Training...

TRAINING..... This word implies many different things to many different people. But in South Sudan, the word "training" means a lot to the average person in the village. Because of the lack of formal education for the far majority of people, one of outcomes since the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005 and independence in 2011 is the demand for and organization of many schools in the country - from nursery schools to primary schools to secondary schools to vocational schools and colleges and universities! Most parents still struggle to raise school fees for their children, but people of ALL AGES are eager to attend school and any training available. In our first 3 months here in Yei, we have attended and assisted with trainings in "Farming God's Way," as well as meetings with TBAs (traditional birth attendants) and pastors. What a blessing for us to experience the enthusiasm for learning and the joy of sharing that knowledge with others! We should never take the blessing of public education in our country for granted. The picture shows Lynn involved in a training in Kisangani UMC - first with TBAs and also with the congregation. Preparing for these trainings involves hours of planning and creative thinking and simple resources but also patience and listening as conversations are translated into several different languages at times. But the joy of an idea understand and the relief and satisfaction experienced at the end of the session is considerable. Yes, we are glad to be involved in this ministry of health education in South Sudan. God is opening our hearts and minds to the great need and helping us start each day with energy and enthusiasm to use the gifts and knowledge we have been blessed with in our lifetimes!

Moving Forward!

25 June 2012 We have now been in Yei for nearly 4 months and we beginning to see signs of progress! First off - we are in the process of visiting with the Safe Birth Committees of all the 18 United Methodist Churches in the District of South Sudan. Our efforts with Juba Arabic make those visits more personal and more fun for us...and for the church members and TBAs (traditional birth attendants) we are helping to train. Names and faces are becoming more familiar and relationships are beginning to deepen. We thank God for this progress! Secondly, our little house on the UMCOR compound is nearly finished - YEH! It will be good to settle into a place and hide the suitcases at last! We are grateful for Stephen, the contractor, who motivates his team of builders and is on schedule with the work. Praise God! Thirdly, the 2012 Toyota Hilux 4 WD Double-Cab pick-up arrived 3 days ago and just awaits the final paperwork to allow us to use it in the health ministry here! We also learned this past week that we are a finalist for a funding grant called Saving Lives at Birth! Should we get the 2 year seed grant, this vehicle will make a major difference in allowing us to reach more villages in a month. Thank you Kentucky Annual Conference of the UMC! Every journey has its ups and downs! We are feeling amazed at how God has moved us along so quickly in the work of community health education and prevention! Thanks to all who support us here - we truly could not do it without YOU! :-)

Rain!

Rain....our experience of rains in the US may be very different, depending upon your home area. I remember hard thunderstorms in Iowa; gentle spring rains; and summer showers, which cooled us off for a few minutes. Winter rains often meant sleet or freezing on the roads. Wherever we live, rain means life and growth in the fields - often bringing more GREEN and colorful flowers to the landscape! Sometimes rain brings heavy flooding and problems. It can be a blessing but also a problem! Well, here in South Sudan, the rains have been different from our experience in Kenya. The rains tend to come during the daytime hours and often blow in with strong winds, thunder and lightning! A few days we have seen the clouds hang low and produce rain for hours. Such was the rain of last Wednesday! We left Yei with clouds and could tell the rains would come as we traveled 11 miles out of town to Ligitolo! (it only took us 45 minutes to travel those 11 miles!) When walking is the primary means of transportation for people and many activities (like cooking)are enjoyed outside, heavy rain is more than inconvenient....it can be "event-changing!" The rain started soon after our arrival before 10 a.m. and only 4 people had gathered, and they were there for a different training. We moved into an unfinished church building to stay drier, and people slowly arrived over the next 3 hours as the heavy rain continued. Some conversations were possible with individuals - YET THE TRAINING COULD NOT START AS THE SOUND OF THE RAIN ON THE METAL ROOF WAS SO LOUD THAT LITTLE ELSE COULD BE HEARD! We Americans were obviously more bothered by the disturbance to our schedule. The church building was filled with chatter; people welcomed each newcomer; and some leaned against the wall and rested. Finally, about 1:30 pm, the meeting started, with 10 women from 3 different churches (plus others who were still waiting for their trainers to arrive!). The schedule for the day's training of TBAs (traditional birth attendants) was re-adjusted and the meeting proceeded well. Tea and rice was shared with everyone; UMCOR birth kits were distributed; singing and dancing warmed us up!; and everyone considered it a wonderful day! Of course, the road was full of mud and puddles as we tried to help participants avoid such long walks on their ways back home. Most still had 3-4 miles to walk back home, even with the lift. The day ended later than we expected. But, all in all, the blessing was ours!

