National Deaf Camp Preparations in Arua

Following a brief update meeting with the Nationanal Camp Committee in Kampala, I was asked to get to ARUA as soon as possible to help their preparations. We visited the venue Monday morning to assess the facilities and ho they would need adapting for the camp.

Since then its daily meetings to gather all the resources needed to host and encourage up to 150 youth.  We had a grea\t turnout on Monday afternoon to set out the week ahead with local youth and the committee have been great.

Now the food and Av equipment and mattresses are sourced more time is being spent to finalise songs and workshops etc
 

New Life, Fragile Life

 

On the ARUA base I was sobered to see several YWAM staff from South Sudan because its no longer safe where they were. Other staff cannot flee.. 

Our YWAM Arua colleagues here Waru, from South Sudan, and Susie, his wife from UK,  have been staying in the Arua house  we lived in 2009-2015.  A few days Susie gave birth to their son Lemuel in the UK. Waru was unable to get a visa to be with her for latter part of the pregnancy or delivery.

Waru has not heard from relatives there for several weeks and knows their village has been over-run.

Yesterday YWAM Arua base received a large number of children fleeing conflict over the border in Souh Sudan. Read more at https://www.facebook.com/john.s.wright.75

~I believe this IS the Day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it!

Food for thought

 

It was much easier to stomach the local Ugandan food on arrival in Entebbe than the conditions I saw in Kampala's Namuwongo Slum a few hours later.  There, our local partners, Ariane and Protais, a deaf hearing couple from Burundi are sharing sign language with a deaf youth Frank, his family and neighbouring kids who live there. Franks growing confidence and his friends willingness to sign with him is wonderful to see. 

 

I'd like to pay tribute to Joseph Commiskey and the project ' Hands of hope' that he started an d has run for several years to help improve the lives of slum-dwellers. His team made us aware of Frank's family. Two slum-dwellers recently drowned in one of its open sewers during a flood after heavy rain which hid where the drainage ditches were.

 

 

 

 

 

What if no-one shared your language?

That was the question Jacques , my fellow passenger and I got chatting about on the flight over. Jacques and I both have Belgian blood we discovered but I had no real understanding of my Belgian heritage until we chatted over 11pm eve meal.

 If he hadn't spoken English as well our exchange would have been limited by my rusty conversational French. The language we shared deepened our understanding of each other, our selves and our ancestry.

The dialect Jacques speaks is Walloon and its under threat of extinction because the language of stronger neighbouring economies are  preferred by his younger relatives and neighbours. They no longer want to share his mother tongue. He feels his identity is in some ways being rejected.

Many  deaf and hearing relatives, friend and work colleagues we meet in both UK and in Uganda struggle to maintain strong partnerships because of a lack of shared language. We see that both deaf and hearing could do more to enjoy shared language. Sometimes the solutions are technical, but usually there is need for both deaf and the hearing to admit they could do more to live, learn, earn and serve together.

Arua is hosting the  National Deaf Camp and some deaf attending will gain their native language for the first time. The gradual transformation in their mood as they can begin to form new and deeper relationships is very moving to watch. We are encouraging hearing who want to build stronger friendships with their deaf relatives/friends to attend too. The effects are similar.

Think of the last time you were in a place where you didn't understand the alphabet let alone the words and then met someone who understood both that language and your own. How did your mood change ? That's why the camp is important. Thanks to those who partner us to help the camp happen. Ad









 

National Deaf(and Hearing) Youth Camp Arua,this Sept 4-10th: Urgent Request

At Immanuel Bible Training Centre I was invited to join the National Deaf Camp Planning Committee which is scheduled for Arua, for the for this Sept 4-10th.

Arua has never hosted the event before and our YWAM Arua DHU team is partnering the diocesan special Needs Committee to help make this possible. Well done guys!
                             

For the first time, the committee embraced Deaf Hearing United's belief request that hearing relatives and friends and well-wishers should be explicitly invited so that  they are able to communicate better with each other.  We've repeatedly seen that stronger deaf-hearing relationships result in greater family unity, productivity and prosperity.

This is an exciting development. I need to book flights this week, and the camp director needs reassurance that key camp costs are covered.

Thank you.

Adam.

