Sue in Africa

After leaving K.M.around the 5th, I traveled alone (bush taxi) five hours to a northern town, the trek marked by the sun’s setting beauty at day’s end in a rather stark and arid land dotted with goats, horses, donkey carts, and large trucks along the trade route to the north. Rural villages with names like Thiolom Fall, Wadone, Ndame Gairgey and Toube Warauk passed me by as I prepared to connect with yet another seasoned missionary couple in another set of profound circumstances. Somehow, this time with the K.’s felt very right and worth the effort as we connected in our understanding and commitment to wholistic mission, reaching the whole person. We had extensive conversations along this line that have been very helpful to me in defining my sense of call to Africa. A village chief received us warmly as we also spent an afternoon telling spiritual lessons alongside practical lessons - very similar to the V.’s in that they incorporated local believers into the process. The chief made a speech at the end strongly encouraging his people to pay attention to the message that was brought this day. He feels it is important to their future, and I agree! Stepping strongly into culture awareness again, I was profoundly impacted by the news that the K’s maid had just announced that she was unable to return to work - her older brothers had (without her knowledge) negotiated her marriage to a cousin, and she would be getting married in two days… his second wife. Profound cultural impact!

Wow. I have experienced so very much, so very deep. I pray that God will allow me to contain it in all it’s beauty and the strong value I have for “the other.”