Refugees, seed projects, tea, sacrificial love, coffee, and turkey!

Kakuma Refugee Camp.  Home to over 100,000 men, women, and children who had to leave home.  Homeless because of war and persecution.   

WGM and Kenya's Africa Gospel Church teamed up to present a Samaritan Strategy Vision Conference.  Phil Renfroe writes, "Many of the participants expressed surprise and gratitude for what they learned about transformational community development.  They asked us when we would return to teach them more!  I marvel at the potential of what God can to do both in the Kakuma camp and in many nations across Africa when these refugee church leaders are given the opportunity to return to their home countries! "

Church leaders from seven different African nations attended the 4 day conference.  Attendees represented the nations of Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Kenya, Congo, and Rwanda.  Each group made a plan to implement a seed project - using what they have to meet a need in their immediate community.  Pray for each group as they implement their plan and as they see Kingdom math in play.  2 + 2 in God's economy equals much more than 4!

Community Health Evangelism training continued with the Akot and Tonj communities - 20 change-agents preparing for community transformation!

Sometimes class is outside - where it's easier to catch a breeze.

And sometimes it's inside.  Despite the heat these students did a great job of focusing on the lessons presented.  CHE is taught in a very interactive way which makes learning fun and memorable.

In one session CHE teams made presentations about the seed projects they accomplished since their training last July.  Pr. David's group from Aduel talked about showing the teachers at the primary school where he teaches about tippy taps.  By using a cooking oil container and some rope there is a way to easily wash your hands after using the toilet, before cooking or eating, or whenever your hands are dirty.  Pretty nifty, eh?!

And there's always time for a quick walk to Tonj town for a cup of kerkede (red hibiscus tea) at the end of the day! 

Whitney is making friends with the tea makers.  Pray she'll have opportunities to speak truth into these girls lives.  

Cataract Clinic ~ Tonj

218 surgeries performed in 4 days!

Teams from Tenwek Hospital, In Deed and Truth Clinic, and several visiting volunteers worked tirelessly throughout.

The story about this couple touched everyone's heart.  It was almost time to pack up on the last day and the team prayed for just one more patient.  In walked two.  This man could see with one eye and for four days he walked with his totally blind wife to Tonj, hearing there was help for blindness there.  They carried a stick (to fight off wild animals), a mosquito net, and a little bit of grain.  That's it.  They slept on the road.  Both were operated on as you can see from the post-op picture below.

They had never heard about Jesus before.  I can't even imagine - never, ever?  The local chaplains had opportunity to tell them about Jesus!  They listened with interest.  

When the bandages came off the following day the man could see in his previously blind eye.  His wife however could not see as she had a more complicated disease process going on.  What impressed the team is the way the husband lovingly cared for his wife.  Since she was totally blind she relied on him for everything. The Kenyan men on the team told me on their arrival back in Kenya, "He even helped her wash her face.  He really loved her!"  

As this couple walks back to their home where there are no Christians or Church pray with us that the seeds of the Gospel will take root in their hearts and minds.  And pray that a follower of Jesus will come to their village to share more.  The team was impressed by the sacrificial love of the husband as he meticulously cared for his wife.  Our desire is to see this couple, and many more like them, experience the overwhelming and sacrificial love of their heavenly Father.

Team Time

As I've mentioned before it's rare that our Mango Ministry team is in the same place but a few weeks ago we were and that's always a treat.  We visited Adhanom and his family as they had just been through a difficult time.  We were treated to good Eritrean food and a coffee ceremony.  

Here, Adhanom's sister-in-law, Martha, begins the ceremony by roasting the coffee beans over charcoal. Billy Coppedge and I can't wait and eagerly watch. 

After roasting, grinding, and boiling the coffee, the first round of coffee is poured.

Adhanom, Billy, and Tim enjoy their first of several cups of great Eritrean coffee! 

Thanksgiving Time

Teammates:  Whitney, Helen and Adhanom and their girls Shamna and Fasika, Terry and Karen Duncan, Tim, and Joy (and Robyn - taking the picture!)

People sometimes ask how holidays are celebrated in Africa.  Taking holiday traditions overseas is a fairly simple thing to do.  Since there is no Thanksgiving holiday in Kenya we celebrated last Saturday but with all the American fixings and family recipes.  We sang a rousing rendition of "We Gather Together" and gave thanks for God's goodness in our lives this past year.   I'm thankful for you!  

