Yesterday we attended the memorial service for Elizabeth’s son, Sebit. It was comforting to see so many neighbors caring for her family. We shared that many people across the globe were in prayer for the family. One of our pastors shared from the bible and the local ECS pastor also shared some words of encouragement. We were able to pray together and acknowledge our trust in the Lord as the body of Christ surrounding our brother and sister in their time of need. Please continue to pray for this precious family.
Sunday School Sudan Style!
I’ve come to appreciate the vital role and impact Sunday school has in a child’s life, especially in light of one of the kids death this last week. This lively ministry has it’s own character and charm in Sudan. As all Sunday school’s around the globe, it is begging for volunteers!! We operate as a two man crew, already spreading thinly our staff and volunteers to cover the many necessities of church with Sabet, I and Donato cover the Sunday school every week. It has developed into a wonderful time of sharing and caring. Here’s a recap of our class today.
- Suzy prays over the children after teaching a lesson from Acts 9:32-43 “God Acts When People Pray”
Heartache for a Sweet Child by Suzy Kuj
He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.” Psalm 147:3
Today has been very difficult. One of my Sunday school children died, his name was Sebit and he was 7 years old, the son of one of our employees, Elizabeth. She cooks for the national staff and pastors every day. Sebit was tending to the goats, a typical chore for a boy his age, when he fell from the bridge that crosses the Tonj river. He died instantly when his head hit a rock.
The culture here is so hard to understand at times. Danger lurks everywhere and allowing your children out of your sight for a minute is quite challenging. Death seems to linger in the streets and in the air. At times it feels there is no escape; it’s so common place and accepted as part of life.
I spent the afternoon and evening with Elizabeth, weeping, praying and trying to make sense of it. Outside a group of men worked tirelessly digging the small grave and making a bamboo coffin. Inside the small dark mud hut at least 15 women crouched on the floor, some were silent, some lamented while grief hung in the air invading us all. Wails could be heard approaching as more people received news of the tragedy. Anguish wracking through the bodies of relatives as they drop to the dirt, writhing in sorrow. A silent prayer, “Holy Spirit help us to know what to say and what to pray. Nothing feels helpful and worthwhile in this moment.”
I witnessed the love and care of this small boy as neighbors and family bathed the body, wiping away the blood and evidence of death, clothing him in his Sunday school best and wrapping him in crisp white linens. All that remained was a shell for his spirit had departed. The Sebit that ran and laughed and took care of his young brother in Sunday school last week was no longer there. HE was gone. Gone to be with his Lord, for that I am confident and grateful; grateful for the opportunity every week to teach these precious little ones about Jesus.
“Goodbye Sebit, we love you and we will see you again one day in heaven sweet one.”
Ambulance Arrival by Suzy Kuj
The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and His ears are open to their prayers. 1 Peter 3:12
The much awaited ambulance arrived safely at Mombasa port in Kenya and Sabet plans to return to Sudan driving the ambulance! This process needs covering in prayer in several ways:
- Timely clearance from the port and safe delivery to Nairobi.
- Agum to be able to travel back to Sudan with missionaries returning from R & R.
- Sabet to be able to make the journey alone, clearing two borders without objections. He must clear Kenya within a month so as not to lose the customs bond.
- For Sabet’s safety, North Uganda and parts of Sudan are notorious for rebel groups and bandits.
- Pray Sabet could be back before the Tenwek Hospital Eye team arrive to do cataract surgeries in September.
We appreciate your love and prayers for us. We need them.
Agum’s Papers by Suzy Kuj
My dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. 1 Corinthians 15:58
Our daughter Agum is the biological neice to Sabet and has lived with us for 2 1/2 years. She is now seven (8 in October) and her mother died when she was just 1 1/2 years old.
We always knew we would have Agum as our daughter one day, years before we ever met her and our family prayed for her diligently. She is very much a part of our family and life.
After 3 years of field service our family is due for a 6 month home assignment in October for rest, reporting and fundraising. We were very much looking forward to bringing Agum with us for this time.
South Sudan is a new nation, and is lacking many things including policies and procedures for such things as adoption. Sabet chose to get a temporary custody order until systems are in place and we can travel to Juba and begin adoption proceedings, hopefully next year.
We were told that to take a child out of Africa we would need a court order stating we are the legal guardians. EASY right?? Not so…Sabet drove to Wau, the second largest city in South Sudan, about 8 times to get the papers we needed and have them translated from Arabic to English with a court stamp verifying the accuracy. He was told come back next week, tomorrow etc. and to no avail. This is 70 miles on a dirt road one way, taking over 3 hours.
After much endurance he finally got the paper and left with Agum for Nairobi to attend two appointments, one at the UK Consulate and the other at the US Embassy. Both of these embassies do not issue visa’s prior to three months before travel is requested. We felt confident we were to apply even though we had no idea what the outcome would be.
We felt earlier this year we were to postpone our home assignment until May 2012 but after much discussions we decided to try and get the visa’s for Agum. Sabet was granted his UK visa but Agum was denied. Apparently child trafficking is a major issue between Kenya and Europe. They asked Sabet to come with the death certificate for his sister and the birth certificate for Agum. Aaahhh….very frustrating as neither exist. Surely they know this is Africa, the bush areas don’t have such things? Well we are dealing with a Kenyan embassy where ‘such things’ are readily available. Should we try a different embassy? Khartoum is part of North Sudan which we are no longer part of and South Sudan doesn’t have any embassies yet!!
It’s not in vain, the paper we have will help us start adoption of Agum more easily. Now we just need to get the grandfather from Khartoum and the grandmother here in Tonj together with Sabet, myself and Agum to Juba and wait for a judge to hear our case!! We surely need a miracle and ask you all to be in prayer.
As a result of the British High Commission saying no, it made getting a US visa even harder and they also required more papers. So we are now faced with postponing the home assignment until next year. Please pray for us as we make these adjustments and continue to trust the Lord for our needs.