25 April 2012 Rain, Mangoes, New Life…… Much of the last few weeks we have been involved in learning about effective ways to facilitate discussions and teach health topics within this new culture, with many local languages. Translators are so important to allow good communication. We have learned from pastors, church chairladies, TBAs (traditional birth attendants), and staff working with the team of missionaries. We are especially grateful for Rachael who is helping us learn Juba Arabic. God has blessed us with good rains intermittently over the last 2 weeks – now green spear grass and ripe, yellow mangoes are seen everywhere! Children (and grown-ups!) are seen up in the trees or under the trees with long poles to coax the mangoes to fall more quickly. This sweet fruit is enjoyed by all! We received a wonderful gift from the Kentucky Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church for a portable ultrasound machine and a 4 WD vehicle just before we left the US. We used the ultrasound the first time this past week to confirm twins on Stella, the wife of Justus, the UMC driver. Please pray for them and their twins as the pregnancy continues – she is due to deliver on July 4th, the same day our granddaughter was born in 2011! We have also been able to order a 2012 Toyota Double Cab pick-up with lockable cover this past week. It may take several months to arrive (Dubai to Mombasa to Yei), but the additional vehicle for the work here will be invaluable! Thank you, friends in Kentucky! Every Sunday we travel to a different church. We’ve seen a young woman recommit her life to Christ; enjoyed lively singing and dancing; and heard the Word preached in Kakwa, Bari, Arabi, and English! We were blessed to be at an opening for a “permanent church building” in Gwiria. This past Sunday Lynn went to Kelego, a new UMC about 15 miles out on the Maridi Road. Worship was held under a tree as they have no church building yet – but the Holy Spirit was present as a man who had been an alcoholic stepped forward and repented of his sins and accepted the Lord Jesus as his Savior. He and his whole family were baptized at the end of the service! At the end of each time of service, many people, young and old, come forward for individual prayers for healing. We are humbled to be involved with the faithful believers here! Unrest continues in the eastern part of South Sudan as well as along the northern border with Sudan. Please join us in praying for peaceful negotiations and end to violence. Seli le salaam! (Pray for peace!) Shukran ashan salawaat bitakum! (Thank you for your prayers!) Sharon and Lynn

Water!! Precious water!

Blog – 30 March 2012 WATER!! – precious water! We in the USA often forget how essential water is to life! But here in South Sudan, with delayed rains, we see signs of the importance of water all around us. The land is dry and dusty - feet are dirty after even a short walk; lines of yellow plastic containers await filling at every borehole scattered around the town and in the villages; women and children chatting in those lines and then gratefully carrying the water-filled containers on their heads to their homes. Thankfully our borehole pump is only 40 feet away from our room – but we are learning how to conserve this life-giving resource. (No, I haven’t tried lifting the container up on my head!) I read these verses from Isaiah 44: 3 with new eyes today: “For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground. I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.” We have been in South Sudan nearly a month now and must renew our VISA soon. We are grateful to have found a wonderful language helper, Rachael, who is a teacher at the nearby Yei Teacher’s Training College. Our efforts to speak Arabic are met with smiles, laughter, and kindness – we continue on!  We have enjoyed several visits to churches and are pleased to be welcomed into God’s family here. Most of our time the last 2 weeks has been spent working with Diantha and Steve Hodges, writing a grant for Saving Lives at Birth, offered by a group of donors interested in supporting projects which will help to reduce the number of deaths of pregnant women and newborns. We feel the “Safe Birth Committees” within churches here are a great network for reaching out to all women and families in the rural communities and believe this can be the means by which additional health training can lead to improved pregnancy care and safer births. The grant is to be submitted this weekend! We request your prayers regarding this serious health need and the grant. We visited an orphanage called Iris Ministries on the outskirts of Yei recently – there has been a request for health screenings of roughly 120 children and a planned session for older teens on STDs soon. This should be interesting! We have identified a need for school health screenings in church nursery and primary schools as well and believe it will be a great place to start identifying significant community health needs. We are also looking ahead to applying for a grant from “Imagine No Malaria” with UMCOR over the coming months. Thanks for your prayers! Rabuna kali barigu ita! (God bless you!)