God Only Wise

Earlier this week I returned to Nairobi after attending the WGM Kenya Field Retreat. I had a great time and enjoyed reconnecting with colleagues, worshipping together, and the inspirational teaching/preaching of Stan and Katy Key. We enjoyed learning about the good Kings of the Old Testament. The song that is going through my head on this Saturday afternoon is, "Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise." God's wisdom is seen then and continues today. Here's a glimpse of my world in recent days.

It appears that the first multi-party elections in Sudan in over 24 years ended Thursday (after a 2 day extension to ensure everyone had opportunity to vote) on a peaceful note. Various news sources reported minor problems but there was no major violence. Election observers are yet to weigh in on whether the elections were free and fair. Election results will be announced this Tuesday.

Thank you for your prayers for the country of Sudan during the past few weeks. God has been present. The people of Sudan are not out of the woods yet so please continue praying for acceptance of the results and for the leadership transitions that will be made. Continue praying that God's chosen men and women will be placed into positions of leadership.

As long as the security situation is stable Joseah will soon return to Akot.

Joseah looking at devastation in Akot in January

One main objective will be to follow-up from the Bible Storying Seminar we held last fall. We want to encourage and reinforce what was taught so the Bible can be shared in relevant ways.

Small group during seminar

Joseah will be assisted by our friend Pastor Simon who has worked in Sudan for many years, including with me at Lui Hospital as chaplain and evangelist. We're thankful for his assistance in ministry.

Pastor Simon and Joy at Lui Hospital several years ago

The reason Joseah will be heading back to Akot alone is that Reuben's contract ends this month. Due to family needs he will not continue with Mango Ministries in a full time capacity. We look forward to having him as a consultant and champion our ministry from Tenwek where he will jump back into work.

Reuben assisting a cataract patient at Akot Medical Mission

Join us in praying for Reuben's replacement. Although extremely saddened to lose Reuben from the team we are excited about God's plans as we continue moving forward each day.

I leave Monday to visit Len and Cindy Ramsey, former colleagues from Tenwek Hospital, who are now working on Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania. We will be brain storming about community health ~ one of my favorite things to do! Pray that I will be an encouragement to them as they have been facing many spiritual battles in recent weeks.

Thank you for praying with us. My prayer for Sudan is this: "Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security." Jeremiah 33:6

Almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise ~

joy

Sunset in Africa

There is a beautiful sunset over Nairobi tonight. In about 30 minutes it will set over Akot. And in about 7 hours it will ride over the western horizon for many of you. We're approximately 7,433 miles apart for those of you in the northeast U.S. At times it seems as if we're a world apart and then other times I ask myself, what's so different?

I mean, when you can see Lucy the Elephant in Akot ~ you can't be that far from home! (for those of you who don't hail from South Jersey Lucy is a revered National Landmark)

Whether at the beach or taking a stroll through the market in Akot nothing beats a cold soda on a hot day. (from L to R: Joseah and Reuben)
Don't you help pump gas when the tank is empty? Although maybe not a drum at a time.
Mothers almost always pass their babies over to strangers when someone wants to love on them.

Don't we all need a little push sometimes to get to the second floor?

I don't know if I've ever enjoyed a mango quite like I did this mango. Messy, but well worth it!

These are a few additional glimpses from the Cataract Team's trip to Akot. But on a serious note things have not been good in Akot since our leaving 2 weeks ago.

A mandatory de-armament exercise is going on throughout South Sudan. The army has been given the job of collecting all guns and ammunition belonging to civilians. I don't think anyone in the world gives up their guns easily, but when the threat of war is hanging over you . . . . you can imagine the hesitancy on the part of the people here with elections coming in less than a month. And so the army has resorted to using a heavy hand. Friends of ours have been detained, interrogated, and beaten in the search for guns.

Today the army entered the hospital compound where Reuben and Joseah are based and they searched for guns. I thank the Lord it was an uneventful visit. Many of you were praying ~ thank you!

