hey again, just a quick message this time (really!) - i'm at "Fastnet" in town, which really is amazingly fast - i think i might faint from shock when i get home and use broadband though, it still takes a couple of minutes to load this page. And, excuses, excuses - but i can't even load my photos onto this computer, so you'll have to wait til i can borrow Katy's computer next week and try to post them then, or maybe email them if it takes too long to upload them.
One thing that may shock you is i'm actually jogging every morning!! i felt so unfit as we just sit around most of the day, and there's a football field and a rough field below that where nobody can see me or hear me puffing away as long as i go early enough....!
We had Susan's birthday yesterday - she's in my dorm, and also one of my trainee DTS staff, and she's lovely! Sadly, there was no time to make a cake, but it's Nixon's birthday on Weds so we'll try to recruit American Sarah who makes the BEST cakes ever...Tues is a free pm unless Sakeasi puts me on the rota to cook dinner. We're also having a "halfway-day" party in a couple of weeks (next week is week 5, the whole lecture phase is 12 weeks) So today I am laden down with a zillion party and cake-making things, the bus ride home should be interesting!! I have Pip with me though, she's staying over with us tonight, yay! And also Eeltje (pronounced "Iltsy") from Friesland who's on the Foundations of Community Development (FCD) course. It's fun having someone to talk about cows and Friesian horses to! And now all you unbelievers will have to accept that I didn't make up a country, Friesland really does exist and he is living proof!! (As if the Friesian cows, horses and sheep weren't evidence enough....what are you like?! hahaha)
ok now i have to go, or i'll be late back and might get told off!!
will keep working on the photos, i'm sorry! Hope you guys are all well, and enjoying your speedy internet and permanent electricity.....no, i'm not missing England that much really!
alex : ) xxxx
Saturday, 15 September 2007
Wednesday, 12 September 2007
The girl of many names...
I just wanted to post up the thing that makes me laugh most in this place - everyone seems to have a problem with my name!!!! They either can't accept that Alex can also be a girl's name, or they forget what it is! So I now just answer to whatever name is given to me - Katy, Hannah, Rachel, Rose, Charles (yup, really - but I just respond by calling him Alex) Kibonzo (Swahili for "cartoon" - i like that one!) and most recently, Erin and Gemma!
Oh, and while I'm mentioning funny things, I have to tell this story of what happened the first weekend I was here...to appreciate the story, you should know that Western Ugandans pronounce the letter "L" as "R" (so my name is often "Arex"...don't even think about trying it though, i WILL beat you when i get back, jakukuba NYO!)
So, as I was on my way to the kitchen to wash my breakfast mug, I noticed the boys on my DTS were also finished with their tea so I offered to wash their mugs as well (yup, I still love washing up, even with the crazy way they do it here with plaited string scourers and blue soap bars!) and I got the response, "be breast"....I was a bit shocked until I figured the language thing out, I did NOT expect to hear something resembling "thank you, big breasts" from an African Christian!!
Oh, and while I'm mentioning funny things, I have to tell this story of what happened the first weekend I was here...to appreciate the story, you should know that Western Ugandans pronounce the letter "L" as "R" (so my name is often "Arex"...don't even think about trying it though, i WILL beat you when i get back, jakukuba NYO!)
So, as I was on my way to the kitchen to wash my breakfast mug, I noticed the boys on my DTS were also finished with their tea so I offered to wash their mugs as well (yup, I still love washing up, even with the crazy way they do it here with plaited string scourers and blue soap bars!) and I got the response, "be breast"....I was a bit shocked until I figured the language thing out, I did NOT expect to hear something resembling "thank you, big breasts" from an African Christian!!
Tuesday, 11 September 2007
Prayer requests and introducing the people of Hopeland...
Miracles do happen - not only are there enough people washing up from lunch to prevent me getting stuck in the kitchen, but also the computer is free and internet is working!!!!
Firstly, I wanted to describe the various ministries that are based here in Jinja - then maybe you can pray more specifically for the work that goes on here, and for the people involved.
