He Is Home! (again)

I brought Todd home from the hospital today. He is on lots of meds, but he is doing surprisingly well. Not out of character, we got home and he immediately starts cleaning the house, while I am too tired to move. I have never known anyone with more energy than Todd.

The kids are so happy to see him. Please pray they will be patient and gentle with him as he heals, that they won't bombard him with their heart to play with him.

Thanks all.

Grace

Todd was admitted to St Josephs for malaria tonight.
After an all day stint at the ER, they admitted him and they are aggressively treating the malaria with quinine and antibiotics.
I just keep thinking about how much God cares for us.......

Todd was supposed to be in Darfur right now, giving a message to the AU and doing the work there, but God closed every door. Todd should not have been able to get on the plane home without the paper ticket that is required, but God opened that door for Todd. Revelation 3:6 says, "I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can shut. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me." I know that through all of this Todd has been smack dab in the center of the will of God. So, whom can I fear? God is my refuge and strength, an ever present help in times of trouble.

We had a whole day together before he got sick. What a tremendous blessing. I am so thankful that he is here, close to me, where I can be with him and hear from the doctors and see that he is okay.

And, he is okay. He was initially very dehydrated, but they got fluids in him and brought down his temperature. They had the communicable disease specialist come in and see him. The nurses continually come into the room saying, 'you're the guy with malaria - I've never seen malaria.' He's like a side show.

Prayer requests: that Todd would tolerate the medications they are to give him, that he would lose no more weight, that he would be healed, that I can be with him, and that he would be a witness to all those around him!

Thanks all! Bless you. -Jeanne

Please Pray for Todd

Todd has been admitted to the Hospital and is being treated for Malaria. This is treatable but is the most dangerous form of Malaria...so ask God for healing and proper treatment. It is God's provision that he was admitted and not sent home...things can change very quickly with this.

Psalm 30:2 "O Lord my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me."

In Him Always,
Pastor Phil

Malaria???

Hi Friends!
It is SO good to have my husband home!
Unfortunately, he is sick today. Flu like symptoms came upon him last night. He could have the flu... never before have I prayed that my husband would in fact , have the flu; but that is what I am doing. Malaria symptoms are the same as flu symptoms.
He's home, but the mission continues...

Please Pray for Todd

Dear Prayer Chain participants,

Please be in prayer for Todd as he seems to be developing symptoms of malaria tonight. Todd was on the last Sudan trip with me. He and his family attend Calvary Chapel East Anaheim. Please pray for healing for Todd and peace and comfort for Jeanne his wife as she gets him in for diagnosis.

Thank you and God bless,
Tony Heindl

He's On His Way Home!!!

Bless the Lord! Todd will be home tonight at 7pm.

Let's have a BBQ Saturday, at our house! Wanna come?

YAY!

Taking Tea in The Sudan

Here is a photo of my taking tea with the locals this evening (7/25/2007) in the dirt lot across the street from the compound.
It is against the law to photograph the tea ladies, the street kids, and the beggars. We managed to abide by the law with this one, but the people around us were visably nervous by the camera.

God Bless you.
God Bless The Sudanese.

Koisan

Tuesday July 24th. Wow! Have you ever had an all doors are closed day? That was the way Tuesday felt. Whatever we set out to do was not to be, even the internet failed. By 4 pm I had a lump in my throat that would not go away and depression clung to my heart like a demon. I turned to Peter and said, “Let’s worship God. It’s is the only thing that is going to feel good right now.” We sang together and prayed for about an hour. We went across the street (dodging taxis, busses, and trucks) to the shish-kabob place for dinner. They are out. Ugh! We order a 6” chicken pizza and take it home. It is pretty good (praise God!). We eat it while watching bad 1980 American movies with Arabic subtitles. This is not good. I go to bed thanking God that His mercies are new every morning.

Upon waking depression is upon my heart. Ugh. I spend time with the Lord, calling out to Him in faith, though I can not sense His presence. He tells me to pray. I pray. I pray for Sudan. I am encouraged that I can call upon Him though my emotions have created a miserable fog.

I started working on the PC to fix the issue. While I was working on this, my friend Ismael came by. I share with him how I am feeling and the encouragement God is in His word. I am remembering Abraham being asked by God to sacrifice his son, and how divided his heart must have been, yet obedient was he until his hand was stayed by an angel. We pray. We pray together. It is sweet. Ismael is reminded of Elijah running afraid from Jezebel’s threat of death, and how God gave him two things: food to strengthen him for an incredible journey and a reminder that he was not alone. Ismael then tells me that several weeks ago he was discouraged in his ministry and ready to quit. He said that my prayer for him and talking with him gave him new life from God, and that if God had me come to Sudan for no other reason, he is grateful to God for this. This lifts me, and brings tears to my eyes.

I relate a story to Ismael. Several years ago (before many kids) I took Jeanne out to a Japanese restaurant in Orange called Koisan. I had never had Japanese food and wanted to try it. We were seated across from each other and appetizers were brought right away. Our smartly dressed waiter stood next to another waiter with his hands behind his back behind us and off to the right, near the wall. He and the other waiter looked on, just beyond our tables, into the distance, where we were in their periphery. I was not sure what to do with the appetizers. I did not know if they were soup to be sipped from the bowl or a dipping sauce. My waiter sensed my query and was immediately at our table to ask if he could help, and just as swiftly returned to his post. Watching. Waiting. I am reminded of Tony’s verse. Psalm 123:2 wherein the servants eyes are upon the Lord. Watching. Waiting. Ready to serve. I realize that this is where the Lord has me. Koisan.

My visa extension is not processed in time to travel to Darfur, and the next opportunity will be after my flight out. So I called and arranged to fly out tomorrow (this airline only flies out of Khartoum on Thursdays), but was unable to obtain a paper ticket, as most businesses close at 3:30 (nearly everyone has banker’s hours here, except bankers. They are out by noon). So I am at the mercy of the airline tomorrow morning at 3 AM. Please pray for me. God's Koisan.

Thank you for your prayers, and your encouraging comments. I have so appreciated both.

Love in Christ,
Todd

Beg for Mercy

BLESS THE LORD!!!!!!!

Todd has been discouraged, as the Lord seemed to be opening many doors, only to close them as he was stepping through. All efforts have been frustrated for a few days now.

Todd is on his way to the airport to see if he can get on a plane to come home. Flights only go out on Thursdays, and there is an opening on the plane for him; however, he is required to have a paper ticket which he does not have. He is on the flight manifest though, so he said he is going to beg for mercy.
If he does get on this flight, we will not hear from him until we see him at LAX Thursday at 7:05pm.
If we do hear from him, he did not get on the flight and he will not come home for one to two weeks.
I never thought I would say this, but please pray that we do not hear from him, because he made the flight out of Khartoum. Also pray that Peter gets on a flight as well.
I am smiling, hopeful!!!!!!!!!!
Love, Jeanne

Nine Days

I talked with Todd a while ago, and he really sounded discouraged. Please pray for him to wake up in the morning with a song in his heart. He is challenged with the waiting that that comes these days. He is so used to being constantly busy........ I miss him.

The kids miss him too. But, the countdown is on! 9 days!

Update & Prayer Request

Dear prayer chain participants,

Todd called to check in. They did not get the approval for the Visa extension from HAC today, and thus did not get approval to travel to Darfur, Sudan. The next option is to fly in on Saturday and out on Sunday. For this they will need to get the Visa approval tomorrow. The team sat in the Word for the last hour. Keep the team in prayer that the Lord would open or shut the doors for them and that they would have perfect peace.


In His Service,
Keith Hupke

Update & Prayer Request

Dear prayer chain warriors,

Received call from Todd that everything is going well and it was a slow day. They entered a database of contact names today and made song sheets for worship. They received a call and are confirmed to have Peter lead worship and Todd give the message for the Wednesday service in Darfur. They are waiting on HAC for the Visa extension. They do not have confirmation yet on accommodations in Darfur (prayer point). This may cause a delay in the trip. They are confirmed for the flight. Keep the team in prayer as they work out the issues.
Blessings,

Keith Hupke
Safe Harbor International Relief

Following God Alone

Thank you for your prayers yesterday (7/21/2007). Throughout the day the Lord would have me to work on the Visa request for the Department of Immigration and the Darfur Entry Visa request for HAC. I also worked to create communication templates for AU movement and coordination requests to facilitate future SHIR teams ability to make these requests and so that the AU can come to expect a pattern of procedure. It seems good.

For lunch we concocted a dish of left-over spicy chicken shish kabob cooked in a sauce of melted butter, feta (just about the only cheese you can get), sweet cream, pepper, and parsley and poured it over pasta. It was tasty.

At dusk the clouds started coming in red and the humidity went way up. Thunder rumbled in the distance. Over the course of an hour this storm slowly came in from the North bringing greater and greater humidity until the rain finally broke through the heat and began to fall. The power went out. Dark. I sat outside for an hour and prayed to God for the people of Sudan while the lightning illuminated the night. For ten minutes or more the strikes came every 3-4 seconds. Flashes of great vertical forks came one after another, then an amazing long horizontal line of extreme white. I remembered Jesus saying that when He returns, it will be unmistakable, like lightning flashing in the sky (Matthew 24:27). This statement and those in context with it really dispute those religions that claim the second coming of Jesus has already happened, or that so and so is the second-coming of Jesus. But, Jesus said that people would make such claims. He said there would be false-christs, so we expect such.

