Prayer.

I don't really have anything on my heart to blog about at the moment but I want to blog anyway, maybe just for the sake of it and also coz I have some new pictures which I love, so I want to share them.

This week is a prayer and fasting week at the church here. Last night was the first prayer meeting of the week and it was amazing. There were several points throughout the hall that highlighted different things to pray for. Some was specific for the church and specific ministries, others were just for the nation.

It was really great praying for people, ministries and countries that I have never known or been a part of. I think it just reminded me that we need to pray for our world, whether or not we feel 100% part of it all of the time. The world is not just full of the people that we know, it is full of many who are all called to do many different things.

It also got me to pray about Uganda, the country I am in now and the country I am so passionate about. Do I usually pray for Uganda? No. Why though? A country which has my heart and is full of the many special people in my life and yet I do not regularly pray for it. Are we becoming a society that is selfish to its core? Are we becoming a people that forgets the wider picture?

We want to see change in the world yet we don't want to proactively make that change occur. I am not trying to condemn, I am just trying to question. I am passionate about seeing change yet I don't always pray about it. Maybe it is time...time to grasp a hold of the important things in life and to make a stand to make a difference through prayer.

Now that's said, here are some new pics.

Tradition.

What do we think of tradition and how do we see it? Is it something to be treasured and held onto? Or maybe something that should be locked away and long forgotten?

'Tradition is beliefs or customs taught by one generation to the next.'

Wikipedia (2008)

Yesterday I visited a fishing town on the shores of Lake Victoria called Gerenge. I went with a team that were teaching Primary Health Care. This town is stuck in tradition and through what my eyes saw, this tradition would be better off forgotten.

This village isn't especially poor compared to other villages that we visited this week but the people, especially the men, spend their money poorly. I guess like many people in England do.

The men fish and spend their money on alcohol and prostitutes, leaving the women to work in order to provide shelter and food for their large families. The women told us that a small family consisted of at least 4-8 children. This would be a large family in England!!

The town is small and to be honest not much can be done to improve conditions unless peoples attitudes change. How do you change peoples attitudes though? You can encourage them and try to inspire them but at the end of the day all of that is nothing unless their heart is radically changed and sharpened. Only God can do this seemingly impossible task.

Looking at the village, it is so similar to England. Yes, we have sanitation. Yes, we don't live in rubbish tips...but we don't always have the right attitude towards money and towards family - whether we're Christian or not.

Will being saved changed these peoples hearts? Maybe but then maybe not. There is no point being saved if you are just going to live in the same routine and with the same mindset - you need a change of heart and attitude. Your thoughts have to be changed in order to change your behaviour, which is often hard in a society where change is minimal.

The good thing is that God can do all this and so much more. He promises us that He is able 'to do immeasureably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,' Ephesians 3 v 20 NIV. What about The Message version, 'God can do anything, you know - far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!' God CAN do this!! He CAN change Gerenge and He CAN change England - He CAN do MORE than we ask or imagine but it starts with us 'according to His power that is at work WITHIN US'. We can't be lazy on this, we have to try.

To end on a good note, the children were as beautiful and as vibrant as ever.

Much love to you all as always. Maybe think about your heart and whether it's in the right place or not. x

Life = Beauty.

I am so excited to say that yesterday I saw my first ever birth!!!! From day one I said to my supervisors that I really wanted to see a birth and it happened yesterday...now I wish I could see more and more!! It was really a beautiful and amazing thing, something so precious and something to be treasured for eternity.

The baby came out and was cleaned up and then I was the nurse who done everything else - what a priviledge!! I clamped the cord, took a blood sample from it and cut the remaining cord off. I gave the baby an IM injection of Vitamin K to reduce bleeding and some eye ointment and I assessed him head-to-toe. I then weighed the baby and dressed/wrapped him. I then handed him over to his family. The mum and dad thanked me, but why?! I was the one to thank them. They gave me the priviledge of seeing their first child being born and being the one to assess and dress him.

WOW - what an experience!!!! Now I really really want to do midwifery. I know I want to be a childrens nurse but I also know I want to be able to assist with bringing life into the world. To be the first person to hold a new baby and to have the opportunity to bless them with Gods love, protection and Spirit. We'll see where this desire goes though because that would mean another three years of hard work and study which I am definitely not ready for yet.

Work has been wonderful this week. I have been all over the hospital and today I was in theatre and saw several operations - a c/section being one of them (note to self - always always opt for a natural delivery over a c/section!!!!). Work has been busy and so I have loved it. In outpatients the sister has given me more responsibility and so I have felt more like a nurse and someone who actually knows what they are doing. My confidence is growing daily and I am so excited to be a childrens nurse in life - this is something I am made to do and truly love to do!!

It's such a shame tomorrow is my last day but then at least I have some me time. Also, it's my mans birthday so I must plan something nice for him. I completely adore being here and I will dread returning to England. The only exciting thing about returning to England is qualifying and then my man visiting me.

God has completely blessed me by showing me the beauty of life. Never doubt that life is precious!! x

Uganda ROCKS.

Hey again everyone.

First moan of the blog - this computer is SOOOOO slow and it's driving me crazy, lol!! Second moan, work is a bit slow still and I've decided that I like it when people are actually ill, lol.

So, the last week and a half has been AMAZING!! I have loved it so much more than my first week here and I think it's because I have now settled into life here again and also coz I've been doing more stuff that I actually want to do.

Since the first week when I didn't get much time with my man, things have been easier and better. We have seen each other a lot more and I just feel more like myself with him now. I've realised that it does take so much time to really trust someone and show your true self to them and I think now is the time when that trust has really been solidly built.

Work was great last week because I was in the inpatient ward which was a lot busier than the charity ward. I felt like I had more confidence and I was given more to do. Communication is still hard though. Most patients speak English because of the nature of the hospital, but it can still be difficult. I'm in outpatients this week and it's slow so not really very good. One thing to mention though - they pray every morning during handover. I love this!! People are just free to be themselves here and there is no fear of mentioning God or bringing prayer actively into care. I don't even know how praying during handover in England would be perceived but why not?! Whether people believe or not that there is a God and a God who answers prayer, why can't we pray and hope for it?! Why don't we actively give the day over to someone who is so much higher and so far beyond us as mere human beings??

Anyway, that is it for now. I will try to blog more regularly now but who knows and sorry it's short - the computer is rubbish.

Just a thought - give everything over to God and see what He does.

Much love. x