Prodigal Son

I watched this story unfold after arriving, South Sudan. It reminds me in many ways of the story of the prodigal son as told to us in Luke 15:11- 32.

Scott Brinkerhoff helped to start Cush Christian School and has a close relationship with most of the older students. One of those students is Chech.

Chech is 16 years old and had been a good student at the school for several years. Chech's father is a pastor at one of the Christian churches in the area. Unfortunately, Chech and his father, John, had some kind of a disagreement during the school break in December 2018. As a result, Chech ran away. Far away.

He had no money, no transportation and no phone. He traveled by foot and caught rides on a very dangerous road for five long days before arriving in Juba, the capital of South Sudan. It is about 786 km from Parot Village to the capital (about 488 miles), but the mileage alone doesn't adequately describe the distance because it doesn't account for the road conditions and difficulties of safe travel throughout South Sudan. Fortunately, there in Juba, Chech had relatives to stay with.

After arriving in Juba, he attempted to enroll in a local school. He said that all the schools he visited were very impressed with his skills in English, yet he could not afford the cost of any of the school fees and he had no source of income.

Until God Showed Up

Scott, my colleague Lydia and I had arrived in Juba on Saturday, February 2, 2019. Our flight to Aweil, South Sudan in the northeastern section of the country was not until Monday, since the domestic airlines do not fly on the weekends. So we were prepared for a two-day layover. Aweil, with its dirt airstrip, is the nearest commercial airstrip near Parot Village where Cush Christian School is located.

However, when we arrived in Juba, our luggage did not.

We returned to the airport the next day in hopes of locating our luggage. We followed a man around the makeshift airport. We went from one out building to another and from one cargo container to another. The situation seemed dim as we searched for our suitcases. Praying as we went, we finally found three of our four bags, which was quite remarkable.

The last missing bag was Scott's. It was his extra bag – full of books and school supplies. We set off back to our hotel with a promise from the attendant at the airport that they would contact us "when" the bag arrived.

Meanwhile, Scott knew that Chech had run away from home. While we were in Juba, Scott learned that Chech was also in the city. So, he reached out to him. Chech agreed to meet. Chech quickly admitted that he had made a mistake in running away. It became clear that Chech wanted to return home and once again enroll at Cush Christian School.  But he had no money, no means to return home, and no way to pay his school fees for the upcoming term should he return.

A Plan with a Purpose

It  certainly would have been easy to have paid for Chech to return with us. Yet the only lesson from that potential approach was likely that white people have money and money solves all our problems.

Chech needed to have some skin in the game and God needed to get the glory.

As a result, Scott agreed to pay for Chech's return trip to Parot Village in exchange for him retrieving the bag when it arrived and bringing it with him. Chech would have to be responsible and manage many things to make this plan work out. For one thing, it is no easy feat getting in and out of the airport in Juba. And the bag would have to actually "arrive." However, God appeared to have laid out a plan to make it all possible.

Scott, Lydia and I left on Monday. The bag had still not arrived.

Yet miraculously, on the following Friday, with the missing bag in hand, Chech arrived back at the school. His father was waiting for him with a big hug, a sign of affection not often seen in the culture.

Chech is now working as a junior teacher in the 2nd grade classroom. Each week a portion of his pay is subtracted to cover his school fees. He is making good progress as a student, as a junior teacher and as Godly young man.

Several days ago, I put up a map of South Sudan in the classroom that I had brought with me. Many of the students quickly gathered around to look at the map. I overheard Chech showing some of the other boys the route he took to Juba,  He indicated it was a long journey — and that he did not look forward to taking it ever again.

Recently, Chech did devotions at school. He chose Matthew 19:26. "But Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'" Knowing his recent experience made the choice of this scripture particularly meaningful. Chech had lived out the parable of the Prodigal Son in his very own life.

Chech with one of his students

Chech pointing out his journey on the map of South Sudan

Weekly Routine

With only 3 weeks remaining in my time here in South Sudan I would like to share with you my schedule or routine. I have a new appreciation for missionaries on the field and how hard they work.

Although, I would say nothing is routine for me here in South Sudan, it is beginning to be more predictable! I am always discovering and learning new things about the culture, about the students at school about my team mates and myself. There is a wonderful team here that is very supportive. Their experience, advice and encouragement has been invaluable to me as a short termer.

You can count on the sun coming up at 7:30 a.m. and and setting at 7:30 p.m.,  The weather is rarely anything but sunny with cloud-free skies and temperatures that are 100+ degrees Fahrenheit (37+ ℃).
 
