sugar sugar

It's a fact that as American's we eat too much sugar.  You don't have to go far to find an article, health report, or TV talk show about the evils of eating too much sugar.  I therefore won't bore you with those facts.  But the reality is we all enjoy our sugar.  In moderation, I hope.  I enjoy real sugar in my coffee each morning.  And a very small piece of chocolate can finish off a meal nicely.  And we can now buy Oreo's in Nairobi - another little sugary treat!

I don't think I've ever been to a US grocery store and seen the sugar shelves empty.  Occasionally here in Nairobi sugar will disappear from the shelves for a short period of time.  But then there is always the option of buying brown sugar, or caster sugar, or icing sugar.  And these days we even have sugar substitutes.  So, I've never had to go without sugar.  Having a steady supply of sugar and sugary drinks may seem like an inalienable right for those of us living in the West! 

A well stocked shop in South Sudan

Last evening I received a text from Adhanom who is at his base of ministry in South Sudan.  He let me know that the shops in his little village have run out of sugar.  Last week they ran out of salt and clothes washing soap.  Poor ordering of supplies is not the problem.  Rain is.  It's been raining so much over the past 6 month long rainy season that the roads are now practically impassable. 

One of 5 areas where the rains have taken over the road where Adhanom lives

Supplies, fuel, food, all kinds of things are in short supply.  Sugar in South Sudan is not an inalienable right.  Neither are roads that have proper drainage.  Or enforcement of law and order.  There has been terrible fighting and many deaths in the State where Adhanom lives this past week,  originating from cattle raiding and inter-clan revenge clashes.  

South Sudan needs our prayers.  Mango Ministries is also gearing up for several important ministry activities in the coming weeks that need prayer. 

Many of you have been praying for me for years (decades??!) and some of you reading this blog joined my prayer team this past year as I shared on my Homeland Ministry Assignment.  Thank you one and all.  Your prayers are crucial and I want to give you some specifics to pray for.  Whether you are praying on a specific day of the week or every day I hope the following information can help shape your prayer praises and requests on behalf of Mango Ministries.  

  

Pray for the 150 blind men and women who will receive physical sight between Nov. 7^th to 12^th.  Our prayer is that their hearts will also receive sight as they are ministered to by the local pastors and the health care staff.  Pray for our Tenwek Eye Team as they will be traveling on Nov. 6^th and 7^th and 13^th and 14^th.  Pray that all the equipment and supplies that are needed reaches Tonj in a timely manner.

Pray for 50 women and children who will receive surgery at House of Hope Hospital in Yei between Nov. 7^th and 12^th.  Pray as each person is offered real hope through Jesus Christ.  Pray for the Tenwek surgery team of 4 who will have the opportunity to alleviate suffering and as they travel on Nov. 5^th and 6^th and 21^st-23^rd.  Pray that the team will have the equipment, supplies, and meds that they need to best help each patient who comes for care.

CHE 2 in East Rumbek County held in August 2014

Pray for 30 women and men who will be attending their 3^rd week-long training in Community Health Evangelism in East Rumbek County.  Pray for this area that has been cut off from the closest major town by rains preventing transport of food and supplies causing sky-high inflation.  There has also been a lot of fighting in this area.  Pray for Adhanom and Margit as they facilitate the training in early December.

Several of the Trainers in Training who will attend the Facilitators training

Pray for 7 men who will be attending a Training of Facilitators course in Community Health Evangelism on Nov. 14^th and 15^th in Tonj.  John and Beth Muehleisen and Adhanom will be facilitating this.  Pray that each facilitator will better understand the concepts of adult education and improve their facilitation skills as they practice.

Pray for 30 women and men from the Tonj area who will complete their 4^th week of Community Health Evangelism training from Nov. 17^th to 21^st.  Pray for John and Beth Muehleisen and Adhanom as they facilitate this training. Pray as the participants return to their homes to train Health Committees and for those who will go out and teach home-to-home.  Pray for the In Deed and Truth project that is embracing CHE as a ministry tool. 

