Amy, Caleb
and Karen (Amy’s mom) eating out in St. Louis when we were there for Christmas
with Amy’s family.
Hopefully
you had a good Christmas season with your family! We had a great time at four family
Christmases and lots of travelling and after lots of good fellowship, food and
gifts, we’re glad that the new year is here and we can move on to preparing for
our return to South Sudan!
I talked
to Paul on Skype last week, it’s the first time we’ve spoken since this time
last year, and the news that he gave me was tragic. As many of you know, last year’s food harvest
in South Sudan was mostly non-existent.
People survived through various types of aid and lots more hunger and
waiting. This year the rainy season was
good, and the crops were promising, and lots of people in our area were able to
bring in lots of food for their families.
For the church in Lalonga the story was a little different.
Somebody
in the village decided to go hunting.
The way they frequently do this is to light a large grassy area on fire,
and as the animals run out of the burning grass, the men can shoot the animals
and take them home to eat.
Unfortunately, starting a fire in the dry season is never a good idea
and there is never much advance planning.
The fire spread to sorghum gardens belonging to Paul and most of the
ladies in the Lalonga church. The report
I got from someone other than Paul is that most of Paul’s crop and that of the
church ladies was completely destroyed by the fire. With a bad year last year and the fire this
year, the outlook is grim and the ladies are actually considering migrating to
one of the refugee camps in Kenya.
I am
going to be in South Sudan soon. I am
leaving the USA on January 30th and will be there with Mitchell, a
potential team mate, for about three weeks.
Please pray that God will provide for the church in this situation. Pray that God would give us wisdom about how
to help them alleviate some of their hunger during this time of real
tragedy. Pray that God would give us
wisdom as we assess the security situation in South Sudan and how safe it will
be to return with the family. Pray that
God would provide for some of the logistical issues that we’re facing as we try
to do the building and transporting of goods involved with the projects that
you have helped fund. Pray that Mitchell
will get a clear idea about life in South Sudan and his calling, and pray that
God would provide safety for us as we travel on the roads.
Thanks!
Justin, Amy, Ezekiel and Caleb
We were at a
show in Branson, Ezekiel was very excited to go and see the show…but he didn’t
really know what he was in for!
