What man has for evil God makes for good

                                              

Abin a Jok Church 1st Baptism

Volunteer Team to Abin a Jok Church

                                               

                                                  

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                                                 Please Pray for Mamma Rose

 

Please pray for Mamma Rose.

Mamma Rose is are tutor and teacher for Dinka language and culture. She is also a great friend and mother figure to all of us here in Sudan. For those that do not know Mamma Rose is paralyzed and cannot walk but despite her handicap she is still a strong woman in God with so much wisdom and faith. She does not let anything stop her from giving glory to God and help change her people.

Mamma Rose teaches the Diinka people good morals and how to get a better life. Every time I go to visit Mamma Rose I see her talking and advising young men and women to do better for them selves and get an education and they listen to her.

In a place where such darkness reigns to have one person trying to shine some light is such a vital thing. Mamma Rose has been spreading the word of God to her people for years. She has done so much.

I go to Mamma Rose for more knowledge about the Dinka culture and how to better show them the word of God.

Mamma Rose is such a strong lady who ask for nothing despite her condition. Mamma Rose has one daughter name Mary…In which she says Mary is God giving.

 

You see When Mamma Rose was pregnant with Mary she was in Akot and at that time a tribe called Nuer came and attack and killed everyone…even in the hospital.

Mamma Rose said she hid away and God saved her. After the attack in Akot she was found and was sent to another hospital to have Mary. How Mamma survived that Attack no one knows today except God and Mamma.

 Mamma Rose successfully raised Mary all by her self. She got her land and built a hut for herself with her money by making blankets and quilts. As Mamma raises Mary she also takes in abandon children and raise them as her own..like Paul and Ann.

She takes care of these kids and fights for their right to go to school and get a good education. She is currently fighting to save Ann. Months ago Ann was taken from Mamma Rose after she raised Ann to a young girl. Ann’s family took her and sold her for five cows so she can be married for more cows in the future.

Mamma Rose was so hurt and upset with her people. She preaches everyday to her people to stop using their women as a product for cows. Mamma just wants Ann to get a good education and she has went to the commissioner to get help.

 Right now Mamma is in pain on and off daily. She has some type of growth or tumor on her backside. I asked Mamma Rose will the church help you get it looked at or surgery?

Mamma says: Mabor, The church has their poor and people that need them. I will not ask or beg them when the poor is need by the church so much more. If they decide in their heart to help then that is fine. But God will and always takes care of me. I will take no money to spread the word of God. My reward is with Him our Father. Just like this wheel chair I did not ask for this, the church just gave it to me from their heart. God will take care of me.

 Pleas pray for Mamma Rose and her pain. Pray that God will remove the cause of the pain and allow her to live safe and healthy to raise her children. Pray for her healing with faith in the name of Jesus Christ.

 Please pray for Mary, Paul and Ann. Pray for God to make a way for them to all get a good education. Pray for Ann to keep her safe where ever she is and that she is not miss treated and is allowed to come back to Mamma Rose and go to school.

Pray for Paul: He is one the brightest kids I have ever met! He is always ready to learn and read as much as he can. Pray that he stays in school and keeps the word of God in his heart. For him to stay focus to school as well. I think he has a heart for photography!

Mary as well that she is able to stay in school. That Mamma’s needs are met to give Mary a good healthy future.

 Thank you so much for these prayers: In God He will take care of us.

Wake up….wake up…..

…..come on wake up! All man I don’t feel like going today. But it’s cool, this will help me in the future to communicate better and build relationship with the Dinka and talk and stuff all to give glory to God by trying to do whatever God got me out here for. To ummmm spread his word and reach the unreached. Yeah that’s it!

 

I got go pee. So I walk outside and to the chow and pee. Lol at night I just pee on the fence by the porch I would do it now but I heard the chow cost a lot of doe. Can’t let money go to waste.

 

Now go wash yo hands…4Sho! Put in yo contacts…cant let these peps see you in yo glasses is bad enough I don’t shave.

Jermaine, Kamow, or Mabor, Why don’t you shave? Cut your hair! Are you mony dit?

You will look better! They way you look is not good!

I don’t care deal with it homie.

 

Man I forgot time to take a shower o well! Don’t feel like it any way.

Brush yo teeth! O and listen to some music that well help you wake up and get you going! All yeah that’s nice! Lupe!

 

Ok morning pray time! Everybody look all tired! LOL even me.

OK welcome to Monday morning! Andres says.

Slight laughs from everybody.

So what do we pray for today? Andres says.

They shoot out prayers. Pow…pow..pow!

We pray…OK now you got to go.

 

Get on yo bike and ride to lango school. 4sho!

By have a good time at school! They say. 4sho!

 

I close my eyes as trucks speed pass by me and the red dirt race to my face as I ride through it.

I taste it. MMM…red dirt!

