Infographic

Because infographics seem to be all rage these days, here is one on South Sudan. Of course there are significant regional variations within South Sudan.  There isn't much data available on South Sudan, and this is relatively recent (2011).   I think it is interesting to consider.  

  Just for fun, I found this infographic on infographics. 

Fit for Service

I was a hesitant blogger when I was first appointed as a missionary with WHM.  I make myself vulnerable as a blogger, striving to share the truth which includes both successes and failures.  As a blogger I know there have been times when I have feared the judgment of men, which totally changes the way I write and doesn't glorify God.  While I am vulnerable, the reader is anonymous.  At least in my prayer letters, I know the audience. I debated writing this post for that very reason.

This week I reached the ambitious weight loss goal I set for myself about a year and a half ago.  (I promise this has to do with missions as well, so keep reading.)   I made a change in my life for two main reasons.

1) For my health at the recommendation of my doctor because, as she said, it is much easier to make a change now than it would be ten years from now

2) For Mundri (this is the part about missions) which I did not admit to publicly until now, because what if I failed to reach my goal...

The reality was I just didn't have the energy of stamina do everything I wanted to do in Mundri.  My primary mode of transportation was my trusty bicycle, and although I was relatively fit and could get the places I needed to go on my bicycle, I found myself avoiding the bike ride into town when possible.  If I didn't HAVE to check up on a water project, I would avoid the bike ride.  If I had time to visit a friend, but she lived on the other side of town, I would find something else to do instead.  Life in Mundri was definitely more physically demanding than life in the US, and I knew that losing some weight would give more energy for the life I wanted to lead as a member of the community in Mundri.

At least for me, achieving and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is a type of spiritual discipline.  I hope to be ready and able to follow God anywhere in the world.  Part of that for me means being physically fit for service as far as that depends on my choices and discipline.  I'm not running a marathon anytime soon (or probably ever), but I have so much more energy now, which is currently being poured into being a grad student.  I must admit, that I haven't had the same discipline over the last year and half in other spiritual disciplines.

I am thankful for the people who have been my workout buddies along the way.  Bethany brought P90X to Mundri, so we got up early many days before the heat of the day rolling out our yoga mats on the dusty concrete floor while laughing and sweating together.  Now my roommates and I get up early to jog at a local track before we start our reading for the day.  We will see what happens once it starts getting really cold, but for now, it is a routine that works for us.

Now it is time to set a new goal for physical fitness and in writing this I have been challenged to look at other spiritual disciplines that are being neglected in my life. 

Sustainable?

http://xkcd.com/1007/

A friend shared this comic with me a while back.  I liked it then, and I like it even more now. 

As it got later last night, the readings started feeling like a long string of keywords. 

"Community....sustainable.... globalization.... development... sustainability... community development... global solutions... sustainable..." 

That is when you know it is time to go to sleep and try again in the morning. 

Questioning

As an undergrad taking classes like organic chemistry and thermodynamics the answers were clear.  There was only one correct answer to problems assigned by professors. 

Working as a process engineer at DuPont a little more uncertainty was introduced.  You might be able to find all the information you wanted to solve a problem, but only with infinite time and money.  I learned to make decisions with 80% of the information. 

Then I moved to South Sudan, and I had access to even less of the information I wanted as an engineer approaching a problem. Finding accurate and relevant data was a challenge.  I learned a lot by watching and listening. 

As I learned to live in the gray areas of life in Africa, I finally spoke the words aloud that I was considering leaving traditional engineering and working in community development.  

The Bible is full of mystery and paradox, and yet I push against every time it makes its way into my life. 

Now I find myself sitting in classes being presented with many of the questions that I have been thinking about for the last several years. 

When you ask questions like "What is poverty?", you aren't going to get a nice answer that fits into a box at the bottom of the page like π/2.  Even an imaginary number has a precise mathematical definition and follows a defined set of rules.  Now I sit in a class called economic development getting a degree called international development as we ask "What is development?". The answer most certainly does not fit in a box.   

And so today as I reflected on our class discussion I had a lot of thoughts.  I was excited about all the unique expressions of the coming Kingdom in different cultures around the world.  I was feeling disillusioned about development work as I thought about how practitioners (including myself) use new and trendy words to describe the same tired paradigm.  I recognized how the Holy Spirit has been at work guiding our team in Mundri.  I saw the ugliness of my idolatrous heart that wants to serve for myself and not because of Jesus. 

