pray His Word.

This is God.

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.  And God said, "Let there be light,' and there was light."  Genesis 1:1-2

Though the enemy works, God's purpose triumphs.

"The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God...For God who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."  2 Corinthians 4:4, 6

May this be true of the Toposa people.

"Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.  For you know that it was not perishable things such as silver and gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect."  1 Peter 1:17-19 

 Pray through these verses on behalf of the Toposa of South Sudan.  Thank you!

eerie lullaby.

Dark.

It is time for bed and sleep.

But alas, once again, I hear the drums and the singing.  It is a strange and eerie sort of lullaby that, in no way, puts me to sleep. 

It is witchcraft.  The beating of drums and the chanting of songs by people with empty hopes.  The people in villages gather around a sick person and drum for three hours in the hopes that this will please the evil spirit and the sickness will leave.  Or people walk just outside the village to sing together, haunting melodies, in the hopes that it will be offering enough.

If they think the problem warrants it, they will also kill a black goat and have it lying beside them as they beat the drums and chant the songs.  Blood or feces may even be wiped upon the sick person, on the place on the person’s body where it is hurting the most.  Or the goat may simply lie there to protect them as they sing.

Every night.

As I go to sleep I hear this cry to emptiness, this empty effort to somehow gain the pleasure of empty gods, empty spirits.  How I yearn to let the Toposa know that there is another option instead of drumming for and singing to emptiness!

There is a life of fullness that could be theirs. 

An abundant life awaits those who choose to call on the name of the Lord.  

And a real and present and powerful God is here—listening.

“The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy.  I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”  John 10:10

May this truth be my lullaby no matter how many drums I hear! Jesus brings life!

unstuck!

PRAISE GOD THAT BUCK IS UNSTUCK!!!

Our friends at Mango Camp, a tented camp in Kapoeta, were a HUGE help with the stuck truck.

1) They rescued Carrie and the volunteer from the truck before there was too much water inside.
2) They just barely kept the truck from tipping over completely and being swept away by the river.
3) They were able to get the truck out of the river to the other side!!!

The truck was filled with water, but Carrie and the volunteer got out before it was too bad (and Carrie saved the satellite phone that was in the glove box)!

Now, please join us in prayer as our friends at Mango Camp work on the truck to make sure everything gets in running order soon.  Water was coming out from everywhere.  Hopefully on Friday we can go and pick up a working truck!  Please pray that the river does not flow on Friday and that it does not rain in between now and then.  The "roads" are really bad right now.  Thanks!!!

On the other side of the river...those of us back on the compound had some rainy day fun!  We made American cupcakes from a box with American chocolate icing.  (It may seem like a small thing, but just throwing water/egg/oil into a bowl with the mix and plopping it in the oven was a treat!)  The boys played a game from Walker's school supplies, "Sound-O!"  (basically bingo with letter sounds), and then Mindy, Davis, and I took our chance with Monopoly Deal.

Oh, and Delilah is going to have puppies again.  We are having a competition to see who can guess the right number of puppies!

Also, thanks to some Toposa neighbors and their gardens, our kitchen seems to be overflowing these days with two vegetables that neither of us ate much in America...

Okra

Pumpkins

stuck truck.

Shannon and Carrie took both cars to Kapoeta today to take the team to the airstrip and to drop off Shannon's car to be fixed (the alternater belt keeps falling off).  They hoped to come home soon after that.

Well...naturally, their plans went awry.  For as you see, our truck got stuck in a hole in the small flowing river.  One of the team members and Carrie had to climb out through a window!  A large truck picked them up and brought them across to the Kapoeta side of the river.  

And then...the river flowed.  And it is still flowing, BIG TIME.  Shannon and Carrie are spending the night in Kapoeta.  We're here on the compound with the boys and Edwin.  And Buck the truck is sinking deeper and deeper into the mud in the middle of the flowing river.  

A video from a team member

But praise God!  The team made it to the airstrip on time to get to Nairobi and catch their flight home to America!  And praise God!  Because He is still very much in control!  Praise Him, because He still works in mighty ways when cars are broken down or stuck in flowing rivers!

A picture of the rescue from the truck

Please pray for wisdom as the Lewises work with people in town to get the car out when possible (whenever that will be!).  Pray for the boys to have a fun night at home and get good rest (they are great by themselves!).  Pray for Davis who is sick.  He's such a trooper!  And pray for Mindy and I as we head to the village tonight to continue sharing the Story Cloth with our friends.  Thank you!!!

deception and a snake.

Long ago, when God created the world, He made man and woman.  They had a perfect relationship with God.  They were like one.  They walked as one, talked as one.  God watched over the man and the woman.

But then, Satan entered the snake and approached the woman: “Did God really say you could not eat from any tree?” 

The woman confidently replied, “God said we could eat from any tree in the garden except for one, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  He said that if we ate from that tree, or even touched it, we would die.”

Satan in the snake did not hesitate to confuse and bring doubt: “You will not surely die.  God does not want you to eat from the tree, because then you will be like Him, knowing good and evil.”