Mabor! The lady I know says. Yin apuol? I ask . Eee! Yin apuol? She ask. Eee!

Keep paddling, you go be late homie.

 

Mabor! The night guard says. Yin lo pen? He ask. Y’en lo thulic! I answer.

I continue.

 

Hey, there go that naked kid. Man I got get him some clothes I wonder what size is he O well he is getting to big to be walking around like that.

Alandu tiou?

 

Juman! My little dude friend yells my name. His name is John.

Hey! Yin apuol? I ask. Ee! He say. Then he says in dinka: I took my exam and was the fourth highest in the class and my brother Ben was second in the class! Might heart jumped with excitement. I said: All Y’en amit puou aret! I was so happy to hear that! Cause  some weeks ago he was asking me to pay for some schooling fees. I said cool lets do it! What about yo brother? Let them both have it. Man so when I heard this I was on cloud nine! I thank God that all day for that news! Then the John was like I give praise to God for that! ALL! Man Might heart was so sweet and smiling! Thanks God!

Ok go you going to be late y’en abi gau aret.

 

Mabor! The traffic guard says. Ee ka di? I ask. Acin karac. He answers. Yin lo thulic? He ask? Ee! Y’en lo thulic! I answer. Stop and shake his hand to show respect cause these dudes always stopping people in they car or on they bike trying to play crooked cop! Man they be feening to take somebody’s money. I aint given them the lint in my pocket! Once you start they will always pick on you to get money. But if you hold yo ground and stand up to these folks they back off.

But these two guards I been saying hi to and speak there language and it makes them laugh to here me talk it! Doing this help get pass them more then once.

 

The old man guard stop me and I threw some thoung mony jang at him and he laugh and told me to go. Then the other big tall guard at the same round a bout, had stop me in the truck on my way to school. And he saw who I was and told me to go! LOL

Yeah homie the mambo king!

 

Pass the air port which is Pan taiara or pan rian nhial.

Enter the bush…doge the big nasty pee and dodo infested puddles!

Try and hit these goats that be laying in the middle of the path….Bark at them and scary them. Lol!

Pass these kids. Kawaja, kawaja, kawaja! The kids yell this to me every single day!

I ignore them on bad days and give a wave on good days. Their calling me a white person, or rich person. Which I guess to them I am rich with my nice bike and book bag.

 

I see some dudes up the road. You know when you see rough dudes looking mean and you don’t know what they might do when you pass. Yeah that kind!

 They all stair at me. So I stair straight back at them. Sometimes I say Ca bak! They quickly lose that angry look they carry on their face when I speak and smile and say Ca bak back to me. Some bad days I look straight at them with that crazy look they give me or I do something crazy like twist my face up or start talking to myself or shake my head real hard! The dudes don’t know what to do! LOL it’s funny to me and cheers me up when I am mad.

 

I get mad a lot.

Ok don’t crash into this other person biking my way. 4sho!

Ee ka di Mama! I say to Mama rose. Acin karac Mabor! Mama rose answers.

Stop and see how she is doing.

OK apuol? I ask. Ee! Ok apuol Mabor! She answers.

Ci nin kadi? I ask. Amaath, amaath Mabor.

All ok so we still have to pray for Mama rose and her pain sickness.

Ok abi longo tene yin Mama. I say. Ee! Apath Mabor. She answers.

Y’en aci gau Mama. I say. Ok Mabor lor, lor. She said.

 

Ok finally I mad it! And I am on time haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! LOL! But most of the time I am late. Lol!

Sit next to the American catholic sister from Cincinnati, Ohio. Yeah that’s crazy right!

Me and her bond real well. I will miss her.

Lango, lango, lango, lango, Dinka, dinka, dinka, dinka! Bla, bla bla, bla, bla!

Learn, learn, learn, learn, learn, and remember, remember, remember, remember.

O I hear you getting better Jermaine!

O I hear you have gotten a little better then the others.

Yeah right what others? I still struggle everyday. But that is good! I have learned a lot in lango class and got better in Thoung mony jang! But I still have I a lot to learn as I go.

That’s mostly how my Mondays through Fridays went for last pass 3 months.

 Man my team is sooooooooo awesome! Jamie and Jenifer goes to Malow with Mama rose every Saturday. They tell Bibles stories and teach the word of God to the people with leprosy. Man That is a blessing to see God’s word going out to them. 

 

 

 

Porch talk:

 So how did it go today? I ask. It went real well! They where very responsive to the story and answered the questions we asked. Jamie says.

Man that’s cool! So what story did you tell today? I ask.

 

Jamie and Jenifer tell me the great things God is doing in Malow with the people of leprosy. Please pray for the people of leprosy in Malow….as they depend on God for their basic needs like food and day to day task. Please pray that they continue to receive God’s word in their hearts and use it.

