And So It Begins...

Hi, everyone! Just dropping in to keep you guys updated. Today had been long and busy however significantly less disastrous than yesterday, I'm pleased to say. We were dragged out of bed at the crack of dawn and gathered together for breakfast and our devotional. You'll be surprised to know that it was extremely wet, cold and misty outside; but you know what they say, 'everywhere you go, always take the weather with you'.

It was still early when we left for the Women's Centre chapel. We were gladly welcomed by the ladies there and ushered in to join them in worship. Which was all well and good until we realised their worship is very, very different to our usual services. Being your cliche presbyterians when it come to singing and dancing during worship, we're all accustomed to shuffling into the back row and keeping our heads down while we sing our hymns (maybe tapping our foot to the rhythm if we're in a particularly good mood). This, however, was the most spontaneous and energetic service we'd ever been to. The women sang beautifully, dancing and clapping perfectly in sync with each other. Meanwhile we all looked like Theresa May dancing on stage at the Tory party conference (awkward waving and all).

Just after, Victoria bravely stood up and gave her testimony to the women before Heather took over to read from the Bible about Jacob's struggle with God.

We then got to talk to some of the women one-on-one before leaving and heading to the Cultural village in which I was yet again subjected to more awkward dancing as I was selected from the crowd to learn the traditional dance steps. Again the Theresa May in me began to show.

We were then led on a guided tour by a young woman who's name we butchered when trying to pronounce. We wandered around the huts and learnt about the traditions which included men having a man-only area that is fenced in and a brewing tent for the women. Grandmothers' in the tribes were treated like Queens as they always outlived the grandfathers. I personally enjoyed the fact that men always entered the huts first to "check that there were no snakes or bugs" so that it was safe for the women to enter. You don't see that kind of chivalry nowadays...

Finally, we stopped for lunch in Potter's Wheel and then visited one of the hospitals. This brought us back to down to earth and reminded us of the real reason we are all here. To share the Word of God and spread hope and joy to those who need it most. The hospital was dilapidated and dingy. The walls and floor are cement, the paint falling off the walls. There were very few staff, but they were trying their best with very little medical equipment. It also didn't help that it was mandatory for all the windows to be open during the day which meant that the patients were freezing. Needless to say, the building would probably have been condemned had it been back home in Northern Ireland. It's awful hard to complain about the NHS when you watch people being wheeled out of surgery and left to recover on their own. We spent the afternoon praying with and for these people and their relatives (this was particularly hard when it came to the young children).  

Once again we ended the evening with a great meal and fireside bedtime story curtesy of Geoff. Yeah, it was that cold we had to light a fire. We also practiced our own singing and dancing (well, actually it was more a case of trying to sway in time with each other and learn the words).

Check out the pictures below and hopefully you'll get an idea of how our day went. Ignore the strange fashion we donned (we only wore the skirts out of respect for their culture, although when we looked at the locals they weren't wearing anything like that and probably thought we looked like weirdos.
In fairness, we did).

I'm away to bed now for we have yet another early start in the morning. God bless!

"If you are sick, ask the members of the church to come and pray for you. Ask them to put olive oil on you in the name of the Lord." James 5:14