And isn't that a part of tension in so many things worth considering?  We live in the paradox of the already and not yet and it can be an uncomfortable place to be for someone like me who likes neat answers that fit in boxes.     

A little over a year ago as I considered a lot of questions that had come up in my time in S. Sudan I wrote this http://immeasurablymorewhm.blogspot.com/2011/05/more-complete-picture.html, and now a year later, I consider many of the same questions.  I pray I continue to ask questions and learn, because if ever believe I have it all figured out... well that would be a dangerous day. 

I'm sure that most of you who are reading this blog post are friends who have walked with me on at least part of this journey, so thank you for the grace you have shown me. 

A Prayer for Students

It is a beautiful day in Pennsylvania.  The sun is shinning, and the leaves are green.  This morning my roommates and I headed out to a local farmers' market, and then we spent the rest of the morning camping out in a local coffee shop.  The light pouring in the beautiful windows and a good cup of coffee made being inside a lot more bearable.

I'm taking a short break from reading to share this prayer with you.  It came up in my readings the day before our first class.  What a great prayer to start a year of reading, learning, testing ideas against scripture, and lots of hard work.

FAITH AND THE WORLD

O Lord, 

The world is artful to entrap,

approaches in fascinating guise,

extends many a gilded bait,

presents many a charming face.

Let my faith scan every painted bauble,

and escape every bewitching snare

in a victory that overcomes all things.

In my duties give me firmness, energy, zeal,

devotion to thy cause,

courage in thy name,

love as a working grace, 

and all commensurate with my trust.

Let faith stride forth in giant power,

and love respond with energy in every act. 

I often mourn the absence of my beloved Lord

whose smile makes earth a paradise, 

whose voice is sweetest music,

whose presence gives all graces strength.

But by unbelief I often keep him outside my door.  

Let faith give entrance that he may abide with me for ever.

Thy Word is full of promises,

flowers of sweet fragrance, 

fruit of refreshing flavour

when called by faith.

May I be made rich in its riches,

be strong in its power,

be happy in its joy,

abide in its sweetness,

feast on its preciousness,

draw vigour from its manna.

Lord, increase my faith.  

~ The Valley of Vision, Puritan Prayers and Devotions

International Development at Eastern University

The anticipation is over.  A new season has started!

It has been six years since I last took a formal class.  A few things are familiar, but most things are foreign.  In a lot of ways, it is like entering a new country with a unique culture and language.   Eastern University is completely unlike Penn State.  I will be taking four classes this semester with the same 15 students in every class.  We are a cohort, walking through this program together.  We pray in class, and the Bible is our central text.   Differing opinions are welcomed and add to the discussion.  I recall a few instances at Penn State when a student questioned a professor's answer or calculation. It did not always go over well.  I spent most of my undergraduate career working on problem sets.  I expect to spend most of my graduate career reading and writing papers. 

For anyone interested in International Development, this semester I am taking the following classes. 

Community Development
Economic Development
Leadership and Empowerment
Theology of Poverty

I'm hoping to post the titles of some of the books that I am reading along the way for anyone who might be interested.  This weekend I will be getting a head start on reading Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Freire.  Since he is a Brazilian author, I am particularly interested.

URGENT NEED! Water for Students in Uganda

Imagine being a senior in high school and being told you will not be able to complete the year or attend university this year because there is no clean drinking water at your school. 

The team leaders from the World Harvest Mission team in Bundibugyo Uganda shared this urgent need.  I have included their own blog post at the bottom, but here is my summary.

To keep the doors open at Christ School Bundibugyo, the team needs to raise $12,000 in emergency gifts by August 7th to be able to install a rainwater system.  

Why the urgent need? A construction crew that is building in the highly anticipated  East African Highway has reached a town very near to the school.  They will dig up the water pipes currently serving the school in the process but the WILL NOT be replacing the pipes until AFTER the construction of the highway is complete. 

Lack of safe drinking water has already caused a cholera outbreak in a nearby town, so if there is no source of clean water, Christ School, which is a boarding school for about 350 students, will have no choice but to close for five weeks or more until water can be restored.  

I ask you to pray about whether you might partner with Christ School Bundibugyo in this crisis to provide safe drinking water for the students.  Any amount helps.   

Click here to give now.

Since many of you may be familiar with the water situation in S. Sudan, I just want to mention that a rainwater system in Bundibugyo would provide plenty of water since it is rainy season in the middle of a rainforest.  Also any extra money raised will go to other needs at the school. 

http://steadfastjoy.blogspot.com/2012/07/water-water-everywhere-not-drop-to-drink.html

Can this man save this girl?

