A busy weekend

We had a busy weekend last weekend. We went to a 24th anniversary celebration of Nile Theological College on Saturday and then I (Sharon) went to a church service that lasted from 9 am to 1:30 pm. Then Monday Morning had a 9am meeting that started about 9:30:)

This is the banner that was at the front for the College celebration.

This was a really nice day for us and we were so glad we had been invited to it. We got to meet lots of new people and had the chance to put faces to names of people we have heard about.

I have to admit, this little boy ( plus all the others I did not get a picture of) cracked my up. Even here in a refugee camp everyone has a cellphone and they use them to entertain the kids. The choir was singing and there were 3 kids 5 and under recording the singing:) This had been a very long service and the kids were getting rowdy so the moms were all handing the kids their phones to distract them.

I should have gotten a picture of the kids sleeping on a mat right in front of me at the front of the church. This is the the kind of church service I remember from down country with dad.

Ok, I was going to add a video from the church service but I am not sure if I am doing it wrong or our internet is just to slow to do it so I guess no video this time.

travel delay

Please don't go into shock that I am writing again within a week of the last post! :)

Lynn was supposed to leave today to go to the village of Pochalla but the flight was postponed for a day because they had to use that plane/helicopter for something else. No, we did not get official word that the flight was postponed, we just heard through the grapevine and then confirmed with a friend  such is life here, no certainties. He hopes to leave tomorrow but we shall see.

I made a "big" lunch yesterday since Lynn was to leave today. Have you ever made a meal that requires 4 burners and you only have 2 and one of them does not work right? It is hard to have everything ready at the same time so it is all hot but somehow I managed and felt like I had really accomplished something for the day.

Monday we spent time at the Church office working on the budget for next year. A co-worker had already done one draft and we are just trying to fine tune it now. It was an interesting time trying to make sure we were all understanding each other when discussing money issues - never an easy topic! I think we did pretty good with the whole thing but we shall see when we meet again on Thursday:) Overall, it was a good time at the office, much like usual.

One special thing that happened at the office is that the General Secretary arrived! He has been in Khartoum for most of the year with back issues that resulted in surgery. It was wonderful to see him being greeted so wonderfully by his peers. There were a lot of people coming in on Monday because they (the church) are having Executive meetings this week so there were a lot of reunions happening and seeing their joy in each other was heartwarming.

We have just had 3 weeks of having people visiting here in Juba. These were all mission folks doing work but also visiting with us. It was fun to have visitors here but sure made me wish for a nice big kitchen so I could cook for them. Poor Jim had to eat baked oatmeal for breakfast every morning and  then eat out the other meals, well, except for pancakes for supper one night and smoothies another night. I can't believe I really do miss cooking - at least a little:) Makes me wonder, when we are back in the States next year if I will cook? Hmm, maybe I will let Dana cook for me!

It really was nice to have things going on and to learn more about places around Juba. We had our share of all day meetings and long talks about missions and South Sudan. Wonder what we will do with all the "wisdom" ?

Lynn is hoping to go to the village of Pochalla next week. He will probably be gone for a week. He will fly in on a UN flight and if he has to use the Un flight to come back out he will be gone for a week as they only fly in there on Wednesdays. I will not go with him since I do not have a travel budget and I am ok with that. It will be strange to be here by myself but then that means I can party with my co-workers!! HA! This place that he is going to is on the border to Ethiopia and right on a river. Lynn was there in January and says it is a nice quiet village and that he wants to live there. That would be ok with me except there is no phone or internet service:( Not sure I could handle not being able to keep up with the family.

To those of you who have asked about our days and what we do, here are some examples. Today, Lynn has spent a couple of hours trying to make flight bookings for our trip to Kenya and he has not succeeded yet! He has also spent hours doing computer work for PCUSA and this is the guy who does not like desk work.  With the fuel shortage buses are hard to get so the other day we waited 45 minutes for a bus then I went back home and Lynn took a motorcycle taxi which I refuse to ride. Today I spent most of the morning making a meal and cleaning up after myself in our tiny kitchen, oh, and washing some clothes by hand. Last Wednesday I went to the office for a short meeting with the treasurer and spent 3 1/2 hours there and did not have my meeting. Mind you, I did have a great time with the two ladies in the women's department and had tea and bread with them:) Relationship building at its finest. It is crazy how we can spend so much time not getting things done and yet feel like we have accomplished so much. It is a good thing that we both like the slow pace and drinking tea!

