19th September 2009

I can get different fonts on this computer, how exciting?! We're in a shopping mall in Kampala the moment; I think it's the only one in the city! Very weird to be sitting in an air conditioned building, surrounded by shops and technology when we've been walking through slums and markets and crazy places for the last few days. There are loads of mzungus (white people) here so it kinda feels like being temporarily transported back to the UK. I'm finding the differences between the poor and rich lifestyles here very difficult - there is such a gulf between those who have so little and the people who come here, who can afford to buy such a lot. And I'm part of that group of people... It becomes more difficult to justify spending money that you would easily spend at home. I think perspective is altered very easily here!

So today we've been doing the Kampala Challenge! Sounds difficult and it's lived up to its name :) Maree, our coordinator, wants us to be able to find our own way around the city cos that's what we'll be doing every Monday and Friday from now on. It's so difficult to cross roads cos of the mental drivers who WILL just run us over!!! Then there's people shoving things at you to buy, rubbish you have to avoid, holes you have to try not to fall down.... ARGH! Fun times :) Anyway, we went to the market and had to buy some bogoya (bananas) and pineapple and passionfruit (I forgot those Luganda words lol) It was full of people but soooo much fun!!! We managed to barter and get our stuff for awesome prices... the pineapple was pretty big and cost us 3000 shillings (that's about 1GBP) and 6 passionfruit were only 700 :) We had a couple of marriage proposals, as you do, and walked aaaages in the sun. It's been a tiring day! We sent postcards home from the post office too, so Osborn clan you can expect to get those sometime in the next month, if you're lucky!

By the way, for anyone sending letters, Christmas cards or little Christmas presents, they take AGES to get here so send them sooner rather than later. I'll put an address on here once I know it!

Back to today... We also saw something pretty scary. There's a big thing of mob justice here, which means if someone yells "thief" that person gets mobbed, badly beaten and can sometimes die. We were walking out of the market and across the road that was happening; it was horrible to have to walk past it. I felt so useless, like I was being just as irresponsible as everyone else who walked by, pretending it wasn't happening. But what can you do? It's dangerous to get involved. It just hit me, that God values every life equally, and yet you can watch something like that happening and not be able to act, either out of fear for your own safety or just not being bothered. It was the same when two tiny children came up to us begging, but we can't give out money cos they just give it back to the adults who send them out and they continue starving. It's horrible to see, but such a big problem. It's hard to know what to do - I think we're going to start carrying biscuits or bananas round with us so we can feed them sometimes. It makes me want to ask God what on earth is going on, how it can be this way. But then you really look, and you see people with faith and who find hope in what seems like the most hopeless of circumstances, and it's very humbling. We give into the smallest things at home, but here they battle through huge things, and become the most incredible people as a result. We have a lot to learn from them; they have a lot to give. I hope I can just learn to be more hopeful and strong and resilient while I'm here, learning from them myself while I'm attempting to help or teach them in some small way.

God is being very good to us, being SO faithful. We all have stories about the money we needed to get here being provided at the last minute, sometimes to the nearest pound of what we needed - it's amazing! To know that we're here for a reason and CAN do something to help, however small that might seem at first. I'm so thankful that I get to have this experience :)

Right, I've written a ridiculous amount and my half hour is almost up so I'm going! You might not hear anything else till next Friday, I'm not 100% sure, but I'll write again soon. Thank you for keeping up with me and bothering to read this far!

Sending lots and lots of love and huggles
Flick
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