The Power of Prayer at a Crucial Time for South Sudan

If you have been following the news over the last week, you know that tensions have escalated between Sudan and South Sudan.   The title of the latest BBC article is "South Sudan's Salva Kiir says Sudan has declared war."  Another article from Voice of America online quotes South Sudan's Deputy Defense Minister Majak D'Agoot from the state capital Bentiu as saying that "'What happens in the next few days is very crucial on whether the two countries can avert the possibility of an outbreak of a full-blown conflict, or if they actually lead themselves headlong into a situation of all-out war.'"

Mundri and the WHM team are VERY far from the fighting in the border regions.  Bethany posted yesterday from Mundri, so check out her latest thoughts.  I also need to be reminded that what I read in the news is often sensationalized and does not always represent the true situation.  In fact I just I read an article in which the Catholic Archbishop of Juba said the UN, the African Union, and Western nations have made "premature statements without knowing the reality."  I am writing this post not be I know the truth of what is going on between Sudan and South Sudan, but because no matter what the reality is, it is a time for prayer.

Yesterday I finally got around to listening to a podcast I had downloaded several months ago.  It was entitled "The South African Miracle: The Story Behind the Story of South Africa's Transition from Apartheid to Democracy".  It was not that long ago the news outlets were talking about fears of all-out war in South Africa.  If you aren't familiar with the story, I recommend you look for the podcast by Dr. Michael Cassidy.  Powerful nations and leaders failed to bring a resolution.   A group of weak Christians organized prayer from around the world.   God was glorified when South Africa peacefully transitioned from apartheid to democracy amid fears of all out war. 

I know that many of you are already prayer warriors for South Sudan, and I will admit that I don't pray as much as I should for a country I love that is going through difficult times.  I was convicted as I listened to the story of what God did in South Africa through the power of prayer. I agree with the official from South Sudan who said that the next few days are a crucial time for both countries.  I am one weak sinner, but I can pray.  I ask all the dependent children of God out there to join me in prayer. Here are just a few specific ways you can pray.

Pray for the following individuals as well as the government and church in both nations: 

President Salva Kiir of South Sudan
President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan
Archbishop Daniel Deng of the Episcopal Church in South Sudan

Pray for real decisions to be made to resolve these key issues: 

An article in the Economist gave a great one sentence description of some of the issues.  "The crisis is a direct result of both sides’ failure to make progress in negotiations over post-secession security arrangements, citizenship rules and oil revenues, among other issues that should have been resolved long ago."  I would include defining a precise border as another major issue. 

 

Nodding Disease and Hope

I've read several articles about nodding disease from various news outlets in the past month. Of course I have a particular interest since Mundri is one of the three places in East Africa where children are being diagnosed with nodding disease. I have seen it first hand. Scott even wrote a post about nodding disease in Mundri last year.

The words in the most recent article on BBC News really impacted me. Uganda's Nodding Disease: I've Lost Hope

One mother of two children with nodding disease is quoted in the article, and she says "I've lost hope. I'm just taking care of Sarah and Moses like flowers in the home knowing they are of no use in the future."

Tears came to my eyes. These communities have been devastated by war for decades. Now, just as they are developing and recovering, their children, their hope for a better future, are suffering from a slow burdensome disease that caries a significant societal stigma for the family.

It breaks my heart to think of these children, whose mother had to make the decision to tie them to a tree for their own safety so that she could go work in her garden to provide food for those very children and the rest of her family.

What I feel in my heart as I pray for those who are suffering from nodding disease is hard to express in words. It is a thousand things coming together. A thought, an image, a word, a verse.... each overlapping with the other like a collage that comes together to form a larger picture. It is hope, suffering, God's sovereignty, injustice, beauty, sin, love, the already and not yet Kingdom of Jesus Christ, doubt, faith.... It is all of those things and more. Together as I step back, it is the Gospel, which changes everything.

My life has been easy, especially when compared to Betty's life. Even still my sinful selfish heart tries to take control and protect my security and comfort. It isn't easy to hope in a world where evil exists. Hoping, loving, having faith makes you vulnerable to pain and suffering.

I don't know Betty. I wasn't there when she said she had lost hope to hear her whole story. I don't know what she believes about Jesus Christ. I pray for her children to be healed, but if in God's sovereignty they are not healed, I pray that there will be a day when she will be with her children, whole and perfect, in heaven.

I know also that part of the reason tears came to my eyes is that I long to be there. I miss Mundri. I long to be a part of that community as they pray for a cure and look forward to a day when there will be no more disease.

