Mission Trip to Manila: Before the Trip

My name is Shaun Rimos. I am from Hope Christian Church Waverley Centre. Recently I went for a mission trip in Manila, Philippines.

One day, I was reviewing the Clayton student group’s Evangelism Ministry Development’s activities for 2011. I remembered how several of us expressed a desire to go on a mission trip this year. The closest we got was expressing interest for the mission trips Pastor T. T. Quah planned for 2011 and 2012. We had not gotten any updates from these mission trips.

I remembered Hope International Ministries itself had a missions blog, so I checked it out. I came across the first post on the blog.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2011

LIBERIA & CONGO, AFRICA MISSION REPORT

Praise God. The missions momentum in Oceania is going strong. There are several mission trips conducted by various churches over this coming summer. Do pray for the teams and believe for great things.

Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Matthew 9:38

Sending Church Mission Location

Hope Melbourne City Centre - Hope WA (Dandaragen, Busselton and Esperance) Oct 5-18
Hope Auckland - Lautoka, Fiji, Oct 10-18
Hope Brisbane - Suva, Fiji, Oct 12-17
Hope Adelaide - Chennai, India Oct 25 – Nov 2
Hope Hobart - Hope Newcastle, Nov 23-28
Hope Brisbane - Perth & Katanning Nov 23-30
Hope Brisbane - Chiangmai, Thailand, Jan 2-8
Hope Brisbane - Manila, Philippines, Dec 8-15
Hope Brisbane - Liberia, Jan 2012 & Mar 2012

(The rest of the blog are not included)
May Cheung
Oceania Mission Coordinator
www.oceaniamissions.blogspot.com

There were two mission trips organised by Hope Brisbane that caught my attention. I planned to return to Malaysia by 17 December 2011 and stay on while the university was on Christmas holidays until 2 January 2012. These two mission trips were a perfect fit for my holiday plan: Either I could go to Chiangmai, Thailand on 2 January 2012 after my visit to Malaysia, or I could go to Manila, Philippines and come back in time to Malaysia on 15 December 2011.

Seeing this as a perfect opportunity to finally go for a mission trip (had desire to go since undergrad), I decided to write to May Cheung to express my interest. For days, I did not receive a reply. I had a chat with Uncle Peng Leong, missions coordinator for Hope Waverley, and he recommended me to go through the proper channels. That basically meant he can write to May Cheung himself and recommend me. I gave him my name and details, including what ministries I was involved in and the mission trips I was interested in. He sent May an email on 15 October. On 22 October, I got a message from the leader of the mission trip headed for Manila, Philippines. The message actually went through May and Peng to get to me. It goes something like this:

I am happy for Shaun to be involved in the Manila mission trip.

However I will need him to confirm with us as soon as possible, since most of the matters have been settled and arranged for the trip, including accommodation. We have also assigned roles to team members and all of us have been preparing for the trip.

I will need to know the following information first:

Full name

Church ministries involved

Full travelling details (including his trip back to Malaysia)

Once confirmed I will send out forms with more details him to fill out.

I will try my best to work out something for Shaun. However he may need to be flexible, since we have done quite a bit of planning and preparation without him.

Please ask him to contact me directly if he wants to know more details of the trip. Please feel free to keep all the relevant people in the loop. Thanks a lot:)

Nilla

I was fortunate to hear that they were willing to accept me even when they had prepared much earlier on in the year and I became a last minute addition to their team and plans. Nevertheless, I was still keen to find out about the Chiangmai trip, because I had some graduations I wanted to attend. Note: At that time, I still had not booked my flights tickets yet, save for my flights within Malaysia. So, Peng once again corresponded with May, but this time, I got a message that the Chiang Mai mission team is NOT able to accommodate me as the team already has maxed out the team size (capital letters retained). So, I decided to go on the Manila mission trip. I finally booked all the necessary flights, making the total of 8 flights (planes I sat on) for my entire trip.

