Trip to Sudan (Part 1 of 2)

There was a lot that went on during our time in Sudan, so I'm going to relate our story in two parts. This was the first part of our week there.


We left Amazing Grace Orphanage early in the morning last week. We decided to transport all of the orphans in Uganda in the program there to the orphanage in Sudan for Christmas. Susan wanted them to see their homeland and many of them hadn't been back since the war or since they were infants. The trip was long, hot, and dusty. We had over 40 people packed in the truck, and it was fairly tolerable until we reached Sudan - then the roads became one continuous pothole! We stopped for some fresh mangos just across the border. The trees there are loaded with more mangos than could ever be harvested, and sitting under the trees we felt the drips of the yellow fruit and often we'd have to dodge dropping mangos.

St. Bartholomew's orphanage is a sister orphanage to Amazing Grace. There are currently 43 children living there and 9 staff taking care of the place. The kids there are younger and very adorable and innocent.

Our activities at the orphanage were really similar to those at Amazing Grace - taking care of ailments, profiling the kids, taking photos, and getting to know the organization better. Sudan felt hotter during the days but cooler in the evenings. One morning I actually woke up and put on my sweatshirt - no snow showed up for Christmas week though.

While we were at the orphanage we also made rounds in the area visiting the lepers and aged widows of the region. The photo below is of Susan looking at Leya Poni's badly damaged leprous legs.

Leya Poni was profiled on the blog earlier this year, and a friend from Texas decided to help her construct a home. While we were in Sudan they were putting up the walls to the home, and Leya was so happy and grateful for the gift of a new home. She currently lives in her daughter's kitchen. Lyla worked on getting a wheelchair for her and we donated some lotions and other gifts to her.

The photo below is of Peter Jibi. Peter is a man in his 60's who has suffered with leprosy for nearly 50 years. His hands and feet were missing digits, and he was in a very desperate condition. He and his wife had lost 6 of 7 children to disease, and the wife ended up going mentally unstable. He sat under a tree with no way to provide besides the little care that his daughter gave him. We spent time listening to his story and then prayed for him.

Back at the orphanage we continued to collect as much information that we could about the children's home. I did some podcasts (which will be broadcast next year) Meri worked with our new Sudan Child Sponsorship director Chaplin Duku on writing letters and getting to know the kids. Chaplin is a widower with a huge heart for kids. We were all really impressed with his love and tenderness for the kids. He would hold bible studies in the mornings and would treat wounds and play volleyball. He seemed like a perfect match for the program.

Nate continued to take hundreds of photos, and worked on a orphan photo project where the kids were given a camera for 24 hours to record the details of their lives. We are eager to develop these disposable cameras and see how they turned out.

Toward the middle of the week, Josh began preparing the kids for a Christmas play, and we were all given our Sudanese outfits that were created by the widows of Southern Sudan.

So that's part 1 of 2 of our trip to Sudan - I'll write more later on our experiences.

Tonight Josh and Nate fly back home to the U.S., and the rest of the team (Leisha, Erin, Dana, Doug and Anya) are flying into the Entebbe airport for a couple days in Uganda. Thanks to all of you for your prayers and emails! Pray for our team that we will have energy to continue in the face of huge obstacles, delays, broken down buses, and heat. Pray for the friends here that God will continue to give life on personal levels and system levels. Pray that we as Western partners will know how best to show love to each person we meet.