunteer from time to time, there are no other expats living anywhere near us. There is a market where we can get local foods and there are some small shops where we can get things like flour, oil, and sugar. But every few months, we need to travel to Monrovia for supplies, groceries and fellowship.

Before MAF, we used to take the long dirt road. On the best days, we could make it to Monrovia in about 10 hours, but once you add the heavy rains from the rainy season and you have roads that may not be passable at all. We have been stuck in mud for hours. Last year we were stuck so terribly, we ended up tipping over onto a sloped side of the road, smashing a side window. Another time, it took us five hours to drive 40 KM. These conditions are tough on vehicles. We would regularly end up with car problems that would have us on the side of the road for several hours, sometimes having to be towed or wait until the next day. We arrived in Monrovia feeling totally beat up from those road conditions and spent my entire week there, which was supposed to be a break, feeling painfully sore and exhausted, just to turn around and do it again to get home.

Once, my husband had to take public transportation to Monrovia to meet with a Bible translation consultant. It ended up being a 22-hour trip. The first half had to be done on motorbike as the muddy roads were impassable by car. He was soaked from the rain. Halfway there, he was able to get in a taxi, but because of the driver’s poor planning, they ran out of gas and spent the night on the side of the road. After being up most of the night, he arrived the next morning, having to jump right in to meet with the consultant who was available for just a few days to review the translation work that had been done so far. How nice it would have been for him to arrive feeling rested for such tedious and mind-straining work.

Last year, conditions were so terrible, we couldn’t even pass on the road that usually takes just 30 minutes to get us from our home to the airfield. We ended up having to take a by-pass that took several hours. The narrow, muddy road had several steep hills with streams of water flowing down them. Rain was falling; our eyes were on the time, knowing MAF was on its way to get us. Some parts of the road were too risky to drive on with the family, so we would get out and pluck our feet through the deep mud as my husband carefully maneuvered the vehicle through. A number of times, we met stranded vehicles and passengers as their car was no match for the road. I’m not sure that I managed to take a deep breath that entire trip! After a trip like that, when you see the trusty MAF plane and that pilot standing there ready to take care of you, it’s like… coming home. There is a sudden rush of not feeling alone anymore, of knowing that these people really care about us. They are a beautiful sight for sore eyes and we can breathe deeply again. And we feel as though we can never thank them enough.

Before MAF, we didn’t have a great plan for evacuation if there was to be an emergency. Was it wise to have toddlers in an area where we couldn’t access decent health care? Would she make it through the long, difficult drive to access health care in Monrovia? Now we live with the comforting knowledge that within a couple hours, a MAF plane could be within a 30-minute drive of our house if we needed help. That peace of mind is invaluable!

I know Mark worked so hard behind the scenes to make these things possible. He left for work while it is still dark and had long, busy days. I’ll share a secret that until recently, I hadn’t shared with anyone. I actually really dislike flying, afraid of a plane crash somewhere in the jungle. But on those flights with MAF, I would often reassure myself by reminding myself that Mark Newnham was on the job and he would never let us on a plane that wasn’t properly serviced and safe. I had complete confidence in Mark’s ability and diligence to do his job well. It helped me to breathe easier through those dips and turbulence.

I think Mark’s job was probably tedious, hot and somewhat thankless. More than once I would find Mark at the hanger, overheated, and yet helping with weighing items and packing the plane. I always feel embarrassed by the amount of stuff I end up taking back upcountry with me but Mark never said anything to make me feel bad about it. He just did his job without complaining. In fact, Mark seemed to always have a smile on his face anytime we saw him.

The Newnham family has been so kind to us. Our Noah had pretty significant speech issues and I was totally at a loss as to how to help him. Can you believe my relief when I heard that there was actually a speech therapist in Monrovia! Sarah evaluated Noah and gave me the tools and lessons to help him. She gave me the encouragement I desperately needed to teach Noah how to talk properly and now he can! Our Audrey always looked forward to getting to see her little friend, Abby, each time we came to Monrovia. We loved watching those girls interact, hold hands, and talk about mermaids and losing teeth. They were precious together! And Noah wanted nothing more for his birthday than to hang out with Josh, but worried that since Josh was so much older, he may not want to hang out with a little kid. Josh graciously accepted the invitation and made Noah’s birthday so special. Josh has such a gift in caring for young children. And, Amy was always so sweet and smiley, a true joy to be around.

So, thank you for standing with the Newnhams, for supporting them so they can support people like us. Your gifts and prayers are so appreciated. I thank God for people like you each time I get on and off that plane. May God bless you and continue to provide for you too in every way.

In Christ,

John Mark and Sara Sheppard

Audrey, 8, Noah, 7, James 4

Scotty Arrives in Liberia

noreply@blogger.com (Mark, Sarah, Amy, Josh & Abby) — Fri, 19 Oct 2018 15:27:00 +0000

One of the big advantages of home schooling is that you can add in impromptu field trips. A week ago Josh and I were able to head to the airport and meet "Scotty" as it arrived from it's cross country trip from Uganda. Here is Josh's report and some photos he took on the day.

On Friday 5th October I was waiting at the airport for Scotty. The plane 5x-SCO or "Scotty" as she is known to us, was coming from Uganda to now serve in Liberia. It was coming because OPE needed to return to Uganda for an engine change. So OPE is going to Uganda and Scotty is coming!

I waited excitedly on the ramp for Scotty to land. The V2 flight tracker said that it was arriving any time. I stood on the Pickup Truck scanning the air and then out of nowhere I caught a glimpse of Scotty in the blue sky.

When she landed it looked like a very soft landing... I wished that I was in the plane. Scotty landed quite far away because the runway is very long. It was very cool watching the plane taxiing and finally she got to the ramp.

Greg the pilot, turned the engine off. My dad and Andrew Mumford (pilot) and one of our friends from England went up to the plane and welcomed Greg. We had fun searching the plane for Scottish flags that the Ugandan engineers had hidden all over it!

The next day, Greg would start again to make the long flight back to Uganda with 5X-OPE. It would be great if I could go with him!

