Ministry and Family update

The rains here in Toposaland have come to an end. The women are beginning to harvest the sorghum. Thank you for praying for the rains to come to South Sudan. God surely blessed us with rain this year! My garden is finally producing fruits and vegetables for our family, too.
The women harvest the sorghum then dry it on the ground in the gardens. Once dried, they will carry the large bags on their head along with their baby on their back to the village. They will store the sorghum in large granaries. Some gardens are nearby, but most are several miles away. I have tried to help carry these bags on my head to help them out. I can only make it a few feet before yelling for HELP. Please keep the Toposa women in your prayers as they work very hard every day.

Sorghum growing in the garden

Shannon and Locek in the garden


Benton is home for the month from boarding school. It has been nice to have him back home with us. He has been a big help with the garden and with Walker. He finished his first term at RVA with an appendectomy. We received a call from the school while we were in Entebbe, Uganda that he was going to have surgery. God provided for me to make it to Nairobi that night and to Kijabe early the next morning for his surgery. Shannon flew back to Sudan with Davis and Walker on Thanksgiving Day. Benton is healing well and enjoying playing with his friends here at home.

Benton, Davis, Walker and friends posing for a Christmas card

The Christmas season is here and we have tried to make it "feel" like Christmas here in warm South Sudan. We baked cookies, wrapped presents, made crafts and listened to many Christmas songs. We have been teaching the book of Luke in our small groups and explaining to them the reason why we celebrate Christmas. On Christmas day, we will be having a service under a tree near our compound. Joseph, a new leader from a nearby village will be leading the service. We will be visiting other groups throughout the day to celebrate with them, also.

The boys decorating their Christmas cookies


We hope that you and your families have a merry Christmas. May God bless you.


Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2:11

August

We have had a busy month of August. A team from Calvary Baptist church came and assisted in sharing the story cloth in a nearby village. We modeled church in the evenings in the same village. The last day of sharing the Gospel, we had 9 men accept Christ as their Savior!

What a joy it was to have friends come and share in the ministry here with us! It is always hard work when we have teams come over but, it is so much fun. They seem to always be such an encouragement to us. The boys really enjoy all of the attention they get from the visitors, too.

Please be in prayer for our family as Benton starts boarding school this month. He will be attending a Christian school in Kenya. He is really excited about starting school and being able to play sports. We are sad to send him off to school but know that this is the best option for him.

Thanks for remembering our family and the Toposa people in your prayers.

8 days of prayer for Southern Sudan

On July 9th, Southern Sudan will celebrate its Independence Day. This is a history making event and one that can turn this country toward Christ. The Baptist Mission of Southern Sudan invites you to join us for 8 days of prayer, starting on July 3rd going through July 10th . We have attached a prayer guide for you to use anyway you would like. Also, there is a short video that can be used to promote this very important event. Copy and paste the below link into your browser. Please let us know if there is any way we can help you. Feel free to share this with anyone you think would be interesting in praying. Thank you in advance for praying!


http://www.4shared.com/file/al_yHxQU/mobile.html

Week of Prayer for the New Republic of Southern Sudan

“Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.” Jeremiah 29:12
1

Day One: July 3rd Wisdom for Leaders
Salva Kiir Mayardit is the current president of Southern Sudan. He is poised to lead the new country of the Republic of South Sudan. Omar al-Bashir is the current president of the Republic of Sudan. Pray for wisdom and discernment as these leaders prepare their people for this long awaited separation. Pray for guidance as both of these men make daily decisions that affect the lives of millions of people.
Ephesians 1: 17-18

Day Two: July 4th Peace and Stability
A referendum on independence for Southern Sudan was held in January 2011, with 98% of the electorate opting for secession. Southern Sudan is expected to become an independent country on 9 July, 2011. The country is expected to be called Republic of South Sudan. Forty years of Civil War has killed roughly 2 million people, while disease, famine, and displacement have affected 4 million others. The conflict officially ended with the signing of a peace agreement in January 2005. Pray for peace as the separation occurs and the South becomes an independent nation. Pray for the stability of both countries as they learn to take care of themselves.
Colossians 3:15

