More fun with Mom and Dad

Mom has probably played close to 50 games of Uno with Isaac and Evan. They never tire and neither does she.

Dad is such a good sport, helping Eli out wherever he needs it. The two of them spent most of yesterday out in Gondolo fixing the sorgum grinding mill. They had to pack all their tools and the generator on the quad bike and Eli drove his motorcycle. Their trip home was tricky since it downpoured rain just before they left to come back. So Eli was fishtailing through the mud and Dad had the trip of his life.

Lots of good experiences

During this first week back in Yabus, we've taken Mom and Dad to meet many of our friends. They are greeted very warmly everywhere we go. Some of the new experiences for Mom and Dad:
-Driving to church on a quad bike through grass that's 10 feet tall
-Drinking strong Sudanese coffee
-Eating asida (consistency of playdough) with kudra soup (slimy and green)
-Greeting in Arabic

The men sit under one side of the tree and the women sit on the other

Mom is a big hit everywhere we go. She's lavished hugs on many many people!

Home in Yabus

Hello All!

Yesterday afternoon we flew home to yabus, Sudan, but this time with my parents, Skip and Ruth Sorensen. It's been one big fun adventure since landing. I never realized what a big deal it would be for people to meet my parents. But we've had a steady flow of visitors and friends who are eager to meet them, especially my mother. For some reason, she is significant and receives many affectionate hugs when she's introduced as Bethany's mother. (People have also commented she looks young enough to be my sister and young enough to still produce more babies!)

Mom and Dad fit so beautifully into life here. Mom's love and joy in life overflows and impacts everyone she comes in contact with. I know how to find her on the compound by listening for her laugh (or the laughs of those in her company!) Dad has been working way too hard. He's doing a lot of fix it jobs around the compound, gardening, and manually pumping water for the whole team. Both have been sweet servants.

I'm so thankful we have more than two week to spend together here. Tomorrow we'll venture out to Gondollo, the Ganza village 4 km from our home, to encourage the believers there and introduce my parents. It should be a fun and very eventful day.

I just want to comment on one more interesting thing. Everytime we return to Yabus, Isaac and Evan are overjoyed and so obviously feel more "in their element" when they're here. Yabus is their home and where they're most comfortable. But this time I noticed it with Joshua as well. While we were in Nairobi, I was shocked that Joshua wasn't interested in eating any of the delicious foods that we'd missed - they were too new for him. He was also very clingy and nervous around most people. But as soon as we settled back into Yabus yesterday, he polished off his first bowl of rice and beans and has been eating like a horse ever since. He's also happy to be back to lots of open space and all our animals: goats, chickens, cat, dogs, and donkey. Seeing Joshua so much at home here, has made Yabus all the more home for all of us.

Fun in Kenya

Tomorrow, Wednesday, we start our three day journey back to Yabus. We've spent a wonderful two weeks in Nairobi and feel rested and ready to head back to our "family" in Sudan. This time we're heading back with Bethany's parents, Skip and Ruth Sorensen who are coming to visit for two weeks.

Isaac had a great sword fight with his Uncle Stan

Last weekend was our highlight of our time in Kenya. We went to Kijabe where Rift Valley Academy is located. My little brother, Stan, is a junior there. We stayed with our colleagues and good friend, the Congdon family, and enjoyed a fun and relaxing weekend including: sledding down a grass hill, watching Stan and Eli play rugby, roasting marshmallows over a fire, and eating lots of yummy food.

A day in Gondolo

This sweet lady passed the time by smoking on her pipe.

The balloons I packed were a huge hit with all the kids. They lasted longer than I thought they would with so many thorn trees everywhere. I even caught two grown men fighting over one!

Last Sunday, we spent the day in Gondolo village to celebrate our teammate Lori's house opening. Until now she's lived on our compound in Yabus, but she now has her own mud hut in Gondolo. After church, all the church members and other neighbors walked back to her house and we immediately began making coffee and tea for all the guests. But as you will see in the pictures, we made coffee Sudanese style. First you wash the coffee beans, then roast them, then pound them, then brew the coffee in an old tin can over the fire, and finally you pour the brewed coffee into a jebuna - a clay coffee pot. It's quite a process but makes deliciously strong coffee. In the course of the day I think we did the process at least 6 times until everyone had drank all the coffee they wanted.

It was a very hot day but the boys did amazing. One fun thing wedid was teach some of Isaac and Evan's friends how to play Uno. The kids caught on fast and had a great time playing in the shade of a tree. Meanwhile Joshua had fun pushing around a homemade bike made of wood (see the picture.)

Quite a full day but also a very special day. After lots of goat soup, kisra (sorghum pancakes), and coffee we left in time to get home before dark. The next day we flew out of Yabus for a two week break in Kenya. It was a great finish to our time there.

A Season of Teaching

This week was Eli and my first week of teaching at the BELC in Yabus (Basic Education Learning Center). Eli is teaching English and Bible and I'm teaching Math. So far we're both really enjoying this new role. Our students are great and it's fun to be back in the classroom again. Another teaching role I have is with Isaac, Evan, and Praise. Praise is our teammate's son and spends most of the daylight hours at our house. Even with my two hour math class every morning, I am determined to keep homeschooling my boys as priority. So while Joshua takes his morning nap, the boys and I "do school". I took these great pictures today and as I look through them again, my heart swells with love and thanks. What a blessing these little boys are to me. And I'm privleged to be training them up to be godly men.

