Both
• South Sudan became a country on the 9th of July, 2011. Southern Sudan is predominately Christian, and Northern Sudan is predominately Muslim.
• There are currently between 40 000 and 100 000 Southern Sudanese held captive as slaves, mostly in the North.
• There have been ongoing small conflicts, with the North threatening to invade the South.
• There have been a lot of human rights violations, especially in relation to women
• There are over 70 000 street kids in the North alone. Numbers are not available for the South, but it is likely to be high due to the violence and HIV.
• Translation issues: there are 114 languages in Sudan. Only 10 have the whole Bible, and one has only just been completed. Pray for the missionaries who are involved in the laborious task of reducing a language to writing and then translating the Bible into that language.
North
• Northern Sudan has been terrorizing the people of the Nuba Mountains, one of the predominately Christian areas in North Sudan.
• Prevention by the Northern government of air to go to unapproved areas, meaning that international aid is used as a weapon of war, starving out people who the government does not approve of.
• The North is under Shiara law, which means a lot of restrictions on certain people groups, especially Christians and women.
• Witness in the North has been predominantly killed. There are still some Coptic Christians, and the Nuba mountains. Pray strength and continued witness for these people.
South
• In the South there is a lack of basic infrastructure and a reliance on oil. The North is currently demanding a levy of $32 per barrel – with the result that South is refusing to produce. There is the possibility of moving it via Kenya or Ethiopia, as their governments are supportive of the South.
• They are having a lot of issues in rebuilding the country. Pray wisdom as they do this, pretty much from scratch.
• The LRA is operating in Southern Sudan.
• Water for wells – many people are without clean water. Water for wells and other programs aims to provide wells and other clean water sources for these people. Pray success, that the wells will be replenished and not overdrawn, and that there be a minimum amount of waterborne diseases
• Unity for the church. With the struggle to exist under the Islamic Northern government, the church has been highly unified. Without this struggle, there has been some discord. Pray against this.
• Pray that there will be a determination to witness, including to their Northern neighbors. There is a lot of bitterness there, but pray that this never gets in the way of their gospel witness.
Things You Can Do:
• Persecution Project has a petition to the UN
• Write to the UN – our representatives, their representatives, and other representatives. China, for example, has consistently overlooked the human rights abuses of the North because of the oil they were exporting (from the South). Let these countries know that things such as human rights abuses, including the imprisonment of people for religious beliefs, are not acceptable to the international community
• Click to Give has a petition up: Beyond Kony, petitioning the US government and other governments to provide ongoing support to the areas affected by Joseph Kony (the LRA)
Our next session is on Israel on Monday the 2nd of April.
Thursday 29 March 2012
Monday 26 March 2012
Beijing Exploration Trip Days 3 & 4
8/1/12 (Sunday)
We went to the Great Wall and we prayed for China on Bedaling. It was really cold up there. However, it was a great experience, we spent about 20 minutes praying for revival in China. I have always want to go to the Great Wall, let alone praying there with brothers and sisters! May God raise up more watchmen, workers in China, especially in universities and in the government. We also prayed against injustice and suffering in this nation, as well as corruption and spiritual opposition. We prayed that Christians in this nation can break down all strongholds and argument that set itself against the knowledge of God.
At night, we had dinner at a bible-themed restaurant called 'upper room' with live worship! It was pretty hard to imagine the Chinese Government allowed this to happen. Apparently, the government is more open than in the past and the spiritual atmosphere is changing.
9/1/12 (Monday)
We had dinner with Tsinghua University fellowship. The situation was similar with those in Peking University. They were under Campus Crusade for Christ. Currently they have around 30 members and 13-14 people are actively involved. Quite a few Hong Kong people are in Tsinghua Fellowship. We discussed the issue of succession planning and leadership. Since there are exchange students every year, they hold us it is vital to train new leaders when new students come. Gospel sharing is pretty straightforward. It was pretty exciting to hear their stories of lunchtime and friendship evangelism on campus.
Another thing that me and my friend Jonno thought was an international network of university Christian exchange trips. It would be good to encourage each other and widen our horizon to see what God is doing.
