Meet Gabriel

I just love Gabriel. He is one of our clinic workers. He has great English is always willing to translate for me. Gabriel is a hard worker and very respectful. One of the funny things about Gabriel is his impression of certain English words. Often we (including Amy and our Kenyan staff) laugh about how different words are pronounced. We like to make the Kenyans say “generator” with an American accent. Amy told me to ask Gabriel to say “heard” the way he thinks Americans say it. I was not disappointed when he said it for me. I cracked up when he said “ I hurrrrrrrrd you” and really emphasized the “r.” He reminded me of a Sudanese cowboy!

Temporary Solution

I am reporting back with the results of my hair situation. I chopped it off to above my shoulders. I haven't had it this short in a long time. Stephanie cut it for me this afternoon and I feel so much better. My thin, wispy ends are gone!

Bald

I took out my braids yesterday and I am bald. Well, that's a slight exaggeration, but I feel bald.



It had been over four weeks since they were put in and I just wanted to wash my hair. Since you can't wash synthetic hair, I haven't been about to take a proper shower. A shower without the water running over my head and face doesn't feel as refreshing. It has been so hot that I have been dying to pour water on my head. So, Margaret and I worked on it for four hours. Agum and Dennis also stopped by to help. My hair was so greasy when all the extensions were taken out. Suzy had warned me a lot of hair would fall out, but it's ok. Normally we lose a lot of hair each day, but the extensions held them in. So what falls out is the hair that normally would have fallen out. When I borrowed a pick and began to comb my hair, bunches and bunches of hair came out. If Suzy hadn't warned me, I would have freaked out. It still seemed like a lot. Sabet actually thought that was the fake hair when he saw it in the trash can. What was left over was a frizzy mess. Suzy also warned me my hair would feel really thin. That's because I grew accustomed to the heavier, thicker extensions. It was true. Although the shower felt so nice, my hair felt really thin.

Now that is has dried, I am convinced I really lost an excess amount of hair. My hair feels terrible! I am contemplating shaving my head or cutting it short. What is left looks awful. I think my hair is just too weak and thin to hold extensions. I loved how they look and don't regret getting them, but I wouldn't recommend them to anyone with straight, thin hair like mine.



I have decided to wait a few days before doing anything drastic. I will let you know what I decide to do.

The Pharmacist With A Little Problem

Today I went to Malony, this time as the pharmacist. I usually do registration, but we were a little short staffed so I handled the pharmacy. I loved it. It's my new favorite job on the outreach. I learned how to say the basics in Dinka to tell the patients how to take their medication: take one in the morning, take two at night, pour the medicine up to this line, etc. They of course looked at me strange and laughed. Gabriel, one of our translators who was doing registration, asked a few of them how to take their medication to make sure they understood me and they did!

Every time we are there, a group of people hang out and watch us under the tree. I think it's a place they usually hang out. Even if they aren't sick, they will stay all day and watch us. They laughed when I spoke Dinka and repeated what I said out loud. It was really funny.

Unfortunately, I had a slight problem. Due to the heat, the material of my shorts and the plastic chair I was sitting on, each time I stood up, the back of my pants were wet. I was horrified the first time I noticed it. It looked like I had an accident. If I continued to stand, it would dry in a few minutes, but each time I sat down, the sweat would soak them again. It provided a good laugh to our staff and the bystanders. I was really embarrassed when Dennis (our clinical officer) and I were called to talk to the chief. We needed to talk to him about finding a permanent staff member for that area, but he was in meetings all day. He was actually presiding over court matters. However, he said if we came over, he would take a break and talk to us. So, Dennis and I, wet pants and all, walked over to the chief and a group of about thirty older men. I kept thinking, how can I walk there and back without them seeing the back of my pants. Then I decided to just embrace my wet pants and not care about it. At least they will have a funny story about the kawaja (white person) who came and kept wetting her pants!

Brother From Another Mother

A couple days ago, I noticed Maker (Sabet's brother) and I were wearing the same shirt and I got really excited. I don't know why but I love it when people wear the same thing. Amy and I are "twins" all the time. No, we don't plan it. We just wear a lot of tan and black.

Another thing I love - seeing people I know while driving. It's so random that someone I know is on the freeway at the same time and place as me. I know it's silly, but both things never cease to please me. Here is a picture of me and my twin:



Maker is great and one of my favorites here. He is always willing to help out no matter what we ask him to do. He also leads the songs at devotion every day. Sometimes he starts the song too high and ends up singing like Alvin and the Chipmunks. It makes me laugh every time.