I also have a schedule that I follow.

Sunday

10 - 11:30 a.m. — Church meets here in Parot Village at Parot Community Church. The drums start beating at 8 a.m. to call people to church. After collecting my water bottle and chair, I walk about five minutes to the church. The service is all in Dinka, yet I can follow the order of the service. I don't get much out of what is said; however, I think it is an encouragement to the students and their parents for me to attend. For this reason, I go because it is not always about what I will get out of worship, but rather what I put into it.
4:15 - 7 p.m. — The team meets for our own worship service and a meal together.


Monday - Friday

 7:30 a.m. — I leave the compound for school. It is a 15 minute walk to school.
 7:50 a.m. — We pray with the junior teachers
 8 a.m. — Assembly with all the students. Classes begin for students in grades 1- 3.
 11:30 .am. — Break for lunch.
 1 p.m. — Students in Grades 1 - 3 go home. Most South Sudan schools only meet in the morning.
 1 - 4:30 p.m. — Classes for students in Grade 4 - 6
5:00 pm I usually arrive back at my house the first order of business .... wash my dirty feet!

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
I set out my  3 Jerry cans and Abuk brings water for me while I am at school.

Tami, Lydia, Jan (L to R)
In the afternoon we correct assignments, tutor,
explain directions, give tests, encourage students
and anything else that needs done

Thursday
5:15 p.m. — Team meets for prayer

Friday
11:00 a.m. — The morning classes end a little earlier on Friday. We clean the classrooms, which essentially means the girls sweep the rooms. Then we have 50 minutes of recreation time. Boys and girls separately play soccer (they properly call it football). Others jump rope, play "tho stones"( it is a game similar to jacks if you played that as a kid), or just watch the others play.
1 - 4:30 p.m. — Classes for Grades 4- 6 meet

7 p.m. — The team meets together for dinner.

Saturday
7:30 a.m. — Ladies on the team go prayer walking around the village. Abuk comes to do the laundry and have tea. From Friday's water delivery I save her two full Jerry cans for washing of the laundry and rinsing.

This is my day to catch up on blog posts, email, reading, journaling, going to the market, cleaning all the dust that accumulates daily, and make phone calls — if the internet cooperates. Frequently, many students stop by wanting to talk, get a drink of water, play a game or pray with me.

The weeks are busy, the days are long and hot. I often am in bed by 9pm  but I am enjoying this opportunity.

"This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it! "- Psalm 118:24

Going to the Dentist in South Sudan

This post is for my friends at Bailey Family Dental and Braces.

It may seem odd when you first arrive in South Sudan to see children and some adults walking along moving a small stick about in their mouths.

They are brushing their teeth. The small stick is cut from a "beel" (pronounced bell) tree or bush. This is an African toothbrush.

Dental experts that have studied this method say it works quite well.

After breaking off a live branch about the length of an american toothbrush, you peel about 1- 2 inches off of the bark at one end using your fingernail.

Then you bite on the end you have prepared. Biting frays the wood into finer strands. The frayed  wood has a brushing and flossing effect. Additional rubbing up and down cleans  tooth enamel.

Scientists believe it  is possible the chemicals in the wood may contain fluoride as some plants

Abuk demonstrating brushing her teeth

do and that it has some ability to promote fresh breathe.

The World Health Organization has encouraged the use of chewing sticks for oral hygiene in poor countries. Consistently providing commercial products to the poor in remote areas would not be sustainable.

But then God knew that when He provided the beel tree for the people of Africa and lots of beautiful cavity free smiles.

I did give it a try. I am always eager to learn something new. I think it is an acquired skill and not very glamorous.

So, I will stick with my toothbrush, toothpaste and floss.

Giving it a try

The Science of a Cool Drink of Water

I am  already longing for a cold glass of water filled to the brim with ice cubes when I return home. I can see the condensation on the outside of the glass and the moisture that will drip in small rivulets down the outside of the glass.

The temperatures here in South Sudan have been over 100℉ for the past two weeks with no relief in sight. 

The low temperatures of the day are in the high 70's, which occurs about 7 a.m. As a result, we enjoy a pleasant walk to school in the morning. The daily high is reached by about 4 p.m., shortly before our walk home.

We have solar power that we use for lights and for charging cell phones and computers. We also have a fan to blow the hot air around, but no refrigeration. 

Thanks to our creator God, and with a little understanding of science, I can still enjoy a fairly cool glass of water. On special occasions I even celebrate with a cool Coke.

