And, we're back!

This is just a quick note to say that Jaclyn and I made the 10 hour drive home safe and sound just today. Really, it was probably the smoothest trip from Kampala I've had yet. Of course, the roads were still full of potholes at times, and crazy buses barreling down the road. But, we had no issues along the way at all. Thank the Lord!!!

So, thank you for your thoughts and prayers. We also just heard from Michelle that they arrived home in Portland just fine except that Michelle came down with a head cold along the way (courtesy of me who has passed it on to both Jaclyn and Michelle - true community;).

So, Jaclyn and I are about to begin our four solid weeks of being here in Adjumani. We are so excited!

Blessings to all...More later!

As a community...

Jeff, Michelle, Jaclyn, and I drove the 10 hour drive back to Kampala just yesterday. Jeff has been feeling ill with symptoms of extreme fatigue, dizziness, fevers, and body aches for about the last two weeks. Last summer, he had both one hip replaced and a heart valve replaced...yes, both in the same summer - and, he was also diagnosed with diabetes in the midst of all that. And, then they came back to Uganda just a few months later!

This morning he was checked out by a doctor who said that there are some irregularities in his heartbeat, but that he would be okay to fly home. In fact, the doctor along with many others (fellow missionaries) here in Uganda, and abroad(including his doctor in Portland), have strongly encouraged them to go back to Oregon so he can get the medical attention he really needs to get this figured out. So, they have booked their flights to Portland for tomorrow night! They were already planning on going home for their son's wedding by mid-December for one month. It goes without saying (but, I'll say it anyway) that we'd love your prayers for Jeff and Michelle as they journey home tomorrow night, and for the days after that as they seek answers to what has been ailing Jeff's body.

So, here we are...and, Jaclyn and I are gearing up for some weeks up in Adjumani just she and I. Of course, it really isn't us by ourselves...we have a whole community of people surrounding us there. We are ready, but a bit anxious (not much, really) to drive the 10 hour drive back up north by ourselves. Please pray for us if you think of it.

God is so good. I can see his deep love and care for Jeff, Michelle, and our community through all of this...As JK (Jaclyn) said at the end of her blog..."the journey continues...".

Magwi...

I'm still trying to process the many layers of the experience we just had in Magwi, Sudan. Hence, the length of this entry. First, I want to thank all those who were praying for our community as we traveled up north. We made it safe and well both going and then coming back to Adjumani. Jeff and Michelle are incredible, courageous drivers and we are so blessed to have such an able bodied vehicle that can handle the extreme road conditions. Here is a photo of one large truck (amongst many others) that didn’t make it - (Yes, this was taken from our car just south of the Sudan border.) We only almost tipped over once…:).

Southern Sudan is in a much different state than Northern Uganda. Much of it has just come out of a war situation within the last couple of years with the SPLA (Sudan People’s Liberation Army) fighting the army of Northern Sudan for about the last 20 years. There was also fighting going on between the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army which reeked havoc in N. Uganda and is now causing problems in the Dem. Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic) and the SPLA which also caused people to flee and find refuge in refugee camps in Northern Uganda. Finally, within the last two years the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) is repatriating people back into S. Sudan.

It was surreal to be driving along and run into a red and white tape draped across the road signifying that a special NGO was at work demining the surrounding area (the photo at the right is of a poster inside of a little restaurant promoting awareness of the live mines that may still be in the surrounding area) . At first, it almost seemed normal...It is so hard to explain as one who comes from a culture where the effects war (and war itself) are very far removed from our day to day reality. But, after being here – in E. Africa - for just a few months it has become part of my everyday context. I felt a bit of a pit in my stomach when Michelle said, “So if you need to take a short call (potty break) along the side of the road don’t go off too far because there may still be mines...” Wow, that’s real. And, as we passed by “villages”, or really clusters of makeshift tukals, we saw skeletons of burned out military vehicles within the tall grass along the side of the road. That would be shortly followed by waving at the children who were so excited to see a car full of mzungus driving through their village. Many men and women would also smile beautiful smiles at us as we passed through their day. I found myself wondering at the profound difference between their existence and ours in the U.S., and how we could all be living on the same planet. And, at the same time, I felt so honored and humbled to be able to offer a smile and a bit of encouragement for those whose lives had been torn apart by war.

After four hours of driving through many mini-pond potholes we made it to Magwi. Last year, our compound started as just a plot of grassy, buggy land that our community (before I arrived) camped out on with tents. Now, there are two tukals (pictured here) made of brick and grass roofs, a shelter for eating under made of log poles and a grass roof, and even a latrine with a bathing area attached to it. So, we had it good. Each day we went to the nearest borehole (pictured here) to pump our water. We would fill our four jerry cans (each holding about twenty liters) of water for the day. The borehole is a meeting place of sorts as all the women, and children as well, fetch their water supply from the borehole. But, for them this is the only way to get water. And, they don’t have a vehicle to transport it home. The women carry it on their heads for a few to several miles as do the children (again, about 10 to 20 liters of water). We enjoyed greeting the women and children there. Of course, we were a source of laughter for them as I’m sure we looked a little awkward pumping and then carrying our water to the vehicle. They were often very kind to us and would help us pump the water into our jerry cans. Jeff previously made an agreement with the local government that if anything went wrong with the borehole that SudanVenture would supply the funds to repair it. We even have a great connection with a man from the U.S. who is able to help repair, and even drill new boreholes.

I wish everyone in the U.S. could see how difficult it is for people to get good, clean, and safe water. It has made me much more conscious of my water usage habits (i.e. while brushing my teeth, bathing, washing dishes, etc.). In Magwi, water was a very precious resource as we were told there is not enough accessible water for everyone in the general area. Can you imagine?

