So grateful!

How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me? Psalm 116:10

At the end of November we finished our visits to churches for this year. We reflected on all the ways God has encouraged and blessed us as we have traveled around this year, reconnecting with so many of you who partner with us. We are truly grateful to God and to all the people we encountered along the way.  `Here are a few pictures and specific highlights of things we are grateful for in this season:

1. Safe travel…about 10,000 road miles logged and a few flights. We prayed extra hard on the curves and hills of West Virginia in the driving rain!

2. All the people who expressed an interest in South Sudan and the work of the church there – who asked probing questions and wanted to learn more.

3. Conferences (like New Wilmington Mission Conference, Big Tent, and the Sudan/South Sudan Mission Network), where we reconnected with lots of people we know and had a chance to share more in-depth about our work in South Sudan.

Praying for Rev. Santino, principal of NTC, at the mission network

4. Hospitality – Many people hosted us for the night or for a meal, drove us somewhere or loaned us a car. We appreciate the generosity, and also the connections and conversations those opportunities provided.

5. The gift of reconnecting with friends and families. Seeing people face to face feels so special when it is so rarely possible for us. Relationships that have spanned many years are so refreshing to pick back up on!

6. Answered prayers when we were nervous before speaking, or trying to figure out how to best use the time given us to share.

7. Recovery time – Bob experienced more physical pain with his broken hip than he has ever experienced, and it forced us to cancel lots of plans. We are very grateful for healing and for the time of recovery; we feel like God redeemed the cancelled and rescheduled plans.

8. Good reports from our colleagues in South Sudan. The media team at NTC produced a newsletter without Bob’s monitoring and assistance, and Kristi’s colleagues facilitated a healing and reconciliation workshop in July. The church continues to have a significant role in pushing for peace, and we look forward to returning in July.

9. The seasons! We watched extra-closely this year the leaves changing colors as autumn progressed, noticing deeper colors as we traveled north. Sometimes we just stared in awe at the rainbow of colors in the trees. Of course, a picture can never do it justice! We watched an early winter blizzard in Oregon, and look forward to a little more snow this year.

10. Exploring new places – we had some short-but-sweet days of savoring the beauty and uniqueness of some places we had not visited before – like the Indiana Dunes National Park, a mountain-top monastery in Portland, the shores of Lake Erie, and Madera Canyon in southern Arizona.

Our hearts are full of gratitude – to you, and to God, for making this year possible. We have a few more weeks of savoring some time with our families over Christmas, last-minute medical appointments, and packing, and then we return to Juba the first week of January.

A Cause for Celebration! (Nile Theological College Newsletter)

Please celebrate with me!  Over the last 15 months I have been working with a team of students and staff to create a bi-annual newsletter for our college, Nile Theological College, located in Juba, South Sudan.

As Kristi and I are on Interpretation Assignment (furlough) and vacation for six months in the US this year, my hope has been that the students and staff whom I have been working alongside would be able to create a newsletter in my absence.  You can imagine my jubilation when I recently learned that they did it!  (and it looks good).   Here is the link to our newest edition of our newsletter - happy reading!

A new start for farming

Food insecurity continues to be a major problem in several parts of South Sudan. The conflict and instability has displaced many people from their homes and made it unsafe for others to farm fields, which exacerbates the food insecurity problem. But this year, with a tenuous peace in the country, church leaders wanted to help people in stable areas to be able to ‘restart’ their farms. The SSPEC (South Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church) received a grant to provide seeds and tools to some of its congregations where people were able to farm but did not have the means to get started. They sent funds to a few congregations in different regions of South Sudan this year, investing in and hoping for long-term development.

It is fun to see the photos of the sprouting plants and the harvested peanuts or grains as proud pastors of SSPEC report on these farming projects.

Here are some pictures from Pochalla, from clearing the field initially, to sprouted peanut plants, and finally the hard work of drying and shelling the peanuts.

    

        

In the region of Pochalla, there were multiple congregations involved, with a committee established to coordinate the work. As you can see from the photo on the bottom of people shelling peanuts, everyone got involved. I was encouraged to see that even men participated! The shelled peanuts spread out to dry in the last picture is the culmination of months of work and collaboration. And it is a great motivation and encouragement to people wearied by war that they can have a hand in changing their situation.

Unfortunately, this month there has been flooding in several parts of South Sudan. People are again displaced from their homes, forced to rebuild, and struggling to find food to eat. As far as I know, Pochalla has not had floods, but several other areas have. Please pray for the recovery efforts, and that South Sudan would again become a source of food rather than just a recipient.

New update video!

Below is a new update video, that we hope will give you a small taste of how we see God at work in South Sudan. We appreciate very much your partnership in this ministry!

Please let us know if you have any questions or comments - we are happy to share more if you have specific questions.

Nothing Leads to My Best Something!

In Disney’s Christopher Robin, Robin, the main character, finds himself pulled between his family and his job. His boss scolds him, telling him “Nothing leads to nothing,” in essence saying, “get out there and do something if you want anything in life.” In the continued verbiage of Robin’s employer, Robin can either “sink or swim.” The inimitable Winnie the Pooh, confidant and friend to Robin, later counters, “Nothing leads to my best something!”

