My baby turned 8 today!! We had loads of fun celebrating with English breakfast tea, musical bumps, party games and choccie cake!
Happy Birthday Hannah!
December 30th, 2009Christmas in Sudan!
December 25th, 2009
Yes we stayed for Christmas even though all other aid workers and NGO’s left for Nairobi. Our clinic is remaining open for emergencies. It’s quiet and slow paced but everyone wants to look their best on Christmas Day with new clothes. The day is spent going to church and spending time with family. We held a communion church service in our compound and quite a few people came. This was followed by a turkey British Christmas dinner, with crackers, pudding and a special cake!
Sufferin’ in Style!
December 24th, 2009
Horrendous Road to Rumbek
Four hours on a bumby road and 100 miles away in Rumbek is this oasis of tranquility, called Safari Style! We treated the family and team and took 2 days out to refresh before the Christmas break.
Swimming at Safari Style
Complete with air-conditioning and swimming pool the kids were willing to make the horrendous car journey for the blessing of playing and relaxing by the pool!
Farewell To Africa!
December 5th, 2009
Here as I am somewhere over Iceland flying back to the USA, the last week certainly has illustrated Gods hand in all that goes on. Things got very busy, and hence this is a lengthy blog to fill in the gaps
Sunday evening we were able to do our last scheduled outreach to a village some 15 very bumpy miles away (the drive took nearly 45 minutes). This village was made up of men and women and their families who were training to be prison guards (or wardens as they are known as here). These were a village that were very disciplined in their training, but were concerned that because it was guards who put Jesus to death, that theirs was not an honorable job. That is was people in their job that killed Jesus. This was shared to me on the way to the village, and Sabet asked me to share a message addressing this concern before showing the Jesus film. So out the window for the message I had sort of prepared based on Gideon and his faith in the power of God, and instead, God gave me a message loosely based on the vineyard owner coupled with a description of Jesus being our propitiation because of the Fathers love.
This turned out to be one of my favorite outreaches we did in our very short time in Tonj. They loved the worship from Josephine (with Emily on Cajon), and then loved even more as she launched into “Praise the name of Jesus” sung in Dinka. Time for the silly songs bought out all the children who marched out singing a welcoming song in perfect formation. Then everyone got into the songs, and then followed by the Jesus film.
Sabet bought a young couple to Josephine and Kristina with the young wife who was having “disturbances” and could not sleep, wanting healing. Josephine recognized that she did not know Jesus, and as she accepted Jesus into her heart, the demonic oppression that was tormenting her had to leave. God had our team there at just the right time with a mind to trust in Him. After she became peaceful, her husband also accepted the Lord. Hallelujah
However, with the potential for my short message coupled with the Jesus film portrayal of the crucifixion to still leave some confusion in the minds of these wonderful people, I offered to come back on Tuesday night, the night before we were to leave, and discuss with them what the Bible has to say about soldiers and guards. They readily accepted.
Unfortunately the Devil always keeps pressing, and on the way home Stacy succumbed to the “bug” that has been sweeping the compound
Monday bought Dennis (the other medical officer) back after a break, and also bought Gordon (the logistician from Nairobi) to Tonj along with about 800kg (1700lbs) of supplies, some of them electrical for Dave and myself to continue with the Solar. Mondays as always were very busy in the Clinic.
Tuesday bought the news that Dave also got slammed by the “bug”. The clinic was “closed” for staff training, and Kristina accepted the responsibility for any “emergency” walk ins. Needless to say, she was kept really busy. I managed to get the Solar System to a somewhat improved state, and ready for a more efficient use of resources. The team all tried to contribute as much as we could before our imminent departure.
That evening Sabet, Josephine and I returned to the Prison Wardens’ village. We had been told to expect roughly 45, but over 60 turned up. We gave out Bibles, and had to disappoint as we did not have enough on hand. The study went really well, covering the centurions in the gospels, the garden of Gethsemane, the Phillipian Jailer, and closing with Romans 13 1-5. God moved mightily in the hearts of these wonderful people who want to serve Jesus in all they do, and not compromise because of their work choice. We could all learn many lessons from this, and strive to serve Jesus in our Whole life, not just the parts that are convenient to us. After we were treated to another stirring performance by the village children, who showed us clearly by their actions they knew who to believe in. And to top it off, the young husband from Sunday night came to tell us after the teaching that his wife was sleeping soundly, and had no more “disturbances” Praise Jesus
Time to fly out Wednesday morning and Natasha succumbed to the “bug”. Not a pleasant thought to ride in a small plane with your body trying to rid itself of “stuff”. But on the plane she hopped. However by the time we arrived back in Nairobi, Josephine had developed a massive migraine, Natasha was no better, and neither would be unable to continue on the flight back to San Diego.
