Feeling At Home...

I attended a funeral today. I was the only white person in a crowd of about 500 people and 5000 flies. It was hot and humid and not a breath of wind. I didnt know the language let alone the songs, and I'd never met the man we were paying our respects to.
About a quarter of the way through the five hour event one of the speakers seemed to be addressing me. My friend James interpreted: "He is saying feel at home. Feel at home."
I smiled to myself and thought I would struggle to find a place more un-like home anywhere on God's good earth.
But surprisingly, and in a way I cant understand let alone explain, his words had their effect and I found myself feeling completely at home.
That is Sudanese hospitality.

The day has come...

About six months ago I made one of the craziest decisions of my life – I resigned from my job and commenced making plans to move to South Sudan. What was even crazier was that no-one except me seemed surprised! But my head was spinning as I came to terms with such a radical re-definition of my life.

Now, the day has come. In a few hours I will land in Juba and, if things go according to plan, will remain in the country for the next six months.

I admit to feeling a bit nervous about entering a country that has been on the verge of war. And in addition to security concerns the challenge of being away from family and friends for so long is daunting. Somehow this vulnerability makes me more dependent upon God and the community of supporters who vicariously share the journey.

A few days ago a friend shared this poem…

To Risk (By William Arthur Ward)

To laugh is to risk appearing a fool,

To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.

To reach out to another is to risk involvement,

To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.

To place your ideas and dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss.

To love is to risk not being loved in return,

To live is to risk dying,

To hope is to risk despair,

To try is to risk failure.

But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.

The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing.

He may avoid suffering and sorrow,

But he cannot learn, feel, change, grow or live.

Chained by his servitude he is a slave who has forfeited all freedom.

Only a person who risks is free.

So here we go…

A Lesson on Grace...

I was walking the streets of Addis Ababa yesterday and got chatting with a man who happened to be going the same way. This is common in Ethiopia – people are generally very friendly and also quite curious about foreigners. I’ve also come to realise that some will do their research, knowing which hotel I’m staying at and will have a story prepared which is designed to get me to part with a small amount of cash.
Having learned that I am spending some time here in preparation for working in South Sudan the gentleman enlightened me with his philosophy – how some will travel to the other side of the world to give help and show kindness, while those living right there line up to kill each other.
I smiled at his simple summary of global politics – and his attempt to flatter me.
As the conversation progressed he told me about his sister Sarah who works in the laundry at the hotel where Im staying, and about his daughter who contracted malaria while in Bahir Dar recently. Would I give 150 Birr so he can buy her medication? I had my doubts about his story but gave him 50 Birr – about $2.50.
Back at the hotel the receptionist told me they don’t have any employees named Sarah and I found myself reflecting on the concept of grace - undeserved kindness.

The Power of Child Sponsorship...

With Mary Awien Bol

At the time we commenced the Emmanuel Children's Program in Marialbai I asked Paulino to prepare a budget for the ongoing running costs. He started with the cost of nutrition and calculated the monthly cost per child, which I then multiplied by the number of children. As we worked out the cost of education, health care and other basic requirements of the program I continued to use Paulino's method of breaking it down to the cost for each child.

I cant actually remember when I first had the idea of setting up a child sponsorship process to fund the program, but I know it was a very pragmatic decision - a simple strategy to raise the required finance to run the program.

Recently, as I travelled around Australia and met many sponsors for the first time, I came to appreciate a much more important aspect of sponsorship - the genuine bonds that can be formed between people who have never met in person.

I met several sponsors who, with tears or beaming smiles, described their delight at seeing the transformation of their child when they received the second year's photo.

One woman sincerely asked if she could adopt her sponsor child.

Many homes had the sponsorship card displayed alongside their family photos.

A few people told me they pray for their sponsored child every day.

The one encounter I remember most vividly was the friend who gave me a card and small gift to take for the girl her family sponsors.  With tears welling up she asked me "Please give her a cuddle... and tell her we love her."

For the children at Marialbai there is an equally tangible experience of love and belonging that comes through having a sponsor.

For more information about sponsoring children at Marialbai please go to the GMP South Sudan website.

Stepping out of my boat...

2012 is bringing new opportunities to strengthen and expand our work in South Sudan. It is both exciting and daunting – but first let me give a little bit of background…

I commenced in ministry at Magill Church of Christ in the eastern suburbs of Adelaide in 2003. Mid way through the following year I was asked if our church would sponsor a refugee family from Sudan. 

This was my first involvement with the Sudanese community, but within a few years I had developed a significant role amongst the Sudanese in Adelaide, including establishing the United Sudanese Fellowship, and then travelling to Sudan in 2008 to explore the possibility of commencing a mission partnership. My partner and friend throughout this work has been Rev Joseph Mawien.

Global Mission Partners was quick to approve a partnership with South Sudan and this provided access to the steadily growing support of Churches of Christ throughout Australia. And so, from a small start just a few years ago, we have been able to establish some very basic projects which are making a dramatic difference to some of the most vulnerable people in war-torn South Sudan.