These last six weeks have been filled with a lot of ‘nothing’ for Kristi and I after the skateboarding accident I sustained on August 10th. Of course that is not entirely true, I have been faithful to my physical therapy twice a day and the daily tasks of life take more time during this recovery period. But there have been large swathes of time to do ‘nothing’, to just “be.” I have spent hours in the sun-porch just looking out into the green space behind the home of Jim and Sherri Bertolet, my parents in-law. We have been able to listen to baseball in the evenings, watch US Open tennis, watch movies, read books we have been chomping at the bit to read, spend time just chatting with neighbors, and take walks in the evenings as my hip slowly heals. I have been able to slow down to a pace where I don’t have to always be concerned about what to do and where to be next. Of course I have not been totally freed from my spirit of “do-ism” and planning, nevertheless, I feel more able to relax and "free" as a result of this forced rest. 

On sun-porch, resting and enjoying peace

Friends from church bring us a meal to share 

For someone like me who too often feels driven to action, I feel like I am “seeing the light” afresh, that indeed, “Nothing leads to my best something.” I am being confronted once more with the wisdom and truth that the notion of ‘nothing leading to nothing’ is a lie. Christopher Robin found himself sinking into the abyss of pandering to his employer at all costs, not honoring his True Self and not honoring his family and his own past which included the bear Pooh. His wake-up call began by finding Pooh on a bench near his flat in London, a meeting which would change everything.

For me, my accident was also a wake-up call. It was a reminder of my human frailty and, as a result of a broken hip and a broken elbow, a reminder of my dependency upon others around me, in this case for simple everyday tasks as simple as getting out of bed.  Kristi and I have experienced a fresh appreciation for the gift of life and the simple pleasures of being able to move, walk, travel, and enjoy the outdoors. We trust that these weeks of ‘nothing’ and forced rest will indeed ‘lead to our best something’. We do not know what that ‘best something’ is, but we trust that God has done something in us these six weeks which will prove profitable for His Kingdom here on earth.

Enjoying a short walk and enjoying the sunset

Putting together a puzzle

Thank you for those of you have prayed for us and encouraged us during this season. We appreciate the phone calls, the home visits, the meals, the cards in the mail, the emails, the puzzles, the movie recommendations, the Facebook posts, and the gifts sent. The words of the letter of the author to the Hebrews reminds us that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses as we run with perseverance the race marked out for us in Christ Jesus (Hebrews 12: 1).

Indeed, as Winnie the Pooh reminds us, our “Nothing leads to our best something!”

Newsletter, Nile Theological College

We have enjoyed the last month here in the United States, visiting family, visiting churches and participating in a few conferences. We have also enjoyed being “reacquainted” with the beauty of our homeland, especially driving across the rolling green hills of Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia.

Before leaving South Sudan, our Media Team produced our second newsletter for Nile Theological College. Enclosed you will find insightful articles from faculty and students, and pictures from our 2018 graduation and Easter Retreat.  If you haven’t had the chance to read it, here is your chance. Follow this link –

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Hael1lmW6zMcPJqFaW8tO3h6_MVHa0Th/view?usp=sharing 

Enjoy the final weeks of summer!

Bob and Kristi

The Gift of Presence

I looked over at the faces of the choir members, rigid with intensity and dripping with sweat as they sang and danced down the road. The large drums beat load, but the people sang even louder, lifting their hands in the air. I was humbled by their enthusiasm and energy. This was something of a ‘welcome parade’ to greet the moderator and the team that accompanied him on a visit to Bentiu. We were walking (or dancing and marching, with the choir) through the large camp for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPS), ending with a celebration at the church. Being met by such an enthusiastic crowd was humbling, and then we were welcomed in traditional Nuer fashion by having our feet washed. I was overwhelmed by the welcome, and realized how significant it was for this remote congregation to be visited by their leaders and feel connected to the church in other places.

On Saturday was the ordination service. The church was packed to standing-room only, with several visiting choirs and representatives from other churches. One pastor was ordained, along with seven elders and thirteen deacons/deaconesses. Several of the elders and deacons had traveled long distanced to come and be ordained because according to the church policy an ordination can only be done by at least two members of the central Ordination Committee. So, this was a rare opportunity, which had not happened in more than five years. Bentiu was not an easy place to get to. We had traveled by cargo flight, sitting on boxes instead of seats, because that was the only way to reach this remote location. While sitting in the service, I reflected that this visit had been more than six months in the planning. The physical visit of our team showed value to the people of Bentiu, but more than that, it helped me and others to connect and understand in a way that was not possible only through hearing stories.

