adventures in Lohutok

last week, i visited a friend who works in the Lopit Mountains, in a village called Lohutok. it was my first time in any place in Sudan other than Yei. i thoroughly enjoyed my relaxing visit, consisting mostly of movies, reading, and much needed conversation. Lohutok is a beautiful area comprised of several villages neatly nestled into the rocky mountain side. to get around, one must navigate steep stony paths. it's quite a demanding and exhausting task, especially in the heat of the afternoon sun, but not for the children, who are so accustomed to this terrain that they effortlessly run up and down the mountain.

my favorite past-time was going to what the people call the "river" (in reality, a stream that runs down the bare rock and gathers into a pool about thigh-deep at the bottom). the people come here to bathe, wash clothes, and generally cool off. it was so refreshing to lie in the water gently trickling down the rock, and sliding into the pool with all the kids was a lot of fun.

the children of Lohutok are a lot like the kids i know. they love visitors and immediately learn new people's names. within a few days, most people knew i was Irina, and the kids made up a funny, cute song and dance that they would perform every time they said my name. the long-termers there are given Lopit names that reflect something about them. my friend was named Iyodo, which means "the one who's stomach is missing" (because she's thin). most of the villagers are accustomed to white people, as missionaries have lived among them for years. but some toddlers still have not gotten used to the sight and would wail hysterically every time we approached on the path. their older siblings loved messing with them and would carry them right up to us, exacerbating their hysteria. it gave us all a good laugh.

the several missionaries working here live in simple houses among the people right in the villages. spending 10 days there, i realized how difficult this is and began to appreciate anew living on a secluded compound. people talk, children play, radios blare until late into the night. roosters begin crowing at about 3am, and there are hundreds of roosters. the people are up and about at 6am. it's loud all the time. there is no town and no market. the missionaries have their food flown in from Kenya by missionary airlines once every 3 months, and they can only get things that won't spoil without refrigeration. the Lopit people are largely unreached. there is a lot of witchcraft and witch doctors, theft, fighting. one of the villages' main industries and sources of income is beer production, and consumption of it is completely normal, even for young children. i thought living in Yei was hard; this is much harder. i gained huge admiration and respect for the missionaries that live and work here, some who have been there for 4+ years. their faithfulness, patience, boldness, and commitment to the Gospel is truly astounding.



the Lord is doing great things in Lohutok. a good number of people have come to Jesus throughout the years and have left lifestyles of sin behind. these ones are shining lights and examples in their communities.

i flew out on one of the missionary planes and got a little tour of Sudan on my way to Yei. the pilot had to pick up pastors and their wives from various cities and bring them to Yei for a conference. we flew all the way up to Agok, which is about 20 miles from the North-South border and the land of the Dinka people, the largest tribe in southern Sudan. it was really cool seeing different terrain and different-looking Sudanese. it got hotter and hotter as we went further north, again causing me to be grateful to live in Yei, which has the coolest climate of all of Sudan. (dry season is pretty brutal for me here; i can't imagine what it must be like in these areas). the pilot let me sit in the co-pilot seat and even allowed me to fly and land the plane! no joke; it was so fun.

i returned to Yei and was warmly greeted by all the children and staff throwing their arms around me as i exited the car. it felt good to be loved. i am glad to have spent some quality time with my friend and to have seen some more of this land that i live in. and i am grateful to live in Yei and have a new appreciation for this town and our compound.

(see Facebook for photos)