Pleas pray for Jamie and Jenifer as they look for God’s guidance to what story to tell and what to teach. That God clearly shows them their path to giving God the glory with the people in Malow. That they are safe with each trip and angles surround the car with no damage or problems to make it back safe each time. Thank you!

 

Car talk:

Whitney and Laura have been doing a T4T (training 4 trainers) class and a literacy class in Cue cok.

They tell me things are going so well! But it is not all cup cakes and candy though.

It can get hard to teach these things and to have the ladies see the answers clearly!

In the car as I pick her up talk:

Jermaine: So how did it go today?

Whitney: Ummm the ladies are so lost.

Me ( jermaine) : What you mean?

Whitney: Just with the literacy stuff, some ladies only no one alphabet sound like o. she only says o. And a lot of them have a hard time writing letters. But it’s ok it will just take some time.

Me: what about the T4T?

Whitney: it went well but when I try and tell them that you have to tell others what you have learned here. I told them to think of the people you can tell now. But they said there are none. They say you try to tell some people but they don’t take it serious. So I told them well when we started this class it was fifty ladies here and know how many is it. Four. So it is 46 ladies out there that you can talk to. That don’t  take the Word serious. But you must tell them and keep trying. All we can do is spread the word.

Me: WOOOOOOOOOOW homie. That is something! Man! Nick nack Pady wack give a dog a bone!

 

Pleas pray for The ladies in the T4T and literacy classes at Cue Cok. Pray that their minds are open to the word and education that can help them in the future. That they trust in God to lead them and encourage them as they learn and try to preach and teach the word of God to their own people. Pray that they don’t lose heart.

Pray that Whitney and Laura stay encourage and don’t lose heart either. That God guides them as well to how to help teach these ladies better and in the best way they can understand. Thank you!

 

CAP talk:

Me: So How is it going?

Jenifer: It is OK just pray for me as I am trying to make this new curriculum for CAP (Christian Aids Program).

Me: 4sho! Now tell me this. What are you doing?

Jenifer: Well CAP goes to Cattle camps and schools to teach them about the prevention of Aids and tie that in to God’s word. So I have to rewrite this curriculum so it can be better understood to the Dinka and to relate to them better. So when another person comes to take over this job, all they have to do is follow the curriculum and it will be easier for them to get the job done. They can travel more and go all over Sudan with CAP and not just in Rumbek. So please pray for me on that.

Me: WOW Holy moly! You got a big job on you homie! Let me see if I can recruit  some prayers for you homie.

 

Hey you guys you think you can pray for CAP on this? Yeah!

Please Pray that God gives Jenifer and Whitney wisdom and clear discernment on how to make the curriculum best for the Dinka to understand. Pray that God shows them how to explain hell and germs to the Dinka. To explains these things to them are very hard to do and to get them to understand. Pleas pray!

Thank you!

 

Lunch Talk:

 Me: mmmmmmmmmmm! Dis goooooood! So how it going Yar?

Yar (AKA Jamie): It is going real well but we have a hard time keeping a crowd control with the kids. You see this is only for the girls but the guys be coming in and trying to sneak in the class room. And then other girls be lying about if we gave them a cloth or not. But they are receiving the messages well.

Akur (AKA Laura): Man sometimes I wanna get a stick and beat those kids!

Me: Yeah, yeah beat the kids! Beat them to the white meat! LOL! Yes!

 

You see Jamie and Laura has a cloth project for the girls. Which a ummmm lets see ummm…Ok they make cloths for girls menstruation so that they can stay in school and get their education. So this is really big and a wonderful thing Yar and Akur are doing. Aint no pads or nothing out here so. This is low budget and the girls can make it themselves. Plus they mix God’s word with it. So Pray for crowd control and the girls would listen to Yar and Akur. That they be honest and open to the Bible lessons the they give when teaching the girls about the cloths. That girls take advantage of this opportunity to stay in school and get God’s word.

Pray for Yar and Akur that they have patience for these Bad kids! God shows them any way better to tell His word to the girls. Thank you!

 

Also it’s these Dinka kids James and his crew. They are really on fire for God and they have been helping the girls with translation as they do their ministry. So it has been a real blessing to have them here. They learn a lot from Jamie and the others and it is a real blessing to see them on fire for God.

Please Pray for these young men as walk with God that they stay on track with Him and satin is block to touch them. Thank you!

 

So things are moving here with the power of God! 4Sho!

 

Well what about you? Me Ha….ummmm…

I…UMM…I tried to start this small Bible study with this group of boys.

I would play Dinka bible stories so they could listen and then I would tell a Bible story related to the Bible stories they heard.

Man the first Saturday went real well and it was a blessing to see God work.

I could only meet on Saturdays cause of lango school.

So the next Saturdays the numbers of dudes dropped but I saw God working each time I went there. But this last Saturday I found out that most of these boy had a Bible study already and already had a church home. So from the beginning I felt like I am just building on someone’s foundation. And that’s not cool. Cause then I am just there for self gratification and that’s the last thing I want to do. There is so many out here without any foundation at all. All glory to God.