Jeanne and I were able to talk on the phone for a bit, which was sweet; shortly after I went to bed. It was quite hot and sticky…mosquito weather. It makes me itch just thinking about it again. The power came back on around midnight and the fans began to cool it down (thank you God for such tender mercies).

This morning (Sunday, 7/22/2007) the Lord would have me up at 6:30 and read with Him for quite a while. My heart was really feeling divided. Being so close to my return date, my heart is longing for home, while simultaneously Tony is leaving and we are putting in a request to go to Darfur again. I want to do whatever God wants me to do, but my heart is stuck in one mode, home. Not good…it is dangerous to not be able to clearly hear the voice of the Shepard when traveling into wolf territory. Within my reading I hear Him. The verses that stand out for me are in John chapter 5: 30c: “…for I seek not to please myself but Him who sent me.” and verse 44: “How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?”

After the others awaken we worship God through five or more songs, and each brother shares what God has laid upon his heart in their quiet time. They all speak to me together. For Peter it is I Corinthians 10:13: “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” For Ishmael it is Acts 27:22-24: “But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.” For Tony it is Psalm 123:2: “As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he shows us his mercy.”

All of these together speak to my heart. They say, trust God and go His way, for not only is it your duty of service, it is the way He provides to build you up in endurance, and the path other than God’s leads to destruction for you and the people that He has given you. God’s way alone is good. Be focused on no other. We pray for submission to God and clarity of His desire. Amen.

After this I helped some new local friends to understand their re-entry requirements so that they would not loose their US permanent resident status. Then I sent out the requests to the AU for the trip (trying out the new templates). There are eight persons with separate duties in three locations to make this request, and each one must coordinate with others and commanding officers to make the request stick. Any one of them failing to communicate or refusing can create a change in schedule or a no-go situation. This is where we trust in our God to shape the request as He desires. We follow up the e-mail communication by driving over the hard-copy forms and letter required to fly out of Khartoum. James dropped off the HAC and Immigration documents today as well, so we have done our part.

We received a call from Pastor Gary to check on us. He is in the hospital very sick. There is a potential for malaria. He wants to know how the team is here; is anyone else sick. We are fine. We pray for him. Please join us in asking for Gary’s health. After 40 hours of travel, this could be any number of illnesses. We work to obtain medicines that they are finding difficult to locate in the US, so Tony can bring them as he leaves today. Four pharmacies later we have what is needed and James and I drop Tony off at the Khartoum airport, bound for Dubai, New York, and home to California. Please pray for health and travel mercies.

James and I stop by the local supermarket and mall, Afra. It is the most supermarket-like thing I have seen, but it stands far and away from what we are used to in the US. It is about 95 degrees F inside and the air moves only as fast as you are walking. Sweaty customers roll their rusty, chrome carts through the isles. The market is about two-thirds housewares and one-third market. The housewares portion contains goods advertised on TV five to ten years ago (“abs of steel” and the like), and goods you might find in the clearance section of Big Lots. The market portion has a very different ratio of goods carried. There are three isles of candy (if you include soda in this, five isles), an island of loose candy that can be bought by the kilo, and a bakery cabinet with sweets only (no bread anywhere in the store). Yes, this is Sudan. There is a meat counter carrying what you would see hanging in the outside markets, but this area is refrigerated and laid out nicely. There is also fresh chicken here, which we have not seen (other than live). There is one isle full of oil only and one isle full of grain flours only. There is one isle of pasta (praise the Lord), but no pasta sauce (we concoct our own from what we can find). There is one isle of canned vegetables and fruits, and one isle of cheeses (all feta and some laughing cow non-refrigerated cheese spread) shared with fresh Greek olives (YES!). There is an island of various dates and an island of bulk spices. Milk is in a small five-foot high by two-foot wide refrigerated cabinet. It is sold in small, one-cup and two-cup soft packs. There is a small section of pickles, olives, and tahini next to the refrigerated candy and sodas. The produce is quite sad…mostly because it is 95 degrees in Afra. They have two isles of chillers, as you might see in US produce stores, but they are not on. There is by far more shelf space than there is produce, and much of it is not in a condition that would be selected in the US or it is rotting. You really need to look to get a handful of choice pieces. Though I have seen some days as better than others in the Afra produce department. The street vendors sell far better quality produce. Once you choose the produce you want, you take it to a woman seated in the center of the wide aisle and she weighs it and tags it with the appropriate price, so the checker at front doesn’t have to. The remaining isles: one devoted to bottled water, one for paper goods, one for insect killer, two for cleaning supplies, one for diapers, one for foil and ziplocks, and two for beauty. There are over 30 check-out counters, but usually only one checker (though I have never seen a line of more than three people), and you bag your own groceries. That’s Afra.

Shopping there makes me want to take tea and talk about it.

President Al Bashir has been touring Darfur over the past few days. He was on local TV talking about how there is no security problem and the people can now return to their homes. The people came on and talked about how there was a great need for the government to provide security so they can return home. The government officials came on and said that the NGOs are wanting to keep the people in the camps, because if the IDPs returned home, the NGOs would be unemployed. The same song is being sung. All are partially correct, some more than others.

Please pray for Pastor Gary.
Please pray for Tony.
Please pray for God’s will to be clear.
Please pray for security in Sudan.
Please pray for the IDPs to return home to work.

God Bless You. God Bless The Sudan.

In the love of Christ,
Todd

Update

Dear prayer chain participants,

Pastor Tony called from Khartoum and said they are all well other than not having power. Pastor Gary is on the last leg of his journey home. Pray for his reunion with his precious family and their time with Pastor Gary's father.

In His presence with you,
Hilda Heindl

Day of Rest

Hello prayer warriors!

Friday was a day of rest. The Lord had me up at 7 AM. My time with Him was focused on faithfulness of a bride. Why does God hate divorce, because His character is long suffering and abounding in love. Thank you for your patience and loving kindness poured out over me, Lord.
I hand-washed the laundry and broke my fast very slowly in the morning. Tony, Peter, and I went to church and took in the teaching on rest. We were reminded of how Christ retreated to be alone in prayer, to go to a quiet place, or to call His disciples to a quiet place with Him. Rest. Yes, Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. I can be about so many things, but have I forgotten my first love, my connection to my Lord? Again my quiet time invades and blends with the sermon. The good wife does not stop the loving action to her Husband. She loves Him. Being with Him; this is rest. Knowing what to do because you have been with Him; this is rest. Doing what He has asked in love and the confidence of His wisdom; this is rest.

Coming back to the house I ate lunch and retired to a sweet nap until 7 PM. Bob, let’s have this sermon back home…Hallelujah!

Shortly after waking, I spoke with my beautiful wife that God has so blessed me with, stayed up to date with some e-mail, sent out prayer requests to the Friday prayer meeting folks, and went to bed at midnight. This was a generous portion of rest for a person who has a difficult time slowing down.

This morning God would have me up at 4:45 AM (in answer to prayer) to pray for the day, to connect with my Lord, and to pray for the team praying for me and the Sudan. Reading in Mark, Love was the focus of God's teaching today. The love we are to have for Him and one another, and the love only God can give in reconciling payment for our sin - eternally. Thank you Jesus for the gift of your love. Thank you Father for loving us so much as to send your presence in Christ that we may know you, for you are ONE. Thank you for carrying us, your redeemed with your Holy Spirit. Make us clean, Lord. Help us to resemble you and not the simple and sinful flesh of all man. Help us to love.

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, please join me in the following requests:

God’s will regarding visa extension, and permission to re-enter Darfur on 7/25. My current visa expires 7/25. This request for an extension can not go in until Sunday the 22nd, and I may not know the result for several days. The purpose of the visit is to come alongside the AU chaplain and minister on Wednesday evening and then go North to assess the camps in some tougher territory. If the visa is rejected I will be changing my flight (which will be another prayer request for a blessing in travel and His ministry throughout the travel).

Daily bread: I really need God’s insight daily. I need to know His direction and I enjoy feeling His presence every morning and throughout the day.

I am currently working on creating procedures for SHIR; may God’s gift of administration be strong.

Tony is leaving on Sunday the 22nd. Please pray for travel safety, blessing, and ministry.

Post Sunday, that God will continue to be our daily director: clarity of purpose in each day.

Please pray for Sudan. It is in a political pickle. May God give the leaders wisdom to make it right.

Pray for the international community to keep their promises to Sudan, especially the US (pray for a good witness to win the heart of the people).

Please pray for all factions in Darfur to come to peace. Please pray for real security, by God’s Spirit in Darfur. This is the real need. Food, water, education, medicine, these are not the issue. The vast majority of people in the camps actually are living better than before in these respects…but without security they will not return to their homes. PRAY FOR SECURITY. The UN is NOT the answer. As a measuring stick, Darfur is larger than Iraq and the quantity the UN intends to send is MUCH smaller than what the US currently has in Iraq. Pray for security from GOD. Cry out to God for peace in the hearts and minds of the people here. Pray for visions and dreams from Him to haunt these people. That God would speak to the individual heart and that the people would be saved from thoughts, words, and actions of violence and revenge. Pray for the casting out of the demonic influence that increases sin throughout Sudan, but especially Darfur. Make it clean, my Lord.
Amen.

Please pray for the gift of God in beginning His perfect job, affording provision for my family when I return.

Finaly, please pray for your relationship with Christ to be ALIVE, for your heart and house to be cleansed, for your family to fall in love with Jesus, for the heart to love your neighbors and enemies, and for your nation to be given over to serving Him, one heart at a time. Thank Him, thank Him, thank Him, for He is good ALL the time.

...and He is coming back. Be ready now.