The newly ordained pastor reads Scripture on Sunday morning 

 laying hands on new deaconesses as they are ordained

On Sunday morning in church, the youth choir again impressed people with their full-throated and exuberant songs. I asked Nyakuma to explain the song to me. “They are singing about suffering,” she said. “We are dying of hunger, disease, and war. Come close to God, and He will comfort us. He is our only hope in this suffering.” I was surprised – somehow, I did not expect them to sing about suffering. But that is the reality in the region around Bentiu, where conflict and instability have driven most of the population into one huge IDP camp. As we drove to our lodgings that night, Nyakuma pointed to the places where dead bodies had lined the road when she was fleeing to the camp in 2014. Her family had been living in the swamps and bush for 3 months at that point, because their village had been attacked. They ate waterlilies until starvation forced them to find a way to the camp. She recalled the struggle to get her siblings past the roadblocks so they could enter the camp. On this visit five years later, she was glad to see Bentiu again when it was peaceful, even though the displacement of so many people continues.

The youth choir sings on Sunday morning

The environment of Bentiu felt harsh and barren to me. When it rained, the clay soil because gooey mud that you sink into or that sticks to your shoes in big chunks. At those times, everyone either goes bare footed or wears gum boots. In the sun, the ground became hard – not ideal for farming. The land was dotted with scrub brushes, but not big trees or lush green like I expected. I learned later that large trees near the camp had been cut down to prevent soldiers from sitting under them and attacking refugees coming to the camp. Yet, in this remote, harsh environment, communities are slowly rebuilding and people are surviving, healing, and holding onto hope. I join them in praying that peace will continue to come, and that doors will open for them to leave the camp and rebuild their lives.

Visit to the Holy Land

At the invitation of Kristi’s parents, we recently returned from almost two weeks in the Holy Land, visiting sites situated in modern day Israel/Palestine. After visiting two coastal cities and going to the top of Mount Carmel, we spent a few days on and around Lake Galilee, smelling the scents, listening to the birds, treading the areas and seeing the very landscapes where Jesus and his disciples made known the Kingdom of God through demonstrations of God’s mercy and power. 

Mt. Arbel, the highest point above the Sea of Galilee where Jesus may have ascended to the Father;

we spent some time here in mediation and prayer

Our first evening together in Galilee, a wonderful meal overlooking the Sea (or Lake) 

I was moved to tears leaving the very place on the shores of Galilee where Peter was restored by Jesus after Peter’s failure. Moving up to Dan in the high north, we stood at the entrance of the city which Abraham would have entered 4,000 years ago, also passing Caesarea Philippi, a place of a panoply of Greek and Roman gods and goddesses where Peter answered Jesus’ question about his identity, confessing to Jesus, “You are the Messiah.” Moving south, we travelled down into Jericho, down to the Dead Sea and then up again through the Judean Wilderness on our way up to Jerusalem. 

Tabgha, the place of seven springs where Jesus restores Peter
after his thrice-fold denial (see John 21)

Touching a stone from the original synagogue in Capernaum where
Jesus taught and healed

 I was deeply moved as we prayed alongside devout Jewish men, women and children at the Western Wall (aka Wailing Wall), and it was a blessing to exchange greetings in Arabic with young men in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City. We were mesmerized as we descended down from the Mount of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane and, on our last day, as we walked the traditional Via Dolorosa (the Way of Suffering), following the general path Jesus would have taken from the traditional place of judgment outside the Temple (destroyed in 70 C.E.) to Golgotha, where he was crucified. At the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site of execution and a traditional site for burial and resurrection, I was able, despite the masses, to meditate on Jesus’ agony and enter into the spirit of the place alongside Eastern Orthodox believers who spread their cloths and kissed a holy stone believed to have been in the tomb where Jesus lay. 

The iconic view of the Temple Mount from the top of the Mt. of Olives 

Devout Jewish men worshiping and praying
at the Western Wall (aka Wailing Wall)

Members of our large group on the Southern Steps, a place where Jesus and his
disciples would have entered the Temple

Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, a large an ornate church shared by seven communities of faith; it is the traditional spot where Jesus would have been crucified, buried and raised 

 Kristi and I want to express our immense gratitude to Moody Bible Institute of Chicago, the leadership of our trip and the local guides and bus drivers for organizing this significant pilgrimage, and we are so grateful to have experienced it with Mom and Dad Bertolet. It was amazing to see fellow pilgrims from all over the world, from Brazil, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Korea, Ghana, Ethiopia, Eastern Europe, the US, and other distant lands. May we treasure up in our hearts the things we have seen, heard and experienced as we continue to follow in the footsteps of the Risen One, the One who continues to tread through the steps of His broken and beloved people. Glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

How do adults learn?

A few weeks ago I (Kristi) attended a second training about Community Health Evangelism (CHE), along with two colleagues from South Sudan. We spent the week discussing how to effectively teach people in a way that they would connect and respond to, and also the vision for promoting spiritual growth and physical well-being in community.

One teaching was about how to introduce a lesson using a drama, story, or activity. We were each given a topic and told to come up with a ‘starter’ for the lesson that would grab people’s attention. The dramas had us buckled over in laughter. Through our healing and reconciliation workshops, I appreciate how much drama adds to a teaching by helping people to emotionally connect with the topic and visually see the principles at work. 

Peace and Tesila created a skit about family
planning that could be used to start a lesson.

