Final full day of ministry.

Well this is it. The final full day of my schedule. I want to make the most of it now as I begin to look forward to making the trip home. Last night in Ukunda was good again. The church is almost full and the people are very responsive to the word of God.

One of the things I look forward to is the trip on the ferry. Because central Mombasa is an island, in order to get to the south coast where Ukunda is you have to take the ferry across the 1km or so of the shallow inlet of the Indian ocean. It's quite an experience. Hundreds of people are waiting at the gate for the ferry to dock {which is usualy once every 15 minutes. Then the gate is opened and hundreds of people flock forward onto the ferry. There are usually a number of hawkers and traders trying to sell everything from soap to pencils. The ferry area is notorious for pickpocketing as people are crammed together and for snatch robberies. I keep all my valuables ect in my zip up folder which I keep my notes and bible in and keep it 'very' close to me.

On one occassion I saw out of the corner of my eye a man waving a couple of knives but he was only trying to sell them. There are people who try to carry their persoanl goods through to the ferry including a man who was carrying a couple of car tyres and Swahili women who carry large parcels balanced on their heads without using their hands to steady them. There are also the preachers. Often their is someone who takes advantage of the captive audience to preach to them. There are also the empty talkers. People who want to give a speach but have nothing to say. It's times like this I wish I could speak Kiswahili. One man went on and on and the word I recognised was 'Osama'{he must have mentioned that name about 20 times}. Quite a few people were laughing at him including a number of Muslims. People generally either ignore him or find him ridiculous. Occassionaly with Swahili speakers they will give a sentence in English which is useful if only to relise what everyone else is laughing at.

I wish I could take pictures or film of the ferry trip. The view is excellent but apart from my reticence about taking anything of value on board there is also a ban on filming. {You'll just have to use your imagination}

This morning's prayer meeting went well again. I spoke on something God showed me recently and I had only scribbled down some general notes. Not even a proper sermon but I went for it anyway and it went down really well. I hope to complete the full message while I have a few hours spare this morning.

Here's to a good final day...

Mungu Akibariki {God bless you}