Friday 11.11.11 5th full day in Uganda

As the morning was fairly typical, I’m going to record some random things that I want to remember:
• Tea here is fantastic! Apparently the coffee is too – so much that even instant coffee supposedly tastes good.
• Everyone here keeps on complimenting me on my clothes, saying they look “smart”. My peasant skirts are especially a hit, which is good, because I love them, and so I’ll buy more for my next trip.
• When the children in Top Class want to go to the toilet, they come and kneel at your feet and ask if you will let them go out. It’s rather disconcerting to have a child suddenly throw themselves at your feet.
• Regarding the water – don’t even brush your teeth with it. Use bottled water or fresh rainwater.
• Malaria pills make you feel sick. I suppose they beat the alternative.
• Turns out the way I wave me means “come” in Uganda. I need to work on changing that.
• I finally learnt how to spit spitballs! I’ve always wondered since reading about them in Enid Blyton novels. You shoot them through the U shaped position you can put your tongue in. I don’t think I’ll ever use this essential life skill, but it’s good to know.

Onto my day:

After school, we had LOT, the Youth Group, which stands for Leaders Of Tomorrow. Britt and Andrew ran the talk, which was on sex. They handed out leaflets so you could privately write down any questions. I was offered one, but said that I really don’t have any questions on this topic. The first hour of LOT was the talk, then the 2nd hour was games. So I left. I don’t play games – I barely even played them as a kid – I thought they were a waste of time, and I had better things to do. My opinion on games has not changed. So I came back here to write in my diary.

After dinner we had a prayer meeting. Half of it was in Luganda, and the other half was in English (they translated as they went into the opposite to whatever the speaker’s language was), and a lot of the songs were in Luganda. Even without being able to understand a lot of it (even the English is not necessarily easy to understand) it was wonderful. I remember thinking that this must be a bit like what heaven will be like – lots of people praising God in their own tongue together.

Afterwards there was a group going to a nearby church where they were having a combined all praise night. Theirs is actually all night – it basically ends when everyone has to leave for work the next day.

The other thing that I really must write about is how in the middle of the night, Amaya woke up. The power goes off often in the night, so it was pitch black, and she was scared, and started screaming. I have a torch, but I waited in bed for about 5 minutes, not wanting to get up, before I actually did. I even thought at the time what a horrible person I was for not getting up to comfort a scared child. Definitely an appalling lack of love on my part.




Me and the kids at the Nursery school

Thursday 10.11.11 4th full day in Uganda

The morning started off much the same as usual. I went to devotions, and I was asked to close in prayer. I was really nervous because I usually don’t pray out loud.

Devotions Group

I went to Baby School, and started off in the Baby Class, but Alice mentioned that Top Class would like to have me, so I went there. They were so much calmer than the Baby Class! It was a really amazing different. Top Class mostly sat and did their work, with little running around, hitting each other, or shouting. I was asked to sharpen pencils for a bit (probably so the teacher didn’t have to) and sharpened so many that I got a blister.

At break, Justine got out some sandpit toys. There were so many children in the sandpit that there was barely enough room for them to play with the sand. It was crazy!




At Primary School the time was pretty much as usual, though now I am working with a child by myself, instead of with Amina, instead of by myself, which I prefer, as I feel like I am being more useful.


After Primary School I went for a walk up away from the Primary School, with the aim of buying something nice to eat – a treat. I found the more Western looking supermarket, and went in, but the only sweet treats they had were biscuits. I bought a packet of chips for 500shillings, (20 cents) but there wasn’t anything else I could eat. I walked back, then walked along our road in search of something. Along the way I saw a family struggling along with two sacks of potatoes. I offered to help, and helped the oldest girl with the biggest sack, so that the younger girl and the mother (who was also carrying a baby) could carry the smaller one.

On my way back to the compound, I was approached by a man called Alex. He wanted me to sponsor him to come to Australia. I told him that it didn’t just work like that, that many of my friends come from Malaysia and Singapore and other overseas countries, and having a sponsor doesn’t automatically mean that you can stay and work in Australia. Alex is educated – he has even been to university, studying electrical engineering, but there just aren’t any jobs. He wanted an Aussie dollar, as a sign that he would make it out of Uganda one day. He kept telling me how bad it is in Uganda – there are no jobs, no opportunities. He’s sleeping on the floor of a friend’s house – and believe me, the houses around here are not great. Yet he isn’t what most people would think of when they think of the poor – he really is an intelligent, educated guy. His English is great (most people here speak English, but like Singlish, it isn’t always that English). But he’s stuck not able to move on with his life.

