Tractor or . . . ambulance?

Romano, our indigenous leader's father rode his bike to our compound last week. He came up to our kitchen and introduced himself to me. It was an honor to meet him. He is from a village called Mokuru about 10 miles away. On his way back to his home, a land cruiser came whizzing through the bush. He didn't see the land cruiser until it was right up on him. He scrambled to get out of the road and wrecked his bike. He is an old man and his bones are weak. He broke his leg pretty badly. Romano's brother, Thomas, works here on our compound. He got word two days after the accident that his father had broken his leg. On Friday morning he came to Kevin to ask him for help to bring his father to the Torit Hospital. The only vehicle we have here that would make the journey over the long wet road is the tractor. Kevin noticed the tractor had a flat tire. By the time they got the tire fixed it was too late to make the trip. Thomas left with one of his brothers that has some nursing training to go help treat his father. He had almost reached the village of his father and stopped the motorcycle to examine a stream crossing. He tried to restart the bike and the battery was dead. He sent the nurse on to his father and Thomas started to push the bike back. 5 hours later, he returned to our compound. He had pushed the bike 8 miles over many steep hills. What persistence! The next morning, Kevin and Thomas ate a hearty breakfast of pancakes and eggs, packed their back packs of water and food, and set out for Makuru. We knew it would be an all day trip, we didn't expect them to return until dark. The nurse walked back and came to our compound informing me that he had seen the tractor and they had reached Makuru and they were on their way back. I breathed a sigh of relief and expected them home at around 6:00. Shortly after, Kevin called from his satellite phone and said they had gotten stuck and had been digging for a few hours to get out. Some men in the village took a stretcher that our welder had made and carried the father to the tractor in hopes they could get unstuck. Unfortunately they did not. They were going to start a 10 mile walk back and would return at around 10:00pm. Ugh! The nurse had just assumed they made it to Makuru because they were so close when he left them. It was discouraging news. Our two Kenyan construction workers had been in town most of the day. When they returned they were surprised Kevin wasn't back. They immediately began trying to figure out what to do. We have an old clunker of a truck here and they began searching for the keys and trying to start it. They had to charge the battery and it started. But, the clutch didn't engage. Wouldn't help much. Simon, one of the Kenyans, heard a motorcycle coming and walked out to meet him. It was Paul, one of Romano's friends. Kevin called Romano in Nairobi and asked him to call Paul in Torit. He reached Paul and sent him to get Kevin and Thomas. Kevin did not know he was coming. When he reached them, they had walked about half way (5 miles). The road was bad and muddy. The bike went down once, but they made it at about 8:30 pm. Kevin tried to pay Paul for his fuel and for making the trip. Paul refused it. It was VERY nice of him. Some guys that help us out demand more money. But, God sends us other guys that graciously help us for nothing. Kevin was pretty muddy and tired when he approached home. Thankfully I had made him his favorite peanut butter cookies AND brownies for him to come home to. Sadly, he informed us the tractor is stuck pretty bad AND Romano and Thomas' father is still out in his village. Kevin plans to try to get the tractor out on Monday. Please pray they can. . .they may have to wait a few months for the road to dry out before the tractor will come out. The tractor has already been used several times to carry people to the hospital. It has been a life saving vehicle!

Thank you for your prayers to retrieve our tractor and for the man with the broken leg to recover.

