Wyoming

Just got back from a week in the beautiful (and really, really cold) state of Wyoming. I had the chance to see my good friend Amelia, meet her new son Jack, enjoy some time in the mountains and share the good work God is doing in the Didinga Hills of Sudan with a great body of believers at Wilderness Baptist Church.

Tetons National Park

Jack and I enjoying the Tetons!

Jack and his amazing mommy, Amelia

Amelia and her young family call Dubious, Wyoming home. Dubious is a one horse town, with the heart of a 20 mule team.
A few years ago, I had the time of my life learning how to square dance with the cowboy boot, wrangler clad real cowboys that call this tiny haven home.
This is a town that hosts free catered (while I was there this past week, ham) dinners to build community bonds. If you don't mind a loooooong winter and would rather spend your Tuesdays skiing the slopes in Jackson Hole, than fighting the crowds in Walmart, then this just might be the place for you. Just don't tell them I said so. We wouldn't want to let the secret out of the bag.

Town - not downtown or uptown - this is it, the whole town.

We took long walks in the badlands...

(sometimes my camera has a mind of it's own)

Decorated Christmas cookies...

I like to call this one, Polar Bear Down on His Luck.

And played with a Mr. Jackson William...

I didn't get a Christmas tree last year. So, this year I got two!
Bill, Amelia, Jack and I bundled way up and braving the sub-zero temperatures skied out into the Wyoming wild to find the perfect one. We are not sure, but we heard that it might have been as cold as -17 degrees Fahrenheit.

our Christmas-tree-cutting mode of transportation

me and my old adventure friend, Amelia

The "perfect" one!!!

Best By

Only three more weeks in the States.
I will be flying back to Africa on January 1, 2010.

Tis' the Season

A Davey family tradition...
No, I am not referring to running Bloomsday each year in May or mom-made chocolate zucchini birthday cakes each September, but the tromping through the backyard woods each December to chop down the perfect Christmas tree.

Dave, Dad and Mom with the 1st tree

my sister, Stephanie and her family

I LOVE these girls!!!
two of my neices, Lily and Ella

at Grandma's farm with the trees

Merry Christmas!!!

You're Going Where???

My time here at home, has been a welcome combination of joyous reunions, contrasted perfectly with moments of sweet, uninterrupted solitude. Those seemingly commonplace luxuries: hot showers and clean feet, $3.00 disposable cups of foaming hot coffee and the fine art of accurate weather forecasting are no longer overlooked, but oh so greatly appreciated! I have hid and seeked nieces, cuddled and kissed two brand new nephews and caught up with old friends and loved ones.

After our team's evacuation, once it had become unquestionably clear that we could no longer safely call Napep home, the question for me was never, would I return to Africa, but more, where would I return to. I was approached and encouraged to consider returning to Sudan, but quite honestly doubted that I would. I visited other seemingly perfect mission opportunities, but felt absolutely no peace in committing to any of them.

Once home in the States, I considered (albeit for only about 10 harebrained minutes) restoring an old farmhouse and toyed with the idea of finally completing the Pacific Crest Trail or biking across America. However, the generational skip in construction skills and Father Winter’s speedy approach on the Northwest quickly brought me back to reality.

Then one night, as I anticipated sleep, lying on an inflatable mattress that was situated in the corner of my friends’ small apartment’s kitchen, I finally abandoned my ideas for the future, my plans for perfection. As I’ve done before, I did again. I agreed, to go joyfully, to be used, to the best of my abilities, wherever our Lord and Savior saw fit to send me.

It was shortly after this night of renewed abandon, that I began to finally find comfort in the thought of returning to Sudan. About two weeks later, I found our Father’s peace, His solace which had up until that point evaded me in Mordecai's words. The same words that had once encouraged Esther, now encouraged me: “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”

For, it is the same King of Kings, the same Lord who Mordecai long ago trusted to deliver the Jews, who is, even now, working amongst the Didinga people.

And so... it has been with time, considerable prayer and consideration that I have finally decided to return to the Didinga Hills of Sudan!

I will be living in Nagishot, at a distance of ten miles, it is Napep's closest neighboring village. I will be teaching nursery school, training teachers and continuing to focus my attentions on building relationships and sharing the love of Christ with the Didinga people.

Two of my former TIMO teammates/roommates Elly Admiraal and Tianne Cole will be joining me in Nagishot. If possible, the three of us hope to commute twice a month to Napep to foster old relationships and walk beside new believers.

