Fusion Farewell

We had two different Fusion young men with us this past week.  These two men surveyed the northeastern part of South Sudan.  They finished their work and were able to come and visit us in Rumbek; so we put them to work.  Here they are helping Jerry replace the solar batteries.  A lot of young muscle power and energy so we put it to work. As well as helping replace the batteries; which by the way was a complete success, (we can now run the refrigerator all night if we need to,) they also helped with some plumbing issues by digging up some of the pipes and helping clean out some areas.  They were able to experience some of the mundane tasks that are always present when you have to keep up a residence in Africa and we took advantage of  their youthful exuberance! 

This was the second time in Rumbek for one.  He had been here two years ago with another Fusion team, so there were many friends to visit in the market and around town.

The final night in Rumbek saw all four of the Fusion men sitting together around our table, sharing the things they had learnt during their research trips, eating homemade frozen yogurt, and enjoying good fellowship.

The next day found us all on the road again -- to Juba.  We arrived in time to spend the afternoon with some of our Baptist Convention friends discussing the health of the church and the movement of evangelization, discipleship and leadership development in the various states of South Sudan where these young men ventured.  The information was good and the fellowship was sweet.  Afterwards we joined in prayer for God's wisdom and direction as Baptists share the Gospel around the country.  These convention leaders were pleased with all the information that was shared; these young men went places and saw things that the leadership could not because of financial and time constraints.

Continue to pray for the Fusion team as their adventure continues.  They left Juba at 5:30 a.m. heading for Uganda where they will spend the rest of the week. The first week of April will find them travelling into the Democratic Republic of Congo on the same mission, finding out the health of the church and the state of evangelism and discipleship among the various people groups in eastern DRC.

Fusion Flurry

They're back!  Two of our Fusion guys arrived back in Rumbek this week. Thank you for praying for them as well as the other two guy as they move around South Sudan meeting people, seeing towns and researching different areas.


These two came back a bit worn, a bit tired , a bit sick, and a lot dirty; but, happy with the information they gleaned as they visited areas to the north and west of Rumbek.  I think they were happy to have a place to rest and recover -- and get clean -- after their days out.  I would say, "out in the bush," but they really weren't in the rural areas; they were in towns, some small and some larger that Rumbek finding out the state of the church and extent of evangelism in each place.  Traveling in South Sudan is never an easy thing and safety is never taken for granted, especially over road in public transport. 

Here you see them outside the house beating mattresses, they have a bandana around their nose and mouth to combat all the dust flying from them.  They cleaned out a bedroom in our house for the  two more Fusion guys who they had hoped to meet up with, in Rumbek. These other two were to fly in from the north eastern area of South Sudan last night, but the flight was cancelled due to a large dust storm blowing in from North Sudan.  Even though disappointed, they finished the room knowing that when their colleagues did arrive they would be a bit worn, a bit tired, a bit sick and a lot dirty as well.
Today, these two young men flew off to an area unaccessible by road.  They will be out for another week.  We just got information that the other two will arrive this evening.  They will be able to rest, recover, and get clean before they go out, as well, for another few days of research. 
Keep these young men in your prayers.  They are trusting God for their safety and their health.  They are moving around a country foreign to them and they don't know the language. Being faithful to the call, they know that God is with them leading them to persons of peace who are helping them in each place.  Ask for continued guidance, safety, health and patience as sometimes things happen and you just have to throw up your hands and say... only in South Sudan!

...in a dry and weary land -- and then it happened...

Have you ever been in a place so hot that it would melt M&MS?  The old advertisement says, "Melts in your mouth, not in your hand." Well, here's a news flash, they melt in the bag in your cupboard in South Sudan!  We brought half a bag of peanut M&Ms with us as a treat, they are still good, you just break them apart now after I revived them in the fridge! 



It has been hot and that's a fact!  We thought the days were hot when we first came -- and indeed they were -- but that was just a taste of what was to come. The other night it was a balmy 94*F as we went to bed and it cooled off to 85*F right before sunrise. This is our favorite time of the day, 5:30 a.m. before the sky lightens, before the day begins in full; while the calm air is the coolest it will be until the next day at 5:30 a.m.


I'll be the first to admit it, we are wimps! Yet, God knows what each of us can handle.  He provides for us so many things to help us survive this heat, so many things that the South Sudanese people go without.  He's given us water right at our finger tips (we don't have to haul it any more from the well), a shower from which the water pours freely (which we stand under often when it is 110*+ at mid day), a refrigerator/freezer (out of which we extract frozen water bottles to suck on during the day), and a rechargeable fan (which God dropped in our laps the day before we left Nairobi).

Well, it is amazing, I was remarking just this morning how the trees and the ground seemed to cry out for water under the scorching mid-day sun; how the very air fairly crackled as it blew harsh hot breezes through them; how the earth itself seemed almost at a crecendo of dryness and a breaking point for rain... then it happened... the first drops of rain fell in Rumbek. It was glorious!  The birds who had been silent for wont of water started singing, you could almost hear the ground soaking in the welcome refreshment and relief; the air was filled with that wonderful scent of moist earth.  It wasn't much and it didn't last long.  It doesn't mean that the rains have fully begun; it was probably just a bit of respite to help us hang on a bit longer until the rains do come in their course, but it was glorious! The temperature cooled by at least 10* and it was quite comforable sleeping last night.  Now the sky is clear and the sun is rising, it will probably be another hot one ... but yesterday... it rained!

