Thursday, November 27, 2008

South Sudan Recap

It has been a while since we last updated the blog. Today marks our fourth day in Adjumani after a week in St Bartholomew’s- South Sudan. We traveled using the new IWASSRU land cruiser to Jale- Sudan border. It was impossible to cross the border with the vehicle because it is not yet registered. We had to connect with another vehicle from the border to Adjumani which was a pretty good trip.

We have had a tremendous time in Sudan with the children and the staff. On Sunday we went with all the staff and the children to the prison where we worshiped with the inmates. Jeremy preached about God's love for his people from the book of 1 John 3:1 and gave a story about Hosea. When we go astray, God's love is so great that he always tries to bring us in his family. It does not matter how many times he has to do that. Several people got saved that day majority being the inmates. One of the inmates, Charles Abi has siblings in Amazing grace and Kampala house. Leisha bought some few supplies for him.

We also visited the health department of Kajo Keji county and we wanted to know the situation with the leprosy program. We asked one of the official several questions about the program and we learned that the program does not exist or recognized and there is no clue when the government will start the program. It only exists in Juba and not Kajo Keji. It so sad that the program does not exist in Kajo Keji when it’s the most affected place overall. The big question is, should we wait for the government to come in and help? No! We have to continue advocating for this people through praying for the, providing for them, love them, visit them and care for them. Lexie one of our team member spent time with Mary Poni who is leaving with Leprosy. She lives in a small tent donated by UNHCR close to a church.

Yesterday was a thanks giving day and I should say happy thanks giving to all of you.I am sure that this is not an African day, but we had a chance to enjoy it. We were invited by some friends and honestly we enjoyed the food that they had prepared. At least Lexi,Leisha and Jeremy felt at home having almost the same food you have during the thanks giving day.

We are leaving for Kampala this Monday and we are hoping that we don't get stuck for six hours like the other time we first came in. Pray for the Warner team as they are almost through with the trip.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Sand Dam construction in Dodoma, Tanzania

How do you raise the self-sufficiency level of a rural population living in poverty? MCC and our partner Grace and Healing ministry in Tanzania have initiated a 3-year program to construct sand dams. This ambitious project will block up valleys during flash flood season, and most of the water in the dams will sink into the ground. This will in turn raise the water table level and allow for shallow wells to be constructed and simple gardens to be created. 

Esther recently sent us some photos of the construction.

From Dodoma in 2008
The local community was involved in the whole project - from brainstorming to construction.

From Dodoma in 2008
And the prime minister of Tanzania came for the dedication ceremony!

From Dodoma in 2008
You can see more photos at this page. Also, Josh (the young volunteer from MCC overseeing the project) has some beautiful photos of the construction here. And Excellent Development has a short film on the work here.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Jose Nunez coming to Portland - You're Invited!

The community in and around Portland, Oregon is welcome to an evening with Jose Nunez. Jose has been living in Sudan for the past year assisting our partner IWASSRU with medical and administrative issues. 

Where: Evangel Baptist Church
2830 NE Flanders St • Portland, OR 97232
When: December 12 - 7 to 9 PM

Friday, November 21, 2008

Making Ends Meet.


We are so grateful for Susan being able to get the Vehicle that they have been longing for. The fact that many things are still pending because of lack of funds for the vehicle, we are glad that she now has the Land cruiser which is very suitable for the land of Sudan and part of the Northern Uganda. Susan has been traveling using buses for the past 11yrs all the way from Kampala to South Sudan which takes over 14 hours of Travel. With her age, it has been very difficult for her and she appreciates all that have supported the IWASSRU team to purchase the vehicle.
Two days ago we used the same vehicle to deliver a wheel chair to Samuel Wori who is paralyzed for the past 22years. His wife and children took off when they learned that he was paralyzed. The neighbors are the ones taking care of him. He has been lying on bed for all those years. It was a great joy for him to get the wheel chair which was donated through IWASSRU.