International Interactions….

noreply@blogger.com (Mark, Sarah, Amy, Josh & Abby) — Mon, 04 Jun 2018 11:12:00 +0000

So following a busy week of maintenance, carrying out checks on several of the avionics, installing a satellite tracking system in the instrument panel, removing the wing struts to carry out some Non-Destructive Testing, it struck me how cool it was how many nationalities were involved in the week…

Here on the ground in Liberia there was myself ( British), and our country director who is Swiss. We do our maintenance in a hangar surrounded by Americans and Liberians that help out.
I had two guys come from the MAF programme in Kenya, one is Finnish and one is Kenyan. We also received help and support during the week from another British guy based in Uganda and the Chief Engineer there who is Dutch. Also an avionics engineer who is Swedish was also involved…..

How awesome is it that all these people of different nationalities, cultures and backgrounds can work together to get a plane operational again to help transform isolated people in remote places!

A Time of Transition

noreply@blogger.com (Mark, Sarah, Amy, Josh & Abby) — Thu, 11 Jan 2018 12:20:00 +0000

Transition is never easy.... we have had more opportunity to practice the art of skillful packing, living with bare essentials and saying goodbyes but that does not mean we necessarily enjoy it or find it easy.

Unfortunately our new MAF house is not complete so between 27th and 31st Dec we were busy packing and moving to a temporary home on compound. Yes, there were tears at leaving our first home in Liberia, moving farther from play mates that have been immediate neighbours and become close friends and lessons to be learned about the temporal nature of life here on earth, when a piece of furniture fell from the truck and some treasured possessions got damaged.

In all of it I have been constantly reminded to find the grace and strength for this season through deliberate thankfulness. God is good and as our family continues to look forward to a new home there are many things to be thankful for every day;

We enjoyed some wonderful days celebrating Christmas, relaxing at the beach and enjoying family time.
Fostering Beulah for this season has been refreshing for my soul...her wonder and amazement at so many things that are new to her but had become part of the scenery for me. (I'm going miss our morning walks together!)
Our temporary house has the most amazing beach view from the lounge where I can enjoy my coffee and soak up Gods splendour
We have amazing friends and workers here that gave up their family time over Christmas and were so helpful in getting us moved.

While we were busy with our own transition and remained on the compound for most of Christmas break the nation of Liberia voted in the second round of elections. We are thankful that the elections were peaceful with a jubilant mood in the city on the day the results were announced (we know because we found ourselves stuck in the traffic for 5 hours that day!!). The Inauguration of George Weah (former footballer) takes place on 22nd January. Pray for wisdom, integrity and humility as he leads this country. Pray that the coming years would be a time of stability and development for Liberia.

Whilst stuck in traffic on the day the results were announced we saw quite a few sights we normally miss because we go by them much faster. Amongst the things that caught my eye was this dining set....a location for a future date night perhaps? maybe not...the odour was not exactly likely to give you an appetite!

A taste of Christmas in Liberia

noreply@blogger.com (Mark, Sarah, Amy, Josh & Abby) — Wed, 20 Dec 2017 14:52:00 +0000

Well, Christmas is almost here and one thing we are certain of is that there will be no white Christmas here! Our family maintains some of the English traditions Mark & I grew up with and have developed a few family traditions of our own. While childhood memories of chilly Christmas days of ten feature a red robin on a snow covered branch, Liberia has it's own Christmas bird. The white egrets pass by our home for a few weeks at this time of year.

We have our artificial tree that has travelled the world with us, containing ornaments reminding us of many friends and places. It's a small part of family and friends with us.

Here in Liberia the locals decorate their yards by painting the rocks, trees and road ways white with Christmas greetings!

As a family we celebrate advent by lighting a candle during dinner and find some good advent readings to read together at the end of our meal.

Despite the heat of Africa, we usually still have a full roast meal on Christmas Day. I always make a Christmas cake, mince pies and Christmas pudding (usually bringing essential ingredients back from UK with us) and get excited about various other edible treats we manage to find in the local supermarkets. This year we discovered treats from two well known UK supermarkets!!

Since, fresh veggies are so expensive here in Liberia we also treat ourselves to some imported favourites...this selection cost us £27.

Most of all we look forward to having time to spend as a family, relaxing on the beach and spending time focusing on Jesus, God's most precious gift.

African Adventures

noreply@blogger.com (Mark, Sarah, Amy, Josh & Abby) — Mon, 30 Oct 2017 10:21:00 +0000

What a weekend it has been!!
It has been full of exciting moments and glimpses of Gods awesome creativity. As I write I am listening to the constant sound of waves crashing up on the beach just 50 m from our home and am reminded once again that His power is never ending.

The first event this weekend was about the only one that was planned. In Africa the most amazing blessings usually are not expected and are often found in the simple joys of living life in community.

Jet the Puppy
When we arrived here 18 months ago we promised our children a puppy to replace the pets we said goodbye to in Uganda. We have been trying to put it off until we have our own permanent house...and fenced in yard. That is taking longer than expected and so we just decided to jump in the deep end of puppy parenting.

Meet Jet, our 13 week old puppy. He only slept for four hours the first night (between muted barks and whines for his mama) but I am thankful he has slept much better on nights two and three.
He has come to us from missionary friends who needed to find homes for their litter of puppies before leaving on Home Assignment. The children were up early this morning to run him around the compound before leaving for school....we will see how long their enthusiasm lasts!

Baby Sea Turtles

On our first evening walk with Jet we spotted something we have only ever seen on nature shows.
Mark found two baby sea turtles trying to climb the wall of our house.
We are not sure if Mama Turtle somehow laid her eggs too far from the beach. Maybe the hatch-lings did not know how to find their way around our house and through the dense undergrowth to reach the ocean? It's also possible our outside lights had confused the turtles and they followed them instead of the moon in their efforts to find the sea.

The children made it their mission to search for and rescue as many as they could. We researched Atlantic green turtles online and the while event became a great lesson in wildlife conservation.
In total around eight baby sea turtles were found over the weekend. We placed them in a container of sea water and released them on the beach. Just maybe, one of them will survive long enough to be the 1 in 1,000 that lives to adulthood!

