Explaining an End: The Good

I have too many thoughts about my final days in Mundri.  After failing to get reappointed to go back to South Sudan next year, John and I saw this trip as our final chance to tie up loose ends and say goodbye to our friends in Mundri.  We were given two weeks to say goodbye to the paradoxical aspects of ministry life in Africa-- the work, the daily routine, the culture, and even the physical surroundings (which are an important aspect of life for me).  I had originally thought of journaling each day during my trip, attempting to express the feelings of transition, loss, and future hope.  However, each day was such a rollarcoaster of emotions, it seems best to simply explains things in a basic summary of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

THE GOOD

-Ministering with my husband:  During this trip, I got the unique taste of ministry life as a married woman.  This allowed me the chance to eat out in public with John, support him during town sporting events, and even have discussions with South Sudanese friends about married life.  It encourages me to know that I have a husband who also takes joy in cross-cultural work.  We make a good team, and I am excited for this new season of teamwork in the U.S.

-The thirst for knowledge:  The people of South Sudan crave exposure to the outside world.  There is a curiosity about life that leads people to ask incessant questions that I can't even answer.  As an educator, I am energized by this desire, so I run to people with open arms, full of books.  One morning I visited the secondary school, where teachers are in short supply.  With the pay being so small and the requirements for teaching falling outside most people's experiences, few people pursue teaching on the secondary level.  I taught a brief lesson to all of the young women at the school, reading from an American Girl book and then speaking on Philippians 4.  You could have heard a pin drop in the classroom (if it hadn't been for the rowdy boys in the classroom next door).  These girls listened more intently than any group I have EVER taught before.  You could see the desperation for knowledge seeping out of their young bodies, as they clung to every word I said.  It saddened me to ride away from that place, knowing that these ladies desire to learn while I have the resources and the knowledge to teach.  However, I must take heart that they have the will, and the Lord will bless each young woman in her educational pursuits.

-The Brothers and Sisters:  You can be away for nine months and the people of Mundri, South Sudan will still welcome you back into their community as family.  Of course, they may tease you for your long absence and joke about all of the cultural knowledge you've forgotten, but they will do it all in love.  It is a double-edged sword-- the people of South Sudan are so used to transience and movement from one area to the next, that they aren't all that disturbed by the exit of one person for a season.  They live with the change, adapt, and then welcome that person back if God wills them to return.  That is life for them, and it makes them much stronger than I will ever be.  However, I am trying to be strong like my Moru friends.  Even thought we are physically far away, we remain close in spirit, and I have the power of prayer, that "fellowship of the Holy Spirit," to intercede for my brothers and sisters.  Prayer is a daily reminder of how short the time will be until we all meet again.   

John with Pastor Lexon and his family