Charlie Lam
We went to the Great Wall and we prayed for China on Bedaling. It was really cold up there. However, it was a great experience, we spent about 20 minutes praying for revival in China. I have always want to go to the Great Wall, let alone praying there with brothers and sisters! May God raise up more watchmen, workers in China, especially in universities and in the government. We also prayed against injustice and suffering in this nation, as well as corruption and spiritual opposition. We prayed that Christians in this nation can break down all strongholds and argument that set itself against the knowledge of God.
At night, we had dinner at a bible-themed restaurant called 'upper room' with live worship! It was pretty hard to imagine the Chinese Government allowed this to happen. Apparently, the government is more open than in the past and the spiritual atmosphere is changing.
9/1/12 (Monday)
We had dinner with Tsinghua University fellowship. The situation was similar with those in Peking University. They were under Campus Crusade for Christ. Currently they have around 30 members and 13-14 people are actively involved. Quite a few Hong Kong people are in Tsinghua Fellowship. We discussed the issue of succession planning and leadership. Since there are exchange students every year, they hold us it is vital to train new leaders when new students come. Gospel sharing is pretty straightforward. It was pretty exciting to hear their stories of lunchtime and friendship evangelism on campus.
Another thing that me and my friend Jonno thought was an international network of university Christian exchange trips. It would be good to encourage each other and widen our horizon to see what God is doing.
Charlie Lam
Friday 23 March 2012
Wednesday 23.11.11 17th full day in Uganda
In nursery school I checked on Elijah’s arm. It was a LOT better – the swelling had gone down, and most of the pus had gone, and I was able to wipe away the rest of the pus. I re-sprayed it with Dettol, and applied a clean bandage. I also put a bucket-load of hand sanitizer on his hands in case he picks at it. Hopefully, if I clean it tomorrow and check on it on Friday it will be all better – I don’t want it going back to what it was. If I am still suspicious I’ll get Britt to check on him.
At lunch I at the food prepared for the staff – today it was rice and beans, and it was plain but nice. Afterwards I had some chips as well.
I went up to the primary school, but because they have just finished their exams they were all just playing. I watched until 3, and then went home. There is only so much volleyball I can handle.
Before dinner I did some reading, and then went for a walk, hoping to find an internet café (there are a lot in the city, but not so many around here) as Britt and Andrew need their laptop a lot at the moment. The only one I found was closed, and looked like it had been for a while. But I was able to buy a map of all the districts of Uganda, and for only 5000 shillings.
After dinner, Britt and I watched Honey 2, which was absolutely terrible. It was in the Rise of the Planet of the Apes cover, which is really the only excuse for such lowness.
At lunch I at the food prepared for the staff – today it was rice and beans, and it was plain but nice. Afterwards I had some chips as well.
I went up to the primary school, but because they have just finished their exams they were all just playing. I watched until 3, and then went home. There is only so much volleyball I can handle.
Before dinner I did some reading, and then went for a walk, hoping to find an internet café (there are a lot in the city, but not so many around here) as Britt and Andrew need their laptop a lot at the moment. The only one I found was closed, and looked like it had been for a while. But I was able to buy a map of all the districts of Uganda, and for only 5000 shillings.
After dinner, Britt and I watched Honey 2, which was absolutely terrible. It was in the Rise of the Planet of the Apes cover, which is really the only excuse for such lowness.
Tuesday 20 March 2012
Tuesday22.11.11 16th full day in Uganda
Nursery school mostly went as normal. Elijah (from top class, not the Elijah I’ve talked about previously) was holding his arm, rubbing it. Justine, the teacher, looked at it, and then dismissed him back to his line for the concert rehearsals. A few minutes later I went over to look at it, and saw that it was quite badly infected. What’s worse, is because it would have been sore, he was playing with it. Given how filthy kid’s hands get in even in Australia (let alone here, with a general lack of hygiene understanding) it was only going to get worse. So I took him back to our house, cleaned away the oozing pus, sprayed it with Dettol, and covered it with a bandage. It won’t help much, but it will stop it from getting more and more infected.
