From muddy streets to TRAFFIC!

I am sitting on a comfortable couch (something I miss in Sudan)  listening to horns honking and cars whizzing by on the busy streets of Nairobi.  We arrived in Nairobi last Wednesday and I am still trying to decide if I like the smog filled streets of Nairobi or the dirt (mud) filled streets of Torit better.  As I try to cook in our tiny closet of a kitchen in our temporary apartment,  I tell Kevin, “There is no place like home”.  I think I like my bush kitchen better, even though I like having running water! 

We are in Nairobi for a little while in hopes to accomplish much.  Kevin is continuing his work to shop for supplies and technologies to build Hope for Sudan and our house, he and Romano will be visiting a farm in Ethiopia for a two week training on drip irrigation to be implemented on our compound, he is also looking for a class to maintain his civil engineering licensure, we will be visiting Drs. for routine check-ups, and we will take time out for fun and rest as a family.

Preparing for our trip to Nairobi posed its challenges.  A few days before we left, the tractor would not start.  The battery was dead; the alternator was out and was not charging the battery.   Some of the guys brought the generator to it to charge the battery.  It started.   The next day, the day before we left for Nairobi, Kevin rushed into town in hopes of finding an alternator for a land cruiser.  When he returned, he saw Garang, the guy who had driven the tractor out to get sand 45 minutes from the compound, and no tractor.  Concerned, he asked him where the tractor was.  The battery was dead and they couldn’t start it to bring it back.  Kevin breathed a sigh and shifted his plans to finalize last minute details before leaving for Nairobi and started trouble shooting.  He received the news that the tractor was stuck while standing next to a truck that had been left on the compound by another mission agency.  The light bulb went off!  He “borrowed” the battery from the truck and he and Garang balanced all 150 lbs of it on the motorcycle.  Did I mention it is the rainy season?!  This was all happening in the middle of a rain storm complete with big thunder and lightning.    As I watched them drive down the road trying to hold on to the battery, I began to pray.   A few hours and much rain later, I heard the motorcycle return.  Kevin informed me the tractor was on its way behind him!  Whew!  I told Kevin I had been praying and was thankful to see him AND the tractor.  He said, “I was praying, too, that we wouldn’t get struck by lighting”.    When they returned, Kevin sat down for a quick dinner and then, by headlamp, began to change the alternator at 9:00pm.  The alternator fit but he didn’t know if  it would work until the battery had time to charge the next day.  Praise the Lord, He has given Kevin the technical AND mechanical skills needed to trouble shoot so many problems here. 

While Kevin was being mechanic, I was doing laundry and cleaning out our storage boxes that had gotten wet from the rain and letting them dry in the few hours of sun we had.  When we go away, we pack up our outdoor kitchen and storage boxes and put them inside our tent.

The day of our flight, the tractor started!  Praise the Lord!  We loaded our bags into the trailer.  We made our way down the road to Torit to meet our plane.  It had been raining hard all evening and morning.  We had to cross about 100 yards of water that was probably up to our waist.  A 4 wheel drive vehicle would not have made it through.  The tractor and trailer were our only means to make it to catch our plane.  We were very thankful the tractor started that day!

Another one of Kevin's mechanical "projects"

This was our first time meeting Tito's wife Edwina and son, our partner with Hope for Sudan.   Edwina is attending a University in Kampala, Kenya.  She will finish in December and join Tito in Torit.  Romano is in the middle.

Edwina taught me some Sudanese dishes and I taught her how to make "smashed" potatoes.  She said she had always wanted to learn. . .not hard!  We cooked a big meal for Tito, Romano, and Kevin as they met and planned for Hope for Sudan.  It was nice to share my kitchen with her!

I caught Mango and Moti sleeping on the job!  Can you see Mango by the basket?  They were sleeping in the same position.

Hope For Sudan is coming up!

All of the steel is ready to simply bolt together when it arrives on sight.  It allows the construction to go quickly.

Here is the frame for the first dormitory!

Giraffes!

Remember my blog post about the symbolism of giraffes?  Go back and read about their significance.  They are my favorite African animal.  We decided to take Abigail to meet this amazing animal.  

She enjoyed feeding them.

Visit our You Tube page to view some videos, http://www.youtube.com/my_videos.   I am uploading a back log of videos now that we are in Nairobi with a faster internet connection.

There is much buzz around Sudan about the upcoming referendum.  This is a vote that will decide whether the South will succeed from the North and form their own country and government.   This is a critical time for the people of Sudan.  This vote is supposed to happen in January.  But, we never know if votes will happen on time.  Please stand with the people of Sudan in prayer as they approach the referendum.  

So close!