Day Three: July 5th
Light in the Darkness
Southern Sudan is known as a Christian nation. What that means to many Sudanese is that they are non-Muslims. When asked if they are followers of Christ, they do not understand. Animism and African traditional religion are the heart of most Sudanese. Pray for the existing churches that they will be a light in the darkness. Pray for the hearts of the Sudanese to be changed.
1 John 1:6-7

Day Four: July 6th Patience with Change
Many Southern Sudanese have an optimistic view of what independence means. They have high hopes for the new country, but many are clinging to the image of a stable and well-established nation to emerge immediately upon Independence Day. It is good that many have such a vision for South Sudan, but it is important that they hold to realistic expectations for the time it will take for these dreams to come to fruition. Pray for patience as it takes time for South Sudan to become a new nation. Pray for trust in God as their Sovereign Lord, and trust in His plans for this new country. Pray for perseverance to work to improve and build up South Sudan, even when it seems impossible.
Philippians 3:12-14

Day Five: July 7th Unity
The tribes of Southern Sudan have fought and killed one another for many years over cattle. The tribes of this nation must stop the violence in order to embrace peace among one another. Pray for unity among the tribes of Southern Sudan. Pray for unity among the churches in all of Sudan.
Psalm 133:1 1 Corinthians 1:10

Day Six: July 8th Pray as We Pray
On the day before independence, the Toposa Team is going to be visiting various villages and districts in the Kapoeta area to lead prayer groups. We will be encouraging people to pray, and we will be leading times of prayer throughout the day. We also hope to stop and pray for all the government officials in Naskal, as this is the town where the office of the commissioner of Kapoeta North County is located. Pray for open doors in villages, districts, and government offices for prayer and the gospel Pray that prayer leads people to trust in God more and more Pray that the Toposa Team would be good examples of servants of Christ as they pray and lead others in prayer
Philippians 4:6-7

Day Seven: July 9th *INDEPENDENCE DAY*
Celebrations Independence Day for Southern Sudan will mean celebration in many parts of the new country, and the Southern Sudanese have many reasons to rejoice today. However, please be in prayer that as the Southern Sudanese celebrate their new independence, they would rejoice safely and respectfully. As the people learn to rejoice in newfound freedom, please pray also that they would learn to rejoice in the Lord as their ultimate source of freedom. Pray for peaceful celebrations in the large cities of Southern Sudan. Pray that celebrations would be respectful and appropriate and that excessive drinking is not a problem. Pray that rejoicing in freedom as a country would lead many individuals to a place of rejoicing in freedom in the Lord.
1 Chronicles 16:35

Day Eight: July 10th Open Doors
While the Lord is not hindered by boundaries of any kind, please pray that He would provide opportunities through what is happening in Sudan this week for the gospel to be made known in both Sudan and in Southern Sudan. Pray that many would come to recognize the Lord’s sovereignty and provision, to rely on Him alone as the only sure foundation, and to give Him the glory that He deserves. Pray that the Lord would use this time in the history of Sudan to remove barriers to the gospel’s spread in both Sudan and in Southern Sudan. Pray that those in both nations would hear and be receptive to His Word. Pray that many from all Sudanese tribes and tongues would come to understand His glory.
Colossians 4:2-3 Romans 8:20-21

November news

The rains have endend here in our area of Sudan and the sorghum has been harvested. What a great rainy season we had! The Toposa were able to get two harvests of sorghum. We have enjoyed going to the gardens and working with our friends during this time.
We had a team from E3 partners come to help with Bible storying this last week. Many people heard the stories for the first time and several prayed to receive Christ. One group spent time with the children in the afternoons sharing the gospel. The kids loved this! The other group went into the villages meeting and praying with the women.
Benton and Davis have been raising chickens. We now have our first chick and he is sooooo cute! The boys have done a great job keeping the chickens fed and put up in the coop. We never knew chickens would be so much fun to raise.
We have recently found out that we will have two young ladies as journeymen starting in April 2011. We are so excited to finally have someone to help us with the work here in Toposaland. Please pray for Allysa and Rachel as they prepare for this new journey. What a blessing this is for our family!
The registration for the referendum in January has just started in our area. There have already been a large amount of people fleeing to Kenya. Our plans are to stay here until January 5th if all is quiet. The referendum vote is on January 9th. This is a HUGE deal in Sudan. This is the vote that would separate the North and the South. Please be in prayer for Sudan. Pray for peace and guidance in this situation.

