pieces.

Pieces from my week...

A nyakimat ("old lady") from Cumakori

All the kids shaking my hand at once!  Mata daan! 

 Me with kids during an attempt at learning all of their names!  Ha!  

Mostly so I could get some more Toposa vocab since their names are of things/places/conditions/people that describe where/what/how/when/why they were born.

Mindy with another Natabo

 Me with Lokuru, Nakai, and Lotiang from a nearby village.  

They brought me this giant pumpkin to Lo Compound for me to buy.

And then they made me kuwok it!  (Carry it on my head!)

i had a cow.

Today, it was my turn to tell the story of when the Israelites turned from God and created a golden calf to be their god.  We gathered around the tree where we usually gather.  And there, in the middle of the circle of people, resting up against the tree, was a cow.

That's right!  I had a cow in the middle of the group, all ready to be used as a visual for the story from God's Word!

I had to laugh at God's provision, even in that.

Not the cow from today, but some little ones for your viewing pleasure...

some sort of record.

Yesterday, during our women's gathering on the compound, to which many women and young girls came and listened amidst distractions, we had the following on our porch:

--vomit
--spit
--poop
--mucus
--blood
--urine

That has to be some sort of record.
And the really weird thing was...it was pretty much...normal.
{No, it was not all from one person.  And yes, everyone who came is feeling perfectly fine!}

one more.

And like how a group of women out in Lomeyin stayed behind, instead of going to cattle camp, so they could hear the next stories from God's Word.

Praise The Lord.

small things that are so BIG.

Like how Shannon went on Christmas Day to pray for a sick boy in a nearby village.  And how his mother found Shannon in an area very far away just the other day and shared with him that the boy got better the next day.  And how ever since then she has believed what Shannon says and now she comes to hear him share God's Word in this far away area.

Like how one of the four leaders named Joseph (that Shannon is discipling) had 300 cattle stolen from him and his family the other night by men from the Boya tribe.  And how one of his friends was killed and the other was stabbed and sent to the hospital in Kapoeta.  Like how cattle are the very most important things to a Toposa man, and yet Joseph decided that that problem, and even visiting his hurt friend, could wait.  Like how Joseph made the choice to put sharing God's Word to a new area God has put on his heart before cattle.

Like how the women from a village in Cumakori heard the second story about HIV/AIDS today and understood it.  And how they made the connections between cattle camps and our bodies, the men watching the cattle and our immune system, the man-eating lion and HIV, and the other wild animals and other diseases.  And how then they remembered all the details of the first HIV/AIDS story we told last week and pieced together the two stories all on their own.

It's the things that seem so small to us that are in actuality, so BIG.

And that's because God is behind each one.

but she can see.

There is this woman from a nearby village whose name is Lomuria.

She has bad cataracts on both of her eyes and has a hard time seeing.  I think she only sees light through her peripheral vision.  She usually needs someone to lead her around.

So really she can't see.

Today, our women's gathering on the compound was amazing!  We had more people come than ever before, all seats filled, plus young girls sitting on the ground and some women standing.  Even though there were more ladies (and we gave some to the girls), we had EXACTLY enough chai to go around!  The Toposa don't drink anything but water (and alcohol), so having chai at this gathering is something special we do for them sometimes.  It was cool to see how we could still bless them with chai, every single woman.

The women sang loudly, leading the songs themselves, and then they learned one from Paul and Charles (our team's translators) quickly.

When Carrie reviewed the stories, Lomuria spoke up, remembering details of each story.

When I told the story of the evil king who made the people of Israel work (i.e. Pharoah and his enslaving of the Israelites) and how one mother hid her baby that was later named Moses, they listened.  All of them listened!  There was maybe one baby that cried the whole time.  And when I reviewed this story, Lomuria answered all the questions, and others did too!

Then, when Mindy told the story of the bush that did not burn and of how God called Moses, who could not remember stories well, because in reality God was going to do the saving...Lomuria again was right on target with her answers.  And many others were quick to respond to the things that God told Moses He would do with his stick (make it a snake and change it back), his hand (make it leprous and heal it), and water (turn it to blood when poured out).

I cheered after the time today.  Lomuria stood to pray at the end, asking for God's help and provision, claiming Him as Lord and God over and over.  It was beautiful.

But what really hit me today was Lomuria, who outshined the others who answered questions.  Because she is the one who is like Moses, maybe not our first choice for a person to do a big task like tell the story of Jesus from village to village to village.

But then, maybe she is different than most of the other women.  I think God is steadily drawing her heart to His, and I pray that she seeks after Him.  I pray that God changes my heart toward putting restrictions on people who can be God's messengers.  I pray that she will someday be a powerful force for His glory, just like Moses.

Because of all of these women, at least at this time,
she is only one who CAN SEE.

to catch you up.

Internet was off for a week while the Lewis family was gone, and then our power went out (this time it's not the solar panels but the breaker) and was finally fixed today.

This is a catch-up blog...

First, our friend, Renee, from Uganda came and brought us fresh fruits and veggies.  YUM.  She hung with us in villages and did stuff like this...

Then, I turned 24.  It was weird having a birthday in South Sudan.  Mindy was actually the only person who was physically here to celebrate my birthday.  And she went over the top!!!  While I was still in my pjs, she came to my tukel door and blew a noisemaker very loudly.  She kept this with her the whole day, whipping out at the most unexpected of moments.  The Lewis fam left some gifts with her, and she showcased them quite nicely!  She even made me peanut butter brownies.  (We ate the whole pan by ourselves for the next three days, or was it two?)  We did not teach school with the boys gone, so we told stories in the morning and had time in the afternoon to watch a movie on our outdoor porch.

The newest addition to Lo Compound is a baby ostrich.  Yes folks!  There is now an ostrich living at 100 Toposa Lane.  And it is the weirdest, funniest looking thing I have ever set eyes on.  See for yourself!

And we wish it ate rats.  February was officially the Month of the Rat.  But with a combination of Davis' arrow shooting skills, the bottom of a shoe, real rat poison from Uganda, crumpled biscuits mixed with powdered milk and the contents of 100 smooth muscle relaxer tablets, puppies, hawks, traps, and a homemade concoction of flour and salt and sugar (because rats can't burp the gas from the flour and therefore explode internally!) there are 30 dead rats on the record.  Here's a giant fat nasty one that Mindy found dead the other day:

As for exciting news, we now have a new translator!!!  I wrote in my newsletter, but just have to mention the faithfulness of God again.  He brought two possibles to the compound about twenty minutes apart from each other.  Only God.  We went with the one who arrived first, and he helped translate today!  It went so well!!!

And finally, an update on the AIDS storying.  Short version?  We went to a village in Cumakori, and the people loved the stories and listened well.  The old man who listened said he wanted to be the leader of getting people together to hear these stories about AIDS and those from God's Word.  The second time we went back?  He had told tow separate groups of people the story we told the previous time!  So cool! We got to share the gospel today, and they listened!!!  And they want us to come back and teach them more about Jesus!  Please pray for guidance on what stories to teach them.

And other pictures:

Some friends, all three are married or almost so.

 One of the fence people up a tree right behind our kitchen

And I leave you with the sunrise this morning.