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I totally started to title this blog post something else, but I decided that in keeping with tradition (see this post and this post), I would go with the title I’ve used today.
We’ve moved into the camper, we’re raising support, and life keeps on keeping on. So what’s next? Well, for me (Cass), the next step is a trip back to Nasir, South Sudan!! I know…I’m excited, too! I was recently asked by my grandmother, who is very baffled by how smitten I am with South Sudan, “Why on earth do you feel the need to go again this summer when you’re moving there???” And here’s my answer…
I LOVE South Sudan and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the people…if that’s not already obvious! It’s a really tough feeling to explain to other people, mostly because I have no other context or experience with which to relate it; however, I will say that I KNOW in my kidneys that this is a love and passion given to me by the Lord. I cannot possibly explain to you the feeling of exactly-where-I-need-to-be-ness (yeah, I made that up) that I feel when my feet touch the twak (mud) in South Sudan. It’s home to me in a way that my house here in Indiana has never been. In addition to my “home”sickness, I also have some important educational intel to gather and two awesome short-term mission teams of which to be a part.
So this summer, I will once again lug my well-packed backpack and suitcase to the International Airport; say a tearful goodbye to my hubster; fly off into the sunset and sunrise (it’s a long flight); bump along the pothole-filled roads of Entebbe/Kampala; vibrate down a dirt runway and over the countrysides of Uganda and South Sudan; and jostle along another dirt runway before I will hop off of that tiny plane and greet my other family…my Nuer one! Last summer’s reunion in Nasir was awesome, but I feel like this year’s will be epic! I have prayed SO HARD for my brothers and sisters in Nasir over the last year, and I cannot wait to see them again! Why isn’t Blaise going? Well, two reasons: funding is tight and [more influentially] he was just off work for three months following his injury…no way he’s going to get another month off right now! It kills us a little that he can’t go, but we’re excited because it looks like we will be taking a vision trip together with a small team hopefully later this fall.
Anyway, aside from a few fun things I have planned with the ladies on our compound (spa day, anyone?), I will also be doing some other really awesome things such as telling Bible stories, meeting with VIPs (Very Important Pastors) in the community, and other work planned out for our teams. I also hope to spend a significant amount of time in the Nasir area schools talking with the headmasters and teachers about their needs, observing their teaching strategies/skills, and planning some new programming for the radio. We may host a teacher training workshop or two, if time allows. However, this survey work will give me some important details and framework I need for writing a plethora of radio programming that meets the teachers’ needs.
I’m very excited, too, because my trip is an extended version in South Sudan. I will be flying in with a short-term mission team at the end of June and staying with them for the duration of their trip, but then when they leave, I stay behind. No worries, another team is coming in the night before the first team leaves, so I won’t be alone. I will welcome and stay with the second team, as well, and then leave Nasir when they do sometime in mid-to-late July (I can’t remember the dates). I might also be staying in Kampala for a short time to work out some programming details and get as much written as I can while I’m still within the African context. I don’t have all of the dates and details yet, but mostly, I’m just so excited about being there.
I hope and pray that this feeling never wanes, but only grows stronger the more and more time I spend in South Sudan. And, because I’m just all antsy and excited about making new memories and building new relationships, as well as strengthening old ones, here are some of my favorite moments from Nasir, South Sudan in 2011…
Seeing NyaReat and family again after a year of being away. I LOVE that woman and her precious daughter, NyaPal…
Introducing my hubster to the families on our compound and watching him fall so in love with them, too! This is us with NyaBol and her children…
Spending time at the local borehole in the community. It provides such an awesome opportunity to love on the women and children who are fetching water…
My first visit to Kierwan. We commissioned the newly constructed school and borehole, and I had the opportunity to really investigate the school rules, outdoor classroom setting, and reading program…
Okay, so during my 2010 trip to Nasir, we walked out to the radio tower to survey the work that still needed to be completed. I met this boy (I seriously cannot remember his name) on that trip, and actually kept his adorable face as my iPhone screensaver because he made me smile. I was SO EXCITED to go back last year and see him there again! He’s an absolute character and I’m pretty sure that we’ll be best friends when we move there! Here he is in both pictures below…
The night of the fire last summer was not a favorite memory in terms of fun, but it was one of the most powerful experiences I’ve had in South Sudan. I never really blogged the story, because it took me a long time to process through everything that happened that night; however, maybe I’ll dig out my journal and tell you that story…it’s worth remembering.
Our team got to be on the ground (actually at the tower) when we kicked off the current radio broadcasts last summer. It was an AMAZING night getting to sit with our friends in South Sudan and listen to Bible stories, health and hygiene training, and educational training in Nuer. It was also a great joy to watch how much they LOVED listening to the hand-held radios! The first picture is John Chol, a local pastor who has been an integral part of the Radio Station Project in Nasir…
In 2010, when I travelled to Nasir for the first time, we spent the bulk of our trip teaching the pastors in Every Village’s Bible duel gora (school) stories from the End Times track. It was an awesome time, but last year it was even better to host a graduation ceremony and celebration for those same pastors, who had trained for three years to learn 118 Bible stories from Genesis to Revelation. I can’t wait to get there this year and see the fruits of their hard work and dedication to seeing God’s Word saturate their communities…
And there’s a very special place in my heart for Mary, the lone female Bible School student, who is full of energy and love. She absolutely makes me laugh and fills me with so much joy!
Oh yes, and we cannot forget about the feast following the graduation. We dined on freshly slaughtered beef and I even tried some intestines, which I decided I didn’t like so much; however, the rest of it was delicious!!
I cannot say enough great things about the beautiful women who stay with us on the compound and take such amazing care of us. They cook, they fetch water, and they even do our laundry! NyaReat and Martha are such strong, courageous women of faith and I absolutely love them!
The other beautiful thing was watching Blaise love them, as well. They were THRILLED that I came back AND brought my husband (though visibly disappointed that I was STILL not with child), and he had such a great time getting to know them…
Blaise and his South Sudanese brother, Kim (pronounced Keem). These two really made me laugh, especially as Blaise acclimated to some cultural nuances (such a male friends holding hands)…
I LOVE the mud huts and I cannot wait to spend more nights under the thatching this summer! Blaise and I took a moment to pose in front of our future home…
Oh, and I can’t forget to mention how pumped I am for rice and beans! Okay, maybe not so much, but I am getting more and more excited about the trip as time ticks on and d-day gets closer. Please pray with us over the details of the trip, the teams that the Lord has assembled, and the hearts of the South Sudanese–that they would be ready to receive the gospel.