Tianne, Elly and I - In Didinga

Thanks again for your many heartfelt prayers and the generous financial support that allows me to live amongst the Didinga people. It is such a privilege to have the opportunity to go forth and share the Good News. Thank you for your part in that journey!

Antonio Bandarez Sleeps Over

Antonio Bandarez, Sam Elliot (the, "Beef, it's what's for dinner!" man), some girl from the television show, Lost and Snoop Dogg spent the weekend filming their new movie, The Big Bang at my sister's neighbor's house. The crew parked their dressing trailers, food tents and movie production gear in my sister's field.

This all started a few weeks ago, when my sister spied a few long haired (this caught her attention, as there aren't too many masculine ponytails in these woods) LA movie producers standing in the horse pasture, chatting with her husband Fess. Later, when Fess approached Tamara with the movie proposition, he failed to remember which stars, besides Antonio, were in the film. However, he assured his day-dreaming wife that with or without a movie deal her personal favorite, Brad Pitt, would never step foot on his property.

On Saturday, Tamara and the oblivious kids ate lunch with the stars. Mom, Dad, Uncle Dwight and I got the guided tour from one of the very nice, long haired movie producers.

Backstage - In the front field

Dad and Mom checking out the movie stars' dressing room
(I think that Dad was looking for some clean jeans.)

Making myself at home -
walking into Antonio Bandarez's trailer!!!
If you look closely, you can see my shy Mom hiding from Antonio behind the trailer on the right.

"Now, where is Sandra Bullock?"

Who needs Hollywood, when you've got Rockford, Washington!

In Didinga, wearing my hand-me-down Rockford, Washington t-shirt. Thanks Grandma!

Walk with Mom

In the Movies

A couple of months before we evacuated, AIM's On Field Media team filmed this professional TIMO promotional video in the Didinga Hills.

If you have the bandwidth, you can see the video entitled, Think About It, here:

http://www.vimeo.com/6533645

Hope you like it!

"Surprise" Photos and Sad News from Didinga

The promised photos:

Surprise!!!

Making my Entrance

Lily and Auntie Kim

And some sad news from Didinga...
Hector, the Didinga man who had moved onto the Miller's compound and started the new church in the Hills, has reported that his brother-in-law was accused of being a rain-maker, was bound, beaten and thrown down a valley to his eventual death. As the rains have still not come to Eastern Africa or the Hills of Didinga, the community has taken their anger and fear of imminent starvation out on those they believe are responsible for rain production. In this case, the rainmakers.

Hector's brother-in-law leaves behind a wife and 6 kids. Hector and his wife have taken in 2 of the children.

Also, our dear friend Lino (learn more about Lino at the end of this blog) was stabbed last week three times while guarding the Miller's old compound and new Napep church location. The extent of his injuries are not clear at this time.

Nagishot's, Pastor William, has asked the authorities (well, this part of the story is a bit unclear to me, as I never once heard of or saw any "authorities" in Didinga...) to arrest the young boy who stabbed Lino. William has promised that if the boy is not arrested, he will remove Hector from Napep and will close the new church.

After talking to Tianne, my old Didinga hutmat, she pointed out what now seems to be obvious...
God's timing is perfect. The rains have not returned to Didinga. People are still angry, continuing to take out their frustrations on the innocent - Hector's brother-in-law and Lino.

Attempting to not be overly dramatic, I think we all knew that it was only through prayer that David, Dario and the girls were not harmed that infamous trial and evacuation day in June. However, it wasn't until Tianne said it that I finally realized the probable trouble our team would have stepped back into if we would have returned to the Hills.

After the evacuation, Deborah, our team leader's wife, must have reminded us fifty times a day that, "The Hills are in a spiritual balance. We must pray for them to turn from the dark and into the Light."

I think that she is right... Let us pray.

Here is bit my teammate Elly wrote about our good friend, Lino:
"Lino Chunny, of whom I've mentioned before as a reformed thief, had been attending our Sunday church. (Ironically, all the men who attended had stolen from us on at least one occasion.) Lino had been to church before when he was studying in Torit, but when David preached a sermon on the prodigal son, it finally began to penetrate Lino's heart. My team member Shawn did some follow up a few weeks later and asked Lino what he thought repentance meant. Lino replied, 'Let's say God is standing by that bush. Now I have turned like this, I am not looking at God but am facing and walking the other way. Repentance is turning around walking back to that bush where God is.'"

