Lui Bits and Pieces from Around the Web

Here is the blog of a young Moru man from Mundri who's in Alabama to be educated. If you follow this blog back to 2006, you will find a story from Bishop Bullen Dolli and also a description of a 2006 visit to the US by Stephen Dokolo, Jeffreys Kayanga, and two others: http://bullensblessings.blogspot.com/

Here's a news story about that visit: http://www.therandolphleader.com/articles/2006/04/19/news/629-sudanese.txt

Here are some photos of Lui during the war from Frontline Fellowship: http://www.frontline.org.za/photo_browerwindows/photo_gallery_sudan.htm

Here's a story about Canon Ezra's translation of the Bible into Moru. I'm not sure how this connects with the idea that Morris and Scopas finished the work -- can someone fit the pieces of the story together for me? http://www.frontline.org.za/news/thegreatest_gift.htm

And here you will find a 2004 story about the work of Samaritan's Purse at Lui Hospital: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week739/feature.html

If only we had known: a story on the conflict and violence between the Dinka IDPs and the Moru hosts in 2005: http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article11899

Bicycles, Cross-Posted from the Lui Ning Blog

I have gotten more positive feedback regarding my post about the great bicycle miscommunication than any other post ever. I'm copying it here because I'm not sure how many of the followers of this blog are on in the Ning group where I originally posted it. Before I do that, though, here's an update on Bishop Bullen (since I've also been posting those to the Ning blog): After a trip to Juba for blood pressure treatment and two hernia surgeries by Dr. Fabio at Lui Hospital, he was rushed to Juba to the hospital late last week and then flown to Nairobi on Saturday. There doctors are still examining him and considering what to do; I'm not sure what the problem is now, but it seems to be abdominal.

Here's the bicycle post:

The Diocese of Missouri has been holding the funds raised by "Biking for Bikes" at Trinity St. Charles, along with other contributions from bikes, including some from Trinity Central West End and one from St. Peter's Ladue for the dean, for some time. (Sorry if there are other donors that I don't know -- please feel free to add in comments!)

We've gotten mixed messages about the need for additional bikes in Lui: The diocesan staff, eager to pursue other transportation projects such as a much-needed new Land Cruiser for the diocese and a dump truck to enable them to do building and marketing projects, told us we had bought enough bicycles, and we were considering the possibility of turning the money to other transportation needs with the permission of the donors. However, we've been asking pastors and youth from around Lui Diocese in our conferences for several visits now, and it has become clear that not all of them share the vision of the central administrative staff because so many are still traveling many miles and many hours on foot. One pastor this month walked 11 hours to get to our pastors' conference.

So earlier this fall, we transferred all our bicycle money to the Diocese of Lui to buy 30 new bicycles and one motorbike. The bikes were to be divided evenly among the seven archdeaconries for use by anyone who needed one to make a long trip. The motorbike was for the diocesan youth coordinator, who has to be able to get to all seven archdeaconries. And so we were thinking surely four bikes per archdeaconry would be enough to share, and we could turn some of that fundraising energy to other projects.

Enter the second misapprehension in this story: While we intended the bikes to be held in common, Lui Diocese has something of a pecking order for bicycle distribution. Over the years, various organizations, including our friends in the Diocese of Lund in the Church of Sweden, have donated many bicycles to the Diocese of Lui, and they have been given to individuals in order of rank and seniority, or something like that. Our most recent gift of bikes was incorporated into that scheme of distribution. So while we were expecting all the pastors at our conference in Lui this month to have ridden bikes if they came far, we found out that most of them had walked while the archdeacon at home kept the bike. And they were kind of unhappy that we'd been giving bikes out and they didn't get one. So Stephen and I went into their conference to explain what each of us had intended, and I think it was actually a really useful moment because it gave us Westerners a clearer understanding of Moru culture, and it gave the bikeless pastors hope that they'd be next in line. Meanwhile Stephen and I both urged the holders of bikes to share. (I should add that one of the bikes when to the diocesan Mothers' Union leader.)

I hope that's not more than you want to know about the reality of our visits to Lui and the facts about raising money for bikes! The bottom line is that more bicycles ARE needed in Lui Diocese if congregations still want to raise money for them.

This is where I should be uploading photos of bicycles. Rick and I both saw them on Stephen's camera, a great, joyous ceremony and celebration of bicycle distribution to 30 people at Fraser Cathedral. But something is wrong with Stephen's camera and we couldn't upload anything he's taken for the past year, hard as we tried. So sorry -- I'm sure you'd rather have one great picture than my thousand words here!

Home Again Home Again

Emily, Rick, and I spent a lovely 24 hours in the air traffic system and arrived home this afternoon right on time. As I write this, our English and Swedish friends should be in the air on their way home too. Thanks to everyone for their prayers through this trip. We look forward to sharing our experience in the Diocese of Missouri and beyond.

Back in Kampala

All 8 missioners are safely back at the MAF guesthouse. Three are visiting the craft market, two are sleeping, one is reading, and two of us are online. After dinner we will debrief then share eucharist, after which the Americans head to the airport for the first of three legs home. The English and Swedes are planning a trip to the source of the Nile at Jenja tomorrow before they return to Europe. It has been a very productive trip. We all seem to agree that we accomplished what we set out to do.