Gods never ending promise
Walks on the beach are a frequent past time for our family. This weekend, as we looked up in the sky we noticed that the sun was encircled by a complete rainbow. It was quite spectacular!
Unfortunately, we could only get a photo through the lens of Marks sunglasses as the sun was so bright.

noreply@blogger.com (Mark, Sarah, Amy, Josh & Abby) — Fri, 02 Jun 2017 10:24:00 +0000

Christmas, propellers and avionics…

Well, if anyone has been seeing my Facebook posts then you will already know that Christmas came early (or late – depending on your perspective) in Liberia…..

The long awaited container of tools and equipment finally arrived….the clearing process went pretty quick and we had it delivered to the airport about 1 1/weeks after it arrived! Of course the timing of its arrival coincided with a busy week of maintenance, so I had only one day to get in there and start figuring out what was what and where things were. Fortunately it had all been packed really well with clearly numbered boxes and a detailed packing list so I could even find a particular piece of equipment I needed for some of the maintenance being done the following week. Knowing that the next week was going to be busy with maintenance, Josh and I went to the airport on Saturday morning to continue with unpacking some items – our aim was to get to the crate at the back that contained the Kubota tractor that is to be our aircraft tug. Since MAF has been in Liberia we have been reliant on other operator’s kindness and so we are looking forward to being a bit more independent and, being in a position to return some favours!!!
So that was Christmas…

Then there are propellers. Our aircrafts propeller was due to be changed. You may remember that in January I went on a course in the US on how to assemble propellers? Well, now it was time to put the training into practice. There were a couple issues during the re-assembly that delayed things a little but the plane was booked to be down for some checks on the avionics that gave me the down time needed to get the job done.
There were also a couple of distractions of the reptile kind....as three young snakes were found around the hangar and aircraft over two days!

The avionics checks were carried out by Hannu, an engineer with MAF in Kenya, and so he worked on those tasks while I worked on the prop and we managed to synchronise things so that we didn’t get in each other’s way. Hannu was also able to repair a radio problem that had been plaguing us for a while.

Festivities All Around

noreply@blogger.com (Mark, Sarah, Amy, Josh & Abby) — Sun, 21 May 2017 12:17:00 +0000

This past week has been filled with Fun and Festivities for just about every member of the family.

International schools around the world often find their own ways of celebrating the many countries and cultures represented in the school. The American School of Monrovia is no exception. Amy and Joshua's school has around 90 students and they represent 23 countries around the world! Last Friday the school celebrated this diversity. Festivities included a parade of flags,and Joshua carried the flag of United Kingdom. Then there was Liberian dancing and drumming performed by various students which was all followed by a "Feast of the Nations" potluck meal. My British scones were a hit...and the Lebanese mums have been asking for the recipe.

Standing for the Liberian anthem after the children have paraded in with all the flags. Joshua is top left.

Liberian dancing

A day later, Mark & I were celebrating the graduation (pinning ceremony as it is known here) of the therapy students from SALT, the rehab clinic where Sarah volunteers as a Speech therapist.
Fifteen students had completed a 9 month diploma course, passed their exams (in speech, occupational or physical therapy) and have been eagerly anticipating this day. I have come to know some of them fairly well as I work with and mentor them at the clinic each week and it was an honour to be invited to join them.
I was especially privileged to be the main speaker at the event and to be given the freedom to share with them how my faith affects my approach to therapy and those I work with. It also, will go down in our memories as one of the few events we have attended in Africa that started on time and finished early!

Dr Kamara (SALT founder) Sarah and the graduates

Mark and I with Pious, the Physio therapist who treated Mark and has now graduated in Speech Therapy also.

Some of our paediatric patients whose mothers came to the ceremony. To my right is Martha, the lead speech clinician whom I work closely with.

This week has been one of praise and excitement for our MAF team but especially for Mark. He has spent so many hours over the past year occupied with the job of ordering all the tools, equipment and spare parts needed to get the maintenance base in Liberia set up.
He finally saw the 'fruit' of some of those hours sat in front of a computer screen this week!
A container full of equipment and tools had safely travelled the seas from the US, been cleared through customs and was offloaded next to the hangar.
It's like Christmas!! Eager to get inside and start unpacking, Mark headed to the airport with Joshua this weekend to start digging in. They had fun but were certainly hot and sweaty at the end of the morning.

A month in pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Mark, Sarah, Amy, Josh & Abby) — Thu, 02 Mar 2017 12:25:00 +0000

Well it's been quite a month (plus a few days but whose counting?)
I thought the simplest way to give the highlights were in pictures.

The children have been asking about a pet since we arrived. Since this is not our permanent home we had been a little reluctant to make the commitment. Towards the end of January we succumbed...meet Oreo, our new kitten. Mummy is just thankful he is great at using the litter tray.

Then at the end of January I (Sarah), celebrated the big 40!! I was spoilt with cakes, meals out that lasted the whole week. I felt so blessed. I do believe that cards may still be on the way...nothing like the African postal services (snail mail still exists).

The month has been full with work activities.
Mark had a week of meetings and training in Kenya with all of the MAF Africa region Senior engineers.
Sarah is keeping busy with Speech Therapy and MAF story writing. Check out my first published story on MAF UK website. www.maf-uk.org/story/trusting-god-for-great-things-for-the-manya

We have also fitted in school trips....as Joshua's class visited the Firestone Rubber Plantation.
We learnt all about tapping the trees, grafting new rubber trees and what can be made from the liquid latex.

Awards at school....Amy won the award for Positive attitude among all the grade 5 & 6 students.

We are incredibly proud of the enthusiastic, caring and determined young lady she is growing up to be.

We are also incredibly thankful for your prayers....MAF has now found funding to build two more MAF houses (one will be a permanent home for us). We are still praying that contracts and final plans can be drawn up quickly and work can begin while the dry weather lasts.

The best Day of my Life - A post from Joshua

noreply@blogger.com (Mark, Sarah, Amy, Josh & Abby) — Thu, 02 Mar 2017 11:44:00 +0000

This was last Thursday. My mum and dad decided that I can go on a plane, yes, a plane by myself! By the way my name is Josh, I am 9 years old and have 2 lovely sisters. The oldest Amy, she is 11 and Abby is 4 years old.

On Thursday my dad woke me up at 5.30 in the morning. I got up and got showered and fed the neighbours dog (they work for SP Samaritans purse and they had gone on retreat). I and my dad got in to the car, a big Toyota car. We went to the Sheppards home to pick them and their bags up. We all went to the airport where my dad works. His good friend the pilot Arjan was the pilot that day.