Exciting times

God is doing great things here in Sudan. We are so excited to be part of the work that He is doing. In the last 2 months there have been 42 new baptized believers. The Toposa people are now eager to hear God's Word and are responding to Him.
We just had a team from Calvary in Beaumont, Texas out to help with Bible storying. They were GREAT! They went out with us in the mornings and again in at night sharing the Bible stories using the story cloth. The Toposa attended the sessions every day and on the last day were given the opportunity to respond to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. There were 31 who responded to God's call.
Shannon and I have been out several times this week to follow up with the new believers. One village was listening to the solar powered New Testament that we had given them when we arrived. What a great joy to see them listening to God's word!
Please continue to keep the Toposa people in your prayers.

New Update

Sorry for the delay in my update. Too funny that living over here in the bush can take up so much of my time. Cooking everything by scratch, doing laundry, homeschool and all of the visitors throughout the day seem to keep me quite busy.
We are doing great! It has really been warm these last few months. Temps have been over 110 degrees in the shade, making it very difficult to fall asleep at night. It rained a couple of weeks ago which really cooled us off. The garden could not survive the heat so we will start again once the rains come.
Shannon has found a new language tutor. He drives to Riwoto every morning for his lessons and then practices in the village in the afternoons. It has been funny to see the Toposa react to how well he is catching on. We are grateful to have finally found a dependable language helper. The boys are also doing well with the language. They are with the kids all afternoons so they are definitely being exposed. I am not doing as well. I can greet and say basic words but no sentences. Hopefully, once homeschool finishes up, I will be able to join Shannon with his lessons.
The boys now have 7 goats. They have been a lot of fun and a lot of trouble. We have had to talk Shannon out of killing them several times. They have eaten all of our flowers and all of our transplanted trees. We have now fenced around the surviving trees so hopefully they can grow. Benton keeps waiting for one of the goats to have a baby. He researched the gestation of a goat and was so disappointed to find out that it was five months. One is really looking pregnant, so maybe one day we will wake up to a new kid.
We have 4 of our best couple friends coming to visit us next week. We are so excited! We will be doing discipleship training and the girls and I will be meeting with the ladies and children. The Toposa ladies are excited to meet my friends. Please pray for safe travel from the US to Sudan for our friends.
I have a few pics of some things we have been doing. Davis playing in the river after the rain, Me and some girls wearing our Toposa skirts(they made me one), Toposa women in their ceremonial dress.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Pray that we will show Christ's love in all that we do. Pray that we will have positive attitudes in the tough times, knowing that our Father is always with us. The elections are coming up in April which could cause fighting again. Please pray that all will go smoothly during this time. Southern Sudan has not had fair elections since 1986.

Family Fun

We have enjoyed having Mom and Dad over to visit us. We picked them up in Nairobi on Nov. 22nd and have been busy catching up. Before arriving in Sudan we went to the Lake Nakuru Game Park in Kenya. The animals were amazing! We were able to see lions, rhinos, leopards, hippos, giraffes and many more wildlife. Walker had a blast seeing the baboons but his favorite was the hippo.
November 26th, we headed off to Sudan in our little puddle jumper. Mom and Dad, I mean Mom, loved the scenery. Dad slept the whole flight. After arriving in Kapoeta, Sudan it didn't take long for the crowd to gather around us as we were unloading all of our luggage. Mom and Dad could not believe all of the people.
We have all been working in the garden, fixing up the house, and enjoying just being together again. We haven't seen any snakes, yet, but have tricked my parents several times. The heat has not been too bad, thankfully the wind has been blowing so that we have a cool breeze at bedtime. The strange African sounds kept Dad up most of the night at first. He is now used to the singing and chanting.
Mom and I took several ladies to Kapoeta last Friday to shop. We arrived there and had to come back home due to a military march that had closed the town down. We will attempt the trip tomorrow! The ladies call her MaeMae, too.
Dad has been helping out with homeschool. It has been nice having a break in the mornings from that! Dad is going to be leading a Bible story this week in a new church plant. He has met many men and lots and lots of children. He has even braved tasting local berries that are found around the compound.
We are thankful for Shannon's good health report while in Nairobi. He has now gained 15lbs and has his energy back. Thank you for all of your prayers!
We want to thank our friends at Norris Ferry Church in Shreveport, La for all of the goodies and sweet notes you sent us. It has been fun having American goodies to enjoy.

