Yesterday, we received our first Tonj team email from Andrew (team leader), thus officially kicking off the preparations for our women's ministry team in southern Sudan. We are going to try to begin team trainings in the next couple of weeks, and I am thrilled to meet everyone. I cannot even begin to convey how excited I am to be this close to heading back to Sudan, and I know that the excitement will only grow in the coming months!
What I am especially thrilled about is the fact that I will be going to a different village at the start of my three months abroad. Please don't misunderstand, I am very excited to go back to Nasir in July, but it will be really neat to visit a completely different region, live among different tribes, and of course, fumble my way through the Dinka language! (In my time with our refugee family, I have learned that I am pretty much tone deaf, but it's very fun to try anyway!)
I still do not know all that much about Tonj, except that it is home to the Dinka Rek, Luo, and Bongo tribes. It is also the birthplace of Emmanuel Jal, and it lies in the Warrap State several hundred miles West of Nasir. I'm very excited to learn more about the village, the people, and the ministry work as the team trainings begin!!
I do want to say that the challenges are very different for me this year than they were last. The biggest thing is probably that my entire family is no longer terrified that I will disappear into the wilds of Africa never to be seen again, and that has tremendously eased the burdens I felt last year with so much fear, criticism, and tension. After having heard the stories and seen the pictures, they are pretty much on board with this summer and though they will always worry about me, it is not nearly the same magnitude as last year! This year it is much more about Blaise and I, and the length of time we will be apart. However, we both deeply believe that God laid all of this out and not a detail will be overlooked...He will provide us with the exact strength and comfort we need.
Another big difference is that, to some degree, I know what to expect. Last year I really had no clue what I was doing or walking into, but I had faith that God had a pretty good plan laid out...and He did. This year, I can at least anticipate what I absolutely need to pack and what I can leave behind, I know that jetlag is real and is really overwhelming, I know that I will mourn when I leave Sudan both times and again when I leave Kampala, and I know that once again God has a plan for my time there. So while I'm not going to be surprised when I start weeping at an airport overseas because I'm too tired to even drink my coffee, I know that I will be surprised by a million other things along this journey. I also feel like I am able to really free myself from expectations as far as my actual time in Sudan and Kampala is concerned, because really, aside from a handful of details (such as flight times and living at the Hendersons), nothing about this summer will be even remotely the same as last.
This Exact Point in My Life...
I cry. When I'm overwhelmed. Especially when I'm exhausted. And homesick. And Sudan-sick.
My point is, it happens every now and again, but I'm not a frequent crier. (Unless I was on a trip to Nasir, Sudan with you, and then you saw me cry a lot! =) )
Well, Friday night I was driving home from my refugee family's house. I had just delivered the news that the father got a job and starts work on Monday, and I had taken him to buy work clothes and boots that fit properly. It was a very good Friday! As I was driving, I was singing along with my favorite worship songs and praying aloud (I pray a lot when I drive...I don't know why, it just feels good). I pulled up to a stop sign while in the process of thanking God for blessing my refugee family with employment. I was also thanking Him for leading me to this exact point in my life, where I not only get to know these amazing people, but witness such successes in their lives. I became completely overwhelmed by the beauty of God's plan for me, by the crazy love I feel for this young refugee family, and by the amazingness of the adventure He is sending me on this summer.
I sat at that stop sign on a country road in the darkness of the night and cried.
It was one of those moments where everything that God has been doing just suddenly became so vivid and so poignant that I could do nothing more than bask in His grace and love for me. I was completely filled with joy, but I was also completely humbled by my smallness. I say this a lot, but a little more than a year ago I was completely oblivious to anything outside of my own little world (great song, by the way). I knew nothing of suffering in Sudan, of Lost Boys, of Burma, of refugees. Then God intervened and BAM...this has become my life! I did not plan it, but I would not change it for anything. I am at the exact point in my life where God intended me to be, and it is a humbling feeling to know that the Almighty has a plan for me.
