Thursday, January 21, 2010

People of the States

People of the States, The United States of America that is. We live and have come accustom to trust our government officials. Now I am not talking about politics and left or right, blue or red judgments from a majorities peoples opinion. I am not approaching the broad aspect of our government in the decision-making to better off our country, your dang if you do, and your dang if you don’t. 

I am simply discussing the trust of our government’s higher and lower officials to do there job of protection of the country. Hands on teams and red and blue ties, three piece suites with a American flag button, bullet proof vest with digital camouflage. The initiative to protect the people. Yes we all do have some level of expectations to trust our government to protect us.

 Lets start low and then go up. The police, the infamous boys in blue. I am in the States. I am driving my car. I see blue and red lights and I pull over. The cop puts a gun to my head and pulls me out of the car! “Get on the ground nigger!” The cops all gather around and beat me. I think I might be able to draw a case and get a lawyer. Take this to a higher authority of the government. If that does not work and people still lie to save them selves I can take this to the supposedly ultimate people protector, our media. Maybe I can get the story on the news and fight this to the end. Now I am not saying I would win, not in the least.

But the fact that the actions that the cops did was out of order and gave me and other people that would hear of it a great shock and disappointment. You know what, not shock but the mere fact that I thought it is wrong and they cannot do this to me. I had done nothing wrong.

Another example on TV we watch a lot of police films and on these show there are cops chasing down the bad guy. The bad guy is running from the cops and then he turns and pulls out a gun and shoots at the cop. Then one of my colleagues who is watching the show with me says “ O now the cop can shoot him now”. Why did he just say that? He is not a cop nor is he a law student or lawyer. Why did I agree with him and I think all of us can say the same. It is because we know and trust our laws. We know a cop is bound by that law and if he does not abide by it he will be punished. Therefore our trust comes within the liability of a higher authority. We trust them to a point even if you think their all dirty, you still know being dirty is wrong.

 Lets go high on the scale now to politics. (I hope your not bored) Not one red or blue or even green Politian can kill a fly with out us knowing. Not to say they don’t do something bad and we always see it. No not at all, I know a lot is done with out our eyes seeing. But the boiling hot pressure is always on them for us to find out there dirty laundry. So if and when they do something wrong our media is all over them like white on rice! So we have that trust that they can’t do this wrong thing, we have the right to say and think that it is wrong and they will be punished, as we have seen in many occasions.

 Now lets take away the trust all together. There is no higher authority cause the higher authority will only back up the lower authority that did you wrong. When you pass a cop the thought of getting beat is there and he can get away with it and that would be that. No case, no media, no nothing, it just happens and you just hope its not you when it does happen.

 The so called law that the policemen is bound by is pushed out the door for money and bribes. They live off of it everyday. The protection is not there. The trust is gone!

Your country could fall apart at anytime and you just better hope your ready. A Politian can do what ever he wants. The laws are only there for the other countries surrounded by you to look and say “ O these laws are here” then they go their merry way. But inside your country it is big fish eat little fish and no coral reefs insight to make the game fair.

I rather see the robbers then the officials. At least you know the robbers focus, Take your money and maybe kill you. But officials that can’t be trusted, is a road block a head. Solders sworn to protect you come to kill you , the sight of you country’s flag is worn by the solder who raped your wife, Run from you protection you must. Wait, that does not sound right… Run from your protection you must…oxymoron.

These are lives that are lived, find them and pray for them.

 Some food for thought.

 

 

Update in Akot.


Update in Akot.

If you read the small news on this you would understand where I am coming from.

Basically in Akot a gun battle broke out between the cattle boys and the army. Out of the battle a lot army men died cause the cattle boys carry guns too! Then out of revenge some solders went through Akot and burned the houses, killed people, and looted all through the stores and peoples homes. Many people of the Akot area were displaced and left suffering.

I was currently working with CAP, Christian Aids Project. The creators and leaders of this organization is Whitney and Jennifer two of my teammates. 4Sho! I was very exciting to be working with them. I got to learn a lot and see God move in so many ways.

 

God even blessed us to be able to go to cattle camp! We talk to some of the pastors there in Akot and two of them went with us to a cattle camp, Peter and Joseph. We had so much fun there and the volunteers loved it. The camp was filled with cows and families. CAP got to teach on the prevention of Aids and spread the word of God. We all wanted to stay more nights. At the end of the teaching, the men of the cattle camp said “no NGO or anybody has come to teach us the prevention of Aids and share the word of God like you all” I was really blessed to hear that. A path must start from somewhere and I am so blessed to be apart of trying to build it.

