Prayers needed for Carol

Please pray for Carol who is one of Hassan`s housemates here at Kasana. She is almost 2 and a half years and has recently been suffering with reoccuring chest infections and epileptic seizures.
Those of us involved with her care spent a long afternoon/evening at the local hospital today and were very grateful that we got to see a pediatrician from the UK who was very helpful and seemed to know what she was talking about :)
She has recommended (among other things,) that Carol has a gastrostomy tube fitted in the near future as she suspects that the chest infections are due to Carol aspirating her food which basically means that it is going down the wrong way; into her chest instead of the tummy.
Please pray with us that this latest infection clears up quickly, that her epilepsy medication works well and that we are able to find someone to supply us with a gastrostomy tube.
Please also pray for strength, energy and patience for those caring for her including her Father Stanley who is very good about visiting her regularly. Here is a photo of him feeding our precious Carol (or at least TRYING TO!)

Carol and her Daddy

Thrown Back in at the Deep End

At Heathrow with all my luggage!

I arrived back safely in Uganda on Sunday evening (met by my lovely friends the Dendys,) and after a good night sleep at the Entebbe Airport Guest House, was eager to get back to Kasana to be reunited with Hassan & co.

However, as is frequently the case here in Uganda, things didn`t quite go to plan and due to a few problems trying to locate a fax machine (long story!) we ended up having to spend the night at our friend Judith`s house. I have to mention how I had to change my pounds into Ugandan shillings (cash machines weren`t working!) in TOTAL DARKNESS at the Forex bureau as the power was off (no surprise there!) and their back-up generator was down. Thank the Lord for phone`s with torches is all I can say about that J

Thankfully, on Monday morning Stu was able to find a fax machine that was working and by 10.30am we were on our hot, dusty and bumpy way.......

We arrived back by lunch time and I was welcomed back by many people and a front door covered by lovely messages. I of course went straight round to see my Hassan and the rest of his household who were all looking well and happy to see their long lost auntie Kate.

My front door!

However, it was not long before I was faced with some of the more frustrating aspects of my life in Uganda; power cuts; termites building a mini mound in my bedroom; van windows that get stuck open or closed leading to overheating or ingestion of dust; having to find people to cover staff sickness.......

And then on Wednesday morning we received the news that one of the original students in my class had died suddenly and so we made plans to attend the burial that afternoon.

It is hard not to feel guilty, that we could have and should have done more for this dear girl who only reached the age of 6. Please pray for us as we grieve her loss.

Perhaps later I will write a post dedicated to this precious little girl as I am sure there is much we can learn from her life. Although the father insists that she had been well and died quite unexpectedly, other members of the family were suggesting that she had been severely neglected and had possibly starved to death.

And, as I am always asking, pray that God will give us wisdom as we make decisions in the future about how to help the children who are brought to us. We don`t want to encourage families to abandon their children into our care but at the same time we don`t want to leave them with people who will neglect or abuse them.

We believe this little girl is in a better place now; one where there is no more pain or suffering and where she is safe in the arms of her Father God who loves her more than any of us ever could.