On Friday morning, Kevin and I were discussing at breakfast wondering if the truck could make it through the mud from Torit to the compound. We were not sure where the supply truck was at this point. After about 3 weeks of eagerly waiting for the truck to come from Nairobi, Kevin received a call that it had reached Torit the night before and wanted to wait till morning to make the trek over the rough road to Moti.  It was 7:30 a.m. and we were getting ready to have our morning devotions with the staff.  Kevin excitedly jumped on the motorcycle to go to town to meet the truck.  I waited back at the compound with camera ready and to receive a call that the truck was close.  I wanted to be ready to get the shot of them driving on the compound.  About an hour later, Kevin called and said they wouldn't be coming any time soon.  They were STUCK in the mud.  It IS the rainy season.  They were also delayed by the police in town saying they did not have the correct paper work to be in Torit.  Jackson, one of our staff, talked to them and they let the truck go.  A 6X6 truck from World Food Program came to pull the truck out of the mud.  Then. . . on to another mud hole.  Stuck AGAIN!   This time, Kevin got the tractor from the compound and made about 6 trips to unload the truck to lighten the load.  This time, the tractor was able to pull the truck out.  It went a few feet. . .and, you guessed it, stuck AGAIN!   The guys came back to the compound, it was dark.  The drivers and workers walked the rest of the way, they were only about half a mile from the compound, to try again in the morning.  We were all disappointed to not have the truck safe on the compound, but glad it had made it this far.  Saturday morning came and Abigail and I decided to ride the tractor to see the truck and get pictures.   Romano hired the World Food Program truck again to come and pull it out. The tractor took one load to the compound and while they were unloading, HERE CAME THE TRUCK!  I had just sat down to nurse Abigail and heard the truck coming.  I jumped up and got the camera to get the shot I had waited all day on Friday for.  The men worked hard to get the supplies that were left unloaded, including a hydraulic dump trailer.  Kevin took an inventory of the supplies.  There was joy and disappointment in seeing the supplies.  Working with tools and machines in Africa has its challenges.  There often seems to be a problem or something missing with having the right tools and fittings for machines.  Kevin found this to be true with the supplies.  It is difficult to purchase supplies from another country and ensure that we get what we need.  There were some supples missing and fittings that didn't work. When supplies come from so far away, it is difficult to replace them or get the ones that will work. Thankfully they were small things. Thank you for all your prayers for the safety of the truck and the drivers!

On his way to meet the truck.

The second place the truck got stuck.

The first of 6 trips to the compound with supplies.

On our way to see the truck stuck the third time.

here it is. . .

Unloading HEAVY steel. . .in the slippery mud. . .

. . .more steel.

Kevin assessed the puddle to see if the truck could pass through that way on the way out.  The sand is firm and may be more passable.

The shot I had been waiting for!  It is FINALLY here!

Unloading at the compound.

Lifting the dump trailer to CARRY it off. . .

very slowly.

The tractor pulled it the rest of the way.

Abigail, Moti, and Romano enjoying the rain!

Mango, the new addition to the Massie compound!

The Bylers brought him to us from the Nobles, other missionaries here.  He is in training to catch the many mice and lizards around our home.  He already fits right in with our other "babies" Moti, the dog, and of course Abigail!

Lord of the harvest. . .

This scripture came to me, "Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out the workers into His Harvest", Matthew 9:38, as we were harvesting our first spinach of the season.  We are very excited about having spinach.  We were used to eating much spinach in the states and had not been able to get any here.  Jesus is the LORD of His Harvest as He Has sent His workers here to build Hope For Sudan. Our garden is a symbol of the Harvest He has planted.  

Sweet corn sent to us from the US by a teacher friend from the school where my mother teaches.  Thank you!  Sudanese only grow field corn here and it is really tough on our teeth.  It is almost ready to harvest. 

Tomato plants

On our way to harvest the spinach

Beautiful, bright, straight from the garden, spinach salad!

What would you do for a . . .date?

Okay, so I stole the jingle from Klondike.  Shalene and I took off on the motorcycle Saturday for a date.  We dropped off Abigail at a friend’s house and visited the hotel in town for a cold drink.  As we left for the hotel I saw big dark clouds in the southern skies.  Not a good sign, but not enough to deter us.  We finished our cold drink and saw the sprinkles starting outside.  A quick stop for Abigail and we started our dash back to camp…just a little too late.  What was light rain as we left town turned into a deluge half way back.  We rode the motorcycle through a small river that usually serves as the road in dry weather.  When we got back, we were so soaked that we decided we needed to take these pictures.  It was a good thing we left town promptly, as I discovered when I tried to return later in the day one of the small creeks we have to cross had swollen from a puddle you can step across to a waste high river in an hour’s time.  And what of Abigail…I think she slept through it all!  

The innocent and the soldier. . .

