February 6, 2010

I AM IN YAMBIO, finally!

Friday, in Juba, my flight was cancelled at the last minute, and the next flight would be Tuesday (maybe). So we hired a driver to drive the 300 miles on unimproved roads. It was a land cruiser type vehicle, and we needed it. The road was potholed, cratered from shelling during the war, land-mined cars and trucks littered the ditches, and 100s of pedestrians on either side. 2 hours into the 10 hour drive, our driver has a flare up of Malaria! He has a fever, chills and is delerious. The other guy in the car with us takes over driving, and within 10 minutes, the driver, now a passenger, was writhing in pain and literally confessing his sins and crying out to God --- he thought he was goiong to die! We are so remote, that all his wife, the 4th passenger in the car, can do is give him a pill of some sort. Thankfully, about 90 minutes later, we came across a military checkpoint, and there was a clinic there. About the only thing that they can treat there is malaria, so he recieved some sort of IV vial. It perked him up, and about 4 hours later, he resumed driving! It was quite an experience. We got to Yambio around midnight... by God's grace, alive!

While I was in Juba though, I saw the reason why I am here in Sudan. I went to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Juba and met Rev Simon Gatlauk. He is so enthusiastic and excited about the work of the Lord in Sudan. I took pictures and video, that I will show you when I return. The church is an open aired pavillion type thing, in a compound lined with a stick-picket fence. Rev. Gatlauk asks that we remember his congregation of 40 and pray for them.

Today at the seminary, in the middle of a meeting, one of the the Seminary officers received a phone call that his little girl got injured. Something to do with her eye. Please pray for Zareda, Pastor Nicolas' youngest daughter. I will keep you posted.