Just a typical day yesterday here with the Bylers in Sudan. You know, getting up, having a good long quite time reading and praying, preparing to go to the market with Linda and three hours later actually going (keep reading to here why), coming back for lunch, then going visiting to see friends (it's rude to have visitors come and not bring them by to say hello), then coming back to the house, having dinner while Ryan hunted the pesky monkeys with a sling shot. You know, just the usual... :)
Ah, life is so different here. Relationships and people are so much more of a priority than appointments or agendas. For instance, as mentioned above, Linda and I prepared to go to the market yesterday morning, desiring to go while it was still relatively cool. As we got ready to go, 2 ladies from their church stopped by and Linda enthusiastically greeted them and welcomed them in. They chatted for a few minutes and then asked if they could exchange some Sudanese pounds for American dollars so they could travel back to their home in Kenya (the banks here apparently don't have any money currently). So Linda said yes, but the ladies didn't actually have the money with them, so they went to get it and would be "right back". 45 minutes later, they still weren't back so we decided to head off to the market. However, just at that point, Pastor Johnson from their church stopped by and of course was just as enthusiastically greeted and invited him. He is a fascinating man, passionate about Jesus, and was one of the few local people I could actually understand and have a conversation with. His english was quite good. So he stayed for a while and then after he left, we finally headed out to the market- at 11:15- not quite the "cool of the morning" we'd planned on! But such is life here- time is much more irrelavent, calling ahead of time before visiting is unheard of, and welcoming someone in for however long they intend to stay (minutes, hours or even days) is just the norm. It's definitely been convicting for me as I see how much more people are valued over projects (a perspective that I'd been trying to adopt even before coming to Africa..."people before projects" has been my mantra).
Today we leave for the weekend to travel anywhere betweeen 3-5 hrs on very bumpy pot-holed roads to a small village about 40 miles from here (yes, do the math with the time of travel and the mileage- it's gonna be an adventurous drive for sure!). We'll be visiting 2 missionaries who are living with the local tribe in their village. The purpose is for encouragement of them and also of course interaction with the people in that village. Both Linda and I have sensed a bit of spiritual warfare concerning this trip, so when you read this post, please pray for us and our travels. We'll be back home Monday evening and if I have computer access, I'll update ya'll on our journeys. No worries if I don't actually update, though, as internet access is not convenient and handy.
Currently, as a bit of the novelty of actually being in Africa has worn off, I find that I am a bit more tired than I realized. Pray for strength and focus- the enemy is not invited to have any part of this day. May the joy of the Lord be our strength!
Thanks again for the encouraging words and continued prayer!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Checklists...
So I took my first private chartered jet ride today..ok, maybe it wasnt' exactly it a jet, but it was just ryan and i and the pilot. the plane was a single engine plane with a total of 6 seats, including the pilots. our luggage was stored directly behind us (no need to worry about our luggage getting misplaced on this flight!), and we had to wear headphones due to the noise. it was pretty sweet, and only a bit unnerving for about 3 minutes during turbulence. ryan was kind enough to laugh at me...ok, well maybe just grin, but he didn't mind the turbulence at all.
prior to take off, the pilot said he was going to pray. he said he has to actually, it's on his checklist! and it actually is! (it's a mission organization called Mission Aviation Fellowship that charters the flights). I thought to myself, if prayer is on the checklist for a mere 2 hr flight, how much more should prayer be on our 'checklists' prior to a 24 hr day filled with all sorts of unknowns- stressors, commutes to work, interactions with family, strangers, friends, co-workers, etc, etc and all the while having an enemy who wants to sneak in and thwart the good plans God has for us on that day. Pretty sure I'm going to continue putting prayer on the top of my checklist after this little reminder! May I not move a step until I've sought the Lord's guidance and protection!
In other news, we are now in Sudan, landing on a dirt runway, having to fly low over it first to clear off the people and the cattle. no joke. we then went into the town to see a few things; gotta say, not a fan of the downtown. there was garbage and waste everywhere and it was hard for me to enjoy the trip due to all the waste and the not so pleasant aromas. we visited the 'hospital', again not impressive. very primitive, saw no workers or nurses, just people lying on beds. medicine is very scarce here so sometimes families have to actually go out and buy the medicine and bring it back to be administered. crazy.