Eli's rocket stove

I just had to post a blog about one of the many creative projects Eli did last week. He researched mud/clay "rocket stoves" on the Internet: a very easy, cheap, efficient way to cook. So he decided to build one as an experiment with some of his friends and if it worked, get people in Yabus building and using them. It meant a morning full of mixing mud, patting mud, and molding a practical piece of pottery.

Becoming a Sudanese woman

Yesterday our family went to visit a dear couple in Gondolo, a Ganza village about 4 km from Yabus. Gideon is blind but is a beautiful musician and leads the music in the Gondolo church. His wife Rhoda has a misfigured hand so she has to do everything with one hand. They have twins - a girl and a boy. The girl's name is Inia and the boy's name is Inias. They're a wonderful family.

When we arrived Eli and the boys sat on a mat in one of the huts while I joined the women in the cooking hut. The cooking hut is always full of intense smoke so my eyes were burning the whole time. But I enjoyed helping them cook the meal. First we made tea and served the men. Then we made "asida" which is made of sorghum flour and water into the consistency of playdough. We made okra soup to go with it. They cook their okra by whisking it with a branch (like a wire whisk) until it turns into a green slimy soup. It doesn't look appealing but it's very tasty and I acutally crave it sometimes!

After dinner, I helped roast the coffee beans, then pound them along with dried ginger, and brewed the coffee in their special clay "jebuna" pot. We served the men in their hut and we ladies stayed in the kitchen and each drank at least three cups.

Meanwhile the boys did great. They played happily outside with their crazy dog named "zuruf" which means hunger in their language. The dog lived up to its name as it was all skin and bones. We drove home just as it was getting dark and later, even after my bath, I remarked to Eli, that my hair still smelled like campfire smoke. That's when I realized...I'm becoming a Sudanese woman.

Eating and enjoying the finished product: asida and bamia (sorghum and okra)

A much better week

After several weeks of sickness running through our family, this week has been a relief in so many ways. Not only do we all feel better, but we've been able to get back to normal activities. Personally, I, Bethany, was getting stir crazy.
On Monday morning I decided this week was going to be different. So I went to greet my neighbor friends and ended up staying to grind sorghum on the rocks with them for a while (my back and arm muscles were sore the next day!) In the afternoon Joshua and I trekked through the slippery mud to visit some of our Uduk friends. I drank tea and coffee and then ate 2 dinners - one at Hisi's house and one at Wako's house. By the time I got home, it was getting dark, Joshua and I were both covered in mud, and we were stuffed with food!
Tuesday's highlight was going over to visit a friend named Elizabeth who just had a baby girl. I took her some goat meat I bought for her in the market and stayed for some tea and coffee. She proudly announced that they had named their new little girl, Bethany. Wow, another Bethany in Yabus!
Yesterday was our teammate Lori's birthday. The kids and I colored some birthday signs and wrapped a small gift to take to her. Later I baked a yellow cake, made tortillas, and our team enjoyed a yummy dinner together, complete with cake and candles.
Today my highlight was four wheeling through the mud to Gondolo. Gondolo is a Ganza village 4 km out of Yabus. Lori has been learning to speak Ganza and focusing her ministry with the Ganza people. They've built her her own house so I was tagging along to help move some stuff to her new house. What a ride! I wish I had taken my camera so you could better see what it was like. Since we've had some good rains lately, and the dirt is what we call "cotton soil" so it gets really mucky when wet. Lori and I (plus a mattress, a water jerrican, and a full action packer trunk) were sliding around on the path, splashing mud up into our hair and splattering our arms with muddy water. We couldn't help but laugh at ourselves. To us, it was just a ride to Gondolo, but we know people in the States would pay a lot of money to go four wheeling on a quad bike through tall grass and mud in the middle of nowhere.
I came home on my own and ended up getting the quad bike stuck in a deep rut. I had to run back to the village to find some strong men. When I entered the first house I got to, there were three good men: two of them I knew, one of them being the chief of the village. Of course I had to sit and chat for a while and then I explained my predicament and they excitedly agreed to help me. I was wondering how it would work out because they smelled strongly of alcohol. But they did a great job and once we had finally pulled the quad bike out of the rut and to the top of the hill, there was a lot of cheering, high fives, and me praising their strength and power!
I arrived home muddy from head to toe but so invigorated from my adventurous journey to Gondolo.
It's been a much more eventful week and I've enjoyed it immensely so far.

Sickness hits

Since Eli returned from his trip in Ganza land, our family has been sick with one thing or another. It started with Isaac and Eli getting high fevers. Eli was only sick for the weekend but Isaac ended up being down for most of last week. Evan had some bowel issues all last week and then over this past weekend Joshua and I came down with the flu. I've been laying low all week and thankfully Eli's been around to help out with the kids.
I just wanted to explain why you haven't heard from us in a while and I'm also asking you to pray for our family's health.