We are still looking at being in the States next spring but don't have dates set yet. We are thinking that we will be there by May and even with that i am worried about how cold it will seem to us. Guess we will have to have someone bring winter coats to the airport for us. :)

I know many of you are worried about the situation here and want to know if we are safe. We are safe for the most part. There is a lot more petty crime but there are also more shootings. We are ok here in the city during the day and we just don't go out at night unless we are using a taxi. There are supposed to be some changes taking place in the next month and we will see how all that works out. I don't like seeing all the soldiers and their guns riding around in open vehicles but that is part of life here. I still walk back from the office to the apartment and feel ok doing so.

In a groove - NOT!

Just when I thought things were settling down and maybe, just maybe, we were on an upswing, life throws us another curve ball.

We found out last week that the banks are either not giving out any US dollars or are only giving out a few hundred dollars to the first number of people in line. This is a real blow for the church. Many things we could pay for in dollars and get a better price but now we cannot do that so things will cost 3-4 times more money. This will not stop the work but may change how we some things. We will be fine, personally and the church will keep on keeping on but the people on the street, the average person.....oh,my. Most people are paid in local currency but the majority of food stuffs are imported (even rice and beans) and with the dollar crisis the prices are going up but not wages. I cannot even begin to imagine how people will make ends meet.

Then there is the fuel shortage. Last week we figured a gallon of fuel cost about $21 - road trip anyone????? On the plus side with this is that there are not as many cars on the road so it is easier to cross the street:) Taxi prices have doubled, food is still going up but the good news is that we can still afford the a taxi and can still find food:)

Now, I realize that as I am writing this that it all sounds like negative things and while it is not all rosy it is really not all that bad here. Hot? yes, rain? yes, stress and tension? yes. There are also smiles, laughter, hope and relationships that are building. I am learning (still!) that I have to just put my trust in God even when things may not look to bright. God has brought me here and I need to fulfill His purpose for me here.

As we were talking to the church people about the money situation here I was taken back, at first, by their laughter and "oh well" attitude but then I realized, they have been through this so many times that they have learned to just go with the flow, a lesson I need to learn:)

Lynn is hoping to go to a town called Pibor on the 6th but there has been so much rain that we are not sure the plane will be able to go because it will not be able to land on the dirt airstrip. This will just be a 3 day trip to go along with a co-worker to check out some water well possibilities. He gets to stay in a tent! hehehe:) No, I am not going!

So, I have to say that even with all that is happening here, I feel more at peace and at home here than I did a month ago and it is a really good feeling. So, maybe we are on an upswing. I am ever so thankful that God knows where all the pieces of the puzzle go and I just have to be willing to be placed by His hand.

A week difference

We go back to Juba tomorrow after a week in Nairobi. It has been a week of beautiful weather, shopping, eating and resting.  Guess what? this time we did not go anywhere near a hospital! We did not run into as many people that we know this time but we did have a really nice evening last night with Chase and Audrey!

The break was needed by me more than Lynn but I have spent a lot of time in prayer and Lynn and I have talked quite a bit about the situation in Juba and I think I have been able to get a better perspective on things. Yes, I am still a little nervous but I go back having been reminded of who is in control and I am SO glad it is not me! And, NO, it is not Lynn!!!! sure wouldn't want anyone confused on that point. Ha! Thank you so much to 2 cousins who listened to a nudge to write me - it was just the encouragement I needed.

I keep seeing all this posts about snow and it makes me so glad I am not where that stuff is:) Our rainy season ends sometime in November which means our cooler weather ends and we will start seeing over 100 degrees. The rains have not been as good this year in many places in South Sudan so there is more hunger in many areas.

We are going back to Juba knowing that we will be busier than we have been. Lynn will be traveling to 2 different locations and is picking up a lot more office work. Well, we, are picking up more office work:) While Lynn is gone on these trips I will cover for him with the emails and such but even when he is around we tend to share that work. I like the office work more than Lynn so I write letters and send forms and he does all the official stuff:)  It is good to stay busy but us old folks still manage to get our naps in!