Love,
Todd

Update

Dear prayer chain warriors,

Pastor Tony called from Khartoum and said that he, Peter and Todd continue to do well and spent the day at church.

Pastor Gary is on his way home without his bag. Apparently they lost it between his trip to from Nairobi to Entebbe and it’s somewhere in Nigeria. Praise the Lord we serve a God of miracles, as Pastor Gary has been on 3 airlines in the last 24 hours so the chances of getting his bag back without one is slim to none.

Blessings in Jesus,
Angela

Daughter of the King (from the homefront)

I forgot to tell you all... a few days ago the Lord gave me a reminder of His love for me.

For a long time now, Todd and I have been actively looking for a

(At this point I run downstairs to get myself a cup of coffee, and again, the carafe has spilled over and filled the counters and under the sink....this has only ever happened to this extent last night and this morning. Satan does not want us praising God! I will praise HIM!)

As I was saying, For a long time now, Todd and I have been actively looking for a bookshelf for my bedroom. I read a lot, and books get stacked up next to my bed on the floor. We haven't seen any bookshelves that are priced reasonably for our budget, and then, Todd lost his job, so we quit looking.

Anyway, the other day I was driving down the street and on the side of the road was the cutest bookshelf ever. It is sort of yellow with scalloped edges and blue and green trim. Who would like this, but me? It looks like I painted it myself. Of course, I load it in my car (ugh!), and bring it home. Washed and put in our room, it is a perfect fit! Right next to my bed, I see it first thing in the morning and last thing before bed. It is a great reminder that I am a daughter of the King, who is on an endless budget and has an undying love for me. Yay!

Thank you, Lord GOD; for I know that all good gifts come from You, and I thank you! You are so very good to me! Wow! Praise You, Jesus!!!

Not Glass, but... (from the homefront)

Remember the story of the glass? That was on Saturday, and here we are on Thursday and I was thinking just this morning about how some good came out of the whole escapade. I mean, my fridge has not been so clean in months, under my sink was thoroughly cleaned for the first time in five years (I could not bear to have Chris install the new garbage disposal in the state it was in), my friend Sheri ordered us a new shelf that is UNBREAKABLE for the fridge, and, we got a NEW garbage disposal. Blessings all the way around.

Linda brought us a delicious meal tonight - really yummy Hawaiian fare - so I put on a pot of coffee- as is my evening ritual- and as I was setting the table, I open the fridge to find that one of my children, who shall not be named, had opened a new large bottle of apple juice and laid it on it's side in the fridge rather than placing it upright. It had emptied, pouring over onto every shelf and into every drawer, spilling over onto the floor. Bummer. So I turn around to get a rag and see that the entire pot of coffee had brewed with the carafe incorrectly placed and flowed out onto the cabinets and, yes, completely trailed down, filling the cupboards under the sink with coffee. My coffee. Can you imagine?

But, it led me to clean even better, and I found a few remnants of glass; and who knows? Maybe that saved someones foot from a big owie.

Today I got to have rare time alone with Kyndall (the teenager) where we went thrift store shopping. We really had fun together. She is so much like I was, if you add in caution and innocence (I think). She is so wild and artsy and funny. She reminds me of a teen girl Jim Carey. Cracks me up. I found a never worn pair of Nordstrom shoes at the Goodwill for $7 that I love - so I bought them. How great is that? I colored her hair the other day. I lightened it a little more than I wanted to, and it is wild - watch out Todd! She loves it, and it is too damaged to redo it. She gets complements and comments everywhere we go. Great Grandma saw her yesterday and turned and walked away. She said, "Kyndall, you scared me - no that is not my Kyndall, no no no no." Poor Grandma. I am glad I met Grandma after I had toned down. If she thinks Kyndall is scary, she would have ducked for cover when I came in the room. The Lord redeems!!!!!!! Pray for Kyndall! She is quite a girl.

Tonight we had a very sweet time of family prayer for Todd and the team in Sudan. May God move in the hearts of many! Todd, I pray that your spirit is lit on fire - holy fire - so that many would be healed, see visions, dream dreams, come to faith - not because of you, but because of the Saviour. And, I pray that they would KNOW that it was the work of Jesus, the Christ- not Todd, the guy.

I love you, Todd!

Thanks to all of you friends for your encouragement - and for letting me vent via the blog!

Update & Prayer Request

Dear Prayer Warriors,

Pastor Gary and the team are safe in Khartoum. As they were boarding the plane in Al Fashir, Sudan Pastor Gary got a call from Suaad (a friend of the ministry staying in Khartoum) telling him that they have an appointment with Achmed Al Tahir, the Speaker of Parliament, at 2:00pm. Their plane wasn’t scheduled to arrive until 1:30pm in Khartoum and they were hot, tired and in field gear. Normally when attending these types of meetings with dignitaries they would be in business attire. Pastor Gary told Suaad they wouldn’t make it by 2:00pm. Suaad said that the team could make it at 2:30pm, but the Speaker of Parliament told her that they can come as they are (grubby). The team arrived in Khartoum and rushed straight over to Parliament and went into his elegant office in boots and dusty clothes.

When Pastor Gary met with the Speaker a couple of months ago they talked about doing a prayer breakfast together because the Speaker had been at the USA President’s Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C. Today the Speaker told Pastor Gary that he is now ready to hold the breakfast with the President of Sudan and other leaders of African and Arab nations as soon as possible. Part of this would be to not only meet together for a prayer breakfast but also to dialogue on Muslim/Christian relations and Darfu, Sudan. This kind of prayer and meeting could go a long way in producing a lasting peace in Darfur, Sudan.

Please be in prayer that our Lord would make His perfect will known in this situation. We would prayerfully like to involve our government as well, so please pray that God would open those doors as He sees fit. As our team prepares to leave Khartoum, Sudan now please be in prayer for traveling mercies as well for them.

In Christ,
Angela

There IS an Open Door in Sudan

We are back from Al Fashir, where the AU has set up headquarters. It is a much rougher area. There were several deaths, which may or may not be murders (likely murders) within the past few weeks. Not a place to be out at night, but probably still not rougher than Camden, NJ.

Like Nyala, Al Fashir is a wetter, greener location, but not as hilly as Nyala. It is sub-Sahara desert and the sun is downright merciless when cloud cover is not available. When the clouds are about, it is quite pleasant.

The meeting with the AU Force Commander went very well, and the worship at the local AMIS church was sweet. It was a short visit, but it was great to make more connections with people. We make more nearly everyday.

Just today I spoke with a woman working to build honeycomb housing for the Darfurians. It is an amazing and cost-effective design. What I truly love is that the Lord had laid upon my heart a similar design during my quiet time on the 10th of July, and I had drafted it in my journal. God is good and He shows the way.

We have had amazing meetings with other people as well. God has opened a marvelous door of access. How much does the church want to do? The next three months will be critical for Sudan (more on this privately). What is the church prepared to do? What has God prepared her for…prepared you for?

I want to thank you for your prayers and fasting. Your prayers fervent prayers are effective in the righteousness of Christ.

Please continue to pray for my household. May God grant a spirit of cooperation to my home (all acting in His generosity of Spirit) and to the entire Body of Christ.

Open the ears of your church, LORD. Circumcise the hearts of your bride, that we are sensitive to you. Forgive us wherein we have grown callus to our own sin…sowing to the flesh all week and praying for a crop failure on Sunday, as my pastor has quoted. God, please heal us where our repetitive sin has seared our conscience. We ask for the blessing of Godly sorrow that leads to the joy that is repentance; not just fear of consequences that stays the hand temporarily. Deliver us from our desires in our flesh, LORD; from our selfish ambitions, and foolish plans…foolish in not asking you, God. Help us to praise you often each day, to seek your counsel often each day, to call on you on behalf of another often each day, and to come to reconcile our sin with you often each day. Lord, my Father, you are so good to us. Thank you for your everlasting love. Thank you ¥…Yes, forever. Thank you that we can not only speak with you, but walk with you in us because of the blood payment for our sin through Jesus’ eternal propitiation. Thank you Jesus. As you said, “I, [even] I, [am] the LORD; and beside me [there is] no saviour.” (Isaiah 43:11); we ask this in your name.

God Bless you all!

Love,
Todd

Praise & Prayer Request

Dear Prayer Warriors,

Pastor Gary, Pastor Tony, Todd and Peter (Peter is Kenyan and a Safe Harbor staff member from Kenya) arrived safely in Darfur and had an awesome meeting with the new Force Commander for Darfur. He told them that he is very happy to see the ministry continue involving Safe Harbor and the African Union Peacekeepers. He agreed that it is crucial for the furtherance of the Gospel to the troops. Please pray as there are many outside forces to contend with. Pray also for traveling mercies for the team over the next few days.

Edited to add (at 2:30pm):

I wanted to add that the team in Darfur, Sudan was able to attend the AMIS (African Mission in Sudan) church mid-week Bible study. They were able to see people that are quickly becoming old friends and the fellowship was really awesome. The church is currently without a worship leader and was blessed to hear that Peter is a worship leader from Kenya. We may try to get Peter and Todd back next week to participate in the service.

The team also met with Ray, a retired military police officer that is there as a police advisor. He told our team that there are lots of women’s issues so they would like to see more women police officers come to Darfur. That’s it for now so please continue to pray…

Resting in Him,
Angela Eiman

The Body

I love the Body of Christ.

Mel just shared of a vision she had, where she could see a place she's never been - people in Africa?, in a tent, worshipping.

The Body is an unexplainable thing. When Jesus is the Head, and we are the other parts, the arms leg, heart, hands, etc. we remain connected because of the Head. Through intercession and through worship, I believe God gives us visions and clarity that we could never have otherwise.