"Torch" is aimed at community regeneration, and consists of a medical team based in town with an occupational therapist, a short-term physio called Pip (who is also from England and just graduated from Sheffield!) and also Dr Tim who lives here on the base with his wife Jackie and thier kids (I think I may have mentioned them before, they have some sheep, a couple of pigs, chickens and 2 German Shepherds called Poppy and Rach). There is also American Sarah who lives here and travels out to work with another lady from town, making friends with the prostitutes and counselling them, and helping them learn more about Jesus and the Bible in general. There are some other people involved who I don't know, plus a couple of nurses who are both called Rachel, strangely enough, who are coming back from England soon. I still don't know very much about the project, but a lot of it is to do with HIV education and treatment, and also Pip was telling me that she's been treating a lot of children with severe brain damage caused by epilepsy, helping their muscles to build strength and memory again.
Discovery Centre is a place for groups of children from the war-torn North to have a week of respite from the overcrowded "displaced people's camps" - although the rebels of the "Lord's Resistance Army" have been disbanded and mostly arrested, there are thousands of children with horrific mental trauma as they were made to do things like cut off their own family members' lips or suffer the same fate themselves. Some were also made to "marry" the rebel generals and bear children while they were still children themselves...I can't begin to describe how horrible the whole thing was, and scarily enough there are similar situations still going on in other countries. I think you should all watch the dvd called "An Unconventional War" or google "Joseph Kony" - that will properly explain the story of what's been happening in this country over the last 10 years or so.
I was told that there's meant to be a team from the Philippines coming soon to train people as counsellors for the children to help them come to terms with their experiences, but they haven't arrived yet.
One major issue with bringing these groups of children is that the distance is quite large and the roads are terrible, and both times we've had a group here, their bus has been held up on the way back up North, - it has always turned out ok, but please pray that the travelling process would be easier as i'm sure it's a hindrance to helping more children!
Another ongoing project at the Discovery Centre is the local kids' football team - they come here every evening, 6 days a week, for training and matches. Franco, one of my fellow students, is their official coach but because he's so busy on DTS with the rest of us, an American girl called Asheley is being left to cope with most of it on her own!
The third project that I know a little bit about it the street kids ministry, which is run by the team from Tonga. There are of 8 them - the leaders are a married couple, Patoni and Lupe, who have a 4-month-old baby Lavenia, and Sakeasi who is both crazy (in a good way) and incredibly sharp - I have learnt a lot from him already as he always seems to have the right thing to say. Then there is Hena, who is beautiful inside and out - she has a massive heart and is always smiling and caring for people, and shares the responsibility of looking after baby Lavenia. her room is just across the grassy classroom "garden" from mine, and next door to American Sarah's, so I see them both a lot. And last but not least are the 3 "boys", Fine, Faone and Lopeti who are all great fun in their own way. They share a room with John (the charcoal guy). At the moment, the men are going into town and the surrounding villages just building relationships with the kids there, playing volleyball and basketball and chatting with them. Sometimes they go out at night, because the daytime "street kids" are not all homeless - some are made to go out begging by their parents. I'm not sure how often, but every now and then they bring a group of the kids to spend a week here on the base, and Lupe and Hena also play with them and I think the aim is to teach them basic farming and cooking skills and get them into schools, so they can have a future. The Tongans' English is not fantastic, and I haven't spent that much time with them so I haven't quite figured out exactly what the plans are yet, but I will let you know when I do!
They do a great series of Tongan / Polynesian dances which they perform as a fundraiser sometimes, and also in churches when they are invited...if i ever get the photo and video uploader to work, you can see for yourselves, otherwise you'll just have to wait til I get home next year!
The schools are going back next week, and there is also a preschool here so things will be busy again soon! The main prayer requests for Hopeland generally are for the children and young people that come here, for the staff that they would be listening to God's guidance both for their ministries and also in relating to each other, and for financial provision!
Please also pray for our local area, Kakira and Wairaka - I went to church in Kakira 2 days ago and we walked through a real slum-type area right beside the church building, where there were huge metal drums of liquor being distilled everywhere and a really depressing atmosphere. I'm sure there are already some plans for outreach by that church, but please pray that there would be more links between the church and their neighbours - I felt awful walking past all the poverty in my nice church clothes.