We are now connected

After 2 long months, we finally have internet! We are so glad to be able to talk to friends and family again.
We had a group of ten friends from our home church, Calvary Baptist in Beaumont, TX come to visit us for a week. We had a great time laughing and catching up with everyone. We went out every morning in the villages and did Bible stories and at night we were back in villages or at the river sharing God's word. The best part of the trip was being able to sit and visit with good friends again and not having to play charades to let them know what we were saying. Shannon and I have been struggling with some issues the last few weeks and it was great to have friends to share and pray with over these issues.
Here are a few pictures of our recent visitors. Here is a list of prayer requests: home school for Benton, language learning, rain, isolation issues, God's wisdom on what or how to deal with the constant begging that is in front of us all day long. Thank you, we love and miss you all!
Picture one is of the Calvary team, Picture two is a 7 foot cobra killed in our back yard, and the last picture is of a 12 foot python killed by the locals near our compound.

New Security Guards

We have found our new security guards for the compound. Watch out Sudan here are the Lewis boys! Yes, Davis is holding a AK47 that belongs to a guard here at Mango camp. He makes nightly rounds with John, the night guard. John let him hold the gun for the picture. They are loving all of the weapons that are over here in Sudan.
We always have several kids wanting to ride in the truck with us. This is a picture of a typical ride home with all the kiddos in the back.
Walker has found a new hobby. He has been watching the workers break-up rock with their hammers and has decided he can do it too.

Our first visit

This weekend we had a great surprise. We were contacted earlier in the week by a couple, Philip and Linda Byler, who live in Torit, Sudan who serve with African Inland Mission. They found our blog site and contacted us. Torit is about a 4 hour drive away from Kapoeta. They were heading to a nearby town and wanted to know if we could meet up with them. They arrived Saturday around lunch and spent the day with us. It was fun getting to know them and sharing with them. God knew that I needed a smiling face and someone to talk to.
Benton was given the opportunity to slaughter his first goat on Saturday. The day guard, Marco, had given him a Toposa knife. The knife was too dull to cut the goat's throat. Benton was bummed but looks forward to his next goat slaughtering.
Walker continues to be everyones friend and never meets a stranger. In the picture, he is playing in the dirt with a few of his new friends.
No pictures of Davis this time, every time I had the camera out he was off playing, hunting or making something. They killed a bat this week with their slingshots. They were so proud.
Shannon is using chronological Bible stories on Sundays under a tree outside of the compound. We are having around 30 people attend each Sunday. So far, there have been 5 pray to receive Christ. A few of the Toposa have even led in re-telling the stories. This is very encouraging!
Language is going great for Shannon. I am having a harder time trying to juggle homeschooling, language and the other Mommy duties. Please pray for me to be disciplined and devoted to learning a new language.

Getting closer

We are about 2 weeks away from being in the house. We can't wait! Last night Benton and Davis spent the night at the compound. They stayed in the tent with a few of the men working on the house. They had a blast staying up late and being served their morning chai. We are blessed to have a group of christian men from Uganda working on the construction of the house. They have been so nice and caring to our family. They have joined us for church each Sunday. We will be sad to see them leave.
The boys have decided that they need an outdoor kitchen for themselves. Here is a picture of them constructing the mud walls. Sunto and Lomkwam are two of their friends that have been helping. They always have some new project going on. Walker is always watching or destroying what they make.
We were able to get away for two days to Loki, Kenya. It is about a 3 hour drive from Kapoeta. We stayed at a place that had air-conditioning. It was nice to have the temperature under 90 degrees. We even found a place that had milkshakes.
Thank you to all of our friends and family that have kept in touch with us. We have really appreciated your words of encouragement. Please continue to pray for us and the Toposa people. We love you all!

