Last day in Sudan....sniff, sniff

Day 10

Wednesday was bittersweet.  The ministry had been tiring and I was a bit homesick, but we couldn't believe it was our last day out in the field with our nationals.

Today, Johnson and Robert wanted to take us to Moli, a community near Kiri.  So, our truck drove us a little farther than usual.  We were dropped off at the Kiri market, and we began our walk to Moli.  I noticed differences in the terrain and scenery from what we had been used to seeing in Kiri.  We walked past a small mountain with a beautiful rock face.  We also, for the first time, walked across a creek.

Typical African grass....taller than me in places!

 
We visited a family that lived in such a remote area.  It felt like we had walked forever to get there, and we weren't walking on roads.  These were steep, rocky, paths through fields of maize and grass.  It looked like lion territory to me, but our nationals assured us that there were no lions here anymore since the wars.

This family was SO sweet!  One young lady accepted Christ after the nationals presented the gospel story to everyone.  Then, there was another lady who was considering the idea of being born again.  Her only excuse was that she didn't have a Bible and would not be able to read the scriptures.  I noticed that one of the older ladies who had joined us had brought a Bahri Bible with her.  (She was a believer)  I suggested to them that they share their Bible and work together to study the scriptures.  We asked the older lady if she could agree to this, and she was happy to!  The younger lady was pleased, and she did accept Christ that day!  I had the privilege of praying with both ladies as they gave their lives to Jesus.  It. was. awesome.

We spent a good, long time at this home.  One of the older men had a condition where his muscles were weak and shaky.  He and Jeremy prayed together for healing.  We had a little photo shoot with everyone, and they were excited to see their images on the back of our digital camera.  Here are some moments we captured:

Me and Amanda with the ladies from Moli

Jeremy after praying with the older gentleman.  His wife is on the right.

Me and the two new sisters in Christ!

When it was time to leave, some of the older ladies quickly grabbed our backpacks, which were heavy with Bibles.  They insisted on carrying them for us back to the stream.

The ladies that carried our bags back to the creek. 

While hiking back to the Kiri Church, Jeremy, Johnson, Robert, and Amanda wanted to climb the mountain that we had seen earlier.  I opted out and stayed at a home at the bottom of the mountain while they climbed.  Here are some shots Jeremy got from the top:

Robert, Jeremy, and Johnson at the top.  It was SO hot, but Johnson walked all day in a dress shirt and tie.

Can you see me and Samuel waving from the bottom?

Another boy who was climbing the mountain that day.

It finally came time to say our goodbyes.  We had some gifts to give to our national partners.  They got backpacks and neck ties as well as some ministry tools, pens, and Kiri church received a set of English and Bahri Bibles.  It was definitely sad to part ways with our new friends.

That evening, First Baptist Kajo Keji held a celebration service that we all attended.  Several people from our mission team gave testimonies about what they had seen God do during the week.  Then, they had a special communion.  Jeremy and I both loved experiencing this ordinance in a different culture.  We sang many familiar songs and someone from our group presented the Bible College with several new books.  It was an amazing time of fellowship and again, bittersweet.

Our trip leader, Steve, sharing during the celebration service.

Thursday was our day to journey back to Uganda and have a little "fun day."  I'll blog about that tomorrow!