Aker's Story

Today Aker came to church with her two children, Ayen and Malok. She came to the clinic last week and talked with George, our lab technologist. When he noticed her children were wearing charms from a witch doctor, he discussed with her the dangers of witch craft and the hope we have in God and got her permission to cut the charms off. Then he advised her to come to church for prayer and to learn more about Jesus. He was excited when he saw that she had come and asked Amy and I to meet with her. (Translation assistance provided by Albino.) We told her God is far more powerful than the witch doctors. The witch doctors harm people, but God wants to give her hope and see her prosper. We told her about Jesus and were thrilled when she asked Him to be her Lord and Savior. Ayen, another lady who came to know Jesus after a similar conversation with George, was also at church. It turns out she and Aker are neighbors and know each other well. We suggested they meet with each other for prayer and help each other stay strong when people advise them to return to the witch doctors. Then we encouraged them to keep coming to church and get baptized.

Praise the Lord for the work being done in the clinic. Suzy always says we are not here for a band aid. We are here to show the people the love of God and the hope they have in Jesus Christ.

Medical Clinic

Here are a few recent photos of the clinic:

Patients waiting to be registered and seen:



One of the many cute babies we see here.



Our clinic staff.



The clinic is staying as busy as ever. Although malaria is on the decline during this time of year, we have had a few very serious cases come in. Some children have had serious seizures and were in bad shape. Fortunately, with prayer and skillful care by our doctors, they recovered. Another man was brought in unconscious. He stayed with us for four days in a coma. When malaria is untreated, it goes to the brain and just cooks the brain. That causes seizures and comas. Many times once the patients are in that state, it's too late. However, this man's recovery was miraculous. After four days, he woke up and was able to walk home the next day. We got a report from his brother a few days later that he was doing well. God is good!

Go Gabriel!

Yesterday at devotion, Gabriel (one of the Sudanese clinic staff) asked for prayer for his soccer team. They were going to play in the quarter finals that evening. We thought it would be a lot of fun to watch him play and show our support. The game was scheduled to start at 5:00pm at Freedom Square (an open field very close to our compound). We arrived at 5:15 (with pom poms and signs!), but no one was there. We waited about half an hour before deciding to leave. Things change frequently here so there were many possible explanations: he told us the wrong day, they changed locations, it started later, etc. Once we heard his favorite professional team was playing that night (Arsenal), we thought maybe he wanted us to pray for that game! I could totally see that happening. Some things get lost in translation! It was disappointing not to be able to cheer Gabriel on, but hopefully we'll get to see him play another time. It wasn't a total bust...we had a nice time getting out of the compound for a bit.




(Ready to cheer on Gabriel, #8)



(George, Mike, Dennis and Pritty)



(In front of our new In Deed and Truth sign)



(Bum rushing the gate)

Teamwork

I love our church in Tonj. Everyone pitches in to cover the work that needs to be done. Especially when Sabet is gone (he usually preaches and does worship) people need to step up... and they do. Our typical service looks like this:

Dinka songs with the kids

Kids released for Sunday School

English/Kiswahili worship songs



(George, Abraham, Dennis and Pritty leading us in Kiswahili songs)



(No one cares if you can't sing. Evidenced by them asking me to help!)

Corporate Prayer

Announcements/Offering

Greet One Another

Reading of the Scripture

Teaching

Closing prayer/song

Fellowship with tea and coffee.




(Tea anyone?)




(Margaret, me and Stephanie)

Some of the duties we cover are: set up/break down, Sunday School, MC (person who guides the service along), teaching, singing and refreshments. Not all of us feel equipped to do the jobs, but God gets us through. You can help us by praying for the church in the following ways:

1. Guidance and wisdom for Sabet as he leads us

2. Additional help in Sunday School. We have so many kids come and it is becoming too much to handle. One teacher and a translator may have 50 kids (ages 1-13ish). We need the parents to get involved. Many kids come without their parents. We want them to come too!

3. We want to move the church out of our compound into the community in order to make it more accessible to the people of Tonj. We need to find a good location, build a simple structure and find locals to get involved with the church.

The Republic of South Sudan

The referendum results were officially announced on Monday. 99% of the population voted for separation. Woo hoo! The separation will take place in July and South Sudan will finally be free from the oppression of the North. The Northern president accepted the results which is promising since we were worried about the North starting the war again. Now we wait until July. Then the South will begin the long road of trying to establish themselves in the world. After decades of war, the country is very underdeveloped. They need roads, medical facilities and schools to start with. I think other countries will have to come in and help them. So, we just pray and do what we can to assist them in Tonj.

