My heart won't stop breaking

After Eli and my first trip to Sudan in 2003 as a newly married couple, we knew from the beginning that it would be hard to see so much suffering on a regular basis. But I didn't realize my heart would break over and over again and not stop breaking. So much of the world doesn't even know what is going on in Sudan and South Sudan. Not only are people being bombed out of their homes and being forced to leave their land, but they're starving and dying of easily preventable diseases.
   As I pray for the Sudanese every day, I don't even know what to ask for because the problems seem so huge and insurmountable. The solutions seem impossible. The future bleak. The results devastating. The words that God comforts me with and reminds me of is that He has a plan for these people and for these countries. He called our family here - not to end the atrocities. Not to bring a solution. But to bring HOPE and to bring the GOOD NEWS of everlasting life to all we come in contact with.

Creative Play Time

 Yesterday afternoon Isaac and Evan came to me with their collection of shells from the beach last weekend and some of the candies they've been saving up and announced that they were going outside to set up their own dukan (shop) to sell them. I knew this would be a great photo op. 5 minutes later I went outside and this is what I found!

 They realized quickly that none of their friends had money to pay for the candy and shells so they made play money with old phone scratch cards that were lying around the street. In a matter of minutes all the candies were gone and they had managed to pick up a bit of the litter around. :)

 Fox, the neighborhood dog, who likes to get in on the fun, joined the group. I didn't get a picture but he actually snatched the plastic bag away that had the boys' shells. The chase had us all rolling with laughter and had Evan rolling in the sand!

By the time the boys came in for supper they were all covered in dust and dirt and definitely in need of a good bath. But I could only smile with pleasure that they think of such creative ways to have fun in this desert we call Home.

Beautiful Time with Ladies on Monday

 I met Lucy when she came to the baby shower I hosted at my house. She invited a bunch of us to her house on Monday evening. We had a really wonderful time, drinking several types of juice, Sudanese coffee, and eating several delicacies.

 This is Lucy on the left. She did a full coffee ceremony for us and we enjoyed sipping the very strong, very sweet tiny teacups of coffee. I enjoyed it so much I couldn't stop at just one cup and paid for it later that night when I couldn't fall asleep until after midnight!

Rasha and Asia joined the party as well. What a great time with beautiful ladies. I'm sure going to miss them!

Hosting a Baby Shower - a First for my Sudanese friends

 Usually in Sudanese culture, you  bring gifts to the mother and baby AFTER the baby is born. But my teammate Heather and I will both be leaving Sudan for a conference in Kenya a few days before our dear friend's due date. So we decided to introduce a new thing and host a baby shower for our friend Rasha who is having a little girl after having 2 boys.

 We invited friends in our neighborhood who know Rasha, we baked a bunch of treats, bought gifts, and Heather even fashioned this beautiful diaper cake - also a first for our friends!

 Heather serves the cakes

 Rasha is in the green and her sister Asia is to the right of her.

It was a special time to love on Rasha, shower her with gifts, chat about life and we even got to pray for her at the end. Another highlight was when several of the ladies turned on some traditional music and showed us some dance moves!

The Beach on the Nile River

 The weather has been rising above 100 lately so it felt wonderful to get into the Nile River yesterday. We took a picnic and our team down to the water's edge and had a wonderful time.

 The boys playing with Uncle Jeff

 Josh walking down the sand

 A real mud bath

 2 good friends: Denise and Heather

So Thankful for Jehovah Jireh, the Great Provider

For the past few months Eli and I have been in awe of God's provision for our family here in Sudan. Each month as we get our donor report which shows us our support amount and who's giving, we have been amazed to see that each month we are 100% supported. This is so key especially as we prepare for a new transition and move to a new assignment. Unfortunately Sudan and South Sudan are very expensive places to travel in and out of and we have to bring most of our supplies and food in with us. We are so blessed to NOT have to worry about finances. Thank you Brothers and Sisters!

We love our team!

 Introducing... our Khartoum team - we had a great night celebrating Jeff's birthday at a Lebanese Restaurant.

Cathy's meal looked pretty delicious!

The waiters brought us watermelon for dessert so we put candles in it and sang Happy Birthday. Jeff had some help blowing out the candles. :)

Khartoum Book from Bethany

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