Farming God's Way

      Pray for folks who recently received training from Adhanom in Farming God’s Way (FGW) who live near Rumbek.  Pray for wisdom in implementing new agricultural practices and for good harvests.  Pray for Adhanom as he spends time visiting those who have been trained in FGW, CHE and Biblical Storytelling in Lakes State. 

      Pray for a good return on investment for Mango Ministries.  Pray that the relationships that are formed between trainers, facilitators, health workers and the South Sudanese men, women, and children God brings us in contact with will reap Kingdom fruit.  Pray also that all of us in Mango Ministries will be changed as we witness the strength and perseverance and hope of a people who have suffered.  Pray for peace for South Sudan.  Pray for an end to the political fighting.  Pray for an end to the tribal and inter-tribal fighting.  Pray for Godly leadership.  Pray for His Kingdom to come to South Sudan.

It often feels like we're in deep water as we navigate our way through ministry.  Your prayers help make a way.  Thanks for investing your time in prayer to help build His Kingdom in South Sudan!

Orientation

Do you ever wake up and need to do a quick orientation?  A few times in the last few months I've found that I wake up and I'm disoriented.  I first look to see where the light is and orient myself to where the windows are - sometimes that tells me where I am.  If not, without opening my eyes too wide, as I wake up very slowly, I take note of where the door is.  If that doesn't do it - I feel around to see if I'm in a double or a single bed. Usually by then I have remembered where I am!

Although my physical surroundings keep changing I know that wherever I am I need not fear for the Lord God goes with me.  The Lord goes before me . . .  how encouraging.  (Deuteronomy 30:6, 8)

I stayed quite busy in September.  My parents came up to NJ from Florida for a few weeks and we had some good family times, like a picnic at the Cape May Point State Park.

Then we were all able to visit with some of my mission champions at an Open House on September 14th.  

Joy and Lindy Phillips chat with Bryce Hogan

And among other things I traveled to the southeast, further disorienting me each night!

It was great to catch up with friends and former WGM volunteers . . .
. . . . like Laura Denison, (volunteer to Tenwek with her husband Dr. Mark Denison, circa 1986) enjoying beautiful mums at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens in Nashville.

. . . . and former VIA Whitney Smith McMunn who spent 1 year in South Sudan 2012/13 as a CHE facilitator,

. . . . and former Asbury Manor Dinner Club friends (circa 1983-85), Rev. John and Kathy Kearns and their church family at Christ Harbor UMC in North Point, AL

And then I caught up with my long-time Tenwek neighbor from years past, Linda Parks, in Mayberry, oh, I mean Mt. Airy, NC.  

. . . . and others who I didn't get pictures of, including my brother and his family.  Sorry guys!

I loved attending the Missio Nexus Leaders Conference in Atlanta as well.  

"The movement of people brings with it new cultures, ideas, beliefs -- and their hearts are more OPEN to the gospel."  Topics discussed were Immigration and Migration, Globalization, Urbanization and Exploitation.  I'm constantly reminded that God is bringing the Nations to North America - what an unprecedented opportunity to share Jesus love with people that are our coworkers, neighbors, and students in our schools.  

I'm now back in Kenya and preparing to orient some new volunteers who will be going into South Sudan in less than two weeks.  South Sudan is more fragile than ever!  Detailed prayer info in my next blog update.  Praying that Jesus will bring His Kingdom to the people of South Sudan who are experiencing a lot of disorientation.  

. . . crazy days of summer . . . . .

I am attempting to write this update from the beach in North Cape May, NJ.  It's peaceful.  The perfect place to enjoy a Wawa hoagie for lunch and concentrate on writing a blog post, right?

Well . . .  I was wrong.  The seagulls are laughing their hearts out, there are dogs frolicking in the shallow, warm bay water, and there goes someone water skiing!

