Thursday, April 26, 2007

Prison Break - Take 2

Well, some days are better then others!


After writing my last blog entry on Tuesday, I was so happy that I would not have to be revisiting the traffic police any time soon. But as it would happen, Wednesday morning I received a call from one of our sites that he (Kevin, a missionary kid from Kansas) had an accident and that there were multiple injuries. So off I went in the wild, it was about a 2 hour drive to the place he was – I started off at about 9:30am. The basics of the accident were that he was coming around a sharp corner and a motorcycle was suddenly in front of him. He applied the brakes but the bike was in his lane and he could not stop on the sandy soil. There were two people on the bike, the driver broke his leg, arm and maybe some ribs, while the passenger broke his arm. We used the vehicle I was moving in to transport the injured to the hospital in Yei, while I went with Kevin to the police station. We spent time there taking statements and reviewing what happened. They then gave us a choice to either head back to Yei or head on to Juba to have the case heard. I was really hoping to settle this up there but no such luck and I really did not want to face the guys in Yei again but since we have no base in Juba, we headed back. Three soldiers accompanied us in the back (we had to pay for their nights stay and transportation back) - I got them good with a couple of mud puddles though. By the time we reached Yei it was around 5:30pm. So, we go into the traffic police office to tell them what happened. The first 20 minutes was yelling at me for hating the Sudanese people, for not liking black people, just one thing after another. I tried to sit silently not saying anything as whatever I said just further irritated this person. So then we go the hospital to see the wounded, then back to the station, then some more yelling and the writing of statements. Now fortunately for Kevin, they do treat those of us from the west a bit differently. They arranged for Kevin to be held at the UN police office and not in the Sudanese one. Kevin was ready if he had to but was very grateful he didn’t. The UN was really nice to us and very supportive. So by the time we did all this is was around 9:30pm, I hadn’t eaten all day and I was a bit tired but at least Kevin was safe and relatively comfortable; and the injured were in a hospital. However, I found out later that no doctors came to see them because a different patient’s relative had beat the doctors and nurses the day before when a patient had died.


For Kevin, the reason they said they were having him stay at under protection was because of the way things work around here and because of some very difficult circumstances. First, it turned out that the person hit on the bike was just coming from his brother’s funeral. His brother, if you can believe this, was killed three days earlier on the same corner while driving a motorcycle. When this happened the people of the village burned the vehicle that hit the motorcycle and threatened to kill the driver – praise the Lord this did not happen to Kevin. The second reason for the protection was that the driver was part of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA). They have also been known to take revenge when one of their own is hurt.


So, in the morning I first worked for Kevin’s release. The family insisted that the injured go to Uganda for treatment because no one at the hospital was treating them. Although the accident was not Kevin’s fault we agreed to pay for all medical bills. So to keep the peace, we hired a car to transport them and sent them with one of our staff down to Uganda. While the car was being hired, I met with the traffic police and the relatives of the family. I wrote up several things and worked with the family to agree that Kevin could be released into Samaritan's Purse custody until the case could be heard. So off to the judge (with the traffic police guy who hated me – actually though he asked how my morning was) we went to have him agree. The judge neither spoke nor looked at me but he did agree to let Kevin go with us – this was Fantastic. So by 12:30pm I had Kevin back at the compound. Next I needed to work on the vehicle. Of course this is the second vehicle we have there in police custody and this one had very little damage; we really needed this back to be able to do our work. So for the next 5 hours I worked on this. We again went to the judge, signed more papers, this and that, here and there. But praise the Lord, I did return with the vehicle by 5:30pm. Small victories, but victories non the less. I hope not to visit that place for some time, although I still need the other vehicle.


Some prayer requests around all of this.


We have serious vehicle issues. Many of our vehicles are broken down, our mechanic has malaria and one car is still in police custody. Please pray that our vehicles are protected and can be repaired quickly. Please pray that these two cases are resolved quickly and the injured are healed; neither one will be finished until the injured are better - in Kevin’s case this could take a while. It definitely feels like we are in a spiritual battle over here.


I am thankful that both Kevin and Oliver are safe and back here with us. These were some long days but the Lord has been faithful and we will keep moving forward.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Prison Break

Have you ever seriously considered breaking someone out of prison? Have you ever seen injustice right in front of you but been helpless?