The Science

When a liquid evaporates, its molecules convert from the liquid phase to the vapor phase as they escape from the surface. Heat drives this process. In order for the molecules to leave the liquid surface and escape as a vapor, it must take heat energy with it. The heat that it takes with it comes from the surface from which it evaporated. Since the molecule is taking heat with it as it's leaving, this has a cooling effect on the surface left behind. This is "evaporative cooling."

So, when I fill my water bottle with water as I leave in the morning, I wrap the bottle with a wet sock. By the time the sock is dry, my water is cool and refreshing. (Don't get too excited. It is not "cold." Yet it is definitely cooler and refreshing.)

I repeat this process several times throughout the school day. It is very important to stay hydrated when it is so hot. Thankfully there is often a light breeze as well that helps to dry the sweat!

My water refrigeration system

Beauty in the Dust

I wonder what kind of a housekeeper I will be when I return home.

Dust covers everything here in South Sudan during the dry season. You could sweep inside everyday and still not sweep it all.

I heard my daughter-in-law tell one of her friends that visited our home that I was a good housekeeper. She said that everything was always tidy and in order. However, even if I never dust again, I will never accumulate the amount of dust at my home in Midland that I am living with at the present.

As far as you can see it is flat, brown and barren here in early March. There has been no rain for many months.

Yet surprisingly there is still beauty! Many of the older trees are substantial in size and have much character. An example is the tree that is a gathering place in the center of the school yard.

Large tree with much character and shade
in the center of the school yard.

This tree is full of fruit. Unfortunately they will not be ripe
until June - long after I have returned home.

Largest Aloe plant I have ever seen.
It is currently in bloom.

 Plumeria.
The bush is all sticks with not a single green leaf.
However, many of these beautiful blooms
are all at the top.

Unfortunately, there is much that is not beautiful. Africa has a trash problem. The missionaries here say the problem has worsened over the past 10 years.

Random trash on the way to school.

Plastic bags and other trash
collect against fence lines

As the borders have opened and more and more products have become available to purchase, there is more packaging waste. People can purchase small packages of cookies or biscuits at the market. They come with plastic wrapping as they would in the States. Store owners offer you a small plastic sack to carry your purchase in as they do in the States. Bottled water, soda and other carbonated drinks are available in disposable plastic bottles as they are in the States.  

Yet unlike the States, there are no garage men, trash cans or garbage bags to dispose of the trash.  At the market they burn the trash nightly. At the compound where I live we burn our paper trash and compost any food waste. At school each classroom has a trash can (an old jerry can that has the top cut off) for collecting trash. There is never any food waste at school. In the past month I have never seen a child leave even one bite uneaten.  Weekly, we burn the trash that accumulates at school. We are trying to train the students to take care of the world God created for all of us and to have a better community for them to live in.

In areas where  governments have limited resources, waste often becomes a lower priority. High population rates and high poverty rates exacerbate the problem.

The South Sudanese are resourceful people. If they find a use for it, then you will not find any of these items by the roadside. They reuse Jerry cans, plastic soda and water bottles, any kind of jar, any kind and size of can. At school we use the pencils and crayons until they are too small to hold and no one complains. Clothing is worn until it is past threadbare and then the fabric is used for rags.

As evidenced by the number of plastic shopping sacks littering the path to school, the South Sudanese have not yet found a use for them. The women sweep the dirt around their huts and inside their compounds until they are spotless, yet they only sweep the trash an established distance away from their homes. The trash collects where the animals graze and along the fence lines that are erected around their cluster of huts.

This is a growing problem across Africa.  Congratulations to Kenya and Rwanda, African countries that have banned the use of plastic bags. Based on my observation it is a step in the right direction.

Taking care of the world God has created ─ as our contribution and responsibility to our own community ─ is one of the messages of a book "Community: Whose Responsibility?" by Bob Nsumba, a Ugandan pastor that my husband and I met in 2017.  As Pastor Bob said, "At the end of the day, it is my responsibility because it is me who throw the trash out of the window of my car or throw out the candy wrapper" (Video clip).

Jan, a fellow team member, spent her first three years here doing hygiene education with the women at the church. Now,  seven years later, she is able to work at the school instead of concentrating on hygiene education alone. The local ladies have taken over the training of others in the community regarding hygiene. This is an example of how these women have taken responsibility to contribute in a positive way to their own community. For example, this past Saturday they held a workshop with about 20 women, continuing to education one another and improve their lives.

Jan has begun having discussions with these same woman about the trash problem. Because I have seen their success in other areas, I am excited about the successful  they will have in addressing this growing problem of trash here in South Sudan.

