Uganda/South Sudan 2011

It's 9:41pm on Wednesday night and we are finally sitting down for dinner at our hotel.  Wow, it's been quite a trip so far and we haven't even made it to South Sudan yet!  There are 8 of us on the trip this year, with quite a varying amount of missions and practical experience. 
Our 2011 South Sudan & Uganda Global Outreach team includes Marc Merrill (a pharmacist), Carrie Biggers (a nurse and an artist), Joe Biggers (Carrie's son, pre-med student and an artist), Michelle FitzGerald (a teacher and an artist), Steve Schwartz (has helped me lead trips to Haiti & is leading our efforts with micro-finance loans), Kathy Smarrella (Art for the Heart of Africa Chair Person, photographer and is helping me lead this trip) and my personal favorite, Rose Schwartz (our photographer/videographer; experienced missionary).  We started our journey by leaving The Vineyard Church at 1:30pm on Monday after having our intercessory prayer team pray for us and didn't arrive in Uganda until 10:00pm local time Tuesday night (7 hour time change so that was 3:00pm Indiana time). It's hard to explain how tiring just plain 25 ½ hours of travel can be, but it is exhausting. Our travel went extremely well with no delays. We flew from Chicago to Belgium, 
 had a 2 hour layover and then flew from there to Entebbe, Uganda.  Pastor Solomon was at the airport to pick us up with 3 vehicles to handle all 8 of us and our 16 suitcases!  (We filled 8 of our suitcases full of medical supplies, art supplies and toys for the children)  We checked into a hotel we hadn't stayed at before, the Central Inn, but it turns out to be very nice.  Thank-you Jesus!  J  We went to our rooms and took showers and went to bed as most of us were very tired.

The next morning we met for breakfast around 7am as the electricity was off in the hotel and we couldn't take showers.  Thankfully the electricity came back on after breakfast and we were able to prepare for our day.  We decided to fill our largest suitcase full of medical supplies and take it with us for the medical outreach.  Pastor Solomon had a driver pick us up at 9:30am and we began our 1 ½  hour trip to Pastor Solomon's church and school.  Upon arrival there was already a room full of people waiting to be seen by our medical team.  We quickly unloaded and Marc, Carrie, Joe & Kathy began seeing patients. One neat thing that happened while preparing for this trip was that Marc Merrill heard about the need from Pastor Solomon for an ultrasound. 
So, he researched portable ultrasounds and also raised the funds from his friends to pay for it. So, we had a brand new ultrasound machine to take with us on this trip! Pastor Solomon had 3 med-students there to help us, and one of them was a senior in college majoring in Radiography!  The team saw 150 - 200 patients throughout the day with quite a range of physical issues.  Below is a list of the types of conditions they saw:

§  Fungal infections of the scalp

§  Acute malaria

§  50+ pregnant women (all getting an ultrasound to see their babies!)

§  A woman with an ovarian tumor (she will seek immediate attention at the local hospital)

§  A woman with a tumor on her head

§  A 9 year old with syphilis

§  1 person with Measles

§  Cough, fever, upper repertory infections

§  Skin diseases and infections

§  Open skin wounds

§  A baby with a hernia

§  One child had a broken femur that wasn't healing properly

§  A person with Arthritis

§  People with worms

§  Head aches and fevers

Since Marc Merrill is a pharmacist, they had LOTS of medications to administer and were able to take VERY good care of most of their patients.  A few were referred to more extensive medical care, but most were able to walk away with a sucker in their mouth and some directions and medications to take.  Praise God for His provision for these people!  Marc, Carrie, Joe & Kathy all did a wonderful job and worked hard all day.

While the medical clinic was going on, the rest of us took on the task of purchasing food for the poor in the area.  The Vineyard Church donated just over $12,000 to help feed the poor in Africa as part of the Radical Offering this past weekend, so we had quite a lot of money to spend!  We decided to set aside $6,000 for Uganda with the rest going to South Sudan.  This task took several hours as it's not as easy as just running over to Sam's Club...  We first had to drive into downtown Kampala to exchange our money.  What a surprise when we walked out of the exchange office with over $16,000,000 in Uganda Shillings!  We felt like we had just robbed a bank and had to be careful to hide the money in our backpacks so that we didn't have any unwelcome "fans" following us.  We then divided into two cars to go shopping; me Rose & Pastor Solomon were in one car with Steve, Michelle & Pastor Solomon's wife Doreen in the other car.  My car first went to a pharmacy to purchase some additional medicines for the medical outreach and then on to the "bad side of town" to purchase food in bulk.  Pastor Solomon said this was the area that we could buy the food the cheapest.  After several hours of negotiating and food packaging and loading, we were able to purchase several hundred pounds of beans and posho (a maize flour (cornmeal) cooked with water into a porridge or dough-like food).  We rented a big flatbed truck to haul the dozens of bags back to Pastor Solomon's campus as there was no way to fit it into our car.  The other car purchased several hundred pounds of rice, sugar, salt, seasoning, cooking oil, and milk.  They also rented a flatbed truck to transport it back to the clinic.  Once all the food arrived, Pastor Solomon's helpers unloaded the bags into a large storage container to keep it safe from the impending rain.  They also purchased hundreds of small bags to be used to divide the food so that it could be given away to needy families.

