Hanging with new friends

Esther and Saskia have found some good friends, and can communicate in ways other than language without a problem. This little girl is called Debbie, a precious little girl in many ways xx

Little mums

As all these children have no longer got a mum or dad, the older girls 

generally take care of the younger ones, so this is a common sight.  

wiring up the technical college

Harvesters already has a school for all the orphans and some of the local children here, but are now hoping to start up a vocational training college, to teach some of the older graduating boys and girls some life skills. They hope to teach some agriculture, sewing

and business courses, and develop according to need. Martin is helping to wire up

some electricity to their first building here, with some keen helpers.

Africans know how to do church

We just love church here! We didn't get a very good photo, but there is a choir at the

front and we spend a good hour singing African style. Such beautiful natural rhythm and freedom, repeating the same verse over and over, as if they just make it up as they go....

....and then suddenly, everyone just knows when to stop.

Boys sit on the left and girls on the right.  

Tractor

 It's me, Bobby, and some of my new friends!

 

Adam is the handyman around here and goes around fixing things and building some

of the developments that are happening around here. The boys all love him, and

love to help him. Yesterday they got to have a ride on the back of his tractor. Such fun!

Sugar cane

Sugar cane looks like bamboo but it is easy to cut and sweet to chew.

Bobbys tour of His House of Hope hospital

4 sets of twins born at His House of Hope

Today we have 4 sets of twins, all healthy and doing well, all born at this small  

His House of Hope Hospital. It is hard to describe, but considering this setting and 

level of development, this is a true miracle and blessing. Praise The Lord! 

Roasting gee nuts

Gee nuts are like peanuts. They need to be roasted and salted before they can bee eaten. Bobby and the girls learnt how to roast on a coal fire.

Just nip into town

Yesterday bobby thought the day was going to be easy. The only things booked in for the day was to nip into town and get some electrical supplies for the new vocational training centre and then to pop back into town later for dinner. Well the first trip took us about 4 hours but we did come back with what we needed. I think we brought all the electrical bits they had at the hardware shop.

We drove back with our goods, had a quick clean up, and then got back in the troop carrier with the rest of the crew, back into town, to try a roasted goat dinner. We got bogged and nearly tipped over on our way. Everyone had to get out of the car through the drivers door, oh what fun! We managed to get unstuck and drove out.

Finally we made it, and had a nice evening out together. We ate roast goat and potatoes, a nice treat. Bobby enjoyed the adventure and the different food.

Fun with friends

We have had a lot of fun just hanging out with Jas, Caleb and Josiah, and

they have shown us some of their favourite things to do and see around here.

Curry time says Will!

William hasn't been feeling very well since we arrived here just over a week ago. He has also found the food hard to get used to so hasn't eaten much. Dad made a curry as close to the same as we do at home with the limited ingredients available here. Will helped make a coal fire to cook on, we also roasted a chicken in the wood fired oven to put in as well. Thankfully Will had 2 servings! Bobby was also happy to have something different to beans and rice.

Bed time bobby

We use mosquito nets here over our beds to protect us from malaria. 

 

Mum's off to work!

 

 

 

Mum is a midwife and has been helping out at the hospital.

This baby is being monitored with a respiratory monitor that was donated by Tasmanians.

 It has saved so many little lives already!

Off to the market

Bobby went for a drive in the 4WD troop carrier to Yei town to get food from the market. The road was very rough with lots of puddles, we had to hold on tight. Along the way he saw some African Tookel's (houses). We stopped at a market to get fruit and vegetables.   

 

Home schooling with daddy

My dad put inverters in. This is what an inverter looks like. Inverters give power to us. The inverter connects to the solar panels.

   

This morning we did some home schooling in the shipping container with the solar equipment that provides power to the hospital and staff housing. Dad checked a few things on the system and tried to be our teacher.

The wood fired cook house

This is the kitchen where they cook food for all the staff at Harvesters. they have a fires going with pots on top of them. We eat porridge for breakfast and rice and baked beans for lunch and dinner every day, as well as something different added to make it special each day. This is mama Molly and mama Elizabeth working in the hot little house.

Giving urgent blood

A little girl at the hospital needed urgent blood, and it needed to be O positive,

which is the same type of blood my daddy makes! He donated there and then,

and the little girl is doing much better today.

The water bore

meet Mama Lorna

This is our new home, and mama Lorna, a very beautiful lady who will be doing our laundry for us. She collects our washing in a tub and washes the clothes by hand, and then hangs them up in trees or over fences and things.

Some of our new friends here at His House of Hope Orphanage

We made some new friends here who are all orphans at His House of Hope Orphanage. Their common language is called Juba Arabic, but many of them also speak another tribal language. We love to laugh and play with them, and are trying to learn some of their language too. So far we learned that 'Salaam' means 'peace be with you', which is something most people use to greet one another. Another word is 'Shukran' meaning 'thank you'. 

We made it!

We arrived safely to site which will become our new home for the next 4 weeks. Bobby has found the new surroundings very different and a little challenging! We are all very tired but well. We are all still rather jet lagged after hour 21 hours of flying and going on 6 plane flights. We thank God for protecting us all on this journey. We are thankful for a dry house and flat bed to sleep on.

Yei is located close to the South Western border of South Sudan. Compared to the rest of South Sunday Yei is quite settled and safe.

Bobby got hungry so we stopped to get some rolexes for lunch they were yummy

Rolex is a type of wrap with egg onion and tomato cooked on a fire

Off to yei in South Sudan 1.5hours in a 20 seat plane

Traffic jams and food markets

Bananas in Kampala

Today we went for a drive to Kampala. Bobby saw lots of cars and we went through lots and lots of traffic jams and it took a very long time. There were lots and lots of bodabodas (motorbike taxi) riding through the traffic and hitting our car. We saw people selling fruit and veggies on the side of the road especially green bananas. Bobby and Saskia had a little sleep because we didn't get back to our hotel until late. 

 

Off we go for a tour of Kampala. Sounds relaxing... How very wrong we're we! Photos of this crazy day will follow...

We got to Entebbe!

After a veeeery very long trip flying on three aeroplanes (21 hours all up!), we finally made it to Entebbe, which is in Uganda, Africa! We didn't sleep much, even though it was bedtime, but we got to have two breakfasts, watch lots of movies, and going to the toilet was tricky. In Entebbe the lady with the mask on asked us all to wash our hands really well with her spray because they were worried about us carrying the Ebola bug into their country. I got away without it though because I have furry hands. We were all exhausted when we got to the hotel, and slept 12 hours in a row. We are staying in a hotel here for 2 nights before we continue our journey. Now we are going with one of dad's friends Phileom to have a look around Entebbe. Till next time! Love, Bobby and Saskia

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