So I may back off of them for a while….I dunno.

 

Pray for me that God leads me and shows me where and what ministry he wants me in. Pray that I clearly see how to give glory to God out her and be fruitful to His kingdom. Pray I don’t lose heart as I wait or try and fail with different things and ministries.  Pray I depend on God to care of everything. 4sho!

 

Jermaine, AkA Mabor, AkA Kamow, AkA The Canis lupis Wolf from….

 

 

 

PRAYER RETREAT

                                                    Yo! WHAT IT BE LIKE!

After 40/40 I was ready to get back to the Sue, but God had more he wanted to reveal to me. All of the famous Sudan six meet up and we all went to LuKenya fro a prayer retreat. The purpose is just to search your heart and search for God and talk to Him about everything and praise Him and lift our prayer to God. We met together and told each other are prayer request the first day and then the next day we went by our selves to be with God the hoe day.

Man I had such a blessed time! I can’t even began to describe the feeling that God gave me! The next day I just walked and talk to God all day! I walked through the fields of Africa just letting God lead me to where ever he lead me! I kept talking to him and asking him questions. I thought of Jesus when he walked in the desert or Elijah and how so many times in the Bible it said they went to a mountain or place by themselves and just talk to God! That is just what I did.

 As I walked and talked with God he showed me some gazelles and impalas and even a giraffe! It was amazing! I also walked up a mountain and looked over God's beautiful creation and just began to praise Him. He reveal things to me that I had on my heart for a long time. I tried to really search for God's heart out there and I feel so recharge and ready to get back to work in Sudan! Continue to pray for me and my team as we have these prayer request.

Pray for the Lewis family, as they are coming into Sudan with in a week or so and waiting for their house to get approved to come in Sudan by the government. Get a helper, language, and a nanny (they have three kids), that they get settled in, so they can ministry to the people of Taposa who are currently unreached!

The Jur people group, that the Dinka and Jur will stop fighting so someone can minister to the Jur. 

Our health!

Job replacements for our ministry

To bring an Logistic coordinator , for our team

Hygiene ministry for the young ladies,( Lura and Jamie)

Volunteer teams, That we are able to use the teams as to help Logistically strategies a better ministry.  That God clearly reveals to me and my team on how to use the teams.

Abraham, is church planting great and fast! he is a leader of the Dinka pastors..so pray for him.

Cattle camp and (CAP), Jenifer and Whitney as they work to minister in the cattle camps and that God bring someone to minister to the camps. That God use CAP to teach the Dinka people effectively about Aids.

Youth Centerr, God had blessed this Center so much! That God just let us use this center to bring more to Christ! That God moves all through the Youth Center!

Thank you so much for these payers

Jermaine Edwards

 

Well I made it through 40/40. I really enjoyed myself and I had a lot of fun! But when I first got there it was so COLD! Man was it COLD! I was freezing and I didn’t bring enough warm clothes! I slept with all my clothes on plus a hoody with cover! Then I got a cold within the first week or so. I was so mad. But I just said Lord just get me through this. My throat was soar and I had dripping of the throat too! I became very weak and my sinus filled with mucus!

   So I just laid in my bed and let my Daddy heal me. I got all those symptoms in one night and then I got up and went out to do my DFA sick as a dog! We road into town on a flat bed, while the wind cut my ears and nose! It was the worst! But Imma wolf and God has blessed me since birth with the gift of a healing factor. So I did my DFA and then got back to the seminary and crashed! I just laid in my bed and missed dinner. Than my healing factor kicked in after a long night of swallowed mucus, sinus head ach, and a wasted roll of toilet paper of my snot! Man I woke up feeling so good.

Ok enough about how I was sick, lets talk about 40/40.

So when I got there it was cool seeing the people I went through FPO with. Just to see God using others all over Africa is hot to me! Our Lord using each and every ones talents and gift to glorify His name, man that’s tight!

Hmmmmm…man I don’t know what to write about. How do sum up a month? Ok lets see. Everyday they sent us out on these assignments to find out more about the Zams (Zambians). So we basically sat down with them and got to know them and let them know who we are and tried to learn from them to be able to present God’s word better to them. I was with Ethan who is a journalist/videographer for the IMB. Now as we go out on these assignments we get to witness to them if God allows it.

So one time Ethan and me and are guide Elias saw some bed makers, so we thought…. lets go talk to them. God really lead that conversation to witnessing to those brathas! They really open to hear what we had to say. So we just kept witnessing to them. Ethan was talking to one dude who knew God but could not stay with him. He said he knew the things he did was wrong and he wanted to change. So Ethan told him “you know it’s like two dogs fighting in your body and which ever one you feed will win. You gotta feed the good dog” We prayed with him and had are guide get with him and invited him to the Bible study they had there. That was cool to see.

