Election Update
For those of you who were praying with us for the elections here in Uganda, here is a part of our teammate Dorothy Wingard's update about it:
"....we want you to give thanks with us for the peace that the Lord has given to Uganda during the parliamentary and Presidential election and its aftermath. The Mbale area is one of the more volatile areas of the country, and on Friday, the day of the election, and on Saturday, there were disturbances but only a few hurt, maybe one or two killed. Given the emotional nature of the campaign, the memory of horrific times under Amin and Obote, and the revolutionary events north of us, there was much fear in the country. Some of the Indian shop keepers left the country, people left the city for home villages, and, especially in our area, police and soldiers, as well as heavy weapons, were much in evidence. The day before the election, a demonstration filled the main street of Mbale, but the day of the election and afterward the streets near us were almost deserted, many people stayed behind locked gates and doors, and it was unusually quiet! The incidents of violence were local and contained. In church yesterday Philip Proctor gave thanks to God for His hand of protection and restraint, and exhorted us not to take it for granted! We are still praying for peace because tomorrow, Tuesday, is going to be the day the victorious party of the President celebrates, which may bring a reaction from the opposition who declared even before the election started that there was fraud, etc. The election results were not even close. The EU and the Commonwealth who monitored the election reportedly did not find fault with the actual election but with the money handed out during campaigning. That even affected my ladies Bible study in the village, for on the last Saturday before the election our attendance was small. Pastor Steven Hamya who talked with me afterward, lamented that many of the absent women were running from one political rally to another hoping that each candidate would give the crowd money. Of course, it must amount to very little per person, not to mention the ethical problem. As he commented, corruption is the biggest problem of the country, and of course that is one of the many results of being far from God."
Thank you and please continue to pray.
"....we want you to give thanks with us for the peace that the Lord has given to Uganda during the parliamentary and Presidential election and its aftermath. The Mbale area is one of the more volatile areas of the country, and on Friday, the day of the election, and on Saturday, there were disturbances but only a few hurt, maybe one or two killed. Given the emotional nature of the campaign, the memory of horrific times under Amin and Obote, and the revolutionary events north of us, there was much fear in the country. Some of the Indian shop keepers left the country, people left the city for home villages, and, especially in our area, police and soldiers, as well as heavy weapons, were much in evidence. The day before the election, a demonstration filled the main street of Mbale, but the day of the election and afterward the streets near us were almost deserted, many people stayed behind locked gates and doors, and it was unusually quiet! The incidents of violence were local and contained. In church yesterday Philip Proctor gave thanks to God for His hand of protection and restraint, and exhorted us not to take it for granted! We are still praying for peace because tomorrow, Tuesday, is going to be the day the victorious party of the President celebrates, which may bring a reaction from the opposition who declared even before the election started that there was fraud, etc. The election results were not even close. The EU and the Commonwealth who monitored the election reportedly did not find fault with the actual election but with the money handed out during campaigning. That even affected my ladies Bible study in the village, for on the last Saturday before the election our attendance was small. Pastor Steven Hamya who talked with me afterward, lamented that many of the absent women were running from one political rally to another hoping that each candidate would give the crowd money. Of course, it must amount to very little per person, not to mention the ethical problem. As he commented, corruption is the biggest problem of the country, and of course that is one of the many results of being far from God."
Thank you and please continue to pray.
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