PS We are grateful to those who prayed for us. Travel is often less safe than in the UK and we were humbled by our close shave at Istanbul Airport. we left it only six hours before armed protesters used guns and bombs killed more than fifty and injured more than two hundred and fifty.

Sian's Testimony on managing her hearing loss

Directed Readings in Biblical Studies

It’s been a very interesting few months, participating on the 'Directed Readings In Biblical Studies' Course for three months. It entailed reading 7000 pages of all kinds of literature and pictures relating to scripture. From archaeological evidence; to the Apocrypha; to recent hermeneutics on slaves, women and homosexuals the subject matter was broad as it was deep.

By no means have I done the subject justice, but my appetite to know God and make him known has not wavered. Rather it has increased.

Special thanks go to Ho Kwang, my co-worker student friend and to Andy Thomas the Course Director at The Kings Lodge YWAM Nuneaton. Thank you Adam for encouraging me to do it and for allowing me space should I follow on with staffing the School of Biblical Studies

New weekly family sign language workshop in the Kampala's Namuwongo slum.

We've just started re partnering our  new Kampala advocates Joseph, Emmanuel, Ariane (deaf) and her husband, Protais (hearing), to run a new weekly family sign language workshop in the city's Namuwongo slum. The workshops were welcomed by a deaf youth Frank(above, 3rd from right) and his hearing mother(2nd from left).


We are grateful to Emmanuel(left), manager of New City Annex Hotel, where we often stay, and Ariane (deaf) and her husband, Protai(hearing), below right, our Burundi YWAM colleagues in Kamapala who are investing in this project.

We are confident Frank and his family(below) are stronger together as a result and that they grow, earn and serve together more in the future. Frank painted their home especially for our first workshop

Recent June trip to Arua to coordinate a water harvesting project

On my recent June trip to Arua to coordinate a water harvesting project, Rob from YWAM Nuneaton,with reduced vision and Gary, a local sign language student with severe hearing loss travelled with me. Rob, Gary and I learnt a lot from each other, and our friends in Arua. I'm grateful for their all encouragement, willingness to serve alongside me and their feedback/suggestions. We laughed a lot. Thanks Guys.

Some of the trip highlights were:

Rain-water harvesting

Enabling deaf and hearing builders and students/staff of Eruba Primary School to learn how to build a rain-water harvesting solution that reduces bore-hole queueing time and the levels of water-related sickness resulting from the temptation to seek water from contaminated sources.

The tank for the deaf tank was built in the usual way YWAM Water for Life build their water tanks: Lid first, then dig out a cavity underneath that can be lined with cement afterwards. Such tanks give far greater value for money.

Deaf pupils above help to shift soil for thee hearing pupils tank. Several staff including the Godfrey the headteacher, and Stepehen and Rashid, teachers in charge of the deaf unit and sign language set a great example by digging first. Rev Allan was fully involved too.

However Bernard our local builder, who employs both deaf and hearing builders, believed even more time could be saved by digging the tank first then forming the lid afterwards...  The first attempt above failed but...

..learning from earlier mistakes an effective lid former was made and future Water for Life tanks will take even less time to build. Well done Bernard!

  School Cooks' working conditions are difficult and their children are also affected..

We, and Eruba Primary School were very appreciative of Aaron and Heidi, YWAM water for Life whose partnership covered the bulk of this project's costs. Also to Jonathan and David who interpreted alonside me. The children's thanksgiving drama was great too.

Bore-hole pump wear and tear and the deaf boarders need to access it will also be reduced. Deaf and hearing pupils/staff will have greater water security in dry season and more continuous and equal access to water throughout the year.

I want to oversee the commissioning of the rain-water harvesting system when I visit Arua shortly. See upcoming National Deaf Camp info below



Thank you.

Adam.

PS We are gratefel to those who prayed for us. Travel is often less safe than in the UK and we were humbled by our close shave at Istanbul Airport. we left it only six hours before armed protesters used guns and bombs killed more than fifty and injured more than two hundred and fifty.

Beds repaired at Eruba's Deaf Unit

We're grateful for a couple of our partners response to our urgent request for for help to repair twelve broken beds at Eruba's Deaf Unit. Now their young deaf boarders no longer needed to sleep two and three to a bed.