We sat in the waiting room eating our snacks, then my dad said “come”, so we boarded the airplane. We got in the plane and when everyone was seated we prayed to God. Arjan started the plane… one of the best parts was I got to sit where the pilot sits. It was so awesome!!!

We flew to Voinjama, Liberia to take the Sheppard family back home. They do Bible translation there. The weather was really cloudy so we could not land at Foya, the second destination, and went back to Voinjama. It was cool to see Liberia from the sky…lots of trees.

My favourite things about the day was getting to sit in the front and ‘be a pilot’ for the day. I also got to help my dad tow the plane back in the hangar. I would love to be a pilot when I grow up.

Christmas Around The World

noreply@blogger.com (Mark, Sarah, Amy, Josh & Abby) — Wed, 21 Dec 2016 08:52:00 +0000

Wow, only four days until Christmas. There is no snow (although our children would love that), no Christmas music in shops, only a few decorations on sale in some supermarkets and no carol service to attend.

So,what have we been doing to prepare for Christmas?

We do have our tree that has traveled the globe with us. I love decorating it as our ornaments are filled with reminders of friends who gifted them to us or happy memories of Christmas' past.

For many reasons, our other decorations are mostly home made. This year the children and I have had fun making paper chains, snowflakes and giant paper bag stars.

With no advent candles or readings at church here we usually follow some advent readings of our own, This year we have enjoyed using 'Jesse Tree' advent readings, with a symbol to add each day as a reminder of that days story.

The schools that the children attend have been busy collecting donations & gifts for less advantaged children in the community. They put on some great Christmas programmes too which have been a highlight for me as a mum! Amy & Josh performed 'Twas the night before Christmas' poem. Being an International school several songs were sung in multiple languages.

Abigail attends preschool at a Christian school and they put on a fabulous nativity....it was Abigails first school performance and she did really well. Her class sang " Happy Birthday Jesus" and reminded us what Christmas is all about.

This week we are busy with Christmas baking. Gingerbread yesterday and mince pies today!

We shall have a traditional English roast and open family gifts on Christmas eve this year.

Christmas Day will be spent at our little church making Christmas special for the 60+ children in the community. After service we will have cake, koolaid and games. We will share in lunch (Jolof Rice, fried chicken and coleslaw) and then we will watch a Nativity Movie.

Whatever, your Christmas holds we pray you will have time to pause and reflect on the reason we celebrate, May you marvel anew at the details of the events as you celebrate Jesus, God's greatest gift.

“I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today, in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10

back it up...

noreply@blogger.com (Mark, Sarah, Amy, Josh & Abby) — Sun, 11 Dec 2016 20:52:00 +0000

Some people ask periodically, and I guess a lot of you wonder, how my back is doing after the motorbike accident I had just before leaving Uganda.

After the MRI scan in the UK and appointments with the Orthopaedic Doctor I was referred to do intensive physiotherapy in order to relieve the stiffness in my neck and back a hopefully help with the aching I get in my mid back. I was able to find a new Centre that had just started in Liberia that provides physio, occupational and speech therapy that had been set up by a physio therapist from the USA. Salt Rehabilitation was even conveniently located only about 5km from where we live.

I have been receiving therapy 3 times a week for the last three months and am now having a break for at least 8 weeks and will then review to see how things are.

My therapy has consisted of a lot of different exercises to stretch and strengthen my back muscles, ultrasonic therapy, Electronic Muscle Stimulator (EMS) and Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS).

On the whole things have improved a lot, in particular the range of movement I have, has increased and the stiffness I had has really reduced. The aching I get in my middle back has improved but is still an issue when I am in certain positions – the typical position it aches in when standing at the sink doing the washing up......but I haven’t managed to get out of it yet! Also, on days when I am particularly active doing practical work like maintenance on the plane the aching is an issue.

Me with Dr Kamara who set up Salt Rehabilitation

Pius - one of the two therapists that treated me

Church...the missionary dilemma.

noreply@blogger.com (Mark, Sarah, Amy, Josh & Abby) — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 21:18:00 +0000

I believe there are many things to love about church in Africa.
Vibrant and authentic worship.
A new cultural perspective on Biblical stories and teaching.
The chance to understand another culture and build deep friendships, are just a few.

There are also challenges, particularly when you have a young family.
I have wandered along open porches, dancing with my toddler during worship that lasts over an hour.
I have tried hard to entertain children with books and colouring through long sermons.
I have invested hours in training Sunday school teachers in order to improve the quality of what was being taught to the children.

We found a wonderful church in Uganda that became 'home'. We enjoyed fellowship with our Ugandan friends, benefited from great teaching and the children had some wonderful role models to learn from. Yes, services could be long but it was worth it.

As we moved to Liberia we prayed that we would find the right church here for our family.
Mark and I were immediately drawn to a large evangelical church in town. The Liberian Pastor taught the Word and was not afraid to speak the Truth. However, the Sunday school was very large (50 children in the 1-3yr age group) and our children were not comfortable there. They also struggled with the very loud music.

We also visited a small community outreach run a by a Liberian/Canadian couple. The services were only an hour long and another missionary family with children the same age attended. This is where our children wanted to be!
Right now, we want them to be excited about worshiping the Lord and attending church, not to go just because we make them go. Mark & I can find more in depth teaching in other areas (Bible study, pod casts etc). So, New Gate Community Church is where we worship each Sunday. It is a fabulous little church with a congregation that is 75% children, We sing action songs, learn to pray together, and have a fairly short sermon. After church the children all receive a snack or meal and get to play, and we get to show them the love of Jesus in small ways (many of them come from neglected or abusive homes).

I often used to begin Sunday school teachers training by looking at Jesus as The Good Shepherd, focussing on the primary role of a shepherd to care for, protect, nurture, and feed his sheep.
We have been entrusted with our own little flock and therefore right now, this is how we feel we need to care for and feed our sheep.

Worship time at church

Pot luck Sunday once a month - That means Rice with a variety of 'soups'

The children also come during the week for library time and some vocational courses

Football - These boys take their football very seriously!