May I have visions and clarity as Todd reenters this ravaged part of the land. And may Todd have beauty for ashes to offer, in the form of the Living Water, Jesus Christ. I hope many come to know. Many.

Thank you Clay and Sunny for my new garbage disposal! Your son, Chris was so awesome to come and put it in for me. May God bless you, double and more!

Open My Eyes

Hello all.

The past few days have been filled with meetings. This has been very interesting work, and amazing opportunity. Some doors were closed, some doors were opened, and one hangs on for a response. The work is not detailable now.

Please pray for God’s immediate vision to be realized by the team. Please pray that God’s longer term vision is realized by the team. Everyone seems tired. Please pray for strength and mental and (especially) spiritual acuity. Wednesday (July 17) we leave at 5:30 AM to travel to Al Fashir. We have been approved by the local agency to go. Thank you for your prayers in this. Please pray for the planned meetings and the unplanned meetings, that we would be uniquely prepared by Our Creator, Re-Creator, and Perfector to be, speak, love, pray, as He calls us. We will need your prayers for God’s gift of peace and faith, as this is a place that is not on the world’s top ten list, but it would be on God’s for caring for the lost. The Lord has told me that I will not be eating for the next few days, so if any will join me in this fast…Amen.

This morning the Lord gave me Mark 4: 24-25: “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you – and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” This verse is popular among people preaching prosperity theology, but the context of chapter four is not about money or worldly desire at all, it is about being a light and sowing the gospel. Think about it again….With the measure you share the gospel, with the measure you shine, this work of God will bear a harvest, a light…even more than what you expect. Whoever shares and shines will be given more of such spiritual blessing. Whoever does not…the light and the gospel will be taken from him.

There is a similar teaching in Matthew 25:14-30 regarding the investments of the stewards on behalf of the master, each given an amount according to his ability. Those that applied their spiritual ability were rewarded, and the servant that did not use the talent, given to be applied, received no reward and lost what he was given.

May we be lights to all around us. May we be sowers of the seed and given over to God for His use, such that we shine.

Love to You All,
Todd

Prayer Request

Dear Prayer Warriors,

Thank you for praying for the team in Sudan . The meetings today went as well as could be expected although we’re getting a lot of opposition from the U.N. and some A.U. personnel over the fact that we are Christians and share our faith. Pastor Gary is reminded that Darfur is a complex humanitarian emergency. They are seeking the Lord every step of the way for His wisdom and His guidance and He is giving them the peace that surpasses all understanding. Tomorrow they meet with the new force commander of the African Union at 11:00am (1am our time) and ask for your fervent prayers in regards to this.

Resting in Him,
Angela

Posting a Comment

If you're like me, the "blogging" concept might be new. So, I thought I would let you all know that you can post comments and add to the blog yourself. Under each entry it says "comment." If you click on it, up comes a page that asks for your email address and a password. This is ALL the info you are required to give, and they have you do it only so that inappropriate postings are not happening. It's like Caller ID.

Anyway, your comments and encouragement is so appreciated, especially by Todd who is in the boonies. He is reviewing these daily, and blessed by those who reach out in this way. I think it keeps him in touch and encouraged.

All Our Love! -Jeanne

Smugness in Sudan

Sunday, July 15, 2007

The past few days have been so sweet with the Lord, that I prayed last night that God help me not to grow smug, or soften in calling on Him because I am feeling things are going well.

This morning He told me to open to Psalms. The page I opened to contained the highlighted verses of Psalm 91:9-11: “Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.” This was a sweet reminder of the dream, being in the shelter of the most high with the angels who have charge over me.

Remaining focused on my Lord was difficult today. God answered my prayer regarding smugness. I have nothing to be smug about today. It has been one of those emotional battles that is spiritual in nature. Call out to God…Call out to God…Call out to God. This has been my day. And that is good reason to praise Him, though it has been uncomfortable.

We are about to leave to pick up Gary and Peter from the airport. I am staying behind to make pasta salad for the crew, which takes about 2 hours here (boiling water to wash the dishes you will cook with, and then cooling the water or using bottled water to wash the vegetables without cooking them).

Pray for me. Connection to God no matter how I feel.


Thanks,
Todd

Glass (from the homefront)

I spoke with my husband this morning and he said to me, "Be aware, you may come under harsh attack today." I chuckled at my husband - so spiritual he is, but I am fine, I tell him - really. I am great actually. And, I was.

Then, about a half an hour later, KABLAM! I feel like I've been nuked. I'm melting. It's nothing big, but everything little, salted with a few things medium, and I am spent.

Most days are really good - spending time together, playing, making crafts, an outing..... Today, however, I needed to get the house cleaned and so I enlisted the kids to "Saturday Work Day"- our normal Saturday routine where we all join in cleaning the house. We try to make it fun, or at least do something fun when we are done. But, nobody wants to do anything, and I have to constantly redirect kids to clean up rather than mess up. This frustrates me. I am so proud of Aidan when he takes the biggest job on the cleanup list and goes after it; clean out the fridge. The fridge that hasn't been cleaned out in too long and has unmentionable things happening in the bottom of it. It leaks and drips, and is generally a yucky job.

The kids are hungry, so I am preparing pasta while I help Aidan. He takes everything out of the fridge. We toss a lot of food. We could have fed another family for a week with that food, and my heart is heavy from it. As we are cleaning the glass shelves in the fridge, I pull out the largest of them all, and I have no idea why, but it shattered into 500 million tiny pieces of glass. The glass didn't just go downward either. It covered everything from my kitchen into the dining room and hallway: the stove, the pasta, the bowls of fruit, the entire sink, floor, cabinets, dining room table- everything. As I look at the sink I see a large amount of glass go down the drain. I have a bad word in my mind (repent). I am barefoot. "Get me some shoes, quickly!" He runs back with dress shoes. A good effort.

As I clean up (a three hour process) the kids have a really hard time with the idea of staying out of the area, and I have a really hard time figuring out how to cook lunch for them in the midst of a glass storm. Idea: call Todd. I tell him, "I have two questions: Is our fridge worth investing in having it repaired when it has constant condensation, and now seriously lacks shelf space? (remember our garage freezer broke last week) And two, what on earth do I do about a cup of glass in the garbage disposal? His response: "Pray about the fridge, and get help with the disposal which needs to be removed and flushed, DO NOT TURN IT ON. Wisdom.

I call Craftsmen For Christ. What an AWESOME ministry. Devoted to helping widows and those in need with crafty needs. Clay (the man!), who was just helping my dear sister, Sheri, seemed to have a lot on his plate; but wanted to help and even offered to come right over. I don't want to burden him. Kyndall reminded me that her Grandpa is a plumber, and I should call him. I did. He walked me through a trouble shooting process which led me to turn on the disposal. I asked, "Are you sure... Todd said, blah, blah, blah." He assures me that the glass can not harm the disposal at all. Just reach in, take out as much glass as you can (ouch), and turn it on. I did. It immediately burned out the motor on the disposal. He said not to worry about it. You'll get used to not having a disposal. Lots of people don't have them. I think, 'Kyndall's Grandpa might not like me.'

I am taking out the trash - glass mixed with fridge food, the pasta I had made, dirty diapers, etc... and, yup, about ten feet down the hall; in the area that had been relatively clean; the bag cleanly broke in two. Those sturdy Glad kitchen bags that don't break. Yup. In the livingroom, Mia punches Aidan in the eye. I remembered Todd's words at that moment - "Be aware, you may come under harsh attack today," and I laughed out loud. When it comes down to laugh or cry, I prefer to laugh when possible - but man, was I mad. So, it was kind of a -'stay away, I am dangerous'- laugh.

Clay calls back to see where I am at with the garbage disposal, and I tell him all about how I blew it . He offers to come right over, but I assure him it can wait until Monday. What a sweet saint.

Maury (beloved, dear Maury) called right about then to tell me there was a man at church talking about me this morning. This is a man I got a restraining order against last week, though he hasn't been served yet- and doesn't even know about that yet. As usual, he is furious with me. His life has fallen apart and he just spent a week or so incarcerated for who knows what, and it is exclusively the fault of Todd and me. Mostly my fault. Maury offers his protection. Now, what can be better than that????

My poor kids had a referee today, rather than a coach; and I did not call out to the Father half as much as I should have. I was even warned ahead of time, and I did not gird up. Instead, I laughed. Boo.

I was reminded of all of the single parents out there - especially the women, who have this constant barrage of issues and things they can't fix or need help with. What a challenge. What a calling. And, what a calling the Lord has put on these men who have come along to offer help to them as a ministry. Thank you, Craftsmen for Christ. You reflect Him very well!

I just read on the news that the Sudanese government is bombing Darfur again. Please pray for the people.

I bet nobody has a garbage disposal in Sudan.

I miss you, Todd (and not just because you're handy)!
My love, my heart.

Dreams and Tea Ladies

Thank you for your prayers. Thursday evening was a spiritual battle. It was good, but difficult. That evening I was up reading and praying, pacing, and laying on my face on the dusty tile; then again pacing in petition, prayer, praise, and reading until 4 AM…a night of darkness and light, mercy and love. Friday I was up at 8 (ish). The Lord would have me to read Song of Solomon through to be reminded of how much He loves me and how to Love Him…totally given over.