I stayed home from Primary School because Britt, Lisa, Doreen and I were going to go to the craft markets. We went, and I wanted a bag that says Mzungu. Doreen said, “But everyone can see that you’re a mzungu.” I told her that that was why it was funny. I couldn’t buy one, but I bought a black kids t-shirt and two black beaded necklaces that I shall turn into a bag. It will be cool. Though, I should probably work out how to use a sewing machine for that. I also got a puzzle of Africa.
After that, Doreen and Britt needed to buy some fabric and beads for the Gold Group (HIV positive women), so they can make things to sell in the West. After a mere 5 minutes, both Lisa and my eyes were glazing over, so Lisa mentioned that she was meeting a friend, Pesh, for dinner, and I went along too.
Dinner was lots of fun. It was nice to meet a Ugandan who is really doing well. While I know that ministry is needed much more amongst the poor, it can give a skewed vision of what Africa and Uganda are like. Pesh spent most of the evening aiming to convince me to come back and stay in Uganda. About ¾ of the people I speak to want me to stay. The other ¼ think I’m completely crazy to leave my nice house in Australia to come to such a difficult place as Uganda.
After dinner, Pesh bought Lisa an ice-cream and me an icy-pole, and we walked with him part of the way to his girl-friend’s house, and then Lisa and I walked all the way back to Lugala. The next morning when we told people that’s what we did, everyone looked at us like we had completely lost our minds. Bur it was actually only an hour’s walk. I didn’t get bitten by any mozzies (not one bite here – I get much more in Australia!) and lots of guys kept on saying how they wanted to be our friends, how we were very beautiful (one even said we were very beautiful from the back… hmmm…) and someone even dashed at me and told me that he loved me. Ugandan men are very good for self-esteem of this particular mzungu. Lisa joked that I’ll go back to Australia all convinced of my invincible powers over all things male. I told her I was not at all convinced, and that I doubted that I was any more beautiful than I was in Australia.
I stayed home from Primary School because Britt, Lisa, Doreen and I were going to go to the craft markets. We went, and I wanted a bag that says Mzungu. Doreen said, “But everyone can see that you’re a mzungu.” I told her that that was why it was funny. I couldn’t buy one, but I bought a black kids t-shirt and two black beaded necklaces that I shall turn into a bag. It will be cool. Though, I should probably work out how to use a sewing machine for that. I also got a puzzle of Africa.
After that, Doreen and Britt needed to buy some fabric and beads for the Gold Group (HIV positive women), so they can make things to sell in the West. After a mere 5 minutes, both Lisa and my eyes were glazing over, so Lisa mentioned that she was meeting a friend, Pesh, for dinner, and I went along too.
Dinner was lots of fun. It was nice to meet a Ugandan who is really doing well. While I know that ministry is needed much more amongst the poor, it can give a skewed vision of what Africa and Uganda are like. Pesh spent most of the evening aiming to convince me to come back and stay in Uganda. About ¾ of the people I speak to want me to stay. The other ¼ think I’m completely crazy to leave my nice house in Australia to come to such a difficult place as Uganda.
After dinner, Pesh bought Lisa an ice-cream and me an icy-pole, and we walked with him part of the way to his girl-friend’s house, and then Lisa and I walked all the way back to Lugala. The next morning when we told people that’s what we did, everyone looked at us like we had completely lost our minds. Bur it was actually only an hour’s walk. I didn’t get bitten by any mozzies (not one bite here – I get much more in Australia!) and lots of guys kept on saying how they wanted to be our friends, how we were very beautiful (one even said we were very beautiful from the back… hmmm…) and someone even dashed at me and told me that he loved me. Ugandan men are very good for self-esteem of this particular mzungu. Lisa joked that I’ll go back to Australia all convinced of my invincible powers over all things male. I told her I was not at all convinced, and that I doubted that I was any more beautiful than I was in Australia.
Saturday 17 March 2012
Beijing Exploration Trip Days 1 & 2
I (Charlie Lam) went on a trip to Beijing with friends from Hong Kong and Melbourne from 6-13 February. God has shown me so much of what he is doing in China that I would like to share it with you.