The same day we also visited two ladies at Mogiri- This is in Kajo keji county South Sudan and it’s an area where most of the people living with Leprosy are. With us we took some few supplies like Soap, Blankets and Petroleum jelly for them which had been donated by Mama Lyla Peterson. It’s hard to imagine that the government does nothing about this people and the disturbing part is the church doing nothing at all. It’s estimated that over 1800 people are living with Leprosy in Kajo Keji County.
One of our team members Lexie spent a lot of time with one of the ladies also affected with Leprosy and her main agenda is to learn and understand more of how this people cope with their lives. We'll update soon with some of her experiences.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Mama Land Sudan

Today marks our second full day in Kajo Keji, Southern Sudan. We have fairly regular internet access again, so I can update you on the things that have happened since my last update. Here’s an idea of what a normal day in Adjumani looked like:

Between 7am and 9am – Wake up to the sounds of the children getting ready for school, and either fall back asleep or get up to bathe. Bathing consists of gathering the needed supplies, walking through the compound to the bathrooms (note: bathroom = showering spot, latrine = toilet), pouring a basin of water from the jerry cans that had been carried from the borehole that morning, then splashing water on yourself, soaping, splashing, drying without dropping anything on the damp concrete floor, returning through the compound to the room to finish dressing. The morning routine also includes a trip to the squat latrine and brushing teeth with bottled water out behind the tukuls. (These are separate events.)

Around 9am or so – Breakfast/morning tea usually consisting of cassava, potatoes, or hard-boiled eggs with tea, coffee, or chocolate and home-made bread

Morning hours – Jeremy, Lexie, Edwin, Christine, and I usually spent the mornings reading, journaling, or working on various work-related things like rewriting the background stories of the children, updating the team financial records, or planning for interviews with the children.

Between 1pm and 2pm – Lunch of some protein-centered dish of meat stew or beans and greens and a carbohydrate, usually rice

Afternoon hours – One day we went to the Thiesens’ home to use the internet and drink cold water, another day we played Uno all afternoon, some days we took naps or worked some more

Around 4:30pm – The kids all return from school, so we’d chat with them briefly before they started their chores and we returned to whatever we were doing before, or play games with the little ones

Between 7pm and 8pm – Dinner, very similar to lunch

After 8pm – By the time we finish with dinner, it’s dark outside and the children are finished with their chores, and that’s when the real fun begins. Often we’d sing together, they taught us some new games that were, as Jeremy put it, “like being cast in a musical, but not having the script”, or we’d just spend time hanging out with them.

Between 10pm and 11pm – The kids started preparing for bed, and so do we. After a time of prayer together that could last anywhere from ten minutes to one hour ten minutes, we’d change into pajamas, swat the little bugs out of our beds, extinguish the kerosene lamp, and tuck in our mosquito nets all around to ward off the hordes of blood-thirsty mosquitoes we could hear each night swarming around our beds.

Single greatest collective regret from the trip so far:
- The kids have been trying to teach us to snap the forefinger against the middle finger loud enough to make a noise that means roughly “I’ll beat you”. We’ve been largely unsuccessful thus far, although Lexie practices diligently at really random times, like in the middle of conversations or in the back of the truck carrying us to Kajo Keji.

Speaking of which, on our way toward Kajo Keji, we stopped at Metu Secondary School where some of the Amazing Grace students are boarders. It was really great, although brief, to spend time with Akon, Augustine, Obuu, and Bakata, and they were thrilled to see one of their “mamas”, Margaret, who was travelling with us to Kajo Keji. We passed along some of the calculators and gave them a bit of pocket money to spend over the coming exam weeks and subsequent holiday.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

In Adjumani in one piece!

So we arrived in Adjumani. Finally. Thanks for your prayers.

Basically this is what happened. We made great time all the way through Gulu, and arrived at our first stuck lorry at around 2pm. Our bus was nominated to pull the lorry out of that first pit, but snapped the first industrial strength chain. When we got that lorry free and took off, I thought “Well that wasn’t so bad. I don’t what the fuss was all about!” Then at 2:30pm we pulled up behind another bus stopped behind a lorry stopped behind an army truck stopped behind thirty-nine other vehicles. One of the men got off the bus saying, “Well, everyone pick their spot. Looks like we’re sleeping in the bush tonight!” Jeremy, Lexie, and I played hearts under a tree that smelled like urine while Edwin started making phone calls for an alternate vehicle. Eventually, around five hours later, after several moments of false hope where the original vehicle would get free only to be replaced by the second or third vehicle following, our rescue vehicle arrived. The bus driver assured us that our luggage would be left for us at the Adjumani office when the bus got free, and we climbed into the back of the truck for our two hour ride to Adjumani. At first it was kind of nice. It was a nearly full moon, with loads of fireflies out and frogs singing, and not too cold. Then, about one hour in, the cold started seeping into my bones, the spare tire that Lexie was sitting on started to cut off the circulation to her legs, and Jeremy had been thrown into the side rail of the truck so many times that he had given up trying to stop it. We pulled into Amazing Grace Orphanage at about quarter to nine, and were greeted enthusiastically by the staff and children who had been praying for us since they heard we were stuck. We slept long and hard that night in whatever we were wearing on the bus and Edwin went to retrieve our bags before we got out of bed, so we barely even missed them.