Until now I have worked in a voluntary capacity as GMP’s Sudan Program Director. I have used my annual leave and long service leave to make the trips and my weekends and other spare time to coordinate the ongoing work.  In addition, I was privileged to have the opportunity to establish another mission partnership in Bangladesh. It became very evident that I couldn’t maintain this workload at the same time as having the challenging role of being Minister of a thriving church. So, a few months ago I informed the leaders of my church that I would resign and that I would be devoting my time to the missions in South Sudan and Bangladesh. Next Sunday will be my final service and farewell. There is a lot of grief in leaving, but God has opened a door of opportunity to do more in an area of great need.

While my plans aren’t concrete, I plan to leave in March and return in December, spending most of the year in South Sudan as well as some time in Bangladesh and a few short breaks in other places. The main goals will be to strengthen the work that has already been established and to explore some new proposals including two new regions – a program providing for orphans living on the streets of Nassir (Upper Nile State) and an integrated project that includes agriculture, community development and spiritual care in Lainya County (Central Equatoria). There are other projects to explore where we are already working in Northern Bahr Al Ghazal including a girl’s school in Aweil East, a clinic in Aweil North, and support for liberated slaves.

I am constantly amazed at what has grown from a simple decision to sponsor one family of refugees. Now I sense God calling me to sail out of my safe harbour to assist those whose need is greatest.

(Please send me an email if you would like to participate in this expanding mission.)

Photo: With Rev Joseph Mawien, his mother Adut and sister Achol. Aweil 2008

Akech... and countless others who have not been so fortunate

I first met Akech in August last year when she was only about two weeks old. Her mother had died in childbirth and her grandmother brought her to the opening day of the Emmanuel Children’s Centre at Marialbai asking if Akech could be included in the program along with the other 240 children who had lost parents. These decisions are made by the Program Coordinator Paulino Malou in consultation with the Chief and the rest of the management committee. They decided that Akech could be brought regularly to the program and would be given some milk and biscuits.

When I returned to Marialbai with a team in July this year I recognised the grandmother as she joined the children and staff in greeting us. She was holding a baby and I asked through an interpreter “Is this Akech?”. Her answer was simply to take the child and hand her to me. Akech snuggled in close for a few moments… and then began to scream. I handed her back to the grandma, and was amazed to see her put Akech on her breast. It is common here for surrogate mothers to breast-feed their fostered children, but in other cases it is comfort, rather than milk, which is being provided.

Akech has given me a personal insight into an issue which is prevalent in South Sudan. Infant and maternal mortality rates in South Sudan are amongst the highest in the world[1]. It is estimated that one in ten women die in childbirth.

We deliver birthing kits (provided by Zonta and the Birthing Kit Foundation of Australia), medical equipment, and desperately needed training to maternal health care workers in the region surrounding Aweil in an attempt to address the horrific number of deaths through childbirth. In fact Akech’s mother was a recipient of one of our birthing kits. Sadly that couldn’t help with the complications she experienced in labour. Miraculously Akech survived and motivates us to do more to assist those who have so little when it comes to maternal health care.

---

[1], The South Sudan head of UNFPA, Dragudi Buwa reported in 2007 that [maternal mortality] "Rates are actually at 2,030 per 100,000 births, the worst in the world."

Letters and Uniforms...

One of the tasks for my most recent visit to South Sudan was to deliver letters from sponsors and supporters to the children at Emmanuel Children's Centre, Marialbai. There is no postal service to South Sudan, so the only way to deliver these letters was in our luggage. Along with about 50kg of medical equipment and birthing kits we carried 5kg of letters - one for each of the 240 children. It might not be the most strategically useful package ever delivered to South Sudan, but for most of these children it was the first letter they had received and was a tangible expression of the love of supporters from Australia.

I had hoped to personally give each child their letter and take photos to show their sponsors and the other letter writers. In the end we didnt have time to do this so I gave the letters to Paulino Malou and asked that he give them to the children and explain how in Australia we do this to express our love to friends and family.


While our team was still there we agreed to supply uniforms to the students. After the school was registered earlier this year the Ministry of Education notified the Principal of the requirement to have a school uniform. Paulino discussed his preference of colours with myself and Ros Stafford-Green, in the end deciding on navy blue shorts and skirts with white shirts. I received the first photos of the children in uniform a few days ago and was very surprised to see the colour - lime green! I laughed. I am pretty sure I have never seen lime green school uniforms before. However I know how proud the children will be, and in a very real sense it gives them dignity in their community. Not only that... when the community see the children walking to and from school they will be reminded of supporters in Australia who are caring for the children of those who lost their lives in the long battle for freedom.

Income for the Emmanuel Children's Centre comes from child sponsorship. For more information please send me an email or download a brochure.


Photos
Delivering 240 letters to Paulino Malou
The children praying in their new uniforms