Update from South Sudan Jan. 30, 2012

1/18/2012: So its been a while since the last update. Still loving it here. A lot has happened too. Esther, Josh, and Liz all left for Iris ministries on the 10^th. Sounds like they’re loving it there. That same day we had a meeting as a team and decided that we really wanted to step it up when it comes to boldness in sharing during the village ministry time. It really hit us that while God will tell us if he wants someone to speak specifically he will say so, but if we don’t hear a name it’s not an excuse not to speak and share the gospel. In reality, as Christians were all called to share the hope that’s we have. That day we got to sit down with two women for about two hours and talk about Jesus! So good! The day after that we prayed for a man’s foot to be healed. Till believe that it will happen! After that house we came upon another one. There a sister in Christ was added to the kingdom! It’s so crazy how God wants to use us to tell others about him. When we stop trying to sell it as something the people need and stop saying how life will be better with it fruit comes. It comes because we simply tell people about the love of Jesus. It’s not like some info-mercial trying to give you something new. It’s simply a story of love. It’s simply a story of someone dying for people that he loved. So good! A couple days ago we were doing the same thing in the villages and two more people came to Christ! Oh the power of the simple gospel!

            God is really stretching me like crazy to speak more and more. In several of the village times I find myself saying something…next week we’re going to panyana and leading a camp there. I have a sermon and two seminars that I’m leading there. It’s cool how God told me before I left Kona that I would be speaking and that he would prepare me…and now it’s happening. Crazy!

            We’re moving along on the rain catchment tank! The first full layer of cement is done! It finally looks like a tank! Three more to go and it will be done! So stoked.

            God’s really been challenging me to dig into the bible even more than ever before. I am finding that if I don’t spend time with him at the beginning of each day then it is very difficult to walk out in love. It’s not an obligation thing, I simply want to spend time reading it! I’ve never had that desire before, so I’m really enjoying it! Tara and I have started reading threw the new testament from start to finish and out loud. Matthew has really been rocking me. What if I truly took everything that Jesus said and lived by uit? So good! I’ve also been reading 1^st Corinthians (at the time I wrote this 1st, now I’ve finished it and am into 2^nd Corinthians) on my own. So good. I encourage everyone to read it and get ready to get rocked. Remember, it was written to the church…and somehow it is still totally applicable to us as Christians in our time as well. So crazy.

            Still feels like home here. God’s placed some things on my heart and I’m pretty sure I’ll be out here again someday for longer than three months. If anyone is up for a crazy God adventure then pray about joining me! It’s gonna be epic.

            Break off any stereotypes you may have about south sudan. It’s not like what I pictured before coming. It’s very safe. Of course, there are some parts that are dangerous, but isn’t that the same story everywhere? There’s some parts of San Jose that you don’t go to because it’s dangerous. God is moving like crazy in this nation. It’s only a matter of time before it takes off and is a hub for revival in Africa. And hopefully the rest of the world.

 

1/22/2012: We made it to panyana today. Begins the week long youth camp. It’s about an hour and a half or so away from Yei. We’re right along the border where South Sudan, Congo, and Uganda meet. The camp is pretty sweet! We’re staying in one of the African style brick/mud huts. They had beds already made with mosquity nets and everything ready for us! We go in, had a short meeting then went to church. Service was like 4 ½ hours long. Never before in my life have I ever been so thankful for hour and a half long services like back home in America. It was really cool and they had so much good stuff to say, but man, 4 ½ hours is a long time to just sit there. They had us up front as guests too, so we couldn’t get up to go to the bathroom or anything. We have a break now until 6:00pm. When we’ll meet before the evening meeting. This week I’m speaking at least 3 times. On Tuesday I am doing a 2 hour seminar on “Hearing the voice of God.” Crazy that as of 4 months ago I woulda called you crazy in regards to this topic, yet now here I am speaking on it to the youth of this camp. Funny how God works things like that. On Wednesday I’m doing a seminar on discipleship methods. On Friday Night I am doing the evening teaching on “sharing your faith.” I’m so stoked to see what happens with this camp. We’re expecting some crazy fruit to come from it!

            Lately, I’ve been thinking about going back to school right away before I go back into the missions field. I’m considering teaching while also getting my degree in psychology. We’ll see. I’d love to be a little more equipped in some areas before I go into long term missions overseas. We’ll see after outreach what happens with that!