Also, in November the Commonwealth leaders are meeting here in Uganda, including our Queen! One of the base leaders was concerned about so many powerful people with opposing ideas and views meeting together, so we are praying about it - please join in! You know how useless I am about anything political, I have no idea but I'm sure you all know much more about it than me.
Gotta go to Bible Study, I'll carry on later! (maybe.....)
Alex : )
Firstly, I wanted to describe the various ministries that are based here in Jinja - then maybe you can pray more specifically for the work that goes on here, and for the people involved.
"Torch" is aimed at community regeneration, and consists of a medical team based in town with an occupational therapist, a short-term physio called Pip (who is also from England and just graduated from Sheffield!) and also Dr Tim who lives here on the base with his wife Jackie and thier kids (I think I may have mentioned them before, they have some sheep, a couple of pigs, chickens and 2 German Shepherds called Poppy and Rach). There is also American Sarah who lives here and travels out to work with another lady from town, making friends with the prostitutes and counselling them, and helping them learn more about Jesus and the Bible in general. There are some other people involved who I don't know, plus a couple of nurses who are both called Rachel, strangely enough, who are coming back from England soon. I still don't know very much about the project, but a lot of it is to do with HIV education and treatment, and also Pip was telling me that she's been treating a lot of children with severe brain damage caused by epilepsy, helping their muscles to build strength and memory again.
Discovery Centre is a place for groups of children from the war-torn North to have a week of respite from the overcrowded "displaced people's camps" - although the rebels of the "Lord's Resistance Army" have been disbanded and mostly arrested, there are thousands of children with horrific mental trauma as they were made to do things like cut off their own family members' lips or suffer the same fate themselves. Some were also made to "marry" the rebel generals and bear children while they were still children themselves...I can't begin to describe how horrible the whole thing was, and scarily enough there are similar situations still going on in other countries. I think you should all watch the dvd called "An Unconventional War" or google "Joseph Kony" - that will properly explain the story of what's been happening in this country over the last 10 years or so.
I was told that there's meant to be a team from the Philippines coming soon to train people as counsellors for the children to help them come to terms with their experiences, but they haven't arrived yet.
One major issue with bringing these groups of children is that the distance is quite large and the roads are terrible, and both times we've had a group here, their bus has been held up on the way back up North, - it has always turned out ok, but please pray that the travelling process would be easier as i'm sure it's a hindrance to helping more children!
Another ongoing project at the Discovery Centre is the local kids' football team - they come here every evening, 6 days a week, for training and matches. Franco, one of my fellow students, is their official coach but because he's so busy on DTS with the rest of us, an American girl called Asheley is being left to cope with most of it on her own!
The third project that I know a little bit about it the street kids ministry, which is run by the team from Tonga. There are of 8 them - the leaders are a married couple, Patoni and Lupe, who have a 4-month-old baby Lavenia, and Sakeasi who is both crazy (in a good way) and incredibly sharp - I have learnt a lot from him already as he always seems to have the right thing to say. Then there is Hena, who is beautiful inside and out - she has a massive heart and is always smiling and caring for people, and shares the responsibility of looking after baby Lavenia. her room is just across the grassy classroom "garden" from mine, and next door to American Sarah's, so I see them both a lot. And last but not least are the 3 "boys", Fine, Faone and Lopeti who are all great fun in their own way. They share a room with John (the charcoal guy). At the moment, the men are going into town and the surrounding villages just building relationships with the kids there, playing volleyball and basketball and chatting with them. Sometimes they go out at night, because the daytime "street kids" are not all homeless - some are made to go out begging by their parents. I'm not sure how often, but every now and then they bring a group of the kids to spend a week here on the base, and Lupe and Hena also play with them and I think the aim is to teach them basic farming and cooking skills and get them into schools, so they can have a future. The Tongans' English is not fantastic, and I haven't spent that much time with them so I haven't quite figured out exactly what the plans are yet, but I will let you know when I do!
They do a great series of Tongan / Polynesian dances which they perform as a fundraiser sometimes, and also in churches when they are invited...if i ever get the photo and video uploader to work, you can see for yourselves, otherwise you'll just have to wait til I get home next year!