6/1/12 (Friday)
We arrived Beijing. It's quite cold but not as cold as I thought. Jane and Elka came to pick us up at the airport. On our way to the hostel, we talked to Elka, who is studying politics in Peking University. She wanted to study here because she sensed that she is called here to share the gospel. Study life is tough in Peiking University but there is a huge need for Jesus on this campus. Many students throughout primary and secondary schools seldom have contact with the outside world. Therefore, university is a great place for them to hear about Jesus. Although religious freedom is limited, it is still possible to have home cell group and house church gathering.
7/1/12 (Saturday)
We visited Peking University campus, went to a house church and the Peking University fellowship. Also, we went to a Christian bookshop. I was surprised that the government actually allowed the bookshop to be opened. During the house church service, I asked someone about the spiritual situation of Chinese people in general. It appeared that many people either have idol worship, or don't believe there is a God. People are generally open to new idea in universities. More importantly, people have a hunger for the word of God. A guy told me that he read the book of Revelation and got saved. Overall, it is not hard to share the gospel to Chinese students. You simply mention you are a Christian and initiate spiritual conversation over a meal. We witnessed someone getting saved during the house church service. It was a really exciting and wonderful time. Most people in the Peking University fellowship don't have a home church back in their home towns. In other cases, the congregation in the church are the elderly people. Consequently, these university students are the one who bring back the gospel fire to their families and relatives. Indeed, God is sending them there to be His light in different parts of China.
6/1/12 (Friday)
We arrived Beijing. It's quite cold but not as cold as I thought. Jane and Elka came to pick us up at the airport. On our way to the hostel, we talked to Elka, who is studying politics in Peking University. She wanted to study here because she sensed that she is called here to share the gospel. Study life is tough in Peiking University but there is a huge need for Jesus on this campus. Many students throughout primary and secondary schools seldom have contact with the outside world. Therefore, university is a great place for them to hear about Jesus. Although religious freedom is limited, it is still possible to have home cell group and house church gathering.
7/1/12 (Saturday)
We visited Peking University campus, went to a house church and the Peking University fellowship. Also, we went to a Christian bookshop. I was surprised that the government actually allowed the bookshop to be opened. During the house church service, I asked someone about the spiritual situation of Chinese people in general. It appeared that many people either have idol worship, or don't believe there is a God. People are generally open to new idea in universities. More importantly, people have a hunger for the word of God. A guy told me that he read the book of Revelation and got saved. Overall, it is not hard to share the gospel to Chinese students. You simply mention you are a Christian and initiate spiritual conversation over a meal. We witnessed someone getting saved during the house church service. It was a really exciting and wonderful time. Most people in the Peking University fellowship don't have a home church back in their home towns. In other cases, the congregation in the church are the elderly people. Consequently, these university students are the one who bring back the gospel fire to their families and relatives. Indeed, God is sending them there to be His light in different parts of China.
Wednesday 14 March 2012
Monday 21.11.11 15th full day in Uganda
In the morning I worked with Top Class on their concert (and got lots of photos) and then played with Baby Class, including with bubbles (and again getting lots of photos).
Abby dashed home from school halfway through bubble time, and promptly had a profound case of gastro all over the bathroom.
At lunchtime, the girls watched Hannah Montana for the fifth time in 3 days (thankfully, I’ve managed to avoid seeing the whole thing through).
At the Primary School I helped mark exams, and got to use the pit latrines. Let me just say, pit toilets are gross. GROSS I SAY.
I spent most of the rest of the day resting, and then after dinner Britt and I watched The Last Song, and made snarky comments while bawling. Andrew worked on the LOT logo for next year, but made the comment that he was glad that he wasn’t watching it, because if he cried at something so terrible he would have to neuter himself.
The power went off 3 times today. Very thankful we have a generator as a way of keeping electricity on. It’s hard to imagine life – especially in the office – without it. The computer would be off for days at a time, and no doubt halfway through very important work.
More boys wanted to be my “friend” today. I got offered several phone numbers, all of which I turned down. I don’t even have a phone here, so there was no chance of that.
Abby dashed home from school halfway through bubble time, and promptly had a profound case of gastro all over the bathroom.
At lunchtime, the girls watched Hannah Montana for the fifth time in 3 days (thankfully, I’ve managed to avoid seeing the whole thing through).
At the Primary School I helped mark exams, and got to use the pit latrines. Let me just say, pit toilets are gross. GROSS I SAY.