Saving it all for the last day

Whenever we come to Lui, we get to the last day and have lots of loose ends to tie up. This morning the Swedes, Marie and Goran, were making a list of copies and invoices and so forth that they need. Rick asked me to remind Stephen that he's waiting for some office plans and lists of expenditures for Lunjini Chapel and such. I have the whole list of gifts we've sent or money in accounts in our diocese waiting for credible plans from Lui to discuss.And I'm waiting for grinding mill receipts and an accounting of last year's administrative expenses. If anyone from CPC is reading this, Vasco and Stephen have told us that they still have the Miles of Pennies grant money; they have been to Juba several times to buy books but so far have not found what they need in the markets there. We will have to talk about this when we get back.

So instead of dealing with any of that -- that meeting isn't till 2 pm, after all! -- I am spending the morning communicating with the very helpful tech guy, Denis, from ECS, to try to figure out why only one of the 5 computers installed by them thanks to Trinity Wall Street will get online, and why the laptops here won't get on the wireless network (my phone does, but computers won't...). Then there's the problem of convincing the Swedish laptops to speak English, not to mention trying to get the photos of the bicycle-giving ceremony out of Stephen's camera and onto a computer so Missourians can see them.

Then we pack, and then we have a final celebratory dinner with some of the diocesan staff. Bishop Bullen is still staying in the house the Italians have built at the hospital, which is why I'm saying he's at the hospital -- he's not exactly in the hospital. The Brits are off to say hello to him this morning; the rest of us have already done that.

Silvan

Yesterday we had tea with Bishop Bullen's family in his compound though the Bishop is still at the hospital. This is his niece Tabitha holding his young son, Silvan. His wife, Lorna, sat with us for a while but I didn't get a photo.

If you aren't getting email from your family it's because all but one of the computers is having connection problems. I'm trying to get help from ECS but not having any luck yet. Also not getting any traction for sitting down to explain luidiocese.org, Beth, but have hope for tomorrow.

Today I got to sit in on the Swedes' very interesting conversation with diocesan admin about financial protocols.

Much Delayed Post

I'm back from Juba. I got there safely, stayed safely, and returned safely, thanks to Darius and Stephen. The conference was enlightening; we talked a lot about the issue of returnees from the North who may come under attack as noncitizens if the referendum goes for separation. There is a lot more fear of conflict, war, and immediate reprisals against Southerners in the North in Juba than we're hearing in Lui, where the sense is that they are pretty far away from the likely hot spots. Concerns of ECS and its partners revolve around the arrears (past-due salaries that are keeping former employees on the payroll), financial transparency, the need for a chief accountant, the desire to hire a health chief, and the way to achieve self-sufficiency. A big highlight for me was getting to go to church in Arabic on Sunday and seeing a real Arabic prayer book; I understood the sermon (on the responsibility and limits that come with freedom) and was very moved to be standing on the ground in Sudan praying for peace and justice in Arabic with my fellow Episcopalians.

In Lui, the rest of the team carried out the youth and Sunday School conferences Friday and Saturday, and they went to church on Sunday. The big obstacles, as usual, seem to be the need for transportation and permanent buildings. The car broke down on the way home from Doroh, and Goran and Jeannie had quite an adventure, but I'll let them tell their own story. (The Swedes did arrive in Kampala, and we all had a good chance to get acquainted before leaving for Lui.)

We've gotten to visit Bishop Bullen at the hospital today. He had a second hernia surgery Sunday after some deliberation about going back in so soon after the operation last week. He seems to be in some discomfort and looks a bit frail but was talking with us about his priorities and seemed in amazingly good spirits for someone less than 24 hours post-op. Please continue to pray for him!

The pastors' and Mothers' Union conferences are half done. In the MU conference we are having some good discussions about our joys and challenges and about the consequences of development. The women have been asking Jeannie and me about marriage and having children in western culture and telling us about their norms in these areas -- great fun sharing! We have discussed everything from wedding dresses to HIV/AIDS, from being shamed for having too few children to being shamed for having too many. They have shared their plans for an MU center, which they are funding by selling some of their now-grown teak, using the small profit from the sale of the last chickens (Western-style chicken farming having turned out to be not so effective here), and renting out the chicken house to a family! They are making great strides toward self-suffciency!

I've seen photos of the 30 bicycles that Biking for Bikes at Trinity St. Charles along with efforts at Trinity CWE bought, and we'll post those here or on Ning as soon as Stephen and I can upload them from his camera. It became very clear today in the pastors' conference that more bicycles are craved, despite what the administration has been telling us. So that's something to talk about at home.

Noel Knight approached me today to ask my intervention in our plans to get someone out to Lozoh to photograph the rebuilding of the church for Advent's children, who raised a lot of money to help with it. So Rick and Noel are going tomorrow -- stand by, Advent.

I'm sure there's more news, but my hold on the only computer currently online is about to have to give way to the other missioners. We have not had Internet in either Juba or Lui till today, so please forgive us for our lack of communication.

Thank you all for your continuing prayers -- we feel as safe here as ever, maybe even safer as this time we are allowed to go to market without minders and even walk along the main road alone for exercise -- we do very much feel that we are borne along through each day in a protective bubble of prayers from home.