Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Home Again

I arrived in Seattle right on time last night to be greeted at the airport by my entire family. They tried to sneak up on me but that was a little difficult as Carol was carrying a bunch of "welcome home" balloons.

Thanks for staying abreast of my adventure in Africa during the past few weeks. I'm trying to think about how I will answer questions about the whole experience. I'm sure there will be opportunities for conversation but let me sign off on this blog with the following excerpt from my journal dated March first.

The mornings in Africa begin with a mixed chorus of dove's cooing and rooster's crowing. The air is cool and refreshing to the lungs. Small birds with sky blue bodies flit from twig to ground and back looking for breakfast.





Only two days separate me
from the plane that will take me from Yabus back to Nariobi. I wonder what I will remember from my time in Africa. First will be the people, their smiles and singing. Their joy in the midst of such a difficult setting is hard for me to understand. Simple survival is a chore. Add years of war on top and life should be unbearable.

Yet, somehow the spirit of these people grasps the dusty, cracked land in which they live and the hand of God and pulls the two together. The Sudanese clearly understand what rebuilding their country will entail, and yet, they do not lose heart. And even though I have but glimpsed the tenaceous spirit of these people - as much as I do understand, I want to take back to America. The Dinka, Uduk, and Mabaan people don't readily speak of the horror and autrocity of war. The potential for tribalism to continue to divide the country is self evident, but instead of despair, they talk of sing of hope. Even when they are silent, you can still see hope on their faces or in their eyes. I wonder if I were in the same circumstances if I would have a Sudanese sized hope. I feel weak and insignificant next to these people. They fully understand how to rest fully on the rock in the midst of the storm.

A few days ago Anter prayed, "Our ears are tired of hearing gun
shots and our feet are tired of running to safety." Peace is possible when people like these stop looking out merely for their own interests and also look out for the interests of others. Someone might shoot me if he wants my shirt unless I first say, "Here take my coat as well." A man who lives with abandonment as if to lose his very life will in the end save it. This way of living in the world makes absolutely no practical sense to those who rob the poor and leave them for dead. The teachers and students in the Sudanese Interior Church Secondary School are learning to practice these truths and will take what they have learned back to their villages to become leaders of hope for the future.

Grace and peace to you.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Day 18+ Beyond Africa

I've been traveling again. Flights from Africa to London (2 of them) also went without a hitch, and my luggage arrived with me in London of Friday. I've been learning to ride the "Tube", London's subway, and spending long days sight seeing. The downtown area is full of people, it seems almost twenty-four hours a day. Although, I don't know first hand after around midnight.

I've stayed a bit out of town in the community of Ilford to save money. Today I move to Paddington, a large central transportation hub, to be close to the Tube stop that will whisk me off to Heathrow tomorrow. Thankfully it is sunny today but pretty cold. Yesterday I rode on the top of a double decker tour bus and nearly froze. The temperature differential between Yabus and London is nearly 70 degrees Fahrenheit. I understand Seattle/Bellevue area is a bit chilly again as well. Hopefully they have restocked the deicing fluid at Sea-Tac so I can land Monday night. Maybe I'll land before the white stuff is all gone!

I look forward to seeing everyone soon. I leave you with a few transition pictures.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Day 16-17 Back in Nairobi

We made it back to Nairobi. It took most of the day Tuesday. This time we flew both 2 1/2 hour flights in a small 15 seater. After a while it was a little claustrophobic. However, the scenery in Kenya was green, lush and mountainous.

I will be here today and tomorrow (a safari is planned tomorrow morning). Then Thursday night I fly back to London and will be there for some site seeing for three days. I'm looking forward to seeing you all next week. I arrive back in Seattle on Monday evening the ninth. Below are some last pictures from Yabus.


Termites are a real problem in Yabus. They eat anything wooden which makes it difficult to build any type of buildings.
Here is the whole gang at the compound in Yabus.

The Village of Yabus from the air.


The compound from the air.

P.S. Today is an important day on the political scene in all of Sudan. A decision by the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) could cause major stress to an already fragile climate. Click here to read an article about the decision from the BCC.

Grace and peace,

Monday, March 2, 2009

Day 14 & 15 - Last Days in Yabus

My recorder playing friend Thomas . . . see below for details


The feast I prepared . . . four loaves of bread . . . whew! An Itialian treat - Chicken Alfredo.Finally the garden is complete. Now we're hoping for a lot of vegetables. Phalice will have to send me a picture when they are full grown.


This is my last day in Yabus. The last two days have been very busy. Yesterday, Thomas and I played recorders in church. Thomas works in the other SIM school in the compound. It is an accelerated primary school for adults. He is a short-term missionary from Switzerland. It just so happened we both brought our recorders to Africa, and he even had some music.

On Sundays the cooks for the compound have the day off. Phalice and I volunteered to cook the Sunday dinner. After scrounging around in her food trunks we discovered we had enough for a small feast. I made four loaves of French bread and baked them over charcoal embers in a big aluminum “oven”. Chicken Alfredo was the main course along with Ramen Cabbage salad. We had quite a few dried apples so we made crisp in the same oven and used vanilla pudding on top instead of ice cream for obvious reasons. I worked from right after church at 12:30 to about 6:30 pm.

It’s cooler today for the first time. In fact, last night was even “chilly”. The cooI temperature was just what I needed to finish up the garden by surrounding it in chicken wire to keep the roaming flock of chickens at bay.

Just before noon Eli took me four wheeling to a huge rock a couple miles from the compound. We climbed to the top, and I got a panoramic view of the whole area. A thick haze hung over the horizon so we did not see far, but it was beautiful none-the-less.

Tonight we celebrate another birthday. James, a teacher in the secondary school, turns 30 today. For me the celebration will be bittersweet as tomorrow I fly back to Nairobi. I’m sure I will need a few weeks to process this whole experience. I’ll keep blogging as it will help me be accountable to think about what has happened over the past few weeks.


So the landscape of the Sudan is dry and hot during the dry season and wet and muddy during the rainy season. Eli said from this rock the whole scene is very green when it rains.
So I climbed to the very top! No problem!

Grace and peace . . . next post will be from Nairobi.