My point is, it happens every now and again, but I'm not a frequent crier. (Unless I was on a trip to Nasir, Sudan with you, and then you saw me cry a lot! =) )
Well, Friday night I was driving home from my refugee family's house. I had just delivered the news that the father got a job and starts work on Monday, and I had taken him to buy work clothes and boots that fit properly. It was a very good Friday! As I was driving, I was singing along with my favorite worship songs and praying aloud (I pray a lot when I drive...I don't know why, it just feels good). I pulled up to a stop sign while in the process of thanking God for blessing my refugee family with employment. I was also thanking Him for leading me to this exact point in my life, where I not only get to know these amazing people, but witness such successes in their lives. I became completely overwhelmed by the beauty of God's plan for me, by the crazy love I feel for this young refugee family, and by the amazingness of the adventure He is sending me on this summer.
I sat at that stop sign on a country road in the darkness of the night and cried.
It was one of those moments where everything that God has been doing just suddenly became so vivid and so poignant that I could do nothing more than bask in His grace and love for me. I was completely filled with joy, but I was also completely humbled by my smallness. I say this a lot, but a little more than a year ago I was completely oblivious to anything outside of my own little world (great song, by the way). I knew nothing of suffering in Sudan, of Lost Boys, of Burma, of refugees. Then God intervened and BAM...this has become my life! I did not plan it, but I would not change it for anything. I am at the exact point in my life where God intended me to be, and it is a humbling feeling to know that the Almighty has a plan for me.
Update | Sudan Referendum
This week, the results of the referendum for independence were released, and it is official: Southern Sudan has voted to secede. The vote was not even close, with nearly 99% of the votes for secession!
Now comes the hard part.
Sudan has just under five months to work out the details of the split, as the official split date is set for July 9th. They have some very big decisions to make, such as what the new country will call itself, what currency the South will use, how oil revenues and national debt will be shared, and what citizenship will be offered (or not offered) to Southerners living in the North, among others.
In addition to the logistical details of the split, there are still fears of violence flaring and spreading. There have been some isolated acts of violence over the last several weeks (BBC News), but mostly people are ecstatic about the idea of complete freedom.
I am very excited that Blaise and I will be in Sudan at such an historical time in Sudan's history (we head into Sudan on the July 10th trip), and it is so amazing to me that God has brought all of this together at this particular point in time. We pray each day for peace and reconciliation among the Southern Sudanese, and that this will be God's time among the people and many will come to know Him.
We do ask for your continued prayers for Sudan, again, as they have some huge decisions to make and tensions are high. We ask that you continue to join us in praying that peace prevails, and that the leaders have courage and integrity in making said decisions. This is HUGE, and we need a HUGE God to help Sudan overcome its past!
Much love,
Cassandra
Now comes the hard part.
Sudan has just under five months to work out the details of the split, as the official split date is set for July 9th. They have some very big decisions to make, such as what the new country will call itself, what currency the South will use, how oil revenues and national debt will be shared, and what citizenship will be offered (or not offered) to Southerners living in the North, among others.
In addition to the logistical details of the split, there are still fears of violence flaring and spreading. There have been some isolated acts of violence over the last several weeks (BBC News), but mostly people are ecstatic about the idea of complete freedom.
I am very excited that Blaise and I will be in Sudan at such an historical time in Sudan's history (we head into Sudan on the July 10th trip), and it is so amazing to me that God has brought all of this together at this particular point in time. We pray each day for peace and reconciliation among the Southern Sudanese, and that this will be God's time among the people and many will come to know Him.
We do ask for your continued prayers for Sudan, again, as they have some huge decisions to make and tensions are high. We ask that you continue to join us in praying that peace prevails, and that the leaders have courage and integrity in making said decisions. This is HUGE, and we need a HUGE God to help Sudan overcome its past!
Much love,
Cassandra
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