Yesterday we spent hanging out around the orphanage, making ourselves at home, and last night the children welcomed us with songs and introductions and formal greetings from the staff. We introduced ourselves, and distributed the gifts that had been sent by friends in the States. The girls each received a set of underclothing with their names embroidered on the slips, an article of clothing, and either a package from their sponsor or another gift. The boys each received a pair of boxer shorts with their names embroidered on the leg, an article of clothing, a model kit, and a few also received a gift from his sponsor. The secondary school kids each got a calculator, just in time for them to start exams on Monday. Oh, and there was the always-welcome candy donated by Mama Lyla.

Thank you to the sponsors, the Main family particularly for donating the art supplies and model kits, Mike and Jeannie Ross for the calculators, the Berean team for the under clothing, and the youth group in Spokane, Washington that collected the clothing!

Sunday, November 09, 2008

Leaving for Adjumani - Take Two

I feel badly to be blogging literally right after Dax updated, so be sure you scroll down to read Dax's update about Tenderfeet!

Tomorrow morning we (Edwin, Christine, Jeremy, Lexie, Robina, and I) will leave on Zawadi bus for Adjumani. We booked the tickets Saturday afternoon, and found out Sunday morning that there are reports of a Zawadi bus stuck in a pileup of buses that are trapped in the mud between Gulu and Adjumani. Of course we knew that this was a possibility, but we're praying, fervently, that we get through on the first try. We heard that there are people spending up to two nights on the road. Please pray with us. We're leaving at 6:30AM (aka 7:30PM Pacific Coast Time) and will probably be reaching the trouble spots around 2:00PM (or 3:00AM Pacific Coast Time). So when you get up on Monday morning, pray for us! We might be in mud up to our knees!

However, to recap the past several days:
We did the standard things that always have to be done, like applying for and retrieving Sudanese visas, changing money, riding the first boda-bodas, etc, but we also got to do the fun things, like play with balloons or beads or our tattoos and arm hair (both of which are fascinating to the little kids). We've had prayers and worship a couple of times, and watched a couple of movies with the kids on their nights off from school. Jeremy and Lexie taught one girl to play the card game "Go Fish", and have been stalked by cries of "Can we play?" ever since. Lexie has been pleasantly surprised that the children enjoy playing with her, as her experience in the States has been that of children running away in terror, apparently. Jeremy has been using his skills as an artist to copy his tattoos onto the children in ball point pen.

Today was a big day for us, as we visited a Sudanese fellowship this morning for church. Afterward we traveled to the music studio of our friend Emmanuel Lasu, where we got to hear some of his music and Jeremy recorded a little ten or twenty second instrumental piece on Lasu's keyboard. We bought sodas and crisps (aka pop and chips), and chatted for a while before returning to Mama Susan's home for lunch and packing for tomorrow.

Jeremy, Lexie, and I got the opportunity this afternoon to sit with Mama Susan and hear stories about the children in Kampala House and Amazing Grace Orphanage. Those stories were tragic and sobering at the same time that they gave us hope and encouragement. Laced throughout stories of disease, war, suicide, murder, abandonment, and divorce were threads of beauty, hope, and very much love.

For instance, I love this story. When Mama Susan and many other Sudanese were living in refugee camps because of the civil war raging in Southern Sudan, she was walking one day and heard a baby crying. She and her friend found a small girl crawling around in the bush beside the road, hungry and weak. Mama's friend told her that the girl was the niece of a widow nearby who had eight children of her own, and spent the entire day in the bush gathering firewood to sell. Mama Susan's heart went out to this child, and began searching for a place for Konga to live. Eventually it became clear to her that there was no place for the Sudanese orphans to be cared for, and she made the decision to sell the jewelry and gold bangles that her deceased husband had given her in order to purchase a piece of land to start a home for these orphans. The first one admitted to Amazing Grace Orphanage was that first small girl who captured Mama Susan's heart, a girl called Konga Robina, now a strikingly beautiful thirteen year old, and whose education is now sponsored by a friend in New Mexico rather than Mama Susan's gold bangles.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Warner team has arrived

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The Warner Pacific duo arrived punctually Tuesday evening. Annet Gune (the nurse from St. Bartholomew’s) and I were on hand to pick them up. They had an immediate opportunity to adjust to life in East Africa when we woke up yesterday morning, eager to bathe, to discover that the water to the neighborhood had been cut off!