 

1/24/2012: We’re into the third day of the youth camp. It is going well so far! God is moving big time here and it is cool to see how the students are taking it all in. I spoke today on hearing the voice of God. I was super nervous right before I went up but then ended up speaking for over an hour. There were a lot of questions afterwards too which is awesome! Revival is starting in South Sudan! Loving panyana! We’ll get to go for a walk today and go for about 3 miles to the congo! Crazy! So stoked for it! So, everyone here is a freaking beast at soccer. You say you’re gonna play then all of a sudden they’re all changed into their cleats and Manchester united jerseys. They’re really good though! Luke and I were talking and it was like our varsity higschool teams wouldn’t even be able to touch these guy…and they’re like 12-16 years old. So funny! I did score a goal though (total fluke, shouldn’t have happened at all…) The keeper was out of the net when I shot…he dove back in front because it was a weak shot but it hit a hole in the ground and bounced up right over him…plus he was like 12…but come on, those are just minor details! It was so fun though. When I come back to the states I’m definitely going to get more into soccer so when I’m out here next I can at least keep up a little bit with these guys.

 

1/27/2012: Today went really well. I was supposed to speak on discipleship but I felt like God really wanted me to talk on how He isn’t a God of fear but a God of relationship. What was crazy is that I really felt like I was supposed to go in with no notes.  I was so nervous going into it. The holy spirit really moved though and I spoke for over an hour with no filler stuff…just strait speaking. It is getting a lot more comfortable to speak in front of people. I’m actually starting to enjoy it!

            Pretty much, We met the speaker of the house of south sudan today. No big deal. He’s just number 3 in line in the government. No big deal. If the president dies, the VP takes over. If the VP dies, the speaker of the house takes over. No big deal. Not only did we meet him, b ut we3 got to sit and talk with him for over an hour over drinks. He is a solid Christian! So good! From what he said, the nation is moving in an amazing way. So good! We got to pray for him too! So good! I also have pictures to prove it too!

 

1/30/2012: We’re back in Yei from panyana. Camp was an amazing week. There was so much growth in the students. Our small group especially seemed to be really impacted. All week long the generic church answer (not too different from home) was “if you humble yourself and confess your sins Jesus will give you whatever you ask for.” By the last day of small groups their answers were all about how they truly understand what a relationship with God means and how they’re going to tell others about it! A lot of them sound really ready to go out and live Jesus out with their lives! So stoked!

            Being back in Yei feels like being at home. There’s something about this base and the leaders here that’s different from anywhere else. I’m really going to miss Seme (The pastor in panyana)…a lot…but YWAM Yei really feels like home.

            I am constantly amazed by how similar Africa is to the United States. I used to look at it and imagine a whole different world. It’s very similar. It’s not that image of everyone and their mother about to die of starvation that usually gets painted. There are teenagers who rock sunglasses and act like they’re too cool for everything. Kids on their cell phones and that are texting. Phones go off in church. People tell jokes and play pranks on each other. People care about how they look and what they wear. Teenagers struggle with doing drugs. There’s little motivation for school. Girls get pregnant at younger (teenage) ages. Some churches are dead. Some churches are alive and kicking. There are stores to buy things at. Everyone loves music. There are things specific to the culture and customs as well. Now, if no one knew that I was living in Africa, or I hadn’t mentioned it, one would have thought this description was about America. So why does Africa get all of the bad rep? I know it’s not perfect, but people starve in America. People don’t have proper health treatment in America. There’s poverty there too. I’m just really noticing how no matter where you go in the world you will see the exact same things. Sure, there are minor variations, but still…same thing wherever you go.

            I really have a hope for this nation though. Some of the strongest Christians I have ever seen are here. The government has some very honest people in it which is helpful for setting the groundwork. It’s going places.

Hey Guys,

Absolutely loving it here. God’s doing crazy things already! I’ve decided that because there is so limited internet access I am going to post my journal entries throughout the time here. Each time I post I will have updates from most of the days in between so I can keep you all updated! Starting with Day 1 which I touched on in the last update. Enjoy!

 

12/23/2011: God totally had our backs right away. Somehow we were able to check more bags than we were allowed to for free. So Crazy.

 

12/25/2011: So blessed to be able to spend Christmas in England with Chloe’s family. Amazing, I love it here. Definitely going back one day.