The schools are going back next week, and there is also a preschool here so things will be busy again soon! The main prayer requests for Hopeland generally are for the children and young people that come here, for the staff that they would be listening to God's guidance both for their ministries and also in relating to each other, and for financial provision!
Please also pray for our local area, Kakira and Wairaka - I went to church in Kakira 2 days ago and we walked through a real slum-type area right beside the church building, where there were huge metal drums of liquor being distilled everywhere and a really depressing atmosphere. I'm sure there are already some plans for outreach by that church, but please pray that there would be more links between the church and their neighbours - I felt awful walking past all the poverty in my nice church clothes.
Also, in November the Commonwealth leaders are meeting here in Uganda, including our Queen! One of the base leaders was concerned about so many powerful people with opposing ideas and views meeting together, so we are praying about it - please join in! You know how useless I am about anything political, I have no idea but I'm sure you all know much more about it than me.
Gotta go to Bible Study, I'll carry on later! (maybe.....)
Alex : )
Monday, 10 September 2007
Mukama jebaziwe!
Yeeha, i am FINALLY online again for all of 5 mins - i think young fred is itching to lock up the office so i'd better not waste time, i don't want to take advantage of his niceness! i am so happy, hence my title - it means "Praise the Lord" in Luganda (probably the only good and uselful phrase i have learnt here, although actually "i'm hungry/thirsty" (enjala enumma/enyonta enumma) also counts, but otherwise the only things i seem to tell people are jakula ga! or kambala ge! which means "i'll show you!" or "i'll show them!" (as in, the threatening way of saying it!) or even jakukuba nyo, kakati!!! (i'll beat you lots, right now!) by the way, those spellings are phonetic, i'm sorry for any of you Baganda that read this, maybe you can correct me John, I know you're reading!!!!
Ok, so these past couple weeks i have learnt to make chappatis, met safari ants which basically are highly organised evil ants which march along in a long string and chase after you to bite you if you disturb them - somehow i have escaped their wrath so far but i'm sure they'll be back to get me soon! also my good friend Sarah Nigeria (as opposed to Sarah USA who is still here) left to go back home, and everyone misses her so much and is fighting back tears (i hope you're reading this crazy girl!) we had a mad packing day for her last tues as she found out that afternoon that her flight had changed to 5am weds, and i'm guessing she's back in panic mode today as she's headed off to ghana tomorrow for her next YWAM school.
Class has been going well for me, i feel like we're getting to know each other better and i have clarified in my own mind what prayer and intercession are (intercession is standing in the gap between us and God, so not only does Jesus do this for us, but we can intercede for those that don't know Jesus yet by praying for them and helping them to see his love) we had so many definitions of prayer that i can't list them all here, and we also talked a lot about feeding the spirit on a balanced diet, just like feeding out bodies correctly - so basically we need to make sure we aren't just praying or just reading / meditating on the Bible, singing praises to God or appreciating His creation, but all of those things. And in church yesterday I was reminded of what i learnt in my orientation at Holmsted, that there is a huge difference between "guilt" that we feel - there is condemnation from Satan, which tells us that we are horrible and useless and generally bad and there's nothing we can do about it but we should hate ourselves and lock oursleves away; and there is conviction from God, which is specific about one or more things that we have done wrong but can be put right with His help, and He tells us how. Hope that is helpful for some of you too, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted now i know i don't have to feel guilty about half of what i used to worry about!
outside of class, we have been playing cards a lot, watching movies and i have been playing with the dogs and talking to the cows as usual....and yesterday after church i went with another good friend, John, to check his charcoal - he is making a load this week, and when it's ready he said i could watch it be harvested (he said it was a man's job and i couldn't really help, but i'll be the judge of that, mwahaha!!!) i will go down in a bit and take pictures, and maybe one of these days i'll manage to post some up - it just takes time, and for the power and internet to be working, and those things rarely happen at the same time!!! for now you can go to katy saunders' page on www.facebook.com, she has most of them up already.
