They're home!

The team arrived at LAX this afternoon. They were all very tired and glad to be home. They all said it was a great trip and are glad for the experience. Kevin will share briefly about the trip on this Sunday and more extensively next Sunday, Feb. 22. Don and AJ are also planning to come and share on the 22nd. They appreciated everyone's prayers and are excited to share how God moved and worked on the trip.

Wednesday update

I received a message from Kevin today. The MAF flight from Sudan went well and they had a relaxing day in Kenya. They've taken lots of showers, went to a coffee shop, ate at a nice restaurant (with crocodile and ostrich on the menu!) and had some sleep. He said that they're packing for the flight to London. He's thankful for everyone's prayers.

Monday night update from Sudan

I just had a call from Kevin. It is Tuesday morning in Sudan and they were packed and ready to head to the airstrip to meet the MAF plane for their flight to Kenya. He said they had a busy day in Bor on Monday. They were able to get the information to establish a Free Methodist ministry, met with some people interested in helping, and visited a potential site for a new ministry. They are all exhausted. He asked for prayer for strength and safe travel.

I also had the special privilege of talking to David, a boy who I became friends with on our last trip. It was his first time to talk on a phone! I can't image what he was thinking, being able to hear my voice but not see me! It was great to hear his voice, and I look forward to going back to see him and the other kids.

Thanks for your continued prayers!

Sunday night update

I had a call from Kevin tonight (Monday morning in Sudan). He said that the team is "emotionally drained, physically drained, but spiritually pumped." Some, including Kevin, are having back pain, and they are very tired. They are going to spend Monday in Bor to see about registering a Free Methodist church, then leave Tuesday morning for Kenya. They have really felt and appreciated everyone's prayers.

Kevin called this morning (Sunday evening in Sudan) and said they had a great Sunday. He spoke at two services this morning and had a lot of good fellowship.

Here is the email update from Amy today:

Today there is just a brief update :) Don left a message while I was in church this morning.

The team got up this morning had breakfast & then Dale, Jim went with Samuel Teimuge to the local Anglican church where Dale gave the message. The rest of the team fellowshiped at another local church in the area. Don mentioned that the worship time was very special.

The team was suprised when they were invited to a third service. Many of the local community had come together and were requesting to hear more from each of the team members. Everyone shared about 15 minutes with the people that had gathered. Overall it was again a very powerful morning. In the afternoon Don, Samuel & Julius met again to discuss plans for ELI Sudan. Later in the afternoon everyone met as a team and had some time to debrief together.

Tomorrow the team will be off to Bor for a visit and then will begin to prepare for their departure on Tuesday.

Saturday update

The team visited a local cattle camp this morning where they met around 80 people that are currently living among 400 to 500 cows. Then met with the people that are living at the camp and encouraged them. The elders from this camp came forward and sang a beautiful song to welcome the team and then they proceeded to show everyone how they make their fire in the camp.

Kevin and Samuel stayed behind this morning to continue teaching with the pastors. When the group returned from the cattle camp they joined Kevin with more teaching from the Old Testament. During this second session Samuel, Don and Julius met with Stephen Reech to talk about goals and strategies for 2009.

After lunch Diana and AJ had games ready for the children and then team was called to continue more teaching with some of the pastors. This time ended with very memorable moments of testimonies from the pastors on the impact of the teachings over the past few days. Dale & Don were able to meet with some key pastors and explain how the hand powered MP3 players work and how they can now hear the Old Testament in their own Dinka language. Quite an amazing moment and such a blessing.

Tomorrow morning church will begin at 7:30 am. AJ and Dale will be preaching at two of the local churches.

The team is in great spirits and appreciating so much your faithful prayers.

Friday night update

I just had a call from Kevin. It is Saturday morning in Sudan and they are all in good spirits. This was a very light-hearted phone call with messages from the team:

The team wants everyone to know that it was 118 degrees while they were teaching. They want to let everyone to know that Jim has started sucking his thumb at night because he misses his wife. And Jim wants everyone to know that he ate goat intestines. AJ wanted to let everyone know that while Jim and Dale were playing "Fear Factor" he was spending time and bonding with the kids.

The team also sent a message to Doug: "You need to get out of Santa Barbara and get into real ministry." But seriously, Doug, they appreciate your thoughts and prayers.

Kevin said that the team is working together really well and that the trainings have gone very well. Kevin is teaching one more session today (Saturday) while the rest of the team is going to a cattle camp. I could hear them all laughing and joking in the background. They said everyone slept well last night and was looking forward to the day.

Friday update

Here is the email update I received today from Amy
Friday's Update

The team enjoyed some yummy mandazi (a version of a donut) & chai for breakfast this morning. Everyone had a pretty good nights sleep but there was a barking dog that we will have to hear more about :) All of the seminars are really going great. It has been amazing for the team to see and experience the hunger that the people have for teaching and the word of God. It was between 100 and 105 degrees today but Don shared that there was a breeze that brought relief throughout the day. In the afternoon the team enjoyed time under a shade tree just sharing more one on one with the pastors about evangelism and more about their own personal stories. The team is enjoying some delicious food. Tonight they had fried talapia fish with ugahli, chicken stew and rice. AJ and Diana worked again today at the school collecting stories for student profiles. Some great pictures have been captured of the students at the school. It was an amazing sight today to see the kids all eating their lunch that is provided for them. Early tomorrow morning the team will take a 3/4 of a mile hike to the cattle camp to visit with the people who are living there and also to talk more about how these people can be reached. Your faithful prayers are appreciated so much as the team moves into a busy weekend with the seminars finishing and church services on Sunday.

2nd Thursday update

Kevin called this evening with the following update:

The teaching is going well. They have challenged the pastors to learn to read so they can read the Bible and learn for themselves rather than relying on what others have told them. The pastors know nothing about the Old Testament as they have never had it in their language. They are very open and hungry to learn.

Here are some specific prayer requests from the team:

• The weather is getting hotter and the mosquitoes are getting worse
• Dale is still having some pain in his leg and did not sleep well, so pray for rest and pain relief
• Kevin has not been sleeping well
• AJ reports that "the comfort zone is shrinking as the passion for the kids is growing." He says that he has seen and heard too many machine guns for his comfort

Kevin said the machine guns they heard were from people scaring gazelles away from their water supply. He said there was a funny incident when a hawk swooped down and tried to take Jim's hat. They seem to be in good spirits and are excited about how God is working with the pastors and others who have come to the trainings.

Thursday update

Here is an email I received from Amy today:

Thursday update from Sudan:

The weather was between 100 and 105 today. The team is doing well, drinking lots of water & in good spirits. The first full day of ministry is now coming to a close. Some of the details from the day:

There were 75 people that came today for the seminars. More than half of them being women. The team really experienced today the incredible hunger the community has for Bible teaching. All of the various seminars were very well received.

Samuel Teimuge did great job teaching and sharing about community development.

Diana worked at the school all day today. There were 220 children at the school. After 2 1/2 years of studying on the ground and having stones as their benches and the ground as their desks the children received wooden benches and desks today for the very first time. Imagine the excitement!

The team heard several of the heartbreaking testimonies today from some of the children at the school. They also visited a local cattle camp where people had just arrived from a refugee camp and where attempting to settle for the first time in the area.

Continue to pray for the team as they share in their various seminars tomorrow and as they prepare for ministry over the weekend. We praise God for His faithfulness and for the opportunity to bring God's love and hope to the people of Southern Sudan.