Part of my calling as a missionary to share the things I have seen with my friends and church family in America. There is suffering, injustice, death, and sin in every part of the world, but East Africa has a special place in my heart, so I'm sharing this with you in the hope that today you will pray for the communities affected by nodding disease. Also pray for wisdom and continued funding for the doctors and scientists who are studying the disease.

Speaking of hope, if you haven't already, you should read these two beautiful blog posts on the subject.

The Weight of Hope - ParadoxUganda
Unanchored - ParadoxUganda

News from East Africa

If you are interested in South Sudan and East Africa, check out these recent news articles. I can't comment on the accuracy of these articles, but I ask that you continue to pray for the place I called home for two and half years.

Sudan and South Sudan in fierce oil border clashes : The most recent article on South Sudan from March 27th (today).

South Sudan’s wobbly start - Rustling with Kalashnikovs : From the Economist

Technology and development: A new business model could help people in poor countries light their homes cheaply using solar power

Economic Opportunity for Women : Sudan is listed last on the Women's economic opportunity index

Kenya Strikes Oil for First Time : ""We will make sure that the oil in Kenya is a blessing for the people of Kenya and not a curse," Murungi (Kenya's energy minister) said, in reference to other countries whose people remain mired in poverty despite having struck oil."

Split Down The Middle

"One night I walk the beach. It's late and the waves are lapping quietly at the sand, like a cat drinking milk. It is clear and the stars are out, but this is Virginia Beach, so they must compete with the city's lights. High-rises stand silhouetted against the unnatural glow, and I walk with my head turned toward the grayness of the ocean.

This same ocean laps against the beaches of Virginia and Senegal. That seems impossible to me and makes me wonder if there is some place out there in the middle of the Atlantic where waves decide to go to the east or to the west, split down the middle as though parted with a comb. There is no such place, I tell myself, but I cannot stop picturing it. I like the idea of a place in the middle of the ocean where east-going waves split from west-going waves, and I feel if there is anywhere left in the world where I truly belong, it is at that spot."

Susan Lowerre, Under the Neem Tree

A friend in Richmond who served in Uganda with WHM years ago put together a list of quotes from books and songs about going, leaving, re-entry, now, and questions. This quote in particular stuck with me. I am thankful for friends who have walked this path ahead of me.

Loving

"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

Thinking about living in Naples for only six months and then moving to Philadelphia for ten months and then potentially moving again can be overwhelming. Even spending the last month traveling takes its toll. Repeatedly stepping back into a communities that I loved and loved me well and then driving away again is exhausting. I hesitate to be vulnerable with new people and in a new community, especially when I still miss Mundri so deeply. That is not the person I want to be. I value relationships, so I pray for God to give me the strength to be vulnerable.

A Month of Traveling in Review:

I kicked things off with a week in Colorado Springs for debriefing and then a weekend in Boulder. I took the pictures below as the sun was setting just as Ben, Amanda, and I were getting back the car after a short hike. It was a spectacularly beautiful moment.



Two days after getting back to Florida, I packed up my mom's car and started driving up the east coast. I was able to visit friends in Pennsylvania, Virginia, New York, Connecticut, and North Carolina. It was a wonderful trip highlighted by a week in Richmond where I reconnected with my sending church, West End Presbyterian.

I wasn't great about taking pictures, especially in Philadelphia and Richmond, but here are few.

Hiking in February in NY with Linda made possible by a seriously mild winter. =)

I got to drive past my childhood home in Darien, CT and have coffee with a friend who grew up in a house just up the street.

Swans on the way to Cove Beach

I was so blessed to be able to hang out with lots of great friends up and down the east coast. I even got to spend time with several people who also love Mundri including Heidi, John, Phil, Kim, and Bethany.

Meredith was my last stop on my way back to Florida. It is hard to believe it was three years ago that we were both at CIT preparing to head overseas.

More Blogs

Check out the blogs of the newest members of the South Sudan team! You will find links on the right margin of my blog.

Grieving the Losses

This picture was taken two months ago after I cleared customs at Miami International Airport by my parents who were waiting with plenty of hugs and kisses. I made it back to the US with my trunks, and after several weeks finally unpacked them all (well almost). The emotional unpacking will take longer.

Today I gave an update at my sending church, WEPC. Speaking about South Sudan still makes me emotional. I'm not sure that I have really grieved the losses yet. I hold back tears often when I talk about my friends in South Sudan and the WHM team. I miss them a lot.

The losses are many, and at least for now, I hesitate to truly count them even though I know that counting the losses will be a part of my transition process.