Back at the compound, I had dinner, and then Britt and Andrew said I could use their internet. I think I was on there for about 2 ½ hours. I had tons of emails, and it seemed that every person whose blog I read had updated multiple time in the past 3 days (one person had done about 10 new posts!). So I’m actually still up, even though it’s nearly 10.

Frank and Michelle’s dog, Simba, is sick. Frank and Michelle have gone to Australia to fund-raise, and Unia (their foster-daughter) stays at their house. She is a big animal fan, and she was distraught today. Doreen, the child protection officer, told her to get over it, it’s just a dog. Unia cried more and more. Britt and Andrew bought her some chocolate to comfort her – and I now know a store that sells Western food (and therefore, hopefully something GF/DF). I will go tomorrow lunchtime! Unia came over, Britt went to take a baby to the medical clinic, and Andrew, Unia and I prayed for Simba.

Evangelism Report

Sunday 1st of January, 2012 – Hannah Maynard

A Million Dollar Question

Will you go to Heaven when you die?

A confronting question, isn’t it? For so many of us, death is something we try to push to the back of our minds. But as we hear about deaths in the news headlines, what more important time than ever is it for us to consider this topic, right here, right now?

Before Hope Frankston headed off on their third evangelism session so far, time was taken first to prepare. Armed with a wad of “million dollar” notes, Stephen handed us out all a tract before we hit the road; a tract which looked, well, exactly like that – a million dollar note. An attention grabber, the tract though held more than entertainment to the eye – it started off by asking the million dollar question: Will you go to Heaven when you die?” After taking the time to discuss this question amongst ourselves and how we might discuss it with people in Frankston, we split into pairs or a group of 3, and headed off on our way.

First of all, me, Dani and Wes headed for Ballam Park. But after soon realising that a spacious, empty park on this very hot day wasn’t going to get us far, we headed for the beach. The beach was crowded, which also meant that the carpark was the same, so Wes dropped me and Dani off as he looked for an empty spot. Being Dani’s first time participating in the evax sessions, as always, we made sure to pray first. We then saw a woman sitting underneath a tree, with her children. We were going to approach her, but soon realised she had headphones in her ear and didn’t want to disturb her. We then approached an older couple sitting underneath a tree. Crouching down to where they were sitting, we introduced ourselves, and asked about their views on Heaven. We found out they came from a Catholic church background, were currently attending a church in Hampton, and were originally from Croatia. However, they soon told us they didn’t speak English so implied to us it would be better for us to leave them. We politely thanked them for their time, and with 5 mins to get back to our debrief with the others, we found Wes (who’d just found a carpark) and headed back off again!

Sarah and Kien also went to the beach, only a different section of it. They managed to interact with a number of people. But the first thing they did was help a guy back his car into the Coles carpark. When they were at the beach, they talked to a Sudanese guy called Kook, who shared about where he was from, where he’s been, and how he went to a church back in Sudan. The next person they found was a retired man called Vahn, from Vietnam. He talked about Australia and his retired life. While they were speaking, Sarah felt prompted to ask him if he’d like prayer. He said that he didn’t fully understand what she meant however, so they had the chance to explain what prayer was to him. He declined the prayer in the end, but it gave them the chance to broach the subject. Sarah and Kien asked why he didn’t want prayer, with him replying that his family was Catholic and that he already knows about Heaven and sin. But he then also said that he didn’t think he’d go to Heaven when he dies, but back to the dirt – that death just happens. They also learnt that he was in the war. They then handed him the million dollar tract, and he started reading it as they said goodbye and parted from him.

Last but not least, Kelly and Stephen headed for the train station, hanging by the bus stop. The first guy they tried approaching didn’t seem friendly to them so they went on their way. The next girl they approached however, took out her ipod earphones to speak with them. Stephen and Kelly asked if this girl went to church. She said she sometimes went with friends to Jubilee (her best friend was a Christian) and volunteers in their soup kitchen. She told them she had Christian values, but doesn’t consider herself one and believes in reincarnation. She was very open however, and they passed her the tract. The bus then came, so Kelly and Stephen went on their way. They approached another guy sitting by himself, but he didn’t seem interested. The two then met Annah, an African lady from Zimbabwe. Annah told them how she was Christian and currently goes to an Anglican church, but how her husband (who’s still back in Zimbabwe) is Catholic. They are escaping the war in Zimbabwe, and her husband is still waiting to come to Australia. Kelly and Stephen then prayed for Annah and she began crying because someone close to her had died. She was so touched. She told them she was proud of them because they were young and told them that they were messengers from God. They then exchanged phone numbers, and she expressed interest in coming to our church, praise God!

