We're off to Robert Sityo's school (Robert and Sarah will be visiting us in Kitchener in September) this morning where we’ll be involved with supporting the mobile health clinic, leading the education forum and distributing family kits; all in a day’s work for this amazingly diligent and focused team.  Despite this strong work ethic, the team has been hugely impacted by the people and places we’ve been.  Even within the context of a country where poverty is the norm, we’ve been struck by the disturbing contrasts within that poverty:  people who get by and are clearly content with their very simple lives and others living in total despair with no hope for the future.  The way we’ve been able to relate to these different groups has been disturbing for some and challenging for all of us.  But in the midst of it all, there are occasions where we come across small signs of hope in even the most desperate situations.

Several evenings this week, we’ve gathered for sharing and prayer – powerful sessions that have allowed us to see God more clearly in all of this and to go to Him to see us through in our efforts to serve Him and the people we encounter.  Great times together at meals and around the fire with the Nile as our backdrop.  Paradise surrounding us at Mto Myoni with disease, illness, death and hunger just a stone’s throw away.  

Our busy schedule doesn’t wind down anytime soon.  We’ll be in Bukkeka at Robert Sityo’s church tomorrow and then we'll finish up things here on Monday; Tuesday we're at Mabera Rainforest Lodge for our scheduled debrief and transition time, Wednesday we head to the airport and on Thursday we’ll be home mid-afternoon.