Yei, South Sudan

Yes, I know, I've been "away" for awhile. I'm finally feeling like I can breathe again. My life has been a little crazy lately.  I want to share some of my month of October.

So, on Oct. 4 I, along with Clint and 4 others, went to Uganda and South Sudan for a 10 day missions trip.  In short, I left a large part of my heart in Yei, South Sudan. We spent a lot of time with 100 orphaned children at New Generation Dreamland Children's Home.  I quickly fell in love with these children.

This is Joyce.  She is the youngest of all the children and loved by all.  Joyce loves to sing. Several times I noticed her off on her own playing with her dress and singing. I don't know what she was singing because she was singing in her native language but I'm sure she was praising Jesus. Joyce stole my heart!






My specific role was photography.  I was to make sure that each child was photographed.  We also had a video camera.  Clint took a little time to capture the older boys playing football. This is James standing with him. This is one of my favorite photos as we've "adopted" James into our family. We pray for James on a regular basis. He has captured all of our hearts. He is a very kind 14 year old with a great talent with soccer. He is a very good athlete.

 As I was walking around with my camera I was attempting to get some shots of the older boys playing soccer, which they spent much of their free time playing. Some of them were taking a break and caught me with my camera. They love having their photo taken and I took the opportunity to let them take some photos with my camera. Oh my, they had a blast! They couldn't get enough of it. :)  We had so much fun. It was fun for me to be on the other side of the camera with the children and to see them have so much fun taking the photos. Definitely a memorable moment.

 James is our "adopted Sudanese son". We have fallen in love with him. The first time Clint met James he came home and told us all about how James enjoyed football. He quickly became a part of our home and prayers. :) I got to meet James while I was there! I was so excited to finally meet him and touch him! He is a quiet, kind and gentle young man. He loves Jesus and can pray and sing with the best of 'em. I love how Jesus has captured his heart.

Clint and I spent a day shopping for clothes, shoes and necessities for the 100 children at the Dreamland. We went with Santino, Tom and Martin. Santino and Tom are in the photo with me. We bought some fabric for the older girls to use for making clothes with their new sewing machine that we bought for them too. These young men were so great to spend time with! They all love Jesus and desire to serve Him with their lives. What a pleasure to know them.




It was difficult to leave Yei, South Sudan. So much of my heart is full of the people of Sudan now. It has taken me weeks to work through what God is doing in my heart. It's been a long transition for me. I know that there is a future for me (and Clint) in Yei. I can't imagine not ever going back to the place that God has put in my heart. I feel a call to help the 100 (eventually 350) children of New Generation Dreamland and the people of Yei. I don't exactly what this looks like ... I just know it's there.

Waiting and trusting ...