tidbits.

A few tidbits from this past week through pictures...

My friend, Katie, lives in Nairobi, and, last time I was there, she gave me one of her old skirts that did not fit anymore to give away to a little girl here in South Sudan.  People, men, women, and children, ask for clothes everyday.  But I was waiting for the little girl who would be the right size and for just the right time to give it to her.  And I found her and the right moment.  A group of kids was on the compound.  And this group included my new little buddy, Abutur, a precious little girl who stole my heart first time I saw her in a nearby village.  One of the women asked for clothes for Abutur, who had none on at that time, and I remembered!  Katie's skirt!  I was about to say no, and then, "Yes!  Eh!" I ran to my tukel and grabbed the purple, blue, and green striped skirt.  I helped Abutur put it on, and then I stepped back and smiled.

She was beaming.

And grinning from ear to ear.

She couldn't stop petting the skirt or twirling from side to side.

Thank you Katie for making Abutur's day!  :)

During the school day, random people stop by the gate and holler at us from the other side of the fence.  Most of the time I ignore it, or respond quickly, "I am teaching school right now! Alimi ayong losukul peekona!"  But on Monday, we had to stop our study of "Instructions in a Letter: An Example" in English and go to the gate.  Some of Davis' friends found a baby dikdik (basically a small member of the deer/antelope family here in Sudan)!

And here's Walker with his mountain I told him to make.  He, naturally, included army men!

A truly delightful tidbit from the medical team that was here last week (no pictures, but this story is worth telling!!)...One of the team members, Jennifer (who we'll call "Jenit Cat") called for her next patient to come forward from the line where Mindy and I wear diligently keeping the Toposa waiting behind the tape, or at least attempting our very best to keep them close to it.  A young girl sat down, and with no prompting or questions or anything at all, began to say this (in Toposa, so through a translator) to Jenit Cat, the nurse practitioner from the team: "I go to church here every Sunday night, and last Sunday night I accepted Jesus as my Savior.  I have him in my heart, and I want to be baptized."  YES!  So Jenit Cat explained to her what baptism means and assured her that her belief and her turning away from her sin was enough.  She is saved now!  The precious girl, Nakuta, was so excited.  She too was another beaming face I saw last week.  We connected her to the leader in that area, and hopefully she will be baptized soon!!!

Oh yes!  There are roughly eight nests on a giant tree just outside my window and just outside the school container.  Eight nests of these medium sized black birds that are extremely noisy.  And the branches upon which they are nested are much too high for whacking.  Davis and his Toposa buddies have given their best shot with rocks and their slingshots to get the birds to fly away, but they keep returning.  Which only means there are eggs.  Which only means more loud black birds by my window.  Mer.

This one's pictureless too, but I just had to tell you readers.  I was spit on for the first time yesterday.  As a blessing.  I stuck out my hand to greet an old lady, a nyakimat, and she reached out and took my hand while simultaneously lightly spitting on my face and other hand!  I knew it was a blessing (the Lewis clan warned me), but it sure was a surprise!

And on a strange note to close...I had a dream this weekend about a snake that kept coming back to life on the compound and then on the walk to church Sunday night we encounter three snakes!!!  One that Shannon rolled over in the car earlier in the day, one dead but hanging in a tree, and one very much alive that Shannon and Davis successfully killed (with the help of a Toposa boy and his stick!) on our way back home.  And I wonder, if next time I dream of two snakes, will we encounter six?  Wait, no, actually, I don't.

Back to pictured tidbits...

Yes, it's still raining!

Kids on the compound

Me with a giant head of cabbage that will last Mindy and I for several meals--hip hip hooray!

prayer for medical mission.

Please pray for the team from Beaumont, TX that is here this week.  They are a medical team and will be holding a clinic in a different area each day.  Please pray for strength for each member as they diagnose and treat and grab meds, etc. from 8:00am to 3:00pm every day.  Pray that they lead by example as they pray with patients.  Pray for the translators and the Toposa leaders  (the men that Shannon is weekly discipling!) as they help with translation, crowd control, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, sharing the truth of Jesus Christ with those waiting to see the doctor.  Pray that God is glorified above all else.  Thank you!

The pharmacy!

The clinic from today--between Nataragat and Nyaronyit

beautiful day.

(If you haven't read the previous post, please do!  This one will then make more sense.)