The exercise continues. Please continue to pray for Akot. Pray for justice and mercy. Pray for healing of relationships, not the opening up and infliction of new wounds. Sudan has suffered. She has suffered enough. The Sudanese are our neighbors regardless of the time and distance that separate us. Let us sacrifice our time and get on our knees to ask the God of all creation to protect the innocent and that righteousness will prevail in these tenuous times.

"and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday." Isaiah 58:10

There's just a sliver of a moon over Nairobi tonight ~ what's it like where you are?

Joy

The Red Carpet in Akot

This week the Internet is full of glimpses of the Oscars and their Red

Carpet moments.

Here are some Red Carpet moments from the 2010 Akot Eye Clinic.

The Tenwek Eye Team: Dr. Ben, Emily, Joyce, Leah, Richard S., Richard T, Wilson, and Dr. John, accompanied by Joy

The Tenwek Eye Team performed 101 eye surgeries in 5 days surpassing our goal of 100. God answered your many prayers for the right patients, health of the team, and security in the area.

Each morning the post-op patients marched down the sidewalk (our red carpet) and gathered together for the ceremony of the bandages coming off.

On having her bandages removed one woman looked down and exclaimed, “Where did this come from, this isn’t my dress.” I wonder how long it had been since she had seen what she was wearing?

I wish you could have heard the patients remarks and songs and witnessed their smiles, embraces, and eye chart exams when they could actually see that little ‘E.”

This man asked Dr. John if he would be able to see his grandkids after the operation. He said people referred to his grandson as the one with the red gums. The morning after his surgery he sat with two of his grandkids – not letting them out of his sight. He told the doctor, “For sure, my grandson has red gums!”

One day the team went to buy a goat for a celebratory meal to thank the local staff for their hard work. In a distant town their truck came up behind a man walking alone towards town. The surgeon’s mouths dropped open when they realized it was their patient. Two days earlier he would not have been walking alone but would have been led everywhere he went by a family member. What independence!

We are so grateful that so many of these people are able to be more independent, interact with their families and have regained dignity and independence.

Despite the fact that all you may ever hear about Sudan on the news is about war and fighting the Sudanese are fun loving too. One older man, claiming to be 100 years old with a handshake grip that almost brought me to my knees (and not me alone!), had just done his eye chart exam after his bandages came off. One staff reported to another, “The old man’s vision is ?/?." This old man knew English and yelled back, “What old man?”

Not everyone we saw last week was elderly. Some very young children had the job of leading their grandparents around – each holding a 3-foot long stick. And one 4-year-old boy had a cataract caused by an injury to his eye. With only a local eye block he lay completely still while his cataract was removed and a new lens was put in place. He was a very brave little boy.

Then there was Michael. Michael didn’t have cataracts but was going blind from glaucoma. He is a schoolteacher, one of the few with an education, and has only 5% vision in one eye remaining. Surgery was done to try maintain what limited vision he has for as long as possible. Michael is feeling hopeless and in despair over his darkening world. Yet he still showed his gratitude to Dr. John with a gift of a chicken. Please pray for Michael and others suffering from glaucoma. Pray that they will realize the unchanging hope we have in Jesus.

Still other’s who don’t acknowledge Jesus as Savior, such as magicians and spear masters, came and received sight. They listened to Bible stories and had good discussions with the hospital chaplains, even agreeing to be prayed for. Will you continue to pray that those who came to the clinic and witnessed the powerful healing hand of God will also acknowledge Him as Lord of their lives.

The clinic was a week to remember. Thank you for being a part of this outreach through your prayers and financial gifts. Continue praying for the Akot community to experience true reconciliation after the conflict earlier this year and that they will will have 20/20 vision when it comes to seeing Jesus and experiencing his forgiveness and reconciliation.

Praising God for sight!

Joy

Updated prayer requests are in the sidebar.

Ready, Get set. . . .

Go! The Tenwek Eye Team is ready for the upcoming Eye Clinic in Akot to be held February 27th - March 5th. Our goal is for the team to do 100 cataract surgeries. Since pre-registrations are slow in coming in we decided to challenge the entire Tenwek family to pray the patients in. Almost 200 staff have agreed to pray daily for this outreach. Below are Drs. Ben Roberts (L) and John Cropsey (R) from the Tenwek Eye Team. I invite you to join us in praying in patients. The latest report is that 27 people have registered for surgery - will you pray in another one? Another way to help give sight to a Sudanese is with a financial gift. See sidebar "Check it out." A gift of $200 will help give sight to one Sudanese.

