Button, Dan & Rosie, Uganda
Prayer Letter January 2008 (click here for Acrobat pdf version)
Happy New Year to you all. Thank you for all the lovely Christmas cards, and for your ongoing prayers. We had a good fun time celebrating Christmas with my parents and we all thoroughly enjoyed their visit.
A trip to Murchison Falls complements of the grandparents!
Whilst they were here we attended the ordination of Paul Kakooza – a 4 ½ hour service in the cathedral, followed by a communion service for 200 in a (crowded!) marquee in the garden of their village home, at which Dan and I spoke, with a Ugandan meal eaten with hands, and speeches… Quite a marathon! It was great day for Paul and his family, where they celebrated how God had provided to make this possible.
Paul at ordination
Games and Germs…
The University Games were hosted at UCU before Christmas and all went brilliantly. A few days before, the games were cancelled due to an Ebola outbreak elsewhere in Uganda (just as my parents arrived!!), but as it didn’t spread as fast as the Ministry of Health first feared (phew!), the games were reinstated and were a great success. The university then had to race to complete the running track with football pitch and seating, and volley ball, basket ball and tennis courts in a matter of days! Because of the Ebola a “no hand-shaking” rule was widely promoted (and publicly demonstrated by the President, nearly causing a diplomatic incident) to avoid the disease spreading, but it was amazingly hard for people to stop this deeply ingrained habit. Anyway, thankfully it did not spread and has now abated.
Games
The Story of the Two Laptops…
In our last bulletin we mentioned that Dan’s laptop and camera were stolen from our office. A few days later the thieves returned and broke in to steal Rosie’s laptop. In an incredible answer to prayer, within two weeks everything was recovered! It was very involved but, in brief, Dan had put out a reward notice, and a young man phoned to say he “had our things” and would bring them back. It transpired he was somehow involved with the thieves, and so the police soon found out who was actually responsible. They had sent a SOCO to our house and had got very clear fingerprints from the glass, which served to prove that they had got the right person, a local man (not a student) who is know to have stolen before.
When he confessed everything, the police officer sent us this text:
“Praise God Rev. He’s doing grate things for us in police these days. Can u imagine this thief has revealed more other things he stole from ucu eg a computer, its printer and a photocopier. We are pending picking them tomorrow. God bless you. From Kenneth. Byee.”
Since then this policeman has visited Dan for prayer and counselling! My laptop had gone as far as the other side of Kampala, but it was recovered, and all the information on both computers is intact. We feel so grateful to God for this amazing outcome and for his protection. Obviously we pray for Ronald and for the other lads who are his friends, for a change in their lives. Also the police in this country need prayer, as the pay is so low that they look for money in many kinds of ways, and that becomes demoralizing for them and everyone else.
Prayer Points…
As well as thanking God for all of the above…
Please pray for the new term, starting mid-January. Our Theology students are back from their placements. Please pray for our teaching, and for our Discipleship Groups and Women in Ministry fellowship (for the female theology students), and for Dan as he runs the General Studies department which teaches the core Christian courses to all the university students.
Shearsby is back from Zimbabwe for his last term here. He plans to move to a parish in South Africa with his family later this year, which he is very pleased about. Meanwhile in Harare the church is still in a state of conflict – please pray that God’s will would prevail and that righteousness and peace would be restored – of course not only in the church but in the nation as well. Please pray for Shearsby’s wife Beauty and four daughters still in Harare, and for the family of Emias our other Zimbabwean student, who live in Masvingo where things are harder than in the capital.
Abigail and Alex have returned to school very happily. Please pray as always for safety as we drive them to school.
The situation in Kenya has brought fuel shortages and price rises here. Many of our students come from Kenya – please pray for them and their families, and pray that the situation there would be resolved very soon.
Button family
Thank you all for your prayers and support. We wish you a blessed and happy 2008,
With love, from
Rosie Dan Abigail and Alex. xxxx
Button main page