House Pics

Sorry that we have not updated lately, we have been without internet. So glad to finally be connected!! Here are the most recent pictures of the house here in Sudan and the meeting tukel. The workers say the house should be completed within three weeks. We are so ready to get out of the one room house we are in now.
Things are going well with us. We are getting a little homesick and missing friends and family. Thank you for keeping us in your prayers!

Pics of the house

Here are some pics of the foundation being started. Our house is seen in pieces in another picture. More pictures will follow soon.

Ground Breaking!

   Yeah, the trucks have arrived with the supplies to start on the house!  We heard a big truck enter the camp last night around 10pm. This morning the crew and supplies headed to our compound and have been busy.

Language

   We are now learning the Toposa language. We have a language helper that comes everyday for about three hours. We are doing pretty well with the basic words but not so well with conversations. The boys are picking up the language, too.  Walker loves to say "mata", which is hello, to everyone he sees. Everyone laughs at him and word has made it around town that he can speak Toposa. He loves the attention!

Living in Sudan

   Okay, everyone has been asking where we are living and when will get into our house. We are posting pictures of where we are living now, the land where our house will be and a "little friend" that came to visit us the other night.

   We are living at Mango camp which is about 8 kilometers from where we will be living.  We have electricity, running water, internet and great food.  The staff at the camp is wonderful and have made us feel at home.  In the picture of the house we are staying in you can see Walker swimming in a tub that the workers found for him to play in.

   You can see the water tower on the land and the clearing that has been done. The house should be well on its way to Sudan. The papers were cleared and the trucks left Nairobi on Wed.  We can't wait!!!  Once the house and materials arrive on site, the company says it will take approximately 8 weeks to complete.

   The last picture was taken approximately 20 minutes prior to this blog. It is a puff adder (zebra snake) hanging out at Mango camp.  The armed security guard killed him with a rock.  Now, the kids understand the importance of carrying a flashlight at all times. If anyone knows where you can get a mongoose, we would love to buy one!

   Many answers to prayer: Walker has an amazing nanny, we have found language tutors and begin on Monday, the house is on its way, homeschool is going well and God has provided friends for all of us! What an amazing God we serve!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

   By the way, GEAUX TIGERS!

We are home!!

   We have arrived in Sudan! It has sure been a long journey and an exciting one since we have been here. It is very dry and hot, hot, hot. I would let you know the exact temp but there is no weather man here to let us know.  The kids have been absolutely amazed since we got off the plane. They may not speak Toposa but they are having no trouble  making friends. We have all been rubbed on and laughed at more than you can imagine. Walker is the laugh of the town. They aren't sure if he is a girl or a boy and his pacifier cracks them up.

   Today we met with the head chief of the area we will be living.  He has been so nice to us and he even remembered our names.  He told us that he is glad that our family will be living in the village. We can't wait to move out there!!!

   The house situation is  looking great. We got the okay on Friday and the company said that it should be on the way within days. Once it makes it up to Sudan it will take about 8 weeks to assemble. We can't wait!!! 

   The pictures are from the visit with the chief. The  kids were playing while we were talking. Benton fell in love with this sweet little boy.  Davis and Walker were busy playing and dancing around with the kids.

   Tomorrow morning we will attend a church in a nearby village that was started last October when were last here. It has been averaging 70 attenders. 

   Happy Father's Day to everyone!  We love you all.

   

Heading to Sudan

   We are leaving tomorrow morning for Sudan! We are excited to finally get to Toposaland. The boys have been counting down the days for weeks. We leave at 6:30am and should get there around noon. We have the plane to ourselves with luggage, appliances and other junk we have collected along the way. I will post a picture of us on the plane, it should be funny. 

   Thank you for all your prayers. We love and miss everyone.

Adventure

   We went to Lake Nakuru National Park for a quick getaway earlier this week.  We had a blast seeing the animals and staying at the Lodge. One the day we arrived, we spotted a pride of lions, a leopard, rhinos, water buffalo, gazelle, flamingos, zebra, baboons, wart hogs, monkeys, water bucks and much more.  The boys had the best time seeing all of Gods creation. Our driver, John was tickled at how much the boys enjoyed themselves. The Lodge where stayed had an amazing view.  We could see all kinds of animals from our back porch. We will definitely visit this lodge in the years to come! Hope you enjoy a few of our favorite pics from the trip.