We got to visit a lot of people in Lusaka, Zambia. O yeah one thing I must say. Man Zam is beautiful with beautiful people! Man it is such a nice place! Everyone is so cool and welcoming, I love them! Ethan, Alias, and I got to sit and visit Miss Ireen F. Sakala, who is a widow. Man I think she is one of the strongest women I met. Ireen was so dependent on Christ and just wrap her self in His love.

You see talking to her, me and Ethan came to find out how funerals work in Zambia and it’s a lot that goes on but the one thing that stuck out to me is the fear that comes over surviving spouse especially a woman. Traditional beliefs and witch doctors come to play at the bringing of death. The traditional beliefs have the women taking out all the pictures and paying unnecessary money to the witch doctors to protect them from their spouse ghost hunting them. So this is what I got from are sit down with Ireen.

You can have a young Christian widow at her husband’s funeral and the witch doctor will come up to the young lady and say, “ your not Christian let me protect you from husbands ghost!” Than the next thing, she is paying the doctor to help her. But you see Ireen is an older lady who is strong in Christ and other elder ladies of the church made these type of situations their ministry. When they hear of women that lost her husband they go and help her with the funeral and witness to them and also give her strength against the witch doctor, who talks in her ear and putting fear over her. Ireen had been through all of this and told them I am Christian and God will protect me.

Now you people in the States might say why would you listen to a witchdoctor in the first place their fake. Ha ha ha ha ha ha…lol! But man! It’s real over here! Satan has got Africa in his hand of fear. They see things we don't see!

 Satan gets us at whatever he can do. In the States satan get’s us by money and the total opposite of a God thought. “Man I don't see no God, I am a science man and I can explain everything through science”! Satan goes to Africa by revealing himself to them. Actual physical fear! I will talk more on this later.

 So back to Ireen, basically funerals really become a spiritual battle. Man Ireen is so strong in God. She got all her children in school and she don’t know how they going to get through but she knows God will take care of her. She was smiling so big as she told us how God provided for her after her husband’s death. Man that’s what is about! Ireen Sakala asked that you pray for her and her two kids, Charles Sakala, that he finish school, and Smut Sakala, her legs, that they be healed.

I think the best part of Lusaka was going to church and seeing these young men, I mean younger than me and up to my age, was holding Bible study before Church! Man I thought that was awesome! They really got into God’s word! Than after church we went to a youth rally. As I was in church dancing in Africa with my Zam brothers and sisters praising God, I just felt out of world but in God’s arms. I wish I could hold on to that feeling forever as that feeling grows stronger and stronger.

 I have to give a shot out to our guide Alias. Man he took such good care of us out there and he was so wise in God’s word. Please pray for him and his family when we left his dad died from a bike accident.

We went on to Petuke and did kind of the same thing we did in Lusaka. But at Petuke I got to stay in my own tent…Yeah! I seen some cool things at Petuke and learned a lot as well!

One day we had to share are testimony, but in a way that Africans can relate to it. For example like in America we refer to God in are testimony as “saved us and guilty things we had”. But in Africa they relate to fear, control, and power because that’s what satin does in Africa he physically blinds them, controls them, and puts fear over them from getting to God.

So I told my testimony in words of power, control, and fear. When I did this I felt God really spoke to me and reminded me how far he has brought me. It felt really good, I know that and it was a better testimony to me I thought.

O yeah before this I got to talk to a witch Dr.! It was pretty awesome! It was just said to see how lost they really are though, man satin really has them in his hand. But one of the other missionaries got to tell a bible story to an x witch Dr. and at the end he asked him if he want to except God and not have those demons, and he said yes! Then Mike the missionary, had the translator to hook up with the x Dr. to make sure he gets disciple and stay on the right path. So I thought that was a real blessing to see!

But the Witch Dr. we interviewed was an odd experience. We where to interview them to see how things work and just to know the knowledge of something like this. So as we were interviewing him I felt cool at first until one of the other missionaries asked “Have you healed anyone?” he said “Mmhhm yes, her over there. She was mad when they brought her to me.” And it was this young lady peeling corn on the ground, then I looked at her again and she did not look up at us once the whole time we were there. I started to feel a dark feeling come over me. She just did not look right, kinda tame you know.

The hardest thing though was to sit there and listen and see how lost they are! I was constantly praying for them and looking to see if God is showing for us to witness to him, but he wanted the demons, spirits is what he called them. He told us that he healed people by whatever the spirit tells him to do and what traditional meds to give the sick people that come to him. I looked around and he was pretty wealthy for in the village.

He told us that he got his powers when he went into the bush and got thrown into the lake and stayed there for a month under water. And when he finally came up he could talk to the spirits with his little object.

You see how satin works out here, man he totally blinds them completely from God in fear and power and even money. It was very sad to see that and hear him.

