Reconnecting with family & friends

Unforgettable 30th May night
May 30 was a normal day in Yabus. I went to English class, taught the women and came back home. There was a meeting with the secondary school staff and the students so we had some good hours of meeting discussing on the issue of “honesty and integrity”. After the meeting, we had our dinner and sat down for another meeting. We call it “compound meeting” mainly for the missionaries and the staffs discussing various concerns. We didn’t realize that time went so fast until when we stretched ourselves as we end our meeting around 9 pm. Wow! What a day. But it wasn’t over yet – the night turned out to be day.
So it was after 9 pm - News came through email and phone calls that there was some political tension in Blue Nile State. Yabus being part of Blue Nile state, we knew that we needed to make a ‘quick wise and right’ decision as to what we should do if situation gets worse. Our team gathered for prayer and seeking guidance from God, and then there was a bomb explosion somewhere and that confirmed our going to Nairobi. I can never forget that night – we got ready with our ‘grab and go’ bag just in case we had to run to the bush or to fly to the safest nearest possible place. But amazingly there weren’t any more alerts. The local people were calm and normal. They were not as alarmed as we were, as they have been into war for more than 20 years.
We had only 9 hours (9.30pm-6.30am) wrapping up things and getting ready on the plane that was coming to take us the next morning. The whole night some of were packing. I was giving cash advance to the teachers and workers in the middle of the night since I needed to clear all the financial things before I leave. I tried to sleep, I couldn’t. The morning came and as we were getting ready to go, the students and neighbours came with shock on their faces, as to what in the world has happened to us that we had to leave very early without any warning. We explained to them the reason of our leaving and that the base will be closed down until further notice – the schools and ministries will be closed down. When they heard that, a student asked – “what about us”?
Where would these people go? The northern troops of Sudan are invading the Blue Nile area and have given 7 days to the southern army (SPLA) to leave the Blue Nile state. But the SPLA would not be silent on this matter because Blue Nile is their homeland and they would not allow the north Sudanese to capture their place as they have done to Abyei (another disputed state). So the native people in Blue Nile are willing to stay and fight for their land at the cost of anything. They said – “this time we are not running anywhere. We will not run to any other country. We will not be refugees anymore. We will fight against the north and if we die, we die in our own homeland”. They are serious this time. They are trained and armed well. I even heard that there are women undergoing military training.
This situation in Sudan has affected a lot of individuals and organizations who have been working and promoting the welfare of Sudan. As of now SIM has closed down the base until situation gets better. Oh! What a pain to end our ministries like this. We could grab only few essential things and left most of our things like that. But that is not our main loss. Our grief is that we left in a rush and could not say proper goodbye to our beloved friends, church and people. And we don’t even know our returning to Yabus is ever possible or not. Only God knows.
I am in Nairobi now, in a safe place actually. But my mind is constantly thinking about Yabus, the ministry and the people I left there. Everything was abrupt and no proper goodbyes make my heart sad. But I do believe that it is God’s plan that we are in a safer place but I keep asking, ‘what about my sudanese friends, where would they go for safety if war begins? My only prayer is – “Dear God, please control the situation and give grace to both the parties to count the cost of what they are doing”. Enough of war! It’s time for peace!
Sudan needs your prayers during this time. Please pray for God’s intervention in this country.

Will I ever get to meet them again? I didn't know that oneday I would leave them without any warning. I was there with them all the time and the next morning I dissappeared. They must have looked for me and found my house locked or empty. Why did she leave without telling us? Is she coming back to Sudan? When is she coming back? I know those questions are battling in thier mind right now. Oh! how I wish I could go back to Yabus and explain to them why I left. And tell them that I love them and miss them so much. Nobody knows what our future ministry in Yabus would be like from now on. We are waiting for God to intervene and bring peace to this land so that we could go back and continue our work as though we never left. Please pray for the Blue Nile state and the whole of Sudan.

I started learning Arabic with these women last year. I never thought that they would want to learn English too. Oneday our Arabic teacher came late in the class and so the women were getting restless since the time was passing by and they had to rush home after the class for household work. They asked me to teach them english while waiting for Ustaz (teacher). I said, "Do you really want to learn?" I stood up and taught them ABC... then to my surpirse they said that they want to learn english more. I thought they were not serious but they are. We have english class twice a week now. They can read and write alphabets and say their names in english. What an amazing opportunity to teach them something that they never dreamed of.

Unfortunately the borehole broke down and so we had to use the river water while the borehole is being fixed. In the picture shown - The orange juice looks cool and great but it was made out from the river water (the brown water bucket).

It's been six months since I last updated myself.
I am still in Sudan. The last few months have been great but challenging with so many transitions at our base (Yabus) - The missionary team and also the political inconsistencies.
However I see a new dimension in my minsitry focus. The Bible study with Uduk women, English class with the women in town mostly the Bartas. I have been having some solid visiting time, extraordianry converstations and encounters. I beelive that this is God's time. Revival is what we need right now. There's hunger and thirst for the truth.