We are committing the people of Akot to God for both physical and spiritual sight. We are honored to be a small part of the process of transformation that God wants to bring to this community.

I will be Going to Akot on Monday, February 22nd. Reuben and Joseah report that God is at work in Akot. We praise God that there has been no fighting recently. New leadership in the Army is helping build trust. Prayer walking has been going on and last Friday a community prayer meeting was held. Thank you for praying with us for God to move. With the extreme winter weather in the U.S. (I am jealous of all that snow!) I doubt there has been much outside prayer walking but I hope you've been blessed by praying for Akot in your heart and mind. We need God's continued presence and direction in the coming days and weeks. See side bar for up-to-date prayer praises and requests.

While at Tenwek recently I spent some time at Tenwek Community Health & Development and was able to meet and greet all the staff. I shared with them about Mango Ministries and challenged them to be involved. Below are 3 of the staff (minus Reuben who is in Sudan) who have come to the US with me during past Homeland Ministry Assignments. (from L to R: Jonathan, Joy, Monica, and Andrew). They are all doing well and continue to be excited about the challenges for ministry that God has given them in this part of Kenya and beyond.

Faith and Stephen have returned from their short term ministries in Werkok. Faith set up a lab and oriented a Sudanese Lab Technician. Stephen organized all the medicines and supplies for the hospital and set up record keeping for the same. This was all done in temperatures around 110 degrees. No snow in Sudan this winter! I'm thankful for the work Faith and Stephen accomplished and for their willingness to be His witnesses in Sudan.

Stephen with Dr. Ajak at Memorial Christian Hospital in Werkok

You can read more about Stephen's experience in his blog.

May we all 'see' Jesus this week and pray for those who do not 'see' Him.

Thank you for your involvement on behalf of the Sudanese.

Joy

Picturing Akot

I trust these pictures will help you pray for Akot. If you are interested in joining the Mango Ministry Team and taking a virtual prayer walk through Akot but do not receive my email updates send me a note (joy.phillips@wgm.org) and I will send you a map and some suggestions of what you can pray for.

Shalom,

joy

This is the Baptist Mission compound where food distributions are taking place

My favorite restaurant in Akot . . . OK, the only restaurant in Akot

Try that in 100+ degree heat!

The women and girls journey home after a trip to the well

A typical hut, called a tukel, in Sudan

Sorghum, still on the stalk to dry, when ground is the

staple food ~ many family's harvests were looted or burned

Mango Ministry staff talk to leaders in the center of town

The Akot airstrip with a Cessna 206 coming in

The Akot Medical Mission with Dr. Clarke McIntosh on right

Akot Primary School with the Principal on left and a few students

School buildings were constructed during the British colonial period

The Episcopal Church of Sudan in Akot: the church before this was destroyed during the war and Samaritan's Purse reconstructed this church for the people of Akot

Pray for peaceful elections in April

I'll be there . . . .

This past weekend I enjoyed de-decorating from the holidays to some radio tunes. I couldn’t help but enjoy a blast from the past when Michael Jackson crooned, “I’ll be there.”

This week my mind is racing with thoughts of Sudan. The news isn’t great. The two sites we are partnering at have both experienced violence in the few short weeks of 2010. Civilian populations have run into the bush seeking safety from armed neighboring tribes and/or the army. Hospital attendance is low and not for the reasons we’d all like to see. (Prevention is better than cure!)

My mind is bombarded with wondering anew what it looks like when the Kingdom of God is painfully being molded from chaos and suffering. I keep asking myself, "What does the Kingdom in conflict situations look like? How is the Kingdom expressed to people who are dying, running for their lives, hungry, hurt, emotionally traumatized and not just once, but again and again and again?"