Well these have been my thoughts the last few days. As I posted last time, one of our staff, Oliver, was in a car accident. He lost control over a rough spot and put it on its side. Traveling with him was a woman and her baby. Neither Oliver, nor the baby were injured but the woman sustained a head wound and was taken to the hospital, while Oliver was taken to prison though he shouldn’t have been. It is a little hard to describe how it works here but if you are in a car accident the driver goes to prison until any injured are released from the hospital or it can go to court. However, that is only if someone is hit or there is another car involved, not with one vehicle. So we were all confused in this case as Oliver was taken but no one outside the car was hurt, it was simply an accident in an Samaritan's Purse vehicle.


So he was taken Saturday night, and we were told to come back in the morning to get him out. Now, this is not a nice jail cell, it is very crowded, no light, no bathroom (you use the corner of the cell) – sort of what you might imagine over here. So on Sunday several of our staff went to help get him. However, they met one road block after another and were told to come back on Monday. On Monday, this happened again and they were told to come back Tuesday. Monday night we went to take him food and found that they had moved him to the prison (as oppose to the jail). The prison was actually a little nicer because during the day they could go outside but it closes at 5pm. At any rate, the police had told us that if the family of the injured agreed for Oliver to be released he could be. However, one of the issues was the husband, the woman was married but the husband had not paid the full dowry (usually many cows over here) so she was not officially his wife, therefore only the father of the girl could say whether it was okay to release Oliver.


Tuesday, we went to get the father from the bush (deep off the main road). This took several hours, then it was off to the police station to get Oliver released. We were a little concerned how the family might react but the father in particular was very understanding and really wanted to see Oliver go free. From about 12 until 6:30, this is where I was with a few of our staff. How to describe what took place…mostly it was a lot of waiting around, getting this signature, meeting this guy or that guy, or going to someone’s house to get him to sign and then more waiting, Just when we thought we were close, they told us they needed the husband now, luckily he was at the hospital not far away. By this time it was about 4:45 – why do I know this? Well we were also told that the prison closes at 5pm and will not open. It seemed as if they wanted to harass us all day and not let him out just to spite us. One of the guys slowly, painfully slow took a signed piece of paper at 4:58 to this other guy who we thought was the end. Well, 5pm came and went – we feared we had lost the battle but we were not going to leave without a fight. So we kept on, working the system trying to find the right people. There were many times during the day when I wanted to ring someone’s neck but this probably would not have been a good move on my part. Well to end this story, they did reopen the prison and we did get Oliver out at around 6:30. Wow, was he happy to get out. He thought he was in for another night. Tomorrow we will roast a goat for him. Our vehicle will stay with the police until the woman recovers but she is expected to be fine.

Thank you for those who prayed. It is only by His grace and mercy that we had victory today. You never know what tomorrow may bring, hunger, prison, death – enjoy today while you can, live today, love today. Let your light shine in the darkness that those around you may see the hope you have found in our risen Lord.

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Home sweet Home

Well after some discussion with some of the management over here, looks like they want me to stay on and work as the compound manager here at the Yei base. It is not quite as hard core as I wanted but I am willing to fill the need and I think I can be an asset. It does mean that I will be doing some more computer work but will also have opportunities to get into the community Mostly, like I said before, it is a lot of getting things to where they need to be at our sub bases and then making sure this compound runs smoothly. There are probably around 50 staff here at the compound (work shop and metal shop). So now I am working to get the rest of my things sent down from Tonj. Someone else will replace me as mobilizer up there. I am glad to be where I can be used for the kingdom and it will be good to be in one place for a while.

Some prayer requests:
  • Today, one of our staff (Oliver) was in a car accident. He is fine but there are a lot of complications with it, pray for a quick resolution.
  • As I start my new role for wisdom and direction as we work toward excellence and stewardship
  • In this role, I am in need of a computer (going with a Mac this time) , prayer for the funds and someone willing to bring it
  • Prayer for my relationships with the staff, that I may be a blessing to them
  • Prayer that the hearts of the Sudanese people would be broken for Christ, that the churches we are building would be used to bring hope throughout this part of the world.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

So after work one day I went next door and played a little football with the kids, it was a good game but they really took it to me ( I was playing goalie). Actually it was great to get out and have some fun with them.



Besides playing football, other very popular thing to do around here this time of year is to pick mangos. Sometimes they can be really hard to get to...this guy was reaching with his stick to try and get a good one (he is in the red shirt, holding a stick down to the right). I have had several really good ones - one of perks of being in Southern Sudan!