As I mentioned earlier, our bathing area was outdoors composed of three walls and then an open sleeping bag which doubled as our shower curtain. It was lovely to bathe (with a basin and a cup for pouring) underneath the amazing blanket of stars which graced us almost every single night. The Magwi sky was huge and glorious especially in the evenings as there might be several thunder and lightening storms going on all around us (pic of lightening here) – but, thankfully (except for our last night) not right above us. The three of us, Rachael, Jaclyn, and I, loved to put a chair out in the middle of the compound to watch God’s awe inspiring display of beauty and power.

Each day we met as a community, and with Okot Francis – SudanVenture’s Deputy Director. Okot is a very special man who has a deep desire to see good things happen for his impoverished and war torn community. He is from Magwi and was a refugee in N. Uganda for over 10 years of his life. Jeff and Michelle met him several years back when they would visit the refugee camps around Adjumani. Jeff eventually formed a relationship with Okot and found that he would be a great leader to have on the ground in Magwi for SudanVenture – the NGO (non-governmental organization) formed by Jeff and Michelle in order to partner with the people of S. Sudan as they seek to rebuild and redevelop their lives after 20 years of war.

We spent a couple of days going to the Magwi county offices of health and education to assess how things were going in both of those areas in the community in order to see how SudanVenture might be able to come alongside and assist in some way. Magwi county is large – It is composed of six payams (major districts) and twenty seven bomas (villages) within all six payams. And, the number of people keeps growing as more refugees keep getting repatriated back into Magwi from refugee camps in Northern Uganda. We first visited the county education office where we spoke with three men who oversee different areas of the education sector. Here is what we learned: First, there are a good number of schools which are held under a tree (a blackboard nailed to it) with raised logs used as benches for the children. There are also school buildings which only have walls, but no roof as well as no coverings for the windows. Pictured here is a part of Magwi Primary School which has no roof on any of its buildings, and there are a total of 1,032 children who attend that school. We would pass by this school almost once a day and could see the children inside – some even sitting within the frame of the window. We also saw many children bringing their own chairs to and from school as well. The men we spoke with stated that most of the schools do not have enough textbooks, tables, chairs, or blackboards. Teachers are also in need of teaching aids like charts and maps. They stated that UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) has assisted them by giving children exercise books.

Another organization called AAH (Action Africa Help) has assisted by donating a small number of tables.

CRS (Catholic Relief Services) assisted by giving students in their senior years of school textbooks and exercise books as well as some foodstuffs. It was very clear that there is an overwhelming need for school buildings, basic furnishings for the schools, computers/photocopiers (right now the teachers are writing the tests out by hand as they have no way to duplicate or make copies!) textbooks/exercise books, and even training for many of the teacherswho are untrained.

The following day we visited the two men employed in Magwi County’s health sector. It was a very humbling visit. The health director, Emanuel, explained the county’s major health issues: They mostly concerned environmental health – Water (Emanuel said that around 90% of the diseases that people contract arebecause of unsafe water), excrement disposal, food hygiene, refuse, and control of mosquitoes. The top five diseases theyare trying to fight are: Malaria, dysentery, acute diarrhea, skin diseases, and eye diseases. (And, of course, HIV/AIDs are also a serious issue – and, the other man we met in the office is devoted to developing a new program to try and educate the community about prevention and education about the disease.) Emanuel said that most of these diseases could be prevented with proper hygiene and sanitation which includes the use of clean and safe water (we learned that clean water is not necessarily safe water). Health workers are also seeing a lot of malnutrition in the children which also plays into the high number of children clinics see with other major health issues. Yah, overwhelming…Two employed county workers to fight all of this within their community…Okot Francis, our deputy director, has been working alongside these men (who both do this voluntarily outside of their working hours) in going out to a few different villages in order to hold hygiene and sanitation workshops. We are hoping toassist the county in this way even more in the future. We hope to have others come and join SudanVenture who would be interested/qualified to do this kind of community awareness and education.

After these meetings, we almost felt like we could barely put a drop in the bucket with all of the need there is in Magwi county alone. And, if it weren’t for the gift that Okot Francis is to our community and SudanVenture – we would need to seriously reevaluate our presence in Magwi. He is a gifted, humble, and ambitious man who wants to move forward in any way possible. So, a few steps we are going to make forward are: Creating a media center for teachers and students in the center of Magwi town with books, a computer, tables/chairs, and eventually a typewriter and a duplicator. We already found a space for this center (pictured here) and will start furnishing it within the next month or two. Okot Francis will continue to go out and do some hygiene and sanitation workshops in different villages. Jeff is also interested in some projects in the agricultural sector which could also play into some opportunities for income generation for the people of the villages (i.e. building an oil press which the people could produce cooking oil to sell). Jeff and Okot Francis will try to make contact with a women’s leader in one of the villages in order to see if they are interested in this type of project (women are largely the ones who generate income for their families).

It was an emotional/spiritual roller coaster that week in Magwi. I saw a level of mass poverty that I’ve never seen before. I will never forget the four 2 to 3 yr olds I saw sitting around one little tin can of food or the county’s main hospital which was built of mud, logs, and an UNHCR tarp strung over the top…But, as Jaclyn said, Magwi is coming up and there is a sense of hope now that wasn’t there before. These people are survivors, and it truly is an honor and a privilege to get to walk alongside, and assist, in whatever way we can. We are just praying and asking God to continually guide the steps of SudanVenture as we seek to love and reach out to His people in ways that will bring glory to His kingdom.

I’ve posted a few photos here (and, I will post more within the next week), but please go to Jaclyn’s blog (the link is right here on my blog) to see a lot more great photos of our time in Magwi. Oh, and if you go to her entry entitled, “Keep Adjumani Weird” you’ll see some other interesting photos as well. ;)