Pajok South Sudan Trip 2013

I would like to share some highlights of our trip to Pajok, South Sudan this year. It was a shorter trip this year (only 2 weeks) than previous years which were 3 to 3 1/2 weeks long. My wife Kathy and my oldest son Luke had their first experience in the African bush.





South Sudan "road"

 

Another portion of the South Sudan "road"

 

Northern Uganda

 

We are an official Community Based Organization (CBO)

The day after we arrived the 3 day bible conference started. This year we taught through the book of Ephesians verse by verse. Two chapters per day were covered. Pastor George, David, & myself taught the men. Lucy and Helen taught the women. We all took turns teaching. They translated either English to Acholi or Acholi to English, depending on who was teaching. It was an amazing time in God's word, letting it speak for itself into all of our lives. There was no agenda or theme, just God speaking to His children through His word. All of God's word is relevant for today. It is all about Jesus Christ, meant for all generations and cultures, to speak into our lives the truth of God. Man's wisdom is just that, man's. God's word transcends all of man's word. Let us go to the source of all wisdom and knowledge, Jesus Christ who is the Author and finisher of our faith! (Hebrews 12:2) God tells us the volume of the book (all 66 books) is about Jesus. Hebrews 10:7  Then I said, 'Behold, I have come--In the volume of the book it is written of Me--To do Your will, O God.'"

Each day we would start with worship and prayer.

After worship and prayer, teaching began. Between the 1st and 2nd teaching we ate a light lunch together of mugati (fried dough) with hot tea. After the 2nd teaching we all ate supper together. It consisted of posho (made from milled corn), beans, fried cabbage, and goat meat (yum!).

The men eating supper. The women ate in their bible study group.

The tukle (mud hut) was too small to contain all the women, so some sat outside and listened to the teaching.

The 2nd day we had a time for questions. It lasted over an hour. Praise God! The last day we addressed the entire assembly to overview the teaching of God in the book of Ephesians and to thank everyone for coming.

18-20 men attended and 30-35 women attended! Many people expressed their gratitude for the teaching. Nobody teaches the bible verse by verse in Pajok. Even here in America with a church on every corner it is a rare find. We are still in the process of building a building that will be used for a church and for the nursery/primary school. Our desire is to have a church teaching God's timeless truths every Sunday to the people. God's word creates community as the hearers are drawn near to Jesus Christ. He draws us in and sends us out. May the Lord's will be done in Pajok and beyond!

Two women came to us during the conference and told us of 6 more orphans. We have confirmed 4 of them as true orphans so far. They will be moving into the orphanage some time in the near future. David hasn't confirmed the other 2 yet.

Kathy prepared crafts for the children, which is one of her gifts. She helped the children make dolls using socks and she also had colorful fabric that was used to tie the dolls on the backs of the children as the mother's do with their babies. Even the younger boys took great joy in making dolls and parading them around on their backs!

 

 

We took beads and the related supplies to make bracelets and necklaces for the children and for the women. Many people donated the beading supplies....in fact, it was almost too much to carry with us! It is important for the women and girls to learn how to use their hands to make things. These skills can be used to help support their families when they grow up. The boys and girls had a great time diving into the beads to make bracelets, necklaces, and bead animals.

 

Helen and Lucy taught Grace how to create jewelry grade bracelets and necklaces. They made many very nice pieces!


Starting from Left and going clockwise: Helen, Grace (David's wife), Marie, & Lucy

We also took an erector set for the boys. Erector sets have small nuts and bolts to assemble the models. The set included a motor and cables to provide motion and mechanisms. Even Pastor George was excited about the Erector set! Within an hour they built their first car only using the pictures in the instruction manual.

Of course there was some play while there. Luke integrated immediately on the common grounds of a football (soccer ball)! We all played some soccer while there.

Jump rope...

Fun with animals...

 

And of course there is coloring the Life of Paul bible lesson books...
















I was able to see our 10 acre field of beans and oxen for plowing the fields while there. It is amazing what they do manually. It is quite normal though. Farming machinery that we are used to seeing doesn't exist in this part of the world. Clearing the bush is done by ax and machete. Then they burn the grasses. They use pairs of oxen to plow up the ground, spread the seed by hand, use hoes to keep the weeds under control, and then manually pick the vegetables at harvest time. Nobody needs a membership at the local gym. It is hard work....but, it is normal.

