Friday morning began again with a great breakfast at the guesthouse. About mid morning, the Commissioner's driver appeared driving the Commissioner's personal vehicle. Today was the day to see our new property the elders of Abiriu have so generously offered to us. We later learned that the Commissioner had reserved all land in his own area of Cueibet to be given only to Catholics. Abiriu is situated about 20 Kms back toward Rumbek and is where our missionary, Silas, lives. As we drove we got the overwhelming sense that God's favor was on us and that we were about to be greatly challenged to further action in this part of Sudan.
I need to add as a footnote that I did not expect to find that all the places we had planned to explore were all located within a twenty Kilometer radius. It was becoming obvious to us that there is something special about this particular area.
Our first stop was to meet the elders of Abiriu. They included the Chief, the elder in charge of justice, an administrator for the Commissioner and several other dignitaries. Upon meeting them, we who could fit, got into the Land-cruiser and proceeded to the lands. The first one was a bit out of town and off the main road. A new road was already under construction going right past the land. The land they gave us there is about a 1/4 mile along the road. From there, they say the land is ours until we reach another home stead... We asked how far that is and they said it is one or two or three kilometers... so maybe two miles in.. We asked what kind of animals are there... We were told we can find Hyena, leopard, antelope and lots of snakes and scorpions... We asked about elephant and lion... No lion, but there are elephants, but we probably wont see them, just their tracks...
Then they took us to another land. This one is situated on the edge of Abiriu village on the main road... (By the way, that road goes all the way from South Africa to Nigeria and is called the Great African Highway). This land has about 200 yards or meters of road frontage. From there it goes back about 1/2 mile before it reaches another homestead. When the Chief began to speak, he said that now that we (the guests) have actually shown up, he would now add another 100 meters of road frontage to the deal. So between the two lands, we have been offered about 5 square kilometers of land... This says two things to me... One, it says how much land is available in Southern Sudan. Two is says how much these people are desperate for education.
The chief said that he had had offers to sell the land to Arabs from Northern Sudan and had refused them, because these people do not want Islam in their villages. They want Christianity... They want Christian Education. They see that as the best way forward for their people. They also said they had given land to other Christians and had seen them come and then go... Their hope is that I would not do the same thing.
I spoke of the honor it was to be the recipient of such generosity. I also said I don't like people who promise and then do not do as promised. So, I gave them no promise. I said I would go back to Nairobi and pray. Then I would communicate with them... I asked them to be patient with me as I am heavily involved in Kings Kids Village and have ongoing responsibilities there...
On the way back to Cueibet, we stopped to see the home and mother of a dear brother in the Lord from that area who is studying in Nairobi and attending Nairobi Lighthouse Church. Peter Malou attached himself to me about a year ago one Sunday morning. He began to greet me and want to know me more. One thing he kept saying is, "You can make it up in my home area." I didn't know what that meant, until we made the trip up to Cueibet. I now fully understand that there are many who would never be able to deal with the environment of Southern Sudan.
It was a great joy to meet Peter's mom, brother, uncle and nephew, among other relatives and neighbors. We were even able to make a small video clip of his mom greeting him and challenging him to do well in his studies. I then had the privilege of showing Peter that video clip this last Sunday, 14th Feb. He cried tears of joy and hugged me... That was worth the whole trip just in itself...
Later that evening, the Commissioner came to see us at the Guesthouse and we reported to him that we had seen the land. Then we prepared to leave on Saturday. One thing that we had on our minds was to try as much to insure that we would be in Juba on Tuesday morning to meet the flight going to Kenya, since that was the only MAF flight that week. We knew it would take another day and a half if all worked out smoothly, to get back to Juba... That meant, if it didn't work out smoothly, we could be stuck in Southern Sudan for another week... So, we planned to leave for Rumbek on Saturday, catch the Sunday morning bus to Juba and stay in Juba two nights awaiting the flight... We also wanted to insure that Janet had time in Rumbek on Saturday to get her pass renewed which had expired a month earlier. After another great meal, we emailed and then prepared for the first day of our trip home... That night it was a bit cooler and we both looked forward to a good night's sleep...
I need to add as a footnote that I did not expect to find that all the places we had planned to explore were all located within a twenty Kilometer radius. It was becoming obvious to us that there is something special about this particular area.
Then they took us to another land. This one is situated on the edge of Abiriu village on the main road... (By the way, that road goes all the way from South Africa to Nigeria and is called the Great African Highway). This land has about 200 yards or meters of road frontage. From there it goes back about 1/2 mile before it reaches another homestead. When the Chief began to speak, he said that now that we (the guests) have actually shown up, he would now add another 100 meters of road frontage to the deal. So between the two lands, we have been offered about 5 square kilometers of land... This says two things to me... One, it says how much land is available in Southern Sudan. Two is says how much these people are desperate for education.
The chief said that he had had offers to sell the land to Arabs from Northern Sudan and had refused them, because these people do not want Islam in their villages. They want Christianity... They want Christian Education. They see that as the best way forward for their people. They also said they had given land to other Christians and had seen them come and then go... Their hope is that I would not do the same thing.
I spoke of the honor it was to be the recipient of such generosity. I also said I don't like people who promise and then do not do as promised. So, I gave them no promise. I said I would go back to Nairobi and pray. Then I would communicate with them... I asked them to be patient with me as I am heavily involved in Kings Kids Village and have ongoing responsibilities there...
On the way back to Cueibet, we stopped to see the home and mother of a dear brother in the Lord from that area who is studying in Nairobi and attending Nairobi Lighthouse Church. Peter Malou attached himself to me about a year ago one Sunday morning. He began to greet me and want to know me more. One thing he kept saying is, "You can make it up in my home area." I didn't know what that meant, until we made the trip up to Cueibet. I now fully understand that there are many who would never be able to deal with the environment of Southern Sudan.
It was a great joy to meet Peter's mom, brother, uncle and nephew, among other relatives and neighbors. We were even able to make a small video clip of his mom greeting him and challenging him to do well in his studies. I then had the privilege of showing Peter that video clip this last Sunday, 14th Feb. He cried tears of joy and hugged me... That was worth the whole trip just in itself...
Later that evening, the Commissioner came to see us at the Guesthouse and we reported to him that we had seen the land. Then we prepared to leave on Saturday. One thing that we had on our minds was to try as much to insure that we would be in Juba on Tuesday morning to meet the flight going to Kenya, since that was the only MAF flight that week. We knew it would take another day and a half if all worked out smoothly, to get back to Juba... That meant, if it didn't work out smoothly, we could be stuck in Southern Sudan for another week... So, we planned to leave for Rumbek on Saturday, catch the Sunday morning bus to Juba and stay in Juba two nights awaiting the flight... We also wanted to insure that Janet had time in Rumbek on Saturday to get her pass renewed which had expired a month earlier. After another great meal, we emailed and then prepared for the first day of our trip home... That night it was a bit cooler and we both looked forward to a good night's sleep...
I am so happy to visit and post comment here. I feel great when I see those pictures from Gok land, which include Abiriu, Cueibet and the rest of our land. God bless you.
ReplyDelete