A real focus for CHE is on empowering communities or groups to identify and resolve their own problems. With this goal in mind, the trainer always seeks to ‘facilitate’, to help people discover truths and solutions rather than just presenting answers. The goal is that the focus always be on the participant, not the teacher. Therefore, discussion, practical activities, or group work are always a part of any ‘lesson’ that a facilitator presents. We studied how the learning process is different between adults and children, including the importance of letting adults identify and own their own problems and be challenged to find solutions, rather than simply being told what to do. We looked together at Jesus’ interaction with the woman at the well (John 4), and how he asked her questions and prompted her curiosity, rather just telling her the spiritual truth he wanted her to believe.

Elijah and Moi doing an exercise where one person describes a pattern 

of geometric shapes to the other person, who draws it without looking. This showed 

us how differently someone might interpret what we think we are communicating!

My colleague Elijah recently visited the town of Aweil, in the north-western part of South Sudan. While there, he visited a small rural congregation that started about two years ago. As is common in this culture, the congregation took the opportunity of having a visitor from the capital city to present their list of ‘needs’. They needed a building, and in the mean-time a large plastic sheet to worship under, they needed help getting land, chairs to sit on, instruments for worship, etc. As Elijah told me the story, he said “I decided to use CHE principles!” He listened to their request, and then challenged them to consider what resources they had and what problems could be resolved without appealing to the denominational leadership in Juba. “There are some things that you need help with, but you can not expect the denomination to meet every need,” he told them. The congregation realized that they could get the plastic sheet for a temporary building in their area, and that they could make bricks for a building. The local government also affirmed the positive impact that the church has had in the community and allocated a piece of land for them – they only required about $300 for finalizing the legal registration of the land. Elijah, encouraged by the significant work that the local pastor has done in evangelizing and helping the community, was able to give a personal contribution from his family towards the land registration, further motivating the congregation in carrying on the work. And, to top off the story, the congregation never realized that Elijah is from a tribe that has experienced a lot of conflict with their tribe.  I was excited to hear that Elijah didn’t wait for a ‘project’ or a designated training to share what he had learned.

Elijah visiting the church in Aweil

It is always helpful to be challenged to try doing things in a different way.  As we seek to promote God’s shalom, well-being, and salvation in our churches and communities in South Sudan, we know that it will not be easy. We are grateful for the principles of CHE, which always focus on community and its members as the owner and driver of any change that happens. We trust that God will guide and use us in the difficult but sacred process of learning and walking together with community leaders as we pray for God’s transformation in South Sudan.

Participants and facilitators at our recent CHE training in Nairobi

An Outside Perspective

An outside perspective always helps. Within the last two weeks I have been able to sit and share with a couple of visitors who have come to Juba, this being their first visit here to South Sudan.

Antoine Rutayisire  is an Anglican pastor, Christian leader, and preacher/teacher extraordinaire from Rwanda. Some of you reading this post will know his name quickly, others will not. I lived with Antoine in Rwanda for one year and served alongside him for two and a half years with the organization he led, African Evangelistic Enterprise, Rwanda. Antoine has always been known as an original thinker and a man of deep understanding and abiding faith. I still refer to him as my “spiritual father.” I could sit and listen to Antoine for hours; his life and his story and the story of his people are the primary reasons I was drawn to this great continent. A couple of weeks ago Antoine and three colleagues came to South Sudan on an exploratory trip, listening and learning to church leaders, discerning how they can come alongside them and promote a way of “being church” that will better serve the peoples of South Sudan. During our evening meal and fellowship during his visit, I asked Antoine, “What are your impressions now at the end of your trip?” Antoine’s ready response came with one word, “Potential.” In the midst of so much trauma and dysfunction which seem to define this young country, the word that Antoine reached for was ‘potential’. He described how South Sudan feels like it is just waiting for the right environment so that it can take off. Antoine also shared his observations regarding the “weariness and tiredness of the people.” He says that he does not feel a sense of urgency amongst the people. “People have been living in an environment that is so troubling and difficult for so long, they have no idea what normalcy might even look like,” he said. Yes, there is potential, but there is the tragic history and the dysfunctional present which keep people down. 

With Antoine and his wife Penina and their sons, Christmas 2014 (in Kigali)  

     

Rev. Karen Krige returned to South Africa from Juba this last Sunday. She was sent to us by the Network for African Congregational Theology (NetACT), a network of theological institutions in the Presbyterian and Reformed tradition in Sub-Saharan Africa. Rev. Karen had come to assist me with the Spiritual Formation class I am teaching. I gave her the last two weeks classes of the course for the degree and the diploma students. She taught my students about the value of Spiritual Direction and also the need for discernment. She took time to do Spiritual Direction individually with students, quietly and humbly and lovingly listening to their stories of pain and trauma. In listening to these stories, she was struck by the utter cruelty exacted against so many in this land. Yet, in spite of all the pain and hardship, she saw glimmers of hope, and commented on the power of the human spirit, with divine aid, to overcome. 

Rev. Karen Krige sits and listens to the story of one of our students 

It is always helpful to see the place where you live and breathe and work 24/7 with new eyes and fresh faith. I am grateful for both Antoine and Karen and their recent visits. I feel strengthened and encouraged to continue the good work God has called us to here. May God bring more visitors here to encourage His people in the work He has called us to do. Amen.