It was now 5pm and the Wednesday evening church service was about to begin, so Pastor Solomon quickly divided up some of the food into bags so that we could take it to one of the families nearby.  This particular family had 4 young children and had come up to Pastor Solomon on Sunday and explained that his family hadn't eaten for a couple of days.  Pastor Solomon gave this family some food after church but wanted to be able to do so much more.  So, when we arrived into Uganda and I was able to tell him about the money that The Vineyard Church had given through the Radical Offering, he was overjoyed!  We carried the food to this man's one room home that was about the size of a small bedroom (there were 6 people living there).  We each carried our bag into his home one by one as there wasn't enough room for us all to go in there together.  With tears in his eyes, he expressed his thankfulness to Pastor Solomon and to us.  Thank-you Vineyard Church for your generosity! 

We then went back to the church and joined into worship.  Boy, they sure know how to worship in Uganda!  After much jumping, shouting, singing, sweating and dancing... worship time was finally over.  It's quite an experience to behold!  Then, each of our team members went up one by one to the microphone to say a few words of greeting before the message time was turned over to me.  I didn't have much time to prepare, but God gave me a message about the sermon on the mount from Matthew Chapter 5, 6 & 7, and it was received well.  After service, it was now after 8:00pm and we still had a 1 ½ hour drive back to our hotel, so we said our good-bye's and got into the 8 passenger vehicle (with 9 people in it) and traveled back.  We settled down in the hotel restaurant and ate dinner before finally heading back to our rooms to get some rest for another eventful day tomorrow.

Tomorrow (Thursday) we will eat breakfast at 6am, pack into a shuttle by 6:30am and check-in to the airport by 7:00am for our 8:00am flight to Yei, South Sudan.  Steve Schwartz is actually staying behind by himself to spend one more day with Pastor Solomon to assist with more food distribution and to check on current and future micro-loan opportunities to help the Uganda people create jobs.  He will then fly out on Friday morning to go to Arua, Uganda to spend a day with a Micro-loan institution that we have connections with so that he can learn better how to possibly start one of these in Yei, South Sudan and in Kampala, Uganda.  The plan is for him to take a 4-5 hour taxi ride to Yei on Saturday, be praying for him!  Also, be praying for Steve as he is the only one so far that hasn't felt very well, so keep him and the rest of us in your prayers for health and safety.

We hope to see the children of New Generation Dreamland Children's Home tomorrow afternoon, but this is Africa and you never know what tomorrow may bring.  Thank-you all so much for your prayers!