Anyway, things are going fine over here. I am still in Yei for a while as we sort things out for where I should be. It has rained several times over here, which is nice and helps to cool the air.
Anyway, things are going fine over here. I am still in Yei for a while as we sort things out for where I should be. It has rained several times over here, which is nice and helps to cool the air. We are currently working on about 10 churches in this area, 3 up in Tonj, 4 around Lui, and about 7 just about an hour from here, and there is a whole other operation up in the Nuba mountains. This year the goal for the whole program is around 100 churches. At any rate it is a lot of coordination as we try and get supplies to all these sites. A lot of our supplies come up through Uganda and we stage them here in Yei . Well I am beat so that is all for tonight.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Thiet Church

Here is the story of Thiet Church which I mentioned a few days ago. This was written by a colleague of mine last year. How many of us have ever had to face this type of situation? Have you given yourself in serving another today? Have you proclaimed the Word of God in your life? Believe me that life is short and today is the day.

Thiet Church is located in the Bahr El Ghazal region of southern Sudan. In the ‘70s, evangelists from the Episcopal Church of Sudan (ECS) visited the town of Thiet and established a church there. Over the next two decades, the church grew and by 1994, attendance reached 300 people. In the same year a temporary structure was built. The building was made with mud walls and benches and a grass roof. Until that time, church meetings had been held under a tree.

Only six months after Thiet Church was erected, the Government of Sudan (GOS) invaded Thiet and set fire to the entire town. The army burned down everything in the village, including the church. The people fled to nearby villages and returned days later to find their town in ashes. Because it was a dry time of year, in only took a few hours for the GOS to burn down the entire village and leave. The invasion had come without warning, and the people lost everything they had.

“When you hear the people coming, you just take your kids and run, you don’t have time for anything else,” said Santino Manut, a former pastor at the church.

When the soldiers left, the people of Thiet cautiously returned and began to rebuild their homes. The congregation at Thiet Church met under the trees and began to rebuild the church when supplies became available. Despite all of the devastation, the congregation continued to meet faithfully four times a week. In the winter of 1995, one year after the invasion, a new church building was constructed.

Unfortunately, for the people of Thiet the invasion in ’94 was not the only attack from the northern government. The GOS routinely bombed the area for seven years beginning in 1992. The worst attack came in 1998, when eight bombs hit the town. That incident killed 27 people in the town, including one woman who attended Thiet Church. One bomb fell through the roof of the church, but did not explode. When the congregation returned to assess the damage, a few people tried to explode the bomb themselves, but were unsuccessful and were forced to bury it. Remarkably, soon after the bombing, the roof was repaired and worship continued at Thiet Church. Throughout the war and in the midst of bombings, Thiet Church persevered and continued to meet together four times a week. Today the congregation consists of about 450 people. The church frequently has to repair the grass roof because of rain and termites and is eager to build a more durable structure. Now that peace has returned to southern Sudan, the people of Thiet Church have hope that better times are ahead and are eager to build a new church to replace their decaying mud and grass facility.

“A new church would be a new beginning,” said current pastor Joseph Ayei, who has pastored the church for the last seven years. “People have started coming back to church since they found out a new building was being built. Even the elders of the town have started coming [to church].”

Pastor Joseph AyeiJoseph Ayei has been the pastor at Thiet Church for the last seven years. Though he is now a faithful preacher of God’s Word, earlier in his life Joseph fought against the government as a rebel soldier in the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) When he was a young man, Joseph had good reasons to be angry about the civil war that was destroying many lives in southern Sudan. In 1984, his village was burned to the ground. At that time he did not have a strong faith in God, and his anger towards the government motivated him to join the SPLA.

In order to receive military training, Joseph was sent to train with soldiers in Ethiopia, where he met many others who were also filled with anger and bitterness. He was trained to operate the guns on a tank, and became close companions with his comrades on his tank crew as they fought in many battles in the following years.

In 1992, Joseph’s life would forever be changed during a battle against the GOS near a city in southern Sudan called Bor. In the heat of battle one evening, Joseph’s tank was hit by a rocket from an enemy tank and his body was riddled with shrapnel and bullets. The other four soldiers in the tank were killed, and Joseph remembers seeing one of his friend’s head decapitated. Because he was sitting higher up in the tank as the gunner, Joseph was able to escape the burning tank by climbing out the window. He slept beside the tank for the night but did not cry for help because he feared GOS troops would kill him if they knew he was alive.
By the morning, the fighting had subsided and SPLA medics came and took Joseph to a hospital in Kenya. When a doctor finally examined him, he found that Joseph had shrapnel lodged in his legs, hands, stomach and neck. Some of his teeth were even broken. After a few days, Joseph asked one of the nurses about his comrades in the tank and was told that they had all been killed.