Reflecting back on this, it is so empowering to see how God is using us in the streets of Frankston. Already we are beginning to fruits occur from our evax sessions. The devil will be wondering what’s happening! As I end this report, I can also see themes beginning to occur throughout the sessions. Each week, we appear to be reaching out to more Africans. Another thing I’ve noticed is how God is really using us as a team – each week the pairs are different, each pair experiences something new, and every time, amongst us, we bear fruit! Some weeks you may not experience as much fruit, but then the next week you experience an abundance of it! It all seems to go in turn, every week is a different story, and God is using each and every one of us all for the glory of God!

* Hannah Maynard.

Wednesday 09.11.11 3rd Full Day in Uganda.

Wow! What an incredibly busy day! I haven’t stopped or had a chance to write since waking up.

At devotions I asked Lisa when I would have a chance to change my money. She told me she would arrange something, and then a short time later told me that I could go into Kampala with Unia at 10:30. So I went to Baby class (this time with my camera) until break, and then dashed back to my room to get all my money to change. The bad news is I cannot find $50. But even so, I will have heaps I think.

We caught 2 taxis into Kampala. A taxi is more like a bus in Australia; as many as can fit in catch it, getting off along the way.


A taxi

Before going to the bank we went to pay a parking fine. We walked through crazy traffic, with Unia grabbing my hand whenever we had to cross so that I wouldn’t get mown down by the cars.

We changed my money, and boy, I have never felt so rich! My money stack is huge! (I’ve taken photos!) Then we bought a Luganda Bible (EkitabooEkitkuvu). It cost 37,000 shillings ($14.80). We then got on the taxi by the market. While we were waiting heaps of people came by the sell us things. I bought a bottle of water for 1000 shillings. Unia got him down to 700 shillings, but he then pretended that he didn’t have change. I said it was fine. 1000 shillings is equivalent to 40 cents.


I got back to the compound at 1:35, thinking that that was just enough time to eat and go to school. Lisa told me that I didn’t need to, but I didn’t come here to hang around the compound. I went to our house, only to find that the house was locked! I ran back to the office, waited while they found the keys, then ran back and opened the door, struggling with the bolts which I had to open through the hole in the door. Then I dashed around, hiding my money and camera, grabbing my stuff, and eating a bowl of cold old fried rice. Then I ran out and walked to the primary school.

Amina wasn’t there, so Justine, the principal, asked me which students I wanted to see. I said Gideon and Esther, and worked with them. Esther is improving – she mostly lacks confidence. Then Amina arrived, but took sport outside, so she told me which child to work with – a boy called Gasper (pronounced Jasper but with a G, not Gasp-er). Amina and I walked back together. Her baby and husband are both sick with malaria.


Me and Esther

After school I got to supervise some of the P6’s rehearsing a dance, as Lisa had a meeting. They were all really good, with a girl called Sarah being a real performer, if not the best dancer in the group.

Then I was finished for the day, so I went back home and wrote this entry, stopping for dinner, until now.

On Friday I have been invited to take part in LOT, their Youth Group (standing for Leaders of Tomorrow), from 4:30-6:30, which will be exciting. Hopefully I will be able to go shopping on Saturday, because there is no school or anything, and I will go crazy with nothing to do. I finally understand why people don’t want to be SAHW/SAHMs, though at home there is always so much to do (and you know all the different places to go). Here even the cooking, cleaning, shopping and washing are done for me, and I have less and less to read each day. I need to buy another book before going to the airport. But at least I will be able to sleep on the plane.

