Covid-19

New Year Update and Prayer Request

wilfredrugumba1 Comment

Greetings again and Happy New Year 2021.

I can’t thank you enough for your support and prayers through this journey.

Tuesday, January 19, was our 13th wedding anniversary, and Vena had her last cancer treatment that day. For the next month, she will only have to go for doctor reviews, since her white blood cell count is still low. Please pray it gets up quick and she will be able to travel home.

Last week, I went fishing with my dad Tom and Mickey in Redding. Mickey, thought he had recovered from the flu and tested negative for Covid, was with us for about four days. On our way back, he was advised to test again since his symptoms persisted, and he tested positive. We dropped him at the airport in Sacramento, and he rented a car and drove back to Bakersfield. We remained in Redding and self-isolated. I did a test on Monday and another one on Friday, both came out negative. It allowed me to spend more time fishing with Tom.

I missed being with my family during that time, and I was unable to be with Vena for our anniversary.

Uganda school starts this week, I am now traveling back to Uganda with 3 kids and 15 suitcases full of donations. Vena and Zoe will join us later when she is done with her doctor reviews.


Please pray for my trip. In order for us to travel through Amsterdam, each one of us had to take a corona test due to the new requirements of KLM and Dutch Government. We were also required to do an antigen test 4 hours before we boarded the flight.

Please pray that nothing new comes up that will disorganize our trip. We have a direct flight from LAX to Amsterdam and a short 50 minute layover before we will catch our last flight to Uganda. I have been on that flight before and the terminals are close, but please pray that our flight is not delayed.

Zoe developed a fever, and we were giving her Tylenol to help her feel better. We had to make the last minute decision to leave her in California with Vena.

In Uganda, a lot of preparations are going on as we plan to reopen the school soon. We are building more classrooms and finishing the existing ones. We are now planting grass in our field and I can’t wait to be back.

Thank you again for your prayers and support through this journey.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2021

November Update

wilfredrugumba10 Comments

It has been a while since I last wrote an update; a lot has been going on in our lives, so here is our latest update.

After being separated for about 6 months as a family, in late September, while the Ugandan airports were still closed because of Covid-19, we miraculously received a special pass that allowed us to travel out of the country. It was a 70 hour journey of faith to the United States. We had to drive through Kenya and hustle with immigration, but we finally made it. My plan is to stay until the end of January, when Vena will be done with her treatment.

It has been a joy for us to be together as a family. The first few weeks were difficult as we were adjusting to staying for a long time rather than a short visit. We are currently staying with Rille and Tom, in their home; they have taken us in as their kids.

Legacy Christian School, in Bakersfield, allowed our kids to join their school for free. Joshua was assessed and is in grade 3, Graham is in grade 4 and Zoe is in grade 1. They attend school two days a week, in person, and for the remaining days, the school gives me work and I homeschool them.

It has been a growing moment for me; I am more appreciative of teachers. The school provided us a tutor who comes and helps me learn and to teach the kids.

This week is Thanksgiving Break, and we took the kids to a cabin in Redding. The kids had an opportunity to see and play in the snow for the first time.

Vena has finished Chemo, and she is now starting two months of radiotherapy. The last time they checked her, the cancer had cleared, and we are thankful to God for that.

Pray for her, as of recently, she is tired of the medicine and the continued effects.

Back home ministry is going on; I have continued to work remotely. Our Senior Management team at Mercy has continued to oversee the day to day management of the ministry and Pastor Phillip, together with the church elders, are leading the church.

Our hearts are grieving the loss of Daniel (one of the kids.) At the beginning of this month, he was found abandoned a few days after his birth. He did not show any signs of sickness at the time of admission, and a few days later, we sent him to a family that wanted to start the journey of adopting him. Last weekend, he got suddenly sick, and was rushed to our national referral hospital, where he died of pneumonia. The doctors said that he had dirt in this lungs which could have been inhaled during the abandonment process, where he was dumped, and that bugs might have crawled in his nose and beyond. We are finalizing his burial process this week.

We are also grieving the loss of my Aunt. My Father’s sister died early this week due to Corona, she was buried on the 22nd.

Your prayers are greatly appreciated as we grieve these two losses.