We're still here!!!

It is great to be back at the blog again, and able to update you all with what has been happening with us here in Kampala! I know it has been a while, so please accept my apologies if you have been patiently waiting for an update!! We have all been busy in our newly established routines and it's safe to say we are all feeling very settled here as a family.

Abi and Matthew are enjoying their new school and both have made good friends, which makes the process of starting over again so much easier! They are both at Heritage International School, and their classes are all a good mix of nationalities with lots of other MAF families also attending. They both have a reasonably high percentage of east-African's in their classes, as well as kids from all over Europe and the States. They are certainly getting a multi-cultural upbringing! It is always amusing hearing them when they come back from playing with friends; depending on where they have been and who they have been with, they could be singing Dutch nursery rhymes, reverting back to the American twang they have had for the last few years, talking in a variation of a pseudo-Swedish accent, or playing up to their Scottish roots! The world will certainly be a small place for them as they grow up!

Abi and Matthew on their way in to school!

Eilidh is coming on really well too! She loves the freedom she has of wandering in and out of the house, not having to worry about jackets (or even shoes most of the time!!) and hugging our big old dog Isaac! She is busy working through the potty training, and for the most part doing really well! There are inevitable accidents, but having solid floors, no carpets and lots of time outside has its advantages! She has a lot of fun with her wee friend Sammy, who she meets to play with a couple of mornings a week. They are both about the same age, get on really well and are working through the potty training battle together. We have a few good pictures of them chatting away to each other, side by side on their potties; couldn't possibly post them on here... I am saving those for a wedding speech!

Eilidh helping in the kitchen

Heather is also faring well. The house is all set up and has now officially become a home! She has been busy for the last few months getting everything arranged, unpacking and working out how life works in the middle of a new continent, so it is good to see her able to relax a bit more, and become more involved in the things she wants to do. 
Recently she has been able to get her "worship leading hat" on a bit more too. She played at a church "Zone" meeting a few weeks ago (the church we have been attending break into smaller "zones" regularly. This allows the normally large church service to be held in smaller groups, giving people the chance to get to know each other better). She also plays regularly at a women's bible study held on a Wednesday morning. Last Friday MAF had a "fellowship day" where we all downed tools for a day, and had a day of bible study, worship and prayer together. Heather was leading worship for that and enjoyed the chance to play and sing out at the hangar under a plane... sort of like the Albert Hall, but better!! Unfortunately when we got up on Friday morning, Eilidh had a temperature and had been up through the night, so I stayed home to look after her. It was a good chance for me to have some quiet "daddy-daughter" time, and also gave me the chance to keep up with all the news from the Scottish Independence referendum. Having spent much of my adult life travelling, whether on ships, training in America, or now living in Uganda, I have never really felt any pangs of homesickness. Scotland has always been, and will always be, "home", and I have always seen it in many ways as an unchanging constant. The things that have happened over the last few months have been pretty monumental, though, and I felt a strange kind of helplessness as I watched my country change in a way that can never be undone. I pray that the raw bitterness will subside and that both Yes and No voters will come together to do what is best for Scotland. Lord, you have been our dwelling-place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. Psalm 90.

Life in the hangar is as busy as always! We are busy doing the avionics upgrade on Scotty (5X-SCO, or the 'Caledonian Connection'!) Things were delayed a bit over the summer as we dealt with some documentation issues around the CAA approvals to do the upgrade here. Thankfully that has all passed now, and we have the authorisation to do the work! It has been a great project to be involved in; I have been doing a lot of the structural / sheet metal work, and have been in my element making shelves for new avionics units, mounting new equipment and building new panels to hold all the expensive instruments in place for the pilots!

Building a new mount for the radar altimeter in the back of the tailcone.

Thanks again for all your thoughts, prayers and encouragement as we work here with MAF in Uganda.