whirlwind tour of London

on the way to Uganda, we had a 9 hour layover in London.  Mike & Jean from the eMi UK office came to pick us up at the airport for a sightseeing adventure.  we saw the London Eye, 

Westminster Bridge, Big Ben, Parliament, 

Westminster Abbey,

the classic England phone booth,

 the National Gallery and Trafalgar Square, the mile road leading to Buckingham Palace, China Town, and a really trendy part of London called the West End (i think) where a bunch of theaters and restaurants are. a whole lot for just a few hours!

thanks Mike and Jean for an amazing trip into London!

Mike and his wife lived in Tanzania and Uganda for 5 years while Mike worked with Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) as a pilot.  on the tube ride on the way back to the airport, Mike shared with me a few things he wished someone had told him at the beginning of his time in Africa.

African culture is all about relationships.  western culture puts more emphasis on productivity and efficient use of time, but in Africa, it is more about the relationships that you build while going about your daily life.  as an example, he said that if you go to buy some sugar, it would never be acceptable to just go right in, ask for the sugar, pay, and leave the store (no matter how busy you are).  instead, you go to the shop keeper and inquire about his life; especially about his family and his other relationships.  then after several minutes of conversation, you are free to ask about and purchase the sugar.

as another example, in western culture, you call your friends to schedule an appointment with them.  for me, it often would go something like this…“let me look at my calendar….oh, i am so busy, i can do lunch next month.”  But in African culture, you just “turn up” at your friends’ houses.  and when this happens, all other activity stops and you give your full attention to that relationship.  the person standing in front of you is much more important than anything else you may have been doing.

all of this makes you appreciate life moment by moment.  (Or, depending on your personality and how well you adapt, it is extremely frustrating!)  technically, i am going to Uganda to practice civil engineering with eMi.  i am going to be working to get things accomplished, designing projects that will help to make life a little better for the spiritually and physically poor in east Africa.  if i am not careful, it will be easy to get wrapped up in the projects i am working on and the many tasks to be completed.

instead of constantly being consumed with what is next on my list to get accomplished, i hope to slow down and enjoy the people and situations that God has put in front of me at this moment.  life is not about what we get accomplished.  Jesus Christ already accomplished all that ever needs to be done on the cross.  we are here to bring glory to Him, to be pleasing to Him, and to bring others to Him through our obedience.