Fun In Israel

Ha if we're never famous for anything else we will be for causing chaos in Israel I'm sure. Few wee memories we want to share with ya! We love Israel! It's stunning, peaceful and safe, contrary to what we are told at home! I think they do that so no-one comes here and they have all this to themselves!
First night here and Lorna and I decided to go for something to eat. While we were innocently enjoying the tranquillity of the sea front, the sound of the waves and lack of mosquito's (although we have found that the men can be just as irritating!) suddenly the restaurant burst into song; it was obviously someones birthday. It looked so much fun, sparklers and all.
"Ah it's my birthday too!" I joked (no I didn't lie dad it was supposed to be a joke. A very obvious one I thought).
Next thing I knew I was in the air! Seriously I was surrounded by waiters, equipped with tambourines and sparklers who proceeded to bounce me up and down (and up and down and wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwup again) in the air, despite my screaming; if anything it seemed to encourage them. As for Miss Main the excitement was all too much for her; she was speechless. Ahh well I guess it's true what they say: God brings good out of every situation!


Fame? Yes Lorna and I were seemingly on Israeli television yesterday. We were filmed on the beach. 'N' no it wasn't a whale sighting documentary Roy before you ask! We were just walking but they didn't ask permission. I'm sure we can sue for Royalties or something though. Do they not know who we are!?

Leadership?

By the year 2010 there will be fifty million children in the world orphaned because of aids and conflict.
Sometimes when I speak to people over here I write down what they say; we photograph them and video their stories. This is one statistic I didn't write down. It shocked me so much it is ingrained in my head and plays over and over. Similarly the picture of the starving and homeless children we saw in Africa is one I don't need to show you or even recreate; you have seen it before and you know it exists.
What I hadn't thought of before is the global and economic impact that this poverty will have, not only on Africa but on the rest of the world. You've heard how the police in Peru deal with this increasing problem: they sweep it up. They perform mass "sweep up" operations whereby they gas the children out of the sewers or worse still they feed them rat poisoning so they die slowly and painfully like vermin, because after all that is how they are viewed there, and all around the world. Orphans, street children, child soldiers, invisible children, abandoned children, they have been given all sorts of different names but ultimately they are seen as nuisances.


I don't believe that any one of your reading this blog now is of the same opinion as the police in Peru. In fact I know that many of you already support children all over the world. The fact that you are reading this right now is a support to us, two people striving to help these children and make their stories heard.

Dwelling Places, The Vine Trust and Watoto are three amazing organisations all doing wonderful things to save these children from the streets and the hands of cruel, ineffective governments. So if you are not involved already we urge you to get involved.

Don't turn off the computer and think it doesn't effect you. Have you children? Are you planning to have children in the future? Will you be here in the year 2010! Yes, exactly it is incredibly soon. We're talking about three years time. What age will you be? There will be fifty million children homeless or worse still dead around the world. Don't think they will all just suddenly appear either. They are already here. You've seen their pictures on our blog. You know that there are things that we can do to start changing this process so that stops.

The Vine Trust works in partnership with Scripture Union Peru building homes for street children and educating them; they teach them the gospel. Dwelling Places is the home we just left in Uganda. They rescue street children and try to re-establish contact with their parents, rehabilitating them in the process; they teach them the gospel. Watoto is a village in Uganda which houses abandoned children. They place them in homes, each home has a mother and a maximum of 8 children. They educate them, care for all of their needs and teach them the gospel.

Teaching the gospel is a priority for all of these organisations as you can see. But how do they do it? They teach them it by living it! They are feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and rescuing the orphans. Have you ever asked how you can be Christan's in this world and how we can start making a difference. Well now's your chance. Each time you do it for "one of the least of my children you do it for me" says the Lord.