With the beautiful Jersey shore in front of me South Sudan seems very, very far away!  If you're like me in the summertime I find it really easy to forget about the rest of the world. It's hard not to focus on ice cream, the beach, corn on the cob, fresh fruit, and spending time with friends and family.  It's not that Mango Ministries is not on my mind with daily emails to and from colleagues on the other side of the world.  I'm especially busy between my second cup of coffee in the morning and close of business in East Africa - a period of about 2 hours when our work days overlap.  In an effort to shake off the lazy, hazy and crazy days of summer here is a fresh update from Joy's journey.

Catching up. . . .

"Who said anything about safe.  Course he isn't safe, but he's good."  The Chronicles of Narnia
1.  In the past two months several Mango Ministry trips to South Sudan have either been interrupted or cancelled due to security concerns.  Pray for the people of South Sudan, for those whose lives have drastically been disrupted in one way or another from the 7 month old conflict, and for an end to the fighting that is draining the hope and vitality from the people of this new nation.  Thank the Lord with us for safety for our staff and that all is relatively quiet on the front lines of our ministry.  For the latest on what's going on in South Sudan watch this from BBC news.

2.  As the 'Back to School' season gets underway it's rare to hear about students who want to meet more frequently than what is scheduled but that's exactly what's been happening as Adhanom meets with local pastors.  Meeting once a quarter was not enough so the pastors initiated monthly meetings to practice using the 5 step Biblical Storytelling tool they've been taught and to learn more Bible stories.  Two pastors will be mentored by Adhanom to become trainers and then they will all work together to train the rest of the pastors in their Church area.  Actually Adhanom's dream is that Biblical Storytelling will be used throughout the region where he lives and beyond!  "Even up to Aweil, Darfur, Khordofan, Bejaland . . . .  Only God knows how long we can work in South Sudan as we do now.  I want to use our time to the maximum."  Will you pray for the effective use and spread of Biblical Storytelling in Lakes State, throughout all of South Sudan, and into the neighboring countries?  God's Word is the only foundation that transformed lives, families, churches and communities will stand on.  Will you come alongside Adhanom as he trains and mentors pastors in South Sudan?  Let him know you're praying for him by sending him a quick email or give a financial gift towards his ministry expenses.

Adhanom with his trainer and mentor in Biblical Storytelling, Billy Coppedge

Adhanom with those he is mentoring in Biblical Storytelling!

3.  CHE training
31 expected participants and 4 trainers.    So many details to make a training happen your head would probably spin if I were to list them all.  Our next week long training begins Monday, August 4th.  Please pray for Adhanom as he leads this week of training for a group of folks from Lakes State.

Santino and Andrea will help facilitate and translate at the CHE training

Adhanom and Margit acting out the River Crossing skit last year

4.  Oremos
In my last blog post I mentioned that I was headed to Argentina to visit a Missionary Training school that trains missionaries from all over Latin America.  I spent a great week at the CCMT with WGM missionaries, Don and Glenda Moon, and a dozen dedicated Spanish speaking missionaries.  I learned a lot but it was also fun to be able to share about our Mango Ministry experiences of training pastors in Biblical Storytelling.

Joy with CCMT students and teacher

Sharing at the closing program with Don Moon translating

At 10:02 each morning the students pause for prayer.  What are they praying for?  They've taken the 10:2 challenge from Luke 10:2 and they are praying for workers for the mission field.  Would you join them in taking the 10:2 challenge and pray for workers for Mango Ministries?

 If you've already committed to praying one day a week for me and Mango Ministries please add this to your prayer list.  If you'd like to make a commitment to pray for me and Mango Ministries let me know what day of the week you'll be praying! Prayer is the work of missions!  Oremos!

Time:  10:02

The question was raised while I was with these missionaries in training.  Does God want to send Latin American's to Africa to join Mango Ministries?  You can add that question to your prayer list!

5.  Homeland Ministry Assignment Interrupted
My HMA was interrupted in the month of June for a quick trip back to Kenya to attend several meetings.  It was great to connect with my colleagues and friends and catch up with Mango Ministries first hand.