Clint Schwartz

From Kathy Smarrella in route to South Sudan--- My Ugandan morning started at 3:30 am. Storms woke me up, then the electricity went out at 3:40 am, which means pitch black and no more fan! I couldn't go back to sleep, so I figured God means for me to be praying. I was able to use the time to pray for our team, for folks back home, for travel mercies, and for the sweet children of the New Generation Dreamland Children's Home that I would get to see later during the day. God answers prayers, too, and I just love that I get to see it happen hours later.   After our 6:30 am departure from the hotel, we arrived at the airport, had a relatively seamless check in, and then God blessed us again by getting all of our bags on board the small plane. There was a good chance that they would hold half of them back, forcing us to make some tough decisions about what to take, and what to leave behind (they likely would have come to South Sudan on Saturday, but you never know). But, they all got on the plane (one was in the middle of the aisle, but all were there nonetheless!) A great answer to prayer! A couple hours later, we arrived in Yei, South Sudan. Pastor Stanley Lonathan was there to greet us in his Texas cowboy hat. So good to see his friendly face. Driving to the Sudan for Christ compound, it was interesting to see the changes that have taken place in Yei.  I was on the mission team in 2009, and now, in 2011, South Sudan has become an independent country, and it seems there is a renewed desire to improve their country.  What was an hour long trip two years ago, is now about 20 minutes.  Billboards announcing their independence were everywhere. Very cool. We reached the compound of Sudan for Christ Ministries at about 11 am and my heart just smiled to see this "home away from home" again in-person. Friendly faces greeted us. Esther, who takes such good care of us while we are here, smiled from ear to ear and first chance she got, she prayed with us all. It was a quick stop, because then we were off to the new immigration office in Yei, where we got a Republic of South Sudan stamp in our passports. After that, we ran some errands around town-Marc Merrill and Carrie Biggers stopped at the local pharmacy in Yei to check out medical supplies, exchanged some money, and experienced great local color. Then, we headed back to the compound, where Esther cooked us a delicious lunch (rice with goat "stew," baby bananas and green oranges, and even peanut butter and jam!)  We got settled, and while waiting out a huge rain storm, put together all our goodie bags for the children (to be handed out later in the week). Thanks to Bethel College for the bags, to the Vineyard middle school students for the toys!  Then we headed to the New Generation Dreamland Children's Home. And for me, this is where it gets really personal. From when I was here two years ago, the Dreamland is a changed place. There are new dorms (with the old ones, significantly different) next to them. There is the school building we helped put a roof on, with another new classroom building next to that. There is a new dining hall (with tables!!), and the tiny little one they served food from in 2009 was just this afternoon being torn down. It's amazing. I looked around and saw all of this that God used us--The Vineyard Church--to help build. God used Art for the Heart of Africa to help build this. Tears filled my eyes, and do still as I am writing this. And then there are the children.  The precious faces that fill the frames of my house (and, I'm guessing, many of your homes, Vineyard family) are right in front of us! They come and shake our hands in greeting and we get a few hugs. Now, they recognize some of our team who have been here before. And though they are a little shy today, they will be less so tomorrow. Today, we had no agenda-it was just time to greet them, play a little (Joe Biggers got into the soccer game immediately!) We passed out some candy and some cookies which was fun for us and even more fun for them! We will head back tomorrow morning to work on our photos and art projects for our upcoming Art for the Heart of Africa Benefit & Auction. Our medical team will have a clinic at the orphanage tomorrow, too, so we will spend the day there. What a blessing to be here.  I think our team is full of anticipation for the days to come. Thank you Vineyard family, for all you've done to make this possible. To God be the glory! Kathy Smarrella *****************************************************