"What difference does it make if it's a Christian organisation or not? Lots of people do good things!" I've heard this many times. Yes. but if you're not teaching them the gospel and you're simply educating them well think about this. You could be educating the next Saddam Hussein or Adolf Hitler and how much more dangerous are they with an education! Think about it. Surely Jesus' philosophy of "loving one another" is better then any of theirs. I know who I want to follow. We saw the news recently and people in Britain were moaning about Gordon Brown. We constantly moan about leadership but we could be doing something huge to change the future of leadership. God's raising a generation of children in Uganda and Peru (so far that's all we've seen) that love him and want to serve him. Leaders in the making. Leaders we're not scared of!

'N' here's the exciting bit. Remember that sickening feeling you got in your stomach approximately two minutes ago when you read the statistic about orphaned children? Imagine the feeling you would get if you knew that the figure had dropped to 49, 999, 000 and that the one less was the one you were supporting.
Imagine the feeling you could have if you read this blog in three years time and the statistic at the top of the page was shocking...shockingly good. That 50,000, 000 children in the world were growing up loving God 'n' serving him. Now there's a dream. The Vine Trust, Dwelling Places and Watoto are three organisations have started making it a reality. Be part of it!

www.vinetrust.org
www.dwellingplaces.org
www.watoto.com

Kenya

Now we are fully, well getting there, recovered from our whirlwind tour of Kenya we will tell you a little bit about what we actually did with our time there and why we have such fond memories of the country and the people!
Firstly we arrived to a kings (well princess's) welcome. It was amazing. After spending some 15 hours on the worst road in the Africa, or make that the world, we arrived in sunny Kenya.

The bus screeched to an emergency stop and all of a sudden armed police men entered shouting "Mzoongo, Mzoongo". Of course I immediately elbowed Lorna, who was obliviously picking dead cockroaches off herself, and told her that the police had pulled us over because white people were on the bus. Doh! In actual fact the police had stopped us because Nancy and her crew had asked them too. Next thing we knew beautiful Nancy was calling to us to get our bags and get off the bus.
So we did. The first thing we noticed were their beaming smiles and the number of people who were waiting for us. It really was a warm and totally unexpected welcome. Although still slightly sleepy eyed and whip-lashed from the bus we learned our hosts names relatively quickly:
"Hi nice to meet you," the mzoongos chorused.
"Hi I'm Julius"
"I'm John."
"I'm Jamilick"
"I'm Geoffry," they replied, arms outstretched to hug us.
'N' just when we thought we were all J'd out another voice piped up, "I'm Betty, but you can call me Joyce!" At this point Main had a moment. Giggle tastic!

Ok so we'd met the team, well some of them, and we were taken to Nancy's stunning home where we met her husband...James!!!
Oh how we chuckled.

The first thing we noticed was the volume of chairs in the sitting room. The room was full of beautifully patterned couches and it was very welcoming. Aswell as the couches I noticed some other chairs stacked in the corner. Later we discovered that all of the homes we visited had several chairs in them, crammed around the walls in their living areas. We questioned Nancy about this and she told us that they were for visitors and that they often held church meetings and groups in their homes. We can certainly testify that these people expect visitors. The prepare themselves to have them and they make entertaining them and being hospitable to them part of their lives. Yes I know we all love to do that but you'll see that there's a slgiht differnce to the way we entertain and the way they do it: Kenya style!

While I was talking to Nancy I realised why we had received such a warm, "princess's" welcome. I explained to her that we had never experienced anything like this and that we were actually very humbled and slightly embarrassed to be so joyfully received. "It was like you were receiving royalty," I explained.
As soon as I said it I realised why they had acted this way. "You are God's daughters," she remined me. (Of course we are daughters of the King.) "And so when we welcome you we are welcoming him into our homes and we would only give him the best!"
Of course. It all made sense. For those of you who know us well you will know that we, well I at least, are in no way a princesses (far from it) and we are still not quite sure that we deserved the hospitality we received. However, we are sure that God did and they were right: each time we entered one of their homes we prayed together, we shared together and in everything God was at the centre of it all. So thank you to all our friends in Kenya. We know you will be bountifully blessed because you blessed us so much.