Last week we house sat for the Bylers, other missionaries here, while they were in Uganda for a week.  Our laundry helper and her sister came to do our laundry and brought their baby girl.  I sat in a chair with my notebook and pen in hand to listen to the women talking and trying to discern what some of the words they were saying meant.  Abigail and the little baby (that I can't remember her name, let alone pronounce it) were joyfully playing on a mat beside us.  I heard some rustling, people chatting, and vehicles in front of the house and at our gate.  Recently, a gate was erected around the entire airstrip that is next door to the Byler's compound.  The Byler's were given a key to the gate because they, as well as all of us missionaries, come and go by plane and receive mail often by plane.  HOWEVER, they were apparently the ONLY ones to be given a key and it was received by the gardener.  So, we didn't know who had given us the key.  A United Nations soldier came to the Byler's gate and asked me to open the gate to the airstrip.  I didn't feel it was my responsibility to be the gate guard and knew that the Byler's were not always home to be able to open the gate when people needed on or off the airstrip.   I told the soldier I was surprised the UN did not have a key and firmly stated that they needed to get their own and then opened the gate.  The sacred moment in all of this confusion and misunderstanding, was when I returned to the backyard where the ladies were doing laundry and the girls were playing on a mat.  I saw a beautiful picture of a Bangladeshi soldier smiling through the fence at our innocent babies.  He even called his other soldier buddies to come and look.  Neither of them spoke Arabic or English and were trying to say something to us. We couldn't understand.  I looked up at the other mother, shrugged my shoulders and smiled as both of us watched these men with machine guns smile and coo at our babies.

A UN Helicopter (I borrowed these UN pictures from a friend to give you the idea).

A Mission Aviation "MAF" plane.  The Byler's home is in the background to give you perspective of how close the planes land.  

The building of Hope for Sudan continues!

The kitchen for the orphanage.  The walls and roof are complete!

Simon, our welder from Kenya, welding doors and windows for the buildings.

Kevin planted an herb garden.  He has been planting some fruit trees and other various "African" trees for the compound.  He is really enjoying being a farmer!

Remember the oven Kevin designed?  Our compound cooks, Grace and Margaret, daughter, and administrator (for translation) came to our kitchen for their first baking lesson.  I had to use a coffee mug as a measuring tool and proportion each measurement according to it (they don't have measuring cups).   We baked a basic loaf of bread.  When it was done, the cooks were a little nervous about tasting this "white woman" bread.  I told them it was bread just like they can get in the market.  I hope they will agree to come for another lesson and I will watch them make the mix.  We desire for them to learn to bake for the staff and the kids!

From two different worlds. . .

Abigail almost jumped out of my arms as she saw Daddy drive on the compound in the tractor.  She wanted to see it and I knew that letting her ride would be a treat.  So, we decided to tag along as Kevin and the workers loaded the big 800 liter barrels onto the trailer to go to the river to get water.  It was in the evening when the compound cooks were ready to go home.  The two of them climbed on the back of the wagon with baby’s on their back.  I joined them, with Abigail on my back.  We hardly ever drive into town without stopping to pick up more people and market goods along the way.  This day was no different.  We stopped to pick up two more women with babies on their backs.  It was a beautiful sight, 5 women (including me) all standing in a row holding on to the trailer with our baby’s on our backs.  My only regret, I didn’t have my camera. 

             As I have been reflecting on the sacred moments in my life here, this image came to my mind.  Those women and myself being from two completely different worlds standing together in the same manner trying to hold on to a trailer traveling down a very bumpy road.  When I first boarded the trailer, I felt a little uneasy about how I would secure myself while holding Abigail.  I had never ridden standing on the back of a trailer before.  I remember sensing the uneasiness in one of the women we picked up.  She was unsure of how she would hold on.  Even in her world, she had not ridden like that on the back of a tractor.  I felt that was a sacred moment.  Both of us felt the uneasiness in similar ways, and I being from another world.  We smiled at each other as we found ways to hold on and brace our feet over the bumps, intertwining our arms.  As we all rode side by side, I wondered what was going on in their hearts and minds.  Were they wondering what kind of life I had in America or were they just concerned about getting home to cook a meal for their kids?  Even though there was a language barrier and there was silence, I felt a sacredness of just being near these women sharing in the experience of a routine they have probably maintained for many years, and Kevin and I were able to make it a little easier that day by a simple, yet somewhat uneasy ride home.

We have an oven for our compound!

Kevin designed a BIG oven for our cooks to use. . .the only problem, neither one of them have ever baked.  So, that is where I come in.  They are eager for me to teach them and our staff wives how to bake.  It will be a different experience to hold a baking class in the bush!   

      

        The foundation for the oven.  

      

              Abigail enjoyed helping Daddy!

     

 The walls are going up.

    Building the cover, metal sheet and cement.

. . . and the finished product.  For Father's day, I baked Kevin's favorite peanut butter cookies!

   Nap time, our cooks' babies

Missionary Cook-out

We had a pre-Father's day cookout and invited fellow Torit missionaries for some beef burgers and homemade fries.  We had a mixture of people from the UK, US, Sudan, and South Africa.  This is a treat for them since some of them do not have a meat grinder or a grill.  We can't just go to McDonald's to get a quick burger here.  

    

              The men watching the burgers; Kevin, Russ Noble, and Philip Byler

The ladies eagerly waiting for the burgers. . .

The lady guests are missionaries Linda Byler (US), Lyn Noble (England), Catrin Byrne (Britain), Natasha (new missionary from South Africa), and Grace Akot (Sudan)

Abigail loves our new compound dog, Moti (named after our town).  Moti thinks he is her guard dog.  He follows her and sleeps beside her tent, when we have it outside.

 Abigail teaches Michael to play tug-of-war. . . as Moti guards!