A Coalition of Hope

For the last year, several of us who were trained last year in Rwanda to conduct healing and reconciliation workshops have been meeting together, trying to find ways to work together. We come from different churches and organizations, and our vision has been to promote this work within our churches, but also to cooperate and promote an ecumenical effort. But it has proved to be harder than we anticipated. We are an informal group of people with a common passion; we want to be faithful to work within the priorities and interests of our own churches, but we also want this message to reach a wider audience and promote cooperation. But when we approach the council of churches or other organizations to support our ecumenical efforts, we struggle to describe who we are and we don’t have credibility as a ‘known entity’. The church partner I work with, the South Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church, has been active in promoting this work of reconciliation, and we have organized a few workshops this year. But we know that long term the work will have more impact and reach more people if we collaborate with others than if we try to ‘go it alone’.

Last week our loosely connected group came together for two days, facilitated by Joseph Nyamutera from Rwanda and Allan Waihumbu from Kenya, both having experience in this ministry of reconciliation and experience promoting it at the grass-roots level. We reviewed with them the current situation in South Sudan and the factors that have contributed to division and conflict in specific regions. Together we discussed a vision for the future, and what our role could be in promoting healing and peace. We explored what exactly we are as a group, and what structure we could work with. Are we a network? Are we an organization? We finally settled on ‘coalition’, and hope that describes our desire to be distinct parts/groups who come together to work as one united group.

We worked together on a vision statement, although that task will take some more time to nail down. And we dreamed together about what we want to see happen in South Sudan – that children could grow up in a safe environment, that people would be healed from their trauma, that displaced people could return home, and that churches would faithfully disciple people to follow Jesus’ example of breaking down barriers. We are excited, but it also feels a little intimidating to me. Please pray for us! It is never easy forming something new, while also trying to work with existing structures and processes. We know that God wants to bring healing and renewal to South Sudan, and trust that He will guide us in this process.

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Rwanda N’ziza*

Rwanda N’ziza, you have come so far
Towers, your peaks in Kigali
Shines modernity in the face
Nations, coming to you.

You are a thrill to see, a wonder
Young people, dotting and doting
Smiling leisure, you have arrived
The pain of yesteryear, behind.

Or is it...actually...behind -
Hiding beneath, surface, smiles
Rwanda, my beloved, Rwanda N’ziza
What stories, not told, which stories.

Yes, there is the story, the one we all know
"The Genocide Against the Tutsi"
Danger in a single story there is -
As Sister Nigerian likes to tell.

Rwanda N’ziza, our dear sister people
Whose voice, now given voice?
Whose voice, not given voice?
Rests now, deep silence now.

Oh, Rwanda N’ziza, could it be true -
"Revenge with diplomacy"
As my friends says...
The order of the day.

Oh, Rwanda N’ziza, have you
Conquered the monster within,
You, truly renewed, new
All that glimmer, something true?

Rwanda N’ziza, Good Rwanda
Remain I, forever your friend
Do justice, to all, your people,
Do not…close…in.


* "Rwanda N'ziza" means "Rwanda is good."As some of you know, Kristi and I lived in Rwanda in the early 2000's. Kristi and I actually met in Rwanda in 2003, on the placid and majestic shores of Lake Kivu while attending a missionary conference. Rwanda continues to carry a special place in our hearts and it always will. I wrote this poem shortly after a recent visit. May the Lord's hand of grace and healing rest upon this beautiful land and all her peoples. 

Daily Challenges in Juba

There are not many ‘big’ events going on right now, so we are plugging away at the every-day tasks. Bob is teaching and staying busy at NTC, and I am meeting with people and trying to make progress related to Community Health Evangelism and some future healing and reconciliation workshops. So we thought we would share a few of the things that make life in Juba interesting, and remind us we are ‘not in Kansas’ anymore.

1. Sleeping under a mosquito net – after tucking in the mosquito net around our bed at night, it can be a challenge to get out for a mid-night bathroom run, or the net gets twisted and you feel like you can’t get away from it. We discovered that in the dry season there are fewer mosquitos, so we can sleep without the net. One night while brushing his teeth, Bob commented that sleeping without the net was “better than he had ever imagined.” The little joys in life!

Putting up our mosquito net

2. Immigration – We have to have a visa to be in South Sudan, and a work permit, and also have to register with the police every 6 months. Every time we have to visit immigration I find myself frustrated – by the unexpected fees, by the complicated process, by what feels like unreasonable requests. Recently they came out with a new registration requirement for foreigners, so I went down to the police station to register us. All the way there I prayed and tried to mentally prepare myself not to get frustrated but to accept the way things are done here. But then an officer asked for a $7 ‘tip’ for filling out a form, and in another office the worker was rude to some applicants. A Kenyan man I was standing in line with said “it is experiences like this that make me hate all of Africa!” I tried to encourage him, and found myself encouraged by remembering that this is just a small piece frustration in the larger scope of a country with many vibrant and beautiful people.

