November 4, 2008

In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.
-Proverbs 16:9

Dear Friends,

This past week has reminded me again of the many challenges one faces when working here in Sudan and also of the simple fact that God is in control of all things and definitely determines our steps in spite of what we as humans may think we can plan.

My RECONCILE colleague, Simon Chol, was going with me to Paktap to do a training on conflict resolution, good governance, human rights.

RECONCILE was asked by Dan Church Aid (a Danish Church organization) to do a training on conflict resolution, good governance, human rights, while at the same time disseminating information about the Peace Agreement. The training was requested due to the fact that a few months before, there had been some inter-tribal conflicts in that area. The training was to be held in a place called “Paktap” in Jonglei state in south Sudan, and my colleague Simon Chol and I were selected to travel there to carry out the training.

We started our journey on October 16 only to learn that after our first leg of the trip the vehicle that was to collect us from an airstrip 30 miles from Paktap had encountered major mechanical problems. (The gearbox had gone out.) The training had to be delayed so we returned to the RECONCILE Training Centre in Yei.

Heavy rains turned the road to Paktap impassable, and so for the second time we had to turn back.

On October 21, we started out again and, upon arriving at the airstrip in Mabior (this time only 30 miles from our final destination), we learned that heavy rains had made the road to Paktap impassable. We decided to wait a couple of days, giving the road time to dry out, and then give it a try. Unfortunately, there was a section of the road that was terrible! A few months earlier, a number of heavy trucks connected with the oil companies got stuck in this same place and required a Caterpillar to pull them out! This left huge ruts in the road in which the soil type is a “cotton soil”—a very sticky, gummy soil that is the worst to get stuck in (Yuck!). We still gave it a try but after getting stuck for several hours at the very beginning of the bad place, we decided it was crazy to attempt any further! So, we are back in Mabior, waiting another four days for our flight back home to Yei. The training will have to be postponed until after the rainy season when the roads will be passable.

The results of over 21 years of war (i.e lack of roads, hospitals, schools, and other services) are overwhelming as the Sudanese strive to rebuild their country. Even more overwhelming is the need for emotional healing from the trauma of war and the huge challenge of transforming a culture of war into a culture of peace.

While we as RECONCILE seek to address the emotional and conflict resolution needs of Sudanese communities, we also know that it is God who ultimately determines what we can and cannot do. Please continue to pray with us that we would seek God’s plans in all that we do, as we seek to bring peace that only the Prince of Peace can truly bring to Sudan.

Thanking you for your prayers and support,

Del and Debbie

The 2008 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 10