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