I thank CAP for letting me take part in working with them and fighting Aids.

I thank our volunteers for being such a great team and helping us through this seed planting time of spreading God’s word. I really hope I could work with them again.

 

Please pray the people in Akot and the displaced, the food we gave is still very little and we are planning to do another, ask God that He works that out and peace comes there, as tension is still high between the army and the cattle men.

Please pray for our pastors in Akot their homes were looted as well and in need of food. Abraham our leader Dinka pastor took no part in the food we gave our pastors. So pray that God blesses him for his selflessness ways.

 

Pray for the people in the cattle camp of Paloc, that the Holy spirit will speak to them on getting closer to God there, and that they will keep what they learned about the prevention of Aids and teach their young.

Please pray that we can go back there and follow up on the work there.

Thank you.

 

The Day Cattle Camps were Lost

CAP had a volunteer team of four coming in right before the incident in Akot took place. Me and CAP were suppose to work in the cattle camps to spend the night there with the people as they teach them the word of God and the prevention of Aids. But at that time it was not the best time to go to a cattle camp in Akot. So we came up with the idea to take the four of them to a cattle camp around Rumbek or farther from Akot.

Now let me tell you that by this time the volunteers where coming in three days. So we meet with our pastors of Abinajok on one day to find if there is a cattle camp we can go to and if they would be willing to take us and translate for us. They said “yes there ar some just here” and pointed in eastern direction towards Akot, where currently we were trying to avoid going down, you know with gun battles and pointless killing of men are. But we really wanted to find a cattle camp. So then the next day we went trucking in the bush looking for a cattle camp.

 

I had so much fun, just the idea of looking for a group of people in the deep bush of Sudan, just to tell them how to prevent Aids and the word of God. It really drives me!

 

So we are in the land cruiser going through a path that is probably for walking. We drove for a long time it seemed like because I could only go just below 20km/hr from how bad the road was and I was not looking to pop a tire out there in the middle of nowhere. Then finally we made it to this huge land of cattle camp surrounded by palm trees it was almost surreal like an oasis. But there was no cattle and very little people!

 We were highly disappointed because the cattle camp was way to far for such a small group of people. But the day was not a total waste because We got to share the word of God with them and I got drink some of that delicious cow milk and urine mmmm so good! And when we headed back we took another way out with a way better road. A path for vehicle and the path lead straight back to the road and on this path we found many cattle camps but all of them were empty!

We got to the road and out of the bush and we now had many cattle camps in are toolbox for future projects, but all of them were empty and we needed a cattle camp Now!

When we got back home we were beat and tired from that all day journey of unsuccessfulness. We started in the morning and came home around 3pm. We all talked about what we should do and Andres mentioned the Cattle Camps up north from us. We thought yeah we know those and they aren’t far from are home either! So right then we hopped back in the cruiser and went down the road heading north.

As we drove we notice that the road has totally been redone and widen. The area looks so different and we see no cattle camps in sight.

We kept passing buy these huge forest fires and all the birds and animals would be in the road as if their sadly watching their homes burn.

Anyway we drive so long until we hit a roadblock and we decide to turn around. As I turn the truck around we are stopped by a drunk soldier and other people come running to the car. The drunk man comes to the car very angry and drunk! He talks in Arabic to me I think and I say “Arabic maafi” Which is “I don’t speak Arabic” in Arabic. Other boys came to the truck looking in the windows at the white chicks I just brought them.

So I am arguing with this drunk guy “Dude I can’t understand you and Arabic maafi!” Whitney is talking to Dinka boys and asking if there is a cattle camp around. Jennifer begins to feed the group of Dinka guys some tho (fruit seeds from a tree, the Dinka suck on them, they are sour). The Dinka guys start to fight over the tho Jennifer gave them!

 

Then the drunk reaches in my window and unlocks the back seat and tries to get in. The drunk guy and a small kid with a Ak47 tries to get in! I quickly reach back and close the door and tell them to “A! Yo! Naw homie!” Then we quickly drive off before something jumps off bad. We head off back home with no cattle camps found, the are lost!