Again, Fridays are worship days in the Islamic world, so most everything is closed down. Tony and I took a taxi to a local church (I was able to pray for the healing of the taxi driver, Ali, in the name of our Lord, Jesus. Ali was very grateful). Marco (who is the property caretaker here) told me that Ali has Christian friends around him, and after my prayer, he (Marco) invited Ali to come to the house to receive prayer whenever he wants. Please pray for Ali. Back to church…I will leave off the name of the congregation, but fellowship is sweet. I immediately feel the Sabbath rest of God in this place. Worship is about 50 minutes, prayer is about 10 minutes, and the teaching is about an hour. The church is FILLED with people from all over Africa and all over the globe. Many are missionaries. It is like Heaven, with so many nationalities. Services are in English, and the worship songs are contemporary. The ceiling fans whirr overhead trying to keep us cool as we praise God with singing, dancing, and clapping. There are steel benches and chairs painted creamy yellow on a concrete floor. The area is about 80 ft by 40 ft. with a small, low wooden stage. The topic taught was the necessity of confessing our sin one to another, that we may not be hindered (James chapter 5: 13-16). Bless the Lord! The Lord gave a word to a woman near me. It is blessing to be used of God.

After church, Tony and I walked home rather than taking a taxi. It was a beautiful day and we had Tony’s GPS with us (a necessity around here), so we stretched our legs on this 5-mile jaunt. The sky: blue, with some puffy, occasional clouds. The traffic is very minimal, because it is Friday, which is good, because much of the way is without sidewalk. We walk through the dirt and in the street, cautious around the open drainage ditches (quite fouled with garbage). The stores have their steel roll-up doors down, and the sound of the mosques calling their believers to prayer is loud. Whenever they call out, it reminds me to pray for them. I call out too.

Walking by, I smile and wave at the tea ladies. These are the purveyors of Sudanese culture, and so far I have been able to find one every block in Khartoum. A typical tea lady (so far as I have seen) will sit on a plastic crate with a small (18” H x 18” W x 12” D) brightly painted wooden box or cabinet with many miscellaneous glass jars of tea, sugar and spices on top of it. There is a jug of water next to her, a bowl for washing dishes and a bowl of clean dishes. There is always a kettle ready over a small iron network holding a charcoal fire. Around the front of her are five or so low stools made of welded rebar and a network of colorful string for customers sitting over the dirt, or none at all if a sidewalk is available. As I smile and wave at these women, my Bible under my arm, they beam back at me and wave. It seems as though they are not noticed in such a way enough (or they are amused by the weird white guy). I test this smiling and waving at every one of the tea ladies I see, greeting them with Salam or Salam Alekhem (spelled phonetically), meaning: “Peace to you,” or the tone of: “Is all well with you?” They all smile wide, wave and greet me as we pass. Not everyone is this way. Most of the older men wave and greet me as well, but some of the 30-somethings spit (spitting is common among the men here) and do not return the greeting.

Along the way we are greeted by two JWs (yes, in Khartoum…), and have a friendly, light, surface talk of how our beliefs differ. We wish each other peace and start to go. But God stays my heart, reminding me of the watcher, required to call out, lest the blood be upon his head. I turn, and call for them to wait a moment (they and Tony were a pace and a half away in opposite directions as I remained stayed by God). I share with them the teaching within Isaiah wherein God calls out that there is no savior other than He alone. Their response: Jesus is another God in title…This is a problem for mono-theists. You can’t have it both ways. We talked about this problem a bit, and the meeting ended well in giving them more scripture in Isaiah to read to substantiate Jesus as divine, not a created angel as they believe.

The mosques begin to let out, creating traffic again. We make our way to Solitaire, a café Tony has a hankering for. We had been there the previous night for dinner. It is a small coffee house near the airport with delicious sandwiches, juices, and wireless internet open from 8 AM until 2 AM daily. It has a VERY Californian, décor, menu, and prices. Thursday evening I had a mozzarella cheese, sun dried tomato, and pesto sandwich with fries. Very good. It was like cheating on eating Sudanese food. Tony took lunch while I chatted with a table mate (sharing tables is not uncommon), a blond-haired Zimbabwean. He talks of the destruction of the economy in his country and how tense it is getting for the people as he rolls a cigarette (people smoke in restaurants here, just like Europe) and sips a coke. He describes the Zimbabwean as peaceful people who can take a lot, but they are pushed to the wall, and he fears violence as a means to oust the government. His desire is to return to care for his parents, still living there on a self-sustaining farm. Here he does work to help move IDPs back into areas they came from as these areas become secure, and in disarming child soldiers. Very tough work. We talk of security being a commodity on the same level as food and water here. He agrees. He does not believe security will come to Sudan for a long time. We say our goodbyes, Tony pays the check, and we are back out on the road.

It is about another two miles home. We take a shortcut across a piece of land with foundation pits (about 12 feet deep each) dug throughout it. From the droppings inside each, it looks as though the local shepherds are using these to keep their flocks at night. Several Mosques are calling the people to prayer via loudspeaker again. Again to prayer I am called as well.

As we get closer to the buildings being constructed along the street you can see people who have set up blanket walls and mats as living quarters in the lower floors of these buildings. We arrive home, and like a local, I wash my face hands, and feet (as these were the only parts of me exposed) to get the dust off and pull up a chair for a bit.

As the sun sets the power goes out and it begins to rain lightly. It is sweet. The power outage is short, and I use some time to pick up more Arabic phrases from Marco. I am working to learn simple courtesy and the gospel.

Through the past few days I have been working on and about the house fixing things and cleaning. Earlier in the week we put in a request in at the local government agency to request a trip back to Darfur next week. We are waiting on their response…Please pray that we are granted permission to go. There are reports that the government is bombing or had bombed the western portion of Darfur. The government will deny this if so, but if they intend to bomb, we definitely will not be allowed in.

The Lord would have me up at 6:30 this morning (Saturday, July 14th).
Today as I got up I was asking the Lord to remind me of the dream He had given me last night. I had asked for a dream and He had given one, but I had forgotten it. It was a Nebuchadnezzar moment. The Lord had me go back to read Song of Songs again, and within the first chapter, in the reply of the friends, I remembered. It was a dream of the angels sent by God to keep charge over me, and their being strengthened by God as I pray. Complete blackness surrounds, but the abode we are in is a tall tree of gold. It is a good dream. I spend time with our God; He tells me to meet a tea lady at 4 today and clean and fix the home in the mean time. This is what I do.

Near 4 I gather Tony and James to come with me. We do not get out of the house until 4:12. I am concerned, because I know God has a time table. I do not know what I am to do or who I am to meet, if it is the tea lady or a customer. I do not want to miss the appointment. We cross the street to an open dirt area near shops and take a seat with an older women in a light green dress and head scarf. I am wondering what I will have and what the Lord will have for me to do, as He told me long ago that I am not to take caffeine and more recently not to have sugar. While sitting, I see she has a jar of dried roses. I ask James if she makes tea from this. He says yes, it is called kalkaday (spelled phonetically). I ask for this with no sugar. She gives me a glass of ice cold water in a stainless steel mug. I ask the Lord to bless it and drink, passing it to James, who drinks as well. She makes tea for Tony and James and kalkaday for me. It is great. Piping hot, red, fragrant, and sour, like a rose hip tea. Through James’ help interpreting, she asks how I can drink this without sugar (a very Sudanese question). I tell her that the Lord told me to not take sugar, and that I must obey Him. She nods. I tell her that the tongue gets used to this. She smiles and nods again. I finish my tea and ask for another. Through conversation we find that she is from Darfur, and has moved here two years ago. She has children and takes them to school in the morning before coming to work here. It is always tea time in Sudan, but the busiest time is in the morning and right at dinner time. Some of the ladies will remain serving tea until 11 pm. It is 2 Sudanese Pounds for our four drinks (about 1 USD). Before we go I ask James to ask her how I can pray for her. I ask him if it would be acceptable to hold her hand to do so. He says that it would not be good. Touching a woman in public may make the men nearby become crazy he says. It is not appropriate. She asks me to pray, she has no request. God lays many things on my heart and I pray. I pray for her family, for her nightmares, for the nightmares of her children, for her husband to find work, for her stand to be prosperous, for her peace, for the cleansing of her house, for her to know our Lord, many things. May God bless my old, Darfurian tea lady.

Tomorrow evening Gary is to arrive. Please pray for protection in travel and the plane to arrive as it should. Pray for unity in understanding the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Please pray that I would not loose the focus that God would have me to keep, that I remain connected to Him and hear His voice, and that I obey.
Please pray for my family. They are on mission as well.

As always, there is more to tell, but not all can be told in this forum.

God, please bless your name in your people. Please help us to love you. To be filled with you…fountains of living water…blessing…holiness…Fear and comfort O’ Lord.

God’s Love to you!
Todd

Update

Dear Prayer Warriors,

I just heard from Todd in Khartoum, Sudan who called briefly to say that their cell phone battery is nearly dead. They are all well and will call in with an update later. Please continue to pray for all their needs there. For one thing the power goes out so often that it is sometimes difficult to communicate or charge a phone or even prepare a meal.

Resting in Him,
Angela Eiman

The Countdown!

We ran away from home and went to visit my parents in Arizona, and just got back last night. The kids love feeling like they "did something" over the summer break, and for Janea and Jada, their break ends in a week. So it was now or never... but, man was it HOT!

Nineteen days until I get to hug my husband. Bless the Lord.

I am really praying about the kids schooling - and I know Todd is too. We really don't want the kids in public school; it's hard for me to reconcile sending them off when the Word says that bad company corrupts good morals. I send them off to be surrounded by many I would consider "bad company," yet I expect them to be incorruptible????? I am the worst hypocrite. Pray for me.