the sad thing about this place is that even here, where we have our basic needs met, there is still such a lack of money for things like school fees, phone credit to contact home, and even important things like medical bills - one of my teachers has a horrible rotten tooth that has been causing her pain for a week, and we only just got together enough money for her to go to the dentist today. So although i don't want to write begging letters too often, if you feel you can give even £1 then please either get in touch with my mum or send a cheque payable to YWAM, to YWAM Jinja, PO Box 739, Jinja, Uganda. This is also the contact address for me if you want to send me a snail-mail letter - i might even get it before an email!!! In case you have any doubts, the money will go straight to whatever you ask it to go to - in my next post i will write more about the projects going on here. There are no admin costs - money for admin gets collected separately, so it's not like other charities.
i think that's all for now, hope you're all well and thank you for reading this and for your comments and emails, i am trying to reply to as many as possible! by the way, my mobile is much more reliable - you can text or call any time, it's +256773075192. It's quite cheap to text, cheaper for you than for me anyway, and i really love hearing from you so please get in touch when you can! Big thanks to Kym for your regular updates, you're such a star and i miss you loads! : )
love to y'all,
alex xxxx : )
Ok, so these past couple weeks i have learnt to make chappatis, met safari ants which basically are highly organised evil ants which march along in a long string and chase after you to bite you if you disturb them - somehow i have escaped their wrath so far but i'm sure they'll be back to get me soon! also my good friend Sarah Nigeria (as opposed to Sarah USA who is still here) left to go back home, and everyone misses her so much and is fighting back tears (i hope you're reading this crazy girl!) we had a mad packing day for her last tues as she found out that afternoon that her flight had changed to 5am weds, and i'm guessing she's back in panic mode today as she's headed off to ghana tomorrow for her next YWAM school.
Class has been going well for me, i feel like we're getting to know each other better and i have clarified in my own mind what prayer and intercession are (intercession is standing in the gap between us and God, so not only does Jesus do this for us, but we can intercede for those that don't know Jesus yet by praying for them and helping them to see his love) we had so many definitions of prayer that i can't list them all here, and we also talked a lot about feeding the spirit on a balanced diet, just like feeding out bodies correctly - so basically we need to make sure we aren't just praying or just reading / meditating on the Bible, singing praises to God or appreciating His creation, but all of those things. And in church yesterday I was reminded of what i learnt in my orientation at Holmsted, that there is a huge difference between "guilt" that we feel - there is condemnation from Satan, which tells us that we are horrible and useless and generally bad and there's nothing we can do about it but we should hate ourselves and lock oursleves away; and there is conviction from God, which is specific about one or more things that we have done wrong but can be put right with His help, and He tells us how. Hope that is helpful for some of you too, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted now i know i don't have to feel guilty about half of what i used to worry about!
outside of class, we have been playing cards a lot, watching movies and i have been playing with the dogs and talking to the cows as usual....and yesterday after church i went with another good friend, John, to check his charcoal - he is making a load this week, and when it's ready he said i could watch it be harvested (he said it was a man's job and i couldn't really help, but i'll be the judge of that, mwahaha!!!) i will go down in a bit and take pictures, and maybe one of these days i'll manage to post some up - it just takes time, and for the power and internet to be working, and those things rarely happen at the same time!!! for now you can go to katy saunders' page on www.facebook.com, she has most of them up already.
the sad thing about this place is that even here, where we have our basic needs met, there is still such a lack of money for things like school fees, phone credit to contact home, and even important things like medical bills - one of my teachers has a horrible rotten tooth that has been causing her pain for a week, and we only just got together enough money for her to go to the dentist today. So although i don't want to write begging letters too often, if you feel you can give even £1 then please either get in touch with my mum or send a cheque payable to YWAM, to YWAM Jinja, PO Box 739, Jinja, Uganda. This is also the contact address for me if you want to send me a snail-mail letter - i might even get it before an email!!! In case you have any doubts, the money will go straight to whatever you ask it to go to - in my next post i will write more about the projects going on here. There are no admin costs - money for admin gets collected separately, so it's not like other charities.
i think that's all for now, hope you're all well and thank you for reading this and for your comments and emails, i am trying to reply to as many as possible! by the way, my mobile is much more reliable - you can text or call any time, it's +256773075192. It's quite cheap to text, cheaper for you than for me anyway, and i really love hearing from you so please get in touch when you can! Big thanks to Kym for your regular updates, you're such a star and i miss you loads! : )
love to y'all,
alex xxxx : )
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