Those too young for football enjoy the play ground

Oceans

noreply@blogger.com (Mark, Sarah, Amy, Josh & Abby) — Wed, 28 Sep 2016 14:23:00 +0000

I love the way God speaks to us differently. I often hear his voice when surrounded by nature which is why I am so blessed to live right beside the ocean, and walk along the beach here in Liberia.

I also find God often speaks to me through songs. In March, as I drove to the hospital to meet Mark after his motorcycle accident, the song playing in the car was ‘Oceans’ by Hillsong.

At the time the chorus spoke to me, for God was certainly taking me deeper than my feet would ever choose to wander. He was asking me to trust him with my husbands life and health, two weeks before we would relocate to the other side of Africa. God was with us then and my faith in Him grew through that trial.

The whole song is one I have listened to many times this year. It has become my song for 2016. We knew God was clearly calling us to Liberia. The reality of moving to ‘a great unknown’ when on some days I have felt a little like I am drowning in the waves has been tougher than I imagined. As I wake up each morning not knowing what each day will bring, I know that His grace is enough for that day, he has never failed me and as I choose to call upon His Name to be all I need, he will answer.

I will look back at this challenge one day, knowing that my faith has been made stronger and I pray His name will have been glorified through my obedience.

Lyrics of Oceans courtesy of Hillsong:

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and You won't start now

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Saviour

Early morning's.....

noreply@blogger.com (Mark, Sarah, Amy, Josh & Abby) — Sun, 17 Jan 2016 16:48:00 +0000

Following a lovely break over Christmas and New Year it was off to Liberia again for me (Mark) to carry out a scheduled inspection on the MAF aircraft based there, 5X-OPE.

At 01.30....yes that's AM.....as in, in the morning....my alarm clock goes off. I quickly silence it and pause for a minute to listen and see if anyone else in the house stirs. All is quiet, so I got away with it. Forty five minutes later I am in the taxi on the way to the airport. My route to Liberia should go like this: Entebbe-Nairobi-Accra-Monrovia. My return will go Monrovia-Freetown-Accra-Nairobi-Entebbe. However once on board in Nairobi it is announced that we will also stop in Douala, Cameroon so that adds 1.30 hours on an already long day.
Despite the extended travel I eventually arrive safely at Roberts International Airport in Liberia and am met by Arjan, one of the pilots already based there. An hour and a bit later we are at the ELWA compound at Arjan and Aartje's house drinking coffee. The plan is to keep awake for the rest of the afternoon and get an early night ready for the next day. I sleep at the house next door - hosted by Emil and Margrit. Emil is Country Director/Pilot and Margrit is Finance Manager (and a lot more as I see during my brief stay!)

At 05.00....yes that's AM.....as in, in the morning....my alarm clock goes off. No need to quickly silence it as the whole house needs to get up. If we leave the house at 6am we get to the airport around 6.25. If we left at 07.00 we get there somewhere between 08.30 and 09.00. We have a long day ahead so early it is!

Me removing the spinner to give access to inspect the propeller.

We all get stuck right into the inspection with Emil doing some servicing items on the engine, Arjan checking the first aid and survival kits and me carrying out the visual inspection items . A couple of hours later a couple of other guys with previous experience on the Caravan help by checking the wheels and brakes.

Sometime during the morning I check my watch thinking it feels like coffee time but am dismayed to see it is only just after 9 - its that early morning messing with my head! Still, by the time 10.30 rolls around and we do stop for a coffee it feels like we have achieved so much!
We wander over a couple of hangars down and pop in to the Samaritan Purse hangar to say hi and invite ourselves in for coffee. The timing is perfect as they have a visitor from the states that has brought new stock of good quality filter coffee. After this and having borrowed a couple of pieces of equipment from them we head back to the MAF hangar and continue.

Emil checking the brakes.

We continue working through the day, with a stop for lunch at a restaurant close by, and get the inspection completed and even some snags (defects) repaired that were outstanding from the last inspection.
Its then getting late in the day and around 5 we carry out the post inspection run to check out the various systems and do a performance run to check the health of the engine. All is well except for the idle speed of the engine being slightly low which I adjust.

Replacing a static wick on the rudder. These dissipate
static electricity which builds up on the airframe as the
plane fly's through the air.

We head back to ELWA and enjoy a walk down the beach and then have a late dinner.

I do the papers for the inspection in the evening (they say the plane isn't ready to fly until the weight of the papers is equal to the weight of the aircraft......) but we plan to head back early again to work off another snag and a couple of final checks.

Guess what?....at 05.00....yes that's AM.....as in, in the morning....my alarm clock goes off. We head back to the airport and finish the work on the plane and the final papers are done.

We then head to MAF office, a few minutes walk away and Emil and I discuss some issues and make some plans for our impending arrival and ordering stocks of spare parts and equipment for the hangar.
We arrive back at ELWA around 11.30 and head to the other side of the compound so I can take another look at the house that we will be living in when we arrive. I take some pictures to show Sarah and kids what it looks like with furniture in.
Its then back to Emil and Margrits house for some final packing and we head for Roberts around 12.30 for my flight back to Uganda.
Journey back is good although not much sleep is had, due to all the stops. I arrive back in Entebbe at 9am and then its home to see the family!

At 01.30....yes that's AM.....as in, in the morning....I sleep. At 05.00....yes that's AM.....as in, in the morning....I sleep..... ahhhhh finally a much needed lay in.

Bitter sweet moments of motherhood

noreply@blogger.com (Mark, Sarah, Amy, Josh & Abby) — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 07:31:00 +0000

It is so quiet in the house this morning...
Not only have Amy and Joshua started their first day of a new school year but Abigail has joined them for the first time. She is just starting nursery.

She went into nursery just fine....I think it will be a harder day for me than her.
I am pleased that they are all so happy at school but as I drove home with an empty car it hit me what a year of transition is ahead of us. Letting my youngest head off to nursery for the first time is just the beginning!

Amy and Joshua have only ever been to Rainbow so I feel a bit sad that this will be their last year there, but glad we have so many good memories. I hope that the next 6 months will be filled with many more good experiences of school that they will carry with them to Liberia.