From Clint Schwartz, reporting on the final full day of ministry in South Sudan--- Well, what can I say about today other than it was an incredible day in South Sudan.  I always look forward to the last day ... but at the same time knowing that it will break my heart.  The day started with an early breakfast and by 8am we had already exchanged $900 into Sudanese Pounds and left for the market to finalize our shopping.  Steve, Marc and I went with Anthony and a driver first to a pharmacy where we dropped Marc off to purchase $100 worth of drugs for the children of New Generation Dreamland.  Steve & I then proceeded to a goat market to purchase the biggest goat that they had.  This goat was for a huge feast that we were putting on for the children of the Dreamland later that night.  It was interesting to put "Billy" in the back of the truck and then also ride with him as we drove around town shopping for more things.  We then stopped and bought a lot of tomatoes, onions and garlic as spices along with 15Kg of "cow meat" at the open air market.  We also purchased 240 eggs for the children to have for breakfast the next day as that is a huge delicacy here in South Sudan!  We went to a hardware store and purchased some orange and white paint to finish up the lettering on the dormitory and then quickly ran back to pick up Marc so we could go back to the base camp.  Steve and I had a meeting scheduled at 10am just down the road from the base camp with James Kepo, the president of the board of the Christian based micro-finance company CAFECC that is in Arua, Uganda, so we had to hurry.  We made it back in time and then the rest of the team loaded up the truck and traveled to the Dreamland to finish up the art and photography projects.  The ladies didn't ride in the back of the truck with "Billy the goat", not sure why?  J Steve and I had a great meeting with James talking about what it would take to start a micro-finance company based in Yei, South Sudan.  James is a wonderfully educated Christian man who is the principal of a local teacher's college.  What we have read about, and what Steve saw firsthand in Arua, is that the best way to lift people out of poverty is to help them find jobs.  Micro-finance companies are a way to give small loans in order to help people start their own businesses.  We left the discussion about an hour later planning to continue talking through email over the months to come.  We then went back to the market to finish up the shopping---what an adventure that can be!  We bought 25 chairs for pastor Stanley's church, they had to turn people away on Sunday because they ran out of chairs.  We also bought enough fabric for the girls to each have a brand new dresses.  We purchased 6 cases of pop to go with the feast that evening and then we began the task of searching for "netball rings".   You see, the girls were EXTREMELY jealous when I arrived with soccer uniforms and shoes the other day and they didn't get anything for their own "sports team".  They came up to me almost immediately to explain that they had a team, it was a netball team.  I didn't quite understand what that meant and eventually thought that they meant volleyball.  They told me that they needed "netball rings", which I thought was the rings that you stretched the volleyball net across.  Boy, was I wrong.  "Netball" is really more like basketball, but they don't dribble.  What they wanted were 2 basketball hoops on poles so they could play their game!  I eventually caught on, but as you can probably imagine, you can't just go down to the local Walmart and purchase a couple of basketball hoops.  We went to two welders shops and found a good respectable one who promised he could make these out of metal parts if we took him to the metal shop to purchase it.  I said it had to be done today as I couldn't personally handle all of the angry looks I was getting from the girls at the Dreamland.  He promised it would be done today, and we sent him on his way with another worker to start the project.  Steve and I headed out to the Dreamland to deliver our goods and catch up with the rest of the team, we also brought Ester (our cook) along so that she could deliver lunch and start preparing dinner.  You see, in South Sudan, preparing dinner isn't done with a microwave or purchased in a drive thru; it takes several long hours of hard work over an open fire to do it correctly.  Ester has been doing that for us all week and our food has been wonderful, she is a huge blessing! When we arrived, we found the team just enjoying their time with the children as they had finally finished their art and photography projects.  They even had the opportunity to watch "Billy the goat" being prepared for dinner, it was quite a site and I'm sure most of those pictures won't make it into the report.  But, the fun part of the day was about to begin!  We ate lunch and did some video spots with Pastor Stanley for Art for the Heart of Africa before we handed out brand new suites to all of the boys.  I would have rather bought them all shorts and t-shirts, but the Sudanese culture has the children dressing up for special events and church and none of them had anything good to wear.  This is just a small step to help them to feel better about themselves, and they were very happy as they walked to their dormitory with their new suites.  4pm came quickly as that was the time scheduled for the soccer match between the New Generation Dreamland boys in their new soccer gear with an outside team.  