Like I said before, nothing in Toposaland is constant.

Bleh days are followed by crazy days followed by weird days and slow days followed by the worst days ever.  But then, every so often, a day steps forth and is truly like a diamond in the rough.

Some days are full to the brim of beautiful.

School went well on Wednesday.  The day before we agreed to take two of our close friends, Maria and Lokuru (yes, that Lokuru!), out to an area called Lomeyin where they would get some food from their family members out there.  It takes a while to get there, so I planned accordingly and Davis and I buzzed quickly through Reading, English, Math, and History before 12:30pm.  The rest of the subjects I made homework.

I headed to the kitchen to eat lunch with Mindy when my name was called at the gate.  It was Natori, who just had a baby.  I hadn't seen her in a couple of days, and she wanted to come in the compound.  "Oh, why not?" I thought.  So I let her and two other ladies in.  They came and sat on the porch where I served them nyebiskuits and ngakipi (water).  We talked for a while.  I remembered the days when I first came that times like this got on my nerves.  I found myself enjoying their company!  Praise God.

After a while, my stomach was calling to me.  It was around 2:00pm.  We tried many different excuses to let them know that we had things to do; finally, they left.  I ate quickly and then headed to Nataragat to ask Lucy to help me tell the next story to the group of men under the tree in Nyaronyit.  She was not there, but somehow I was able to communicate my message to a lady there.  She said she'd greet and give my message to Lucy when she returned.  Some young girls were there, and they really wanted rides.  I thought again, "Why not?"  I let five girls hop into the car (which by the way was the white third car we have on the compound---the steering wheel is on the left side---I was driving this one because this past week one or more of Buck's tires have been flat, I got them fixed, and then they all went flat again!).

I stopped by Nyaronyit on the way back to the compound with the girls; no men in sight under the tree or in the villages (probably off celebrating and koroting somewhere else!).  I left word with a little girl that I'd be back soon to tell more stories.

I took the girls back to the compound.  I shared some nyebiskuits with them too and chatted and laughed and learned their names:  Namana (garden), Nyakor (chicken), Nyamuriat (bore hole), Nyemonging (bull), and Nangokwo (?).  Did I ever mention that the Toposa name their children based on something from their birth?  Namana was born in the garden, Nyakor around some chickens, and Nyamuriat by the bore hole.  My name means house, Nyakai (Nakai).  If I was appropriately named, I'd be Natalia (clinic or hospital).  But that's boring!

Anyway...they wanted to see some pictures of my family, so I whipped out my photo album.  They loved it.  Loved the dresses and the hair of my friends and family!  Mom, they thought you were really beautiful.  :)  And Colin, they kept thinking you were Shannon...they think America is a village and we all knew each other before coming here.

Finally, it was time to head to Lomeyin, so I said goodbye to the girls, who had agreed to return to their village by foot, and with huge smiles they walked out the gate.

The road to Lomeyin was smooth (not physically).  On the ride, Maria and Lokuru told us they had something to share, and without a moment of hesitation, they began to sing.  Along with two other ladies in their village, they wrote a song about the story of Hannah that Carrie told on Tuesday at the women's gathering!!!  The words spoke about how she prayed to God for a child, promising she'd give the child back to Him, and ended with a prayer saying, "Help us, God."  It was beautiful.  They sang it over and over and over.  Then, they started singing another song we had not heard before.  They wrote two!  I do not remember those words, but they, too, were heartfelt and beautiful.

We dropped off Maria at her sister's village, and Mindy and I continued onward (the farthest I've been in my time here so far!) to Lokuru's village.

Now, Lokuru is considered my mother ("ito kang") because she named her baby after me.  It did not dawn on me until we were waiting for her mother in the village, that this was my grandma, "ataa kang." Exciting moment.  Some of the women cautiously approached me, white girl in their village.  When I told them my name, they burst at the seams in joy!  That Nyakai!  They warmly welcomed me into their village (which does not happen here), and my Ataa brought me back to her house, giving me an old jerry can to sit on.  She gave Lokuru the food for which she came, and then turned and gave me a calabash jug, lots of sesame seed, and some sorghum!  First gift I've received since being here.  I was at this point smiling from ear to ear (I think!).  I whipped out my camera and took some pictures of my "family."