Kakuma ~ northern Kenya

Home to over 100,000 refugees from Africa 

As I sat in church this morning I began to reflect on the quote I included in my blog post yesterday describing what it is like in a refugee camp . . .  equating it with prison, exile, and a hostage situation.

That's exactly why Mango Ministries is at Kakuma Refugee camp right now.  It might feel like being in prison but we have hope!

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasng glory which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."  2 Corinthians 3:17-18

Thanks for praying for the facilitation team and the men and women attending the Samaritan Strategy Vision Conference.  May each one there experience freedom like never before!

One down, three to go

October and November are extremely busy months for Mango Ministries with 4 big events. 

Last week the Orality Training was held.  Here are a few testimonials from Pastors who are learning how to teach from the Bible using the strategy of Biblical Orality.  What do you think?  Are these men and women 'getting it?'

"When I shared the story from Genesis 3:1-13 to the pastors and mothers’ union a lot of debate started. They started to blame the woman, others the man, and some even blamed God for the problem. Many participated in the debate. From this I realized that our people are very wise to be able to ask those types of questions.  Storytelling is powerful. It can change people from bad to good. I like it!"

Adhanom tells the story of the widow's oil from 2 Kings 4 at the training in early October '12

"People are excited & happy to hear the stories from me. I had been preaching to them before, but they are not used to hear me teach them in such a way. They are amazed. Because I am using a new and different way of teaching the bible."

Group work during the Orality Training in East Rumbek County

"When I was evangelizing a woman whose husband had died and had a sick son she heard the storm story (Luke 8) and identified herself as living in a storm similar to the story. Then she called Jesus."

Mango Ministry's Billy Coppedge prepares with Pastor Joseph who will present a lesson

Thanks for praying for the Orality training that occured from October 9 - 11.  The Mango Ministry team joined with WGM Uganda and spent 3 days teaching Bible Stories and how to apply them to our lives.  Continue praying with us that God's Word will change lives.  To learn more about Biblical Story telling - or what it isn't - check out this article.  

• Kakuma Refugee Camp, northern Kenya

Deng Jongkuch from Memorial Christian Hospital visiting Kakuma in 2011 where he spent his teen years

September statistics from the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) reports that Kakuma Refugee camp has surpassed it's original capacity of 100,000 and it currently houses 102,147 refugees.  Because of the conflict in Somalia, 48% of the residents are of Somalian origin.  Sudanese and South Sudanese comprise 37% of the residents.  We have invited 100 church leaders from many different nations in Africa to join us for a Samaritan Strategy Vision Conference (SSVC) that begins tomorrow afternoon, October 21st through Wednesday.  We're thrilled about this opportunity!

Mango Ministries and Africa Gospel Church Kenya are joining together to facilitate this conference in the hope that the lives of the men and women of Kakuma Refugee Camp will see God at work in their lives.  There is an added challenge in working with people who have been in situations where they have needed to depend on outsiders to provide 'relief,' such as food, clothing, & housing.  Although living in a refugee camp has a distinct set of challenges we believe God wants the residents to see that God wants His Kingdom to come to Kakuma Refugee Camp.  

WGM's Dr. Philip Renfroe and AGC's Rev. Walter Rutto - SSVC facilitators

Life in a refugee camp is not easy.  Here is how one source describes life in the camp.  

"The camp is a “small city” of thatched roof huts, tents, and mud abodes. Living inside the camp is equally prison and exile. Once admitted, refugees do not have freedom to move about the country but are required to obtain Movement Passes from the UNHCR and Kenyan Government. Inside this small city at the edge of the desert, children age into adulthood and hope fades to resignation. To be quite frank, it’s more or less a kind of hostage life for many refugees."

Will you trust God with us for the men and women of Kakuma Refugee Camp to gain a deeper understanding of God's plan for their lives and their communities and ultimately their nations?  

Here's a taste of one of the lessons entitled "The Transforming Story."  Main ideas of the lesson include:

1. The Bible, when taken as a whole, presents a total view of reality and these truths have the power to transform individuals, communities and nations.
2. The church is not telling the whole transforming story. The gospel of salvation is not God’s whole story. We must tell the whole breadth and depth of God’s story.
3. The Great Commission is nothing less than the discipling of nations - bringing the depth and the breadth of the Bible to the whole person in all sectors of every society.
4. “If the Church does not disciple the nation, the nation will disciple the Church.” If the Church is not intentionally bringing the entire biblical story to people and nations, then the prominent view of the culture (the culture’s worldview) will influence and shape the Church.

