MORE PICTURES
I guess while I am up, I might as well post a few more pictures for you to see.
These ones are: the desert camp children, the three of us in a skit, Rafael and his "dad" and playing rock-paper-scissors. Enjoy!

It's already Thursday! (It took me three tries to get the right day typed here!) How could that happen? I guess two days of traveling will do that to you! The travel was long but went well. It seemed harder to get back into our own country than it was to leave! The security in Amsterdam was heightened and so they were asking lots of questions as to why we were in Sudan. They must have found it hard to believe we were part of a Sunday School Teacher's Conference! But it was wonderful for all of us to get home and be greeted by our families!

Our last day in Nairobi was wonderful as we split up and did some different things. Micheal and Vergil went back to the guest house and rested for a bit. Gary was there long enough to quickly shower (The flight from Khartoum was almost 3 hours late - Sudanized again!) He met with the team from Sports Outreach that he worked with this past summer and did some puppet training with them through the afternoon. He then had the rest of the day to spend with Franklin and his wife, Lynette. It was a great time to catch up with one another marvelling that we would see each other again within 6 months! Gary, Micheal and Virgil then collided at the Yaya market where we got some things to bring home. Good thing for us to have Franklin and Rosemary's daughter, Prudence, to help with the bargaining. Nobody pulling anything over their eyes! Though Vergil did some great dickering himself! We all then met back at Rosemary's for a final home cooked meal (which was just out of this world - well out of this continent anyway! :o) Rosemary's twin daughters had just returned home from college just hours before we got there, so there were lots of stories and laughter to be shared by everyone. The evning was closed by Rosemary's daughters singing Joyful Joyful to us - oh my! We could have listened to them for hours!! Heaven will be marvelous to be worshipping with all of these people from Africa. I hope the Lord puts me next to them when it comes time for choir spots!

Some pictures are posted and more will be added in the days to come! From the three of us - we can't thank you enough for your support and your prayers. Know that God worked mightily in and through each person. We are all changed for His glory. Remember to be praying for the people in Sudan and those who were part of this incredible experience. The enemy continues to prowl around and he is not happy with what has taken place. He will seek to divide and devour that which God has done in these people. Pray that God would give them strength, that they seek the Spirit's power and boldness as they move out to the areas where God has placed them. The people here have seen a great light - and it Jesus!

GRADUATION DAY

GARY:
With lots more sweating eyes, we concluded the school today. So much to encourage them with, but so much more they encouraged and blessed us. I started off by debriefing our time at the desert camp yesterday. We let them know what an amazing work they had done but I wanted to know what they thought. If you could have seen them, the impact would be greater, but hopefully their words can give you an idea of what God did in their hearts both at the camps and the conference:

- Earlier in the week, I had taught the class about the importance of meaningful, appropriate touch. One student experienced this first-hand. There was a child crying and no matter what she told the child, she would not stop. She finally picked her up and the child fell asleep in her arms. She knows the child will remember that God was there.
- The need to go back again to let them know they are not forgotten. (Little did we know that we were teaching them evangelism and apostleship!)
- "I did not know these camps were like this and they are so close to us."
- Revival in Sudan would start with this group of people.
- God moved more in this conference than anything else they have attended before
- One group prayed for a demon possessed man who was delivered and accepted Christ as Savior!
- The children are the future of the church and the importance of reaching them when they are young
- "We preached well." (They sure did!)
- We as teachers were a great example to them of our genuine love for children that is whole-hearted
- God did infinitely more than we could have asked or imagined
- Importance of crossing churches and denominations, working together and being in unity to do God's work throughout Khartoum and Sudan
- One man travelled 3 hours each way and said the conference exceeded his expectations

Needless to say, our hearts are full. There was another time of prayer and healing. God has done a phenomenal work in all of us. I truly do believe this group of young people are like the first disciples who are filled with His Spirit and will do a great work for the Kingdom. We are off tonight for the trek back home. Check the blog next week as I will be posting some pictures. Thank you for all your prayers and support - know that God did more than we could have imagined.