08.11.11 My Second Full Day in Uganda.

Up early – before either my alarm went off or the rooster next door crowed. Had my quiet time, and am reading one of the books on Uganda that was on the lounge table. The Ugandan flag has the same colours as the Aboriginal flag, and two of the three have the same meaning. Yellow for the sunshine, black for the people. The red, which in the Aboriginal flag symbolises the land, in the Ugandan flag symbolises the brotherhood of man. Ironically, the dirt here is the same red as it is in Central Australia.

The fruit here is terrific! The pineapple are much sweeter than back home. There are tons of bananas, and I’m going to have some more types of fruit soon.

Devotions was good. Lisa asked me before we started if I was a Brethren. Oscar (one of the teachers) asked me just afterwards if I was a nun. I told both of them that I wasn’t. Lisa then told Oscar off for asking in such a blunt way. I told them that my mother had said far worse things about my head-covering.

Britt spent the morning vomiting, and Andrew spent it on the loo. I’d say that they have the same thing, but Britt’s is just her malaria pills.

School was much the same as yesterday, except that I am getting more able to tell who the different children are. It’s difficult because all the children look the same – they all even have the same haircut – very, very short (shaved through to buzz cut). Girls too!



I doing fine with interacting with them. I’m a lot quicker to notice misbehaviour than their regular teachers. Lisa said that as a rule, the teachers have difficulty doing more than one thing at the same time, so helping children with their work and watching out for misbehaviour is tricky for them.



The children are both extraordinarily compliant and extremely badly behaved. In some ways it’s like Frankston children: they’ll punch each other up the second the teacher isn’t look.

Most of the Baby Class are 4 years old. However, several are older, as children start school when they can pay their school fees – and if they drop out and restart later, even years later, they continue where they left off.

One of the children, Elijah, is 6. He’s tiny, and hunchbacked. Apparently he only started walking 5 months ago – and now he is running about, slightly unsteadily, along with the rest of the children.

Elijah

The class is slightly bigger – 32 children in each of the two classes. There are two teachers. The thing that most Westerners would notice early on is just how much the rooms smell like wee. Luckily for me, I’m used to worse smells!




***

I think the thing that most surprises me is just how ordinary everything is. It is what always strikes me about being overseas; it just doesn’t FEEL different. I think it will feel like I’m upside down, and it just doesn’t. It’s also hard that I don’t know how useful I am being here. I know that this trip is more about visiting for the first time, seeing how my health can handle being, and just experiencing it a bit. I also know that first time short-term missionaries are more a hindrance than people realise, but I expected… well, to feel more useful.

***

Primary school was pretty much the same as yesterday. I walked up by myself. Lots of people waved to the Mzungu on the way up. While at school it rained, and the rain here is like our summer showers – heavy, thunderous, but over pretty soon. It turned the tracks by the road to mud.

On the way back a bunch of Hope Primary children walked alongside me, asking me a ton of questions, including am I a nun, if not, why do you have that head-covering, am I married, and finally my name and other personal details. They were aghast at my name (pronounce SAHM here). “That’s a boy’s name,” I was told. I might have to change my name when I move here. I know Em from Em on a mission goes by Emmarie in Uganda, because Em is short for Emmanuel here.

Before dinner I went out for a walk. I went to the top of the street and turned the opposite way from the Primary School. The houses were terrible and there were little market stalls. A boda stopped and asked if I wanted to hop on, but I said no. Maybe I will catch one the weekend. Lots of people said, “How are you?” or waved at the mzungu, There was only 1 western style shop, a small supermarket / convenience store. I will probably go there for food treats once I have changed my money. Aside from that, there is a limited amount I want to buy from the local shops. I hope to go into Kampala proper to go shopping. I want a shirt that says mzungu, and some paper-bead necklaces for presents. Another book to read would definitely not go amiss either.

In terms of adapting, I’m not really homesick. I miss being around the people who ‘get’ me – Kallie especially – but I’m going ok. I think being a bit of a loner means that I’ve found things a bit easier in that way. As I don’t have a TV I’m not missing that, and am managing ok only having had the internet once. I’m glad I’ve scheduled posts in advance for that.

Time zone wise I’m fine. I’m getting up at 6-6:30 here (compared to 6:30-7 at home) and am going to bed earlier (between 8-9, compared with 9-10:30 at home), but I’m sleeping most of the night and am not too tired during the day.