3. Shopping – I enjoy my regular walks down to the produce market, and there is a good variety of fruits and vegetables available. But availability is somewhat unpredictable, and sometimes I find myself looking for a specific thing (lemons, or bell peppers, for example) that has just gone out of season or is not available that day. At the shops, something simple like a can of kidney beans that seems to be ubiquitous will suddenly become hard to find. So for any given meal, usually food from the produce market and at least 3 different shops are the source. This week I am wondering how I am going to get to the five different stores where the things on my list can be found. So we get to practice being flexible, planning ahead, and trying to stock up when possible on things we might not find later.

One of the neighborhood stores we frequent

4. Calling people on the phone – the telephone networks here are terrible. Last night I tried calling someone, and a message said they were ‘out of the coverage area’. I tried again – ‘network busy’. I tried again – he answered, but I could not hear him. Try the fourth time – and we finally were able to talk. Most of the phone call ends up being “can you hear me? Say that again…” and shouting to try to be heard. It is really frustrating when most people don’t have ready access to e-mail that phone is also so hard. Text messages do work sometimes, but we find that with most people face-to-face interactions are the best way to make sure that we’ve connected with someone.

5. Planning – As you might know, this is an event-oriented culture, not a time-oriented culture. I still struggle sometimes with that difference, especially in trying to plan or anticipate how my day will go. A few weeks ago I came home from a women’s prayer meeting at around 3pm and said to Bob “How am I still so naive to think that a prayer meeting could just last 2 hours??" If someone says they are coming at 4pm, we know that just means the approximate time of day. “I’m coming now” can mean “I’m intending to come when I finish the current event” (which could be an hour or more from now)…so the phrase “now now” evolved to mean ‘at the present moment’. As in, “are you coming now now?”

We thank God for these little challenges that help us to adjust, to be humble, and to appreciate the differences in our cultures. You can pray for us to continue to learn, appreciate, and connect with our adopted culture in South Sudan.

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” 2 Corinthians 4:17

Monday Morning Commute and Devotions

7:55am.

After bathing, breakfast and our family devotions, I kiss Kristi and am out the door. Going down the two flights of stairs I again offer myself to God. Lord, bless this day. Hitting the bottom stairwell Deng greets me in Dinka Aweil, “Invual?” “Anvual” I reply shaking his hand and smiling at him as I now leave our building into the thin, cool morning air where I greet young Lual from Aweil, shaking his hand. I then shake that of two others, Emmanuel, a guard, and a man I don’t know who adjusts his cigarette butt so he can greet me as I continue my way to Unity Drive. “Ah, mosalat” (public transport), I exclaim silently as each full rickshaw passes by. A bus stops but fills before I can enter. Just then a rickshaw stops…empty! I climb in and, surprisingly, off goes the driver not waiting for another. As we cruise along the driver greets fellow rickshaw drivers with his hand stretched out; they are like a small fraternity, looking out for each other. Getting off at “mushtefa talimi” (the teaching hospital), I give the driver a little extra for his work and because of our almsgiving during Lent. From here I walk. At the “sinia” (roundabout), I notice soldiers stationed at each corner and in the middle. “Hmmm….that is not normal,” I mutter to myself. I wonder if the president or someone else important will pass through. I slow at my prayer mound, not stopping, as usual, due to the presence of soldiers.

8:20am.

I arrive at the college a few minutes late for devotions. Students who are late, like me, sit in a neat line up against the “rackuba” classroom.* Having grabbed two chairs from the main office, I plant one ahead and one down next to Thon Mobil, one of my students who offers to usher me inside, but I gently refuse. Sitting, then standing next to Thon, I join in the chorus of Arabic worship. The worship leader this morning is Adam Mohamed Adam. Adam is a former Imam** in the Islamic faith. In 2003, when it was discovered that he was clandestinely going to church at night, he was thrown into prison. His life was in danger and he was only saved when someone miraculously got him out of prison and put him on a plane for Egypt. He then joined the liberation movement in Southern Sudan. Later, in the field, God spoke to him and told him to put down his gun and go serve in the church. Adam complied. Adam fully embraced Jesus in 2016 and now is one of our students! Our preacher this morning is Philip Thon Nyok, who, in his words, “struggled with all my comrades who were in the bush since 1983 until 2005.” Philip joined the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) when he was only fourteen, a child soldier. Philip thanks God because since 1988 he was taken to church by his parents and he has not forgotten his faith, today studying and preparing for God’s service at Nile Theological College (NTC). This morning he preaches from 1 John 3: 19, 20. He gives a rather long introduction about John, the author, then shares that though our hearts may condemn us at times, God is greater than our hearts and loves us. He summarizes the message of John in this short epistle, “God is love,” “God is a Spirit.”

As Philip preaches, I enjoy watching the puffy clouds in the sky with the large round tree in the foreground, one of the benefits of sitting outside (and being late!). Five planes pass near overhead during our short time together, a small Red Cross plane, the Missionary Aviation Fellowship twelve seater, then three other small humanitarian vessels, each plane off on some venture of helping those in need.