Dirty or not, we traveled into Kampala so that they could see a bit of the city. Lexie has been to Uganda before, when she studied here for six months. It was fun for her to reminisce about the bits of Kampala that she remembered. Jeremy has traveled extensively in Asia, but this is his first trip to Africa.

We had prayers last night with the children at Kampala House, singing Bari and English songs, and shared some sweets with them. (Then I instituted a major tickle war to get that sugar worked out of them. Phiona was declared the winner since she was never caught. That girl can run!)

We’ll spend the next few days running errands and catching up with some friends in Kampala. Our plan is to head to Adjumani on Monday, God willing, for a week or so, then onto Kajo Keji for another week or so, then back to Adjumani for another week or so, then back to Kampala for a few days before we all fly home in early December.

Monday, November 03, 2008

Warner Pacific Team flies to Entebbe, Uganda

The Warner Pacific Duo left this morning from Portland, Oregon. Jeremy (in the grey sweatshirt) and Lexie (in the green shirt) will be joining Leisha and Edwin and the team in Kampala shortly. Pray for Lexie especially as her malaria medicine isn't feeling the best right now. 
Please also pray for Edwin and Leisha - along with the staff from IWASSRU as they ramp up for the second team visit.
Lexie and Jeremy are bringing a bundle of gifts from all of you - including calculators for the Amazing Grace kids, ointments for the people with leprosy, baby clothes, and a hybrid solar/charcoal cooker that my mom donated recently!
From Warner Pacific

Sunday, November 02, 2008

Berean Team returning to Portland

Considering the fact that I think daylight savings started in the U.S. today, I'm not entirely sure, but I believe that Lewis, Teresa, and Rita will touch down in Portland in about five hours.

I'm a bit behind on what all they got to experience in Kajo Keji and on the way back down to Kampala, but here's an abbreviated list:

* Teresa held babies to her heart's content in Charlotte Babies' Home. She was also holding a baby when the staff who were cleaning out a closet found a rat nest in a cardboard box, and, having disturbed the nest, approximately a dozen rats began running through the babies' room. Teresa jumped into one of the beds with the baby she was holding and comforted all those within arm reach while the mamas ran around with sticks trying to kill the rodents. *shudder* (Confession: I hate rats. Give me spiders any day.)

* Rita gained a posse of nursery school kids who marched around the compound with her, following, then leading, in songs, games, and hand motions. She also created several relay-type games to keep them entertained throughout the time there.

* Lewis was asked at the last minute to preach for the children on Sunday morning. He taught on the story of blind Bartimaeus and the importance of pursuing Jesus and asking for your needs to be met, regardless of what the crowd thinks.

* We went to a place called Mogiri to give out food stuffs to people who have leprosy. That was a powerful experience, and everyone took away something different. On the ride to Mogiri, with upwards of 1000 pounds of food in the bed of the truck, we got thoroughly stuck one time, and it took close to an hour to get us free, and we had a quite jarring ride home without the cushion of those bags of food!

* We returned to Adjumani in the back of IWASSRU's big lorry, and got caught in a rainstorm. They put a tarp up, but our things got soaked anyway. We had lunch with the Imago Dei community in Adjumani - the Theisens and Jackie and Erin and Rachel - where we ate BBQ'd cheeseburgers and pasta salad, and Jeff made us some authentic, home-brewed Stumptown Coffee!

* Teresa and Rita and I measured the Amazing Grace girls for bras, and found out that many of them don't have panties. The Berean team had raised some funds to meet special needs as they traveled, and they agreed to purchase bras, underwear, and slips for all the girls, as well as boxer shorts for all the boys. We got to purchase those items when we reached Kampala with the help of our friends Esther Basa and Robina.

* We carried on down to Kampala, where we did the mad dashes around town to buy gifts for their friends and family, eat Chinese food, and take their final boda-boda rides.

Edwin, Christine, and I said goodbye to them yesterday, and are praying for safe journeys and no jet lag!

Saturday, November 01, 2008

Team returning to the States

The Berean team flies out of Kampala tonight. Sorry I haven't updated with any photos recently, but internet access has been difficult. I'll try to do one final update post tomorrow.

Pray for safe travels for them as they go! They'll arrive in Portland around noon on Sunday.