Pray for the people of South Sudan -- Psalm 63:1 says, "O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water."  Pray that even as they look heavenward for signs of rain clouds forming their hearts would look to the One who provides rain to the earth and rest for the soul.

Trip to Kulu

Today we made a trip to Kulu. We left at 8:00 in the morning and arrived back home at 7:30 in the evening. It was a marathon day as the roads were rough, at times being only a track or a path in which to follow. Kulu is only 80 miles away from us, but the roughness of the track prohibited going much above 30 mph the whole way. We used to drive on these kinds of roads all the time, but we were a bit younger then; these 50 yr old bones and muscles now feel more jolts!

We took two along two Baptist pastors. Both were excited to be traveling to see what evidences there are of work in the area. As we jolted and bumped along, we would slow down every once in a while to mark a small village or market area on the GPS, write down the name and continue on our way. When we crossed the invisible line from Lakes State into Western Equatorial State, we also left the area where the Dinka people live and entered the area where the Jur Modo people live. Kulu is in the heart of Jur Modo-land.

We stopped in a town called Mvolo. We understood that there would be people here who could help us locate the Baptist church and the area known as the Baptist compound in Kulu. There certainly were! We ended up adding four more people to the four of us already in the car and off we went. 

As we travelled along, we came across places where there were granite outcroppings. This was our first time to see granite boulders in South Sudan; it reminded us of our years in Zimbabwe whose name means house of rock as there are so many of these outcroppings scattered throughout that country. Our two pastor friends were excited to see this and made comments about stopping to get a stone on the way home. (We did stop and they each found one huge stone and a smaller stone.  These are to be used in the process of grinding in some way . When the day was finally over and we took these men home, their wives were thrilled with these stones.  I commented to Jerry afterward that I probably wouldn't be so excited if you brought home a stone, except maybe one for my finger! -- We are terribly spoiled aren't we?)

We went first, to find the chief of the area.  This is the proper thing to do. He also got in the car with us and he directed us to the compound for the Baptist.  We found this shed and a small tukel (hut) on the property as well as the metal framework where tents had been errected and a wooden crate which held a grinding mill.  We, as well as the two pastors with us, were amazed that things were still there. The property is not guarded, it is open to anyone to come and yet nothing had been taken.  With all the difficulty we have experienced on the Baptist property in Rumbek we were amazed at the attitude of stewardship of property that we saw among these people.  We all sat down under the shed and discussed the past, (there was a missionary couple on the property ministering to the Jur Modo people in years past), and the present, and the future.

We left with a sense that these people would appreciate a missionary presence to live among them again.  They are a welcoming people. They are poor in this world, but their hearts may be open to the Gospel message.  Pray that God would open a way to minster to the Jur Modo.  Currently we estimate that there are only approximately 48,000 Jur Modo people.  Other research groups have a higher estimate; but, as we spoke with people on the ground and referenced the new South Sudan census, this is the number that we have estimated.  The Baptist church which was there was burned in 2008 during the Dinka-Jur conflict, so there currently is no Baptist church and no Baptist leadership.  Pray that God would make His presence known among the Jur Modo for His honor and glory.

Why Juba?

Some of you may be wondering why we went to Juba. Well, I will tell you. We went to Juba to meet up with four young men.  They are part of a larger group called Fusion.  Fusion comes out of Midwestern Seminary.  Midwestern now has undergraduate courses and degrees in a few fields of study.  The Fusion groups come from this undergraduate area. 

This Fusion group which has come to Africa numbers ten young people.  It is quite a commitment.  They spend five months preparing to go overseas and then they go out to the various areas of the world for four months. 

Four young men have come to South Sudan for five weeks of their four month stay to help in research  Two flew out from Juba to the north east part of the country while two others traveled back to Rumbek with us and will be going out from here to areas farther north.  While we were all in Juba we talked about the areas they should visit and some of the questions and information they research.  We also met with the President of Baptist Convention South Sudan.  He was very pleased that they would come and is looking forward to hearing the results of their adventures.


These two young men have stayed with us in Rumbek for almost a week.  We took advantage of their youthful exuberance, their young legs, and their willingness to experience anything while they were with us.  To the left you see a picture of them on top of our water tower.  They are catching the frogs that live in our water tanks. They used a pole attached to a plastic wastebasket.  Then they treated the water with a little bleach.  Debbie thought it was a good idea to get the frogs out before putting the bleach in!



 


Today these two are off with a South Sudanese friend to areas north of us and will be gone until March 23 or so.  They will be gathering information from these far-flung areas such as the health of the evangelical church, are there any Baptist churches, if so where do they meet?  Who are the other evangelical organizations represented in the area?  They have a gps with them so they will be marking places of importance. They will be looking at logistics as well and providing information to questions like, if someone were to live here, is there any health care - what is available in the market - what is the condition of the road - who else is there (in reference to mission groups and NGO-type agencies)?

Please pray for these  three young men as they travel and work.  They are truly walking by faith these next several weeks.  Yes, they've had some training, but they are on their own with God in the lead; depending upon Him for direction, protection, provision and health.