Welcome!

WELCOME! So often we say these words without really thinking about them. And our attitude might not be so "welcoming," even if we say the words. Well, in much of Africa, welcoming visitors is truly amazing! Take this past Wednesday, for instance! Here in South Sudan,the UMC vehicle got stuck on a really bad road on Tuesday evening, and the vehicle was very noisy on the trip back to Yei after finally getting out of the mud! So our scheduled leaving time of 8 am was delayed on Wednesday morning as the mechanics checked the vehicle over. Thankfully it was just a jammed bolt on the bearing (or at least that is how I understood it). So, we were on the road in just 3 hours (pretty amazing on a public holiday), headed to a small village called Gwiria, where there is one of the United Methodist Churches. We were speaking at a Regional Training for TBAs (traditional birth attendants). We wondered if anyone would be there as the trip takes nearly 2 hours to complete during the rains! Yet - as we drove onto the church grounds, there were 50+ children and adults singing and dancing to welcome us to their church! Many handshakes and smiles met us as we climbed out of the vehicle. Children clamored to grab our hands as they danced and sang praises to God. They had stayed 3 extra hours just to welcome us - they should have left for home hours before. The training went well, with great discussion about ways to teach community women what they needed to do to have safer pregnancies and deliveries, as well as ways to avoid problems with their newborn babies. UMCOR birth kits were handed out to many of the trained TBAs and all were satisfied after taking tea, rice, cassava posho, and beans with cabbage. We all left for home full with food, fellowship, and more education. Although I have enjoyed this kind of welcome before - I thank God for teaching me over and over again how important it is to make visitors feel TRULY WELCOME, just as our new friends in Gwiria made us feel this week!

Sunday Service at Kelego UMC

15 April 2012 Today we went to church at Kelego. It is one of the newest United Methodist Churches of the district of South Sudan. It was the first visit there for a worship service for District Superintendent, Rev. Fred Dearing, and for me. The church in this village has just been meeting there on Sundays since the beginning of the year. What an amazing experience to see the church – coming to meet regularly under this mango tree. There were a few white plastic chairs for the visitors to sit on, and a very small table in front of them – draped with a white cloth. There was no building, no pews, no floor, and no air conditioning! Several thin, but trimmed, tree branches were lined up in rows on the ground near the chairs, where about 25 small children sat together. 50-60 adults either sat on a log, on blankets, or just on the dusty, hard ground. Yet, with the shade of this massive tree, the soothing presence of Jesus was present with His beloved family – amidst the heat of the African mid-day sun. During our 2-3 hour stay at Kelego UMC, we saw and heard many amazing things. Deeply sincere prayers were offered and all the people prayed out loud together in their own mother-tongue. Several rousing African hymns were sung to drum beats and clapping. The Word of God was preached. An offering was taken. Testimonies were given by two men about how God had convicted them of and, then freed them from, alcohol and its destruction of their family life. One man experienced this just that very week, and he came with his wife and child, along with another villager to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. They were baptized with water from the village borehole, and the church danced (yes, danced!) with joy at their new-found life. Also, about twenty sick people came forward for prayer for healing. They were prayed for individually by Rev. Dearing, Pastor Sebit, and me. There were older people with pains and aches, a new mother with a breast infection, babies sick with fever, and a 10-year old boy named Agele with an extremely severe eye infection – that had not been treated for several months. It appeared that the eye had been completely destroyed and infection was spreading under the skin to the other eye. We prayed, and we advised on their medical care – especially on what steps must be taken for Agele to be helped. We heard the pleas of the pastor and the village chief – for a school for their children. Right now, the closet school is 5 miles away. Even the youngest ones would have to walk 10 miles each day in severe heat or rain to get even the most basic education. (There are actually a couple of hundred school-aged children in that village area.) We were shown the site where they want to build a church someday, and we were shown the humble beginnings of what they want to become a basic school – several roughly cut, large tree limbs stuck in the ground and joined together by other limbs. The hope is that it can be developed into a thatched-roof structure where the school and the church can meet – at least protected from the rains. The need for education, for help with agriculture, for income-generating projects, and for even the most basic medical advice and disease-prevention teaching was starkly evident. But the first steps had been taken. The people had come forward in faith and hope that Jesus, who had brought them together as a church under a tree, would begin to help meet these other needs. Rev. Dearing reminded them that it would take time and hard work. But God and the church would stand by them and help them to improve their lives. The church service was closed with prayer. The church fed us with rice and tea. Blessings and good-byes were exchanged. The hour-long, bumpy ride back home gave me much time to mull over in my heart and mind – what God can do and will do in His church – which meets under a mango tree.

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!)