WGM Africa Regional Leaders gathered for a Leadership Retreat

Adhanom and Joy catching up in Nairobi

Joy with the rest of the Hidug family:  Helen, her sister Martha, Shamna and Fasika

After sharing a meal together Helen honored us by performing an Eritrean coffee ceremony.  Watch out you barista's! 

6.  Percolating

Speaking about coffee. . . . I've mentioned in several previous blog updates that I have sensed God speaking to me.  He's been sending people, thoughts, and ideas my way that have been percolating in my heart and mind regarding a whole new blend of ministry.  He's been opening my eyes to areas of the world that I formerly had no interest in.  He's been breaking my heart for people who don't have anyone to tell them about Jesus.  This new way forward isn't clear just yet so I am committed to wait on the Lord.  I will continue leading Mango Ministries while I wait, pray, listen, and learn.   I'll be returning to East Africa this fall so please join me in praying that God will use me in the here-and-now as well as faithfully guide my steps for the future.  

What's percolating in your life?  

Hollywood inspires at 30,000 feet

While crossing the Atlantic Ocean this past Monday I was looking for a movie to watch.  I was thinking a romantic comedy would work but despite the plethora of options I didn't find anything in that genre as I began my search through what seemed like a hundred movie options.  By the time I got to movies starting with "F" A Few Good Men seemed like an acceptable option.  It had been years since I'd seen it.

I bet that for many movie goers the favorite scene in this movie is Tom Cruise's character getting Jack Nicholson's character to explode and confess that he ordered the Code Red on Willy Santiago, a Marine who wasn't quite keeping up.  That's definitely a 'rewinder.'

But the scene that keeps playing over in my mind is when Downey, one of the accused, is asking his fellow Marine, "What did we do wrong?  We did nothing wrong!"  And Dawson explains,  "Yeah we did.  We were supposed to fight for people who couldn't fight for themselves.  We were supposed to fight for Willy."

In April Adhanom sent this report from South Sudan, "In Akot my friends tell me that life has become meaningless due to fear from the armed people and possible attack from one of two neighboring tribes."   

When I think of Willy Santiago in A Few Good Men I'm reminded of the many people in the world today who can't fight for themselves and are suffering because of poor governance, ethnic hatred, religious persecution, and the list goes on and on.  Let's fight for the Willy's of this world who are physically weak, bullied, sexually abused, unjustly treated, and exploited.  

One of the best ways we can fight for the Willy's of this world is by praying for them.  By praying against injustice and hatred.  By asking God to use us.  Learn about prayer for transformation with Philip Renfroe (click on link for May 4-10) as he shares in WGM's Concert of Prayer.  

South Sudan Update ~

• Adhanom was able to spend 2 1/2 months in South Sudan before returning to Kenya for R&R and to reconnect with his family.  During his time in South Sudan the country experienced continued fighting. Real peace is going to take a lot of prayer and changed attitudes. 
• The people of East Rumbek County are busy planting their crops - a very good sign indeed! Pray that they will be so busy tending their crops that they will not be interested in fighting.
• Despite the insecurity and daily fear men and women who WGM has had the privilege to connect with continue to implement and use what they have learned through trainings on Community Health Evangelism (CHE) and Biblical Orality.   
• Because of the current insecurity we have not been able to hold surgery or cataract clinics this year.  It's still our hope that in the 2nd half of the year we will be able to send medical teams from Tenwek Hospital to bring healing and hope.  
• Cholera outbreak:  So far 14 people have died and 395 are affected so far.  With the rainy season starting there is significant potential for cholera to spread throughout the newly created IDP (internally displaced people) camps.
• The devastating conflict has left thousands of families facing hunger and under-nutrition. The UN has warned that more than a third of South Sudan’s population, or four million people, will be on the brink of starvation by the end of 2014 if urgent action is not taken.

I feel blessed that so many of you have made a commitment to pray for me and my ministry at least one day a week!   Welcome to all new prayer champions!  You will find updated answers to prayer and requests throughout my blogs and in the "Pray" sidebar.  Here is an excellent prayer for South Sudan - this can be used in your personal devotions or in church services to help you lift up the people of South Sudan.