And as always, God opened the door, provided a way to delay our flight by providing Dr Bransford, an American surgeon who’s spent the last 32 years serving the people of Kenya, to give the airlines the confirmation of sickness they required to change our flight without the huge penalties that normally would result.
Leaving the people of Tonj, and the Kuj family, and all the compound and medical centre is a bittersweet thing. We know Gods work will continue, after all, he doesn’t really need us, but He chooses to, and to no longer be hands on is a sad thing, but then the knowledge, that Jesus taught us that First when we Pray… We have been blessed beyond measure to be just for a moment in time able to come alongside “In Deed and Truth”. And we look forward to the time we meet again, either here on this earth or in Heaven forever.
To God be the Glory, great things He has done.
Kristina’s Blog!
November 29th, 2009
Kristina Holding New Born She Helped Deliver
Hello everyone! It’s Kristina again:) This last week has been very full and God is constantly showing Himself strong on our behalf! Friday morning dawned very early this past week. I woke up at 5:30 to get ready for a journey to the town of Wau (pronounced Wow), which is only 70 miles away. However, the road to Wau is a very bumpy dirt road with many potholes/craters:), so it takes about three hours by car. The ride was an adventure in itself, but Sabet skillfully guided the Landrover along, dodging as many potholes as possible. Sabet and Leo needed to buy wire for a project here and said Natasha and I could go along. The reason I wanted to go to Wau is because it is a predominantly Muslim city. For those of you who know my love for Muslim people, this makes perfect sense, right? It happened to be a huge Muslim holiday on Friday: Idd el Dhahia, which commemorates the day Abraham was asked by God to sacrifice Ishmael according to Muslims and was spared when the ram was sacrificed instead. As we approached Wau, I could see Muslim men and young boys in droves walking, apparently to and from prayer. We passed one area where there was at least a thousand seated together, all in white garments listening to a guy on a loudspeaker. I was told there would be many sacrifices in the city that day. I know God has a plan to continue revealing Himself to these people, and I want to be used to share Jesus’ love with them! Although I was not able to speak to them that day, I prayed for them, asking God to open their eyes to the truth of His Son! The Lord is faithful, and He continues to fill my heart with love for Muslims. They are the largest, most unreached people in the world, and they desperately need to be set free by the blood of Christ, our perfect sacrifice! On a different note, I think I am going to write a book entitled, “On the Road to Wau.” Doesn’t that sound appealing?? This trip inspired some good stories for a bestseller:) If you want to pre-order a copy, just let me know!
We just finished eating dinner Friday night when a woman came to the clinic in labor!! It was her fifth pregnancy, but she was concerned that something was wrong because her labor pains were different from her others. We thought the baby would come quickly because it was her fifth, but as the hours began to tick by, it was apparent this baby was in no hurry:) Finally around 12:30am, I was walking laps with the mama and Sheena (here for 2 months) outside in the dirt when all of a sudden her water broke and within seconds the baby was being born outside! Thankfully, Sheena had a headlamp on, so we were able to see the baby coming in the dark. I bent down and literally caught her! We finally got both mom and baby inside and settled for the night. It was amazing, and words cannot describe what a blessing this was! I hope this was the first of many babies that I help deliver. One thing I cannot help stop thinking about is how vastly different our cultures are– how we can be spoiled and complain about the smallest things and the people here have relatively nothing but are content. There is so much joy in having a thankful heart. I want to grow in having contentment in “whatever state I am” as Paul wrote. In this season of our lives (and I know we’re each in a different place), I pray that our hearts are full of gratitude, that we would “proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day”(2 Chron. 16:23). If you know Jesus, you have been blessed with every spiritual blessing from on high (Eph 1).
We only have a few days left here, and I praise God for showing me His heart in Sudan, for challenging me to go deeper in my walk with Him, for expressing His glory through this culture and the beautiful Dinka people, and for teaching me that everything comes down to loving Him and loving others. Without His love, we have nothing and can do nothing, but through His love, we have been set free to live an extraordinary life and possess the greatest treasure of all!
Be encouraged that God is on the throne, He loves you with an everlasting love, He has an infinite measure of grace for you today, and He longs to show us His glory!
Leo’s Blog!
November 27th, 2009
What another interesting couple of days. Yesterday began with the usual morning devotion, which a recovering from illness Josephine was able to again lead worship. I was blessed to being able to share from Luke 23. After that it was into the day. Kristi, Kristina and Natasha made their way back to the clinic, Josephine and Emily made their way to the pharmacy, Dave helping with construction, and I was continuing sorting out the solar.