 (Lokuru is third from the left)

Ataa kang

After goodbyes, we returned and picked up the rest of the gang and rode home.

It was a long day and a tiring one.  And one full of change.

Visitors?  Hungry tummy, four biscuit packages, many refills of H2O.
Giving those girls a special ride?  Saying no to many others who also wanted to come, more biscuits.
Hearing those songs that brought tears to my eyes?  Diesel to get to Lomeyin.
Meeting my Toposa family and the time I got to spend with the people doing all of the above?

Priceless.  Exquisite.  Precious.

Beautiful.

Other pictures...

 Bertha, the bathroom bat, and baby

 Samson and Delilah's puppies!  (The Lewises' dogs)

A brand new Toposa bracelet

 Blue mashed potatoes for our team dinner--it was science themed!

 These were a first.  The school kids threw sticks over the fence with notes on them. This one is asking if I was going to Nataragat that day.

A picture from my journal--this is of the tree under which we sit doing church on Sunday nights.  I looked up and noticed the stars behind the cage of the tree branches, piercing the deepest darkness.  This is my prayer for Toposaland.  That God will come and pierce the darkness.  That He will draw hearts to Himself, one by one by one, and that they can be like stars shining His truth for His glory and bring light to their own people.

sit-ups on cement.

Mindy has arrived!  She is doing great, and I already love her!  She is going to make a WONDERFUL addition to the South Sudan team.  We are different, yet have crazy things in common.  I love how God so beautifully weaves lives together for His glory; He is doing so with our team.  Praise His Name!  Please keep praying for unity.

This afternoon, inspired by Mindy, we took time this afternoon to do fifteen exercises to work our abs on the cement floor of our porch.  You are supposed to do twenty-five of each, but I could only do ten to fifteen.  These abs have not been worked in a while!

In the midst of the motions of lifting feet and swinging arms and the sounds of backs hitting the floor and the contagious laughter, I thought about life recently and how I've kind of been doing a lot of sit-ups on cement.

Every day is different here.  Every event never occurs the same way.  And that has been challenging to adjust to. I like patterns and routines.  I like observing things fall into place and watching people who are readable.  I like being able to expect things.

But Toposaland offers none of those.  No patterns.  No routines (except for teaching school each day).  No happy little me watching things fall into place or watching easy-to-read-and-understand people.  No met expectations=no room for expectations at all.

For example, church at night under the tree by the clinic has, for the past couple of weeks, been us and a few students (the boys’ friends) singing loudly, in hopes of someone hearing and remembering we meet there every Sunday night, and then listening to the New Testament and discussing it for a short time.  I informed Mindy of that on her arrival. 

This Sunday night Shannon and Carrie decided to go to a different area to attend church, led by one of Shannon’s leaders.  They said it was wonderful being able to sit back and watch at church, as the Toposa leaders led worship and the discussion of God’s Word. 

That left me and Mindy at the nearby clinic tree.  We started singing with the same few students when a group came toward us in the dark singing, “Yesu Amina Ayong” (or “Jesus Loves Me,” the Toposa version).  Then, my friend Lokuru came.  And she is deeply into witchcraft and dark things and has been strangely distant lately.  And then, some men came and pulled up a broken bench from the clinic to sit and listen.  

They all listened and heard the truth of the gospel straight from John 3 in God's Word.  The Lord showed me key points to pull out, and they remembered the story!  Tremendously encouraging.

For another example, our Tuesday women’s gathering last week looked like a “no-go” when no one showed up at the time they showed up the previous week.  A few of them ended up coming late, and Carrie gave the lesson anyway, even though not many listened.  

Today, however, the women were on time, and they were ALL there, physically and mentally.  In every capacity.  They led the singing and worship time, Regina singing so loudly and so beautifully.  They answered questions after hearing the story of Hannah and Samuel (which, by the way, fit so appropriately to their culture--multiple wives, importance of children), and one woman was even able to repeat the story to another who came late.  

Sit-ups anywhere are painful.  But fifteen different versions of them fifteen times on cement is even more painful, and I can tell that it is going to take a lot of adjustment.  Yes, I have come far from five months ago, now used to things with the Toposa like being laughed at, commanded to do things, and treated like the ministry I have is less important because I am a woman.  My eyes are now used to watching children pee and poop on my floor, lizards scramble into the depths of my cabinets, and people attempting to jump in the back of Buck the Truck.  

