Day 9.
Sunday in Sudan was an exciting day! We had big plans to leave early, catch a boat to Torpuot, attend church there, visit the completed Village-to-Village projects, be back in time for lunch, and begin building a radio room for the tower. If you know anything about God and plans, then you know everything is theoretical (as Peter likes to say).
And our theoretical plans changed, but that’s okay, because God’s plans were so much better!
Snapshot of Sunday:
-Hustled to the United Nations compound to discuss them hauling Aid Sudan’s sand
-Sat out on their veranda (which we muddied up with our shoes), drank cold juice, and ate crackers
-Took a boat to Torpuot
-Visited completed Village-to-Village projects (borehole, clinic, and school)
-Ate lunch in Torpuot
-Got stuck in a rainy season monsoon on the way back to Nasir
-Dried out and relaxed for the remainder of the evening
I don’t have photographic documentation of the trip inside the UN compound for security reasons. No cameras allowed. When we arrived at the compound, we went through a little security booth and explained why we were there (the commander called us…that’s why we were there). Then we were led along concrete sidewalks to a little shaded veranda, where Peter and Kerry were already talking with the commander. We sat down, and were immediately brought cold apple juice and crackers (by other UN soldiers in short, white, tennis shorts). Crazy! By the time we arrived, the discussion was wrapping up with the commander telling us that the main road from Nasir to Kierwan had not yet been de-mined, so the UN was not allowed to travel that road. We were deflated, but thanked them for their time and left.
Here’s where God intervened.
We were waiting just outside of the UN compound on the river for the guys (Buay, Bil, and Kim) to come pick us up in the boat they were sent to “rent” for the day (negotiations took some time because the boat driver was trying to charge kawaja prices). While we were waiting, the commander drove out to talk with Peter. The UN found another road that has already been cleared of mines that they can take to Kierwan, so they were willing to haul the sand. All they needed was the SPLA to sign off on it, and we were good to go! Half of the team headed into town to meet with the commissioner, while Andrew, Chris, Angie, John Chuol, and I stayed at the river to wait for the boat.
Here’s where I begin the photographic documentation!
Sights along the Sobat while waiting on our team and our boat…
I snuck this picture of two SPLA soldiers walking. For those of you who are unfamiliar, the SPLA was the Southern Sudan’s militia group (comprised primarily of Dinka and Nuer soldiers) that fought against the northern government troops. Now that the war is over, the SPLA serves as the primary police/law enforcement in Southern Sudan.
The boat arrived at just about the same time that our team returned. Buay went with the UN to pick up, haul, and deliver the sand to Kierwan (about 12 miles away), while the rest of us loaded into the boat to head to Torpuot (about 5 miles away). Many of the Sudanese were surprised that we rode in such an old, rusty boat instead of a shiny new one. Aid Sudan is all about doing things just like the Sudanese do them (living in mud huts, walking instead of driving, and eating rice and beans), which increases their outreach because teams are able to meet the Sudanese exactly where they are. I loved our rusty boat!
The trip up the Sobat River to Torpuot…
This is another one of my very favorite pictures from the whole trip. This is Bil (pronounced Beel)…
This is a cattle camp along the river…
Peter showed off his mad video skills as we cruised up the river. He recorded several personalized videos for Aid Sudan’s donors. They were all impromtu videos, but he nailed it every time!
First stop: borehole. This well provides the only clean water that Torpuot has ever had! Thank you, Aid Sudan donors!!
Next stop: clinic. Again, this is the only clinic that Torpuot has ever had. Prior to this being built, people had to somehow get those who were sick all the way to Nasir (it’s 5 miles from point A to point B, but the walk is much longer because of the way the river bends). While there, the Aid Sudan team hung a sign to dedicate the clinic to Jesus Christ…
Here are some of the kids that the Torpuot Health Clinic serves…
While in Torpuot, we also visited John Chuol’s house and met his family. John is a student at the Bible duel gora…
Once we got back into the village, the villagers fixed us lunch (since we were definitely not going to get back to Nasir in time). Lunch consisted of sorghum and boiled maize. Our team leaders advised us to not scoop much out at first, in case we didn’t like it. I spooned out a tiny little portion, took a bite, and gagged. I am not a fan of sorghum, so I gave Peter the rest of mine (sharing your food with others is acceptable…throwing it away is not). It was a tremendous honor for them to fix us lunch because they have so little food themselves, but they gladly sacrificed it to feed us. Even though I didn’t like or eat much of it, I was deeply blessed by their sacrifice. “Dessert” was hot, fresh cow’s milk with lots o’ sugar…that was yummy!!
