it feels good to be in Africa

From the moment I touched land in Uganda on my long (4-day) journey to Sudan, I felt good. I flew Kansas City – San Francisco – Dubai (where I spent 12 hours) – Entebbe (2 days in a hotel because 1 airline flies to Yei, Sudan and only 3 days/week) – Yei. It was a tiring journey, but I knew it would be. There was a lot of favor with baggage, and no troubles along the way...save a marriage proposal from a Muslim man, in full garb, in Dubai. It was comical, and annoying...I just told him Jesus loved Him. I was excited and nervous the whole way here. I was taking a massive leap – moving to a foreign land, where I knew no one and nothing, but I had a solid assurance that this was God. I have now been here one week, and it feels a lot longer than that, but at the same time not longer at all. Some of the kids are teaching me the language, which is Juba Arabic (a simple Arabic spoken in south Sudan). The older children and adults who've received schooling know English, but the younger ones and many adults do not. I know a few phrases, some verbs, and can form simple sentences, but I understand very little when spoke to. They keep telling me not to be discouraged, that I will learn in a few months. The Iris Ministries compound is beautiful. It is a 40-acre piece of property on the edge of the town of Yei...a huge field, basically. Most of it is yet to be developed. The children all live in small houses, about 12 to a house (we currently have 90 kids). There's a kitchen, an office, a well, and a primary school.

I love it here. It has been a struggle, too. Michele (director) is traveling in the States until the beginning of February, so I don't have an official job as of yet. This means I don't have anything really to do all day. This is hard for someone like me, who likes to be put to work and feel useful. But it's given me the opportunity to spend time with the children, to get to know them and talk to them. Many of the younger kids are a little afraid/shy around me. I'm still a stranger to them, and they haven't seen many white people in their day. Some of them will come up to me and poke at my skin, wide-eyed.

The kids' stories are incredible, revealing how cruel the world can be and how beautiful and powerful Jesus is. Many of them do not know their age, and most (if not all) have no idea on what month they were born. Let me introduce my friend Kafi. He is 26 and still in school because the war disrupted all education. He was born into a devout Muslim family, 8 siblings, all of whom are Muslim to this day. His father died when he was young of sickness, his mother was taken as a slave to Khartoum during the war. she returned after several years, only to be beaten to death before his eyes. He met Jesus through a man who was doing outreaches in his area (Nuba Mountains) and returned with this man to Iris Ministries. He said he was so heartbroken, but when Jesus came, his heart was healed. He loves Jesus so much, and refused to deny Him when pressured by his family. He is one of the kindest people i have ever met, so gentle and meek. It is evidence that the Lord has truly met him and transformed his heart.

Then there's Safari, who had a dream when he was 5 years old of a man dressed in white robes. The dream was in English, which he did not speak at the time, so he couldn't understand it. God is funny the way He works sometimes. It was years later when someone explained the dream to him that he got saved.

There's Justin (25) who is Congolese and grew up in the midst of the war in Congo, fleeing to various bordering countries. He had a dream where Jesus came to him and asked him what he wanted; he said he wanted the war to end and to know God. He woke up surprised because in real life, he had no desire to know God and had even attended church disinterested. But this dream piqued his interest, and he gave his life to Jesus.

There's Pamela (14) who was abducted by the LRA, escaped, and lived outside with no food or shelter for days. Someone found her and brought her to Iris Ministries.

All the kids have stories like this, meeting Jesus either through dreams or divine appointments with people who God used to rescue them. I can so vividly see how much the Lord loves us through these kids and their stories. In spite of all they have been through, unimaginable pain, they know that they know that God is good and loves them. For He truly has healed their hearts; it's tangible to them.

My favorite part of the day is evening devotions. We gather in the center of the compound, under the open sky, with sticks and empty plastic water containers for instruments, and worship the Lord. The drumming is astonishingly rhythmic (it's in their blood) and the singing is beautiful, the smallest to the oldest lifting up a song of love to their Savior. After 20-30 minutes of worship, the group breaks out into prayer. Most of the children go to their knees, in the dirt, and cry out to God, for a solid 10 minutes.

I am learning the simplicity of faith here. The Bible means what it says - He comes to bind up the broken-hearted, to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to the captives. And He REALLY does it. The heart being set free is a real thing, it's not just something we Christians invent to make ourselves feel better, a crutch. if someone who has lost both parents, witness horrendous atrocities, can smile and laugh and rejoice and say God is good...He truly is able to reach into our hearts and heal us.