It is amazing to me - AMAZING - how at peace I have been throughout this time. It's not only where Todd is that could have really sent me over the edge, but just being alone with the kids all this time. But, GOD! He has kept me in His peace. I know that it is solely from Him, and I praise Him for it. Praise You, Lord Jesus, thank you!

Nineteen days!

-Jeanne

Sudan Update

Greetings from Khartoum !

Today (11th of July) God would have me up at 6 am. My study, went through most of the rest of Revelation, but returned to the word overcome. Romans 12 and I John 5 were in agreement: obey God. Do what is out of character for this world. Do not be conformed. Let God’s love so shine that people look at you funny. Give them a reason to ask about the hope that lies within you in the first place. How can they ask if they do not see it? How can people be made jealous for the Holy Spirit if they can not see Him? The veil is rent for us. Show them what is behind the veil. Is it written on our faces, in our speech, in our hearts, and minds? Be Being Transformed, says the word.

Lord, please help me to be given over to your transforming today…everyday that I still have breath. Help me to bring a smile to your face because you fill me and work through me. Overcome, Lord. Bless Your name.

Today was an administrative day. Marco made his phenomenal spicy lentil soup for breakfast. Tony asked me to create job descriptions for the staff, and I was able to get through two. We mounted a new fan in the kitchen (you don’t want to know how we reached that high), and we went out to eat at the local poor-man’s shish kabob place (very tasty – they know how to do shish kabob in Sudan ).

A man named Oman shared our small, plastic table outside with us, and we got to chat. The conversation was great. He really did not have much of a soft spot for America , and wanted to talk politics right away. The local government has been stating that America is making life difficult for the Sudanese. This man believes it. He compared Sudan to a little 3-year old child, saying that America was asking it to run to the store. “Little injections,” Oman said “That is what we need.” He said that he did not want the fast democracy that America brought to Afghanistan and Iraq , resulting in so much bloodshed. America wants to take over, he says. He is direct about not wanting the Sudanese way of life disturbed. He makes several statements about loving his culture, and feeling secure with the government, even though it is a dictatorship. He says that he can depend upon it. When I brought up Darfur , he tried to be dismissive. He believes that America is using Darfur as an excuse to get into Sudan , and make it suitable for America ’s oil interests (which China is doing a good job of holding, currently). Oman also stated that he did not believe that the Janjaweed had committed the crimes that they are accused of, but he did say that they were gangsters. “Just like in America ,” he said. He said he knows that there is more crime in America than in Sudan because of the movies that we make. Yes, the Sudanese get satellite, and American movies are on nightly with Arabic subtitles. I did not argue with him regarding the American appetite for watching other people sin, but did mention the reality of fiction vs. actual crime, here. Having been to the city with the highest crime rate in the nation, Camden , NJ , helped this conversation get back to reality a bit. We spoke of the necessity for security, to bring to justice the gangsters, as he called them. I spoke of there simply not being enough police or other security force in Darfur to keep the peace (to get the bad guy), nor is the region stable. Again with the fear of America ’s medaling in Darfur spilling over into some form of trouble for the country and the culture. We talked back and forth for some time and could have gone on much longer, but his brother called him away to their business (running a backhoe). We shook eachother’s hand warmly. I reminded him that we were both sons of Noah. That made him and me smile big. “I hope to be together in heaven,” he said. I hope to continue my conversation with Oman another day so we can. May God bless him.

I noticed that the US is getting quite a bit of news regarding NGOs being attacked in Darfur . While there last week I attended a UN OCHA security meeting. OCHA is the wing of the UN that tries to organize, coordinate, and referee humanitarian aid. They have a weekly report in each office of the happenings in the surrounding region. If you want the actual detail, you can see it at their website. The data at the meetings is specific: a group of men, believed to be IDPs broke into so and so company’s NGO compound, beat the two security guards, one to unconsciousness, looking for money it is theorized because the security gaurd was seen going to the bank earlier in the day. The reports go on like this. OCHA issued a warning that no person should enter an IDP camp alone, they should have nothing of value with them, they should never show money (difficult, because neither credit cards or ATMs are accepted anywhere in the country. But a new hotel in Khartoum is expected to take credit when it opens), they should always be facing an exit, and should be on with business and get out as soon as possible. I know that the picture of the IDPs is different in the American mind, but just like anywhere else, when people are crowded and desperate, they do bad things. Not everyone is bad (though we are all sinners without fail), of course, but the incidents are increasing. For the most part, vehicles are being stolen, but there are killings. The week of the report, there were SLA killing three defectors, and two local tribesmen killing a woman and a man (this was believed to be associated with adultery), several assaults, and many thefts.

On the flight back to Khartoum (a very full, sweaty, long delayed flight) God blessed me to sit next to the Darfur director for a major NGO. We spoke of the trouble the NGOs are having. He stated that the women of a camp beat up his women staff during a food distribution. His response, “We did not come back for three weeks.” The camp tribal leaders sought them out to ask for help and why they were not there. He told them what had happened and said that they must deliver the women responsible to the police, or they would not return. While another NGO would likely have picked up this camp, the sheiks handed over the women and accepted personal responsibility that it would not happen again. Back on track. He was adamant in stating that they tolerate so much abuse just being in Darfur , but stated, “We will not tolerate abuses from the IDP camps we serve.”

May God bring order to the region, and peace to the people’s hearts swiftly.

Todd

Update

Dear prayer chain warriors,

Tony called for his check-in and reports that all is well. They are working on some projects at the office as well as visas, HAC documents and setting up meetings with the African Union for Pastor Gary’s visit in a few days. Please be in prayer for these upcoming meetings as well as the visa and HAC documentation.

Angela Eiman
Director of Communications
Safe Harbor Int'l

Overcomers

Today (10th of July) I spent the morning in prayer and was touched by God’s word to the churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. The word “overcome” was used for each church and Jesus references Himself to the last church, Laodicea : “…overcome …just as I overcame.” The rewards of Christ are promised to each church with each overcoming their struggle. Though they are the church, washed in the blood of the Lamb, Jesus says,”…if you overcome, I will give...” I am again reminded of God’s words to Cain in Genesis 4:7 “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, your sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.” Sin, like a hungry animal crouching at my door, lusts after me to consume me, but I must master it, says God. Cain failed his trial. He did not overcome and do what is right to gain acceptance, but was consumed by the lust of his sin. For encouragement in this I am led to Zechariah 4:6 “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,” says the Lord Almighty.

I pray for the Church today. I am ashamed. We sing praises with catchy tunes, tapping our foot to: “…Naked and poor, wretched and blind I come. Clothe me in white so I won’t be ashamed. Lord, light the fire again.” This is not a song to tap one’s foot to. This is a song of being on one’s face before a Holy God, in agreement with our state; pleading for the blessing of situations that will grant us the opportunity to be overcomers. I am saddened today as I see the church overcome by sin, by fear, by busyness, by justifications for lack of faith, lack of love, lack of hope, lack of belief in God, lack of belief in His word. Yes, it is by God’s Spirit that this work is done in a willing heart… willing to obey in faith.

Please God, help your Church to ask to be overcomers. May we grow in the fear of God and the comfort of the Holy Spirit under the blood of the Lamb. Help us to obey. Trade our stony hearts for hearts sensitive to you. Renew us Lord.

Overcome. Please pray that we overcome.

Another brother in the Lord, Ismael, visited today. Unprompted by me, he shares the same sorrow for the Church. We talk, we pray, we praise God. We brag about our Father. He is so good to us. We also pray for the Sudanese President, Omar al-Bashir, to be gifted with dreams and visions tonight, that he be granted the wisdom of God, rather than the failings of man’s ambitions. …Then we try to fix the ceased ceiling fan in the kitchen. It’s a goner.

It was raining hard in the northern portions of Khartoum for about an hour today. It came down so hard that in some areas people were flooded out of their homes. Mud buildings fell. In response, the government made tent camps for the people. Perhaps God will have us to go to visit these people tomorrow. Please pray for mercy upon the people and our effectiveness in obedience.

This evening I was able to pray with the exiting AU commander, Major General Aprezi. May God give him and his family peace, protection, and continue to use Him as a servant of the Most High. There have been several recent attempts upon his life. Praise God for His protection upon him. May this grace of life and opportunity for treasure in heaven continue until God’s work is completed in Mr. Aprezi. Please pray for him.

As an aside, we are watching the Sudani news right now, and they are saying that Americans and Britain are responsible for the trouble in Darfur, and are aligning with the rebels ( SLA ). Just in case you were wondering whose fault it was…

Truth...

“I am the way, the truth, and the life,” said Jesus, “and no one comes to the Father, but through me.”