It has been so blessed seeing how the body of Christ is supposed to work. We each have our areas God has called us to serve in. And God is teaching each of us in different ways.
There is an increase in birth issues recently. Yesterday there was a lady out front of the clinic who had miscarried at 5 months, and many other miscarriages, and there have been a number of still births. It is hard to imagine the pain in this community, a community that is a combination of traditional tribal life and trying to move into the western way of life, and not succeeding in either. The need for a personal relationship with Jesus is so evident here, but of course, it is no different anywhere in the world.
That night we were blessed with the opportunity to minister at a nearby Leper colony. It was truly special. We had some worship, a short address based on the story of Peter and Cornelius, measuring the Leper’s feet for shoes, and distributing basic food items, and of course, followed by the Jesus film. It was a great night.
And as we returned to the compound, the was a message that a lady was delivering twins, and was in trouble. Kristi, Sheena and Kristina went to serve. Unfortunately only one of the twins survived, a girl, but that joy of life was very special.
Today Sabet, Natasha, Kristina and I went to Wau with the express need to by some cable for wiring up the Solar Panels, and also to re-wire the houses. Wau is some 60 miles west of Tonj along the roughest, most pot-holed road I have ever been on. Three hours of weaving and dodging holes, got us to Wau, and we found everything shut because of a Muslim holiday which commemorates the anniversary of Abraham offering his son Ishmael up as a sacrifice. Sound familiar? How the devil loves to manipulate and cause confusion. Another one of the devil’s tactics is to take what God gives. In a land where there is such need, and only limited resources, the Cellular phone companies have erected so many billboards promoting their products, and every 5th shop seems to sell Cell phones. It is so sad. We were not able to buy any cable, but we did get to fix a flat tire, give someone a lift back to Tonj, and see a land that really needs a work of the spirit, and many faithful harvesters.
Tonight it was decided to have a movie night, but just as things were getting organized, a lady came in in labor. Kristina, Sheena and Josephine were off to serve. But I’m afraid you will need to check back in tomorrow and see how it turned out.
God is so amazing. He is so faithful. And His ways are not our ways, and His timing is not our timing. We are all growing so much. We are all aware time is drawing to an end, but it has been amazing time so far. God is Good.
Happy Thanksgiving!
November 26th, 2009
Chibaak! Happy Thanksgiving!
Aluel (Kristi) here. We are still having busy days from morning to night, and thankfully it was slightly cooler today (92). Kristina, Natasha and I are working daily in the medical clinic alongside the staff here. They have been very helpful showing us how their system works, and interpreting for us. Since we are into our second week, we have developed a camaraderie working together which makes ours difficult days and situations such a joy. We have helped with some of the organization of medical supplies, (I know, you’re surprised), but there is still a whole storeroom of supplies awaiting. Yesterday, as I was talking to Peter the pharmacist, I was leaning on the dutch door counter to the pharmacy with a lovely Sudanese woman next to me, when she began pointing to my arm and asking Peter questions. I thought perhaps she was remarking about my watch; I asked Peter what she was saying…She wanted to know if my skin keeps looking like this even in the ‘dry season’ which is the hot dry summer. We all laughed as I answered “yes, always this white”, it never gets the same expresso black as these beautiful people.”
This morning I shared my story in the devotion time, and I am thankful for God’s faithfulness and peace as I have never shared this in front of so many before. ”Blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence.” Jer 17:7. You are not going to believe this, but unbeknownst to us, Suzy arranged for a Thanksgiving turkey to come in on the plane with us last week! Yep, she had to order one from Kenya! Well, the actual day on which to celebrate Thanksgiving in Tonj Sudan is determined by the thawing of the turkey, what with solar fridges and such…so today was the day! This was the first time they have ever done this here, and what an incredible day of many hands working together to do the work on the compound, in the medical clinic, and preparing and cooking all at the same time. Amazingly, it was completely stress free, making a Thanksgiving dinner for 24 out here in the middle of Africa. The lovely sharing of how to pull together a Thanksgiving was a great joining of all ages and experiences; some have made many a thanksgiving dinner, some have eaten plenty but never been able to be part of the preparations, some used their family recipes, and even new recipes from the internet. The excitement and joy was felt by all throughout the day as we reported the progress of the turkey. We had a 22 lb turkey, stuffing made from Tonj bread, sweet potato casserole complete with marshmellos on top, mashed potatoes, green beans, julienned carrots, gravy and pumpkin pie from fresh pumpkins here. It was completely surreal yet natural to be doing things in the clinic that I’d best not mention in detail, and wander over to take the turkey out of the oven to baste it with a giant syringe from the clinic (a CLEAN one, I promise). Since the oven is sitting outside next to a shed, it was quite handy. We also used the charcoal oven to bake the pies and stuffing. It was a joyful day of giving thanks, ending with a devotion around the campfire, worship, and everyone sharing specific things they are thankful for over the past year. We then had communion together after Dave and Leo shared; what a blessed time. As I looked around at our gathering, I realized there were only six Americans there, and many others from Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Australia, England; what an amazing gathering of brothers and sisters in Christ. How many times will we ever have a Thanksgiving like this? Bless you all for your day of Thanksgiving, may you also remember what you are most thankful for!