The woman saw that the fruit was pretty to look at, good to eat, and a wonderful thing that could make her wise like God.

The woman was deceived and she ate.

***

Two days ago in class with Davis, we read another story of deception from Joshua 9.  I told Davis that there are people who want to deceive others and turn them away from God and the truth.  We, then, looked at verses in Proverbs, which mention people with lying tongues, and the evils of gossip and speaking untruths. 

I read Proverbs 10:18.

“He who conceals his hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool.”

I asked Davis what he perceived as the meaning behind this verse.  “We need to watch out for people who lie,” he answered right away.

That’s when I heard the lizard drop.  This sound is not uncommon; lizards often splat on the floor when they misstep on a beam in the ceiling, and fall to the floor.  They quickly gather their wits and scurry to a hiding place.  I looked to the corner of the room as Davis searched for next verse.  I did not see the lizard.

Instead, I saw from the tiniest crack at the top of the large school container doors a thin, small, bright green head.  A snake.

“A snake!” I cried.  “Oh man, what do we do?”  I was consulting Davis on his expert snake-killing skills.  Davis said nothing.

“Davis!  Oh man!  Look!  It’s creeping up near the ceiling!”  Davis did not turn his head, not even one inch, to glance behind him.

“Davis, it’s really a snake!  Look!”  Not even a sideways, peripheral glance.

I needed a weapon.  The snake’s entire body was visible now, slithering and coiling around small rings at the top of the container.  I told Davis, “Oh!  I’ll get the iron rod from outside!”  He laughed.

Finally, he responds, “I am not turning around.  You are just joking with me.”

“No, I’m not!  There really is a snake.  Davis, you know I always tell you the truth.  Look!”  Still, he would not look behind him.

Now, I, with iron rod in hand, decided to make a move on my enemy.  I went for a whack on his head, and he stretched out his head and snapped, bared fangs, at the tip of the iron rod.  “Eeeek!”  I screeched as I jumped backward.

Still, there was no movement from Davis.  He continued to smile and stare in the opposite direction.

The snake slithered in the other direction, toward the door, along the back wall, and then began descending down a pipe by the electrical box.  “Davis, it’s going to get away!”  I swiped at it again with my iron rod and missed.

THEN, Davis turned around.  “Oh my goodness!  It IS a snake!!!!”

“YES!”  I shouted.

He called for his mom, “Snake!”  She readied for attack with a mop but was far away.  He called for his dad, “Snake!”  Shannon came running with a big club stick.  He called for our watchman, Edwin, “Snake!”  And then even Davis himself looked around for a tool.

By that time, Shannon made his way over to the container.  Mindy and Walker came over to watch.  The snake was sneakily hidden behind the electrical box.  Shannon hit the box with his stick, and after several hits, the snake leaped out from its hiding place into the air!

Shannon moved quickly and stamped with his hiking boots on the snake’s midsection.  Its blue tongue reached out as it bared its fangs in a final futile attempt to bite its attacker!  Finally, Davis helped him to squish the head and kill the snake!

Davis then explained himself to me.  “I thought you were trying to deceive me, to really teach me the Bible lesson for today.”

“OH…” I understood.  He was already practicing ignoring deceivers.  A quick learner!  My favorite part was when he realized it WAS true, that there REALLY was a snake in the classroom, because he did EVERYTHING he could to get truth out there.  He told everyone he knew! 

“Let no one deceive you with empty words, because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.”   Ephesians 5:6

“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”  Colossians 2:8

Pray for the Toposa.  

They are surrounded by empty words and deceptive philosophy based on traditions.  Pray that they see the truth and submit themselves to God, resisting the devil and his deceptiveness (James 4:7).  Pray that they would draw near to God!

naparana ka nyetic.

Or...Labor Day!

Mindy and I decided to make the most of this holiday, although in America we don't really do anything. It just means a day off!

Anyway, before I tell you about our very "American" meal, I want to tell you about another trip to a garden and some visitors.  I followed Nakai through tall grass, ducked beneath some mega thorns, and ended up in her mother's new, four-day-old garden.  We sat and chatted and pulled a few weeds.  Here's a picture of the blue sky above the trees and one of how the sorghum has grown already!

After the visit to the garden, I invited Nakai and her siblings back to the compound for biscuits (crackers) and some water!  Here is one of her sisters, Namakaleng...

 And little Nainyet.

 Then, Nakai decided to "scar" my face like a Toposa using a stick wrapped with a licked-wet leaf that was then dipped in ash from our charcoal jiko and rubbed down my cheek.

 She "scarred" Walker' face too...

And now, our delicious American meal complete with iced tea packet from America, hotdogs from Nairobi, and homemade from scratch hotdog buns, cole slaw, and potato salad.

And pumpkin pie!!!! 

(with the pumpkin we bought from Regina Nakwam!)

a little walk.

Mindy and I went on a little walk today to Regina Nakwam's garden to buy a pumpkin from her.  Some schoolboys kindly gave us some nyakarim, or sorghum cane, to eat on our way.  Here's some snapshots...

 Mindy teaching some kids how to whistle with a blade of grass

 Regina and the pumpkin