Baking: Preparing the ingredients (Bakery update part 1)

Women of the prospective bakery praying before their first meeting after receiving support

Cookies: thinking of things that might sell

The women of the Sudan Interior Church had been praying for almost two years for this opportunity.  Life is not easy for some of these women.  Some of them have returned to South Sudan after the long civil war ended and the South got its independence.  Having come from the North after twenty years of war, they were forced to restart their lives in a foreign place. 

When the women prayed, they didn’t know how it would materialize but prayed in faith… and Faith answered.   A church in Canada named Faith Community decided to support them. 

This will be a relatively small project that we hope will have a big impact in the lives of those who will be working as well as in the church. 

The ladies met to start to plan and prepare their shop.  The storefront they want to rent will have to be cleared and cleaned.  Baking items for the business, ovens, and all the ingredients will have to be purchased and training will have to take place on how to bake popular items.

Lemon cake

Here, at the point where the project seems to have materialized, they go back to their starting point, prayer.  There are still hurdles ahead but the women are preparing the ground… or you could say preparing all the necessary ingredients. 

Fellowship in different circles

1st function

I have a riddle for you.  What entirely different functions was I able to attend with two different groups both taking place at 9 o'clock on Sunday September 15 which took place in both the years 2013 and 2006?  Give up?

2nd function

Our town is comprised of many different people from different tribal groups and countries.  In addition to the five main Southern Sudanese tribes represented here in town, there are countless tribes from the North as well as foreigners such as from the East African communities such as Uganda and Kenya as well as those from Ethiopia in addition to the communities from Asia, Europe and North America represented in various international organizations and the United Nations.  So what two functions did I attend fully at 9 o'clock, one in the year 2013 and the other in 2006 both taking place yesterday on September 15, 2013?  The answer is church services for a Southern Sudanese congregation and an Ethiopian congregation.  Confused?  Let me explain.  Southern Sudan follows the same calendar we use in North America as well as the same way of telling time.  9 o'clock therefore represents what we know as 9am.  Ethiopians use a different calendar system which includes 13 months a year.  So, they just recently celebrated New Years on Wednesday September 11.  The year: 2006.  Moreover, they tell time using a different system which assigns 7am as the first hour.  9 o'clock therefore represents what we know as 3pm.  This is how I was able to attend both functions.

Just shows the multitude of different cultures and perspectives that exists here and the privilege I have to interact with some of them.

Prayer for the Nation: Malakal Pastor's Fellowship

We mentioned in the last newsletter that urban work has been significantly different from what we have been used to in the rural areas.  One of the notable differences is the number of churches.  In rural areas there was usually the one church but here in Malakal town there are some thirty scattered around.  As a result of the multiplicity of churches there are a number of ways that collaborative work can take place.  One such initiative has been the Malakal Pastor’s Fellowship.  Their specific goal is to 1) pray for the nation; 2) fellowship and refresh one another and; 3) organize interdenominational events together.  The group was interested not in building their own “churches” but in working together ecumenically where possible.

A number of pastors from different churches met recently, hosted by the reformed church.  We were all encouraged by a Baptist pastor who  led us through a reading in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians.  It reminded us that we have been given the work of reconciliation and that we are His ambassadors.  Also having been given an opportunity to share, I talked about humility.  That we are fundamentally all the same and that pastors do not occupy a higher position.  We are all saved by grace and grace alone that no one would boast in their own merit.

It has been a refreshment to be plugged into this group and to get to know others who are working in Malakal.  As tough times come, it is a comfort to know that there are others there that can encourage and spur us on in this journey.