God Loves Achol!
November 24th, 2009Dear friends and family,
We serve a loving and compassionate Father, who knows us so intimately and longs to draw us close to Him. I want to encourage you tonight to draw close to Him, let Him hold you, and surrender to His embrace. I was reading in John tonight about Jesus washing His disciples feet. John writes, “having loved His own who were in the world, He now showed them the full extent of His love…” (13:1) The full extent of His love… Is that not beautiful? Jesus has demonstrated not just a portion of His love, but His complete, eternal, and unconditional love without reserve.
I cannot remember the first moment I experienced love, but I know God first poured out His love into my life through my parents, and I became secure in the Father’s love as a little girl. For a child not to experience love from those who are meant to care for them and make them feel safe is devastating. Some of you may have experienced hurt or abuse from someone you trusted, and I pray you have been healed by coming to know the full extent of God’s love for you. I want to share a story about a little girl I met yesterday named Achol. I believe she experienced true love for the first time last night.
Achol lives in a small village very close to where we are staying. Yesterday we were invited to lunch by a lovely woman named Elizabeth who helps serve at the compound. I will tell you more about that later. On our way home from the village, Sabet (the missionary) was informed there was a little girl who needed help. That night, she was brought to the clinic by neighbors, badly beaten and eyes full of fear. My first glimpse of her was seeing her small frame sitting in the exam room with tears streaming down her face. Her collar bone was broken, her back had been cut, her hands were swollen, and her spirit was wounded. She is about nine years old. Her story is that her mom passed away, her dad is a drunk who takes no responsibility for her, and her only other relative is her aunt who abuses her, forces her to do hard labor, and doesn’t feed her properly. We sat with Achol, put her arm in a sling, and just loved on her. One man translated as I shared Jesus with her and she gently put her hand on top of mine. Then Suzy and her three children (Hannah, Jedidiah, & Agum) came to the clinic with one of Hannah’s dresses. As Achol put on her new dress, I saw this downcast, hurting little girl transformed. She was like a different person with the biggest smile and eyes shining. Hannah and Agum then put their arms around Achol and walked back to the compound to have dinner with us. The sight of these three girls arm in arm was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Achol eyes were feasting on the food on the table before she ever took a bite. I think it was the most food she has eaten in a while. She just kept smiling. After dinner, Sabet (Suzy’s husband) took her home and confronted her aunt about the abuse. She admitted to “disciplining” her but denied abuse. Sabet warned her that if the abuse continued, further action would be taken. I know that God is directing Sabet in this situation. He understands the culture and is led by the Spirit. I wanted to keep Achol here, to know she is safe, to protect her from ever being hurt again. Achol was the last thing on my mind as I fell asleep and the first thing in my prayers as I woke. I couldn’t believe it when I saw her at morning devotions today with the same bright smile on her face. At one point during the devotion, our eyes met, I smiled, and she smiled the most beautiful smile back…my heart melted.
I don’t know what is going to happen with Achol, but I know that the Lord makes “everything beautiful in its time” (Ecc. 3:11). I don’t know why Achol has been inflicted with so much pain and abuse at such a young age, but I know that God is faithful, and He is a defender and Father to the fatherless. Going back to John 15, Jesus tells Peter, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand” (v.7). I believe His Word and trust that He sees Achol and wants her to know the “full extent” of His love. He has not forgotten her. I saw fear replaced by love in Achol’s eyes last night. I saw love poured out from the Father into her heart. I saw the full extent of His love for us in that He found us broken and bloody, destroyed by fear and hopelessness. He cleansed our wounds, wiped away our tears, clothed us in robes of righteousness, and wrapped His arms around us.
“There is no one like the God of Israel, who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in His majesty. The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” Deut. 33: 26
I ask that you please pray for Achol. Pray that she is safe, that she remembers she is loved by the Father, that she cries out to Him when is afraid, and that she experiences the full extent of His love over and over and over again. Pray for her healing and that perfect love would remove fear from her heart. Pray for her aunt to come to Christ and for God to do a miracle in her family. Pray for wisdom for Sabet and Suzy if further intervention is required.