But I know there are many things yet to see and experience.  Some excellent and amazing and incredible beyond my wildest imagination and some I hope I never have to see or go through again.  And the thought of the change continuing is scary.  But I know that I go forward hemmed in behind and before by God Himself.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, and have been called according to His purpose."  Romans 8:28

"Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart."  2 Corinthians 4:1

Even if I make loud noises in the morning because my muscles are beyond sore, I will press on and do more tomorrow.  I may only be able to do five, or I might be able to twenty-five.  But the only way I will be able to do any sort of sit-ups period, is through His sufficient grace and immutable presence and unfailing strength.

So bring it on, cement!  Through Him, for whom NOTHING is difficult, I can do all things. 

"koroting" undignified.

Last Sunday night, there was a good group of people that came to church under the tree.  The singing was loud and went on for quite a while.  Eventually, people began to jump during the worship songs.  I wrote in my newsletter that Toposa love to sing.  Well, they also love to jump!

When there were enough people present, we formed a circle.  Two by two pairs jumped, to the clapping beat, toward the middle and straight to the people across from them in the circle.  Of course, they continued to choose one of us nyangangos (white people) to jump across the big circle.  In the past, the jumping has gotten out of hand, and the worship time turns to play time (more on that soon).  But last Sunday night, the worship jumping was worship jumping.

I, unlike the Toposa, do not like jumping, especially Toposa jumping.  They jump very high and land flatfooted, with their heals touching the ground.  I've been practicing every time someone takes my arm and commands me to jump, but my feet are just not made to jump like they jump.  Anyway, my jumping self let go in worship and hopped across the circle more times than I could count!  During the worship jumping, I was reminded of this song that my dear friend, Andrea, taught me on a mission trip to southern Mexico:

I will dance
I will sing
To be mad
For my King
Nothing, Lord
Is hindering
This passion in my soul.

And I'll become
Even more
Undignified
Than this
Some may say
It's foolishness
But I'll become
Even more
Undignified
Than this
Leave my pride
By my side
And I'll become
Even more
Undignified
Than this.

And all this is
For You,
My Lord.

To "korot" undignified.  Now, that is a new picture.  Not just dancing, but jumping for Jesus.
Makes me smile!

But Toposa don't just like to jump at church time.  Right now, it is harvest season, and the men have returned from the cattle camps with all of their cattle.  A common thing to see and hear during the day or through the middle of the night is groups of men koroting as we refer to it on the compound.  Men, young men, sometimes young girls and women too, gather together in a large circle.  One by one, they enter the middle of the circle and sing a song about their bulls or children or wives or village.  Then, the group joins them in a very loud and deep sounding, "WHOA, OH, OH!" which then kicks off the group jumping.  Two days ago there was koroting at night and then all day the day after that.  Some of their favorite spots around here to gather and korot and celebrate are right by the compound, so my sleep and my teaching have been punctuated by "OH!"s.

From the high point in the compound, I could see them koroting in the distance.  At one point, they stopped jumping and began some sort of adult hide and seek game while running around with giant sticks and whips and playfully beating each other.  Carrie and I talked about how we will definitely never understand the Toposa.  There is no way we will ever get how running around getting beaten softly after jumping and celebrating a man and his bull is fun and an activity in which one would want to participate often, or rather, at all.

But the beautiful thing is that God gets it.  He understands these people better than they do themselves.  And He desires that they know Him.  He desires their celebrations to be for Him and for His Name.

He desires Toposa koroting for His glory.

So, I'll keep jumping undignified during worship songs that they may see, not me--tall, white, unmarried girl from America jumping around looking like a crazy, non-agile stick lumbering around--but that they may see Him in all the fullness of His glory and realize His desire for their hearts and their worship.

Here's some pictures from this past week:

 Walker's classwork one day, matching colors and shapes to make an owl!

 Me and little Lokinga

 Me with some more kids while visiting friends (we are inside a tukel!)

 My good friend, Natori, had her baby.  She asked us to help name her.  We chose, and she agreed with a huge smile even while lying down in her after-birth pains, to name her Nyarot, after Whitney!

 Here I am with little Nyarot.  She is adorable.