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?

Eli's Ganza trip

This morning Eli, 3 colleagues, and 3 Sudanese friends set out with our donkey packed for a four day trek into the bush. There is a tribe south of us called the Ganza and Eli wants to learn more about them, where their villages are, and some of their needs. This could be a potential focus for us in the future.

What our boys do for fun

Bethany's Namesake

One of my dearest friends in Yabus is a lady named Hakima. She is one of the first friends I made when I arrived in Sudan two years ago. She owns a nice tea and coffee shop in town and I used to go visit her to practice my Arabic.

Over the years our friendship has grown very close. On July 10th, she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Her son Mohammed came to tell me the good news and told me they were waiting for me to visit before giving the baby her name. I thought they wanted me to name her so I'd picked a name - Hadiya - which means "gift" in Arabic.

When I got to her house and started admiring the perfect little baby girl, Hakima instantly started calling her baby, "Bethany Sagair" which means "Little Bethany". I was more honored than words can express.

When I came home that day and was telling Eli about my visit, I remembered the meaning of my name: House of God. I have been praying that Hakima's family would embrace the one TRUE GOD and my prayer is that their home truly will be a house of God one day.

Isaac turned FIVE!

On Monday I turned 5. My mom made pepperoni pizza and a chocolate cake. While I was taking my nap, my mom blew up balloons and decorated the dining hall with streamers and a race car sign that said, "Happy Birthday".

At dinner time, our whole team ate pizza and then my dad lit five candles on my cake and everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to me. My favorite part of the whole day was getting my present. It was a new Mater truck. Evan and my mom picked it out at the store in Nairobi. We've been having lots of fun playing with it.

So now I'm five and the oldest kid on the compound. I think it's cool being 5.

Joshua is ONE!

For someone so young, Joshua is well loved and has more friends than any of us. Whenever I'm in the market, the shopkeepers call out greetings to him. As a product of Yabus, he's been named "Yabus" and people give him gifts and want to hold him or shake his hand.

Yesterday he turned one year old and he had quite a turn out at his "small"birthday party. I baked two cakes and made several gallons of Koolaid and we invited all our little neighbor friends. After cake and Koolaid, we taught a few fun games like "duck, duck, goose" and red hot pepper.

walking with Daniel

I'm amazed that our little baby has grown up. He's now taking steps on his own and wants to walk everywhere. We're so thankful he's been healthy during this first year of his life.

Chewing on his own goat leg!

Bridge Update

Today was a special day as we finished putting the wood decking across our bridge here in Yabus. It has been a dream for so long and to finally get to see people cross has been great. To watch people cross for the first time has been entertaining too. From the timid woman who preferred scooting to the crowd of children who thought it best to run, it has been a great day to people watch. Check out more pictures on our bridge blog: http://www.yabusbridge.blogspot.com/

Bethany's 28th!

It's amazing how birthdays can be special no matter where you are with just a little creativity. Even though both Joshua and I weren't feeling very well, it ended up being a really nice day. Eli took the day off from working on the bridge and the first thing he did was send me away for some time alone and he stayed with the boys. One of our teammates is out of town so I went and sat on her porch with my Bible and journal. It was very refreshing.

Later in the afternoon we packed a snack picnic with lemonade and a few treats and the whole family got on the quad bike and ventured to one of our new family getaway spots. It's a nice place with lots of trees and big rocks to climb on. We chose one that had a tree at the top that provided some nice shade and we had a lovely picnic.

When we got home, the ladies on the team had prepared a special meal, and we had a lovely birthday dinner, complete with cake! Eli surprised me further by giving a speech!!! It meant so much to me that he showed his love and honor for me in front of our team and family - by far it was the best birthday gift!

Our growing boy

Lately my heart has been so full of thanks for my children. God has given me such a deep feeling of contentment during this past week. I've felt like there's truly no where else I'd rather be and nothing I'd rather be doing with my life. Some of the highlights have been:
1. Getting henna (herbal dye) on the bottoms of my feet and on my fingernails by my dear friend, Hakima.
2. Watching Joshua take his first steps alone yesterday.
3. Planting a vegetable garden and planting flowers all over the compound now that the rains are finally here!
4. Doing preschool with my boys
5. Visiting Eli at the bridge and constantly being amazed at the incredible man God gave me.

Here are a few pictures of Joshua:

Aunt Canberra is one of Joshua's favorite people. I'm so thankful for all the special "aunts" and "uncles" our children have since we're so far away from the rest of our family.

The great thing about life in Sudan for little boys: DIRT! And when it rains...there's MUD!

It's been fun to get involved with the bridge work - as a family. Some afternoons the boys and I walk down to the river to check on Eli and see how the bridge is coming along. In this picture, Josh was ready to drive us all home.

And here he is: almost one year old and he knows he's cute and he knows he's big.

Back to the good Sudan life

We've been back in Yabus for two weeks now. It's already been quite eventful but this is the land we love - where our hearts really belong, so we try to take it all in stride.

On June 6th we celebrated Eli's 28th birthday with a big pan of monkey bread - his request.