Trash and Treasure...

On Monday Joseph and I visited a warehouse used by Rotary to store equipment that has been donated for use in developing countries. We were accompanied by Ros Stafford-Green who is both an endorsed Church of Christ minister and has expertise in obstetrics – just what we needed considering we were looking for equipment to provide the midwives in Aweil with a basic medical kit they can carry as they move into the remote areas.

A few months ago I walked around Aweil Civic Hospital with Joseph. The hospital has almost no equipment, no nurses, no doctors, no medicine. I felt like Ezekial who in his vision of the valley of dry bones was asked “Can these bones live?” (Ezekial 37). I wondered to myself “Can this skeleton of a hospital be brought back to life?”

In stark contrast, Rotary’s Donations in Kind warehouse has more surplus medical equipment than I could imagine. And not only medical equipment! School desks, stationery, electrical equipment, wheel-chairs, library books, sewing machines, type-writers… Joseph said he would like to take it all and put it on a ship to Sudan. The fact is we throw away more equipment than most people in Sudan will ever lay eyes on.

The medical kits are a small start. Deborah and Ang’er (pictured) have asked us to provide fifty kits for the women Deborah has been training as midwives. They were the only people in the hospital that I saw providing any medical care at all. If we can also provide some other medical equipment to help them establish a small maternity ward I believe it could be a small step toward bringing the hospital back to life.

Obviously there is a lot to do. Let me know if you are interested in being involved. You will see I have added an email link on my profile section, so now if you don’t want to post a reply for the whole world to see you can send me an email instead.

Rest in peace...

It might sound an unusual question, but how do you wash your face? Seriously… I would like you to think about how you go about this daily chore. My brother Joseph told me about a tribe in Sudan that has a tradition of washing one side of their face at a time, keeping the eye on the opposite side open and watching in every direction. Why? Because they were taught that if you closed your eyes, even for a second, someone could attack you.

Now I admit I don’t know what it is like to live your whole life literally keeping an eye open for your enemies. I am one of the fortunate people of the world that has never experienced war and it is impossible for me to fully understand those for whom fighting and killing is accepted as a normal part of life. And I don’t know how people who have inherited such a long history of violence can be taught that it is time to stop fighting. But I pray for the day when the people of Sudan – here and in their homeland – will be able to close their eyes without fear.

In memory of Daniel Awak - one amongst countless thousands of young Sudanese who have died a violent death – rest in peace. And to the Sudanese community, may God’s peace, which passes understanding fill your hearts and minds, enabling you to offer the gift of peace to others.

Darfur: There is something we can do...

For the last 5 years we have been confronted with horrific reports of the devastating civil war in Darfur, western Sudan. The UN estimates 300,000 have fled Darfur this year alone, and about 2.5 million since February 2003 when the conflict started. It is hard to estimate the number of deaths, but it is in the hundreds of thousands. There is no end in sight and, although the UN aims to increase the number of peace-keepers, the World Food Program and aid agencies are under increasing risk of attack and struggle to provide services where needed most.

Southern Darfur borders on Aweil North and while Joseph and I were in Aweil earlier this year the tragedy of Darfur became more personal. Every day we saw Darfurians walking past our house – they were easy to notice with their bright clothing, head-dress and jewellery. We met them in the markets, ate their produce, saw their children playing.

Now its hard enough hearing about a genocide at any time… but when I met the victims – saw their faces, met their children – you can imagine how my feelings of helplessness and anger compounded.

Then I met a Christian leader who told us about the way their churches are caring for the Darfurian refugees. They help them settle in huts where they are fed by the World Food Program. They treat their sick and injured and share with them stories about Jesus and the grace of God.

I was overwhelmed. The people of Aweil know about refugees. As one of the hardest hit regions of South Sudan they have seen thousands of their own community flee before the Janjaweed, the “demons on horses”. Now the Christians of Aweil who have been persecuted by Islamic extremists are caring for Moslems from Darfur who face the same enemy. I was told they are also planning ways of channelling help to those remaining in Darfur.

I said we would help – that I would ask our churches in Australia to make a financial gift to help care for the people of Darfur. When he thanked me I said it was a relief to know there was something we could do, that for so long we have heard the news and felt helpless and how reassuring it is to know there are people caring for the victims of this genocide. I asked the team to tell the people of Darfur that they have brothers and sisters in Australia who know about their suffering and pray for them. But now there is something more we can do…

So now I am doing what I promised. I am asking you to make a donation that will be used by the team to care for the people of Darfur. Donations can be sent to Global Mission Partners by credit card (phone 08 8212 4446) or cheque (written to Churches of Christ Global Mission Partners, with a note to identify it for Darfur, and posted to Global Mission Partners, 33 Sturt St, Adelaide, South Australia, 5000).

If you would like to know more about the ongoing genocide in Darfur I recommend a hard-hitting documentary made last year featuring Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda) and George Clooney called Darfur Now. I don’t think it has been released yet in Australia, but contact me if you are interested and I will arrange for you to borrow a copy of the DVD. For those who live in South Australia we will be showing it at Magill Church of Christ on Sunday 16th November at 6 PM and Wednesday 3rd December at 7.30 PM. I also have a DVD of an interview I filmed in Awiel. Perhaps you would like to arrange an event where you can show the DVDs.

