Wednesday, August 05, 2009

It is hard to describe experiences which are brand new. Pictures do a good job so enjoy the many pictures we took. We learned a lot. First of all, I am glad we brought the donkey. Second, our water filter did not put out the 5 liters per hour that it boasted. Third, the girls we went with put us men to shame. They did a great job walking the 80 kilometers, cooking bush style over a fire, and sleeping in a tent each night.


We stayed in several villages and walked straight through many others. The Ganza people are not many, probably around 1,600 by our estimates. There is a complete lack of schools, government presence, clinics, or clean water. However, we were enthusiastically greeted each place we went, sometimes with a double take, as not every day brings 4 white people on foot to their village.


The chiefs were helpful in letting us know how many people lived in the area, what their needs were, and that we were welcome to come back.



Setting off the first day. Our donkey did so well. Ahhh, the eagerness of the ignorant!



We would arrive in the village and ask to talk with everyone in the morning. Lori would speak in Ganza as she has been studying it for a few months. I would speak in Arabic and then she or another of our Sudanese colleagues would translate into Ganza.


I got to share a little bit out of scripture from Creation. We asked for the Ganza creation story and then gave them the one from the Bible. It was a very interesting time.
One of the villages, Dugubele, is placed right next to some beautiful rock formations.

I read books about witchdoctors and they always looked the same. They always wore horrific masks made from hair, bone, and horn. They were dancing or chanting or something like that. Meet Gusmala. He is a witchdoctor who listened quietly and is very interested in learning more.



Peter and Samson happily walking through the bush. The Sudanese can keep up an incredible pace when walking. I am glad the trip was only four days long.


Does this picture even need a caption?

2 comments:

Ben Bacheller said...

What a privilege guys...wish we could be with you! Wow, to share THE Creation story...wonder what goes through their minds when they hear it translated into Ganza...

Brad L said...

Hi, my name is Brad and I am a freshman at Liberty Christian High School in Argyle,TX. I was assigned a project to learn about missions in Sudan for my geography class, and I have enjoyed reading your blogs. I want you to know that I am praying for you and that if you have any additional information I would be happy to hear it. You can email me at lundbladebrad@yahoo.com
God Bless,

Brad

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