The outside team was a bunch of older high school and young adult boys from the church who looked quite a bit taller and bigger than the younger Dreamland team.  I was a little worried that the first match would be a lopsided loss and even began to pray for the team!  They marched out onto the field in a ceremonial manner, both teams lined up single file on center field.  Then one of the boys stepped forward and they led the crowd and teams with the new South Sudan national anthem.  The words are pretty special, so I've included them below: Oh God! We praise and glorify you For your grace on South Sudan Land of great abundance Uphold us united in peace and harmony Oh motherland! We rise raising flag with the guiding star And sing songs of freedom with joy For justice, liberty and prosperity Shall forevermore reign Oh great patriots! Let us stand up in silence and respect Saluting our martyrs whose blood Cemented our national foundation We vow to protect our nation Oh God, bless South Sudan! Sound familiar? It's a little like our own National Anthem!  After the song, the game began.  It was a fast-paced, high energy game with the visiting team consistently pushing the smaller Dreamland team around because of the size difference.  There was a lot of cheering from the sidelines as we all wanted the Dreamland team to win.  At halftime, the game was scoreless even though there were several shots on goal from the visiting team.  Then, early in the 2nd half there was a corner kick by the dreamland team and a headshot bounced it in for their first goal!  We all jumped and shouted and the children on the sidelines even did cartwheels to celebrate.  All you could see were these big toothy grins from the team as they jogged back towards their side of the field in jubilant celebration.  It couldn't get any better than this.  They held on to win 1-0.  The boys were so proud of themselves, and it was so fun to give them all high-fives to congratulate them on the win. At this point, the truck pulled up and all you could hear were the squeals of girls as they discovered that the "netball hoops" were being delivered.  They were jumping up and down and so excited to see their dream realized.  I went over and inspected the all metal basketball hoops and was very impressed with the quality of workmanship by the welder.  And, they were even painted!  I guess some things in Africa can move faster than what it would take in America!  We set them aside so that they could be installed in the ground the next day.  It was great to no longer be receiving the "dirty looks" from the girls, they all gave me knowing grins when our eyes would meet the rest of the night. The children had planned to put a program together for us, so we headed into the main cafeteria and sat down with much anticipation.  They went on in a very organized manner with quite an agenda of speeches of thanks, songs and dances, riddles (we didn't quite get them, but it was fun) and prayer.  It was all so wonderful!  In one of the speeches of thanks, Clement, one of the oldest boys, ended his speech by saying "do not forget us".  It brought tears to my eyes.  And then the entire group of children began to pray for our team by stretching out their hands and praying for protection and blessing.  This made me cry even more.  After the program, it was time for our feast, but first we handed out 100 Bethel bags (donated by Bethel College) that had toys donated by the middle school students of The Vineyard Church.  They were all so happy to receive these gifts, but I think they were just as happy to dive into their feast!  They had rice, goat, beef, rolls piled high on their plates with cans of pop to drink!  Their faces were so happy!  We all had the same, but ours was specially prepared to American standards by Ester so that we wouldn't get sick.  It was soooo good!   After dinner, we turned on the generator and started watching Veggie Tales on a 19" tv.  Can you imagine 100+ children all watching the same 19" tv at the same time?  Somehow it worked and they all had a fun time as we began passing out glow sticks and suckers.  The kids loved having the team here with them, but it was soon time to say good-bye.  The older girls who had made quite a connection with our ladies began to cry as they understood that we wouldn't be coming back the next day.  It was sad, but good at the same time as I knew that our team had been able to show them love in a genuine way.  We said our good-bye's as it began to rain.  The girls jumped into the cab of the truck as us guys jumped into the back of the truck and we drove away watching the little hands waving and hearing the cries of "bye" from a chorus of little mouths.  This scene a few years ago always made me cry, but now that I have been here a few times and know that our church is committed to helping these children, I know it's not good-bye for me, but it's "see you next year".  We drove home with the pounding rain hitting our faces and the memories of these very special children tucked safely in our hearts.  I will miss them... Tomorrow we head to the airport at 8am to fly to Entebbe for a day of shopping and a few hours of showers, then back to the airport for our marathon trip back to the good ole' USA.  Thank-you so much for your prayers and your gifts, they have been a huge blessing to the people here and I am privileged to serve God by representing The Vineyard Church in South Sudan. Thank you, Clint Schwartz