MICHEAL:
Just returned to hotel from a graduation celebration, or I should say a graduation CELEBRATION! We opened with a wonderful worship time ( duh, ya think?). Gary then spent some time asking them to express their thoughts regarding the Desert Camp ministry the day before. Their responses were so encouraging. Even though some of them have grown up in Khartoum, they were not aware of the incredible needs in the camps. This information is just not allowed. Will speak more to this when I'm home. They were all excited to see these children respond to the message of salvation. They were excited that all the teams from all the different churches worked together as one. They were all excited about the opportunity to hug, touch and love on these children who are so neglected and abandoned. They were excited to return on their own as groups and minister in the camps. Did you get this last one? They were excited to return on their own and minister in the camps. Their hearts for ministry to children were enlarged significantly. It was just such a positive Spirit directed experience for all of them despite the overwhelming nature of the numbers and facility. I later told them that there were not many teachers I knew in America who wouldn't have just given up before even beginning. I told them what a marvelous lesson of what God can do when we face what seem to be impossible teaching situations and continue to do what He has called us to do. What a great lesson for me of little faith who at the beginning felt overwhelmed by the circumstances of trying to teach this many kids in that setting. One of the students (Tom, Billie and Ginny remember the little hunched back guy named Louis?) said that this conference had changed the whole spiritual climate of the church in Khartoum. No pats on the back; Vergil, Gary and I just showed up with some information that half of which we didn't even use. The Lord did some powerful things in these lives. At that point Pastor Joseph broke down in tears and the Spirit again ministered to all of us for the next hour. A little deeper into that pain, a little more of His light exposing the darkness, a little more wholeness in preparation for ministry.

Vergil then shared his heart for Sudan and the people he had come to love this week. They love Vergil. They even gave him a Sudanese name which I will allow him to share. He told them that from what he has seen this week, the church in Khartoum is very close to having the ability of doing their own conferences. I continued with that thought and told them they were all leaders. From the past year to this they have matured so much as was evidenced in the Desert Camps. I went on to tell them again they were all leaders, but among them were leaders of leaders who surely would be doing their own conferences all over Sudan very soon. This is such an encouragement and blessing to Rosemary. I talked about the conference theme, 'Be strong and courageous for you shall lead my people into the inheritance I have promised them.' I then brought out the T-shirts and they began cheering. Then I showed them the back where the teams from both this and last year signed them along with Rosemary, and their cheers and excitement rose another level. I called their names one at a time, they came up shook hands with Joseph and I and then Gary anointed them with oil and he and Vergil commissioned them to go forth as strong and courageous leaders for Christ. Rosemary had a hug and T-shirt at the end. As soon as they got their T-shirt they left only to return a moment later wearing it. Soon there was a room full of blue T-shirts with the conference theme written on the front. Oh yes, the room was also full of white gleaming teeth visible in these beautiful smiles. Rosemary had some closing remarks -- they love Rosemary so much because they know it is her love for them birthed this conference. Afterwards we went outside and got s ome great group pictures with everyone in their T-shirts. They had lunch and we had purchased some biscuits (cookies) for their desert. It took about an hour to leave with good-byes and pictures. Anytime someone wanted a picture and began to pose with you, a dozen other people were suddenly in the frame.

It was an amazing conference in that the Lord did some deep work in the teacher's hearts. Vergil and Gary were just outstanding and everyone was so appreciative of their teachings. The Desert Camp ministry was a real turning point for them and how they view ministry to children in Sudan and their own gifts towards that endeavor. Their hearts were so touched and broken by these children. To see these teachers who by my standards have nothing be so concerned with the hardships in the camps was so humbling. It was a conference which was truly headed by Christ and His Spirit was at work in our hearts from the opening prayer the very first day. I guess this last statement would summarize the conference for me.

Final Blessings, but Really Big Ones, From Khartoum,
Micheal

VERGIL:
Today was a great day. We got to hear from the students about how much they enjoyed ministering in the desert camp. They were very grateful for the experience and they plan to return and do more outreach. What more could you ask for? They got it! We gave our final exhortation to the teachers today and parted ways. It was a long good bye. There is no doubt in my mind that the students will take the message to the street.

Rosemary is the greatest missionary I've ever known. She has so much wisdom. Her approach to missions is right on. She just tries to lay the foundation, the people carry it on. For example, we did not go to churches and teach (except for my sermon on Sunday), we trained teachers. The goal of missionaries should be to build indigenous churches.

