At the beginning of last week, my roommate Jennifer, Shawn Tyler, and I drove up to Nimule, Sudan, where Messiah Theological Institute, based here in Mbale, has an extension school. There are three Kenyan men, David, Kennedy, and Martin, who work as missionaries in Nimule. David and Kennedy work on church planting and discipleship in Nimule and the surrounding areas. Martin is an eyeglass technician who organizes and runs outreach clinics in rural areas.

The purpose of the trip was primarily for Shawn to teach a Bible course at MTI-Sudan. Jennifer and I accompanied him to encourage the missionaries and so that we could see the work there and report back on it. When we left we honestly weren’t sure what we’d be doing.

After an eight-hour drive, we arrived at the Ugandan side of the border, where Kennedy met us to help with immigration. Kennedy greeted all of the officials by name—a huge plus in dealing with East African bureaucracy. We made it through the Ugandan border with no difficulties. Then we drove ten or fifteen minutes further before we reached South Sudan.

The area between the two borders is a political no-man’s land. When the fighting in South Sudan was at its worst, Uganda pulled back its borders to create a buffer zone from the turmoil. Now, years later, there’s still a stretch of land that neither side wants to claim.

That was the first sign we saw of the region’s lingering unease.

The second sign was desolation. Kennedy told us that only in the last two years have people begun moving back to the Nimule area. Before that, the town was nearly empty. To us, the town looked like it still was empty. A few shops, a few people on bicycles … but mostly, nothing was there.

The mission station is outside the town a few kilometers. As we drove through, we saw the typical East African village sites—little huts with thatched roofs, women carrying babies on their backs, goats munching on grass. But where were the maize fields? The vegetable gardens? The signs of people at work? Dennis explained that many of the people now living in Nimule have spent their whole adult lives in refugee camps. They don’t know how to farm or raise crops, because they’re accustomed to living on handouts. So even now that their homeland is peaceful again, they aren’t able to fend for themselves.


So for the most part, what we saw and did in Sudan is … not much. There’s not much to see, and not much to do. What we did was listen, learn, and ponder.

To fill our time, Jennifer and I played with the kids at the nursery school that meets on the church compound. We sang VBS songs like “Wrapped Up Tied Up Tangled Up”, taught them to sign “Jesus Loves Me”, attempted to play Duck Duck Goose, and of course took lots of pictures. (Jennifer is posting them on her blog at: http://www.xanga.com/jenruth_21)

We took pictures for ID cards for the MTI-Nimule students. I tried to help prepare dinner one afternoon, but my cabbage-cutting skills are distinctly under par. We sat and talked the women, but Swahili was the only language we had in common, and none of us spoke just a ton of that.

Please pray for South Sudan. The UN’s World Food Program and Refugee Councils still have a strong presence in the Nimule area. The Sudanese people are managing to survive right now because of emergency aid from those sorts of organization. But what the people of South Sudan need more than aid is practical education to help them get back on their feet. The work that people like David and Kennedy and Martin are doing is fantastic, but so much more is needed.

"God can make good use of all that happens."

“Other things, other blessings, other glories. But never that. Never in all the worlds, that. God can make good use of all that happens. But the loss is real.”

I’m currently reading Perelandra, one of the books in C.S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy. It’s a beautiful book, and if you haven’t read it I really think you should. But by way of synopsis, it’s about a man who visits a sinless, unfallen world with the task of assisting it in staying unfallen.

In the quote above, Ransom, the main character, ponders what would have happened if Adam and Eve hadn’t sinned—but realizes that he can never know. It’s a theme that runs through the book—that we can never know what would have been, but we know that whatever does happen, God uses for His glory. Because Adam and Eve sinned, Christ came in the form of man. Satan bit His heel, but Christ crushed Satan’s head.

Several years ago, a wise woman passed onto me something that her wise mother had once told her: “You can’t make a mistake so big that God can’t either fix it or use it.” God has proven the truth of that statement to me over and over. It’s become perhaps the cornerstone of my theology. And yet, the mistakes are real. The longing for restoration is real. The loss is real.

I feel like what I spend my life doing is trying, with all my might, to ease the pain of that very real loss. On my selfish days that consists of hiding in my room using jazz music to drown out the world. But on my better days, I hug, listen, encourage, bake, and teach, all with the goal of lessening the pain. What I can do isn’t enough. I know that. But if I can lead more people to the truth that God can and will redeem all that happens, I guess it’s worthwhile.

Jackson

Today after worship, I went with some of the youth to Remand Home, a juvenile detention center near the church.

We visited with the boys in small groups—told them about Jesus, prayed with them, listened to their stories, if they were willing to share.

One boy, Jackson, told us that he hadn’t committed the theft that had landed him in the home, that he’d been framed by an enemy of his family. He said that these enemies had killed his father when he was a small child, because they suspected the father of being involved with witchcraft. Whether his father had been involved in witchcraft or not, it was clear to us that he’d come from a background where fear and the occult reigned, and where the love of God was unknown.

Jackson asked us how he should respond to those enemies. And possibly the most difficult answer I’ve ever had to give was: Forgive them. Love them. Pray for them.

He told us that he didn’t know how to pray, and so we offered to pray with him and for him. And he told us that he believed that Jesus was the Son of God.

Please pray for Jackson and his ongoing spiritual development. He clearly longs for the peace of God to transcend the fear and anger and revenge that have been such a part of his life.

Dear Ugandan government:

I have a fantastic idea! You should double the price of work permits for NGO workers in your country without telling anyone. That will make it more difficult for people to come into your country to help educate your citizens, and cause immense frustration for NGO workers who are already here. Who wouldn't benefit from that?

Sincerely,
Emily

A few photos

Jennifer, Brooklyn, and me by the Nile River -- Jinja, Uganda


Little Patrick at Kitale Children's Home

The newborn baby of Bosco and Nancy, houseparents at Kitale.


Our night watchman Benard, his wife Juliet, and their two little girls. One of the girls, Deena, is schedule to have surgery for a cyst early next month.

Scripture autobiography

Earlier this afternoon, I was doing an exercise for ladies' Bible study -- the assignment was to write a personal purpose statement, a mission statement of sorts. To brainstorm, I started listing Bible verses that I've memorized and meditated on at various points since my baptism 8 years. The result was not exactly a statement of my life's purpose, but perhaps more of a scriptural autobiography? Each of these verses God placed on my heart to draw me closer to him during a specific situation or a season:


“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6) (15 years)

“To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given to me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me, but he said, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in persecutions, in hardships, in trials, and in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (1 Cor. 12) (17 years)

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Mt. 6:33) (18 years)

“For I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I’ve committed unto him against that day.” (2 Tim. 1:12) (19 years)

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:4-7) (20 years)

“For we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:23) (21 years)

Anyway, I just enjoyed reflecting on these verses this afternoon, and thought I'd share.

Speaks for itself.