Lets see….next we went to are home stay, which is when we went and stayed in the village at someone’s home! This was my favorite, cause of the great food and just seeing the everyday life of an African. I loved each day and I thought it was a great experience! The family served us so willingly. The best part was working beside them picking maze and helping them build a Maze (corn) storage. They really didn’t let us help much and they did most of the work but it was cool to work with them and learn new things.

 So that’s all folks, that was manly 40/40, now I’m ready to get back to work, in the Sue!!!!!

 

 

 

Pray for william

Today I was reading Judges in the Bible. Man, and as I was reading, the Israelites just would not stay on with God! They would leave Him and serve false gods and God would put them under hardship or taken over by some other people. Than they would cry...God, save us, save us. God would alway come at their aid sending them an deliver and the Israelites would get like 80 years of peace, than they would leave God again. 

I started thinking man God came to them every time! When they called on Him to help, only when their in trouble. From that I feel God wants us to lean and depend on Him. We can’t do the things God ask us to do on are own! He wants that relationship to rely, love, and obey. It’ sounds pretty easy but is it.....Read Judges 10:10-16

Man, I got back from the prison and could not stop thinking about him. 

As I sat there stuffing my fat face all free and nothing to do to help, I thought about other prisoners that I don’t know and won’t get no help!

How much help can you really do out here? That’s why it is up to God. You will go crazy out here thinking you can do it by yourself! 

Was up my peeps!

On Sunday March, 29th, 2009, me and Jamie went to another church this Sunday.

Both pastors in our regular church we attend where in Akot for training other pastors. So we decided to visit our other church neighbors in the city of Rumbek. I really enjoyed myself! It was great to get a memory of how home churches are ran. What a great message the Dinka pastor gave! So awesome! He challenge the people about talking about the story of the unfruitful tree. 

It was a real encouragement to see!

But I think it was Friday morning I sat down to chat with some of the Kenyan workers of my compound. So I say "hay where is William I have not seen him?" William is kind of the manager for are compound. Francis, John, and Sahid ( might have spelled that wrong), Say "O big trouble William is in. You do not know?" I say "no what happen?" Then they say again "O you don't know?" "Naw I aint heard nothing!" I say. Then John says "O you are unaware." I say "yes! I am unaware! now what happen?"

They say "William was taken to the jail! "What!" I say in shock! They say yeah "He was taken Thursday" "Why?" I say. Then they finally explain! They said money was stolen from one of the guest on are compound on Wednesday and on Thursday the police came and took William! I asked them "why did he steal it?" They say "We don't know? We don't know what happen!"

So I say "Will you take him some food and see if he is alright?" "Yeah but we have to wait a few days or the police will say why you bring food to this man are you apart of it?" They replied. 

Man that's messed up I thought! I wanted to go visit him as soon as I heard, guilty or not, I thought we should show some Christ love at this time. But I get confused since I been here between showing the love of Christ and just being stupid in Africa!  

So Sunday rolls by and on the way to church I ask Jamie did you hear about William? She says yeah. So we planned after church to go visit him and bring him some food and water. So after church one of the Kenyan pastors came up and greeted us and we introduced are selves. Then as we started to leave in the truck, are friend and Kenyan coworker Wycliffe comes up and says "This pastor wants a ride" the same Kenyan pastor. We tell him that we are going to see William in jail first and the pastor and Wycliffe come along to visit William, as fellow Kenyans I thought that would be a good encouragement.

So we all hop in the truck and get some fresh baked bread and water and soda for William. We first go to the jail but we found out that he has been taken to the prison. So we go there. 

I just love how God works! Me and Jamie had never been to the prison before or even know how visiting works, but God sent the Kenyan pastor with us who just took over in getting us in. 

We wait for William in this little side room with a blown out wall, what looked like a broke down building but still in use. As we wait the Kenyan pastor says lets just be encouragement to him and pray for him. I hear the drag of sandals approaching the the room and William comes in with his regular huge smile and says "I was just thinking about you all, that I hope you pray for me!" 

The guards told us we only have five minutes so we pray right away. William looks fine, no marks of harm  I can see. As a pastor and Kenyan the pastor talks of encouragement and Jamie also gives him some encouraging words of the word of God. Then the Kenyan pastor begins to try and work out his situation as a Kenyan community council member. Contacting his family, follow the case, and making sure there is no mistreatment. The Kenyan pastor is even going to take his case to a Kenyan UN women to follow his case. William say “the food they have for me I vomit up”. The Dinka worker of the prison says “the food is for the locals and a lot of foreigner can't handle it”. He tells us that food can only be dropped off only on the weekends, but you can pay to have someone of the prison go and get some food he can handle through out the week. The Kenyan pastor will arrange that. This Pastor is basically going to make some noise for his case so it won't just get looked over. The Dinka prison worker seems to even work with the pastor to be his inside man.