Mission Trip Travel Journal -- Saturday, 10/1/11

 After we all had woken up and been fed, we started the day with our morning devotional, as we have every morning since we’ve been in Yei, South Sudan. This morning we read from Matthew Chapter 6, and I tell you it couldn’t have been a more fitting scripture for how God was going to work through us today and bless his people he has called us here to help. Verses 25-34 describe how God’s people are not to worry. That we are not to worry about what we are going to eat or eat or drink, or even about our own life. God provides for his many other creations, and how much more valuable to him are we than they? God knows that we need food, water, and clothes and that worrying about these things is a waste of time and energy. By first seeking his kingdom and righteousness, God has promised to provide us with everything we need.

After piling into the truck and traveling down the disheveled road that takes us to the New Generation Dreamland Children’s Orphanage, we climbed out and were greeted by the most excited, beaming faces you have ever seen on children. Every day we are greeted like this, their eyes wide, mouths bearing toothy grins as they scampered up to greet us so that they might receive the love and attention that they deserve so much. Next, we began to set up shop in one of the classrooms, continuing the art project started the previous day. As this takes place, Clint takes off with two Dreamland personnel to go to the market and to hopefully meet up with Steve, as he is scheduled to arrive today. We only have three classes left that haven’t had a chance to paint and express themselves artistically (something they rarely ever get to do). But even with the six of us there, it manages to take us 5+ hours to finish the project. These last few classes had older children, and they took much more time with their paintings. Their time and prolonged concentration was evidenced by the impressive, beautifully painted canvases that lay drying at the end of the session. And even though the project was over, the eager children still wanted to draw and color, and the team happily obliged them with paper and utensils so they could continue to create.

In their makeshift soccer field, a small group of boys gathered to play a soccer game with a ball that could’ve passed for a lump of dried mud it was so dirty and worn. But to them, this and their lack of shoes didn’t matter. This worn out ball that could never be sold at any garage sale back home, or even donated to a local Goodwill for that matter (trust me – I’ve worked there), two sets of tree trunks pressed into the earth for goals, and bare, black feet was their escape from their day to day routine and chores they must perform to function as an orphanage and survive as a community.

