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September 30, 2007

Bird's Eye View of Yabus

Dear friends,

Sometimes Chris and I forget to tell you about where we live and some of the people we get the privilege of serving here in Sudan. So I thought I would give a little bit of a bird's eye view.

So many people are hopeless. They have been oppressed for so many years, they feel like no one cares about them. Many have had so many family members killed during the war by Antinov bombers and by land mines. Many have even watched family members die from starvation. Our Sudanese friends either sleep on the ground or on a rope bed. They have no furniture. They buy sacks of sorghum grain, and they grind it to make something called kisera. They do eat bamia stew which is an okra stew. They dry the okra and can use it throughout the year.

All of our friends also cook on three stones over a wood fire. If there is a celebration, they may kill a goat or a chicken or even a pig if they belong to the Mabaan tribe. The Uduk and Berta tribes typically don't eat pork. The Berta tribe is mostly Muslim. They live in very small mud huts. Goats come and drink the water from the same place they drink. They have to carry 20 liter jerry cans (on their heads) of water from the river to their houses. They poop and pee outside and don't even build latrines, so they have to go in the bushes. It is amazing that in the year 2007 people are still living in such a fashion. But they have been oppressed for so long that they can't imagine their life in any better situation. We have come to give hope, education, healthcare, and to try to give love through friendship.

Today I was comparing a normal Saturday here and one in the US. It is so absolutely light-years away from each other. But I have a hope that someday development will come for my Sudanese brothers and sisters. They deserve running water, healthcare, electricity, clean drinking water, and the privacy of a toilet just as much as we Americans.

For those who don't know our precious Savior, we have come to share the gospel. For those who do, we have come to offer discipleship, encouragement and mentoring. But I think the most valuable thing that we get to do is love our brothers and sisters and let them know that people in the US and all over the world are praying for Sudan and for the difficult situation that has been caused from 25 years of war.

We have recently had the privilege of seeing three churches planted in an area where a tribe called Como-Ganza are living. They had churches many years ago that were burned during the war and had never come back together. With the encouragement and assistance of our Ethiopian missionary colleagues, we have seen these churches singing praises to God in their own language and becoming hungry to learn about the Bible.

Can you please pray with us that our Sudanese friends would feel encouraged and loved and that those who don't know our Father would come to know Him soon?

:)Bev for Chris, Bev, and Thomas

Published at 10:01 PM | Comments (0)

September 08, 2007

Market Day

Dear Friends,

We'd love to tell you about our visit to the market the other day. This is not a terribly spiritual email, but you are friends, and we're not trying to impress you, only share our day with you.

Love,
Chris, Beverly, and Thomas
SIM Sudan - Yabus Team
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Tuesday in Yabus is market day. So, after I had spent some time in the office, Beverly strapped Thomas onto her back and we headed out to the market. As we walked down the path, Bev said that she was glad to get out a bit. As a mom to a crawling, nine-month-old Thomas she sometimes feels stuck in the house.

We walked down a hard-packed trail bordered by 6 foot high grass, through sesame fields planted by our neighbor Yakub, down through muddy runoff channels, and passing many huts where kids ran out to greet us.

Halfway to the river we stopped and greeted Taiya's two goat boys who left their flock and came running over to greet us. Taiya is Bev's friend - she is about 8 months pregnant and alone because her husband has gone off to Chali village to greet his family.

Some Como or Ganza ladies (could not tell which) passed us with approx 20kg-40kg bags on their heads, headed for market. We moved out of the way to let them pass. At the river, we got in line with 30 people waiting for our makeshift ferryboat. We could have pulled rank and gone to the head of the line, but we wanted to show that getting in the line was valuable.

Titus (pronounced Tee-tus) Bashir, our Mabaan boat guard was getting the people in shape. He's a tough guy and always thwarted the ones trying to crash line. Kassu, our Ethiopian collegue and his family joined us in line. Together we stood and talked and joked with people nearby. Naturally, people were curious to see Thomas. A little white boy in the middle of Sudan creates a spectacle wherever he goes. While waiting Titus helped me negotiate a deal for three chickens.

When our time came we boarded our "boat". It's a pontoon boat, but not like you're thinking. It's fabricated from square steel tubing, is 3.5 meters by 2.5 meters, and it floats on six empty fuel drums. A steel cable is tensioned across the river and attached to big, ancient baobab trees. On that market day alone, the boatmen transported 1,250 people across the Yabus river. Quite an unexpected ministry God has given us. Without it, we'd be effectively isolated from the market, airstrip, and other services.

The current slowly pulled us across. We slithered and slid up the steep bank to firm ground and walked another kilometer to the market.

The Yabus market is largely a social event. We greeted zillions of people and slowly made our way to the main objective: cold soda. When in town, we eat at Nimeri's resteraunt. It has "W Hotel" painted on the outside. Nimeri is a Bertha guy who is really nice and has always helped us personally and in selling us bread, etc. He pestered me for an English book, and I promised I'd look for one.

Washing goat stew off my hands outside, I was accosted by an older lady who was asking for things. She was wearing the "taub", the traditional outfit of some ladies. But, as she was speaking I began to suspect she was drunk. She was definitely uninhibited. I went back inside the resteraunt and was holding Thomas so Bev could eat. Loud Arabic music was playing so I was swaying to the music to entertain him. Then, I looked up to see the drunk lady dancing with me! Bev whispered "maybe you should sit down". Still the lady continued to dance - for about 5 minutes. After a while Nimeri came over and sort of griped at her. Then she left.

Moving through the market, we found lots of friends and chatted with them. We saw Yuna our compound manager making his purchases. Kassu had finally found a donkey harness, which we had been trying to get for months. We bought some flip flops for Bev to wear in the house, a new flashlight, and some sodas to stash at our house.

We walked the mile or so back to the river and boarded the boat. However, our adventures were not over. The boat needs frequent load shifting because it, shall we say, lacks stability. All the ladies and cargo were situated near the center of the boat and the men were asked to shift fore and aft to compensate as needed. We shifted forward to get the stern out of the sand but when we shifted back, I slipped off the back! I managed to grab the overhead cable but the boat tried to continue across the river without me. Fortunately, I clambered back aboard.

After that it was only walking back to our base.

Some Prayer Requests
1. Our ability to encourage the newly formed Como-Ganza churches.
2. Continued health for all.
3. Praise for Thomas' excellent health and good sleeping.
4. Focus for Chris and David Lama as we try to drive the secondary school project forward.
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* SIM by Prayer *
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Published at 09:02 PM | Comments (0)