To backtrack a bit and report further on the trip in to Darfur : on the 6th of July we were able to go out to lunch with Joel. Friday is a worship day, so generally everything is closed…but the locals know where to go. We went to the Al Genina Market. This was an experience. We park, walk around the largely mudded dirt alley, and into a small (24’ x 12’) brick structure. It has two doorways (no doors) facing the alley and two doorways facing a courtyard on the opposite wall. Upon entering, the scent of incense is strong. A small brass pot of coals is smoldering on the dirt floor. There are two 8’ x 8’ mats on the floor with a group of men lounging on a mat around a plate of food. We walk right through into the courtyard. It is an amazing site. The area is open-air and large; probably 40 yards square. It is surrounded by brick buildings similar to what we passed through. On the courtyard side of each of these buildings are two or more women sitting at a low table full of miscellaneous, glass jars of spices and foods. Others nearby are peeling baskets filled with garlic. But it is the center of the expanse that catches the attention. There are twenty or more clay-brick constructed barbecues with some form of metal grating over the top. A man is working the meat on each. Next to each barbecue is a wooden table overlaid with thin, greasy, dark-colored steel. Above each table hang raw legs of meat and ribs on metal hooks suspended from the ceiling above. When the meat is cooked, it is placed on the tables and cut into bite-sized pieces. As you might imagine, flies are everywhere. Joel asks if we want sheep or goat. Goat (I’ve never had it). He picks a good sized leg with attached side of ribs for us and tells us to sit down back where we walked through while he arranges for the rest of the meal. Now I am starting to get it. Each building is the restaurant. The ladies nearby are the side-dish and sauce cooks as well as waitresses, and you get to pick your own cut of meat to share together on a platter. We sit over the dirt on low stools (one foot off the ground), and a metal pitcher of (questionable) water is brought to us with one metal cup. It is to share a drink of water between us as we wait for our food. We pass on this. The incense smells sweet and mixes well with the aroma of cooking food and spices in the marketplace behind us. The smoke from the burning coals helps to keep the flies down. We are greeted by one of the men lounging on the mat. He offers us some food ,but we let him know ours is coming. One of the ladies brings them a dish of diced mango and tomato with chunks of ice on top to cool it. The men are given spoons and share out of the same bowl. When they are done we chat for a bit and they leave. As soon as it is determined that they are done, a swarm of 5 or six young boys (5-10 years old) run in to the room, grab everything left on the platter and run back out into the alley to gnaw the remaining meat off of the bones. It is not long until a wrestling match breaks out. Joel gets up and scolds them. They stop or at least slow the battle. A man on a passing donkey cart stops and scolds the boys too. Joel says that the culture to break up a fight around here is for an old man to come along with a stick and send the boys running. Our server comes and lays a woven reed screen over the two alley way openings and lets the boys know that they are not to come in. The food arrives on a 30” aluminum platter (like a pizza dish) with a spicy peanut sauce, coarse salt mixed with crushed red pepper, bread, and chunks of sliced raw white onions. We pray over the meal. Asking the Lord to bless the food is serious business in Sudan (may it be taken seriously back home too). The Lord tells me not to eat the fat, and I dig in. The flavors are wonderful. There are no utensils, so the bread works well as a tasty napkin. The other hand is busy shooing flies. It is quieting down in the marketplace behind us. It is nearly prayer time, so people are leaving, or seeking water to wash themselves before prayer. After eating, we grab a nearby cake of soap laying on the dirt (with dirt-encrusted exfoliating properties…grin…) in the corner of the building, and rinse off over the dirt. We buy another leg of lamb for the AU cook and head back to the compound.

On the way back there are boys swimming in the muddy river under the road. Further down there are Landcruisers parked in the river with young men diligently washing them. It is like a lazy Sunday back home.

In the afternoon we meet with a local pastor and an AU chaplain. It is a sweet time of fellowship. The Lord had me (very directly He spoke, though I was resistant…in fear of embarrassment) wash the feet of these men while teaching on what this means to us as Christians and what God gave me to teach on it. They had never heard of this prior, and were very excited by the lesson. Our fellowship blossomed after this. I was ministered to by God through one of the pastors, and his stories that glorified our God. He mentioned that at his church, many local Muslims come and stand outside the doors to hear the message, as they are not allowed to go in, and ask for bibles in Arabic so that they might learn more of this teaching. He has none to give them. (Note: though some in Islam will denounce the Bible, the teaching of the Qur’an (which is higher than the opinion of a teacher in their faith) exalts the Old and New Testament as sacred and preeminent to the Qur’an. Jesus is written of as a sinless and highly revered prophet. Within the Qur’an, see Surah 2:87, 2:136, 2:285 3:3-4, 4:136, 5:44, 5:46, 5:48, 6:154, 10:94, 21:105, 40:70-72, 41:43, 42:13 for starters...thanks Pastor Samy for the references). Praise God that these are wanting to ask for the Bible. May they be blessed to receive it, study it, and learn of Jesus by the drawing of the Father to the Son. The AU had similar requests for Bibles, but in English to give to the soldiers when they request them. We did not have these, but would love to see them provided. There are many in Islam who do not agree with their own teaching, and would want to stand in the way of Muslims obtaining and/or reading the Bible, which, again, their Qur'an says is sacred. However, while, reading is one thing, and may be permissable, conversion is another matter here. As Ishmael and I were talking (back to the 10th now), he recounted stories of how people here may be taken to jail, beaten, taken before court, and asked to sign a certificate renouncing the faith other than Islam. The society, built on connectedness and family may excommunicate a convert. This is very hard here where extended family is so important, especially when fellowship is not strong.

In the evening, we packed and got ready to fly to the North of Darfur, near the Chad border.
Praise God for the blessing of fellowship and His word.

Todd

When two elephants fight, the grass suffers

Greetings from Sudan.
To continue the story of our trip into Darfur, we were up on the morning of the 5th of July at about 6:15 AM. The Lord gave me a word in my study this morning, saying, “I will cleanse you today.” I asked for His preparation in this: that I stand firm in the faith by His grace, with the hope of Christ living within me, and the love of God visible. I asked to be fashioned by the Lord to minister before Him, if it should please Him. I asked to be a servant that makes Him smile; to have His word within me. Again…ready to die. Counted as dead already…not by the holding fast of my concentration, or focusing my mind on a verse. Not by hours of meditation or self-affliction, but a gift from the Spirit of the Most High. God’s grace. It was a powerful awakening. A blessed time. Being dead is freedom. No need to eat. No need to lust after anything. No need for the strength of man. No need or reaction to being talked about or ignored. This is a beautiful thing, and belongs, alone, to the Christian believer. This is a gift of peace. Now, what is to be done with it? Walk meekly with eyes wide open, expectant to be used in some fashion, but without expectation as to how, and talking quietly to God often…praising Him in my heart.

We are delivered to the AU base. There is a mad man out front. His clothes are torn in two-foot, long shreds. His clothes are filthy rags (much like my good deeds). He has wild hair and beard and the inability to focus on anything for long. He moves about as a man and then ambles as an animal, hunched over. I am praying for Him; for his release. Tony asks if we can speak to him. The captain tells us that the personnel have been ordered not to engage this man, and that it would be a bad scene if we did. I continue to pray. He waves at me, then moves across the street and stands upon a structure for a time and then fades away into the nearby IDP camp. Still praying. Join me in this.

We get into the vehicles and head North. We are in the lead vehicle in a convoy of eight. It is about 60 miles to our destination. We pass a convoy of full WFP (World Food Program) trucks, and see another convoy of WFP trucks returning empty. Along the way, closer to Nyala, there are again farmers with plows working to turn the newly rained upon soil. They generally work the soil close to the road. In the distance on either side of the road you can see huge, sprawling IDP camps. They look like cities of sticks, thatching, and tarp. Rain is good for Sudan , good for farming, good for replenishing the depleted wells, and can be good for quelling fighting. But rain is hard for the IDPs. Traveling on these roads makes this easy to see. Every few miles the convoy must slow down to 5-10 mph and cross a gully. Many are paved areas that the rivers and creeks will wash over as the rain comes, and some are wider expanses of sand and dirt. There are no bridges. When the rain comes, it will be difficult to get trucks full of food across these wider areas.

As we get further out, there are no visible farm plots or settlements. We enter a hilly region and on either side of the road we see through the brush and trees camels being herded in the distance. “Janjaweed,” says one of the men. He explains that the Janjaweed will at times wait for a food distribution, then raid the IDP camp to take what they want and sell the stolen sugar to make money. I am reminded that God’s word says that every liar and every thief will not enter the kingdom. Not too long after this we come to the village of Duma , with an adjoining IDP camp. A food distribution is going on. The landcruiser (nearly every NGO has a small fleet of landcruisers, it seems) of a well known NGO is out front, and the people are lining up to receive this gift which they have come to expect and to depend upon to sustain them. The large white sacks of grain are stacked neatly in piles. Everything seems orderly.

Several miles later we come to a local faction road block of tires in the road and a turn out. The patrol leader stops, greets the men standing by the road block, who are in camouflage clothing, but clearly not AU. We leave behind three vehicles to complete their mission in this area. We take a nearby dirt road.

Traveling in such fashion reminds me that I am in Africa . It is green, and full of trees and brush, but not dense. We pass through an area of nomadic herdsmen. “These people are a problem,” states one of the men. “They answer to no one. If there is a claim against them, they just move away. They view human life as the same value as one of their animals.” He shakes his head. In the distance (about 80 yards from the road) their homes are visible: domes of sticks and rope covered with a mish-mash of materials, mostly tarp. The structures are of various sizes: from about 10’ to 25’ in diameter at the base and no more than 10’ tall.

After passing through this area, several miles later we come to a more open area containing a village destroyed by the Janjaweed. Every hut has been burned. Every structure is destroyed. There are crumbling, circular mud-brick walls remaining. In some you can see the remains of large broken pottery where food stores were kept. This was a farm community tucked away from the main road; self-sustaining. There are over 100 structures – families - destroyed. It is an African ghost town. The people are likely dead or in an IDP camp somewhere. They do not believe that this area is secure enough to return to, or they would be here.

After passing through the burned-out village, we reach the limit of our travel, are delayed for a time to speak with a few local people (for which I was given the peace of God this day…it was a blessing to me to be at peace and speak with the people in what time we had), complete the movement, and return. On the way back I noticed the WFP food warehouse. It is a good quantity of large tents (50’W x 100’L x 20’H each tent, I would guess) surrounded with chain link and barbed wire.