Now you may be wondering why I was flying over the Atlantic!  I just returned from a trip to Greece and Spain.  In Greece I attended a Medical Continuing Education Conference targeting medical missionaries from Africa and the Middle East.  I thoroughly enjoyed the sessions for those involved in Community Health.  But more than that I enjoyed the chance to catch up with many friends and former colleagues from Tenwek Hospital . . . . like Beth White and Carol Spears . . . .

as well as meet new friends, and friends-of-friends.

A mutual friend wondered if the Jansen's, who work in Malawi, and I might be in the same place as he heard that we were both attending a conference in Greece.  

The education was stimulating, the networking rewarding, but the take-home message for me of this time in Greece is that God is still using the avenue of medical ministries and community health to build His Kingdom!

From Greece I flew to Spain to meet some of WGM's newer missionaries serving with the Missionary Disciple program.  After only a skype introduction earlier this year I was able to meet Nathan and Kenzie Vitatoe and their 2 adorable little girls.  They are working with an inter-cultural and inter-organizational team with outreach to immigrants from North Africa.

I'm still processing all that I saw and learned.  I was able to observe several English classes for children and enjoyed getting to spend time with their team.

Now that I've had a few days at home to do a few loads of laundry and get over jet-lag I'm headed south to Argentina for a week.  There I'll visit with veteran WGM missionaries, Don and Glenda Moon, who are involved in a Missionary Training School that sends Latin American's to serve some of the least-reached peoples in Asia, Africa, and the Middle-East.  Current trends show that missionary sending countries are moving to the countries of the Southern hemisphere.  I'm excited and intrigued to learn more about this ministry. 

As I wrote in my last post God is moving in my heart - letting me see into His heart a bit more.  Please continue to pray with me for the ministry in South Sudan during the coming days and months and pray for real peace as the country grapples with broken relationships.  Pray too that God will continue to lead me and show me more of Himself each day.  

What movie is inspiring you these days?  

'tween seasons

Having lived in perennial springtime for basically the past 29 years (in Kenya) with occasional trips made into summer, fall, and winter climates I'm fairly jazzed by the different seasons.

I know that the official start to springtime is still 20 days away, not to be confused by the start of spring training which is already upon us, but I sense that everyone I know wishes spring would hurry up.

It seems that nature might be a bit confused too.  Almost all the trees, bushes, and shrubs in town are bulging with new life.  

Yet the 20 something degree daytime temps discourage those last remnants of snow from melting. 

Frozen puddles on the sidewalk, in my mind, contradict the green bulbs sprouting just inches away.

And of course NO ONE wants to really believe the weather forcast for Sunday and Monday.

 Monday

Cloudy with snow. High 27F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. 5 to 8 inches of snow expected.

Can we really be all the way through the alphabet to Winter Storm Titan?   This chaotic storm season of 2013/14 reminds me of last years busy Mango Ministry schedule followed by the outbreak of fighting in South Sudan last December.  Despite a ceasefire signed in February the fighting continues both nationally and in local skirmishes.  As everyone in the US is yearning for spring's arrival we are yearning for the return of true peace to South Sudan.

Adhanom returned to South Sudan a week ago to see for himself how things are.  Despite a lot of military movement he is glad to be back.  I was very encouraged by this report I received from him this week after he reconnected with the pastors and community members we have been trainining and working alongside.

I thank God for our involvement in the County.  The progress, though in baby steps, encourages me.  We might still seem far from achieving what one would ideally expect from a Community Health Evangelism program, but the process of transformation as ushered by CHE trainings and Biblical Storytelling can be witnessed here among the people we have trained.  With the ministry opportunties widening, it would be great if we can get other people to come and join me.