Thanks for your prayers! This is a huge victory!

Picking Fruit

On the compound we are blessed with several mango and papaya trees. It's always fun to watch people pick the fruit. There are several methods to picking papaya:

Brute strength – just shake the tree (does not usually work!)



Brains and coordination – grab a long pole and poke (most common method)



Agility – climb the tree and throw them down (most fun to watch!)




Whatever the method, I don't get to enjoy the fruit of their labor (pun intended!). Sadly I am allergic to both.

Animal Kingdom

Yesterday my room was invaded by animals. Since the Kujs have been in Nairobi, Uchi has been sleeping with Mike and Amy. Apparently she decided to pay me a visit yesterday. I was resting and then all of a sudden BANG! My door flew open and Uchi came trotting in. She must have body slammed the door to get it open. I decided to let her stay and she settled in under my bed. When I got up half an hour or so later, I saw Lloyd laying under my desk.




(Please let me on the bed!)

Lloyd is my favorite cat right now. His mother was my beloved Sasha (who went missing). Lloyd usually sleeps outside my room. He greets me in the morning when I come out and is usually there when I go to bed. He is the most friendly cat and loves to be petted. He wasn't always like that. It took a while for me to tame him. Although he is sweet, I don't let him in my room because he has fleas and is probably full of diseases. He'll run in and I have to shoo him out. So, when I saw him sleeping under my desk, I had to laugh. He finally got in!

Fun in Sunday School

Yesterday was my first time teaching Sunday School in a while. Planning it can be stressful because we don't know how many will come (20 or 50?) and it's for many ages (2-14). There about 25 this time with Mario translating and George assisting. We had a nice time. I shared about Samuel choosing David and God looking at the heart instead of outward appearances.



(Using the chicken coop to illustrate a lesson)



(Snack time!)



(Duck, Duck Goose)

Back to Malony

Today we headed back to Malony to do our weekly satellite clinic. It had been two months since we have been able to go so I didn't know what to expect. The whole place is brown and it's a bit like a ghost town. During the rainy season, it serves as a cattle camp. When the dry season is here, the cows and their owners go to greener pastures. Because there is no way to tell the people we are coming, we just showed up. Normally we see between 70 and 100 patients, however, today we only saw 12. I don't know if it's because the cattle camps are gone or because people didn't know we were coming. Since it was so slow, we had a lot of down time. I had a chance to discuss the idea of one wife with a group of guys. They thought the idea was ridiculous. One man offered his hand in marriage and I politely refused. Later I had the chance to share the gospel. A group of guys hang out under a big tree where we do the clinic so I thought, I might as well use the opportunity to encourage them. Slowly I have been reading through the Old Testament. Now I am in Judges and recently read about Gideon. It's a really good story and one I thought they might like so I told them about it. I find that telling stories is a good way to reach the people here. Since it seems like their lives are a bit like it was back then, they can relate. I told them about Gideon and how he started with 32,000 people to fight the Mideonites, but God decreased the number to 300 so Israelites couldn't claim credit for the win. In our weakness, He is strong. I told them through God we can overcome any obstacle. Although we had low numbers, it ended up being a great day. I'm sure next we'll have more people next week once the word spreads we are back and I hope I'll be able to share another story from the Bible.

Ayen Freedom

Here is a photo of Awad's new baby. He named her Ayen Freedom since she was born during the Referendum. Isn't she a beauty! I like how they name babies here. They give a name that has meaning not just one that sounds cute.

Continental Cooling

Before Mike and Amy came, Amy was praying hard for continental cooling. She had been here in February and knew how hot it would be. So, she prayed. And asked others to pray. Well, I think God answered her prayers. It has been strangely cool here. This morning I actually wore a jacket to devotion! Don't misunderstand me, it still gets very warm during the day and also around 7:30 pm oddly enough. However, so far it hasn't been terribly hot. Last year in December, January and February, it was so hot I couldn't sleep and during the day it felt unbearable. I haven't felt that way yet. Either I have gotten used to the heat or God has been merciful to us and it has been cooler than normal. Whatever the case may be, I am thankful for the weather.

(Sorry if her prayer for continental cooling brought you floods! We just needed a little relief from the heat!)

Boom Goes the Dynamite

Lately the UN has been destroying land mines. The first time I heard one blown up it was very unsettling. There is a huge BOOM and all the buildings shake, even though it is being done far away. There is no danger to us, but it's a reminder of the hard times Sudan has gone through. Please keep praying for Sudan. I don't know how this country would survive if they went back to war.