Here they are... Amy (Year 5) , Joshua (Year 4 ) and Abigail (Nursery)

5X-OPE departs for Liberia.

noreply@blogger.com (Mark, Sarah, Amy, Josh & Abby) — Sat, 15 Aug 2015 05:15:00 +0000

Praise the Lord for the good news that yesterday we started the 5 day ferry flight of the Liberia aircraft – taking Cessna 208 5X-OPE from Entebbe to Monrovia.

This is exciting news for the Liberia team – who have waited over a year to be able to bring this lifeline to Liberia.

Please find below attached a story written by Jill Vine about the trip following interviews with Liberia Programme Manager Emil Kundig and Liberia pilot Arjan Paas as they prepared to make this flight:

Yet will I rejoice - story by Jill Vine

“Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labour of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls—
¹⁸Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. Habbakuk 3vs 17

A landmark voyage for our Liberia programme is underway today (Thursday 13 August 2015) when two of our MAF Liberia team mates, Programme Manager Emil Kundig (Swiss) and Pilot Arjan Paas (Dutch), begin the 5 day trip to ferry the Cessna 208 aircraft, registration 5X-OPE, from Uganda to Liberia. The aircraft was previously at work in our Tanzania programme and over the last year had undergone a complex overhaul and re-registratirepaint, the interior replaced, the avionics brought up to date, in preparation for deployment to become our lifeline in Liberia.

The ferry journey will take 20 flight hours in total, stopping overnight at Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), then onto Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo for another overnight, landing in Yaoundé in Cameroon, then Accra in Ghana finally arriving in Monrovia in Liberia. They hope to arrive in Liberia on Monday 17 August after passing over 11 countries. There have been challenges over the last few days, especially waiting for countries to grant us the necessary overflight permissions, but Emil and Arjan’s patience and planning paid off and, at last, yesterday they heard the good news: “We have received permission from Liberia, so they are waiting for our arrival on Monday!”

And Liberia has waited for MAF a lot longer than these five days. It’s also no wonder Emil Kundig has learnt to relax about authorisations like these after the last year of waiting for God’s door to open for him in Liberia. We have had the privilege of getting to know both the Paas and Kundig families here in Uganda in their time of waiting for the Ebola crisis to end in Liberia. This unforeseen delay led to them both serving a number of months here where they were able to work on various licences, training and accrue further experience ready for the time they could start their mission in Liberia.

From the MAF Uganda perspective, the last year has been quite a gruelling test of patience as we worked to regain our international license after the Ugandan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) decided to retract all Air Operators Certificates for international flying in June 2014. All operators like MAF that wished to continue to fly internationally had to undertake a lengthy re-certification process, which for our team in Uganda lead to a year of uncertainty and frustration until we received our permissions again last month (July 2015). When I spoke to our programme manager Steve Forsyth a few months back, I was asking him whether there was anything good that could have come out of our year of waiting. His answer was very honest, “That’s what I find so discouraging. I find it very hard to see what good could have possibly come from all of this.” And yet, it was not only MAF Uganda in this same season of waiting. The programmes in both Liberia and Uganda were both akin to standing in a holding gate being interrupted half way through a race. While speaking to Emil and Arjan things seemed to culminate into a clearer picture, like looking at impressionist dots on a painting and standing back to realise what they meant. They shared with me about their initial call to move to Liberia.

Emil and his wife Margrit were driven by a clear sense of knowing that, one day, they would be called to help open a programme within MAF somewhere. Their time had come to an end serving in Bangladesh due to age restrictions and they decided to move to Liberia in 2013. At the same time, Arjan and Artje Paas were happily living in Australia when they heard that MAF hadn’t had any applicants for Liberia. They too felt a peace about moving to this far distant, West African nation. Arjan explained, “We wanted to start in a new programme. We felt at home in Australia after 2 years of living there. We thought many people would want to apply for Liberia when the positions opened up and were surprised that no one had applied….we thought, ‘Maybe we should go.’”

As Emil and Margrit were preparing to leave for Liberia last year the Ebola crisis erupted. They were watching the news unravel and could see everyone was being evacuated. Emil’s initial role as programme manager would have been to work on all the necessary permissions to enable operations to start and that have would have involved a lot of work with government departments. But as Ebola took hold all the day-to-day government business was being shut down. “In light of everything we needed to do towards setting up the programme, we made the difficult decision to delay going”. So the Kundigs and Paas families came to Uganda instead – waiting for the right time.

All of the delays we were experiencing both in Liberia and in Uganda brought us all into a common waiting pool. In this time, I observed the beauty of MAF, being able to adjust to the circumstances, extending and stretching to make things work for our customers and partners. The team worked closely with staff in the MAF programmes in South Sudan and DRC to minimise any disruption to our passengers including pilots meeting at borders to transfer people and cargo.

As an international team, the challenges were met as best we could. It’s difficult to explain the year the programme has waded through. And yet, here was Emil telling me, “I couldn’t have sat waiting for the plane (OPE) to be registered while in Liberia. All of these delays with registration, Ebola and the International License in Uganda showed that God’s hand was upon it. I feel as though everyone in Liberia has lost a year…the children weren’t able to go to school for a whole year, the government wasn’t able to function, MAF was also put on hold.” The time was certainly not all wasted though as Emil went on to explain, “I have been able to work on getting an engineering license and also a pilot license conversion while in Uganda.” Arjan also added that he had gained more experience with the 208 throughout this time and was also able to help out in South Sudan for a few months. “It’s nice to see the different programmes so you can take the best procedure from each and implement them in Liberia…and together we will have to figure out what’s best for Liberia.”

Once the Ebola crisis came under control the Kundigs were able to move to Liberia in February and were joined by the Paas family in June this year. Emil commented, “Things have been falling into place…. Liberia is very different… West Africa is completely different to East Africa. It’s also had war just 10 years ago, then Ebola…it’s a very broken country. Liberia needs help.” When I asked Arjan what advice he would give anyone considering moving to Liberia. “If you’re thinking of moving to Liberia, then follow your heart and go”.

Emil mentioned a couple that came from Europe to Liberia for 3 weeks to plant a garden and train the locals how to grow plants in their harsh environment. They studied how to plant in a salty environment alongside other conditions unique to Liberia. They changed their methods, laying cardboard and even using seaweed. The locals loved it and were impacted by their training. As MAF begins their new venture in this broken country, the garden we plant there will need to suit the environment. The way the team approach the needs of Liberia, as Arjan so aptly put it, will be most effective as, ‘together we figure out what’s best for Liberia’.