One of the things that comes with moving is sorting through old papers.  In the process I came across an article a friend mailed to me a while back about Matt Damon's work in the area of water in developing nations. I saved it not because of the content, but because of the images.   The article itself was interesting, but the tag line and images kind of bothered me.

CAN THIS MAN (close up of Matt Damon, an Academy Award winning actor who was also once named the sexiest man alive) SAVE THIS GIRL? (image of an unnamed girl gathering dirty water in Mali)

Raising awareness and support for projects and organizations is a part of working in international development.  Images, catchy songs, and tag lines are generally a part of that, especially when you are targeting a generation that grew up in a world FLOODED with media.  I don't doubt that I myself have made poor decisions when it comes to raising support and awareness for the ministries I was a part of in S. Sudan.  I hope though, that both the development workers and the individuals who support them financially would thoughtfully move towards methods that don't play into the typical stereotypes.  Even more than that, I pray that the images and stories coming out of ministries, especially in Africa, would flow out of a worldview that sees all people as made in the image of God, recognizes that all people are in desperate need of Jesus (including Matt Damon), and looks forward to a day when no one will thirst or die of water-born diseases.   Now how to do that in ten words or less for a generation with a short attention span?

Can Matt Damon save a girl in Mali who doesn't have access to clean drinking water? No. Only Jesus can do that. Can Matt Damon as a part of a larger organization partner with communities to provide access to clean drinking water? Yes! But that just isn't as catchy of a title for an article. 

So this is just a reminder for myself especially to pray and think carefully about the words, stories, and images I share.

One Year Later

Monday, July 9th marks the one year anniversary of the independence of South Sudan.   It was such a blessing to be able to be in Mundri last year to celebrate independence with friends.  Here are few pictures I snapped last year.

 There was much singing, dancing, and rejoicing!

 

The students and head master of Mundri Secondary School proudly marched with their banner welcoming the new born country.

People proudly wore the colors and flag of South Sudan including this "Vote for Separation" tie.  The symbols in the center of the tie show how the people of South Sudan voted in January 2011 by placing their finger print next to the symbol of an open hand for separation or next to a closed fist for unity.  

There were high hopes for S. Sudan's first year as a nation.  The fact is that one year after independence, the border between the two nations has yet to be determined.  There is no oil sharing agreement, and S. Sudan halted oil production months ago depriving both nations of a large percentage of their revenue.  Conditions at the refugee camps are horrific as well over 100,000 people have fled violence in the border regions.  Check out the article below if you are interested in reading more about what the news is reporting regarding the current state of S. Sudan. 

Facts and figures of a tumultuous first year of independence - UN Dispatch 

Despite these reports, I continue to hear stories of hope and joyful moments with friends from my former teammates in Mundri.  Water is flowing at a new borehole.  The women of Okari church are learning English.  I am sure the anniversary of independence will be celebrated with prayers of thanksgiving and much rejoicing even though times are hard for many.  

As the first anniversary of S. Sudan's independence approaches, join me in praying for this very young nation.  Here are two specific ways you can pray. 

• Pray that a fair and just border would be determined peacefully and quickly as well as an oil sharing agreement.   
• Pray for the refugees and returnees in the border regions as well as the aid agencies that are providing relief and running the camps.  

Keep your eyes open on the Mundri team blogs over the next week for their thoughts on the one year anniversary of independence from South Sudan.  

WEPC Heads Back to Mundri and Other Happenings

WEPC 2009 Team (plus me!)

 WEPC 2010 Team with the whole WHM Team

A team from my home church in Richmond is heading to Mundri this month! The two teams that came from WEPC to Mundri while I was on the field were a HUGE blessing to me personally as well as to the whole WHM team.  Join me in praying for this year's team!  I wish I could be in Mundri with them so badly.  Jenn and John have also raised enough support buy their tickets to Mundri, so Jenn will be traveling with the first wave of the WEPC team, and John will be arriving a few days later.  Praise God for his provision!

I'm in the process of getting ready to move to Philly.  Details are still coming together, but I'm excited.  I'm hoping to arrive in the first few days of August.  Classes for the MA in International Development program at Eastern University will start in late August.  I'm excited to be back in an academic setting and even more excited to be moving much closer to several dear friends from my time at Penn State.  =)