One more step toward opening our school

Our Secondary school was in great need of desks so with a solid design from Roger England, we trained a few men in the measuring, sawing, nailing, and building of these desks. Each desk is designed to accommodate three students. Here are a couple pictures of us making the desks in one of our classrooms.

Aunt Phalice

One of the newest additions to our team is “aunt” Phalice. Hailing from Washington State, Phalice has come to spearhead the Secondary School project. It is such a blessing to have her caring spirit, determination to succeed, and Scrabble prowess. Here she is enjoying a cool dip during the afternoon heat with our boys.

Meet Roger

Every once in a while you get to meet someone who makes you stand back and simply say, "wow". Roger visited during the month of March and I got to work with him almost every day. Knowledgable about most everything, I got to see him work on a water pump, doors, windows, a concrete slab, goat jerky, whittling, eating peanut butter, gardening, drilling rock, framing, and that was just the first week he got here. Enjoy this classic picture of Roger and his chickens.

Solar water pump

One of our main concerns during the dry weather is having enough water for construction, drinking, washing, and cooking for our homes. Our solution at the moment is an in-ground pipe connected to a solar pump. The pump is able to run off of a solar panel so it works only during the day. Just about anything that could go wrong, did go wrong. However, with a little creativity and dogged determination by visitors Roger England and Mike Lander got the pump to work. You can see Mike drilling holes into a Gatorade can to make a filter for the pump.

In Memory of Dr. David Masters:

We received a message on our satellite phone early on April 1,

2008 that Dr. David Masters, an English doctor and SIM-Sudan

colleague, had passed away in the night.  He and his wife, Irene,

have been stationed in Doro, Eastern Sudan, an SIM base only

3-hour drive from Yabus.  They've been part of a large medical

ministry team there.



This couple recently joined the SIM-Sudan team in January of this

year but they were among our most experienced missionaries.

Dr. David and Irene spent 19 years serving in Congo and then 19

years serving in England.  They arrived in Doro on February 4, 2008.



An hour after hearing the news, our SIM Yabus team drove to Doro

to encourage our colleagues and attend David's funeral at 4:00 pm.

Doro is home to the Mabaan tribe and the service was conducted

by several Sudanese church leaders.  Several people gave testimonies

of their friendship with Dr. David, a colleague nurse sang several

English hymns and another SIM missionary closed the service with a

call for the Mabaan people to follow Dr. Masters' example of pouring

his life out for the furthering of God's kingdom.  The day before he died,

Dr. Masters rode his bicycle over an hour away to visit a village, taking

care of their sicknesses and sharing the love of Christ.  



Please keep Irene and the Doro team in your prayers as Dr. Masters

will be greatly missed. 

Goat Jerky

I guess I have adopted the motto that I will try anything once in Sudan.

We are on a "gorge and fast" routine when it comes to meat. We usually buy a goat every couple months and then we feast. However, meat does not keep well, so we have to eat it all in one day. A visiting "mohandis" or handyman suggested that we try to make some goat jerky. Hmm, I hadn't thought of that before. But, as stated above, we should at least try to make some, right?

We flavored the meat with black pepper, salt, and sugar and then laid the pieces out on a bamboo rack to dry. Within minutes we had 4 hawks circling around our meat, just waiting for us to turn our backs. A little chicken wire and a metal bowl to reflect the sunlight did the trick, and our meat dried extremely quickly in our 110 degree heat.

The verdict: we have a lot of uneaten goat jerky.

February Highlights

During the month of February, our good friend Phil Greene came to do some preliminary work on our new Yabus Bridge and to experience a taste of our lives here. His visit was a huge encouragement to our family and we had some great times together. Below is a short album of his weeks here in Sudan.

Not your typical school

We are not your typical school. Most of my third graders are married and with children. We are doing something called an accelerated learning program so we teach two grades every year. Last year these students completed first and second grade and this year they will finish third and fourth. We will take them through 8th grade. I am in charge of teaching science and Christian education. We are working our way through the Gospel of Mark for Christian education and just finished a competition on who could make the strongest compressed dirt block for science.
Here is a picture of Stephen and Jonah with their prize. The blocks are all lined up and drying. I think I'll drive the truck over them to see which one is the strongest. Who said school isn't fun?!

The Beginning of the Bridge

Phil and I go way back. Trombone buddies was how it all began, actually. We went to high school together in Kijabe, Kenya and played trombone in our school band and Jazz band. Who knew that ten years later he would volunteer his time to be the head engineer for a bridge that we desperately need in Yabus? The two weeks he just spent with us in early February flew by as we surveyed potential sites, found one, and began putting stakes in the ground to begin digging.

One of our main concerns is that no one has ever seen a bridge like this before. It's a bit like getting on an airplane when you had never seen one before. Not exactly something you think is a good idea. Phil addressed this issue by making a model out of bricks we had lying around, some string, and pieces of bamboo. Hopefully this will help ease people's minds. We'll see.

The plans are drawn, the site picked out, and the Phil is willing to come back when we get approval for the bridge. Please pray with us that this bridge will get approval from the government and be embraced by the community.

Meet our Entire Team

Recently all of those working in Sudan with SIM met together in Kenya for 5 days of fun, prayer, Bible study, eating, and re-focusing for the year. This picture communicates a lot. Represented here are people from Ethiopia, Wales, New Zealand, England, Kenya, Canada and America. Some are newborn and some are...experienced. But what a terrific and stretching time it was as we grew to know each other and heard what the past year has been like for each other. A new year is ahead so please continue to pray for the peace of Sudan to hold and the love of Christ to be share honestly and faithfully through our lives.