 

12/26/2011: Totally blessed at the airport…again. We had several overweight bags that we had to check. The lady at the counter found out what we were doing and completely turned a blind eye to our weight on the bags. Yeah, God!

 

12/27/2011: The ride from Juba to Yei was crazy. Almost 5 hours of crazy bumpy roads where we had no idea where we were going or how long it would take. There is no way our bags should have stayed on the top of the car, yet somehow they did. Thank you Jesus!

 

12/28/2011: Yei is amazing. I seriously feel so at home here. Everyone at the YWAM base is so welcoming and hospitable! Playing Frisbee with the kids really broke the ice and was a lot of fun. We got to sit down with George (one of the staff) and talk for a while about the base. I think we are going to do several water projects here. There’s so much potential for this base! One day it’s going to be huge. He has such an amazing heart for the Lord I just know it will be blessed. I definitely want to bring a team out here one day. Maybe next fall? We’ll see!

 

1/1/12: Crazy day today. We went to church in Yei. It was so awesome to see the absolute joy that the people there had. We walked in to sit down and they escorted us up to the front to sit with the pastors and their families. After church we went to this house to talk with someone. We walked through a village of mud huts and what looked like total devastation to come across a huge house. It looked like our houses back home. It had a high fence with barbed wire on the top. Turns out we were sitting in the house of one of the major generals from the south Sudanese army! Holy crap. Crazy. We got to talk to him for a while about a ton of things. He definitely “knows” God, but doesn’t actually know him personally. Hardcore praying for him. He did let us pray for him before we left though. Crazy prompting from the Lord. Back in Kona they taught on the verses in Romans that share the Gospel. I wrote them down on a piece of paper and then shoved it into my bible. Since that day, I felt like I shouldn’t write anything else on it except “The soil makes all the difference.” Well, when we were praying for him I felt like God told me to leave that piece of paper in the house. So when I got up to put my camera bag on to leave I subtly turned my back to everyone and then dropped the piece of paper onto his entertainment center. Who knows what will happen with that, but we’ll see!

            I got to talk with Abraham (one of the boys on base) for a while today. He knows a lot of horrifying things that no 10 year old should ever know. The nation going through war definitely had an impact on him. He also told me about this car that occasionally (or used to, I didn’t understand 100% because of the language barrier) drives down the road. He said it is black with black tinted windows. He said that when the kids see it they all run and hide. He didn’t exactly know what it was, but he did know that if they took a kid you would never see them again. Horrifying. It’s probably either child soldiers or trafficking. Makes me feel sick to my stomach to think about. It broke my heart to hear his response when I asked him what he wants to do when he grows up. He said that there aren’t really any options of things for him to do. There’s such a spirit of hopelessness over this nation.

            I can’t get the idea of staffing a team out here off of my mind. It seems like so many things trigger these thoughts. Still praying into whether its me or the Lord, but we’ll see. I do know that I love it here.

 

I got rocked by a quote that was on a shack in town today. It said:

 

“Lord, bless my enemies before you bless me.”

 

Wow.

 

1/2/2012: Crazy hectic day today. Melodie and I were given the privilege of leading worship for the base this morning. So much fun! We then went as a team over to the other side of the base to find a spot for a rain catchment tank. We found a perfect spot and prayed over it. I have this feeling in my spirit that from that one spot so many lives are going to be changed. We started by leveling the ground to get it prepped for the tank.

            We then went into town to get the supplies. It was extremely exhausting going from place to place to find them and negotiate the prices. 1142 pounds later (about $350 USD) we got all of the supplies. I can’t wait to start teaching themen on the base and from the community the water projects. Educating them in the smallest things will seriously save so many lives.

            We’ve been here for only a week and a half but it is already feeling like home. After sending a Facebook message at the internet place I just sat in one of the chairs and drank a coke. I never realized how much I would enjoy a bottle of coke. So good!

            On the way back to the base I totally got rocked. I looked down and saw how dirty my feet were and then totally thought of the passage where Jesus washed his disciple’s feet. I always thought it was cool, but the significance never clicked to me. My feet were absolutely disgusting. So crazy! Our savior washed the disgustingness of their feet. Totally blows my mind to think about that.