Thank you for praying. Remember that “the weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds” (2 Cor. 10:4).
I love you all, (especially Daddy, Mommy, & Natalie:)! There is always hope in Christ, so take heart and be encouraged that the “full extent” of His love has been given to you!
Love,
Kristina
Emily’s Blog!
November 24th, 2009Dear friends and family back in California!
What a blessed time it has been so far!
This is Ameer (pronounced A-mare) or Emily as you know me.
I have been sick, as you know, for the past 4-ish days. I am still not feeling one hundred percent but that is just because I have a sore throat and cough.
Today has been a packed and exciting day!
First off I led devotion about our conduct and how it reflects our character. Then, in devotion, because mum (Josephine) has been sick and unable to lead worship, we sang in Dinka with the other workers on the compound. It was truly blessed!
Then, we all went off to our various duties.
Dad (Leo) went to work on the solar system in an attempt to get it in a state of usability.
David went to work on mechanical and technical issues with the other Sudanese and Kenyan men.
Kristi, Kristina, and Natasha went to work in the Medical Clinic with John Paul and Sheena.
And finally, I went to work in the Pharmacy with Peter.
It was a reasonably slow day in the Clinic so Kristina came to help me with some cleaning and sorting in the Pharmacy. We have a Stock Check on Saturday for the Pharmacy so we needed to do some organizing and also because it was pretty dusty and dirty and messy in there.
Lunch was chickpea soup with the delicious Tonj Bread.
We all then went back to our duties and then the women gathered for the 3:00 women’s study on 1 Peter with Suzy. I wanted to rest so I went to read but the children, Agum, Hannah, and Jedidiah, found a way to distract me. Soon, the orphan girl named Achol came over and wanted to play as well.
It was a great time of fellowship and I learned some more Dinka words.
God is so good to bring us here to Sudan!
He continually shows me that although we may go through many trials and hardships, it is all for our spiritual growth and that we may trust and lean on God more.
Thank you for all your prayers and please pray not only for us but for all these beautiful Sudanese people.
In His Great Love,
Ameer
Natasha’s Blog!
November 23rd, 2009
Team
Words cannot trying express how faithful the Lord is, especially to this team, and today has been no exception.
This morning I (Natasha, a.k.a Ajak) did devotion about what the Lord has done in my life and how He saved me. During devotion Achol showed up and joined in, she`x the orphan girl from the clinic last night, who had run away from her abusive Aunt. She was all smiles, and I believe that for the first time she really experiencing love.
Kristi, Kristina and I worked in the Clinic with the medical staff, and today, under Suzi’s leadership worked on creating a more efficient way to work. When I was sitting in with John Paul (the doctor here) I was given the opportunity to talk to a young lady called Mary about Jesus, and that He loves her so much. She told me that she knows Jesus, that she was baptized as a little girl. John Paul helped me, and encouraged her to really know Him, and that He is calling her to a relationship with Him. We invited her to come to church on Sunday, and we prayed. Kristina also was just shining the love of Jesus through her gentle and friendly work with the wound care children. Kristi has been a complete blessing to the Medical Clinic, using her organizing skills to serve alongside. We’ve had many fun/silly times together, and I have lost count of how many times we have been laughed at by the Sudanese for our misunderstanding etc. I have really enjoyed working with these wonderful women and the staff there, I have learnt so much.
Today the boys and Stacie were doing a lot of physical labor, cleaning out the storage room. Dad (Leo) has been very busy since the Pastors left, fixing all sorts of mishaps around the compound; he is soon going to be moving the fridges into the storage room. Please keep the guys in your prayers specifically, that they wouldn’t get injured and would have the wisdom to fix all the problems here.
Emily is feeling a bit better today but unfortunately last night she was suffering from Malerone side effects, and we were up with her last night. Coming back from the clinic today I was informed the Mum (Josephine) was sick, and throwing up, please keep her in your prayers. She has been such a blessing to the People here in Tonj, through her music, her wisdom and encouragement.
Today dinner was a huge treat to everyone here; it was rice and chicken peanut sauce. We eat so well here, very blessed by the kitchen staff. Who would ever imagine that we would eat as well as we do here in Africa. For desert we had jell-o, and Stacie and I are certain that it was raisin flavor (perhaps not). Either way, we are so blessed.
Well I m off to bed now, praying that I will finally get a full night, it has been so hot her at night.
Signing off, In the Faithfulness of Jesus
Ajak