8:50am.

This is one of my favorite moments of the week. After the offering and final prayer, the preacher and conductor exit the rackuba and we move in procession to greet each of them and then stand to greet everyone else as they pass through, forming a line that grows with each handshake. I love looking into the faces of my students, shaking their hands, and singing as we begin our day and our week together. I enter the rackuba and prepare for class.


*A rackuba is a simple structure made from locally made and found material, mostly wood and some iron sheeting for the roof. We currently have two rackabas, one serving as the large classroom, the other as a study hall.

**Imam is a title for a Muslim religious leader or the officiating priest at a Mosque.

Here are a few images to give you a visual of some of the descriptions above...

Bob getting into rickshaw

Our "rackuba" classroom, students entering

Students greetings each other after Wednesday Chapel 

Simple Joys in Juba

At the end of each day we often reflect on the day and share something that we are grateful for – an event that stood out and gave us joy. I wanted to share a few glimpses of some of those joys from daily life that we have enjoyed in the last week or so.
1. Plants – Our language teacher brought us two new plants this week to add to our collection in the hallway. As Bob watered them one night, he exclaimed “if we can’t have pets, at least we have plants!”

2. Seeing our friends laugh, and laughing with them. We were at the tea shop in our neighborhood, and some of the ‘regulars’ were very intent on teaching us some Bari phrases. We all had a good laugh at our mispronounciations as we tried to imitate them and pretend that we knew what something meant. Just after Mary shared about the struggle to meet the expenses of a new term at school, she could joke with her friends with her full-bodied infectious laugh—great medicine!

Bob with Mary and her son Mogaa at his kindergarten graduation

3. Rain! After two months without rain during the dry season, the first rains were very refreshing. We pray that this will be a good season of rains and planting for South Sudan.

4. Language – On my 10-minute walk to the produce market, I usually greet several people along the way. There is Alan from Rwanda, who sells car-parts and is amused that I speak Kinywarwanda, there are the Burundian moto-taxi drivers parked on the corner who love to use their Kirundi or French, then always some South Sudanese who give greetings in the local Arabic or Bari, Bedradiin and Anwaar at the shop from Khartoum who like to teach us obscure phrases, and finally the sellers at the market who are from Uganda or South Sudan. By the time I get to the market I often feel so confused about which language is which, but I love trying to connect in various languages. Juba is a polyglot’s paradise!

5. Moonset and sunrise – this week we went for a jog one morning, and noticed the bright full moon setting as we left. Before our jog ended, we were also enjoying the big orange sun rising over the horizon. In the middle of a city, we are very grateful for the beauty of the sky!

6. A good movie – We pulled out a movie that we’ve had for a few months called “Brother Sun, Sister Moon” about the lives of Francis of Assisi and Claire. It was inspiring and refreshing, and a rare treat for us in Juba.

7. Greeting a new baby that we have prayed for. Our language teacher, Charles, has a new baby in his family, and we were excited to meet him and reconnect with their family. Joshua had to be treated for malaria at just a few weeks old, but seems to be recovering now.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever! (Psalm 107, 118, 136, etc.)

The All Seeing Lord Within

Theophan the Recluse, a well-known saint and mystic in the Russian Orthodox church of the 19th century, once said, “To pray is to descend with the mind into the heart, and there to stand before the face of the Lord, ever-present, all seeing, within you.” A week ago I began teaching Spiritual Formation to our fresh intake of students, our “junior” class (I will soon begin teaching the same class to our new diploma students as well). It has been encouraging and even inspiring to see my students’ hunger for learning, their humility, and their desire for growth in the Christian life. Today, I shared how theological reflection helps us to open our minds to God’s truth and wisdom. In most of our classes at Nile Theological College, we reflect on the major themes of our faith and look back to the church of the past for guidance as we step out into the future. Spiritual Formation is an exceptional class in that we not only open our minds but also descend into the heart where we face the ‘ever present’ Lord who dwells within. In actual fact, being still and silent and ‘descending’ are not easy things to do. For most of us, our “inner lives,” our “interiority,” is either underdeveloped or undeveloped. We do not have a good sense of who we are, even as Christians, and we often are perplexed by the things we do and the things we say. In many ways our “mysterium tremendum[i],” the overwhelming nature of our inner lives, leaves us strangers even to ourselves, shaking us to the very core.

One of the things I have been learning over the last twenty years or so is the need for silence, solitude and understanding what it means to be a contemplative. By no means have I arrived in any matter of the term, but slowly I am learning to make progress in detaching myself from preconceived notions, from my “ego” or “false self,” and learning what it means to embrace my “true self” as God created me, listening to God’s quiet voice within. By no means am I a Spiritual Master, but I embrace this journey of ‘descending’ into the heart, allowing myself to be totally exposed to the all-seeing and ever present Lord who inhabits my very being. The late Henri Nouwen, a student of the interior life, summarizes the meaning of spiritual formation as the ongoing formation of the heart, exercised in community life, expressed in service to the world. He describes also the need for one to empty oneself of all opinions, ideas, activities and distractions so that the Spirit of the Living God has room to truly indwell and inhabit our very beings. This growth can only happen when we take the inward journey of the heart, walking the royal road of silence, and then moving back towards community. Too often our conceptions of God are too small as we race around with our busy and frenetic lives; God is so much bigger and perplexing and almost unknowable and mysterious than we can possibly imagine. In the end, though we may be competent in many ways, none of us are experts when it comes to the things of God.