During the middle of one of their pickup games, Clint, Steve, and the two personnel they left with earlier showed up unannounced to give what I know would be an unforgettable Saturday to the children of the Dreamland Orphanage. As the truck stops, Clint steps out and throws a brand new soccer ball into the middle of the field. The children’s jaws drop, and they rush towards the ball like we would an open suitcase full of money. Still in amazement at what had just happened, the children only have a few moments to test out their new soccer ball before they are summoned to the school house where the art project took place earlier. When everyone was gathered in the building, the team and Dreamland workers undid a large tarp to reveal brand new soccer shoes for everyone on the team along with four more brand new soccer balls. You could literally feel the excitement from the ecstatic children as squeals and sporadic jumps took place throughout the room. But it didn’t stop there. Clint, Steve, and crew managed to get matching red and blue jerseys along with shorts and socks. When the boys came out of their dormitory, fully clothed in their new attire, you could see the proud, satisfied looks on the young boys’ faces – they looked like a real soccer team, something they probably never thought they would experience.

The rest of the day was spent celebrating and cheering the squad of boys as they played each other in their new soccer gear. It felt like attending a family event as we all sat side by side not caring who scored or who played better. The fact that we were all here together serving as God’s promised provisions to his faithful servants made today truly unforgettable.

 God bless,
Joe

++++++++++++++++++

From Steve Schwartz, in route to South Sudan, on Friday and Saturday---
 Friday morning was an early morning. I was on the shuttle to the airport by 6:20am for the flight from Entebbe, Uganda to Arua, Uganda. The flight was scheduled to leave at 8am, but it was around 8:45am by the time the small plane with me and the other two (yes just two) passengers lifted off. It was an uneventful one hour flight, and we touched down on the dirt runway just before 10am. Patrick, the director of CAFECC (Christian Action for Empowering Church and Community), the microfinance organization I was there to visit with, was at the airstrip to meet me with one of his board members. Arua is a small town in the northern part of Uganda, about 18 miles from the Congo border and 50 miles from South Sudan. Interestingly enough, Patrick informed me in the car that the town has been without power for about a month due to "the machine being broken". Still not sure what that meant, other than it was pretty dark there after the sun went down.
 Patrick took me to the guesthouse to drop off my luggage, then we went the CAFECC headquarters. We started with devotions, singing, and a time of prayer. We then had morning tea together while we discussed their organization. CAFECC currently has about 340 clients, and gives out microfinance loans averaging around $50 to help the underprivileged start and run small businesses. After tea, Patrick and Jimmy, one of their loan officers, took me to visit some of their clients. I met with people who have started and run everything from small convenience stores, to clothing shops, to chicken and pig farms. It was an interesting and informative few hours. Despite having good organization and a hardworking staff of four, CAFECC is still struggling financially and is fighting to become self-sustaining. It was a good visit and reminder for me of the struggles of the microfinance industry.
 After the visits, we went back to their headquarters for lunch, then spent the afternoon discussing more about CAFECC, microfinance, and just getting to know each other. Just before supper at night, we had another time of singing. Patrick brought out some songbooks that had a lot of classic old hymns, and the four of us sat around singing some hymns with Patrick playing the guitar for about a half an hour. Does it get any better than three Ugandans and one American sitting in a small dark African town singing hymns? I'm going to say it probably doesn't.
 After returning to the guesthouse for a short night of sleep, I was up early Saturday morning for the drive from Arua to Yei, South Sudan. Pastor Stanley had arranged for a friend of his named Nuru, who drives a taxi back and forth from Arua to Yei, to pick me up in Arua. He was at my guesthouse by 7am in his painted up Toyota, African music blaring, and we were on the road by 7:15am. After leaving the town, the road we were on quickly turned to dirt. Yep, I was in for a 4 hour ride on a dirt road. Being used to paved roads, it took me a while to get used to traveling on a dirt road for that amount of distance. It was a little rough. After an hour or so of traveling, Nuru turned to me and said that since we were getting closer to the border, the road was "going to get rough". Umm, excuse me? What had it been up to this point!? (Haha!) Anyway, he was right, the road quickly turned rougher with large potholes, rocks, and some ravines. Of course, this was on top of the goats, chickens, cows, and people that we encountered on a regular basis.
 In short time, we reached the border in a town called Kaya, where the borders of Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan meet. I was a little nervous about the border crossing, but with Nuru's help, it went off without a hitch. In about 15 minutes time, I was through the Ugandan and South Sudan immigration offices, and we were back on our way. After passing through a military check point, we ended up on a border road through some relatively thick jungle with the Congo on the left side of the road and South Sudan on the right. It was like driving through an issue of National Geographic. Incredible scenery. After coming over one hill, though, there was a reminder that all is not as beautiful as it looks in Africa. We came upon several large military trucks and a couple of hundred armed soldiers spread out over the road. After it was apparent that these were Ugandan forces in South Sudan, Nuru explained that they were part of the force chasing the Lord’s Resistance Army, a vicious African rebel group. The Uganda soldiers smiled broadly and waved as we drove by. Very nice people, trying to accomplish a very difficult task. 
After another hour or so of driving, we arrived in Yei. Nuru dropped me off at Pastor Stanley's house, and then left to pick up another fare and drive back to Arua. It was an incredible trip, and I'm thankful to God for giving me safety on the road. I think I understand more about that "pray without ceasing" verse now. :)
 After about 30 minutes, Clint returned to the house from the orphanage, and informed me we were going shopping. Before we could head out, however, Pastor Stanley came over with Pastor John Fabiano from Darfur. John had travelled to Yei and wanted to meet with Clint. The Vineyard has had a relationship with John for about five years, but contact with him has been non-existent lately with the troubles in the Darfur region. We sat and talked with him for about an hour. He's an impressive man, doing excellent work in an extremely difficult situation. One of the outreaches he likes to do is a food outreach to the hungry in the Darfur region. Thanks to the generosity of The Vineyard Church, we were able to give him $1,500 to help with food outreach in Darfur. Thanks again, Vineyard family, for your willingness to give.
 After John left, Clint and I headed to the market with some of the workers from the Dreamland orphanage to buy some gifts for the children. The market is a little bit of a crazy place. Tight quarters, a lot of people. We bought some soccer shoes, shorts, socks, and shirts for the boys at the orphanage. Finding enough of anything that matched was impossible, so we finally just gave up and bought what they had. We also bought metal washing bins, some clothes for the boys, and five soccer balls. Also, because the orphanage has been without rice for a couple of months while they are waiting on another shipment, we bought 5-50kg (about 110lb) bags of rice, and 4-50kg bags of sugar. Sugar is becoming more and more expensive here in South Sudan, and being able to buy that much is rare. 
At this point the truck was full, so Clint and I headed off with two workers from the orphanage to deliver what we had bought so far. The others from the orphanage stayed at the market to continue shopping. When we arrived at the orphanage, the rest of the team was there working with the children. When we pulled up with the truckload of items we'd bought, we were quickly surrounded. We unloaded the truck, and gathered with the children in the dining hall to hand out what we had bought. The soccer equipment was a huge hit. The boys quickly went to their dormitory and changed into their new clothes and shoes. I gotta say, they were looking pretty sharp when they came back out. Of course, a soccer game quickly broke out, and everyone gathered around to watch. We brought out benches from the dining hall and sat and cheered the boys on while they played. Keep in mind, these boys had never had soccer shoes before, or shoes at all, for that matter. They were very proud of their new clothes and shoes. Again, Vineyard people, this was entirely due to the radical giving you showed last week. The boys from the orphanage thank you!
 While the soccer game was going on, the truck returned to the market to pick up the other worker from the orphanage and the rest of what they had bought. They came back with four dozen tubes of skin cream for the children, two serving buckets for food, two charcoal irons, four tea kettles, three flashlights, and a 50kg bag of flour. The truck was unloaded, and then we all got in and headed back to the compound here. We had an excellent dinner that included rice, chicken, bread, and goat.
 It's about 10pm on Saturday here now, and I'm tired. But it's a good tired. As I've looked back over the last two days, I realize it's been a whirlwind. From Kampala, to Arua, then the overland trip to Yei. Wow. A crazy couple of days. I'm looking forward to seeing what tomorrow brings here in Africa! 
God Bless,
Steve

