7/28/2019 Binding Up Broken Hearts April - May Newsletter 2013

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to flood the heart. Heart

Most of us think of a broken

heart as a euphemism for

the emotional pain felt when

we lose someone we love

very deeply. Medical sci-

ence has discovered, how-

ever, that sudden, unex-

pected loss can, indeed,

break a heart.

Emotionally shocking news

of a deep, personal losscauses stress hormones

When a Heart is Broken...

Our translator skillfully

directed his bicycle along

a trail that twisted and

turned like a long python

moving through the bush.

John followed him closely

while I brought up the

rear trying not to lose my

balance or sight of them

ahead of me.

It is school holidays.

Students in Uganda at-

tend school from early

February to early May

followed by a three week

holiday from school. The

break is a little too long

for the primary school

students that are receiv-

ing therapy for PTSD so

we are making house

calls to a local village

where two of our students

live.

Suddenly the village

emerges from amongst

the trees. Neat stick-and

-mud huts with thatched

roofs or small homes built

of locally-made bricks

and sheet metal roofing

seem to be part of the

bush. Each is surround-

ed by a tidy patch of

packed, swept, red earth

with yet another wider

area of orderly gardens,

where maize, sweet pota-

toes, pineapple, water-

melon, squash, toma-

toes, eggplants, cucum-

bers and peppers grow.

Fred, our translator,

works with African Chil-

drens Mission (ACM) as

a liaison with a local pri-

mary school, knows

these pathways in the

bush like we know the

streets of Bellevue, WA,and takes us straight to

Marks home.

Since Marks parents

died from AIDS just

Binding Up Broken Hearts

House Calls in the Bush

B i n d i n g U p B r o k e n H e a r t s V o l u m e 1 , I s s u e 3 A p r i l M a y 2 0 1 3

Robin and translator, Fred, working with a student during holidays.

months apart, his sixteen

year old brother has been

head of the home. He hasfour younger siblings, in-

cluding 13 year old Mark to

care for so he had to leave

school himself.

(Continued pg. 2)

of a deep, personal loss

causes stress hormones toflood the heart. Heart mus-

cle is damaged so it cannot

pump properly, and the left

ventricle swells. Most physi-

cal hearts recover quickly,

however, the emotional pain

of a wounded heart can last

for a lifetime. And that is

why we are here.

7/28/2019 Binding Up Broken Hearts April - May Newsletter 2013

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If youve ever wondered if African

killer bees are as bad as theyve

been described a friends goat hap-

pened to incur the wrath of a swarm in

our area and was stung hundreds of

times on her body and in her mouth.

John tried to help the family save her

but she died about 24 hrs. after the

attack. Certainly increased my respect

for the little buzzers! If they make hon-

ey, they can keep it!

I was sitting in a quiet room working

with a young lady from CLA Girls. She

was telling me her story, speaking in a

Moving Day!

low voice. I was listening very intently

when a loud crash sounded right be-

hind me. I spun around to see what

happened but could see nothing. The

young lady with me seemed not to

have heard anything so I returned to

my work. When it happened again

within seconds, however, I shrieked,

What was that? Didnt they tell you

about the birds?, she asked. And

sure enough, there they were, two larg-

ish birds with enormous beaks, sitting

on the fence. Just then one of them

flew full force into the window near my

head. Apparently they see their reflec-

tion in the window and attempt to fly

over to be neighborly and, Whack!

They flew into the windows all around

the house for hours! Serious brain

damage if you ask me!

And finally, should you ever be in Afri-

ca and need to ask your hostess if it is

appropriate to wear jeans outside the

house, remember to use the word

trousers instead of pants, especially

if she is talking with a young man.

Apparently, pants are something else

entirely!

Weve moved! After 4 months in Eki-

tangaala, we have relocated to Matu-

uga, about 27 km north of Kampala.

The weather here is cooler and there

are many fewer insects attempting to

eat us alive.

Cornerstone Leadership Academy

Girls (CLA Girls) is our new home. We

are staying in the Mission House with

Evelyn, a former graduate and currant

mentor for students, who is taking won-

derful care of us.

Staff and students have welcomed us

with open arms and hearts. The ap-

pointment book is full and we are

hopeful of many hearts healed of fear

and pain.

Please pray for us. We have much

work in the coming weeks and time is

short. The Lords arm, however, is not

short; He knows what a wounded heart

is and how to accomplish his work in

the time remaining. Were leaning on

him to help us finish well here.

Nearby, their grandparents keep watch over this struggling family of kids.

Mark is not home at the moment so we talk awhile with his Grandfather who

tells us, with tears in his eyes, about the deaths of his son and daughter-in-

law. As with so many other children, Mark was made an orphan by AIDS.

When Mark appears, we find that he was out hunting for honey. At school

he is an excellent student who is very, very frightened about his future. He

runs to get us chairs and we sit together outside in a little circle. Today we

do EMDR focusing on the death of his parents and his resulting insecurity

and fear. When we leave we ask if we can come back in a few days tocheck on him . Yes, he nods with a grin on his face.

We bike on to another students home. Thomas was watching along with

his younger siblings when their father fell from a tall tree and was killed.

Now his mother struggles to keep her large family fed and her children in

school.

Thomas avoids the memory of his fathers death but it catches him at night

in his dreams when he is defenseless. He and his siblings have developed

the symptoms PTSD since the accident. We do EMDR in the yard under a

tree. During this session his level of distress when remembering the event

drops several points on the scale used for the purpose. In addition his moth-

er reports that she can see in his everyday life that he is getting better.

Back on our bikes, Fred leads us back through the beautiful, but mysteriousmaze that is the bush to return home. I must confess to being distracted on

the way home. There are two other boys I need to see but their lives are in

upheaval and we wont know where they are until school starts again.

Were on

Facebook!Freeing children and those who care for them

from the wounds of trauma in Jesus name.

PO Box 3465Kirkland, WA, 98083binding.up.brokenhearts@gmail.com

Bind ing Up Broken Hear t s

Caption describing picture or graphic.

Giggles, Goofs, and Geography ...

Were planning our return to Uganda

and considering a 3 month mission to

Indonesia. Want to help keep us on the

road? Please write your check to Abbas

Ambassadors (write Vendelin's on the

memo line) and mail to:Abbas Ambassadors, PO Box 523, North

Myrtle Beach, SC , 29597