I am hoping and praying that my students will capture the vision towards the contemplative life through this class. Already we have begun practicing Lectio Divina, or “Divine Reading” of Scripture, and within one short week my remarkable students have been sharing this ancient practice with others in their churches and helping them receive a fresh ‘Word’ from the Lord. I am greatly encouraged! In conclusion, here is a quote from the syllabus I created which gives a vision of where we are going together as a class (see below). Pray with me that God works powerfully in our midst! ~

We will learn together about the contemplative life and we will reflect together on spiritual disciplines such as prayer, fasting, retreat, solitude, silence, Bible reading, family worship, personal devotional life, lament, celebration, community, confession, and service. Practicing the spiritual disciplines together over the course of the sixteen weeks will be a hallmark of this course. As students and teacher learn together what it means to be in Christian community and to be in solidarity with all peoples, particularly the poor and powerless and those who are different from us, together we will become better disciples and thus better witnesses to others of life and faith in Jesus Christ, thus fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28: 19).

[i] An expression coined by Rudolph Otto, the noted German theologian of the early 20th century.

Knowing God as a Loving Parent

I looked over and realized that the participants were listening intently, leaning forward and thoughtful as Omot taught about what might block us from experiencing God’s love as a ‘heavenly father/mother’. I couldn’t understand what was being said in the Anywaa language, but I could see that people were being touched. Later, I learned that Omot, who grew up in the town of Pochalla where we were currently sitting, was sharing his own story. As is typical in the Anywaa culture, his father did not show affection to his children. He gave orders rather than listening, and he expected results. It was not until Omot attended a training in Rwanda called Healing Hearts, Transforming Nations (HHTN) that he realized how this lack of love from his father had affected him, and he was able to experience God’s unconditional love in a deeper way.

Omot teaching at the workshop in Pochalla

Now, we were in Pochalla, seated in a shady clearing and conducting the same workshop we had experienced in Rwanda last year. After Omot shared his testimony, he asked participants whether there were things they lacked from their earthly parents. God, the only one who can love us perfectly and unconditionally, wants to make up for those things that we lacked and heal those wounds. After a time of silent reflection and prayer, Omot invited people who felt they had lacked something or been wounded by their father or mother to come forward and receive a hug from a man or woman standing at the front, to represent God’s embrace and offer healing and acknowledgement of those wounds from the past. This is not easy – facing pain of the past and seeking to forgive and heal. But many did, and would return to their seats to cry, to pray, to sing with the music in the background. It was truly sacred space, where people had opened themselves up to God and to each other.

Participants write down things that they lacked from their parents

The following morning, we asked participants what they had experienced during that time. Mary was the first to offer her story. When she was two years old, her mother died in childbirth. Her father demanded the return of the dowry from his wife’s family, because he thought that Mary and the new baby would not survive without their mother. Mary was raised by her mother’s family, but always felt resented. When her younger brother grew up, their father agreed to help with his dowry, but communicated such a negative message to his son at his wedding that Mary’s brother later committed suicide. Mary felt alone and rejected, and wanted to curse her father’s family. She was a Christian, and had her own children, but still felt weighed down by the burden of rejection. During the session on the father’s heart, she recognized the source of this rejection, and finally felt able to forgive and be released from the burden.

Mary acts in a drama about the giving our pain and
burdens to Jesus, who bore it on the cross (Is. 53:4)

During the teaching, Omot emphasized the responsibility of parents to show love and affection to their children. He encouraged participants, most of whom were parents, to go home and tell their children that they loved them. The testimonies of how this went were both humorous and moving! One woman called her son to come from where he was playing, but he was afraid to come, because he was afraid his mother wanted to beat him. Another woman shared that she had a daughter who was often stubborn, but she was able to affirm her daughter for her good qualities and say that she loved her. We hope that this ‘counter-cultural’ way of verbally communicating love to children will continue and spread in Pochalla, helping children to know they are valued and loved.

worship at the end of the first day of the workshop

That was just the first day of this workshop focused on healing, forgiveness, and reconciliation. We continued to see God work over our three days together, and praise God for the ways He is bringing healing to people around Pochalla. Thank you to many of you who prayed for this workshop – truly, we were dependent on God and know that He heard your prayers. We will share more in our newsletter, but wanted to give you a brief taste of the impact of this significant workshop.
We are receiving many requests for these workshops that help people to experience healing from trauma, forgiveness, and a path to reconciliation that is based on Christ’s work on the cross. Transport in South Sudan out to remote regions is expensive, but we know that there is great need in those places. If you would like to support this.ministry, you can do so at the following link. Designate your gift for “reconciliation workshops”. Link to give through Presbyterian World Mission: https://www.presbyterianmission.org/donate/e052148/