(Click to enlarge)

Every day is washing day for these young girls

12 yr. old Joyce collects water for washing,

some also use this water to drink

Little girl playing in the grass

Who doesn't love a good fort!

“Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10

Be still, my soul - the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul - thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul - thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still, my soul - the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul - the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.

Be still, my soul - when change and tears are past
All safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.

"Be still my soul" - Katharina A. von Schlegel, 1752

may I rise, my Lord

My Utmost for His Highest
"Out Of The Wreck I Rise"

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” Romans 8:35

God does not keep a man immune from trouble; He says - "I will be with him in trouble." It does not matter what actual troubles in the most extreme form get hold of a man's life, not one of them can separate him from his relationship to God. We are "more than conquerors in all these things." Paul is not talking of imaginary things, but of things that are desperately actual; and he says we are super-victors in the midst of them, not by our ingenuity, or by our courage, or by anything other than the fact that not one of them affects our relationship to God in Jesus Christ. Rightly or wrongly, we are where we are, exactly in the condition we are in. I am sorry for the Christian who has not something in his circumstances he wishes was not there.

"Shall tribulation…?" Tribulation is never a noble thing; but let tribulation be what it may - exhausting, galling, fatiguing, it is not able to separate us from the love of God. Never let cares or tribulations separate you from the fact that God loves you.

"Shall anguish…?" - can God's love hold when everything says that His love is a lie, and that there is no such thing as justice?

"Shall famine…?" - can we not only believe in the love of God but be more than conquerors, even while we are being starved?

Either Jesus Christ is a deceiver and Paul is deluded, or some extraordinary thing happens to a man who holds on to the love of God when the odds are all against God's character. Logic is silenced in the face of every one of these things. Only one thing can account for it - the love of God in Christ Jesus. "Out of the wreck I rise" every time.

Holiday

There are not many holidays that you can awake to the sound of AK-47s, however, this morning this was how I was awakened at sunrise - 6:30am. Today is the celebration of the formation of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army. Guns are still pretty common around here and are used in many celebrations. I asked Simon how many people had guns and he commented,"Oh, everyone has a gun, I only have one but most families have two or three" (these are assault rifles, usually AK-47s which cost about $100 in the market). I asked where he learned to use his gun and he told me his father had showed him but also his mother (his biological mother; Simon's father has two wives) and his wife knew how to use the gun - everyone does he said.

Most people believe there will be war again before the vote in 2011. This is the vote on whether the south should become its own country apart from the north. The main issues here though is not religious but centers around power, money, and resources (oil). However, as Christian's we know this is a spiritual battle.

Please pray for peace here.
Pray that many would come to know Christ during this window of peace.
And pray that the Christians here would be strengthened as they endure many hardships.

Some large size photos for your enjoyment

Click to see larger

As you eat today remember....

This is an interesting little photo show from the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/07/programmes_cooking_in_the_danger_zone/html/1.stm

A few photos

Well, this last week has been busy with guests and thankfully there have been no more traffic incidents. One car is still at the impound but we hope to get it out Monday. Kevin and Oliver are fine and back to work. Their cases are not quite resolved yet but it looks like everything will be okay.

One of the people I have started working with a lot is Simon.

Simon is a 21 year old Sudanese man from Yei. He is married with one child and works as our procurement/supply officer. So everyday we are working out what is needed for the sites and how to get it - either trying to find it in town or decided whether we should order it from Uganda or Kenya. Some days it can be very frustrating when looking for various items and not being able to find them. Take for instance welding cables; all of our crews need these for their work and if something happens to a cable we are stuck. Well these cables can only be found in Uganda and it takes several days to get them here. Simon is great to work with and I hope to write more of his story in the coming weeks.

Another person I have been working with a lot is Amon.

Amon is our mechanic and manages the fleet down here in Yei. He is from Kenya, not married and has been with SP many years. He is a great guy and a really hard worker; it is not an easy job keeping all these vehicles running.

Here are a few more photos of the compound:

Shower (when it is raining it is like a double shower)

Dining Room in the middle with two large sleeping rooms on either side

Well, until next time -