Please join me in thanking God for what he is doing in South Sudan and for what He will continue to do in lives lived for Him.

Lunch at School

Sorgham cooking

Thanks to the World Food Program, World Vision and some great Mother's at the school a hot lunch of sorghum and beans is served everyday at school.

The World Food Program (WFP, which the kids tell me stands for "We Feed People") provides the raw materials. They use World Vision to distribute it to those eligible. The schools have to meet certain qualifications (such as having a  separate kitchen with a roof) and have to submit reports indicating the dates they served the food and how many children and adults were fed.

Beans cooking

We have been told that there is much abuse of the program at many schools with the students are not getting the food.

The mothers come at 8:30 a.m. to begin making lunch and they are there until about 3 p.m. cleaning up.

They cook the beans in one pot and the sorghum in another pot over 2 open fires. Then they are stirred together and served to the students.





Everyone loves getting their picture taken here. I was happy to take these ladies' pictures. They always want to see it as soon as you take it. They always smile. I know they were laughing at me when I took a picture of their pots cooking over the fire.

The women are never idle.

When they put the pots away after lunch they are spotless. They cut up the nylon bags that the food comes in to make scrubbing cloths.

The women work hard here, often supporting many children without any help. Many of them sell ground nuts and peanut paste.While waiting for the beans to cook they shell peanuts.

The students each wash their own dishes in this wheelbarrow,  rinse them in another pot and lay them out to air dry.

The students each bring a piece of firewood a couple times a week to fuel the cooking fires.

Water is collected by the students 3 times a day
from a well nearby used for drinking and washing

Dishwashing

Mixing the sorghum and beans together

Clean dishes and utensils

The Blessing of an Education

The literacy rate in South Sudan is about 27%. Most people in the area I am serving depend upon the land. They grow sorghum and keep a few animals, cows, goats and sheep.  They live with their families and sometimes extended family in a cluster of huts with very few belongings.

The school was started 11 years ago to support the church. Those who came here to train pastors and plant churches  saw a need to raise up young people to love the Lord, who can read the scriptures, understand the word and eventually become leaders in the church.

It is a blessing to be a part of that vision and to see it begin to bear fruit.

This "bell" is the school's communication system (Video). It is sounded to mark the beginning of the day, as well as other breaks in the day.

I am not sure what it is made of but it works well. The people here are very resourceful.

 The students line up by class each morning for assembly. They sing several  Christian songs in Dinka.

The songs are typically  lead by 4 of the students in a "Call and Response" style. After announcements and prayer the student follow their teacher to the classroom.

Students in 1st - 3rd grade come in the morning from 8am - 11:30. Students in grades 4-6 go to school in the afternoon but many of these students are employed as junior teachers, teaching the younger students in the morning. All the schools in South Sudan only meet in the morning. The government schools struggle to pay the teachers for even half a day.


One of my responsibilities while I am here is to mentor 3 of the junior teachers teaching 1B. Class 1B students are learning to speak English.

Junior Teacher Awan

Awan (left), Achol and Akuem (below) are all about 14 years old. They have been students at the school for several years and speak English very well.  But, they are teenagers....

Please pray for them and my ability to mentor them well while I am here.

The Dinka appear not to have words in their language for 'please' and 'thank you' and they rarely ask questions of one another. The style of communication is very direct and authoritative.

I am both enjoying and frustrated by the experience, yet  trying to see improvement in some small  area everyday.

Junior Teacher Akuem

 Although students speak Dinka to one another, we are making good progress in English and I can communicate with them with the help of the junior teachers.


The students have learned over 50 words and phrases in two weeks.

 I enjoy thinking up games and props to teach the words.

I made this replica of the school to teach the words boys, girls, floor, ceiling, table, bench, chair and walls.

The front has a door and windows to teach open and close.

They are eager to learn and fascinated by everything.

Shown here is a matching game made from cardboard. It is about the only resource that I have, but a good one.


I miss having Erik Johnson to help me do illustrations.

The students love to color. They would do it for hours. They only have a few crayons and they are just stubs, yet they color every detail, holding the paper on their laps completely consumed without saying a word to one another while working.

This page is illustrating the words we learned in lesson number one - boy, girl, boys, girls, teacher, sit down, stand up, jump, draw a line, number 1.

The students hear the words for five days before they are asked to speak the words. They point and respond yes and no, so you know that they understand the word before expecting them to process it verbally. Some of them started to say the words before the five days are up.