Now, I must get all of my papers done and study for my final. There is always something.

Hey, be thinking of names for a church. I'll see you in a week.

For His Glory,
Vergil

OUT TO THE DESERT CAMPS

GARY:
I got my kid fix today - and boy did I!! The day was spent out at one of the desert camps where at least 30,000 people live. Soon after we arrived, in the distance you could see a group of children being lead to us. They were singing the most joyful songs. As they got closer, you just wanted to hug each one. Most were covered with the desert sand - some of the babies were like China dolls. It reminded me so much of previous trips where siblings who were only 5-6 years old were caring for these precious little ones. Then there are the smiles - they steal your heart. The church began filling up with children and it looked as though there might be 200 when we were going to start. But they kept coming . . . and they kept coming . . . and they kept coming. They were sitting on top of one another, filling up the aisles - literally filling them up! There were at least 500-600 children there with more listening from outside. We had 600 wordless bracelets to give away and we could have used more. Loved to hear them sing! The Pastor's welcome to the children and their moms (did not see any dads) was great as HE looked at the children and recognized their value and importance to the Kingdom of God now and in the future.

The program was done totally by the participants of the conference. They did an awesome job. Some of these young adults are excellent teachers, pouring their heart and soul into what they were doing. They lead in skits, memorizing Bible verses, songs and then the puppets. The kids got antsy after a while (could not really blame them as we were there for over 3 hours) until the puppets showed up. They obviously had never seen anything like that before. Many responded to receiving Christ, but as most of these type of alter calls, it's hard to know how many are doing it for the first time. But it gives the pastor something to follow up on, especially with the wordless bracelets. They had to drag me back on the bus! Smiles and special handshakes transcend any language barriers.

Hard to imagine that there could be 4 million people living in desert camps outside Khartoum. To say there is nothing out there is not an understatement. There are reasons why they don't upgrade the camps. Flat desert for as far as you could see and spotted out there were "village" sites where people lived. They are totally dependent on gfovernment support as you cannot grow anything out there for food. What they have to cover their buildings with has to be replaced twice a year because any rain washes it away. It is not something we can comprehend.

Tomorrow is graduation - what a special time that will be. I believe these people will make huge strides for the Kingdom!

MICHEAL:

Overwhelmed would be a fair description. The Desert Camps were as I remembered them, as were the children. Will share more regarding why they exist when I get home. We met the students this morning and they had been praying for some time as we were over an hour late. We have a new term now for drivers not showing up, people late to pick us up with no need for apology, no set time but only a general time frame for scheduling, etc. It is 'you have been Sudanized'. (When it was menitoned that we were late for the others at the school, we were told, "That's okay, they are waiting for us!") We left from the conference venue for the trip to the camps, us in a van and students in two buses (thank you Cornerstone). When we arrived, we began unpacking our gear and setting up. There is no electricity out there so they had rented a generator and sound system (thank you Cornerstone). Within minutes children started coming from everywhere. By the time we started, the place was packed with just as many outside trying to get in. I would say there were at least 500 kids just inside the church and it was no larger than 1500 square feet. No one expected this number. The students did a wonderful job of presenting the gospel in song, memory verse, parables and then the children's response to the puppets was amazing. Trying to keep 500 or so kids who are piled on top of one another silent and attentive is a near impossible task. But they generally did pretty well for the OVER 3 hours they were there. They did better than I did; it was very hot and dusty. With kids pressed all around, and one on my lap for most of the time, the place was a little short of oxygen. Some of the girls no more than 6 or 7 were carrying around little babys that truly looked like dolls. One little girl was so interested in my white face, she ran her hand over my cheek for several moments. I had a few pieces of candy in my pocket and gave them to the ones right around me. Every time, without fail, they would bite off half (these were small little candies) and give half to one next to them. The puppets did more than hold their attention. The kids laughed and laughed. We had three sheets taped together for the stage and Gary had worked with about 10 of the students who stood behind the stage with puppets. Gary found an Arabic children's song about Jesus and just played that while 10 colorful puppets like nothing the kids had ever seen sang the words. It was great. There was a parable of the Prodigal Son, the Good Shepherd and His sheep, David and Goliath, and a couple I was not sure of but they made the kids laugh. There are some excellent teachers in that group who truly engaged the children in some very creative ways while teaching verses and songs. We got some of it on video so you can get a feel for what the teachers had to work with. Again, nobody dreamed there would be that many kids. At the end Gary went through the beads on the worldless bracelet (thank you Rolling Hills) and then Pastor Joseph asked for those who wanted to follow the Jesus they had just been told about to raise their hand. I didn't see any hands that were not raised (I am not going to say that all of them fully understood nor will I say that Jesus did not touch each one of them). Joseph prayed for them and then the teachers handed out a snack (thank you Cornerstone). It was a little chaotic as the kids were pressing forward trying to get one and some ended up with more than one. Having been through this before, Gary wisely had the teachers go outside and form groups where the bracelets could be tied on each child. In planning for this trip Gary asked how many
bracelets I though we needed. I told him about 200 or so should be plenty. He brought about 700 and subtracting the 70 he gave out at conference, we still ran out. This was the first time the churches in Khartoum had an outreach to children in the camps, it will be interesting to talk tomorrow about how they felt it went. I thought they were amazing under the circumstances. I am very proud of them and their ability to shine with the love of Jesus in a very obvious way to those children. As I sit here writing this, even though I just returned, I have to ask myself if that all really happened. It was good church today. I'm looking forward to graduation tomorrow with mixed emotions. I know it will be a great celebration, but I think it will be harder saying good-bye this year. It really has been a very good week and the students have not only learned some good information, but the Lord has done some deep work in their hearts that will only make them more powerful and effective for Him in touching the lives of the children. I have quite a layer of dust from the day to go shower off before going shopping to buy cookies for graduation. It should be a bit less expensive than the 'creams' I mistakenly ordered through the hotel last year.