When I went to Colorado a few weeks ago for a week of debriefing, they said it usually takes about 2 years to transition back to life in America after serving overseas for 2 years. I have 1 year and 10 months to go. Of course everyone is different and that is just a generalization, but it felt good to admit to myself that the process may not be quick.

I am so thankful for my friends at WEPC who asked me good questions at the longer update after church. Of course everyone wants to know what's next for me? I have an answer for that question. Starting in August of this year I will be a graduate student at Eastern University outside of Philadelphia pursuing a masters degree in international development.

The harder questions usually follow. Will I go back to Mundri? I will give you same answer I gave to my S. Sudanese friends. In Moru I would say "Lu ni ni", in English that translates to "God knows".

Goodbyes are hard, but I am always thankful for good goodbyes. I am thankful for the ways I was able to say goodbye to my S. Sudanese friends as we sat underneath a shade tree talking and eating pumpkin muffins. I baked a lot of pumpkin muffins my last few weeks in Mundri. I am thankful for the silly songs my teammates sung at my goodbye festivities. I am thankful whenever I see the quilt Karen sewed for me or the wall hanging with jokes, song lyrics, verses, and personal notes from the team. Saying goodbye well really helped with my transition back to the US.



I know that I will also be thankful when I let the tears flow, grieve, and count the losses whenever that happens. Today though, I am just thankful for the ways that WEPC has cared for me and loved me over the last three years. I am thankful for the men and women who have cared for many other missionaries before me, and understand where I am in the transition process.

A side note on change:

A lot of things have changed in Richmond and at WEPC over the years I was living in Mundri. One thing has not changed. Steve still speaks the same benediction that I have heard him say hundreds of times before. Even when I was worshiping at Okari church in Mundri, South Sudan across an ocean, those words often ran through my mind at the end of the service. It is hard to describe how encouraging those words were to me today, and what they have meant to me over the last five years.

WEPC in Richmond, VA

So this is really late notice, but for those who don't get my prayer letter, I will be at West End Presbyterian Church in Richmond, VA tomorrow for both services.

Beams of Heaven

Reverse culture shock, transitioning, processing... There are plenty of words I could use for the period of time from the day I left Mundri with tears streaming down my face to this week when I will be going to Colorado for debriefing and renewal. How is it going? I think I expected it to be similar to the time I came back to the US during the referendum for independence last year. It hasn't been. It has been hard at times, but mostly I feel unanchored.

I first heard the song "Beams of Heaven" during team worship in Mundri, and these lyrics in particular stuck with me. They would run through my mind as I lived life in South Sudan. They resonated as I learned from faithful Sudanese believers who have lived through 40 years of brutal civil war, tribal violence, disease, corruption, spiritual attacks, and brokenness in every aspect of life.

Harder yet may be the fight
Right may often yield to might
Wickedness a while may reign
Satan's cause may seem to gain

This week as I listened to the lyrics of the song, I instead thought of my own heart.

I left a community of believers in Mundri that I love. This diverse community included the Diocesan staff of the Episcopal Church of Sudan, the water technicians from the local government water office, teachers and students at schools around Mundri, local entrepreneurs in the market, the students of Bishop Ngalamu Theological College, the congregations my church at Okari, missionaries from other organizations serving in East Africa, and the World Harvest family. Together we prayed for God to open our eyes to the ways he is at work in South Sudan and in our own hearts. We served together to bring foretastes of the coming Kingdom to Mundri in the areas of water, counseling, education, agriculture, business, and in the church.

Leaving that community and coming back the US left me drifting in a lot of ways and unable to see how God was at work especially in my own heart. So when I heard the lyrics to "Beams of Heaven" I knew it was true of my own heart. Satan's cause was seeming to gain as old sin patterns and idols returned.

Good thing that isn't the whole song.

When in the darkness I would grope
Faith always sees a star of hope
And soon from all life's grief and danger
I shall be free someday

So pray that God would open my eyes to how he is at work in Florida, but especially in my own heart in this season.

Ask God to open your eyes to how he is at work in your own communities and in your heart.

This verse has been good news for my heart this week, and I pray it encourages you. When the fight is hard and it feels like Satan is gaining, I believe that God is completing the good work he started in my heart.

Philippians 1:6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Images

A few images from my last few weeks in Mundri

Beautiful fabric in the Mundri market a few weeks before Christmas

A toy car make from old milk powder tins and other garbage

A truck coming through the dry season dust at sunset

New teak branches growing out of the old stump

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD
and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.

Isaiah 11:1-3