Happy Thanksgiving!

We celebrated Thanksgiving in Sudan today. This is the first of the major holidays that I have spent away from home, and while it was sad to be away from family, we found ways to celebrate and remain thankful. Over the course of the day, we made pilgrim hats and Native American headdresses to wear at lunch. We crafted hand turkeys to give away to people here on our compound. We hosted an American football game and spent a couple hours teaching Englishmen and South Africans how to play. And we made a campfire and roasted marshmallows (not traditionally Thanksgiving-esque, but we do what we can to make ourselves feel at home).

But most importantly, today I took some time to reassess all the things in life for which I am incredibly thankful. This year, my list is much longer than usual. So, here are just a few of the things that top my list:

1. I am incredibly thankful for my family. I have never fully appreciated them until now when I am away from home and realize what incredible support, love, and encouragement I get from them every day.
2. I am incredibly thankful for my friends. Many of my good friends have stepped up to help with projects, to send packages, to call and send emails. Many friends have become good friends, and many acquaintances have been friends. I am blessed beyond words by the friendships that have developed over the last several months and the friendships that remind me anew every day of the love that ties brothers and sisters in Christ.
3. I am incredibly thankful for my supporting churches in the US. I could not do what I am doing without so many dedicated prayer supporters and churches devoted to seeing the glory of the Lord displayed in this place. What an encouragement it is to know that there are hundreds of people praying for me and this project!
4. I am incredibly thankful for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering which provides the majority of the support for me and many others like me. I am so thankful that I do not have to raise my own funds but that dedicated churches and individuals across the US step up each year, even when it hurts financially, and give to the offering that places and keeps workers on the field!
5. I am incredibly thankful for my teammates here in Sudan. For my colleagues and supervisors here on the field who challenge me and encourage me daily—who keep me sane when I’m going a little crazy…and who help make me crazy when I’m going a little sane.
6. I am incredibly thankful for the ways I see God moving in this place already. I am so blessed to be able to witness firsthand the miraculous ways that God is changing this place and drawing these people to Himself little by little.
7. I am incredibly thankful for the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on the cross. Every day, I deserve death, but every day I am given Grace. How incredible!

My prayer for you today is that you have been blessed to think of the things for which you are thankful. Happy Thanksgiving!

Yet Another Plague...

The more I read of the Bible and the more I see of Sudan, the more I see very clear comparisons between some of the ancient civilizations and this one…namely in the matter of curses and judgments. Disease, violence, famine, floods, and starvation are all common in the Bible. You might remember reading about a termite plague earlier this year. Well, over the last few weeks, we have been experiencing another kind of plague—frogs.

There are literally frogs everywhere. With almost every step you take, some poor little frog jumps out of the way of your foot…and sometimes they accidentally jump INTO the way of your foot. Every day, we go into our shower and squeegee out the frogs before showering…only to find the remnant hanging out in the corner, ready to jump at you the first time they get splashed. Most of these frogs are small (none really big enough for frog legs! :)). They are just little guys, and they really won’t hurt anything. But they are just plain annoying at times. For instance…

The other night, Jennifer and I were hanging out in the room before bed. I was sitting at the computer and she was reading a book. All of a sudden, I saw something fall and then Jennifer jumped up in a panic, throwing the book and her bedding in her haste to get away from the attacking creature. Fearing the attack of a scorpion (a man on our compound was stung by a scorpion four times last weekend!), I jumped up to help her. She finally said, “A frog just dive-bombed me!”

We searched the room for the frog to no avail, so we went back to reading and working on the computer. About thirty minutes later, I saw the poor frog jumping up in the corner near Jennifer’s bed, shooting straight up into the air behind her head. Again, we got up and searched for the frog. Jennifer eventually found him hanging out on the wall behind her bed. She pushed the bed back against the wall so he couldn’t attack her from the air anymore, and again, we went about our business.

Later that evening, I intentionally put my mosquito net down thinking, ‘If I go ahead and put the net down NOW, then the frog won’t be able to get to my bed during the night.’ After turning out the lights and preparing for bed awhile later, I began to get under my mosquito net. Just as I was tucking my head under the net, I felt something fall squarely on my neck. In a panic, I immediately flung the poor creature off of me and hurried out from under the net. In my panic, though, I had accidentally flung the frog underneath the net and onto the mattress. So, for the next several minutes I chased the frog around my bed, trying to catch it in a plastic cup, until I finally caught it and was able to toss it outside.

I’m not afraid of frogs, which is a definite plus. The Dinka are often afraid of them. Perhaps we should be afraid of them. If the frogs here are all of the dive-bombing, attack-from-the-top-of-the-mosquito-net type, then maybe we should be more afraid of them. Can you imagine a plague where the frogs are constantly committing aerial attacks? Anyway, I just reread Exodus chapter 8, and I found verses 2-4 to be most applicable. :)