Here in Lui

All eight of us have arrived safely in Lui. We flew in on Missionary Air Fellowship's Cessna Caravan with Laura the pilot yesterday, arriving about noon. On the way, we stopped off at Arua, Uganda, to refuel, and I was stunned to discover that I had BlackBerry email there from MTN (and cell phone service), even though T-Mobile doesn't have B'Berry email in Kampala! Stunned and thrilled, I should say.

We hit the dirt runway at Mundri airfield to be greeted by Bishop Bullen, Vasco, the diocesan secretary, several military guys making sure the incoming flight was legit, a World Harvest missionary named Mike, and various Morus who'd come to see us in. Mike and his family live in Mundri now and are expecting a full team of teachers and engineers after the first of the year; they have ambitious plans in Mundri. We loaded ourselves and our luggage into the Mundri diocese's Toyota Land Cruiser (I think) and the car of the West Mundri County commissioner and head for Mundri, which is the larger town across the Yei River from Lui.

Mundri has expanded into a thriving metropolis compared to the shell of a town it was in2003, when the bombings had sent its people down the road to a new town. We saw a bank, a cell tower, and two gas stations in Mundri! In fact, we bought a sim card in Mundri because we are told that if we climb a hill in Lui we can hit the tower. Someone of you lucky readers may be the recipient of our test call, if this works at all. Having cell phone access in Lui will change everything...

We went to the Mundri commisioner's office, where he welcomed us warmly and Robert introduced us all. After that, we headed for the cathedral grounds, where we met Bishop Bismarck and the standing commmittee of his diocese. Once again Robert introduced us, but this time he gave me the opportunity to extend Wayne's greetings to the diocese of Mundri. This is a set speech that goes like this: "I bring you the greetings of my husband Wayne, the bishop of Missouri, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." That's probably too short; I should start off with something like Grace and Peace to you in the name of our Lord and Saviour... We were shepherded off to a tukul for water and soft drinks (a new treat since 2003, and while we were there, Mike went to the bank to get some Sudanese pounds for Robert and to buy us a couple of Mundri sim cards.

After all that, we drove to Lui. We were amazed by how smooth the dirt road is now, how much traffic is on it, and how fast it's going. The traffic is mostly motorcycles and large trucks; Mike pointed out that these improvements have the downside of dramatically increasing fatal traffic accidents. Lui itself is much expanded and livelier than in 2003. The market is much bigger and there are many more vehicles. The diocese has built a new 4-room guesthouse, a computer office and office for the Mothers' Union, and some storage buildings. I have seen one of the wells we've drilled and the women and children clustered around it -- when I get back, I'll put a photo here. For now, to see photos and get other perspectives, check out our team's official blog at http://luinotes.blogspot.com/.

So far we've eaten rice, beans, and meat at lunch, the same for dinner with the addition of bean leaves at dinner, and lovely rolls with tea and/or Moru coffee for breakfast. One of the ladies made Deb some Moru peanut butter and honey, which she is kindly sharing. By the way, I should say that Deb is in her element greeting friends made during her six-months' stay here in 2006; everyone is happy to see her, greets her as "daughter of the Moru," and helps her catch up on all the news. Dan and Joe, our first-timers, seem to have adjusted to Moru life just fine. Dan is out meeting people right now, Joe is working with Robert on technology issues. Emily and Tammy are off talking with women or blowing bubbles with children. This trip most of us have private rooms; Robert and Nancy have a tukul of their own, and Tammy and I are sharing a room because one of the tukuls didn't meet the Moru standards, but that's good because it means we have easy access to all the things we brought to share. (The IKEA collapsible shelves are working out great, Susan!)

Today we expect Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul to stop by to greet us on his way to Mundri, where we will see him again tomorrow, God willing, because we are all going to the dedication of the new office space of the Mundri diocese. Bishop Bullen is in Mundri for a cluster committee meeting of which he is in charge.

Note to families: We are having some issues making calls on our satellite phone, but mostly we are able to use Vasco's phone. If you get a call and nobody is there, be patient and we'll try again. The satellite number we have given you should still work for incoming calls.

We are all grateful to be here, thankful for our safety and comfort and the kind hospitality of our Moru hosts. I'm especially aware that I can't be my usual self-sufficient self but must rely on friends and strangers, trusting that I'm in God's hands. There's a particular grace to that... Thank you to all who are holding us in your thoughts and prayers.