Blessings from Khartoum,
Micheal

VERGIL:

My soul is happy. Today, the teachers we have been training all week went out to a desert camp and did their thing. I was so proud and grateful to the Lord for what He has done. It was amazing. There were so many children. The church were we met was packed! Not packed like no seats, but packed like 3 to a seat, kids in our laps, people hanging through the window packed. There are some really good teachers here. Praise God.

We stopped by the side of the road today and did a little shopping. I got an amazing deal according to Pastor Joseph and Rosemary. I'll show you we I get back. Tomorrow is the graduation celebration. We have T-shirts for all the teachers and we'll have refreshments as well. It should be a fun time.

I have never seen poverty before today. The living situation of the people in desert camps is inhumane. I will explain in more detail when I return. I will tell you. Please pray that our travel from here to Nairobi to Amsterdam to Detroit to Portland will go smoothly. Travel in Africa is not like travel America. I appreciate the American infrastructure now more than ever; not just for traveling sake. There is no justice is many parts of Africa. The corruption is deep. Capitol Hill ain't got nothing on Khartoum. I will tell you more about that also.

Pray for shalom in Sudan,
Vergil

GARY:
God has been gracious to allow us some huge laughs amongst the pain we know that exists here in Sudan. Last night at dinner I asked Rosemary if she had heard about Rafael and his dad. She had not and so I proceeded to tell her that Rafael had made the whole thing up and that the gentleman was really not his dad. She could not believe it as she was sitting there both days to see and hear the interaction between the three of us. We must have laughed for 15 minutes - the eyes were sweating from laughter which continued again this morning when we realized we would face the man again. We walked in and could not help but laugh. Rafael has not showed up again which saddens me. One, I loved interacting with him but two, I wanted to introduce him to his mother!! The other good laugh is that we have commented that you need to really pay attention to how you are driving here as there are no lanes and drivers are weaving and merging everywhere - onto sidewalks and shoulders trying to get six lanes where there really should be three. Anyway, we have been amazed at the few motorcyclists we have seen. We watch them talking on their cell phones and wonder how they will stop but yesterday's sight topped them all. There was a guy driving a motorcycle and reading a newspaper. We laughed so hard! We also learned that Thursdays is just a 1/2 day of work - we wondered how that worked when they really don't get there till almost halfd way thru the day - we laughed about that! The Sudanese with us laugh at it as well.

