Counting Down...

So in just over a week, it's going to finally be time to take off for Sudan. Still lots to do before we get on the plane -- but I'm ready for the wait to be over and to actually be on our way!

Today I had the great joy of welcoming home one of my dearest friends who has spent the past two years living in Egypt. As I chilled with him and two of my other favorite "brothers", Kelly shared about his experiences working with Sudanese refugees whom he got to teach in Cairo. (First off, I freakin love the fact that I have friends who can sit and discuss African politics with me. I'm continuously amazed at how God has woven our hearts together with such similar interests and parallel journeys.) Hearing about the lives of the Lost Boys who have resettled there in Cairo, it made me even more excited to go to Sudan and engage some in this incredible event of tragedy and restoration. And when I say "excited", I mean that in a "what the hell am I getting myself into?" kinda way that stirs both joyful hope and sober contemplation. I know this trip will be life-changing, but I can't predict in what ways. It won't be a "Omigosh, I can't believe people live in this kind of poverty!" moment -- that was Haiti in 2003. I have a feeling that visiting Sudan is going to break my heart and yet inspire my soul. But who knows how those two situations will come about.

For a sneak peak though of some of what we'll be involved in, I'm passing along this message that was sent to our team from our leader. Check out the school project that we're going to helping out with!

"This video was taken by tom thomas from FEFC. We have been communicating with one another about the school concept and he has been kind enough to take this video for us while he was there just last week doing some teacher training.
You will see the site of the City on a Hill school and it's starter rooms being constructed.
William Laku (the pastor) is the man guiding the tour of the compound. Exciting!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THvp3VpQ0Jg

You will have to copy/paste that into your web browser as embedding has been disabled by tom."

Preparations

Last night our Sudan team had another great evening of getting together to prepare for our trip. It's exciting to see so many things coming together! We turned in our passport photos for our official documents for access into Sudan, along with the money we've raised so far from our generous sponsors. We got our official pack lists of what we'll need to be planning to take with us. Things to remember: Take little to no denim (takes too long to air dry and weighs too much in your backpack.) Weather will be like Colorado: warm in the day, cool at night.. so gonna need some long sleeves and cargo pants to go with the shorts and tees. There won't be any electricity, so forget charging my cell phone or digital camera once we get into "the bush." Talking about all the details is making it all feel much more real. Glad I still have two months to get everything ready to go!

It was really encouraging to be able to pray for each other and for our fellow team members who weren't able to make the meeting. Even though I only know a few of the other folks going (and even them I've only known for a few months now), everyone seems like such kindred spirits - and already we're starting to feel a lot of unity among all the team.

After our discussion and prayer time, we all watched the film "God Grew Tired of Us". I'd definitely recommend it for anyone who is interested in learning more about the Lost Boys of Sudan (watch the trailer here. ) I think one of the things that is going to be challenging about this trip is wrapping my mind around the reality of what the Sudanese have faced during the civil wars. I've read tons of BBC reports and intellectually know the history... but it's one thing to read texts about horrors and tragedies. It's a completely other thing to experience it. I know already my heart is going to totally break while I'm there, but I'm hoping that the empathy won't just paralyze me with sadness or cynicism. I'm hopeful that as we all struggle to grasp the magnitude of the challenges facing the Didinga, that we'll be able to take part in doing as much as we can to join with the Sudanese in taking steps towards peace and restoration.

Sudan video

This video was partially filmed in Didinga territory, and it features William and Eunice Laku - the couple we'll be going to work with in Southern Sudan.

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