I know this is pretty early for my next update but just wanted to
bring a few things to your attention, the more I learn of this place
the more interesting it gets!
Firstly we had a real special delivery arrive just before the new year
set in.... Waiting at our front gate, about 9.00 at night was a little
2 month'ish old baby! In cradle and all. Well not quite a cradle, but
it was bundled up in blankets in a wash tub accompanied by a thermos
of very watery formula. He was so cute, but it was so sad that someone
had just left him there. Apparently further north in the city of Juba
baby's are dumped all the time, often down latrines, which really
disgusted me. Somehow though when I see all the poverty around me and
see the way in which people have been treated here, I can understand
the desperation or lack of regard which would cause someone to act in
this way.
So, once the baby was in our care and feed some decent milk I got the
honor of naming him... Josiah Doga. Josiah was the name I picked and
Doga means 'gift'. So Mr Cairne I hope you feel honored : )
The next thing is there are rumors about the LRA attacking not too far
away... some reports came in of a village being attacked and some
people having their lips and ears cut off or their lips padlocked.
It's hard to know if this is true as the UN hasn't heard anything
about it, but prayers for our safety would be really appreciated.
There is also quite a strong military presence around us at the moment
but I'm yet to decipher what that means.
The other day I went out to the teak forest to collect timber. It was
quite beautiful and just as I remarked on that pastor John who was
with us began telling us stories about how the woods always bring back
horrible memories as it was a place they lived, roaming for years,
fleeing continuously from the Arab rebels who were killing them off.
Many many terror filled days and nights. It didn't make me feel much
better either to know it was one of the direct routes into the Congo
so was quite a likely path for the LRA to return through if they were
again on the attack.
There was also de-mining going on in the woods and the men doing the
skidding for us remarked that many colleagues of theirs had been
injured collecting trees from the forest. Hence I didn't venture far
from the trodden path....
We will commence our move out to the new land soon. I have a huge
garden to plan and lots of grass to slash. Yesterday I was out their
clearing the neck high grass to establish a place to set up our tents,
it was quite tedious work and my poor soft keyboardist hands are know
covered in blisters. Quite satisfying though. Luckily I will have lots
of kids to help me clear the land for our crops though : )
The buildings are getting near to completion. Still a ways to go but
shouldn't be too long before all the kids and hopefully us are housed.
Here's praying before the rains start in February : ) Prayers for a
speedy completion would be appreciated. Chris also has 5 school
buildings to build before the start of February so I'm sure he
wouldn't mind some prayers either. Africa time is not always our
time....
Some exciting news is that we brought a motorbike yesterday and next
week I'm hoping to go in and get my license. I'm pretty excited. The
roads here are atrocious and even quite painful in a land cruiser but
with a bike you can avoid most things and just generally have a good
time : ) It also means freedom! Yeah
So the biggest thing out of all this is to pray for our safety. I am
not fearful in anyway but the reality is things can change overnight.
When you have a whole population that has known nothing else but war
this is an all to common reality. The things these children have seen
is not to be compared with anything.. They tell me stories of having
lived in hiding in caves for up to 5 months. No food, no water. People
literally starved all around them and would just lay in the caves and
rot next to them. They couldn't leave the caves during the day or they
would be shot, and only the adults would venture out at night,
sometimes walking all night only to return with a small bottle of
water and a few leaves for them to eat. Their crops and water supplies
were poisoned and many many people were murdered. They have seen more
dead bodies than any of us could imagine. Sometimes whole rooms would
just be filled with bodies from a nights raid. The terror of the
situation is unimaginable... So please remember these children in your
prayers and the many millions going through the same unimaginable
atrocities in Darfur, western Sudan.
There is also an election taking place in February which will decide
the new president of Sudan. It is a huge thing as the man currently in
charge took over by force and is up for crimes against humanity.
Please pray for wisdom for the people and that God would intervene for
a fair election.
So I love you all and appreciate your support more than words can say.
You are all wonderful!
Love Amy