Then, after eating some goat (yes we did a lot of that), we visited the church on Sunday morning. The minister (Robert) wasn't preaching that morning but Lorna and I soon made up for that. Nancy asked us to say a few words, little did she know we like to talk....and talk...and talk. Anyway everyone seemed to enjoy it and even understand our funny accents. We later learned that the reason for Robert's absence was that he is the minster for the parish. Yes, most ministers are you may be wondering what's my point. Well the point is that the parish is so full and so vast that there are actually six congregations and and they are spread over many miles. Wow can you imagine the church in Scotland having so many members and lovers of God that there aren't enough ministers to accommodate them. I can!

That Sunday afternoon we met the youth group, whom we would be sharing and teaching for the rest of the week. We absolutely adore this group of young people. We say young but in actual fact some of them were older than us (ages between 16-30). We spent the rest of the day singing, dancing and doing drama with them. That week we got to know them a lot better. Nancy kept saying you must spend time with the youth and I see why. They are so passionate about God and he is really real to them. They rely on him for everything. I could see why us spending time with them was so important for the church, the same reason that everywhere we have gone people have asked us to focus on the children and young people: they are the future of the church. They are the next generation and as Marylin Skinner recently pointed out they are the next leaders of the country.

Having taught in Scotland (although only for a baby amount of time in comparison to some) I appreciate the importance and emphasise we place on education and exam results. I know that you already understand how important it is to be educated, because you are. But what I have seen in each place I visited in Africa, including Kenya, is that yes it is important to educate children but I saw how important educating them about God is too. How much more confident these children are when they know that they have someone that loves them unconditionally and that God has a plan for their lives. We may think at home that our children don't need this hope, they have other things to distract them, computers, alcohol, fashion. Yeah these things may be satisfying...for a little while but ultimately they want something long term. Something that relates to them, someone who understands them (the way their parents and peers don't') eh... try the gospel!!! So that's a little (only a tiny part) of what we learned from the youth there, as well as how not to paint! If we're ever invited back I guarantee we will not be asked to paint the church again although we had lots of fun doing it!



The youth group then took on the monumental task of taking out my braids and before we knew it, it was time to leave Kenya. We cannot express how much we loved every second of our time there, how much we learned and how much fun we had. We laughed...and laughed...and laughed! We know that our partnership and friendship with them is just at the beginning and it will be lifelong. We pray that you too will get involved in the work of their parish. One of the many things they do in their community is pay for local children to go to school. We had the privilege of meeting some of the children (young people) whose education is paid for by the congregation and they are not necessarily children who attend the church or are even associated with it. It terrifies me to think that there are so many other children, even some of the youth we met, that can not go to school simply because their parents can't afford the fees. I know that it seems we are always asking for you to support our brothers and sisters abroad, well we are visiting them for the next year so perhaps we should get used to it, but we would not ask if we did not see that it was doing some good. Infact a huge amount of good. Giving someone food for the day is keeping them alive, giving them an education is giving them a life and a future. Please get involved. Contact World Without Walls to get in tocvh with Nancy and the J team tehy are waiting and would love to hear from you!
God Bless and much love, the Soul Touchers

Shalom

Good morning peeps! We just wanted to say a huge thank you for your continued support and encouragement to us on our mission. God has been so faithful to us every step of the way and your writing is just another testimony of how he is good to us. We are here in Israel, as many of you know.


It is almost impossible not to feel close to God here and so we are enjoying really relaxing, spending time in prayer and reading as well as visiting many of the biblical sites which dominate this country; the history and wonder of it all is breathtaking.


So we are getting ourselves ready for the next project in India. We are so insipred by all the stories we have heard (and read) about the success of the St Andrew's trip visit there and we really pray we can continue the friendship and work you guys have started. So we pray a blessing on you all this morning. Have a wonderful day!

ps We're going to visit The Pavilion prayer tower this evening where the Watoto Children's choir from Kampala, Uganda are performing. The fact they are here at the same time as us is very exciting as we saw them perform while we were there!