Good news that we just found out tonight: 47 members of the LRA (Lord's resistance army) -who was responsible for the brutalization of the northern Ugandan people and who had abducted the precious children we had visited in Uganda - they just surrendered stating they felt no purpose or direction for their work anymore. Praise Jesus! Also, 40 children who had been abducted were released back home to their families! Tonight those precious babies will be back in the arms of their parents! Praise Jesus!
Pray for the continued disillusionment of the LRA and the return of ALL the precious children!
Love you guys! thanks for continuing to pray!
don't know when i'll update next. in two days we're going to a remote village for the weekend and i definitely won't have computer access then. we'll see. bye for now!
prior to take off, the pilot said he was going to pray. he said he has to actually, it's on his checklist! and it actually is! (it's a mission organization called Mission Aviation Fellowship that charters the flights). I thought to myself, if prayer is on the checklist for a mere 2 hr flight, how much more should prayer be on our 'checklists' prior to a 24 hr day filled with all sorts of unknowns- stressors, commutes to work, interactions with family, strangers, friends, co-workers, etc, etc and all the while having an enemy who wants to sneak in and thwart the good plans God has for us on that day. Pretty sure I'm going to continue putting prayer on the top of my checklist after this little reminder! May I not move a step until I've sought the Lord's guidance and protection!
In other news, we are now in Sudan, landing on a dirt runway, having to fly low over it first to clear off the people and the cattle. no joke. we then went into the town to see a few things; gotta say, not a fan of the downtown. there was garbage and waste everywhere and it was hard for me to enjoy the trip due to all the waste and the not so pleasant aromas. we visited the 'hospital', again not impressive. very primitive, saw no workers or nurses, just people lying on beds. medicine is very scarce here so sometimes families have to actually go out and buy the medicine and bring it back to be administered. crazy.
Good news that we just found out tonight: 47 members of the LRA (Lord's resistance army) -who was responsible for the brutalization of the northern Ugandan people and who had abducted the precious children we had visited in Uganda - they just surrendered stating they felt no purpose or direction for their work anymore. Praise Jesus! Also, 40 children who had been abducted were released back home to their families! Tonight those precious babies will be back in the arms of their parents! Praise Jesus!
Pray for the continued disillusionment of the LRA and the return of ALL the precious children!
Love you guys! thanks for continuing to pray!
don't know when i'll update next. in two days we're going to a remote village for the weekend and i definitely won't have computer access then. we'll see. bye for now!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Pictures!!!
Here are some pictures for ya'll! Had a hard time uploading them in the right order, so i'll explain each picture hopefully right to left, top to bottom.
1-This was my bedroom last night. It was quite stellar.
2- these are the precious children who live in the safe house with Rose at the Village of Hope. Man, have they stolen my heart! I pray I see them again (do i hear another trip next year????)
3- this is Rose talking to the kids at one of the camps we visited. she just commands respect from all of the childre, and continues to encourage them, empower them, and just let them know they are loved and special
2- these are the precious children who live in the safe house with Rose at the Village of Hope. Man, have they stolen my heart! I pray I see them again (do i hear another trip next year????)
3- this is Rose talking to the kids at one of the camps we visited. she just commands respect from all of the childre, and continues to encourage them, empower them, and just let them know they are loved and special
4- The dances they did for us at the camps. So fun-great choreography. ha, ha.
5-Some of the beautful children we met at the first refugee camp we visited. this little girl is Massi. She had just been standing about 4 feet from me, just looking at me with these sad eyes. I just kept smiling at her and then I took her picture. She seemed curious with this so I motioned for her to come over to me and she did, kind of shy. i showed her her image on my camera and she broke out ino this huge smile and after that stood beside me for quite some time and just kept smiling at me.
6-this is Ryan and I standing in the bean field at the Village of Hope (can't you tell they are beans? )
One person....