Emil went on to say something poignant about the wind changing for both Liberia and Uganda in the last few weeks. “It feels as though we’ve entered into a season of things finally moving. It reminds me of what our pastor in Liberia was talking about recently. A time of barrenness doesn’t have to be a curse from God. It can be a season of reflection or a season of putting things into order.”

We are having problems uploading pictures to the blog.

If you wish to see a few photos then go to;
www.maf-uk.org/news/maf-aircraft-begins-landmark-flight-to-liberia

AOC update and moving sooner than expected....

noreply@blogger.com (Mark, Sarah, Amy, Josh & Abby) — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 18:35:00 +0000

No not to Liberia, unfortunately our landlady just gave notice that she wants our (her!) house back! So that means we have 3 months to vacate....not what we were expecting but we are trying to see the positives that we can clear out and sell off stuff in stages! The good news is that we have already hopefully found somewhere which will work until March when we plan to head to Liberia. It is smaller so we are already sorting to sell off furniture etc that we won't move to the new house or Liberia.

We have family arriving this weekend to visit us for a couple of weeks. After their visit we will get serious about researching shipping companies and selling off stuff.
Please pray that we can enjoy a weeks holiday next week and the rest of the time with family without all the arrangements going around and around in our heads!

There have also been wonderful answers to prayer. Last week we received the news that our AOC has been issued and we are now allowed to fly internationally again!!! It has been a long and arduous process but we are so thankful to be able to serve our partners in S Sudan and EDRC again.
Thank you so much for praying along with us.

On a different note can we request that you subscribe to receive updates to our blog automatically by entering your email address in the box on the right. You will only receive emails when our blog is updated and nothing else. This will save us having to send out email notifications ourselves.

Back from Liberia

noreply@blogger.com (Mark, Sarah, Amy, Josh & Abby) — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 14:02:00 +0000

We arrive back home last Monday (20th) after our 9 day trip to Liberia. The journey there went well although kind of circuitous having to fly via Nairobi and then a stop in Accra, Ghana and then finally to Liberia.

Arriving a Roberts International Airport and entering the small, crowded and somewhat chaotic room that served as the arrivals area immediately reminded Sarah of her years growing up in Nigeria.
However, word had been sent through to helpful staff who smoothed our way through immigration and baggage collection and ensured that we were paid little attention by customs.

On arrival at the ELWA (Eternal Love Winning Africa) campus it was nice to meet up again with the two MAF families already serving in Liberia. They made us very welcome and looked after us incredibly well all week.
ELWA campus contains a hospital where several SIM missionaries serve, a radio station, Tearfund offices and is a base for Samaritans Purse. It is where the MAF staff have their houses ....what a beautiful place it is to live since it is right on the ocean with it's own beach! Our children did all they could to get to the beach and swim as often as possible during the course of the week.

Sea front and staff homes on the ELWA Campus

Wet view from the guesthouse we stayed in

Kids enjoying the sea

The MAF houses...ours should be built to the left of these

One of the things that we all had to get used to quickly was hand washing before entering any public building. This is to reduce the chance of spreading the Ebola virus. Everywhere there are buckets with taps that supply chlorinated water to wash your hands with and some shops even take your temperature with an infrared thermometer before allowing entry. Generally handshaking as a greeting is not used which felt very rude to us just because it is such an automatic response and multiple times we found ourselves having to pull our hands back.

During the week we were able to visit the town centre, see what is available in the shops (and at what price!) and eat at one of the many Lebanese owned restaurants. Liberia uses both the $US and its own Liberian dollar. The Liberian dollar is of little value and therefore nearly all goods are sold in $US.
We discovered that almost nothing is produced within Liberia so all goods are imported and come at a price. This includes essentials like milk, eggs and vegetables. A few things are locally grown and these include eggplant, cucumbers, bananas and pineapple.

Coming from Uganda we are used to heavy tropical rainstorms but in Liberia we experienced another whole level of wetness!!! Our visit was during rainy season and being there during that time we can quite believe the annual rainfall of 5 feet which is 50% more than the UK but the bulk of it arrives in a 3 month period.

On Sundays we attended Monrovia Christian Fellowship. The teaching was excellent and the worship lively. It reminded us in many ways of the church we attend here in Kampala.

Monrovia Christian Fellowship

We were able to go with the children to visit the American International School of Monrovia. It is the only international school in the city, and currently has 60 students (Many of the former 130 students have not returned following the Ebola crisis), The school has excellent facilities although we all had to use our imaginations to picture the school filled with children learning or at play since it is the summer holidays now. We all decided we would be quite happy for Amy and Joshua to attend AISM.

For Mark there was the opportunity to visit James Spriggs Payne Airfield where MAF will be based. They already have an office which they are sharing with another small Christian NGO. The office is a 5 minute walk from the airfield. During Marks visit to the Airfield he was able to see the options for setting up maintenance there until MAF is able to build its own hangar. He was able to spend time at the Samaritans Purse hangar and talk to their Maintenance Director (mostly about motorbikes but also a little about work!!!). It was helpful to get an insight into maintaining an aircraft in a hot and humid climate near the coast. He was also able to see the area airport officials have verbally agreed MAF can build a hangar on...right now it looks like rough, uneven, rubbish strewn swampland but with a little imagination....who am I kidding!

It is hard to put all the thoughts and emotions of a week full of experiences into words...I think we are all still processing things. We all came away from the week more aware of those parts of our life in Uganda that we would miss. However, we also had a wonderful week building new relationships and picturing a new and different life for our family in Liberia.
Therefore, we have decided it is right for us to move and this week Mark formally accepted the position of Chief Engineer for the Liberia Program! We are currently planning to move direct to Liberia from Uganda in March 2016 in time for Amy and Joshua to join the last term of school before the long summer break. We would then take Home Assignment over the summer.
Until we move we will be in the interesting situation of being part of two programs. It maybe necessary for Mark to travel there to help with the maintenance on the aircraft in the interim.
I think it is fair to say that we are all excited to be starting this new adventure in Liberia and seeing what God has in store for us.