Lots of love n hugs Erica and Lorna: The Soul Touchers!

More Main Moments!

1. Classic:
While boarding the plane for Israel Lorna boasted, "Ah one country down!"
"One? I've been in four where have you been Lorna?"
"Eh isn't Africa a country?"

You gotta love it!

Baa

Good Morning everyone. It's a b e a utiful day here in Israel and I'm loving having a little more time to write to you all than we did in Africa. Seriously that place was hectic, not that we're complaining we loved every second but we apologise for not having written as much as we would have liked. Over the next two weeks here in Israel we will try our best to fill you in on the best, and not so best, bits of our trip so far. Miss Main is resting (and deservedly so) her pretty lil head right now but I thought I'd give you a lil insight into the world of Soul Touch and why the journey so far has been a constant giggle for me, living with the legend that is known as Lorna Main. On a typical day in Africa the following comments were made...try to imagine as bizarre as they may sound:

Scenario Number one:
We were both totally overwhelmed by the hospitality of our hosts in Kenya. During our short stay there we were invited to many people's homes and shared meals with them. (Seriously lots of meals, Africans can eat!) So one day we were out in the car to be shown the sights by Nancy (our host whom many of you know)

and Jamlik (another elder at the church and the sweetest man ever!). Anyway, after a morning of visiting coffee and tea plantations (that was a fab experience in itself, to see people picking tea leaves and the skill that is involved; we'll never take Tetley for granted again) we started to question Nancy as to where we were going next. The sun was going down and the thunder and lightening sounding overhead was lighting the sky.
"Nancy where are we going?" A sheepish Scottish girl, Lona Main, enquired.
"What?" Nancy boomed over the scraping noise, turning her head 180 degrees so she was no longer watching the mud track ahead of us. 'N' that noise for those of you who haven't experienced African roads is very common, it's known as the bottom of your car getting wrecked off the potholes and mountains you're forcing it to drive over.
"Where...are...we....going?" Now a louder, slower (though slightly panicky) drone came from the back seat. You know the type, when talking to someone of a different nationality we assume that by shouting at them in a bizarre, insanely loud voice they will immediately understand our weird Scottish accents. Anyway it seemed to work.
"I can't tell you," she giggled.
Ok so at this point alarm bless start ringing. "Seriously Lorna where are we going? This is mental and I need the toilet," I nagged. I need the toilet was my catch phrase for most of our time in Africa; lets just say the food there did not agree with me.
After another 2 hours driving in the same direction, heading to the middle of nowhere, Nancy left the car and opened an old rusty gate which entered a field. Excuse me I forgot, before she did this she "shoooooed" the bulls that were guarding it out of the way; they have lions and elephants in their country we learned that bulls to them are like mice to us.
"Come girls!" She beckoned.
Hesitantly, still recovering from the whiplash we had just received form the drive, we tried to dodge bulls, cows, sheep and goats and we followed Nancy and Jamlik across the field. By this time it was raining and cold (Yes stay with me we're still in Africa).
Situated in the middle of the field were four buildings...derelict! Yes nothing, noone...the place was deserted.
"Eh...excuse me Nancy. Eh...where are we? Are we visiting someone here?"
"Choose a sheep," Nancy smiled, pointing at the animals.
"Sorry? Pardon? Where...are...we?" The voice for the deaf resurrected itself again.