“The medics told me to thank God because they had all died and I had lived,” Joseph recalls. “That is why I decided to become a pastor, because of the new life God had given me.”

Joseph realized that God had given him a second chance and found there was an alternative to anger. While recovering in the hospital, he dedicated his life to Christ and promised the Lord that he would become a pastor if he ever became well enough to leave the hospital.
Four years later, Joseph followed through on that commitment and was ordained as a deacon for the ECS. In 1999, he became the pastor in Thiet, where he has served faithfully to this day.

Pastor Joseph has never fully recovered from his injuries and still has shrapnel lodged in his body that doctors have not been able to extract. His health has deteriorated of late and he may have to travel to Kenya to receive treatment if things don't improve. However, despite the lingering effects of his injuries, Joseph continues to preach the Word of God week after week.


Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Shake and Bake

Okay this is the second time I have written this blog so hopefully this one works. So Ben and I went to Wau for Easter, basically just to use the internet and get some cold drinks. We were able to find some goat and chips at a little restaurant and it wasn't too bad so that was nice. The bad part about Wau is that it is 2 1/2 hours away so it is a long drive but it was a good day. Here is a street in Wau:


The next morning I awoke to find that our driver's wife and family were sick and that he would not be able to take a little trip that was planned and as Ben knows the most about the projects up there, the task fell to me to drive. So I threw a few things in a bag and together with Emmanuel, a great guy working for us, we headed off down the road in our 4 ton truck.

A few things to note about this truck, first the radio does not work (luckily I have some little speakers for my ipod), second the gas tank leaks (we had to stop every 100 miles and refill the tank by hand – more diesel in my clothing), third it is that it is a right hand drive (Afghanistan prepared me well for this), fourth is that this vehicle was not made for these roads and really does not do well (there are some huge potholes out there) - hence the shake, and fifth is the fact that there is no a/c (poor poor phil – I am making fun of myself here) and here is the bake. But this also means having the window open and getting a nice layer of dirt all over.

So off we go, 386 miles in 15 hours. At one point we had traveled for 2 hours and I realized we had only gone 30 miles! Actually the trip went fine, we traveled through Mango tree forests, swamps, land mine fields (the road was clear but you definitely didn’t want to use the shoulder), vehicles the LRA had attacked and burned, and some crazy bridges. One bridge in particular was a real challenge. We arrived to find that there was a 6x5 hole on one end and there was no way around it. It was about a 20 foot drop, and would not be pretty if we didn’t make it but there was only one road and we had to go. So we said a quick prayer and started finding logs to lay across. Apparently this has been this way for about 2 weeks but hadn’t been repaired yet. Well we made it across fine but I have to say I was a bit worried as I drove across.

I had already driven 12 hours and an hour past dark, as we are not suppose to drive at night, so we found a nice little rest stop (it was a stop anyway) about 3 hours outside of Yei for the night and relaxed a little. At any rate we got in around 10 this morning with no real difficulties. It was great to spend sometime with Emmanuel and learn his story which I hope to tell in a future blog. Here are the two of us:



Upon arriving in Yei, I came to find out that I was going to need to stay here for a few weeks. One guy is headed up to another site and so they need someone here to help run the base. So…I am hoping to have my clothes sent down (as I only brought an extra shirt) on the next flight but I am glad to help where I can. The rains have started here and we might even get some tonight. I desperately need a shower (pun intended).

Well that is all for now –

Sunday, April 8, 2007

Tonight’s special: Three cheese sauce with goat meat on spaghetti

So I am now in Tonj and have begun to settle in a bit. My partner up here, Ben, is a great guy, just recently graduated from University of Missouri in civil engineering. He has been up here about a month, so he is new but I am learning a lot from him about this place.

What can I say about Tonj? Well it is quite a bit warmer up here as oppose to Yei. Since I have been here the temperature in the day is between 115-120 degrees, dropping to around 85-90 at night (at least it makes the cold showers nice). We are expecting the rains to start in another few weeks; the problem then will be the roads and the mosquitoes. All around Tonj there are places that flood and some houses are even on stilts, thus making many roads impassible or at least very difficult even with a 4x4 (there are no paved roads in southern Sudan). This will make the collecting of building materials a challenge.