They also:

... enabled a deaf tailor, Aisha to have her own sewing machine and enable a new young deaf adult deaf tailoring student, front  right above, to learn to tailor alongside her and the other hearing students at YWAM Arua.

... supporting Wilfred(above), a deaf builder and chairman of St Phillips Signed fellowship to purchase a new bike to maintain his pastoral visits and to keep his job alongside hearing builder.

Supporting Sam, an experienced deaf carpenter so that he is able to take on more free lance work from clients with a more just attitude than his last employer was showing him

Teaching resource for discipleship, based on the story of Job

Making further progress on co-production of a new signed and illustrated . We are grateful to Deaf Bible School Pastor, David's help with this..

Visiting the nearest prisons and refugee camp to encourage them

Rob and Gary visited the nearest prisons to encourage them physically, mentally, spiritually.



Gary also visited one the region's refugee camps for similar reasons  

Sacrifice: What has been your recent experience of it?

That was the question I, Adam, was recently challenged to answer when asked to speak to our church's 7-11 year old kids Life Group. Of course our answer depends on our definition of sacrifice. The definition of 'sacrifice' given to the group was 'to give up something good to gain something better'.

In which case I've come to see that every choice I make, and I make one every few seconds, is a sacrifice. The challenge I've seen is understanding what is a 'better choice'.

Jesus' example, claims and teaching have helped me to see that our 'better choices' please our creator and heavenly Father. As a result they have more long term and more communal benefit. Those are the better choices I can make. I increasingly desire to make those kind of choices.

International, national and local news continually reminds me we are  blind and deaf to our interdependency. Individual choices don't just have individual consequences. Jesus foretold that in John's Gospel, chapter 15, in his teaching on the vine, the branches and the gardener.

Thank you to all who shared this discussion and deepened my understanding of sacrifice. I drafted the following  nemonic  to summarise some aspects of sacrifice I've experienced.

     Sacrifice is giving up:
Security
Approval of others
Comfort and convenience
Right to receive justice
     to gain better/greater things:
Interdependence
Firmer faith
Inspiration from God
Community, inner conviction and conflict resolution
Energy, passion, empowered friends and partners

You are welcome to share yours. I'd love you to read it.  Thanks.
For shalom.
Adam. 

Family News

Maria: Hola a todo! The past 2 months have been a bit of a whirlwind. I've changed jobs, moved flat and relocated temporarily to another city, La Coruña, Galicia. I'm now teaching on an intensive English course there.

I've enjoyed getting to know the city, meeting new people and working here. This last week i've been on holiday for the 'Semana Grande' festival in Santander with my boyfriend ,Fernando, which has been fantástic! (I also went to my first bullfight!) Spain is the place to be in summer, free food and drink-laden festivals every weekend! 


Jerome: Hey! The last couple of months have involved Fiona’s graduation, the start of a new job with Aldi and a holiday in Scotland. I also did a bike ride with Dad along the South Downs Way last weekend until it became too bumpy and we had to head on roads north of the Downs instead. 

The summer has been great and I’ve really made the most of my weekends. I’ve seen some wonderful answers to prayers in terms of Fiona’s job especially. My placement year is approaching its conclusion next month and I’ve enjoyed my year in Suffolk and the way God has provided for me here. Although, I’ll miss friends I’ve made here I’m excited by the prospect of my final year at University and being based closer to Fiona.

I’m preparing for a Marathon this September in Nottingham to raise money for Papyrus - Prevention of young suicide. Earlier this year I lost a friend who was struggling with life and deep depression. I miss him now and it really upsets me how many young people in our society are taking there own lives. So I’d welcome any sponsors for my fundraising marathon and awareness of a charity which is addressing a real problem of our society today. The link is: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=JeromeFielder 

I hope your summer is going well.

Laurence: I have had a great last month. Firstly learning and earning plenty on a farm in Scotland, doing many different farming a building tasks. Secondly I have just arrived back from a mission trip in Rio De Janeiro. I preached and our team served the local favela (slum) practically, prayerfully and entertainingly. The food was not the most nutritious but the music was superb. I feel I was a blessing to the people I met and they were definitely a blessing to me. I would recommend you to visit the wonderful country.

Walking directions Moat St car park to Coventry Deaf club

Driving Directions Coventry Deaf Club (approaching anti-clockwise on ring road)