If any of you cannot take the cold weather heading your way, just plan a trip to see us and I promise you will warm up:)

I remember

" I remember your father", "My parents knew your parents", " I knew little Timmy" Names of places like Doleb Hill, Nasir, Leer. These are all things I heard this morning at a very large Nuer Church here in Juba. I was introduced to the congregation as Nya Dhouram, daughter of Dhouram, with Dhouram being my father. I was touched by the cheer that came with my being introduced and by my very simple one word greeting in Nuer. After church as we stood in line to greet everyone so many people said they remember my father or have heard of my father and were so appreciative of the work and years my father gave to the Nuer. When the one man said he knew "little Timmy" ( sorry Tim) I almost cried. For those of you who don't know my family, Tim is my oldest brother.

How different this mornings service with the Nuers was compared to the services I went to as a kid in Ethiopia. The biggest difference is that there were 2470 people in church this morning!!! That number is right -2470!!!!! I knew the church was large but that is a lot of people:) I was afraid we would be there all day when the pastor said he had two parts to the sermon and 22 points but we actually only had a 2 1/2 hour service :)

We are trying to visit different churches in the Juba area and this was a really good start. Most of the congregations are by tribe and the services are in either the tribal language or in Arabic. It makes for time to think if we can't understand what is being said.

Right now, Lynn is between building projects and the church office people are gone for a week so we are heading to Kenya again for a one week break. It will be good to get away for a little bit, away from the heat, the tension and the dust. It will be good to have different food and even some really good ice-cream. You know, priorities are important and ice-cream is at the top of that list:) We will be doing a little work in Kenya too, with trying to touch base with a group there that will be helping with a project in the town of Pibor here in South Sudan.

So, while there is not really much new going on with us, we are doing well and continue to put our lives in God's hands daily. We continue to be challenged with how to respond to so much need but we are also inspired by the faith of the people around us and by their positive outlook for the future.

changes

So, It has been almost a month again since I last updated our blog!

We have had some changes in the last month. Lynn has been really busy with the construction of our first school building. This has been interesting as he deals with a contractor who knows no English and does not have a lot of patience with Lynn's slow Arabic. Then there is the teacher who speaks pretty decent English but does not know construction terms and the church Elder that only speaks Murle but helps to make decisions about the building! it makes for very interesting meetings:) We are very thankful that all of these people have a wonderful sense of humor

Humm, what DID Lynn say??

John Mushingo, me, Peter Shabak, Peter Gai

The man in the stripped shirt is the site contractor, Tiro, and the other man, John, is the foreman. John speaks a little English and Tiro even less so communicating is interesting:)

Rev. Peter Gai is the Moderator of Presbyterian Church South Sudan and is also the Chairman of the South Sudan Council of Churches. He was also on the plane with my dad when they were flying in to dedicate the Nuer Bible - the plane that crashed with 22 people on board and not one person was injured, even the woman 7 months pregnant with twins!

Rev. Peter Shabak is the man I work with the most as he is the Treasurer and John gets us money when we need it. These men are a lot of fun to work with even if I could not get them to smile for the picture:) Yes, I feel short around them!!

One of our co-workers, Debbie Blane, left last week. She is in need of a hip transplant and was in a lot of pain here so the best option was to head to the States. Our other co-worker, Leisa, who had ankle surgery is hoping to be back in October. So, changes keep happening and we never know who or what it might be.

I do a lot of walking - exercise in the morning and then walk either to or from the office which is about a 30 minute walk. Then there are the days I walk to the Nile Theological College (15 min one way) or over to the ECS guesthouse (10 min one way) where we meet for short meetings or maybe even to get lunch. Then we walk for groceries, out to eat and to church. I thought when you got older you slowed down and did not do as much physical stuff??!! We are some of the few white people we see out walking so people recognize us now and greet us as we walk by - a nice side effect of not having a car.

I have been working with lots of different people, TEE, NTC, Womens group, PCOSS office, and then  with the people in the apartment building and it has been fun to work with so many different people and to hear their stories.

Things remain a little tense here in Juba. No gunfire at night but lots of NGO compounds being broken into and lots of petty theft. We are safe and do not go out at night unless we are in a taxi. During the day I walk all over the place but it is all on main roads. I can still buy Nutella so I stay calm and happy! HA :)