One Cold Didinga Evening
Janette, Dominique Roundface, Lino, Me, Tianne,
and Little Regina w/ Baby Thabon on Back

During the last weeks we were in Didinga, Lino wold ask us regularly to help him sing this children's song. It's a song he learned at the church in Nagishot this past Easter. It goes: 'I am happy today, so happy. In Jesus name I am happy, because He has taken away my sins today. I am happy, so happy today.' On another occasion, he told a teammate that he would go to bed each night praying that God would keep him from doing wrong and that God would grant him another day as good as the one he had just had. His happiness was so childlike, pure and contagious. The week before we left, this cross appeared on a newly made hut in Lino's compound. We never got to ask him about it but, my hutmate Kim took this photo as a reminder of what we left behind. One joyful soul for Christ."

Surprises

Surprise Pictures are coming soon...maybe tomorrow. I thought that I should share this news sooner, rather than later.

After three months of living out of a suitcase, I packed one last bag, boarded four more planes and after 26 hours of travel, landed in a little place called... Spokane, Washington.

Since mid-July, shortly after we learned that our team would not be returning to Sudan, I have been planning to make a short trip back to the States. In fact, at our TIMO debrief, AIM strongly encouraged each of us to take a few months of what they call, "Compassionate Leave". A time to travel home, rest and regroup before moving onto our next assignment.

Sorry I didn't mention it, but it was sort of meant to be a surprise...
Keeping it undercover, I only told my sister Stephanie (she was let into the loop as the logistics coordinator for the Surprise of the Century's, or that is what the crowds are calling it, isn't it?) and a few long distance friends, that were sworn to secrecy.

I arrived late Saturday night, spent the night and the rest of Sunday hiding out and, let's be honest, sleeping, at my sister's friend's house. Monday morning, my parents, sisters, nieces, aunts, uncles and cousins gathered at my sister's house for an African Skype date (or so they thought). My sister gathered them in the backyard, claiming we needed a Skype photo in case the African connection was rotten...never. Once Stephanie had everyone gathered, she asked, "Who's missing from the picture?".

At this point, I jumped out from behind the fence and yelled, "What about me?"

To say the least, my family was pretty surprised. Most stood there, mouths wide open, staring. My Dad was the first to regain consciousness, coming forward to hug me. Mom just kept saying, "This is the BEST surprise ever! I just can't believe it!" Pretty emotional.

My favorite part was seeing my little nieces and meeting my new nephew, Oliver Ellis Jones. He is the very definition of adorable. While I hugged my older nieces, Cassidy, Tanner and Josie, four year old Lily stepped back and stared at me in disbelief. It was a sweet, sweet moment when she ran up to me, wrapped her skinny arms tightly around my neck and declared, "I wanted to see you SOOOOO much. I missed you, Auntie Kim!"

I missed her too!

I plan to be home for a few months resting, praying about the future and processing the past. I hope to make my way back to Africa by the first of the year.

For now, I am looking forward to long and uninterrupted walks, apples, playing with my nieces and TWO brand new nephews, Fall, sewing with my Mom, seeing friends, Stumptown coffee, climbing mountains that won't get me kicked out of the country... You know, the usual.

Photos

A few months before our June evacuation, AIM's On Field Media team traveled to Didinga to photograph and film for their upcoming TIMO promotional movie (the video will be out soon).

Here are some of those AMAZING photos...

An OFMer filming at the Grinding Stone -
MurKuzhen, the cone-shaped mountain we were said to have stolen the rain from, is in the background.

My Homestay brother, a Didinga shepherd boy, Loekahtoe.

Beautiful Didinga from the 206

Definitely, one of my all time FAVORITES!

"You say what?"
Tianne bridging the communication gap (and world gap) at the Clinic.

Grinding corn with my Didinga friends.

Wide Leg Jean Thabon -
sporting a charm necklace from the witchdoctor.

Roasting Didinga's version of Corn Nuts

Our Didinga TIMO Team
Starting from the left: Bill, me, Deborah, Tianne (in background), Amber, Janette, Shawn (in background), Carly, Elly, Deborah, Danny and David (in background).

My mud hutmates: Tianne, Janette and Elly

One of my favorite Didinga pastimes...
holding babies at the Clinic.

A Didinga Cattle Raider
The scorpion scar on this man's arm signifies his status in the community as a fierce warrior.
Most Didinga men carried a handmade knife similar to the one attached to his arm.

SUDAN

Baboo - Tobacco
Tobacco was wrapped and smoked from a leaf when a pipe was not available.

"Ahvelenoo?" - Do you have a headache?
In a society that drinks beer, instead of water, this was one of our basic clinic questions.

Mother and Child

Waiting their turn at the Clinic