Please join us in praying for this transformational event!  Pray for each one who has been invited, that hearts and minds will be open to learning new ideas - that the stories, diagrams, and small group exercises will be instrumental in helping participants gain a Biblical Worldview.  Pray for the facilitation team to be healthy and focused and wise in facilitating discussion, and for smooth flowing of  the logistics - Tim is with the team and doing a great job.  Check back for a report of how the conference went.  

More upcoming events:  

• Community Health Evanglism training in Tonj October 27th through November 1st.  
• Cataract Clinic in Tonj November 2nd - 6th - support sight giving surgery

The Mango Ministry team appreciates your interest, prayers, and financial support that allows us to walk alongside our South Sudanese brothers and sisters and share the truths and gifts that have transformed our lives.  

here to there

Traffic jams in Nairobi, Kenya where I am based have become infamous according to this BBC article. It's becoming increasingly hard to get from one side of Nairobi to the other side!

Sitting in traffic jams is frustrating but Adhanom (center) has had some very different experiences in South Sudan as he makes follow-up visits necessitating a river-walk to a waiting motorcycle taxi.  

I'm so excited that Mango Ministries has two new volunteers.  They have successfully mobilized their support teams and in late August they moved from the US to Africa. 

Joining Adhanom, as a Field Facilitator in South Sudan, is Whitney Smith who comes from Fort Payne, Alabama.

And joining me in Nairobi, to help with the heavy load of logistics and travel planning, is Tim Conaway.

I was able to attend Tim's comissioning service at Trinity United Methodist Church in Mullica Hill, NJ, hours before I flew back to Kenya at the end of my Homeland Ministry Assignment.

Part of Tim and Whitney's orientation was spending time as a team in Arua, Uganda with the Coppedges and Adhanom.  They all learned about Biblical Orality - teaching Bible stories.  

Tim even got to tell a Bible story on the radio.  

Since the Mango Ministry team is spread here, there, and everywhere (actually just Uganda, 

Kenya, and South Sudan) the chance to have facetime was a big treat.  

On the orientation tour our next stop was Aduel, South Sudan. . . .

. . . where Adhanom, Whitney, and Tim met with the pastors who are learning Biblical Storytelling.  

Our next training is October 9 - 11th.  Please pray for Billy Coppedge as he leads this training.  We're excited when we get feedback that pastors are learning Bible stories and telling them within their circles of influence.  To financially help WGM train pastors click here.  

 

Then we were off to Tonj where we spent time with some of the 

Pastors and CHE participants Mango Ministries is working with and where Whitney will be based.  

We enjoyed taking afternoon walks to learn more about the community.  

Here Dr. Denny, volunteering at the In Deed and Truth Clinic,

is fascinated by the peanut butter grinding machine.    

Whitney practiced speaking Dinka with the girl who served us kerekede (hibiscus tea) in Tonj.  

We've got some exciting activities ahead of us in the next few weeks and many will be traveling here, there and . . . . you get the picture. 

Kakuma church roof shingles and cross made from cooking oil tins donated by the US

We're taking a team led by Dr. Philip Renfroe to the Kakuma Refugee Camp in northern Kenya to hold a Samaritan Strategy Vision Conference.  Some of the participants will be from South Sudan and Sudan, among other African nations!  What an opportunity.  

Congregation in Kakuma Refugee Camp from the Nuba Mountains of Sudan

Please pray with us that the church leaders who attend this conference from October 21 - 24th will have their eyes opened to amazing things that God wants to do in their lives, in the refugee camp, and in their home countries throughout Africa. 

And speaking of eyes opened, one of the most heart-wrenching things I see is when a blind person has arrived at a cataract clinic on the last afternoon when the equipment is being packed away.  During our clinic in Tonj last year this child came leading 2 gentlemen, but they were too late.  Pray with us as the In Deed and Truth Clinic staff screen surgical candidates for sight giving surgery.  Pray for preparations including obtaining necessary documentation and transporting supplies and the team to Tonj.  

Would you like to give a financial gift to enable a South Sudanese to put their stick down?  