I spent most of the rest of the day resting, and then after dinner Britt and I watched The Last Song, and made snarky comments while bawling. Andrew worked on the LOT logo for next year, but made the comment that he was glad that he wasn’t watching it, because if he cried at something so terrible he would have to neuter himself.
The power went off 3 times today. Very thankful we have a generator as a way of keeping electricity on. It’s hard to imagine life – especially in the office – without it. The computer would be off for days at a time, and no doubt halfway through very important work.
More boys wanted to be my “friend” today. I got offered several phone numbers, all of which I turned down. I don’t even have a phone here, so there was no chance of that.
Sunday 11 March 2012
Sunday 20.11.11 - 14th full day in Uganda
We got some bad news – Simba died during the night. Unia is not having a good run of things at the moment.
My reading this morning was interrupted by Amaya, who had locked herself in the downstairs toilet. It’s pretty difficult to instruct a five year old how to turn a sticky lock through a locked door. Eventually she was free, which is good, because I usually use that toilet!
We all went to part of the first service, which is in Lubra. Andrew was preaching, and I took notes. The worship was all in Lubra.
The second (Luganda) service was this week being run by the men. I stayed home and minded Amaya and Abby. It ended up going for 4 hours. Britt came back after 2 ½. Apparently it was all on how women need to be their husband’s helper. I’m actually all for that, but I’m not married, so I’m glad I missed out on four hours of that.
The rest of Sunday was quiet, with me mostly spending time reading or beginning my planning for next year. Lots of plans on things I want to do, including more missions. Stay tuned!
My reading this morning was interrupted by Amaya, who had locked herself in the downstairs toilet. It’s pretty difficult to instruct a five year old how to turn a sticky lock through a locked door. Eventually she was free, which is good, because I usually use that toilet!
We all went to part of the first service, which is in Lubra. Andrew was preaching, and I took notes. The worship was all in Lubra.
The second (Luganda) service was this week being run by the men. I stayed home and minded Amaya and Abby. It ended up going for 4 hours. Britt came back after 2 ½. Apparently it was all on how women need to be their husband’s helper. I’m actually all for that, but I’m not married, so I’m glad I missed out on four hours of that.
The rest of Sunday was quiet, with me mostly spending time reading or beginning my planning for next year. Lots of plans on things I want to do, including more missions. Stay tuned!
Thursday 8 March 2012
Points from Praying for the Nations – 05.03.12 – Iran
I want to thank those who came to the first praying for the nations night! Our next one is on the 19th of March. I have included details of the prayer points so that those who were unable to attend can uphold this country in prayer
Iran is a predominantly Muslim nation. Islam makes up between 98-99% of the population. The government is theocratic, and is rather totalitarian.
Prayer Points
1. There is a lot of discrimination against the Armenian and Chaldeans, the two main ethnically Christian groups, with the result that many leave the country. Pray that these Armenians will find ways to provide for their families whilst remaining in Iran as a witness. These people are treated as second class citizens, unable to fully participate in the activities of their country. However, they are not likely to be killed by the government for Christian activity, as they are considered ethnically Christian.
2. Muslim Background Believers – they face a lot of persecution, from family and from the government. Adult males can be sentenced to death for apostasy (i.e. conversion from Islam). Pray for comfort and strength in difficult times, and for a strength of witness
3. Pray for three specific prisoners
a. Ps Youcef Nadarkhani – under death sentence. I have previously sent out an email about his situation
b. Ps Behnam Irani – serving a 5 year sentence, is in poor health, and guards have been ordered to beat him regularly
c. Ps Mehdi Foroutan – sentenced to 1 year in prison & has been transferred to an area catering mainly recovering drug addicts. Pray he is able to witness powerfully to those he come into contact with
4. Many Muslim Background Believers & those who work with them who are released from prison are martyred by extremist groups. Please pray for the families and congregations of:
a. Rev Haik Hovsepian Mehr (an Armenian, who testified in Ps Mehdi Dibaj’s trial for apostasy)
b. Ps Mehdi Dibaj (who was imprisoned for apostasy, released, and was later martyed)
5. Pray that all the persecution bear much fruit for Christ. That the blood of the martyrs would indeed be the seed of the Iranian church
6. For the witness of media – radio, TV, internet
7. For the translation of the Scriptures into minority languages
Other Ways You can Help
• Sign the petition for Youcef Nadarkhani
• Write to the 3 prisoners (details available through Voice of the Martyrs)
• Petition our government (and / or the government of your home country) to take action to force Iran to uphold human rights
• Buy a Voice of the Martyrs Farsi-English Testament ($22)
Iran is a predominantly Muslim nation. Islam makes up between 98-99% of the population. The government is theocratic, and is rather totalitarian.
