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‘And what do you do?’ The dreaded question… Adam has just been regaling our new acquaintances with his tales of ‘designing a world of hope’ and then the focus turns to me… What, exactly, do I do?  ‘Well…er…. I still have Sophie at home one day a week and I do bits and pieces of volunteering’ I hastily scramble, knowing how pathetic it sounds… It doesn’t often happen exactly like that, and I know mostly people are just interested in getting to know me, but it can be tempting as a stay-at-home mum/accompanying spouse/whatever you would like to call me, to feel the need to justify how I spend my time!  What follows is not primarily an attempt to debunk the ‘endless coffees with friends’ myth (although it may do that), rather it will hopefully provide a glimpse into what life here in Uganda looks like from my view. 

So what do I do? For the first few months here in Uganda most of my time was spent making sure home life ran smoothly! As a family, we had a lot of adjustments to make and it was great to be able to be here for Adam and the girls without many other competing demands.  Shopping/cooking/driving/communicating/living here all take more time and energy so it was good to not have to worry about much else!  Little things add up –  like making sure we have a supply of filtered water to drink, that I’ve soaked raw fruit and veg in Milton before we eat it, that our clothes have either been ironed or left sitting for a number of days so we don’t get mango fly larvae burrowing into our skin… all with the looming possibility of a power cut throwing the day’s plans into disarray… Keeping things clean is a big challenge as the dust and dirt gets EVERYWHERE!

I’m not writing this in order to have a good moan… We are blessed to have running water, electricity, supermarkets and even, on occasion, takeaway food! We see so many around us who have next to nothing, and it is hard knowing we can’t help them all. 

Two afternoons a week a lovely lady called Joan comes to help me with the housework.  It has taken me some time for me to feel comfortable with this as my default is to want to do everything for myself. (Now you’re going to think I really do spend all my time drinking coffee with my friends….).  It turns out though that not only is Joan’s help invaluable (you should see how disgusting the bath is after the girls have used it only once…) but that this, in itself, is an opportunity for ministry.  We are grateful for Joan’s help, but also grateful that we have the means to help her provide for herself and her family.  There is no welfare state in Uganda – if you don’t work, you are dependent on family members to help you.  And if you have no family, then things are pretty bleak.

Anyway, I digress… As the past year has progressed God has graciously guided me into ways I can use the gifts he has given me.  Some of these things have come naturally to me and some have required more of a leap of faith to go ahead with!

One of the reasons Adam and I love EMI’s vision is its focus on discipleship alongside practical ministry.  It has been a privilege to get to know some of the many interns who have passed through the office since we arrived.  In particular, my mentorship times with Hedina have been a joy.  She has served three terms as an intern in our civil engineering department and has now embarked on the newly minted 2-year fellowship programme where she spends one day a week in in-depth bible study as well as continuing her professional development and work in the office.  It has been such an encouragement to meet each week with Hedina to pray and discuss our faith and to see how God is challenging her and growing her.  You can read her news here. I am also hoping to develop my role in helping to run the internship programme – watch this space!

Another highlight of my week is the ladies’ Bible Study which I started attending in the New Year and which now meets in our home!  It is such a blessing to meet with like-minded women of God, many of whom have been serving Him here much longer than I have.  I always come away refreshed by the fellowship and from having met with God!  One of my new challenges for this year is helping to lead the worship time – I’d appreciate your prayers for that.

We are so blessed to be part of our wonderful church family at One Life Church.  We have all benefitted from the teaching and worship, and from the security of getting to know a new culture in a safe environment. In particular, our weekly Life Group meetings have been a great place to grapple with applying God’s word to life in a very different context to which we are used!  I have also started teaching our 3-4 year olds at JAM (Jesus and Me a.k.a. Sunday school/Children’s Church) once a month.  This definitely falls under the category of things which come less naturally to me! We have some challenging behaviour in our group, but we now have an extra helper each week which is making a big difference.

A big part of my life revolves around the girls!  Making sure they have everything they need for school, dropping them and picking them up (fortunately as part of a car-pool), supervising caring for the rabbits and music practice (Beth on guitar and Sophie on violin).  Basketball matches and ballet classes and cookery club. FEEDING THEM! Just normal mum stuff like I would be doing in the UK!  Adam and I know our parenting is far from perfect, but it has been gratifying to hear that the contrast between our parenting and that of the culture around us has impacted some of those who we have met.  I’ve also had the opportunity to start volunteering at the kids’ school, Acacia International School. I think I’d need a whole other update to tell you about how blown away we have been by the school – but you can check out their website at acacia.co.ug in the meantime!  At the moment I read to the Grade 4 class as they have their library session and have also just started teaching my first-ever cello pupils. Again, we have strayed into the ‘leap of faith territory here’… God is very gracious and all seems to be going OK so far!  It’s great to be able to contribute to a place that is giving our girls so much!  I also have the opportunity to meet every Friday with other parents to pray for the staff and students, and any particular prayer needs which have come up at the school.

As my diary starts to get fuller with weekly commitments, and my list of things I would like to do gets longer (re-start language lessons for one!), the danger is that God gets crowded out and that I try to do these things in my strength.  And that just doesn’t work.  I also want to leave time for PEOPLE! I may joke about spending time drinking coffee with friends, but I do believe that one of my roles here is to help build community – community within EMI, within wider expat and missionary circles and with local Ugandan friends.  There are constantly people coming and going and I pray I don’t get weary of welcoming yet another newcomer in! This takes time and energy and coffee! And I’m grateful to God for this calling.  So maybe next time I’m asked what I do, I’ll answer, ‘I drink coffee. Intentionally.’