The conflict here is still between the GOS (Government of Sudan) and the SLA (Sudanese Liberation Army), with the Janjaweed (meaning “devil on a horse” in Arabic) also going after the SLA , and the people they represent. It also seems to be a land-grab issue mixed in with regard to the Janjaweed moving the IDPs out of their land and continuing to harass them. It is a mess. The NGOs are trying to feed the people and are being robbed. People dress up as military and stop people on the road to steal. Again, it is a mess.

We return to the base and laugh and talk with the men. One of the men gave me a famous African proverb in response to my comments about the fighting and the people’s need for security to return. He said, “When two elephants fight, the grass suffers.” That is what is happening, except there are three elephants, an undersized referee, and many ants with watering cans trying to revive the grass.

We return home to the SHIR compound. I have a lot on my mind, and pray for peace in Darfur tonight. Not one robbery, not one murder, not one threat. Peace…Sleep.

I am glad that we worship a big God. I have hope because of the mercy of God, perfectly displayed in the death of Jesus. I know that not everyone will be saved, but I know that it is His desire that they choose salvation and live in holiness, in love.

God, please restrain the desires of elephants. Teach them where their lust takes them. Teach them as you taught Cain, Lord. Your ways are perfect and higher than ours. May your will be done. May your will be carried out in your people. Help us to see our need and increase our hunger for and ability to participate in the spirit, subjecting our minds to you, God, while yet in this vehicle of flesh.

I praise you that you are the living God. I praise you that you speak to your people. Correct us and encourage us Lord. Your work is eternal. Ours is worthless without you. May the joy of being holy, used of God, be known to the Church while still here on Earth.

Bless your holy name. Thank you Jesus. Thank you God.

Amen.

This is Sudan

Hello again all. I have returned to Khartoum after visiting Nyala and the surrounding areas in Darfur . It has been only a few days, but much has happened. Not all information would be suitable for posting, nor is my ability to communicate by medium of written word strong enough for such. I so desire your prayers, so here it goes…

Tony and I flew in to Nyala from Khartoum on a commercial flight (as the AU was not able to coordinate such) on the morning of July 3rd.

Let me back up a bit…To get to this point takes some doing. Once in the country you are not allowed to travel unrestricted as you can in the US . One must obtain permission from the Sudanese Humanitarian Affairs Commission (or HAC) to enter in to Darfur (that we received this permission is a reason to praise God). Written authorization to leave for Darfur is checked at the airport twice (especially if you do not look Sudanese…wink). Being here you find that the pace is different than in the US . Everything seems to move slower. Part of this is culture, part of this is technology. An example: In Sudan people love to come together and take tea with sugar (two tsp at least). Sitting at tea is when people get to talking about whatever is important to them. The real talking does not come out until the tea and sugar does. It is the catharsis of the country. It is also the means of connection. I have found that Sudan is very much a small town. Somebody knows somebody, who knows somebody, who will be happy to help you. No bribery; just friendship because of tea with sugar. This is either true, or God has really been blessing with the proper people (or both). Tea and sugar take time. Talking takes time. Relations with people take time. This is how it is. I want to send an e-mail and see a response. I can send the e-mail, but I had better follow it up with a person to talk it out face to face anyway. It is not uncommon to see a man driving a beat-up donkey cart, hauling a satellite dish, while he talks on his cell phone. This is Sudan …glimpses of present-day technology at the speed of the donkey cart.

Back to the airport in Khartoum : the airport culturally very different. All baggage goes through an x-ray machine on the way in to the ticketing, but no person is checked. To get to the ticketing counter, which are not marked as to which airline, you push and nudge and jostle your way to the front. There is no real line, just a sweaty huddle of people and luggage, and boxes with twine, and tires, and plastic tables, etc. It really helps to be tall and have long arms. I am not, but James, who works with Safe Harbor is basketball-warrior sized. There was some trouble at the counter with wanting a special security stamp, but God worked it out (Praise Him). Once the luggage is checked you go through a metal detector. The only difference being that everyone of the people in front of me and I set off the detector, and we are just frisked afterwards, which is done with everyone anyway. The gate lounge area not unlike most airports, with the exception that the power went out four or five times while waiting for the flight. You get used to it. Tony helps me with more basic Arabic while we wait. I am excited that we are going. We take a very crowded bus to the plane and board. Candy is served immediately. The Sudanese have a major sweet tooth. We are offered lunch, a newspaper, juice, water, and when lunch is finished, of course, tea and sugar. All of this on an economy 90 minute flight. It was pleasant.

As we flew over the land we crossed was arid with very little vegetation, but as we approached Darfur things became much greener and standing water was visible in some places. We were met by a Captain of the AU at the airport, who transported us to the AU base in Nyala. We found that no accommodation had been arranged for us, as had been requested and planned, so we made our plans with the Sector Commander for the remainder of our days, called in the flights and accommodation for the remaining base transfers, and left to set up at the nearby Safe Harbor house in Nyala.

The layout of the compound was great. Furnishing was very sparse. A few chairs and a few old metal-framed spring beds that reminded me of what you would see as a hospital bed in an old black and white war movie, and the blessing of ceiling fans, which really help to keep the mosquitoes off at night. The kitchen was in a separate building. The compound walls had barbed wire (common among the homes in Darfur ) and the metal outer and inner doors are padlocked at night. Though I snored through all of it, Joel, who keeps the house, said that gunshots went off through the night. He also stated that it is part of the culture here. He is Darfurian. Joel said that the locals shoot in the air for weddings, funerals, joy, sorrow, to get someone’s attention, and to communicate a warning. You do not know if they are shooting at a person unless the fire is returned from another direction. This area is much more fundamental Islam. People are killed for trying to convert a Muslim. It is also an area where the locals find liquor, though it is outlawed within the country. The colors of the area are beautiful if you stop a moment. The compound has rich butter yellow plaster walls with azure blue metal doors and window shutters with wire arcs in a cross shape that make up the security bars. The windows have no glass, just wire screens. These colors contrast well with the decaying baked red clay brick wall of the adjoining neighbors and the deep green of the trees. Off to bed at 10:30 pm.

The next day, July 4th we joined the AU for a patrol to pick up the Civic Police Commander from the airport and escort him to the IDP (Internally Displaced People) camp of Al Sharif, which is about twelve miles to the South-West of Nyala. The trip over is like a National Geographic special. Dirt roads through a village of brick buildings ( Sudan is made of bricks, concrete, and plaster. God save them if there is ever an earthquake here. Even the five-story buildings in Khartoum are made without supporting steel beams. Yikes!), round huts with red brick or mud bases and conical grass roofs, areas of garbage, mud, thatched fences, goats, donkeys, and people going about business in robes, long dresses and head scarves, or pants and shirts. After passing through town there were several miles of open land on which several people were scratching at the ground by donkey-powered plow. The freshly turned soil looks promising. In the distance you could see the IDP camp. These are not small places. Thousands of shelters of some form exist, one right next to the other. The poverty is obvious. The concept of having to live in this way for years brings sorrow, the thought of raising one’s children in this; that they grow up believing that this is the way of life is heartbreaking. We are instructed to remain close to the AU personnel and with them and the CivPol Commander enter a tent prepared for a special meeting. The camp leaders – elders, the local police, and the AU gather for this meeting. The opening speaker talks of civil rights. He speaks of concepts seeming universal to us: right to work, to life, to speak, to assemble… When he is finished the group applauds and they ask for questions. One very old man stands up and states that he came to this IDP camp with nothing but the clothes on his back, and that he depends upon the mercy of NGOs (non-government organizations like World Vision, Samaritan’s Purse, or The International Red Cross, there are about 16 NGOs in this area) for his every need. He has no idea when he will be able to return home. He then asks what rights he has. The tent goes silent as some of the other IDPs smile that this old man got away with asking the un-askable question that was on their mind. My head is reeling and my heart is breaking. This man has the same rights as described; we all do. Only for him, he is situationally unable to access these, so he feels that they do not exist. Hopelessness has begun to set in. A belief that an inhumane situation not only has disallowed access to rights, but has taken those rights away such that they no longer exist for him. Heart breaking. The rest of the meeting was just talk for me. I was still hearing this old man, a leader for his portion of the camp. What became clear was that security was next in line to food, clean water, shelter, and sanitation. Without security the camps become chaos; without security no one returns home. As I spent time talking to people the issue of security became clearer. I will have to put more of that down later.

After spending a moment taking pictures of the kids swarming around me (wanting to see themselves in my digital camera, just like every other kid) we left with the AU, and talked one on one with some of the soldiers. The one on one time with the men revealed a need for ministry as well. As with any soldier time away from home is difficult, and we heard the stories of family and friends suffering in some way at home, and how they longed to be there. We also heard of the financial issues. The men told us of how the AU is very behind in paying the AMIS (African Mission In Sudan) personnel. The men who had been there long enough had just received the salary that was due in February. Those that have been there since February have not received pay yet. Because the AU is an assembly force made up of many countries in Africa , some home countries will pay a portion of the salary due to the soldier’s family so they can try to meet their obligations, but other countries do not have such a policy. We saw or heard from several men who had boots that were torn or worn out, but with no means to get another pair. This peacekeeping force is under manned, under supplied, under paid, and has a smile, a warm handshake, and a greeting for everyone on base. God, bless them please.

We left the AU after sharing dinner in the mess hall and went home to the SHIR compound, and to sleep by 10:30 pm.

Todd