More sights around Torpuot…
I only got a few pictures on our way back because of the monsoon that hit, but I did manage to get a shot of the goat that traveled back with us, and all of the extra people that came to Nasir with us (it’s not too often that a bigger boat travels from Torpuot to Nasir, so people needing to do business in Nasir took advantage of the ride)…
(P.S. If you’re thinking that the bottom of the boat doesn’t look very sturdy, you would be correct. Each little wave we hit in the water made the bottom of the boat pop up and down, and I was a little nervous to stand in the middle of it for fear of the bottom coming out!)
Once we got back to Nasir, the rain continued to fall like crazy…and it was quite cold. We were already completely drenched, but we first waited under a tree, and then Jengmer found a home that we were able to wait in. After the rain subsided, we began the mile-long trek back to the compound. When we first started walking, I was doing everything possible to keep the inside of my shoes dry. Eventually, there was a puddle too large to jump over and they filled with water. At that point, I once again threw caution to the wind and took off the shoes. I walked almost the full mile barefoot. I put my shoes back on once we were in the residential district because there is a lot of animal and human fecal matter floating around. Ick. Once we reached our compound, we changed clothes, ate dinner, had our devotional, and went to bed early.
Highs:
-Being on the UN compound…kind of strange, but something I probably won’t get to do often in my life
-The whole entire visit to Torpuot! I loved seeing another village, visiting the Village-to-Village projects (more on the school later), and even having lunch in their village.
-Meeting Buay’s family (with whom Buay was just reunited in October 2009 after about 15 years of separation). They gave Aid Sudan a hand-crafted bowl as a gift for bringing Buay back to them. I had to really hold back the tears!
-Bil jokingly pulling me towards more wong mit in Torpuot to tease me about the leg-on-fire incident the day before
-Lunch the villagers prepared for us
-The monsoon we hit on the way back…it wouldn’t have been a trip to Sudan during the rainy season without some kind of stuck-in-the-rain adventure!
Lows:
-The severe sunburn I got from foolishly not putting on sunscreen
-The UN never made it to Kierwan with the sand because of the rain. They got stuck about halfway there and had to turn back. It was disappointing, but it was still a huge blessing that they tried, and Peter was happy because we could honestly say that we tried absolutely everything possible to get the sand there. If the UN couldn’t do it, no one else would be able to either.
Lessons Got Taught Me:
-“This poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.” (Mark 12:43) In America, most of us only give when it is convenient or when it does not hurt, but the Sudanese gave us their food with a happy heart. They were joyed to be able to provide lunch for us, no matter how much it hurt their stores of food for the dry season. We missed the church service because of the UN meeting, but Peter and Andrew told us that in church, the Sudanese often give corn as their offering. They do not have money like we do, but they give of their food in hopes that it will provide for someone with even less than they have. How amazing is that?? I was deeply touched by the way they give of themselves unselfishly.
-I wrote in my journal that night, I have realized how little I look to see God’s work in my life at home, or how rarely I listen to His call. I think we see it here because life is simpler, and there’s not all of the clutter to block God out. I have definitely seen and felt Him here. I need to simplify my life! Priority number one in coming home has been to seek God with my whole heart, not just when I have a free moment. There’s not a lot that I can do to make my schedule less demanding…I work, take classes, shoot weddings, and [sort-of] maintain our household. I can’t change those things, but what I can change is how much time I fill with useless activities (tv, Internet, etc.) and how much I glorify God through my life. Satan is at work everywhere in the world. In Africa, it’s through wars, witchcraft, and power…it’s pretty bold and in your face. Here, however, to the average American (including me), it’s through chaotic schedules and confusion. When we are so focused on working, driving the kids around, making it to meetings, getting chores done, and on and on that we fail to focus on God. That was certainly true in my life, and I definitely learned my need to simplify so that God is not only a presense in my life, but so that He is leading my life.