Keep praying for Sudan Political situation, especially for the Blue Nile State.

Tukul under construction

The Ramadan actually brings people together despite the colour, race or religion. They are peopl just like us!

Sudan is preparing for the upcoming Referndum in January 2011, please pray for peace and reconciliation to prevail.
Many are the plans in a man's heart but only the Lord's plan will prevail.
God is mighty to save this nation
Is there anything too difficult for God?

Asule Ramadan Chan

People here love to name their babies after the foreigners. This little girl in the picture is named after me. She is a smily baby and really cute. Actaully there are four babies that are named after me but i could get only this 'asule's' picture.

Chapatti in Yabus

Praise God there is rain after two weeks without rain.

Beautiful flowers by my house

The power of God

The last two weeks was tough. I had some problem, an irritation on my arm which hindered me from all my works. The only thing i could do was lie down on bed and sit for a while. It was a great time of test and trial. Where there is no hospitals and Doctors my faith increased to hold on to my only God and Saviour who has power to heal me. With much prayer God healed my wounds completely. This incident drew me closer to God. He displayed his power in my weakness so that He is glorified. Praise God, I am healed and back to normal work. It's so nice to go back to school and catch up with friends. I have missed them. They have missed me too. When I met one of the ladies she hugged me and kissed my cheek and said words of comfort. Oh! I am humbled to have friends who cares. I am more encouraged through these friends who are not a believer. God even speaks through unbelievers. Amazing!

These are some of the students in Arabic school. Some months back i was praying for something like this - i wanted to learn Arabic so much but didn't know where to begin then this school opened at the right time. I have joined this school, it's been almost six weeks and i can see the changes in my learning and understanding of language and culture just because of the amount of time i spent with these women. My language is still very basic but i understand more than i could speak. Arabic is such a tough complicated langauge but i am pursuing so hard inorder to be able to communicate effectively oneday - God's love.

A pool inside the house

The sky was darkening and rumbling as the thunder rolled and the storm came. I hated to stay in my house when it rains because it’s very airy inside since the house was designed for dry season. The walls are half-mudded. And when it rains heavily I feel I am standing in an open sea with the waves tossing and turning my things upside down. So, I decided to be at my neighbours house. They make fire inside and it’s warm and more fun with all the smoke around the house, tearful eyes, and sniffing which reminds me of home. As we were sitting and chatting behind closed doors from storm and rain, suddenly from behind the house came water, gushing in like a river. Since the house is small, within a minute it quickly flooded and became a small pool. Our feet were deep in the water. As I was new to this kind of situation I didn’t know what to do but the woman (owner of the house) ran outside and started re-mudding the hole where the water came from, but there was no way to stop it because the rain was heavy. So I started throwing water outside scooping them from a big bowl but the water never got finished. The woman then came to the front door and started to dig a hole towards the direction where water was flowing, then within a second the water passed through that tiny hole and the house began to slowly dry. After things settle down a bit we held our stomach as we laughed and laughed over the whole situation. I am impressed by their quick wit and action over any situation that occurs. It’s amazing how they can fix things within few seconds. It was an eye opening for me to see how people survive in a small wretched house during rainy season. And they live happily in that condition. Nobody complains! Oh Lord, teach me to be happy and content with what I have. My house is fifty times better than theirs but I still wanted to escape to a concrete house, to be safe and secure. But God was giving me some serious lessons by taking me to my neighbour’s house to see what was going to happen and I saw ‘it’ happened.

Kharif

It's just so strange that Sudan was looking so dry, hot and sweaty a month back and now with few rains it's looking fresh and green but hot. Kharif is a word rainy season in Arabic. During this season people are usually busy ploughing and cultivating. People who are wise could actually grow enough food which sustains them for a year and even sells them at the market. They grow sorghum (staple food), maize, okra, beans, pumpkins, groundnuts. People are literally dependent on rain for their crops. The rains have been very scanty. Please pray for more rains during this season.

daily visitors

One morning Praise and Halleluyah came to my house dressed up in their jerseys. I surprised them with my own jersey and we pose for some pictures. They are Nigerian kids, missionaries of SIM working together in Yabus. They come to my house every morning after their breakfast and have fun together and mess up my house. They are really cute and beautiful. No one would believe what amazing things they could do at their age. They are tough than ordinary kids since they grew up in a bush. I go for home visit with them. Evangelism can happen through children.

Umi (my mother)

Umi is one of the first M*** women I have met. She is old but strong. She is generous and always cheerful. She loves people like me who is foreign to her, but accepts me without asking any question why I want to be friend with her. I have a love in my heart and I want to share that love to her. I want her to know what that love means and what this love would do to her once she accepts it - it would change her life forever. She visited us several times. It's a long walk for an old lady to be visiting, but she came today, with a packed lunch and gasping for breath when she entered my house. What a joy to see her smile and be with her and talk to her. She brings such a blessing. Everytime I think about her I have this intense urge deep in my heart that cannot be expressed in words but LOVE is welling up from within. Until she embrace this love my soul is not at rest. Please pray for her and for divine intervention.