I am glad to hear that you are getting more and more people signing up to pray for Mango Ministries.  For now I have the following prayer requests.
1.  Those trained in CHE would implement what they have learned. 
2.  For 2 pastors, being trained as trainers, as they promote CHE and Biblical Storytelling.
3.  For wisdom as I help start a youth ministry. 
4.  For missionaries to come and work with me in the County. 
5.  For peace in South Sudan and this County.
6.  For wisdom and safety as I travel to villages and do follow up.
7.  For God's grace in my life as I live among the people demonstrating a Christian way of living.
8.  For our family's financial support.  

Thank you for your prayers.  Prayer does change things!  According to Adhanom transformation is happening in the lives of those he is investing in.  He is seeing a new season of spiritual growth.  This only happens through prayer.  Will you join us in praying for continued transformation in the lives of the people of South Sudan.  If so, email me what day of the week you want to commit to pray.  I will then add you to my email list and notify you when I put out a new blog update with prayer praises and requests.  Will you prayerfully consider joining Adhanom and Helen Hidug's ministry team with a financial gift?  As you can see from the report above Adhanom's ministry is bearing fruit.

I am also ready for my next season of ministry.  For some time now I've been sensing that God might be leading me in a new direction, although nothing is very clear at this point!  As I continue catching up with champions this winter and spring please pray with me that He will make His will very clear as I explore what He's laid on my heart and push on doors that appear to be cracked open a bit.

For the time being I'm content to enjoy this inbetween time in ministry.  And of course I'll be putting on my boots, scarf, and gloves on Monday for another wild walk in the snow, embracing whatever God brings my way!  

Memories of the way we were ~ 2013

It seems bizarre to think that 2013 is over.  Done with.  It's a thing of the past.  It's a memory.  Mostly good memories.  Hopefully the activities that Mango Ministries has been involved in are not 'things of the past.' Our prayer is that our interactions we've been blessed to have with thousands of men, women, and children have given a hope that is alive and carried forward into this new year of 2014. 

Mango Ministries in review - 2013

fighting seems to be a way of life

If you've been following the news over the past six weeks you will know that South Sudan has been embroiled in a conflict between the Government armed forces and rebel forces.  What started out as a political row turned into an ethnic conflict.  Over 1/2 million people have left their homes to seek safety and approximately 10,000 people have been killed.

many civilians are armed

Friday, January 24th a Ceasefire Agreement was signed.  . . . . and it's my prayer that the journey to peace, healing, and a stable government will ensue.  The hard work is ahead, say many.

Watching and praying have been our focus this past month. WGM's personnel are out of South Sudan although the conflict hasn't reached the areas where we are currently working.  I am in the US on my regularly scheduled Homeland Ministry Assignment and will be sharing about my ministry over the next few months.  I'd love to hear from you.  

This week I have poured through hundreds of pictures taken by our volunteers and missionaries over the past year.  Hopefully the pictures below, and a little narrative, will help paint a picture of how God is using Mango Ministries to help Build His Kingdom.  

1.  Community Empowerment

I'm thankful for the opportunity we've had to train over 85 men and women this past year in what is called Community Health Empowerment or Evangelism.  These participants are adopting life changing principles and are in the process of teaching others in their communities.       We held one Vision Conference and 5 individual weeks of Community Empowerment Training.   

This is our newest CHE class.  We're blessed to have a multi-cultural team of trainers hailing from Eritrea, the US, Germany, and American missionary kids who were raised in Kenya and Oman!  We're also seeing several promising South Sudanese participants develop their training skills!


 CHE training is hardly boring.

It's quite hands on.  Tiana Duncan helps participants make a tippy tap using recycled plastic containers.

Tippy taps are used for hand washing and conserve precious water supplies.

We believe the best learning is learning from each other so group work is encouraged.

Participants get to know one another with games.

Everyone gets their say in identifying community issues.  One rock - one vote. 

This group identified insecurity as their number one problem, garnering 17 votes.  The next most common concern was a tie between lack of roads and lack of a clinic coming in with 8 votes each.

Sometimes it's just easier to draw what you're talking about in the sand.

And participants draw maps of their community that help them identify healthy and unhealthy aspects of their village.