I can never again say that I am only one person and therefore can not really make that much of a difference. Because now, I've seen the incredible difference one women, Rose, has made in the lives of hundreds of children.
Rose is, well, Rose if a lot of things actually. she bought a home in May of last year with her husband and never even lived in the house with just she and her husband because as soon as the house was built, 19 kids moved in too! All of them orphans, all of them previously abducted and none of them with any hope or future. Rose has counseled them, loved them, provided for them, and all out of her very own home. This home is referred to as "the safe house" for the Village of Hope. However, there are 450 other orphans who are living in scattered villages and have experienced similar atrocities and losses. These orphans used to live in refugee camps around Gulu, but the government is slowly burning all of the huts down in order to say "hey, the war is over, we don't need these anymore", but in reality, they were home to hundreds of orphans who really don't have a place back in their native villages. although they sleep at their respective villages at night, every day they travel back to the camps to gather together, and to sing and dance as a way of feeling a sense of belonging and also helping to forget what has happened to them for a time.
Rose visits one of the six camps EVERY evening and she knows all 450 children BY NAME. When asked how many of these kids stories she knows, she simply and quietly said "all of them". Yes, ALL of them she has personally counseled over the past 3-4 years. she continues to love them, encourage them, and empower them by reminding them of the importance of staying in school, getting an education, etc.
As we drove into one of the camps last night, you could see how much respect the kids had for her. they immediately layed down a tarp for all of them to sit on, set up chairs for us and Rose to sit on, and just listened to everything Rose had to tell them. It was an amazing site to see.
I am completely humbled by Rose. She is the picture of selfless love, giving of herself, her home, her everything for the sake of caring for these orphans.
I do believe I've met the modern day Mother Theresa.
I hope this brief description of her challenges you as it has me. Imagine if all of us reading this post loved like that....just imagine.
Rose is, well, Rose if a lot of things actually. she bought a home in May of last year with her husband and never even lived in the house with just she and her husband because as soon as the house was built, 19 kids moved in too! All of them orphans, all of them previously abducted and none of them with any hope or future. Rose has counseled them, loved them, provided for them, and all out of her very own home. This home is referred to as "the safe house" for the Village of Hope. However, there are 450 other orphans who are living in scattered villages and have experienced similar atrocities and losses. These orphans used to live in refugee camps around Gulu, but the government is slowly burning all of the huts down in order to say "hey, the war is over, we don't need these anymore", but in reality, they were home to hundreds of orphans who really don't have a place back in their native villages. although they sleep at their respective villages at night, every day they travel back to the camps to gather together, and to sing and dance as a way of feeling a sense of belonging and also helping to forget what has happened to them for a time.
Rose visits one of the six camps EVERY evening and she knows all 450 children BY NAME. When asked how many of these kids stories she knows, she simply and quietly said "all of them". Yes, ALL of them she has personally counseled over the past 3-4 years. she continues to love them, encourage them, and empower them by reminding them of the importance of staying in school, getting an education, etc.
As we drove into one of the camps last night, you could see how much respect the kids had for her. they immediately layed down a tarp for all of them to sit on, set up chairs for us and Rose to sit on, and just listened to everything Rose had to tell them. It was an amazing site to see.
I am completely humbled by Rose. She is the picture of selfless love, giving of herself, her home, her everything for the sake of caring for these orphans.
I do believe I've met the modern day Mother Theresa.
I hope this brief description of her challenges you as it has me. Imagine if all of us reading this post loved like that....just imagine.
Joy
From Sunday (our second full day in Africa):
Today we went to a church service here and it was just fabulous! the worship was so joyful and expressive, so freeing as well. the service was in english (which is actually the national language of Uganda), and there was an element of westernization (power point of all things!), but the music worship was definitely African style. I loved it! I kept thinking of the joy and smiles I saw on the faces of those worshiping around me, and i wondered if we are possibly missing out a bit in America. Here, there is a new depth and meaning to sing about how Christ has saved us, and there is just a sense of genuine gratitude and praise of our King that is based just on who He is and not the circumstances around them. they are praising Him simply because He is good and is worthy of praise. I was blessed to be a part of it.