My heroic thoughts tend to answer that question with Michael Jackson – I’ll be there. I will help bind up your wounds, I will feed you, I will tell you stories of Jesus love. Yes I will. I’ll be there.

I will if the UN security report says I can travel.

I will if a week goes by without gunfire in town.

I will if the soldiers don’t harass me.

I will if everything goes according to my plan.

I will if I don’t have to miss any meals.

I will if you promise I won’t get hurt.

Obviously those are tenuous I will's!

To be honest I have many questions. I don’t know exactly how WGM can best help. I don’t know when it will be time to stay and time to pull out. I’d be a lot more comfortable if it were just me in Sudan. But it’s Mercy’s father and Rebecca’s husband, and it’s Faith and Stephen who are there. They are the ones putting it on the line.

From the time the Mango Ministry team set foot in Akot we have had a friend in Pastor Mark (on left - not his real name). He’s a good English speaker and has helped us learn about his part of the world. Our team highly values his friendship.

He’s a young man in his twenties and along with Pastoring a church on Sundays he’s enrolled in a High School about 10 km away. It’s a Boarding School so he resides there during the week, away from his family. During the war the option of going to school wasn’t there. Since the signing of the Peace Agreement 5 years ago schools have reopened and there are many older students completing their education now.

Saturday Reuben and Joseah returned to Akot. Sunday they attended Pastor Mark’s church, only he wasn’t there. Actually no one was there to lead. It ended up being a very short service due more to the presence of many soldiers than anything else.

This week Pr. Mark shared his story with our team. To begin with his home was burnt during the violence that struck Akot town over New Years and he lost everything. The Sunday before last he tried going to his Church but was attacked. He narrowly escaped, leaving his bicycle behind (the bicycle that he uses to get to and from school), before the Army Commander arrived and brought order to the situation.

The men sat and listened and prayed with Pr. Mark and shared a few pieces of clothing. Listening, praying, giving: this is a glimpse of what it looks like when the Kingdom of God is being molded from chaos and suffering.

Please be in prayer for me and the Mango Ministry Team. We need God's direction to know how He wants to use us in the midst of the chaos. How is God calling you to bring beauty from the ashes of this world’s heartache to someone in your world?

“Jesus, the news indicates that Sudan is in for a tough year. It will get harder and less safe. I pray for your divine grace to cover Mango Ministries. Keep us in Your perfect will. May we not let go of your hand as we walk boldly into the future, as we participate in the building of Your Kingdom, on earth, as it is in Heaven.”

~joy

Isaiah 61

Change of plans

“The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” Robert Burns

Sudan is unpredictable and last week we got a clearer idea of what that means. Over the New Years weekend fighting broke out in Akot between the army and civilians leaving 16 people dead and part of the town in flames. On two separate occasions the locals fled into the bush leaving a ghost town behind.

What does this mean for the Cataract Clinic plans? It means that what appeared like the ‘best laid plans’ for travel, getting supplies on site, ministry plan, preparation of Tenwek team, etc. have been set aside while the dust and embers settle in Akot.

Pray for God’s timing in the rescheduling of the clinic, hopefully before the end of March. Pray for the ability to move around the community as Reuben and Joseah return to Akot next week. As people’s minds are focused on the recent conflict and upcoming elections in April pray that we’ll know where to focus our energies to encourage and not compete for people’s energy. Above all, please pray with us for true reconciliation between the warring parties and with God. These people need to see Jesus: the army, the cattle herders, the leaders, the shopkeepers, the youth, the impoverished subsistence farmers, and even those of us who have gone to Akot to help. I need to see Jesus clearly too!

Plans are moving forward to send Faith Shingledecker (veteran lab technologist from Tenwek) and Stephen Leimgruber (volunteer nurse at Tenwek) to Memorial Christian Hospital in Werkok next week. Let’s pray that God uses Faith and Stephen to meet crucial needs in the provision of compassionate health care and that they will be an encouragement to the community and other team members.

I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: “Give me a light, that I may tread safely into the unknown.” And he replied, “Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.” Marie Louise Haskins

Thank you for standing with the Mango Ministry Team as we venture into the dark, our hands safely in God’s grip.

Shalom,

joy