So God really knows how to work situations. We don't do anything, we try and put in are work with faith as the Bible says to do and God takes over.

William says he is in jail cause the money that was stolen was the same day he sent money home to his family. The money stolen was a lot and the money he said he sent home was a lot less.

Please pray for William and his family. Pray that God be glorified in this situation and William take this time to lean on God and talk to him and for this problem. Pray for his health please. It is not the best place at all from what I seen. Pray for him....      

     See you my peeps

Jermaine 

Yo! 

William has been released from prison. Praise God. He got released while I was at 40/40. They did not have any proof on him. So he got out and left to go home to Kenya with his family. I will most likely never see him again but please pray him. Pray that he grew closer to God in this situation and really choose to have a personal relationship with God and not just take God for granted. 

Jermaine

When God moves!

Man when God moves, God moves! That’s just it!

It aint about us telling Bible stories or how many people I get to talk to! It’s about God’s word getting out and people accepting it! He don’t need us, but it is by His grace alone that we can ride his space ship!

He is the pilot! we just along for the ride. It took me a minute to realize that! Thanks Brown Suga!

Man What a blessing it is to see God work! Tuesday March 24, 2009.

Me and my partner Andres went to the bush with three pastors from America and three Dinka translators and are boss Mark. We went about 75 mile into the bush to visit the people and tell them the word of God. Sudan is so beautiful! All the land I got to see while traveling was so awesome! 

We get to the village and all the little kids come running up to the car yelling kawaja, kawaja, which means foreigner. Than the chief comes out with all his other officials. They have people to get us all chairs to sit under a tree and have a meeting. We all sit down in a circle, half the circle is us and the other have is the Chief and his men. 

Sometimes I imagine we are some type of gang or secret agency, like Metal Gear Solid, trying to fight some evil in the world. Man I mean that’s what it’s like sometimes. You got Mark who is the big boss the commander. The Volunteer teams which are under Mark and assist you out on the field with medical and  new kinds of weapons to help you get the job done. Than you got Andres and the four other J-gales, who are the weapons, the soldiers, the hands on work! Finally me, the rookie to the field! Still green boy! The new solider coming in, the gopher! So I watch everybody! I try and take in everything they do and how they act! I mostly watch my partner Andres who is training me even if he does not know it! He is an amazing man of God and I could not have a better partner! He is crazy just like me! It’s cool! He’s Snake and I’m Raven. 

OK back to the blog...sorry. So we all sit down to have a meeting, Mark in the middle with the three pastors from the States and me and Andres on the side.

Now All this is done by the Dinka people because of are boss Mark. He is an older white man with white hair and the Dinka see that and it is immediately respect! Plus he has been in Sudan for about 15 years. So he knows what he’s doing! Mark talks to the chief about why we have come. That we come to tell the word of God and we want to be encouragement to the churches out here and see how they are doing. We did three of these same meetings with three different villages. 

It was all a true blessing to see and be a part of but the best part was the last meeting we went to. 

Mark begins to tell the people why we have come here. Than he asks “is there jak here?”, which is evil spirits. They all laugh because they are surprised that Mark knows about them and they say yeah other people go to jak. Mark and Tim, one of the pastors from america ask where is the jak in this village? They say some other people and other villages go to the tree.

Mark tells them but who created the tree. They all smile and say God. Mark says why do you worship the created when you can worship the creator!

 

Now let's back up to the night before. When we all sleep under a tree in tents. We sat around a pot of beans and rice and ate under the stars! I really enjoyed my self! It was such a blessing to be there seeing Mark and Tim tell Bible stories and try to figure out ways to bring medical help to the villages! This was all earlier that day! All the chiefs said that they are making peace with each other and stopping the fighting. 

We head out to the other village where we stay the night.

As we sit under the star lit sky of Africa Tim and all of us discuss how we want to give God's word to the next village. Tim comes here each year so he remembered the next village was doing a sacrifice for a dead witch doctor last year. So he suggested we tell Bible stories that dealt with God’s power over false gods. 

So that is just what we did. Mark and Tim picked out the Bible stories and we all took one to tell the next day. The next morning we got up way to early to go to the village and tell the Bible stories. So we sat around under the tree as the Lord gave us a nice cool breeze and even some rain! O yeah because the day before that was HOT! I mean HOT! I really did not want to move it was so HOT! I was sweeting like a fat mans arm pit!

So the cool morning was nice. Children stayed by are side under the tree all morning. So Tim told the translators, Shadrach, Sunday, and Isaac, to gather the children around I want to teach them a song. These Dinka translators are great guys! Their all pastors and we could not get anything done with out God sending them here! 

Baka! Baka! Baka tin! Says the translators, means to come. Now as wild as these kids play they really listen and have a natural respect for adults. They came over and all sat down as if they were in class. Tim taught them the song...Jesus “loves me this I know”, than the translators put it in Dinka right than and there! I’t was pretty cool to see! Than the translators taught them the song in Dinka and another song in Dinka, that was about God creating everything even satan and the power he has over all!