Today we went to a church service here and it was just fabulous! the worship was so joyful and expressive, so freeing as well. the service was in english (which is actually the national language of Uganda), and there was an element of westernization (power point of all things!), but the music worship was definitely African style. I loved it! I kept thinking of the joy and smiles I saw on the faces of those worshiping around me, and i wondered if we are possibly missing out a bit in America. Here, there is a new depth and meaning to sing about how Christ has saved us, and there is just a sense of genuine gratitude and praise of our King that is based just on who He is and not the circumstances around them. they are praising Him simply because He is good and is worthy of praise. I was blessed to be a part of it.
Advantages
The advantage of playing soccer in a developing area in Africa? you don't have to worry about breaking any windows in a mud hut! :)
Today, we traveled from Gulu, Uganda (a town) where we'd been staying for the past three days to an area called "the land" by the Village of Hope. It's an area they are developing and building homes and schools with the intent of then transporting some of the 450 orphans here when it's all completed. The children will then have a safe place to live, food, shelter and will receive an education. It's a BEAUTIFUL place! I literally will be sleeping in a mud hut with a thatched roof tonight! And actually, they are much nicer than I had thought. The couple that lives here and works here have their own hut with a large bed partitioned off for their "bedroom", a "living room" area with a bamboo rug and bamboo chairs (if only i could fit one in my suitcase!), a clock on the wall, pictures, etc. It's really quite homey, actually.
The people here are fantastic as well! Sooooooooooo welcoming and friendly! We took a very bumpy 1/2 hr truck ride to a place where the workers get loads of sand to make cement and all along the way, the people we passed would smile and wave and the kids in the little villages would run to the road when they heard the truck just to wave and say "bye" as we passed.
Tomorrow morning, we'll drive back to Kampala to stay in the little cottage guest house we stayed in when we first arrived in Africa. and then on Thursday we'll fly to Sudan.
thank you all for your continued prayers. i'm going to try and write a few posts from excerpts from my journal the past few days, just to try and get you up to date on the days i couldn't blog.
love you all!
tanya
Today, we traveled from Gulu, Uganda (a town) where we'd been staying for the past three days to an area called "the land" by the Village of Hope. It's an area they are developing and building homes and schools with the intent of then transporting some of the 450 orphans here when it's all completed. The children will then have a safe place to live, food, shelter and will receive an education. It's a BEAUTIFUL place! I literally will be sleeping in a mud hut with a thatched roof tonight! And actually, they are much nicer than I had thought. The couple that lives here and works here have their own hut with a large bed partitioned off for their "bedroom", a "living room" area with a bamboo rug and bamboo chairs (if only i could fit one in my suitcase!), a clock on the wall, pictures, etc. It's really quite homey, actually.
The people here are fantastic as well! Sooooooooooo welcoming and friendly! We took a very bumpy 1/2 hr truck ride to a place where the workers get loads of sand to make cement and all along the way, the people we passed would smile and wave and the kids in the little villages would run to the road when they heard the truck just to wave and say "bye" as we passed.
Tomorrow morning, we'll drive back to Kampala to stay in the little cottage guest house we stayed in when we first arrived in Africa. and then on Thursday we'll fly to Sudan.
thank you all for your continued prayers. i'm going to try and write a few posts from excerpts from my journal the past few days, just to try and get you up to date on the days i couldn't blog.
love you all!
tanya
Monday, November 2, 2009
Speedbumps, joy and provision
Greetings All!
Today is day our 3rd full day here in Uganda and so far, it has been incredible. There's so much to tell, so much to describe that I'd never be able to do it justice in the 23 minutes I have left to use the Internet. I'm currently in the "Internet cafe" in the "hotel" we're staying in...and even the keyboard is a bit different so just excuse any typos that may occur. And we have to pay for the use of it, so this will be shorter than I'd like it to be.
Our flight here went smoothly, we were met at the airport in Entebbe, Uganda by our taxi driver, Lawrence. We knew it was him due to the sign he was holding with our names on it. Never had that experience before!