If, like me, you thought the situation in Darfur is too big, too hard, too far away and there is nothing you can do about it... well now there is!

A Prayer Request...

I introduced Lino Adub earlier (see blog entry on August 19), and his work as Director of Peace for Northern Bahr Al Ghazal (Aweil State). Adub has asked for the church in Australia to pray for a peace conference he is sponsoring between the Dinka and Missiriya tribes.

The Missiriya are Arab graziers from Southern Darfur. I am told they have been armed by the Khartoum Government and function as a militia in the northern regions of Aweil State. While Joseph and I were in Aweil we were told we couldnt travel north without a UN escort because of the regular attacks in the region.

Of course there is always potential for conflict over traditional grazing land and tribal boundaries, but this dispute is much more volatile because of the sponsorship of the government and their call for Jihad against the African tribes. People from Aweil who are now scattered around the world are being invited to this conference - including a representative of the Adelaide Aweil Community - and this demonstrates how important the issue is.

Adub works hard for the peace of his region, and this is one way we can support him. Please pray for him as he seeks to negotiate a peaceful resolution to this conflcit.

From little things big things grow...

Well the second anniversary celebration of the United Sudanese Fellowship was an inspirational occasion. Unfortunately Joseph wasnt well enough to share in the presentation of our trip to Sudan, but people were obviously enthusiastic about the opportunities we have to show our support to the Aweil community. Those from Aweil recognised people and places in my photos and showed a mixture of joy and sadness. But there is a confidence growing that although the need is overwhelming, there are things we can do to help. And even a small amount of assistance can go a long way amongst people who have so little. I reported that we are continuing to explore what we can do to help in a few critical areas:
- Assisting Deborah, the midwife at Aweil Hospital, with basic training and equipment
- Support for Rev Angelo and his team who are caring for Darfurian refugees
- Developing links with Church of Christ leaders, churches and the Bible College
- Supporting the vision of Church of Christ leaders to establish a church and clinic in Aweil Town
- Supporting Adub in his work with the Peace Commission
- Exploring our response to appeals for assistance in a number of other practical areas such as training, agriculture, micro-enterprise, books, wheelchairs, water, books, Bibles etc

At Magill COC, our Sunday School is making their own response. A couple of Sundays ago I showed them some video of a Sunday School in Aweil (at the church in the photo above). Now they are making a banner to send over with their hand-prints and names on it, as well as pictures of kangaroos and koalas, to remind them they have Christian friends in Australia. Our reading that Sunday said that "true worship" involves giving clothes to those in need (Isaiah 58:7), and so they have been invited to donate a t-shirt or pair of shorts to send as a gift to the Sunday School in Aweil.

It's a small start, but we hope this small package sent with love from our children, will be followed by many more expressions of our love and support.

USF Celebration...

It isnt often (in this country at least) that a church will celebrate its second anniversary and at the same time be developing an international missionary partnership. But then, the United Sudanese Fellowship isnt your typical Australian church! And you're invited! The celebration will be on Sunday 28th September, 2 PM at the Salvation Army - 277 Pirie St Adelaide (Their birthday is actually in July, but they wanted to wait until I could be there). Following the service Joseph and I will share some of our experiences and observations (along with a few photos!)from our trip to Sudan, and then present some of the areas of work we have been exploring in partnership with people in Aweil.

If you have an interest in this mission partnership (and if you are reading this I assume you do!) then please make every effort to come.

Awebyawk.

A developing relationship...

In this photo I am using my video camera to bring home a message from Pastor Ronald Ruay on behalf of his church at Malek Alel. I have been home again in Adelaide, South Australia, for just over a week now and I am beginning to share stories, photos and (when I have done some editing) videos from Sudan. We have been using the image of building a bridge to emphasise that we are laying the foundation for what we hope will be a strong connection between our communities. Despite the distance, difficulties in communication and vast social differences, we are developing a relationship with our sisters and brothers in Sudan which we hope will not only grow into a close Christian bond, but will also be the conduit to channel our support to those in great need.

When I spoke with Pastor Philip Akot a few days ago he told me of the impact of the recent flooding. Many homes have been destroyed in Aweil, there have been outbreaks of cholera and the church building at Malual Kon has finally succumbed to the elements. Philip's congregation are now meeting under the same tree where Churches of Christ first began in South Sudan.

After many frustrating attempts I was also able to contact Pastor Ronald Ruay. Ruay has been appointed to a position in the government and is now based in Aweil town. While this may be disappointing to some in the church and Bible College at Malek Alel, we hope that this will open the door to establish the church in Aweil that we have been praying and planning for. Ruay told me that Victor Deng and Yournew Wol (who both held positions in the government that was dismissed) are exploring resuming their leadership within Churches of Christ.

As you can see, the church in Sudan faces many challenges and constant change. Please continue to pray for them, and for us as we seek to find meaningful ways to show our support.