We had a surprising Sunday all in all. We visited a mosque in Onehunga on Sunday (which used to be a Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall) and spoke with a scholar and the trustees and a couple of members.
They were extremely hospitable and very generous with their time (and Just Juice and Choc Chip cookies) - they even made special dispensation for the women on the team to come into the Men's prayer room to ask the questions (but they wouldn't let me film)
I was reminded of Einstein's theories on the speed of light. As something approaches the speed of light it's mass tends towards infinity... so it felt with our different belief systems - so very very close together and yet such a massive chasm of difference in between.
We then went to the Buddhist temple out at Botany Downs and to their cafe for an excellent debrief and discussion before talks turned to "what should we pack?"
Long pants is the order for the men while women need to wear robes and headscarves. So our first port of call in Bangladesh will be the markets to kit ourselves out... should be very interesting. I've lost about 4kg in preparation for the heat - but I'll have to lose more (Go Exercycle!!) - I am so going to feel the heat!
We gained a new team member too - someone well known to the Graceway folks. T.R. joins us on a Scholarship from Carey - but sadly at the expense of M.W. who has been diagnosed with Glandular Fever and advised against travelling for quite some time.
I'll post some more from our mosque trip findings over the next day or two
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