Liberia

noreply@blogger.com (Mark, Sarah, Amy, Josh & Abby) — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 11:45:00 +0000

I guess your first thoughts on reading the title above was either; “where’s that?” (if you don’t read the news) or “Ebola” if you do.

Here are a few facts about this little known country:

Liberia, at only 43,000sq miles, is smaller than England. However, violent thunderstorms are frequent and average rainfall is 1,590mm a year (UK is 1,091mm/year)) making it difficult to travel by road as vehicles get stuck in deep thick mud on the country's unpaved roads.

Created to receive freed slaves from North America, the country was christened ‘Liberia’ (land of freedom) in the 1820s by its American colonists.

In recent years, the country has struggled to find the freedom its name implies.

Battered by a 14-year civil war which ended in 2003, claimed more than 250,000 lives and left the country in economic ruin - today, around 80% of the population live below the poverty line.

According to a national census, 85.5% of the population practises Christianity, but the Church is fragile and many believers live in fear and spiritual bondage.

The terrible impact of the 2014 Ebola epidemic on the country is yet to be realised, but its legacy is likely to be felt for many years to come.

MAF is preparing to begin operations in Liberia to serve around 70 NGOs and mission groups working to bring hope to Liberia’s poorest. NGOs who currently spend long hours and days travelling to reach remote locations, have expressed renewed enthusiasm for an MAF programme in the country.

Currently Emil & Margrit Kundig (Programme Manager) are based in Monrovia, Liberia.

In June 2015 Arjan (Pilot) and

Aartje Paas with their three children, ( Rachel, Tamar and Ethan) will also move to

Liberia.

What does all this have to do with us?...

For some months we have been feeling less settled here in Uganda and sensing that it is time for us to move on. We still believe it is right that we continue to serve with MAF.

At the end of last year we started to enquire about vacancies in other countries.

The country that has captured and held our interest is……yes you guessed it - Liberia!

In recent months Mark formally applied for the role of Senior Engineer in Liberia. We have had three interviews and references have gone in.

MAF have formally offered Mark the position.

Our acceptance will be decided once we have made a visit to Liberia in July. The biggest area we need to consider is the children's educational needs.

After 10 years in Uganda It is going to mean a big change.

Going from a 20 family team to a programme with three families in which everyone will juggle several ‘hats’. From an established programme to one just getting started.

From a city with about six good international schools to choose from to a city with one.

While we both have moments of anxiety when we think of all we will leave behind and the challenges ahead there is an underlying sense of peace that this is right.

Please pray with us for clarity of mind and confirmation in our hearts as we visit Liberia in July.

If we accept, then we plan to move in the first half of 2016.

Easter Greetings

noreply@blogger.com (Mark, Sarah, Amy, Josh & Abby) — Sat, 04 Apr 2015 05:56:00 +0000

I don't know what Easter means for you.
Do you think of chocolate eggs, hot cross buns, meals with family and a long weekend?

While these are all lovely (although sadly the chocolate eggs are very difficult to find here in Kampala) they are not the reason why we are celebrating.

Here in Kampala our Easter celebrations have altered a little due to an increased risk of a terrorist attack by Al Shabab (the Somali militant group). It has been mentioned in BBC news.
Foreigners have been asked to consider carefully whether they need to go to places with large crowds where larger numbers of internationals may be.
Life carries on, although with a heightened sense of alertness and continual praying for discernment about what activities are necessary and what should be avoided..especially when it comes to keeping three children occupied during the Easter holidays!

Partly, due to this we decided to celebrate Palm Sunday at home as a family. We had a great time making palm branches and our own donkey masks, singing songs and acting out the story of Jesus entry into Jerusalem as king.

I have been reflecting this week on the situation here in Kampala and on the wider worlds need for a saviour.
The words of an old song have been coming to mind;
"It was for freedom that Christ has set us free,
no longer to be subject to a yolk of slavery,
so we're rejoicing In Christs victory
our hearts responding to his love"
I am so thankful that this weekend I can celebrate Christs Victory on the cross, overcoming death, paying for my sins and giving me life forever with Him.

As a family we pray you will know the richness of a full life in Jesus Christ this Easter time.
Happy Easter

Exam Update

noreply@blogger.com (Mark, Sarah, Amy, Josh & Abby) — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 17:56:00 +0000

Mark & Ronny were unable to take their exams a couple of weeks ago as some of the necessary paperwork was not in order. They have resubmitted applications and now have a new exam date for this Friday, 14th Nov.
Please pray for them as the studying has dragged on, that they will be able to sit the exams this week.

In the mean time, both Mark & Ronny have had plenty to do...

Ronny and his wife welcomed their third child, a baby boy into their family so Ronny
has been taking some well earned paternity leave.

Mark has been busy continuing with maintenance preparations in order to get the 182 ready for service in S Sudan. Last week he was busy re installing the propeller ( the original one had been lent to MAF Madagascar who needed it for their aircraft).
Mark is hoping all the work can be completed before we return to UK on Home Assignment at the end of the month. I know he works hard but it always looks like he's having too much fun to me !

Scotty's avionics Upgrade complete

noreply@blogger.com (Mark, Sarah, Amy, Josh & Abby) — Wed, 22 Oct 2014 18:44:00 +0000

For those of you who read our recent newsletter, and heard about the avionics upgrades taking place in the aircraft, we had an exciting day today.
Scotty went for a successful Test flight following completion of its upgrade and a recent engine change.
It will now return to service as part of the MAF Uganda fleet and work will begin on the avionics upgrade of FRM.

Testing time

noreply@blogger.com (Mark, Sarah, Amy, Josh & Abby) — Wed, 22 Oct 2014 16:53:00 +0000

Earlier this year we told you about the new little Diesel 182 that had arrived in Uganda.

It is the first Diesel 182 here in Uganda so Mark & Ronny (another engineer) headed off to France & Germany in March to receive training on maintaining this aircraft.

Since then they have been registering and preparing the plane for service in S Sudan.

This is a big week....On Friday Mark & Ronny will sit their oral exam in order to try and obtain their 182 type rating licence, allowing them to carry out maintenance on this aircraft.

Please pray for both of them as they study in these last couple of days (especially since Mark has not been too well this week) and that their exams would go smoothly.