What happened next is still a bit vague and a bit scary but they went something like this:
Jesting towards us (we were somewhere between bulls trying to avoid the African rain which is bloomin painful) Nancy handed, or should I say, tried to hand us each a knife. I mean machete style! "Have you ever slaughtered a sheep?" Again Nancy's booming smile did not seem to fit the question she was asking.
Looking at each other now both totally bemused in unison we stuttered "Eh...no"
Then the realisation of what we were going to do hit us. I immediately screamed "slaughtered a sheep," before entering into those annoying hysterics I go into a lot when nervous or in a totally surreal situation. Looking to Lorna I was wondering how we would get out of this one. Only Lorna was not there. Suddenly a vision of pink flashed between cows. Lorna was running for the car, where she locked herself until the deed was done.

Needless to say I did not slaughter the sheep, a kind African man did that for us, but I did watch (and film for you guys back home. Yes we had to endure it so I think in the name of support you should too!) which was disturbing enough!
I hope I've managed to give you an idea of just how bizarre a day in the life of the Soul Touch girls is. And that was just the day. Oh by the way the sheep was a thanksgiving gift from Nancy's mum to thank all you peeps in Scotland for your hospitality to her while she was staying over there. Lorna and I enjoyed eating it on your behalf!

So that evening we were invited to the ministers house for some goat. After sharing a delicious meal Lorna was asked to lead us in prayer. Still recovering from the days escapades and suffering from sleep deprivation (in a week we saw the whole of Kenya) Lorna started:
"Thank you father for the meal we have shared and thank you for the hostility the people here have shown us..."
Oaft that was the end of me. Giggle, giggle, giggle! And now you know just one of the reasons I call her a legend and why, since I stepped on the plane, I have never stopped smiling!

Shout - Outs 3L2

Good morning peeps! I just wanted to do a huge shout out to the most beautiful, smartly dressed (I hope!), hard working and generally fandabydozey tutor group in the world, class 3L2, aswell as everybody else at Wallace of course! How are you all this morning? I hope you're all bright and breezy and ready for the day of work ahead. Johnathon I hope you're drinking something healthier than fizzy juice for breakfast these days 'n' Michaela are you remembering: "NO STRIPES"?!

I miss you all and I'm sending you all my love from Israel. I have just arrived here having spent the last 3 (crazy) months in Africa. So far Lorna (my best friend and travelling buddy) and I have visited Mozambique, South Africa, Uganda and Kenya! I am loving every minute and I am storing up my stories to tell you all when I return to Scotland. So we're now in Israel, don't worry it really is not as scary as the pictures we see on the news. It's stunning! I'm here only for two weeks and then we move on to India!

So I hope you all have a wonderful day. Please work hard! The most valuable thing I learned in Africa was how blessed we are at home to have a free education. Most of the poverty there is caused because of lack of education. Sometimes, I know we take it for granted but we should try, from now on, not to! The children in Africa would kill, literally, to have an education. Some of them never attend (as in not even primary) school simply because their parents can't afford the fees. (Fees are usually about ten pounds a term. This is considered a lot of money in Africa as some people do not earn that in a year.) This results in them not being able to read or write and therefore they find it impossible to get employment and they end up in desperate, desperate circumstances: they end up living on the streets, begging and homeless. Others, who do have the opportunity to go to school, make a real effort to go. We met children who walk at least 3 or 4 miles every day to get to school. When they arrive they are crammed into classrooms which cannot accommodate them: they are simply too small for the some hundred students invading them. Yip, that's right, most classes in Africa have at least 100 pupils in each! Then they don't have pens or pencils, jotters or text books. Really it's so sad to see, especially when I think about amazing schools like Wallace where we have so much.

I know it is so hard to imagine and I'm not asking you to necessarily do anything about their situations I'm just begging you to appreciate yours. You go to an amazing school (you guys all know how much I loved being there) and you have fantastic teachers and facilities (which are gonna get even better in the new school). Make the most of them! What you do now, today, in the next fifteen minutes may determine the grades you get and the job you get for the rest of your lives! When you're bored in class today and you're distracting others remember you're depriving that person from an excellent education and what's more it's an education the children I've met in Africa would love to have! Have a brilliant day. I will be thinking about you and missing you as always!

Love Miss Bonnar x