Isaac explained to them what the song meant and How God has power over all!  

What a blessing to see the kids get the word of God through songs! They all got up and started playing again and you could hear the kids singing the songs as they played! All man my heart smiled!

So after that we got in the trucks and headed to the next village over to tell Bible stories. So finally we are back to where we left off, sorry. 

OK, We all tell are Bible stories to the chief and the village. As the Bible stories were told myself and others prayed that they hear God’s word!

The Story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal, Moses and the golden calf where told. Mark told the story of Saw and the witch doctor, another told the story of Paul and the fortune teller and how paul got put in jail, I told Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Naego, and Andres ended it with the story of Jesus rising from the dead. They all stayed and listened! Thank you Jesus!

When we where done the chief sat back in his chair with his cool pimped out sun glasses and said “In our generation no one has told us these stories and explained it like this”. Man My heart melted! Than Mark said “now who all wants to go straight to God and not to the jak?” All the people surrounded us raised their hand! Thank you God! Now they have a choice!

Mark and Tim will visit them again.

Pray for these people! Pray that they go straight to God and rely on Him for protection. Pray that the peace talks work and peace remain in the villages of Malak to Myan. (might have spelled that wrong all well)  

see you my peeps!

Jermaine 

Check in!

My brown plaid look a like converse slammed down into Dinka planet’s red dirt for the first time!

Check in! This is just an intro to my blog and I will not be able to tell the rest of what has happen in the last 2 months....mostly just language learning and bike riding.

The first week I went to Akot and a volunteer team came out here and built a training center to teach the word of God to their own people. It was wild to see God move in only my first week! The team told Bible stories to the Dinka people on their lunch breaks.

I followed Jennifer as she lead the way because she has been on Dinka planet for about a year, a lot longer than I have, and she knows how to survive on this planet.

I guess we had to get check in. I didn’t know what was going on! So she led me to this little broke down building with a small concrete porch. We where the first of the passengers to get there and I assumed this was the check in. We went in the door way by the porch and we where met by this huge, stern, mean, Dinka man in a red button up shirt. He came toward us and kind-of pushed us back out to the porch saying and gesturing, “back!, Back!” With aggression in his voice, it was very intimidating. Then he say’s “NO! line!” I have no idea what he wants because it is only the two of use and he wants us to make a line..OK. He pushes us off the porch an he keeps saying “line!” with a stern aggressive voice. Jennifer is in front of me. Then he let’s her go through and I follow her to the desk of an older Dinka man who is checking her in, but a blur of red comes into my sight of vision and I am being starred down again by the huge Dinka man!

He says “No! Line” and he aggressively guides me out of the building and back off the porch. So Jennifer gets check in as I look through the arm pit of the huge Dinka man blocking the door way.

I was a little confused with all types of different thoughts going through my head. Jennifer got through with no problem but I have been waiting here for like 8 minutes maybe, and the line is building up. OK that’s cool she will get treated like an American, an earthling, but I am black and they probably think I’m Kenyan. I read about this, I knew this would happen, but not so soon! In Kenya, me and Jennifer where treated like equals and in fact I think I had more of a bond from the Kenyans. So for this to happen I was a little thrown off but not scared or hurt, I expected it. So finally a Dinka man tells me to come in the check-in building.

That’s another thing, on Dinka planet at the airstrip the workers have no identification or uniforms, they just wear whatever they have on that day. So you don’t know who is who, so I figured who ever is giving me orders like he’s my daddy must work here.

I went cautiously checking for the big Dinka man with the red shirt. I get to the check-in desk and they check my papers . It seemed like I went to three different men for the same thing, just to check my papers. “Who you for?” What” I said, “Who you For?” I said “ I am with Baptist Mission” The tall Dinka man with the red shirt, stares into my eyes as I stare at his, and then he gives me my papers. So I grabbed my suitcase and my camera bag and my stupid plastic covered pillow and headed for freedom out of this intimidating place but I was stopped once again right at the door to check my bags! Than they went through all my bags!

I look to the right of me and I see an home free exit door to get out of here, where Jennifer is peacefully waiting for me. Than the guy checking my stuff pulls out my camera! O crap! Red Alert, Red Alert!(I’m a photographer so my camera is big..that’s how I roll!) ‘’You, Journalist!, Your Journalist!” yells the big dinka man with the red shirt! Everybody and the building looks at me some people even get up from their desk. I can feel the tension all on me! I say “No I am with Baptist Mission” I strain my ears to understand their broken English as everybody talks at the same time...”Your personal camera?” I say “yes it is my personal camera”. Than everybody calms down. Good Lord I’m thinking! The guy finishes checking my stuff and than I high tail it outta there!

Check in!