Will you give someone the opportunity to walk by faith and sight?

A gift of $150 will make that happen.  Any amount you can give will help us help South Sudanese to see.  Click here for online giving towards cataract surgeries.  

And last but not least we will be holding the 3rd week of Community Health Empowerment training October 27 - 31st.  We are looking for people to adopt a CHE group and pray for them.  We are expecting God to do amazing things in these people's lives and use them as change agents to facilitate transformation in their communities.  Will you join the transformation process and PRAY CHE.  Email me if you'd like to adopt a CHE group and I'll email you a group profile with names, pictures and other information.  

Thanks for reading all the way to the end of this long overdue blog post.  I'm excited to have so much to share.  Challenges abound, but grace abounds even more.  Thanks for sharing the journey!

PS ~ be sure to check out my Mango Ministry teammate's blogs.  Links are in the left hand column towards the top.  

Are you an Olympian?

Be on the lookout for 2 South Sudanese runners in this summer's Olympics.  

Guor Marial (marathon) and Lopez Lomong (5000m - pictured above) are two Olympians from South Sudan.  Both men came to the US as refugees.  They are known as the Lost Boys of Sudan - although they are no longer lost but are helping those who remained in South Sudan during the war years.  Watch interviews with Guor Marial and Lopez Lomong.   

The olympic creed:  The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well. 

Are you a missions olympian?  Have you joined WGM's Mango Ministry's team? Are you part of the struggle to see God's Kingdom come to earth?  Continue reading about some of the folks who are partnering with me in ministry.  Will you take the "CHE PRAY challenge?"  

From South Sudan to Pitman United Methodist Church!  

It's been great getting to share with and visit with some of you this summer.  

And I've been able to stop in at a few camp meetings in the area!

 I was the missionary at Erma Camp Meeting, Cape May, NJ

 I dropped by South Seaville Camp Meeting, South Seaville, NJ one evening.

 And spent a day at Rawlinsville Camp Meeting, South Lancaster County, PA

RCM friends Joyce Zercher and Daphne Hathaway

 I'm going to visit Malaga Camp Meeting, Vineland, NJ on August 6th.

Sandi Bock, a former volunteer with Tenwek Community Health recently wrote, "I thought I'd email you even though there is no possible way I could come to the Kountry Kitchen on July 28th, seeing as how I'm up here in northern British Columbia."

Sorry about that Sandi, but it's quite understandable as you're 2300 miles away!

Despite it being summer and vacation time we had a good turnout in Elmer, NJ at the Kountry Kitchen last Saturday.  These are the churches that were represented:

• Bridgeton Trinity United Methodist Church, NJ
• Browns Mills United Methodist Church, NJ
• Calvary Chapel Philadelphia, PA
• Carl's Corner Community Fellowship, NJ
• Deerfield United Methodist Church, NJ
• Elmer United Methodist Church, NJ
• Erma Tabernacle United Methodist Church, Cape May, NJ
• Evangelical Clarksboro United Methodist Church, NJ
• Glassboro First United Methodist Church, NJ
• Mullica Hill Trinity United Methodist Church, NJ
• Paoli Baptist Church, PA
• Pitman United Methodist Church, NJ
• Sharptown United Methodist Church, NJ
• South Vineland United Methodist Church, NJ
• Turnersville St. Johns United Methodist Church, NJ

Besides sharing some of the neat things I see God doing through our Mango Ministry team in South Sudan I shared some of our struggles, reminding ourselves that challenges help us grow.  We then talked about the need to widen the circle of pray-ers and shared ways that individuals and churches are involved in supporting missions through PRAYER.
Here are some of the ideas shared:

• have a prayer room in your house using post-it notes with current praises and requests
• hang a world map highlighting the missionaries your church supports
• have a wall in your church highlighting missionaries with available literature on their ministries
• highlight missionaries and their prayer requests on church website
• include missionaries in church prayer chain by phone or email

I'd like to present you with the CHE PRAY challenge

• Adopt a Community Health Evangelism team of 3 and their church and community to pray for - by name