 Yesterday I was cleaning and found a rat's nest behind a frisbee I keep in the corner on the kitchen shelf.  It was composed of mostly pieces from my mop head (which now looks like it has bangs!) and the nice string that was the handle to this flashlight.  Crazy hungry desperate nest-making rats! 

Me making crazy faces with some visitors I had yesterday afternoon.  These girls were so much fun!  They are from Lucy's village and popped over to see me.  We shared water and biscuits, and then I tooks pictures of them and with them to hopefully learn all six of their names so I can call them by them when I see them next! 

Last night this big beetle found his way into my pot of pasta and boiling water.  I scooped him out with my spoon.  No, I did not eat him.  Yes, I ate my pasta after removing him from it!

today I...

-killed a bug with my bare foot; my shoes were too far away.

-was trying to shake a baby bat off my toilet paper roll when Bertha (yes, I have named the bats that "hang out" in the bathroom Bernard and Bertha) came swooping over to save her baby.  I pretty much threw the roll out into the darkness and continued with my business.

-discovered when getting a new toilet paper roll that some sort of creature (mostly likely a rat) has been eating and shredding the extra toilet paper to create for itself a nest inside the basket where I keep the extra toilet paper.  Still don't understand how the rat can fit through the little holes in the basket to devour my tp.  Will be working on figuring out that soon.

-drew a Ford Model-T on the chalkboard (following the instructions in the drawing book of course!).

-chased chickens out the Lewis house and cleaned up poop all over the floor.

-made a family tree starting with Abraham and going all the way to Jacob's twelve sons.

-found out that the new South Sudan visa I have to get will be $400 USD.  Merrrrrr.  Praying that I can get it without having to be in person at a US Embassy.

-helped Carrie with our first women-only gathering on the compound to pray, sing, and listen to God's Word--to do worship together.  It went really well!!!  We had 21 ladies come.  They listened for the one hour while Carrie taught, while enjoying the tea we had made for them.  I held a world map, which they have never seen before, as Carrie used the example of us trying to travel ka nyakajen (by foot) to America.  To do that, we'd need to ask directions!  It's the same with our lives, we need to have direction to go the right way.  And Jesus Himself is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  So to know better how to follow Him, we need to gather together and listen to His Word.

-watched our friends', Lokuru and Maria, faces as they saw Delilah's puppies for the first time today (that's the Lewis' dog--the puppies came on Friday morning!).

-sat during Carrie's talk and watched two babies pee on my porch.  Smile.  What are you gonna do?  One mother got up and retrieved some nearby leaves and sweeped the majority of her child's urine off the porch.  Thoughtful indeed.

-shook an old lady's hand after she wiped her nose with it and ate pumpkin with it.  Yummy.

What a day, what a day!
Just though you might want a little glimpse into Tuesday in Paringa, South Sudan.

worth it.

A song from a day when God taught me, through my interactions with the Toposa, how much He loves:

Walking to go see a friend
People calling out every now and then
Wanting to say hello
It took longer than she thought
Stopping to greet so off and on
And as she greeted, the Holy Spirit spoke:

CHORUS:
Jesus thinks they're worth it
Worth a greeting by the hand
Jesus thinks they're worth it
He'll give to them though they won't give back
Jesus thinks they're worth it
Even though they don't call on His Name
Jesus died in their place
They are the reason He came.

Back home from where she went
A girl calls from the fence
Wanting more than a hello
Give me that bucket there
If not, give me your soap to spare
And as she gave, the Holy Spirit spoke:

CHORUS:
Jesus thinks she's worth it
Worth a greeting by the hand
Jesus thinks she's worth it
He'll give to her though she won't give back
Jesus thinks she's worth it
Even though she won't call on His Name
Jesus died in her place
She is the reason He came.

Church did not happen that night
A wounded man from another drunk fight
No time to say hello.
Instead, turning to their ancestors
Always relying on witch doctors
And as she watched them, desperately cry out,
She just had to, open her mouth:

CHORUS:
Jesus thinks you're worth it
Worth a greeting by the hand
Jesus thinks you're worth it
He'll give to you though you won't give back
Jesus thinks you're worth it
Even though you don't call on His Name
Jesus died in your place
Yes, you are the reason He came

And because Jesus loves you...
I'll greet
I'll give
I'll teach the gospel
Because I think you're worth it too.