Our compound is fairly simple. Ben and I share a room and we have power in the evenings from a small generator but power is an issue and there is no fan at night. There are two others here as we are sharing the compound with another NGO. Joseph (Sudanese) is the compound manager and Kate (Ugandan) is a nurse that is working at a clinic on site here. The clinic is currently overwhelmed with cholera cases and she has been working very long days and nights. She has very little help and is 7 months pregnant – wow she is tough! This area really faces serious issues with water and sanitation. There are very few pit latrines and bore hole wells. Some families have to travel over 1 mile for water. This has been the biggest factor for cholera. A lot of people have to go to the river for water, and everything goes on at the river: bathing, washing vehicles, washing clothes, swimming, bathing animals, etc. Most people really don't have a choice and I know would rather not get their water here as it is very polluted.




A woman and her baby:
Praise the Lord we do have water filters at our camp but one problem or challenge we have had since I have been here is that there is no cook. Now for most of you in the states this might sound strange but over here it is very helpful to have someone to cook for you as we don’t have time to shop, nor do we have time to cook. So Ben, Joseph and I have been taking turns – we don’t want Kate in there after being about cholera patients all day. Hence the title of this message: Three cheese sauce with goat meat on spaghetti – this was Ben’s special dish and actually it wasn’t too bad but it was a little strange. Last night I made macaroni and cheese with some corn (mmm…everything yellow) – I tried to ignore the fact that the date on the boxes was Nov 23, 2004. At any rate I really don’t care to much what I eat as long as I find something cool to drink. Here is photo of a woman cooking in Thiet:




We are currently working with three church sites before moving to Rumbek:

Mapel Church: N 07۫ 17.589’ E028۫ 26.554’ Elevation: 1552 Distance (as the crow flies) from compound 26.16 miles – takes about 1 ½ hours one way (beginning on walls – about 2-3 weeks from competition)

Thiet Church: 07۫ 36.284’ E028۫ 48.745’ Elevation: 1356 Distance from compound 16.54 miles – takes about 45 minutes one way (almost done, finishing work underway)

Tonj Church: 07۫ 16.708’ E028۫ 40.869’ Elevation: 1440 Distance from compound .14 miles – takes about 2 minutes (completed). Here is a photo, this will be the general size and design of most the churches:


Most days I am running supplies to the various sites (diesel, concrete, water, tools, etc) trying to make sure that building crews have everything they need. There is no communication between the sites and us so it takes a physical visit and supplies can be very hard to find here. Like I said before, a lot of things come from Yei and Uganda but as that is a hard two day drive one way, you can’t exactly hop down there. Today I went to Thiet to bring the carpenter out there and get the trap to cover the slab at Mapel, then headed out to Mapel after lunch (last nights mac and cheese with some rice). But, at Mapel I found that the cement mixer was busted and we need to get the one from Thiet to bring over – we don’t drive at night so this will to wait until tomorrow as it was already 5pm but it is a constant back and forth.


Guys playing a card game in Tonj:


Well I guess that is all for now. I am planning to share some of the stories I am hearing and I want to tell you more about some of the staff we have working with us. Most people have been very kind and welcoming. Thank you for your prayers. Please pray that the cholera epidemic would end, that Ben and I would have favor with local pastors and officials and that we would have wisdom in working with our staff.

“Send out your light and your truth; let them guide me. Let them lead me to your holy mountain, to the place where you live. There I will go to the altar of God, to God-the source of all my joy. I will praise you with my harp, O God, my God!”

Psalm 43:3-4

Sunday, April 1, 2007

Panyana Church Opening

Hello All,

This will probably be my last blog for a little while as tomorrow I head up to Tonj and there is no internet up there. Today we went to a church opening, which was very interesting. It lasted about 5 hours, mostly full of speeches but was still neat to see.

Here are a few photos from the day.

Here are some cute kids:

Panyana Church: most of the churches we are opening in this area are Episcopal; this is actually a church that was renovated not built (you can see the walls are brick instead of block), SP did the windows, doors, front, floor, and a few other things:

Inside the church (it was pretty full - this is an understatement):

Well I pray all of you are well. It has been somewhat hot today, proabably in the 90s with high humidity so I think I will go find some water.

A couple of prayer requests, tomorrow I really get into it so just prayer that I will find my way and have wisdom in what I am doing. Also, that I will build some strong relationshiops with the guys I am going to live with. Thank you.

phil