This is what one of our trainers, Dr. Rick, wrote about our CHE training.
"The goal of this program is to facilitate holistic transformation at the grass roots level in individual communities.  A network of volunteers who reside in the communities is trained to share knowledge with their neighbors.  The lessons that they are trained to teach include spiritual lessons, preventative health lessons, and development/empowerment lessons.  Of course we need to keep in mind that our time here on earth is extremely small compared to our eternal existence with God, so our ultimate goal is to encourage as many as possible to join Christ and experience the eternal bliss that we will have when we spend an eternity having fellowship with God.  So, some lessons need to address evangelism as well as discipleship.  However, while we are here on earth certain behavior changes can lead to a significant improvement in life.  Understanding sanitation and fecal oral contamination can go a long way to preventing diarrhea, dehydration, and even death (especially in children).  Understanding immunizations and simple ways to prevent illness can vastly improve the quality and the quantity of life.  Simple lessons addressing these issues can easily be taught by volunteers with minimal education.  I also believe that education from neighbors can be far more effective than occasional education by outsiders (like me).  Also, lessons to encourage people to use resources provided by God in nature to improve their lives can be valuable.  After all, figuring out how one can solve his own problems is superior to outsiders trying to do it for him. . .  Please pray with me that the Spirit of God will descend and use both us and these new trainers to bring about community transformation. After having looked at the conditions, it is obvious that without God's supernatural intervention that the South Sudanese will continue to suffer unnecessarily."

Please email me if you or a group you belong to would like to take the CHE PRAY challenge to pray for the CHE trainees, their church, and community on a regular basis.  I will supply you with names and we'll keep you updated on their progress as training and mentoring continues.

Thanks for your partnership.  We're a team!

what's it like?

Frequently I'm asked, "What's it like in South Sudan?"  For the most part South Sudan is an experience that must be participated in to fully understand.  But this summer while in the US on a short Homeland Ministry Assignment I've noticed that there are a few things that you might be able to relate to . . . .   It's HOT in South Sudan.   And it's been HOT here too! High's reaching 100 degrees or more. Low's in the high 70's or even 80's.
And during the dry season (November - April) everything turns brown.  While in Indiana attending a seminar at WGM's Headquarters last week it was sad to hear of farmers plowing their crops under due to lack of rain.  July 4th is always celebrated with vigor in the US:  cookouts, fireworks, and people displaying and wearing the flag.  Reports are that on July 9th there were big celebrations to celebrate the first Independence day in the Republic of South Sudan.

to see little more of what South Sudan is like watch this short video.

news from the field

Hillary Langat, a Clinical Officer from Tenwek Hospital in Kenya, sees patients at the In Deed and Truth Clinic in Tonj during a 3 week trip in June.  Volunteers from Tenwek have been a big blessing to this ministry. 

Pray as WGM's friend, Dr. Rossi (on right), is in Tonj now, covering for "In Deed and Truth's" full time Doctor who is on leave this summer. 

Deng Jongkuch, the Hospital Administrator at Memorial Christian Hospital in Werkok, visited Tonj last week to learn from another health care ministry.  (above Deng and I are visiting during one of my visits last March) Deng was particularly excited to sit in on a Community Health Evangelism (CHE) training that was taking place.  

Pray as we explore opportunities for the future.  Read more about Deng in The Call, WGM's free magazine. 

Eight pastors from Akot and Tonj traveled to Arua, in northern Uganda, this month to learn more about Biblical Storytelling with the Coppedge family.  We're grateful for the time they had as they lived, learned, and fellowshipped together.  Please pray for these pastors as they each share 25 Bible stories before September.

Shortly after arriving home in NJ I was able to have lunch with Tim Conaway from my hometown of Mullica Hill, NJ.  Tim is joining the Mango Ministry team in September as a Logistician.  Nothing in South Sudan is easy and everything takes meticulous planning.   Tim's going to be our detail guy!  We're also excited that Whitney Smith will be traveling to South Sudan at the same time and will be involved in walking alongside our partners who are doing CHE training.  Since Whitney is from Fort Payne, AL I'm going to have to wait till she's in Nairobi to have lunch with her! 

And just before I left East Africa for NJ I had the priviledge of getting together with WGM's leaders in Africa for a Regional Retreat.  We are standing at the base of a huge baobab tree. 

(Billy and Jenny Fuller, Pam and Mike Chupp, Alice and Jim Vanderhoof, Karen and Terry Duncan, Vera and Jon Steury, Joy Phillips, Jon Mayo, and Beth and John Muehleisen)

Thanks for your prayers that are helping bring the Kingdom of God to South Sudan!