There is no place like home

We arrived back to Torit on Monday at around noon to a very warm welcome.  Well . . . the road wasn't very "warm".  When our plane landed, Kevin called for a motorcycle driver to take him to Moti to our compound where he picked up the tractor to come back to get Abigail and I.   We were waiting at the Nobles' (other missionaries here) house and having some lunch.  They had flown in with us after a break in Nairobi.  Kevin came for us at around 3:00 pm and we loaded the tractor with our luggage, passed by the market to get some chicken for dinner, and began our long slow trek back to Moti.  It is only about 3 miles away, but on the tractor it usually takes about 45 minutes.  Not this day.  We were able to navigate through some of the mud filled road.  We picked up some women carrying their load on their heads and Kevin had filled two 800 liter drums with river water for the compound.  I felt like we were riding a slippery surf board. I was watching the road closely so I could discern which way to lean as we slid over the road.  And then, the trailer tilted.  We were stuck in a huge mud hole.  I thought the trailer would tip over.  I called for Kevin to stop the tractor and he helped Abigail and I jump out of the wagon.  We assessed the wheel in the mud and Kevin walked back to the river to get some guys to help bail the water to make the trailer lighter to be pulled out.  He came back and chuckled, "It will cost more for me to have this water bailed than it did to have it filled."  Through prayer and bailing the water, we were able to pull the trailer out and get home before dark to unpack our tent enough to sleep in it.

Even though the wagon rides are a little nerve racking, I am able to slow down and take in the culture around me.  My soul is alive with many thoughts and wonderings as we drive over the long bumpy road.  It was heart warming to pass by the villages and see the kids run out waving and smiling calling Abigail's name.  A thought stood out to me as I looked down watching the road pass under the trailer, there are many foot prints in the sand. Some are bare and others have various shoe prints.  Each of those prints are leading some where . . .to the market for food, to the woods for firewood, home to a family.  Each print tells a story of someone who is valuable and has a place in this world.  Those feet may never step out of Torit to have many of the experiences we in the western world may have, but they are a valuable and a cherished part in the Kingdom of God. 

We were warmly welcomed back to our compound by the workers and Moti (dog) and Mango (cat).  They were so excited to see us and especially Abigail.  Moti stayed glued to me as Abigail and I pet him and she kissed and hugged him.  It was very special to see her so delighted to see them.  She knew they were hers and that we were home.  Mango and Moti took their places back under our feet and begging for food.  Moti found his place in front of our tent to bed down for the night to guard us.  It is nice to have our little family back together again!

The cook's kids came over to greet Abigail and play with her.

A Farm in Ethiopia

Kevin and Romano visited a farm in Ethiopia called, Genesis Farms.  Genesis Farms is the result of a collaboration between American and Ethiopian investors, and a mission group called "Double Harvest".  They have 150 acres of vegetable farming, a dairy barn, and 30,000 laying chickens.  Around 600 people work there every day.  It is an amazing ministry to the community, incarnating the gospel through just business practices and regular teaching.  It is also a very profitable business, hence the mission's name, "Double Harvest".  They have graciously agreed to donate drip irrigation equipment to us for 5 acres for our future farm at Hope for Sudan.  Currently our market is supplied with vegetables being carried approximately 500 miles from Uganda and Kenya.  Producing local vegetables will provide fresher produce to our community, provide jobs, and improve the selection in the local market.  We hope that with our vegetable production, we will be able to provide adequate nutrition to the kids, as well as sell enough to purchase food items which we don't produce.  We are so excited about what Kevin learned to have a successful farm here!

These tanks flood the seed trays with water once a day as the plants leave the greenhouse and await planting.

We enjoyed our time in Nairobi and some special treats.  Kevin and I found a nice place for a dinner date with live Jazz.  Eugenio, our logistician in Nairobi, and his wife and daughters enjoyed an evening with Abigail.  

As I said in my last blog entry. . ."There is no place like home".  I have found that very true.  We do lack many "modern" comforts that we have in the statse and in Nairobi, but we love our home here and the openess it provides.  As we sat down for dinner the other night, I smiled as I could watch the sunset from our out door kitchen.   We will soon begin building our house that will provide running water and a kitchen sink!


I will share an update and pictures of our construction progress soon!  


Please continue to be in prayer for the selection of the kids that will fill our first dormitory, for the staff selection, and the upcoming referendum intended to be in January 2011.

Flying home tomorrow!

Hello family and friends,

We are flying back to Torit, Sudan tomorrow.  Please pray for our trip as you go to bed tonight!

We will post a blog update soon of some highlights of our time in Nairobi and of some of what Kevin learned in Ethiopia on the farm he visited.

Love,

Kevin, Shalene,  Abigail

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!