thanksgiving

what a perfect holiday to appear in the middle of this wild new life.

giving when you feel like it is easy. from this i can conclude, my dears, that we should especially give when it's hard. time is a big one, and money, but especially ourselves. when i chose to follow Christ, i gave up my rights. i no longer have the right to receive respect, love, friendship, care, or even decency from this world. i have the right to be abused, laid out, and degraded in the name of the One who was once laid out for me. it is with this that i present to all of you, with great hesitancy, the life that i've been living, my daily dealings, in sudan:

two days after i arrived (nov. 9th), we had a great tragedy in our camp. one of our little boys by the name of akok drowned in the nile river. i happened to be the last adult present with the boys while we were swimming, and on our third search afterwards i helped swim the body back to the shore. this was a terrible and severe loss for all those he left behind. the boys wailed and cried with us as they saw his body. our hearts go out to the family of akok as they face this great tragedy. we know that “love is as strong as death, and its jealousy is as enduring as the grave” song of songs 8:6.

this is only the beginning. the security forces here are just looking for an excuse to kick all westerners out of sudan. we have had several encounters with them already. since two americans (nathan and i) accompanied the boys that day, the family of akok has threatened to file a report with the police, claiming we (all three american volunteers-nathan, jim, and i) were responsible, and could have one or more of us put in jail unless we pay $10,000 in 2 weeks.
according to the laws of sudan if someone dies by accident, the person responsible for them is obligated to pay $11,000 or the equivelant thereof. we have spent many hours negotiating with the family and after an initial payment, have settled on $6,000. please understand that the family could take us to court and a muslim judge would require us to pay the $11,000 or face imprisonment. right now they do not want to take us to court or have us thrown in jail. according to the denka tribe's customs, when a child dies money is given in support of the family. the family then takes the money and buys cows. the cows are given to one of the older male siblings when he reaches adulthood. this sibling then uses the cows as a down payment to marry a woman. when this couple has a child they name their first-born child the same name as the child that died.

this is a serious matter that needs to be resolved quickly. because of the urgency of the situation and the fact that the team here did not have the funds in hand, coupled with the real possibility that the center could shut down and 30+ boys hit the streets - Iris Ministries has sent money from their operating funds to cover this emergency. however, those funds urgently need to be replenished as soon as possible in order to prevent a shortfall within Iris's outreach and ministry. we need help to raise $6,000.00 so we can cover this debt. please pray about helping us. if you don't pray, please think about helping us. you can support us by making your check out to IRIS MINISTRIES and earmark it NORTHERN SUDAN. the check needs to be mailed to:

US ADMIN OFFICE
P O BOX 493995
REDDING, CA.
96049-3995

all donations are considered charitable gifts and are therefore given tax-free status. anything extra will manifest itself in the form of toothbrushes, clothes, new sandals, food, and school supplies for these little men.



this is thanksgiving: God is good, all the time. He has brought resolution and peace to a situation that looked like we were in a nice vat of quick sand. there was honestly one point when nathan, jim, and i were gonna grab what we could and try to sneak to the airport to leave the country instead of going to jail. there's a lot of hatred and racism here-it is indeed a hard place. but what's there when you're between a rock and a hard place? no soft, cuddly Jesus. a tenacious, powerful, lion of Judah, who fights for us, for me, with Justice, Goodness, and Lovingkindness. i am so blessed-thank you for your words, your prayers, your thoughts, your existence in my life in one way or another. you are each truly an extended family that i could've only dreamed up.

thank you Yesua for laying yourself down for me.


p.s. i actually ate turkey on thanksgiving day with 100+ crazy, fantastic americans.! ...nothing like singing "great is Thy faithfulness" outside in a courtyard under a warm sudanese breeze, with 100 people and kids, over the background harmony of arabic singing being blasted from a local mosque...