onferences in Kakira, contacted us to ask for prayer. He said there was some trouble in Jinja and some of the people were protesting against the prices of food and gas. (These have been climbing for over a year.) The local police have had to use tear gas to handle some of the incidents in Jinja. He was not warning about coming, just asking us for prayer. We called a woman we know in the Ugandan embassey and asked her about the conditions over there. She too said there was some trouble. She said most likely the guy who ran for president and did not win was behind a lot of the unrest. (It seems he has done this before.) She said it should all quiet down after the 12th of May when President Museveni is re-instated.
Because of all this, we have hesitated about ordering the tickets. We prayed all day yesterday and had many in our church praying with us. We have decided to hold off ordering just yet and watch the situation for a week or two to see if it improves. The embassy woman suggested we not order tickets until after the 12th, to make sure things do quiet down. We are going to talk with the Emirates airline today about it all. The U.S. has not issued any alerts other than normal precautions about travel into Uganda. (This is something they are required to do if there is a risk to outsiders.)
We feel you have a right to know what's going on. Be praying and let us know your thoughts. If you would like to keep up for yourself with what's going on in Uganda-- google "the monitor, Uganda".
We are also going to be calling an American couple we know that work at the Bible college in Jinja, and also talking with another contact we have in our hotel we use there. He is the owners' son and books stuff for us everywhere and knows what's going on in other places in Uganda-- like Kasese.
We feel that most likely this is not a problem for us, but we will not make decisions without you in agreement. It involves all of us. There is another option... we could move the conferences to another location. Kenya has also been asking for us to come there. Pray with us for God to reveal His plan.
Love you! The Harrells
And the update that we are still going.
He just got off the phone with the missionary who lives in Jinja. He said that most of what is being said about the unrest in certain areas is media hype. He said he would not hesitate to book flights and bring people over right now. He said there is no reason why we should not continue our plans as we have them. He said he has been traveling over to Kenya and back and there is absolutely no problems. There was one day that Jinja had that trouble and one day in Kampala there were some problems-- that was it. And none of this was towards outsiders. He said if we are concerned, he would probably wait one more week and if things remain the same as they are now, then proceed as planned.
Soooooo, it's a GO!
(But we will take his advice and wait till the first of next week to book our flights.)
Sorry for the alarm... but we want to keep you informed, we are a team.
Sorry for the alarm... but we want to keep you informed, we are a team.
Love , Susan
So keep praying for our trip, and pray for the people there as well.
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