March 3, 2013
Newsletter #3
To South Sudan & back!
Friday we spend the morning about 30km outside of Gulu
visiting the Four Corners Ministry site. Their project is similar to the
Restoration Gateway ministry, although it is in its infancy stage. Presently
they are developing a sustainable infrastructure so the work there will be
self-sustainable and be a ministry to the surrounding community. Their master
plan included having an orphanage, agriculture, discipleship & more. It was
great to see the work that has been accomplished & will be to come.
Then it was time to head to South Sudan where we will be
helping with a Youth Conference at Far Reaching Ministries (FRM) on Saturday. South
Sudan has only been a country for 2 years. Although the 55 year old civil war
is “over” there are still areas with ongoing war, not to mention the devastation
that follows such a conflict. Side Note….dry season + dusty roads + BIG
overloaded semi tractor trailers = ZERO visibility….one minute you are behind a
truck, the next all you see is a cloud of dust & you can’t even see the
truck any more, or anything else for that matter. FRM has been working in
Nimuli for the past 14 years and has an extensive discipleship ministry and Chaplaincy
Corp (training) program. Vickie was a humble gracious host & it has been
wonderful to spend time with her & Elizabeth, another missionary here.
The Youth Conf was to start about 9am…TIA (this is Africa)…I
think we started about 11am. There were over 50 youth plus some of the Chaplaincy
Corps students in attendance. The theme of the conference was based on Matthew
16: 15b-18 which is when Jesus asks the disciples “Who do you say I am?” There
were different sessions taught by Elizabeth with me reading her scripture
references, Keith, Lisa, & Vickie. Jeff was asked to give his testimony. He
also felt lead to do the FAITH presentation, a way of sharing your faith &
assurance in Christ. The youth soaked everything up & had some very deep
questions for the Q&A portion of the conference. It was interesting to note
their point of reference, based on their life experiences of having been raised
in a war torn country, and how it has shaped their world view. “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you
will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks
receives, the one who seeks finds and to the one who knocks, the door will be
opened.” Matt 7: 7-8 (NIV). Their desire to know the one true God & to
learn how to fully rely on Him was so sweet & heartfelt.
We decided to leave South Sudan after the conference to head
back to Gulu. After all it is just a little cooler in Gulu. Friday night we
noted temps of 90 degrees in our room when we went to bed & 86 degrees when
we woke up. Saturday it was 125 degrees in the sun & 100 degrees in the
shade. So as much as we were enjoying our time at FAR the thought of sleeping
somewhere under 85 degrees was just too incising.
Vickie came to Gulu with us in preparation for flying home
for a conference. Sunday morning Jeff & Keith headed to town to have some
work done on the AC in Vickie’s car & then on the brakes (which started to
act up on the trip back from South Sudan) of Keith & Lisa’s car. After a
wonderful morning of worship we headed to town to meet them… As to be expected
it turned into an all day affair. Not to worry we walked to the Riegers, a
wonderful missionary family serving here, visited & ordered in Ethiopian
food for lunch. J
Finally back home, Lisa went into baking mode & made a
wonderful Birthday cake for Alyssa. Today is her 25th birthday. Maddie
Rieger added her talents by bringing a cake as well, so we all feasted on cake
for supper & enjoyed fellowshipping together. We also celebrated Lisa, Micah, & Mary's birthday...after all there was plenty of cake :)
Tomorrow, Monday, we are headed to Kitgum to meet with Clayton
at Faith Alive Ministries, whom we have worked with over the years, to discuss
his vision for his ministry & how we can help to support it with the work
God is calling our teams to do in the future.
Time for bed – I pray everyone is doing well, as we are
here!
Cindy
No comments:
Post a Comment