Beans and rice is a common meal in South Sudan and everyone looks forward to lunch break.

After four weeks of training each CHE participant gets an ID badge and certificate as they head out into their communities prepared to teach about creating a healthy home, physically and spiritually as well.

This "Farming God's Way" demonstration garden highlights the increased crop yields of a peanut crop when no-till methods are used (on left) compared with traditional farming practices (on right)(I hope it wasn't necessary for me to point that out but just in case you were confused I wanted it to be clear - FGW doubles the yield from traditional farming methods!)

After training one participant went home and planted a FGW garden of peanuts.  Margit and Tiana, two of our CHE facilitators, were invited to his home to celebrate on harvest day.  As they say,  "Seeing is believing!"

The rainy season in 2013 was especially severe.  Flooding prevented our CHE facilitators from visiting homes as well as preventing many who were blind from reaching our Cataract Clinic :(

2.  Medical Empowerment

Providing clinical staff to Medical Ministries
WGM provided the In Deed and Truth Clinic in Tonj with several medical staff.

One of the benefits of working in a mission clinic is that spiritual ministry is combined with physical healing.  The clinic team enjoy the opportunity to pray with patients and their families.

Our medical volunteers served a combined timeframe of a year treating literally thousands of patients.

Cataract Clinics

Finding blind patients in South Sudan is like …. . looking for shells on the beach!  With very few eye specialists in the country to treat cataracts blindness is very common.  Dr. Ben poses with a prime cataract patient (note the patients opaque right eye!).

The Tenwek Eye Team set up their mobile clinic in Aweil. Pictured above is the make-shift scrub sink. Hey, it works!

 Operating in both Aweil and Tonj the team surpassed their goal and gave sight to 527 people in 2013!

Patients praised God for opening their eyes and giving new life. 

Surgery Clinics

Missionary surgeons from Tenwek Hospital take Kenyan surgical residents to South Sudan to hold surgical clinics with partnering ministries.

There are frequent McGuyver moments when ingenuity is put to the test.  Here Drs. Todd and Damaris use their personal head lamps when OR lights aren't working.

Dr. Carol enjoys a light moment with a patient.  

One of the most immediately transforming surgeries is when a cleft lip is repaired.  

During five weeks of clinics our teams were able to bring hope and healing to over 100 patients who wouldn't otherwise have had access to surgical care.

3.  Church Empowerment

The Coppedge family traveled to Tonj last March from their home in Uganda to continue training South Sudanese pastors how to use Biblical Storytelling to enrich their own spiritual lives as well as giving them a tool to share the Bible with others.

Many pastors who have been taught are now using Biblical Storytelling with their congregations.

Some pastors can read as the picture above shows.  But because of a lack of Bibles in their heart language and a high rate of illiteracy among the general population pastors are able to use oral methods to teach people the Bible.  The Bible actually comes alive.  Very exciting.

In South Sudan World Gospel Mission has been partnering with other ministries.  This past year we partnered with the In Deed and Truth Ministry in Tonj, Partners in Compassionate Care / Memorial Christian Hospital in Werkok, the Episcopal Church of Sudan - Diocese of Akot, International Aid Services in Nyinbule, and with the Government Hospitals in Aweil and Tonj.  We also utilize the services of Mission Aviation Fellowship and Africa Inland Missions's aviation ministries.

I am deeply grateful for so many of you who have partnered with Mango Ministries.
I thank
. . . . those who invite us to minister alongside them in South Sudan and for your commitment to serve through thick and thin.
. . . .  our missionaries and volunteers who share your time and talents - there are many easier places to serve.
. . . . those who help our missionaries and volunteers traverse a country not yet endowed with good road networks.
. . . . those who help support our ministries through financial gifts - we can't do this without your help.
. . . . those who pray for logistics, for safety, for light bulb moments during trainings, and for clinics that offer health and hope, for hearts to be challenged and lives changed - we rely on those prayers.

Doing missions in South Sudan is costly in every way, shape, and form.

Building His Kingdom in South Sudan ~ priceless!