Through the Looking Glass

Today has been surreal.

New Year's Day is a big deal here. The Moru Christians "renew their names" and write them in God's book (figuratively, as far as I can tell) each year on this day. So we went off to Moru church expecting something about that. We sat down in the south transept even though we always get sent to sit in the front by the altar, not wanting to be the ones sent down lower in the gospel story about who sits at the head of the table. Lucky we did -- a while after the service should have started, six other Americans were ushered in and up front. We were offered plastic chairs at the front of the transept, but we held our position on a concrete bench. That wasn't the surreal part.

What was surreal was sitting out in the congregation of Fraser Cathedral watching six Americans play the roles we usually play. They greeted us in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for starters. They went on in a way we wouldn't, each bringing us "a message of encouragement" by reading scripture to us and giving little mini sermons about giving our lives to Christ. Deb and Dan and I wondered if we sound anything like they did when we're up front. Turns out they're from a Baptist church in Birmingham. They send a team to the Lui-Mundri area twice a year. They are digging wells. (One of the team has an organization called Never Thirst.) They just finished one at Wito, between Bwagyi and Mideh (not sure which archdeaconry, but you can be sure I'm going to find out). They come to check out wells and bring a team to teach the gospel, or something, when they come. The women had been teaching Moru women and the men Moru men something they called Discipleship. Ever hear of that??? They said the Moru had not. Turns out they have some kind of written series they're using and hoping for an each one, teach one continuation after they go home. (Their total time here? One week.)

If that's not enough, get this: The person who brought them to Lui was Jeffreys, the former diocesan secretary of Lui Diocese. We had heard he'd gone to law school, then we heard he was working for ITAM (It Took a Miracle, which maybe has been dismantled now), but now he's working for this Sudan Christian Strategic Advocacy group. We had a chance to eat lunch with them, chat, and exchange contact info so we can coordinate our well-digging efforts. (We thought we'd leave the Discipleship part to them since we personally find ourselves learning something about discipleship from our Moru friends.) Tomorrow they are visiting Lui hospital, and Deb, Dan, and I all plan to go along. Maybe we can encourage them to help the hospital.

By the way, Deb preached a knock-'em-dead sermon at the English service this morning, weaving together a number of scriptures that connect Holy Name with their name renewal thing.

Yesterday I didn't blog. We've been having trouble with the Internet, but I think Dan and I have isolated the problem now. The most important thing we did yesterday was clean out our blue box, the repository of stuff we might need from trip to trip that is stored in the guest compound here. We threw away what was expired and gave most of the medical stuff, which has never been used, as far as we know, to the hospital, which is desperate for supplies. Because of the tape we found, a woman with a 5-day-old baby was able to have the bandage over her severe burns changed. Deb told a poignant story of this woman lying in the hospital suffering with her tiny baby nestled beside her.

The three of us have made the segue from team of 8 to team of 3 well and are continuing the team's traditions. Happy new year -- if we didn't phone you, know that we thought of you all and wanted to call you "from the future" when it was 2009 here and still only 2008 there.

Lu karu ami.