We have no idea what to do with the volunteer team coming!

 

 

So we spent that whole day searching for a cattle camp for these men but did not find one. So we were all thinking, OK God what are you doing? So Whitney and Jennifer felt maybe God is wanting us to put are attention to has happen in Akot, so they came up with the plan to go to Akot and help with the food distribution.

Really we had no choice but this. So we all kinda knew this must be God pushing us to His direction.

Thank you my God!

 

CAP Sudan Volunteers Came



 

 OK So the CAP Sudan volunteers came, from Mississippi and home of the Oakland Baptist Church. There names are Billy, Jay, Danny, and my home boy Kenneth. These guys where so awesome and I enjoyed every minute of their company.

I learn so many things from them and they just gave me a sense of tranquility. They brought me down from always trying to prove myself to just be me. What mistakes I make will just be mine.

 

I even got a history lesson on General Butt Naked from my homeboy Kenneth. I wanted to look it up on the net but Whitney suggested that would not be a good idea, I might get fired from IMB. They all kept me laughing everyday. I really bonded with Kenneth cause he reminded me of my oldest brother Quinton.

They really brought some southern living to Africa and fit right in.

At the food distributions I would be assessing the situation and I would look over and see the volunteers have a game going with the kids! Then Danny in the whole trip spent time talking and building relationships with the young men. He would talk about his cows and how much he loved them so much and it was an instant bond with the young Dinka men. It was so amazing to see the team just engulf them selves into the Dinka culture. The Guys were a true encouragement to the Dinka people suffering in Akot. They really put smiles on their faces.

 

I thank our volunteers for being such a great team and helping us through this seed planting time of spreading God’s word. I really hope I could work with them again.

Thanks guys!

 

 

 

The Announcement of Bad News


 Yo what it is like! I wanna tell yall somtin check it out!

 

 The first day of the supposedly food distribution the truck did not come. So we decided to go to the village and let the people know what is happening. And you know now that I am writing this it sounds kind of..umm not smart, but anyway.

 We get there and many people are surrounding the water well. I think all of them were displace people I am not sure. We said some hi’s and did some greetings in Dinka. I even found my good friend Peter who is the guard of the Baptist-training center in Akot, and he is also a pastor. I had not seen him since the incident in Akot took place so I was very please to see him. Peter told me that they held him at gun point and looted his things, I call that a blessing because I heard they were just killing all the men at sight. Peter then said” I even went back to the center slowly, slowly (sneaking) at night and got the computer out of the office so they would not take that one.” I said OOO! Peter that was crazy don’t do that one again, I’m so glad God kept you safe!” It amazes what these people go through and do and they just look at it as a everyday thing that comes with living. They are so strong.

 

So finally it came time to tell the people that food is not coming! I thought” O this going to be great!” (sarcastic) The people came and crowed us to listen to what we had to say. So Whitney began to talk to them through a translator about the food not coming because of something wrong in Rumbek. Whitney told them the news and tried to quickly end the announcement with prayers, but questions kept coming. “Why did the food not come?” “Is this because of you, or people in Rumbek?” “Is the food coming tomorrow?” Their faces were confused and troubled a thought, “of why did you come here?”

I had put my head down and began to laugh and thought they’re going to riot on us and beat us and were all going to die. LOL!

You could feel the tension rising and all the people’s eyes burning wholes in our heads. These people have been suffering in hungry with no food. They have been chased out of their homes by their own protection. And now we come to their run away home in the bush to tell them that food is not coming for them! The tension was high and Whitney could not close in prayer at all, people just kept asking questions and closing in on us! The sweat was there!!!

  Then out of nowhere a woman begins to sing a Dinka church song. Then everyone joined in. it was so funny. We sang the song and clapped and me Whitney and Jennifer all looked at each other with confused looks but relief, wondering what just happen. Then you felt the release of tension.

WE then finally closed in prayer. Then the volunteers told Bible stories. I really felt God watching over us at that moment, because I expected nothing like that to happen. From the grace of God the food finally came the next day!

So we stayed in Akot for about five days giving out food to the displaced people. It was such a real blessing to be apart of  real on hands physically helping the people of Akot. We got to share the word of God with them, which is always a plus. I mean that is our goal.

 

Feed my sheep He said. Jesus did both physical and spiritual, yes we are trying to mock Him!