Prayer Points
1. There is a lot of discrimination against the Armenian and Chaldeans, the two main ethnically Christian groups, with the result that many leave the country. Pray that these Armenians will find ways to provide for their families whilst remaining in Iran as a witness. These people are treated as second class citizens, unable to fully participate in the activities of their country. However, they are not likely to be killed by the government for Christian activity, as they are considered ethnically Christian.
2. Muslim Background Believers – they face a lot of persecution, from family and from the government. Adult males can be sentenced to death for apostasy (i.e. conversion from Islam). Pray for comfort and strength in difficult times, and for a strength of witness
3. Pray for three specific prisoners
a. Ps Youcef Nadarkhani – under death sentence. I have previously sent out an email about his situation
b. Ps Behnam Irani – serving a 5 year sentence, is in poor health, and guards have been ordered to beat him regularly
c. Ps Mehdi Foroutan – sentenced to 1 year in prison & has been transferred to an area catering mainly recovering drug addicts. Pray he is able to witness powerfully to those he come into contact with
4. Many Muslim Background Believers & those who work with them who are released from prison are martyred by extremist groups. Please pray for the families and congregations of:
a. Rev Haik Hovsepian Mehr (an Armenian, who testified in Ps Mehdi Dibaj’s trial for apostasy)
b. Ps Mehdi Dibaj (who was imprisoned for apostasy, released, and was later martyed)
5. Pray that all the persecution bear much fruit for Christ. That the blood of the martyrs would indeed be the seed of the Iranian church
6. For the witness of media – radio, TV, internet
7. For the translation of the Scriptures into minority languages
Other Ways You can Help
• Sign the petition for Youcef Nadarkhani
• Write to the 3 prisoners (details available through Voice of the Martyrs)
• Petition our government (and / or the government of your home country) to take action to force Iran to uphold human rights
• Buy a Voice of the Martyrs Farsi-English Testament ($22)
Monday 5 March 2012
Day 1 (8 Dec 2011) Part 1
Even the flight to Philippines was eventful. Well, actually, the pre-flight.
I reached the airport at about 10:20pm. I thought I had forgotten to bring my wallet, because I checked my travel pouch and it wasn't there. No biggie. I brought enough cash in my bag. Next thing I knew, after I had clingwrapped both my bags, I heard a vibration in my bag. Turns out my shaver was activated. So, I somehow managed to unzip my bag, reach inside and switch it off without tearing the clingwrap (goes to show how thorough the airport in Melbourne does it). And I realised my flight was at 00:20am and not 1am (Normally I would try to arrive three hours before my flight, just in case something goes wrong; in this case, something had, and I arrived late).
Other than that, the flight was okay.
I arrived at Manila at 5:40am and only managed to get out at 6:20am. I bought a sim card from a vending machine for 100 pesos. Silly thing only had 1 peso credit inside, but at least I got 35 free texts. I texted to a contact I got from the mission trip minutes (Jace was the name), who turned out to be the wrong person to call at that point in time. So, I was nearly about to give up, when I saw this guy holding a paper with my name on it. Meet my very first Filipino contact: Henry, church leader (who does not like to be called pastor) and wife to Hani (another church pastor). He drove someone to the airport at 3am, went back to sleep, and came again to fetch me from the airport. He proceeded to dump me at our accommodation at Joyce Apartments (8am) and left me there all by myself, but not before he told the guard to let me through, signed me into the rooms (one for the guys and one for the girls), introduced me to my first ever Filipino eating place (Pares Pares, which apparently means pairs) and gave m,e the contact number for Hope Church and gave me rough directions to get there. So, he wasn't so bad. He must have been sleepy.