Mission Trip Travel Journal -- Sunday, 10/2/11

 It’s Sunday, the day when most people go to church. Here in Yei we woke up at the crack of dawn. That’s when the roosters start crowing in town and on the mission base where we are staying. It was a beautiful morning with warm sunshine and a gentle breeze. We took our time with breakfast, which was rice, hard-boiled eggs, bread and baby bananas. This is a great time to connect as a team and start our day together.

 Soon after breakfast we went to church, which is on the same property as the building we are staying in. Worship was already happening as we walked into the church building. We were escorted to seats in the front row. It was wonderful to walk in on worship that was alive and moving. Even though the worship team was singing in their native language, it was certainly not a barrier in being able to worship. God showed up and was in the midst of it all. It was great to be able to worship on the other side of the world with God’s children who live in a totally different way than we do. Life is very different here but yet our hearts are united in Christ.

 After worship it was testimony time. Wow, the testimonies of physical healing were amazing. Two cell group leaders shared of how God is healing adults and children in their groups. The faith of the Sudanese is challenging to me. 

Clint was then introduced to the church by Pastor Stanley. Each team member was also introduced by Clint and shared in thanking the people of Sudan for welcoming us to their country, sharing what God is doing hearts while we are here, and sharing how much we love the people of Sudan. Once the team was introduced to the church, Carrie, Kathy and Joe went to the children’s church to teach and sing songs with the children. The rest of us stayed for the message time that Clint presented to the church family. Can I just say that Clint comes alive while preaching in Africa? For those of you who have listened to him preach at The Vineyard would be shocked to hear him here. J The passion flows from him. Today’s message was based on Psalms 37, speaking of how God has his hand on the country of South Sudan and has had His hand in the fact that South Sudan is now a free country. It was an encouragement and a challenge to the church to not lose sight of what God is doing in their now free country. Good stuff!

 After a delicious lunch of pasta with ground goat meat, bread and fruit, it was time to go to Pastor Ellie’s church, 4-Mile Church, for a medical outreach. We all got into the back of the dump truck and rode on the smooth roads to the church. Riding on smooth roads in this area is unusual so we were pleasantly surprised. We dropped off Kathy, Michelle, Joe, Marc and Carrie then Clint, Steve and I took off for Operation Joseph farm.

 The medical clinic went well with helping 108+ individuals. When we dropped the team off at the church we didn’t think anyone was there. Later on we found out that the church building was full of people when they walked in. Adults and children were treated for fevers of malaria, pinworms, upper respiratory infections, and more. There were also situations that could not be treated because of lack of medication or more advanced medical care such as a doctor office or hospital. This was difficult to see and needing to turn them away was heartbreaking. As people were being treated they were also being prayed for before they left. What a blessing to be prayed for on top of being treated with medication of some sort. Even as Carrie was speaking with and diagnosing all these individuals, it is God who is our healer in the big picture. How grateful we are for this reality! Something really great is that Joe, with the help of our friend Kuku, has been learning quite a bit of Arabic to be able to communicate better with the Sudanese people. He was able to communicate very well with many of the people as he was helping them during the clinic. What a blessing for Joe to be able to pick up the language so quickly. God is good! 

As the people were being treated physically, Clint, Steve and I went to the farm. What an unforgettable experience! It had started raining on our way and quickly became a hard rain. This was not good for our 8 or so mile drive through the roads of the biggest potholes I’ve ever seen. The ravines were created by the weather and rain. With the rain adding to the rough drive, it certainly didn’t help with the fact that the rear tires on the dump truck are completely bald! The tires were slipping quite a bit as we were working our way through the incredibly uneven “roads”. I can honestly say that the truck was not level for at least 90% of time. By the time we got to the farm the ground was completely soaked, muddy, and slippery. The farm is doing well and we were able to take some video as the rain slowed just enough to give us time to do some video recording and photography. We’re excited to give a report when we get home. 

We were able to drive over the new bridge that was built earlier this year. This bridge was built with the money that was raised at last year’s Art for the Heart of Africa Benefit Auction. It was a damaged bridge for over 40 years and was on the direct path to the farm. In the photo you will see the remains of the old bridge thrown into the ditch beside the road. The new bridge is to be celebrated after having to use the old barely usable bridge. Thank you Vineyard family and friends for raising the funds to be able to build this fully functional bridge.

We got into the dump truck cab to leave the farm and within a few feet of leaving we got stuck. It was disconcerting to know that either we were going to walk 8+ miles to get out of the bush or we had to figure out a way to get unstuck. The farm workers jumped right in and helped with digging and finding branches to put in front and behind the tires for traction. I was very impressed and amazed at their ability to get this huge truck out of the pit of mud created by the big bald rear tires. We got going and then later got stuck again! Clint and Steve jumped out to help getting the truck unstuck. If we would not have had the very talented driver that we had, I’m not sure that we would’ve made it back to the church to pick up the medical team. I’m still amazed at the talent of our driver!   

What is the lesson learned from the going to the farm in the rain with bald tires on the dump truck and getting stuck twice? It is vital for there to be good tires on this dump truck (especially during the rainy season, which is soon coming to an end here). This truck is a lifeline to the Operation Joseph farm! In America we can drive on our roads with bald tires for a time and still get around well but here in South Sudan that is not the case. Good tires are very important when driving on the roads here. Our hope to be able to get new tires along with some other shopping that we will be doing for the Dreamland children tomorrow.

 Tomorrow is our last day here in Yei and we all have mixed emotions as we prepare to say goodbye to the children and our adult friends. We have a very busy day planned so prayers are appreciated. Thank you so much for all your priceless prayers. God is consistently showing up and moving among us.

In Him,

Rose Schwartz