Evan and his friend Mary, share a plate of food

Celebrating Uduk style

Just a week before we flew out of Yabus, we joined two families in celebrating the birth of two children. When babies are born in the Uduk tribe, they stay inside their hut for 6 weeks. Once they're 6 weeks old, their parents take them to church to dedicate them to the Lord and the rest of the day is full of fellowship and feasting.
These two families are very good friends of ours. We spent the afternoon drinking lots of tea and coffee and eating. The menu included fish, chicken, pork, rice, lentil soup, and kisra (which is a large flat sour bread made from sorghum.)That was the day Isaac shocked me by eating a whole plate of kisra and soup by himself!
We feel so privleged to have friends like these and to be learning their culture and ways of life.

Some of our friends who work on the compound

Our donkey thinks he's part of the family

Keeping cool the fun way

A creative twist to breakfast

Sudanese Triathlon

I got my own taste of what a Sudanese triathlon would look like on the day we flew from Yabus to Nairobi.

Event 1:
Load family into vehicle as soon as you hear airplane flying overhead. Drive the 2 miles through 2 rivers to airstrip without getting stuck. Unload family into airplane and load supplies brought by airplane into truck. Return the 2 miles home with truck and supplies; unload. Run the 2 miles back to airplane and hop into plane as it taxis down the airstrip.
Time allotted for Event #1: 40 minutes

Event 2:
Arrive at refueling spot in Pachola, Southern Sudan. Interpret where the fuel is being stored using Arabic, English, and sign language. Run the ¾ mile to house where fuel is stored, avoiding the ostrich who is guarding the compound. Kick or push two 55 Gallon drums filled with fuel, each weighing 375 pounds, back to the airplane and position them under the wings of the airplane. Proceed to pump the fuel into the wings of the aircraft using a hand crank.
Time allotted for Event #2: 25 minutes

Event 3:
Arrive in border town of Lokichoggio, Kenya. Unload plane and locate counter for visa into Kenya. Compete with other passengers coming from all over Sudan to obtain visa form, fill it out, pay for visa, get passport stamped, check baggage, and take children to bathroom (no toilets on small planes). Only upon completion of these tasks will you be given a seat on the airplane flying to Nairobi. Although you have paid, your seat may be given to another so you must complete your tasks quickly.
Time allotted for Event #3: 32 minutes

Christmas in Uganda

We left Yabus, Sudan less than a week ago, traveled through four countries (Sudan, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda) and arrived in Kabale, Uganda where Bethany's family lives by December 23 - just in time for Christmas. We've spent the past few days cooking up a storm, laughing, and most of all, celebrating the birth of our Savior - the reason all of us work in Africa.
On Christmas Day we went to Mom and Dad's church and worshipped with our Ugandan brothers and sisters in Christ who were very full of joy, clapping, singing, and drumming. Audrey and I sang a duet in church which was always our custom growing up and that was very special for us.
The day after Christmas we got together with the rest of Mom and Dad's team here in Kabale and sang Christmas carols together. It's been such a wonderful time.
We've been able to relax and have fun together over the holidays, yet the party continues. Mom and Dad seem to be spoiling us with lots of good food, fun activities, and special treats. We're so thankful we will spend a full 3 weeks here.

Making gingerbread cookies

Bethany explains Jesus' birth on Christmas Eve

Eli gave Stan a Sudanese cobra skin

Evan's so proud of his new toys

Isaac gets new trucks- yeah!

Evan's Christmas stocking

Isaac pulls lots of treats out of his stocking

Pastors' Conference in Yabus

I have often thought to myself that Sudan is a land of extremes. One of the latest extremes I have learned about is the partnerships that are formed in order to serve the people of Sudan. Many of you have just supported a church leaders' conference in Yabus through your support of us. Now although SIM hosted the conference here in Yabus, it was greatly funded by Samaritan's Purse who asked teachers from African Leadership to participate who are from the African Inland Church but training leaders for the Sudan Interior Church. Enough cooks in the kitchen? Well mix in the fact that there were 5 different tribes (6 if you count my tribe) and the course was taught in 3 languages!

When all was said and done, 41 church leaders spent 2 weeks working through an Introduction to Biblical Interpretation, Old Testament survey, and New Testament Survey. These three classes are part of a program called African Leadership in which they take 10 such courses and earn a degree. This time we had 19 men and 1 woman graduate. When we handed them their certificate, they just sat there staring at the piece of paper with THEIR name on it, reading and re-reading every word. So proud of accomplishing something a few years ago they thought impossible. So proud of moving their church and country forward one small step.

Sunday Afternoon Alarm

Our Sunday afternoon nap was pierced by the screams of our Ethiopian colleague, Meseret. I had never heard urgency in her voice like this before, so in just a few seconds I was out the door. I heard several loud pops, and as I rounded the corner I was horrified to see our meeting place in full blaze. Our guards and several other people were desperately throwing water on the 15 foot flames. Our local construction lends itself exceptionally well to fires: grass roofs, bamboo trusses, and wood walls. One of our guards was already throwing water on the other nearby buildings to prevent the fire from spreading.

The building which was on fire was where we received guests and sheltered ourselves from the afternoon heat. It was also home to our quad bike. Sure enough, as I peered into the conflagration (thank you 12th grade English), I saw one of our greatest assets engulfed in flames. In its short life, the quad bike had been used for evangelism, hauling sand for building, gathering supplies from the market, hauling water, taking passengers to the airstrip, and giving our family fun outings together.

We quickly ran out of water but contained the flames to one building. Tired and in shock but thankful the flames were dying down, we looked around to find out that the 5-year old son of our Ethiopian colleagues was missing. 30 minutes later he was located and it was found out that he had been playing with a lighter when the accident happened. What Satan meant to use as a divisive event turned out to bring us closer together as we prayed, forgave, and worked through this together as a team.

Praise God that no one was hurt and that we only lost what we did. Praise God that He can use all things to bring us closer to Him.