The others are due to come at 10am. I was the first to arrive in Philippines. I had two hours to kill. So I did the first natural thing that came to me: I ate breakfast. Beef pares with rice and soup. For 750 pesos. I was still trying to figure out the conversion rate. I soon found out that walking on the apartment floor will result in black feet, and that the apartment was lacking in cleaning supplies. So, I made my way to the nearby supermarket (noticed it along the ride here). By myself. Alone. In a foreign country. It was an adventure. An adventure... to find... pure gold!
And avast, thar be them pure gold!
Along the way, you see all kinds of different modes of transport. There's the jeepney:
And the tricycle:
I topped up my phone with 100 more pesos. Now I can call anybody. At each entrance to the shopping mall there are guards stationed. They go through your bags (me reckons they are more concerned with stuff getting in than getting out). I bought dishwashing liquid, sponges, instant noodles, instant milo, biscuits and shampoo. Also bought 2.5 litres of water for the girls...er...others. I reckon 100 pesos sounds roughly like 10 Aussie dollars, maybe even five dollars. The dishwashing liquid, e.g., was 250 pesos. $2.50 or $1.25 sounds about right in Australia for stuff like these. Underground the shopping mall is like a wet market where they sell meats and stuff. Looks a bit unhygienic. 10 am+ and the others still had not arrived. The next thing I knew, I was dozing off in the air-conditioned room...
To be continued...!
Friday 2 March 2012
Saturday 19.11.11 13th full day in Uganda
We had a worship seminar this morning, from 9-1. I went quite hopeful. Well, I made it until 11:30, and I was the last of the Westerners (the whole 5 of us) to leave. It was very difficult to sit through as a Westerner, because it was very negative and slightly legalistic. I also found it difficult to square the fact that the speaker considered fear to be “false expectations appearing read” and that if we remember that we will not have any fear of man. I believe that the Biblical response to a fear of man is to have a fear of God instead. In addition, it was really hard not being able to understand even a lot of the translation.
After lunch, Unia and I went shopping. Unia got pick-pocketed twice – once on the way to the shopping centre, and once on the way back, and both in the Kampala markets. I saw the end of the first one, and got her to check her bag – her phone was gone. I stopped the one on the way back – I saw a hand dip into her bag, so I grabbed it, pulled it out, said “oy, buddy,” glared, then let him go. If you make a fuss here, other people will notice, and they will chase the pick-pocket down and beat him. I didn’t want that, but I didn’t want Unia to be robbed again. I’m kind of surprised that no one touched my stuff, but they didn’t.
Anyway, while shopping, I was able to get the rest of my presents, some chocolates I can eat, a map of Africa, a book on Luganda, and a toy made by orphans of a man riding a bike. I’m a bit cross with myself for not getting another one of those and a map of Uganda, and the Luganda/English dictionary. That said, I didn’t have enough money on me to get all those things.
Aside from that, Uni came over for dinner, and she talked mostly about “Mum” (Michelle Heyward); I went online for a bit, and I read a bit more of Shirley by Charlotte Bronte. I think so far it’s my favourite of her works.
After lunch, Unia and I went shopping. Unia got pick-pocketed twice – once on the way to the shopping centre, and once on the way back, and both in the Kampala markets. I saw the end of the first one, and got her to check her bag – her phone was gone. I stopped the one on the way back – I saw a hand dip into her bag, so I grabbed it, pulled it out, said “oy, buddy,” glared, then let him go. If you make a fuss here, other people will notice, and they will chase the pick-pocket down and beat him. I didn’t want that, but I didn’t want Unia to be robbed again. I’m kind of surprised that no one touched my stuff, but they didn’t.
Anyway, while shopping, I was able to get the rest of my presents, some chocolates I can eat, a map of Africa, a book on Luganda, and a toy made by orphans of a man riding a bike. I’m a bit cross with myself for not getting another one of those and a map of Uganda, and the Luganda/English dictionary. That said, I didn’t have enough money on me to get all those things.
Aside from that, Uni came over for dinner, and she talked mostly about “Mum” (Michelle Heyward); I went online for a bit, and I read a bit more of Shirley by Charlotte Bronte. I think so far it’s my favourite of her works.
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