We stayed overnight in a cute little guest house for AIM...sort of like a little cottage. We only had a few hours sleep and then we were off on a 5 1/2 hr interesting bus trip to Gulu. Interesting due to the 15-20 minutes of speed bumps placed every 30 feet or so on the road for a section of the trip. Why you ask? Well, we certainly had that question as well. Turns out they were placed intentionally when the road was built to preserve the road until the inspectors inspected the road and deemed it well done so the workers could get paid. Now they are slowly removing all the bumps....but a nice long stretch still remains. Not so much looking forward to that on the way home!
We arrived in Gulu where we were taken the safe house for the Village of Hope. We were greeted by 19 beautiful children who sang and danced for us for a good 1/2 hr or so when we arrived. The joy on their faces was incredible! And to think these are all orphans who had been previously abducted and forced to do horrendous unspeakable things. The joy they had definitely was the joy of the Lord as it has transformed them in amazing ways.
I wish i could tell you more, but the time is short. We've experienced so much serving (on our behalf), so much welcoming by everyone we've met, we feel like we're doing all the receiving and barely any serving! The children have captured my heart like no other. Can't wait to show you pictures! I'll upload them next week when we are in Sudan if I can. For now, know that we are safe, God has provided abundantly more than we could have imagined, and we are learning a ton!
Thanks for you prayers and we continued to seek your intercession on our behalf, especially for energy, strength and focus. (apparently there's a dance club (or at least it seems like it) just next door which plays music till the wee hours of the morning, and there's a rooster that likes to wake up in the alley right outside my window (no alarm clock needed here!) so sleep is in short supply). But God has been so good- I've had much more energy and focus than I should have for the wee bit of sleep I've gotten, and so a big YAY GOD for that!
Love you all!
Tanya
Today is day our 3rd full day here in Uganda and so far, it has been incredible. There's so much to tell, so much to describe that I'd never be able to do it justice in the 23 minutes I have left to use the Internet. I'm currently in the "Internet cafe" in the "hotel" we're staying in...and even the keyboard is a bit different so just excuse any typos that may occur. And we have to pay for the use of it, so this will be shorter than I'd like it to be.
Our flight here went smoothly, we were met at the airport in Entebbe, Uganda by our taxi driver, Lawrence. We knew it was him due to the sign he was holding with our names on it. Never had that experience before!
We stayed overnight in a cute little guest house for AIM...sort of like a little cottage. We only had a few hours sleep and then we were off on a 5 1/2 hr interesting bus trip to Gulu. Interesting due to the 15-20 minutes of speed bumps placed every 30 feet or so on the road for a section of the trip. Why you ask? Well, we certainly had that question as well. Turns out they were placed intentionally when the road was built to preserve the road until the inspectors inspected the road and deemed it well done so the workers could get paid. Now they are slowly removing all the bumps....but a nice long stretch still remains. Not so much looking forward to that on the way home!
We arrived in Gulu where we were taken the safe house for the Village of Hope. We were greeted by 19 beautiful children who sang and danced for us for a good 1/2 hr or so when we arrived. The joy on their faces was incredible! And to think these are all orphans who had been previously abducted and forced to do horrendous unspeakable things. The joy they had definitely was the joy of the Lord as it has transformed them in amazing ways.
I wish i could tell you more, but the time is short. We've experienced so much serving (on our behalf), so much welcoming by everyone we've met, we feel like we're doing all the receiving and barely any serving! The children have captured my heart like no other. Can't wait to show you pictures! I'll upload them next week when we are in Sudan if I can. For now, know that we are safe, God has provided abundantly more than we could have imagined, and we are learning a ton!
Thanks for you prayers and we continued to seek your intercession on our behalf, especially for energy, strength and focus. (apparently there's a dance club (or at least it seems like it) just next door which plays music till the wee hours of the morning, and there's a rooster that likes to wake up in the alley right outside my window (no alarm clock needed here!) so sleep is in short supply). But God has been so good- I've had much more energy and focus than I should have for the wee bit of sleep I've gotten, and so a big YAY GOD for that!
Love you all!
Tanya
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