My list of Luganda words has grown to 13, with a correction being made. I took my notebook with me to Primary school and was able to get the children to tell me a few words. Some I couldn’t even copy down, but small steps add up!

I was just thinking about what I miss from back home, when God sent a lizard into my room! Reminded me of my pet lizard, Robespierre. God is so good!

Why Missions, Even To "Reached" Countries, Are Vital

The other day I met with someone who will be working in a chaplain/ pastor role at theHopeSchoolnext year. We talked about supporting young people through challenges. I wanted to establish protocols for when child safety incidents arose and the referral process (to the social worker). I asked:’ What is a minor problem that could come up regularly here’. InBrisbanea minor problem would probably mean: ‘Having challenges with my friends at school’ or ‘My parents don’t understand me…’. When I asked this question here I got the response: ‘A student sharing that their parent is withholding food from them (e.g. refusing to feed them).’ I was a bit taken aback (that this was a ‘minor’ problem) and I asked what would be a major problem that you could come across here. I got this response: ‘A student told me that his parents wanted to sacrifice him to the demons of their village’. I am pretty sure I would leave these problems to the amazing local social worker. I am a little out of my depth…

From Britt & Andrew's blog, Into Lugala. Britt and Andrew are the two missionaries who were at COME Uganda with me, and who are still serving there.

Evax – Second time round:

Sunday 13th of November 2011
After church, a few of us did what has been labelled “Evax” - and no, this is not a new vaccination. It is a time slot dedicated to street evangelism so that seeds of the truth of Christ are planted into people’s hearts and people are brought closer to knowing God. So one sunny afternoon eight people from Hope Frankston went to see what the Holy Spirit was doing in the local streets.

Hannah and Sarah Renshaw went to the beach where people come from around Melbourne. There, the girls met an African from Ghana called Ishmael aka “Ish”. Sarah was at first a little intimidated by Ish who was big, muscular, and wearing black, however Hannah was quick to initiate conversation. It turns out that Ish was a Christian from Narre Warren and used to go to church back in Africa but had dropped off in Australia. The girls passed him a small flyer with Hope Frankston’s details and encouraged him to come to church. Ish saw from our photo that we are quite a multicultural church and the girls encouraged him to represent Africa in Hope Frankston. We have not seen him yet, but hopefully Ish has begun to reconnect with a church.

Elsewhere, Kallie and Stephen meandered around the streets of down-town Frankston and were able to strike up some conversations and attracting attention. One of the conversations was with two year 9 girls, who did not know about Jesus. Stephen was quick to set these two young girls straight while the girls politely listened. The conversation ended with the passing of a tract. Stephen also attracted the attention of some folks in their golden years, which Kallie pointed out that not many people (except for the oldies) dress like Stephen – vest, tweed pattern, and tan leather vintage-looking shoes – though Stephen, manages to pull it off. I’m sure that this brought them some joy.

Meanwhile, Kelly and Kien went looking for people at Balwyn Park where people were having parties. There were a few people who were somewhat solitude which provided an opportunity for Kelly and Kien to make conversation. One guy was a man a dog watching his three kids on the playground. Conversation was a little difficult as the man’s concentration was on his children; however a small friendly conversation took place. The other person was a man sitting by himself, who was not particularly interested in Christianity per se but was open to conversation which sounded rather philosophical and hopefully got the guy thinking.

Phil and I drove and walked around Frankston Heights Primary School where church is held. At first we prayed and drove around to get a spiritual sense of the area. I felt that this part of Frankston was pretty much closed spiritually. So we parked the car near church and walked around praying. Besides the people going from their front door to the curb to add to their hard rubbish collection, there was hardly anyone around.

Phil and I did however run into two people on our walk. We introduced our names, explained that we were from a local church, and asked if they wanted prayer. Both declined our offer. The first guy was friendly, smiled, and said “not for me.” The second person, a lady, said similarly declined.

My experience of going out on evangelism events is that sometimes people do not want to be approached. Sometimes an area is dry spiritually, so you pray for the Spirit to penetrate the place. Other times the people might not be “ripe” or ready to hear the message. Sometimes God just wants you to get a sense of the place.

