Training . . . Take 2!

Hi y'all (as said by Ian)

As we write this, we are all realising just how little time we have left of training at the incredible IMC, and just how soon we will be in Uganda (9 days to go now!) Last night we had a Skype chat with Tom and Caroline Howell, our in country supervisors, and they told us about the projects we'll we working on. We can't wait to start working with the church out there, especially the youth group, who we're told are really up for getting involved in community action and outreach work!

Since we last blogged we have done so much, most importantly growing as a team, through praying together, sharing testimonies and having a lot of fun!

Thank you to Polly/Harriet for this brilliant photo!

We also had an awesome four days at Min-y-Don, a Christian outdoor activity centre in North Wales, last week. We absolutely conquered all of the activities thrown in our way such as hill walking (orienteering) and low ropes. Cheeky little shout out to Steve and Leanna (sorry if we spelt it wrong!) our awesome team leaders. Thanks for showing us how to be an even better team (tough job). But honestly, it was an intense few days, with even Alice (the world's most positive person) feeling the pressure when one evening she threw down her Bible exclaiming; "They've pushed me one step too far they 'ave!

Us nearing the end of hill walking - note Alice's face...again!

Last week we embarked on a few exciting adventures, one being a trip to a Sikh Gurdwara, where we were met with incredible hospitality and treated to a delicious meal (although Ian may disagree!). We were also visited by Chris Duffet, the most enthusiastic Baptist evangelist we have ever met. He sent us out on the streets of Birmingham holding up 'Free Hugs' signs and handing out free doughnuts to people, all to show a bit of Jesus' love and get people asking questions! It pushed us right out of our comfort zones, but was an awesome experience and something we'd love to do again!

Here's Ian looking dashing in his head covering!

Last weekend we were at our training church, Harborne Baptist in Birmingham, for the second time and were again met by amazing hospitality, encouragement and support! They had us involved in a Macmillan Coffee Morning, Family Film Night and gave us a slot in the service where we spoke about what we'll be doing, our call to mission and how the congregation can get involved in local mission. On the Monday we took a couple of RE lessons in a local school, an experience where we quickly learnt from our mistakes to end with an excellent response from the class and encouraging comments from the teachers!

Next installment coming to computers near you from UGANDA!!!

God Bless,

Jem, Ian, Alice and James

The Amazing Uganda Action Team!