My most recent travel in Sudan has lead me to one of the more interesting stories I’ve heard in a while…so I thought I’d share it.
This morning I packed up my things in Yambio, and headed out to perform assessments on some clinics in a town called Ezo. Ezo is directly on the border of Central African Republic (CAR), and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This being South Sudan, there is no demarcation, but apparently there are a pile of stools…yes like wooden stools… in a market, that designate the tri-border. Unfortunately I did not get a chance to document the pile of stools…but we did drive on a road, half of which belongs to Sudan, and the other half of which belongs to CAR. I fully appreciate that in another 50 years, there will most likely be security and guards and fences…but not yet ☺
The town of Ezo has been plagued by attacks from the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel/terrorist group based out of northern Uganda. Their leader, Joseph Kony has terrorized citizens on the borders of Sudan, DRC, CAR, and of course, Uganda. The LRA are know for brutally torturing and mutilating their victims as well as forcing children to become child soldiers. The group is so effective because they are always on the move, constantly taking refuge in the jungles, and running from place to place up to eight hours without rest.
Since last year, LRA activity has significantly diminished, in Sudan in particular. In Ezo, for example, citizens are beginning to return to “the bush” or to their rural homes or villages. Most reports state that there only about 200 LRA soldiers, which operate in bands and groups of 4-5 individuals. Previously, the LRA has operated in bands of 30-40 and village raids have been much more violent. The decline in activity is due to several factors including the Ugandan Army, the Southern Sudanese Army (SPLA), and my personal favorite… the Arrow Boys.
The Arrow Boys are young men and local villagers who have equipped themselves with bows and arrows to fight Kony’s LRA. A blacksmith in town makes the arrowheads and distributes them to various young people in the region. The boys go out into the bush in groups of 2-3 in search of LRA members. Those who are founds are immediately killed. When LRA members try to raid villages or homes, taking captives with them, the Arrow Boys quickly mobilize and follow the group until they stop for rest. During their rest, the boys spread out and shoot at the LRA members with their arrows, which ensure silence. Their position is never surrendered and they can pursue bands of soldiers and captives more quickly than the SPLA.
When I arrived in Ezo I sat down to talk to some of the staff in the clinic. The building looked like it had been through hell. The clinic was evacuated and moved into town until the SPLA set up camp and secured the area surrounding the clinic and a school. I found it fascinating discussing “primitive” warfare tactics with a hardened clinical officer on the boarder of three suffering nations. The people were so wonderfully welcoming to me and grateful for my appearance in their town. I always am stunned by the disparity between my life and theirs and I am so thankful they tell me their stories. What an honor to hear about their lives…
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Walk.
So yet again, I find myself in South Sudan. I am truly so happy to be here once more, and to be able to witness this historic period in this country’s history. I am here to work with the Episcopal Church of Sudan and help church health clinics around the county implement pharmacies. This week I will be traveling from the capital to remote locations in the west of the country. So I am here in Yambio, the capital of Western Equatorian State. I have been asking myself what lessons I am learning from these travels, what God wants to say to me. I feel like I keep searching and listening to hear God’s voice. So here is what he has said so far.
Keep listening. ☺ You know that verse that says be still and know that I am god? Everyone always says, I should be still more, and listen to God more, and find out what he is trying to say to me. Then, inevitably, people keep living their lives, which never include any sort of stillness. By no great virtue of my own, I have had TIME to be still. The church sent me to “the bush” “the field” “the random-village-that-you-have-in-your-mind-when-you-think-of-africa”…what does that mean? It means I was stuck in a mud hut by myself with four hours of generator power a day, and no internet or television save a season of West Wing someone had brought out. My generation does NOT know how to handle life without the Internet. I had four days of isolation, and I was dying…I was like WHAT do I DO with the HOURS of time I have at night?! I didn’t learn anything profound in four days without Internet or friends, but it is in some ways it was very good to go without things for a time. It wasn’t like I sat and meditated for hours, but I did think many times, what shall I learn from this, and what shall God teach me today. I think it was my thought process that made the difference. It was that I was walking with him. Not perfectly, but I was listening. I was open… for a time…I should do more of that ☺
Second thing, my father keeps sending me Micah 6:8, which basically says “act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.” This is a good reminder and it ties into what I was saying above. Walk. You know, I had to pray for the past couple months to desire to walk with God. I think often we don’t want to walk with him, because if we really are in close communion, then we are accountable to our actions. If we walk closely with God, our sin will be apparent. I want to hide it. So I think it took lots of prayer for God to change my desires to want to walk with him. So now, it is a matter of doing it. It is a matter of walking humbly, and asking for repentance, and asking god to continue to change my desires so that I really do love mercy. It is a matter of “coming” to the Lord, lying before him and before his cross, each day, each hour.
May He continue to teach us to walk with him, walk in him, and work through him. Blessings.
Keep listening. ☺ You know that verse that says be still and know that I am god? Everyone always says, I should be still more, and listen to God more, and find out what he is trying to say to me. Then, inevitably, people keep living their lives, which never include any sort of stillness. By no great virtue of my own, I have had TIME to be still. The church sent me to “the bush” “the field” “the random-village-that-you-have-in-your-mind-when-you-think-of-africa”…what does that mean? It means I was stuck in a mud hut by myself with four hours of generator power a day, and no internet or television save a season of West Wing someone had brought out. My generation does NOT know how to handle life without the Internet. I had four days of isolation, and I was dying…I was like WHAT do I DO with the HOURS of time I have at night?! I didn’t learn anything profound in four days without Internet or friends, but it is in some ways it was very good to go without things for a time. It wasn’t like I sat and meditated for hours, but I did think many times, what shall I learn from this, and what shall God teach me today. I think it was my thought process that made the difference. It was that I was walking with him. Not perfectly, but I was listening. I was open… for a time…I should do more of that ☺
Second thing, my father keeps sending me Micah 6:8, which basically says “act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.” This is a good reminder and it ties into what I was saying above. Walk. You know, I had to pray for the past couple months to desire to walk with God. I think often we don’t want to walk with him, because if we really are in close communion, then we are accountable to our actions. If we walk closely with God, our sin will be apparent. I want to hide it. So I think it took lots of prayer for God to change my desires to want to walk with him. So now, it is a matter of doing it. It is a matter of walking humbly, and asking for repentance, and asking god to continue to change my desires so that I really do love mercy. It is a matter of “coming” to the Lord, lying before him and before his cross, each day, each hour.
May He continue to teach us to walk with him, walk in him, and work through him. Blessings.
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