Since I live in Nairobi, I have a lot of friends going in and out of Sudan. Since it's such a rough field, they go in for 3 or 4 months at a time and then come out for a break for like two weeks. Recently, several of my friends have been in Nairobi for a month or more.
A couple of my friends work in a town called Abwong, which is in the far southern part of the country. This town is populated mainly by two tribes, called the Dinka and the Nuer. The Dinka are more pastoralists, keeping lots of cattle, and the Nuer are farmers. They live with a strained relationship, since sometimes the Dinka's cattle get loose and trample the Nuer's crops.
Lately, the Dinka have been accusing the Nuer of cattle raiding. Suddenly in the last few weeks, fighting has erupted between the two tribes and they've moved from spearing each other to hauling out their automatic weapons, remnants of the still-simmering civil war that has torn through the country for the last 20 years.
In the last 24 hours, 7 people have been killed and many more injured. Our missionary compound is right on the border between the two tribes, so all the missionaries there could be in possible danger (even though they are not the targets of the fighting).
Some of the guys here that are still in town are scheduled to fly into Sudan next week. They would stop first in Malakal, which is a rather large base, and then head on to Abwong. But for now, it looks like they will be stuck in Malakal well into the foreseeable future.
We also have some Ethiopian missionaries already in Abwong. They are reporting the violence, and our Sudan director is considering whether or not to evacuate them.
PLEASE pray for Sudan. There is a presidential election this year, which could really spawn some ugliness, and we all know about the genocide in Darfur. This is a country that needs God!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
quote
“I didn’t send you to Africa for the sake of the heathen. I sent you to Africa for My sake. They deserved hell but I love them and I endured the agonies of hell for them. I didn’t send you out there for them. I sent you out there for Me. Do I not deserve the reward of My suffering? Don't I deserve those for whom I died?” -God.
From a sermon by Paris Reidhead, former SIM and CMA missionary in Sudan
From a sermon by Paris Reidhead, former SIM and CMA missionary in Sudan
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Burnt Toast and Yesterday's Coffee
Sometimes the best things about life are the small ones.
I was waiting to post this month, waiting for something really amazingly good. Instead, though, I've decided to post 25 random things about myself and where I am right now in life. It's an idea I got from Facebook.
25 random things:
1. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is actually a pretty good movie.
2. I like it when I have good ideas. It makes me feel important.
3. I deeply respect all the guys I've met that are missionaries in Sudan.
4. The Office is funny, but kind of annoying.
5. 1 Peter 2: 16-17 is my theme verse for this year.
6. I want to go back to school.
7. About every nine months, I get severely depressed and I have to change whatever it is I'm doing so that I regain my sanity.
8. I'm lonely.
9. God is doing amazing things in my life, but sometimes I wish I had a roadmap.
10. I'm tired about 95% of the time.
11. I'm considering getting an Ad car when I go home so I don't have to pay for one.
12. I like leading, but I have being in charge. What's up with that?
13. I wear pink now.
14. Sometimes I think my boss hates me. Then again, sometimes I think she hates everyone.
15. I don't like it when my guy friends start dating. It makes me feel like I'm in a long narrow room where the walls are slowly closing in on me.
16. I actually am not terribly opposed to being single for the rest of my life. I'm just opposed to the way I know I'll get treated if I do.
17. The fact that most of these random thoughts start with "I" doesn't make me self-centered. Just introspective.
18. Yesterday, I contemplated the phrase "Bored to Death" with an intensity that scared me.
19. Since coming to Kenya, my favorite thing is an apple. No, really.
20. Generally, I think no guy would ever go for me. Is that bad? The thing is, most guys I would go for really wouldn't go for me. So it's the truth, mostly.
21. Listening to my roommate complain about stuff all the time but never do anything about it had given me a stress ulcer which I am now forced to take pills to subdue.
22. I quit caffeine. A week later, a package arrived for me with Starbucks coffee inside.
23. I can't eat tomatoes anymore. It sucks. Where am I supposed to get my nutrients?
24. I'm turning 24 soon, and it kind of scares me.
25. I'm God's favorite.
I was waiting to post this month, waiting for something really amazingly good. Instead, though, I've decided to post 25 random things about myself and where I am right now in life. It's an idea I got from Facebook.
25 random things:
1. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is actually a pretty good movie.
2. I like it when I have good ideas. It makes me feel important.
3. I deeply respect all the guys I've met that are missionaries in Sudan.
4. The Office is funny, but kind of annoying.
5. 1 Peter 2: 16-17 is my theme verse for this year.
6. I want to go back to school.
7. About every nine months, I get severely depressed and I have to change whatever it is I'm doing so that I regain my sanity.
8. I'm lonely.
9. God is doing amazing things in my life, but sometimes I wish I had a roadmap.
10. I'm tired about 95% of the time.
11. I'm considering getting an Ad car when I go home so I don't have to pay for one.
12. I like leading, but I have being in charge. What's up with that?
13. I wear pink now.
14. Sometimes I think my boss hates me. Then again, sometimes I think she hates everyone.
15. I don't like it when my guy friends start dating. It makes me feel like I'm in a long narrow room where the walls are slowly closing in on me.
16. I actually am not terribly opposed to being single for the rest of my life. I'm just opposed to the way I know I'll get treated if I do.
17. The fact that most of these random thoughts start with "I" doesn't make me self-centered. Just introspective.
18. Yesterday, I contemplated the phrase "Bored to Death" with an intensity that scared me.
19. Since coming to Kenya, my favorite thing is an apple. No, really.
20. Generally, I think no guy would ever go for me. Is that bad? The thing is, most guys I would go for really wouldn't go for me. So it's the truth, mostly.
21. Listening to my roommate complain about stuff all the time but never do anything about it had given me a stress ulcer which I am now forced to take pills to subdue.
22. I quit caffeine. A week later, a package arrived for me with Starbucks coffee inside.
23. I can't eat tomatoes anymore. It sucks. Where am I supposed to get my nutrients?
24. I'm turning 24 soon, and it kind of scares me.
25. I'm God's favorite.
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