 

The harvest was less than expected due to too much rain right before the harvest. Beans rotted before they could be harvested. The first season of 2013 we saw the opposite. It was very dry and very little produce was reaped. We have the first opportunity to take some of the bean harvest either to Juba or to Magwi to sell wholesale. This the plan. However due to the rising conflict in South Sudan this may not be possible and could be very dangerous. Juba is not safe. Magwi may or may not be safe. The future is uncertain......war or peace?

Please pray for true peace for the country as people are saved and conformed into the image of Jesus Christ. This is the only true peace. Political peace is not true peace. However political peace is better than indiscriminate killings and tribal warfare. Please pray.

Family Time

This year I had the extreme joy of taking my wife and oldest son to Pajok, South Sudan with me. As followers of Jesus Christ we are called to serve as a family.

It is approximately 19 1/2 hours to Uganda and then another 1 1/2 hours to travel by bush plane to South Sudan (2 days total time). This is the first time it was possible to fly directly into Pajok. This saved 2-3 days of travel time!

Mission Aviation Fellowship plane (Cessna 208 Caravan) ready for take-off...

Lake Victoria View Guest House. Entebbe, Uganda

Luke trying to smile after 1 1/2 days of virtually no sleep! 

Somewhere in this aerial view is God's Tender Mercy. We are fairly close to the Atebbe River. I am unable to pinpoint exactly where we are.

Pajok town center toward top of photo...don't blink

 

Even though it is a long journey, it is exciting to arrive in Pajok! It was a bit intimidating for Luke since the primary school abandoned school to check out the new arrivals and were all waiting for us on the airstrip! Personal space is defined much differently there. They were touching Luke and his hair, pointing at him, laughing and talking very much in their language (Acholi). They probably had never seen an American boy before. It was very exciting for them! Luke wasn't so sure...

 



The first thing Luke did when we arrived at the orphanage was to play football (soccer) with the kids and Samuel. Samuel is always one of the first people I see when arriving in Pajok. He loves visitors and never misses a meal with us!

 

Luke & Samuel

 

Kids playing soccer at GTM orphanage

My first official duty was to setup our lodging. If you ever need a tent that absolutely does not leak, no matter how hard it rains, I would recommend a Kelty! This tent and my smaller version for only myself did not leak no matter how hard it rained. Going to bed without a shower is much better when you are dry. :^)

 

 

Stay tuned for further trip updates. Grace & Peace in the Lord Jesus Christ!

 

The Word of God....How sweet it is!

Last year I took a new Proclaimer to the Orphanage. It plays an audio drama of the New Testament in Acholi (their language). This year it is still a beacon of light and a ray of hope in the village of Pajok, South Sudan. Almost every day you can hear the New Testament being proclaimed! The kids will turn it on and sit down around it and listen to it over and over. They will rewind certain portions to listen again. One particular account is the demon possessed man and the pigs. The one that surprised me the most, though, was them listening to and reciting the genealogy in the beginning of Matthew! They will recite it, rewind it, and recite it again! Who says genealogies are boring???

David's aunt Angela will sit all day long and prepare greens, beans, or rice for dinner and listen to the proclaimer.

Praise God for His word!

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

This picture of Peter holding the Proclaimer is near and dear to my heart. He has the look of a boy with full understanding that he is hearing the eternal word of our Almighty God.

Laying the Foundation for the Future

Digging the Footers

I am happy to show some pictures of our new pavilion being constructed! It has a long way to go, but it is slowly becoming a reality. Part of our vision for the future is to start a church and a bible college. The pavilion will facilitate both. In Hosea 4:6 God tells us that His people perished for lack of knowledge. Lack of knowledge of God Himself and of course His word in the bible. The priests were not teaching or living the truth of God's word. The people followed their lead. We want to break the bonds of spiritual darkness with the Light...the true Light - Jesus Christ.

Currently the children in the orphanage and nursery school are being taught the scriptures. David is also teaching the boys who play football (soccer) many times a week. He is forming 2 teams and wants to purchase uniforms. Football is everything to the older boys! They play anytime they can. It is of first importance to clear a place in the tall grass for football!

A Few Boys Playing Football (Soccer) After School






We also need to reach the adults with the gospel and the truth of God's word.

