November 1, 2011
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Rainy Season
I have a whole new understanding of the saying “when it rains, it pours.” Quite honestly, I do not think it can rain any harder than what it does here. It is amazing! And I mean it literally and proverbially.
Seriously, it seems like the past two weeks have been a constant struggle. We were dodging a pouring of obstacles, every one of them making our path the more slippery. Grace having been sick/uncomfortable for so long. The vehicle having constant issues. Distractions, temptations, worries… you name it, things were becoming extremely difficult. But it has since turned around, though slowly. I have to give credit to my friend Mary Beth. She started the turn around. She sent us encouragement. She helped strengthen us when we were weak, through prayer. So I am not giving credit to her, but to OUR LORD who used her to speak encouraging words to us.
I think I mentioned in the last blog, but I will repeat it because I am so happy. Gracie is feeling much better. It is such a delight to hear your little girl wake up and not complain. To sit at the breakfast table and shovel food into her little mouth. To see her playing, with no restraint… not having to pause or stop because of discomfort in her stomach. Praise God for healing!
The vehicle is finally running! It is not the best train in town. It never would be. We do not need a fancy ride to get us where we got to be. Jesus rode a mule when he could have rode a stallion. So I am fine riding in our mule! Praise God for a functioning vehicle.
I can truly say that it seemed like we were in a storm. I am confident that we still are in a storm. But it is the praise in the storm that makes God happy. Utter dependence on Him for ALL that we need. Don’t get me wrong, giving up the reins is hard to do, but it is what God wanted from us. So now that he has them, and I hope I don’t try to take them back, we are steering in the right path. On the path where we are supposed to be.
This past Sunday, we finally made it to the school where we were supposed to help build. We made it there, and they were pretty much done. They have the floor finishers in there making it look pretty (something I am not able to do). I/We were so sad that we could not be there. But the construction went up anyway. The classrooms will be ready in a couple of days for use. Those rooms will be such a blessing to the students at Kalaso Primary School.
Just today, we finally had the privilege of using our vehicle to get a dear friend over for some dinner. Our friend, Jajja (Mom to Sarah Dieleman), her daughter and granddaughter were able to come over for some good ol’ fashion American food. Until now, we were never able to have her over. She has been plagued with a broken body. She cares for the many children that our friends minister to here in Kampala. She is a loving and dear woman. We were soo excited to have them over for dinner. We mixed it up a little… some American (hamburgers) and some Ugandan (matoke, aka banana diarrhea, and pumpkin). I believe that they really enjoyed themselves. I think we may have just offered that lovely woman her first night out in YEARS! In fact, her granddaughter, who is boarded at a nearby primary school, loved it just as much. I am pretty sure that she, being 12 years old, ate more food than me! I think she had a pretty good night too!
So thank you all for the prayers and support. We are more blessed than we deserve.
Chad Neeley
Construction Coordinator – WWCS Uganda/USA
PS… Just because we live in Uganda, we could not bear to deprive our kids of some good old American tradition. Check out our album on the blog, labelled Halloween 2011. We even went as far as to let them trick-or-treat. But instead of going house to house and confusing our neighbors, they went from the front door to the back door, repeatedly. Their take was not as good as other years, but it made for a Halloween that we will never forget! Happy late Halloween from the Neeley’s!
From Left to Right… the prettiest witch in Uganda, Storm (Go X-Men!!!), Buzz Lightyear, and a Goofball (who is in the process of kicking in the picture)!
