let's be social!
I knew that it was a monumental moment…one that Aid Sudan had been waiting for for months on end. I knew that I would be excited, but I didn’t expect to be moved as much as I was. At 7:00 sharp, John Chuol hit the PLAY button and the sounds of drums filled the air around the small, blue hand-held radio. Then it was on to the Chronological Bible Story, followed by a health and hygiene lesson, and finally an education lesson. As the children, John Chuol, our team, and Yen huddled around radios, I was filled with an electrifying chill because I realized just how HUGE the radio program will be in transforming the lives and hearts of the South Sudanese. HUGE.
Kerry and I were also personally celebrating the victory of years worth of work for him and nearly two months worth of intense work for me to get those very stories from ideas to text to audio files and finally to broadcast. It was a moment worth celebrating as we pondered how many South Sudanese would come to know Christ through the stories, how many South Sudanese would begin to understand germs and improved healthcare as a result of those lessons, and how many South Sudanese teachers would begin to ask critical thinking questions of their students through those lessons. We knew that these changes would not happen over night, but the energy was palpable as our team chattered on about the seeds that were being planted through those very radio waves that night. HUGE.
Snapshot of Saturday:
-Taught the Bible school students the second of the final three stories
-Hiked to the airstrip to meet the miraculous plane
-Hauled Mimi’s miraculous luggage and nearly 1,000 radios back to our compound
-Tried to rest amidst the sweltering midday heat
-Gave up resting and walked out to the radio tower to work
-Listened to the inaugural radio broadcast
-Hurried back to the compound amidst lightning (and per our experience a couple of nights prior, we weren’t taking any chances)
-Listened to the rest of the broadcast and then went to bed smiling and praising the Lord
Sora time!
We dismissed our Bible School immediately after lunch, but we asked that the students accompany us to the airstrip because the plane was coming with nearly 1,000 radios that needed to be carried back…almost all of the students were more than willing to help! The heat on that particular day was stifling, but the sight of that plane landing gave me chills because it was many prayers answered!!
There’s the plane that the Lord sent, full of hand-held radios AND Mimi’s stuff! Kuoth gua e long!
Kiddo at the airstrip…
There are ALWAYS photo opportunities whenever we walk anywhere…this was heading out to the radio tower to get ready for the inaugural broadcast…
Fun cultural factoid: The Nuer (and Dinka) are a cattle-herding people, and the cattle are more than just a source of food, but they are also their source of wealth. The cattle are herded out to pasture during the day to graze, and they are brought back into the camps or compounds at night (depending on the size of the herds) to bed down and sleep. The Nuer gather cow dung and spread it out to be dried during the day, and then burn the dried chips at night where the cattle sleep. This repels mosquitoes and flies…and it’s rather effective. And no, it doesn’t really smell bad (although I did grow up on a farm, so I might be biased here). I LOVE these images as they are so South Sudan…
The heat gets to people after a while! =) Actually, they were singing a praise song about our God’s table…
Buay told me he could not smile for pictures. Couldn’t do it. Haha…
The moment arrives!!!
The AWESOME thing about the radio broadcasts is that the Sudanese LOVE listening! They are a culture of such little technology that they all crowd around to hear what’s being played, even if they don’t know why at first. Then, little by little, they are moved to transformation from hearing the Word. Over the next few nights, we had the privilege of being with them as they listened, and they really do listen well! John Chuol, one of the Bible school students, could recite the stories as they played (of course), but even some of the others would begin to tell the stories, too. They wouldn’t sit down in storying groups as we hope they eventually do, but they do sing along with the songs and many times on the third retelling of the stories they would be saying bits and pieces of the story as the speaker said them. It was really incredible!
Highs:
-Mimi receiving her luggage was amazing for me, so I’m sure it was the best part of the whole day for her!
-Getting to be IN SUDAN with the Sudanese when the radio broadcasting began!
God was all over the place that day, with the plane coming in and the radio broadcast that night. It was such a great reminder that His plan is so much greater than we could imagine, and even when all hope seems lost, He is there. Seeing Mimi get her stuff reminded me of that. She almost didn’t go into Sudan without it, but she knew that God wanted her there, so she braved South Sudan with nothing comfortable or familiar. That stripping of self and faith in our Father was rewarded that day as the plane landed and she grabbed ahold of her trunk. It was unimaginable when we left to fly into Sudan days before that Mimi would have her own clothes and shampoo, but God already had the plan laid out; He just wanted us to faithfully seek Him in prayer. It was really incredible!