South Sudan has struggled through decades of civil war. The children that ran from the war in the 1980's and 90's, many called the "Lost Boys" are now adults in South Sudan. Most of their lives they have only known war, death, hunger, thirst, and despair. Our desire is for them to hunger and thirst after the living God and to take the message of Jesus Christ to all in South Sudan. Especially to the border of Sudan (north) and South Sudan where over half a million people are, once again, driven from their homes by air raids and troops from the northern Muslim army. The northern government has intentionally blocked humanitarian aid to many of these people who have fled to isolated areas with no access to the basic necessities of life. Some live in the caves of the Nuba Mountains to escape the daily bombings of the northern air raids. The misery seems to have no end for the people of Sudan and South Sudan. They are not yet in a fully declared war with each other. Please pray for supernatural intervention.

They need salvation and hope, a sure hope, that this world, especially theirs, does not offer. Rice, beans, and corn will give them physical life. Jesus will give them eternal life.



Mixing the Mortar



Laying the Foundation

Currently Samaritan's Purse and Voice of the Martyrs (sponsored action packs) are actively helping the refugees who are accessible. You can donate online to help them in this effort. Voice of the Martyrs is offering a free book for the month of July 2013 titled "Restricted Nations: Sudan" to help understand the history of the conflict.

Please join with us to equip the saints of South Sudan for ministry.



Pray for Rain!



 



Please everyone pray for rain!

Pajok, South Sudan has had very little rain in the last 6 weeks. When it did rain, there were high winds which blew over a lot of the corn stalks. We can plant but the Lord needs to water (we have no irrigation) and the Lord most certainly brings the increase. The Lord has provided rich fertile land to support the people of South Sudan.

Please pray with us for a decent corn harvest. This year we are expanding our farming from 7 acres up to 17 acres. The corn represents the 7 acres. We are preparing to plant 10 acres of beans soon. Corn and beans are the staple foods of South Sudan.

This corn will feed the orphanage and the nursery school.

Thank you for praying with us.

Grace & Peace in Jesus Christ alone!

Meet David & Grace....again



David is the manager of God's Tender Mercy in Pajok, South Sudan



David & his little girl Rachel!



Grace is David's wife

Grace & her little girl Rachel!

We are blessed to have a wonderful husband and wife team to lead the ministry!

ABC....abc...123...GTM Nursery School

February 2013, God's Tender Mercy started a nursery school! We currently have 120 children attending. Why 120 children? Because we cannot fit any more children in the 2 temporary structures!!! We had to cut off registration. More children are waiting...

Nursery school in South Sudan is the first step of education. It consists of 3 classes: preschool, kindergarten, and first grade.

Apwyo! (Thank you!)

GTM Uniforms - Red & White

One of David's visions was to start a nursery school. The education system in South Sudan does not reach many of the children. Parents must pay registration fees & school fees for each child. The money is used to pay the teacher's salaries and for school supplies. Their culture also requires children to have uniforms which, of course, costs extra. Parents cannot afford to send all or maybe any of their children to school. Even if they do, most local schools do not currently hold their teachers to high standards for attendance or quality.

David wanted to start a school that was affordable, organized, held the teachers responsible for teaching and showing up each morning on time, had teachers that would teach effectively, and MOST importantly would teach the Holy Scriptures to the children each day.

We do charge school fees, but they are as low as possible. They are lower than any other school in the area. The only other nursery school in the area has chosen this year to more than double its already overpriced school fees. Our desire is not to make money but to see South Sudan's children educated.

Normally a brick school building does not exist when a school is started. The nursery school I visited 3 years ago consisted of a small chalkboard (maybe 24"x24" at the most) nailed to a tree with about 50 four, five, and six year olds sitting on the dirt. No building or even a roof to keep the rain and intense radiant heat of the sun off of them. They did have a couple sparse shade trees. Again, this is normal.

Below you can see one of our teachers teaching the children in our 2 temporary shelters.

Judith Teaching @ GTM Nursery School w/ Baby on Her Back

Currently we are building 4 large (20' diameter) mud huts for class rooms. The huts will have open air windows to illuminate the area. These structures are temporary as well. They will last about 2 years before the grass and bamboo roof will need to be replaced due to termites and the elements. The walls may need to be replaced as well.

The children receive "porridge" each morning with a cup of water to drink. Porridge is essentially what we would call grits made from corn. The porridge is provided by the corn that David grows on the property of GTM. Really it is provided by our loving creator that promises to provide for His children. We want to make sure each child has breakfast so they can concentrate on the teaching. We pray the Holy Spirit will touch each one to give them a spiritual hunger...a spiritual hunger that will spread to their families and neighbors!

Porridge for Breakfast!

Please pray for God's hand to lead us forward on the path He has set for us.

Pray for the children to be touched by the Holy Spirit....to know and worship Him in the Spirit!