 

1/3/2012: We started the water project today. It was a little frustrating because we already have to get creative with supplies, but it got going after a while. We cut most of the forms and will piece them together soon!

            We also helped lead a bible study at a local church. It was a really good discussion on John 6 where Jesus feeds 5000 men. I never thought to look at it from the perspective of the little boy who had the food that was multiplied. He had so little, yet the Lord did such huge things with it.

            Tomorrow our team is putting on a seminar. Several people got that I would be speaking, yet it really didn’t sit well with me. I was willing to do it if the Lord confirmed it, but it didn’t feel right. We prayed about it as a team and our whole program ended up getting changed. We have 4 speakers for it. Victoria on restoration and identity in Christ, Liz on relationship with our heavenly father, Melodie on co-creation (with Tara painting in the back) and Luke on something. We’re stoked for it.

            I got a crazy word from the Lord today. I felt like he said “San Jose isn’t your home anymore.” I really don’t know what that means yet, but it rocked me. I was also getting a ton of words while we were praying about the seminar. I asked why I was getting so many and I felt like God said “Why wouldn’t you?” So crazy. So rocked. God is so good! Yeah!

 

1/4/2012: Well, to put it simply, we stopped a fire from burning someone’s house down. It was supposed to be a controlled burn to take out dead crops and it caught the wind and went over the fence to someone else’s land and went crazy. There is no doubt in my mind that we had some help from God on this one. There was wind and it was really dry. A couple of us were praying that it would stop in Jesus’ name, then suddenly it just died off. It was in the middle of dead stocks of corn and was like it suddenly came to a halt. So crazy.

            It finally hit me 100%...I’m not home in the states anymore. When the fire was burning someone had their phone out. I asked if they were calling someone for help and they just gave me a look like “uhh…who do you expect me to call??” Yup…not at home anymore. I still feel at home here, but it has just completely hit that I’m not in America anymore.

 

1/5/2012: I got to sit with James for a while yesterday (One of the kids). He helped me learn some Arabic because I was struggling with it. We then got to read some of the bible together. I read a passage to him and then he read John 1. It was so awesome to be able to help him with that. The joy on his face when we finished reading was so crazy to see. I can’t wait to pour into him more in the coming months.

 

1/7/2012: Sitting in the meeting room right now. Were about 14 hours into our 24 hour burn. All of the teams throughout the world (that still sounds so crazy to say) started the 24 hour prayer time at 6:00pm London time last night (about 10am [I think] back in Cali) and constantly have at least two people in this room either praying, worshipping, or reading the bible. I had my sets from 9-11pm, 1-2am, 5-6am, 7-8am, 9-10am, 12-1pm, and 7-9pm. It is crazy how the Lord speaks in the late hours of the night. He’s crazy dropping revelations on the people here. So good!

             We got to do some village ministry the other day. We walked through this trail and came upon some huts. I am completely blown away by the generosity of the South Sudanese people. It makes me sad to think about my mindset, and the mindset that America has. We walk up on a few huts and greet people that we’ve never seen before. Instantly they all rush over to us and greet us like we’re family. They gather any and all chairs that they had and gave them to us while they sat on the ground. My mind was blown. They have very little, yet their outlook towards others is to give. We have so freaking much, yet our mindset is to keep it for ourselves and expect more. We came out here to show the people of South Sudan what the love of Jesus looks like, yet I find them being the ones that truly represent what the self sacrificing love of Christ looks like. Oh, what would happen if Africa started influencing the US instead of the other way around? Crazy lesson on humility.

 

1/8/2012: We’re going to church today. I’m giving my testimony. We’ll see how that goes haha. I’m a little nervous, but God’s placed an excitement on my heart for the message that I’m going to bring with it. Boom, lets do this.

 

1/8/2012: So we got to the church and they threw it out there that they not only wanted a testimony but they wanted someone to preach. Well, I was ready to share so why not right? What’s crazy is that over the past 48 hours God was preparing me to preach today. It’s not so much that he gave ma a sermon that he was giving me a peace to do it and not fear. It’s so easy to share when it’s the holy spirit and not you talking! It was for over a half an hour on how God is not a distant God but one who wants to run with us personally. As a shock to me (and probably a lot of you reading this) I guess I am decent at public speaking after all. Haha man, it’s crazy how God can use us in the midst of our biggest fears to do stuff for him. Yeah, God!