I have found E-vax to be a great way not only to connect Hope to the Streets but also a safe way to practice evangelising. After all, you’re not thrown into the deep end by yourself, you get to take someone with you. And after going out on the streets and listening to the other’s testimonies it sounds like there is a lot of work yet to be done here in Frankston.

- Sarah Maynard

Keep In Prayer

...the mission trip to Hope Hobart!

Hope Hobart is the daughter church of Hope Melbourne City Centre and Hope Melbourne City Centre occasionally sends out a team to support their work.

This trip is from 7 to 15 January 2012 where the team will go to help run the Sunday service for two weeks in the areas of worship and pre service prayer.

Other objectives of the trip is to do evangelism in the Hobart area and to promote the church. Also, to cook food for church members and visitors and serve them in practical ways.

The team is headed by Daniel Long (City) and includes;
Cheah Leon (City)
Ben Kim (Darebin)
Stephen Tan (Frankston)
Hannah Maynard (Frankston)

07.11.11 My First Full Day in Uganda

I woke at 3, but was able to go back to sleep, and rewoke to my alarm at 6:45. So I’m more or less on the right time zone, though I’m feeling a little tired.

I did my quiet time, then ate breakfast. All the cereals etc are not GF, so I had a banana and 2 GF/CF cookies with a cup of tea and my malaria pill. Then I did some reading before Lisa (the education officer here) came and got me for the Baby School (kinder/prep age).



One of the teachers in the Baby Class (kinder) had not shown up for work that day, so I was there the entire day. Things are a bit different – it is more structured than education in Australia. It is also in a mix of Luganda and English. Primary school onwards are just in English, but for the little ones, it is their first year in English instruction. I’ve taught ESLs before, including ones who were not used to being in classes or schools, but I’ve never taught in a class of ESLs. So it was an experience. The children all crowd around me, and a few have been slightly amazed at my paleness – holding their arms to mine in amazement. Which isn’t really that surprising, given how much paler I am than even most Australians.



We had a cup of porridge for snack. It was made from maize (corn) so I had some. It was sweet, and quite nice. It certainly beats the rice porridge that a few of church people have given me! The we had a play outside, playing skipping and with balls. I learnt how to say “my turn” in Luganda, but I’ve forgotten it already. Then we went back inside and continued study.



When back in class, I was go through individual work with the children, and then when I was helping a girl called Rose, she just started bobbing, then began to wee. I told her to go to the toilet, and she ran, leaving a trail of wee. She was back a few minutes later, and we continued where we left off. The teacher, Alice, thought it was one of the funniest things! I told her I’ve had worse – which is true! I’ve had children wee on me at work before!



The Baby School finishes at 12, so I came back to the visitors dorm and am recording a few thoughts before lunch. So far, my schedule seems to be:

8AM- 8:30AM – Devotions
8:30-9:45 – Baby School
9:45-10:30 – Break
10:30-12:00 – Baby School
12-2 – My lunch break
2-4 – Primary school

Other than that, I think my time is all free, which wasn’t what I was expecting! I’ve already read two of my four books (on the plane) and am a third of the way through the third. Hopefully I will be able to use some of my spare time to explore.



Anyway, I’m off to have some lunch, before Primary School starts.

***

Primary school was fun. I helped Amina with what in Australia would be termed Reading Recovery. It was very much like in Australia.

On the walk back I got beeped at a lot. I had thought people were beeping at me, and now I’m certain. A few people pointed or said “Mzungu” (which means white person). Amina walked me back, and she pointed out that Aussies walk very fast, while Ugandans stroll along very slowly. The funny thing is, to many people overseas, Aussies walk slowly!

I was planning on going for a walk after work, but ended up talking with Lisa, Britt and Andrew. Which is probably good, because I don’t have any local money, just $US. I need to change at least some of my money.

I’ve started a notebook of Lugandan words, which I hope to add to over my stay. So far I have 7 words – not exactly great conversation material! And given that I knew 3 of them before I came, I’m not doing so great one the language front.

A not on health: Brilliant! I haven’t had an asthma attack since arriving in Uganda. No signs of tummy bugs, or anything else, and I haven’t been bitten once by a mozzie. God be praised for answering the prayers of His people in regards to my health over here!



Anyway, goodnight for now!