Once again we have been so blessed today as it usually works out when you are one of these trips - we receive far more than what we give. Micheal did a great teaching on the role of the husband which for the most part is very contrary to what happens here. Some Englsih lessons which included greeting one another and some head=shoulder-knees and toes produced some great laughter for the students. Vergil got them going after saying his favorite verse in Arabic and then having them cheer for the Lord - which then lead to another sweet ministry time. God kows what it will take to produce some great teachers/leaders for His Kingdom. It is not just the information and tools, but the inner healing which makes you a far better lover of and for Jesus. I began teaching after lunch - which they call breakfast - and encouraged them in how God will take this small team and use them in mighty ways as He did with the early disciples. A few more sweaty eyes from me and them. Then we were off to bringing the puppets out which they just love. We then did our final prep work for our ministry to the desert camp tomorrow. Be praying for that time. The students have worked out for this time. I am sure this will be an experience like none other.

It is hard to believe that our teaching times are over. I feel like we have just gotten into it. One of the students is determined to teach me Arabic. Everytime you do something in their native tongue - they go wild. You can't help but love these people. Their strength truly comes in the joy that they have for the Lord. How I want to learn this dependence on the Lord - though of course I also know what it entails as they have suffered for the Lord. Not something we talk much about in USA.

They are calling us for dinner. Pray for our time tomorrow - that the students will depend on the Lord for their service to the desert camp children - that nothing will block the children from coming - that their ears and hearts would be open to hear and respond to the gospel message. We will be getting the children in small groups to explain the gospel and give each child a wordless bracelet. Thank you 4th and 5th grade girls for putting them together.

You gotta come back tomorrow night to hear the full story!!

MICHEAL:
It was another very good day at the conference. I opened with my final session on marriage and then had an English lesson. It was great. I taught them a greeting -- Hello, my name is Micheal. How are you? Then I handed out names from the Bible, two each. They had to greet one another using their Bible name until they greeted someone who greeted them back with the same name. With 80 people beginning, it was very fun to watch and then how excited they were to meet the same person and come up front with them for a little prize. Vergil next did his final session. Before starting he said that since it was the last day, he wanted to hear their loudest and most glorious praise possible to the Lord. An hour or so later he continued with his lesson. It began very loud and then once again the Holy Spirit started doing some deep work in the people. There is so much! hurt and pain deep in their heart. This week had been so good for them. Several times beginning the first day there have been powerful ministry times in the Spirit. Each time the light of Jesus goes a little deeper to illuminate the hurt and they are able to release it. The process of healing those incredible deep hurts has been amazing to participate in. Holding a sobbing young man or woman and praying for Jesus to touch those hurts is such a privilege. Gary did another great job in his teaching and then more puppet training. The last hour was spent in preparation for the desert camps. I have them in about 7 groups. One is teaching a song with actions, one group is working with Gary to do an Arabic children's song using puppets, several are doing parables, one is doing a craft, of course there will! be lots of worship and small groups where the wordless bracelets will be handed out and explained. They will also have something to eat for the children. The whole emphasis of the outreach is the gospel message and it will be presented in a variety of ways. The students have worked very hard and just watching what they are doing in their groups in preparation, it should be an amazing day.

It was fun at the end of today when Sebat, the one in charge of the Sunday Schools in many of the churches, was making announcements. (Joseph was interpreting for us) He said he wanted everyone there on Saturday for graduation. He said he didn't want to assume anything, but there may be certificates for each of them. I can only imagine the excitement when they see the T-shirts we have for each of them.

It really was another very good day. Thank you for the continued prayers -- believe they are truly having effect. It can only be the Lord moved by prayer that is accomplishing so much.

Blessings from Khartoum,
Micheal

VERGIL:
Wednesday's:

It was a great day today. Worship was worship! Gary brought out the puppets today; they were a hit. I think they will make a huge impact in the children's lives (Rolling HIlls purchased 40 puppets to give to leaders attending the conference to use in there children's Sunday school class). Micheal taught more today on marriage and facilitated the work groups, as they prepare for the desert camps. I continued to teach the gospel of John. I am slowly learning Arabic. Today, I read my favorite scripture 1 John 4:19 in Arabic. I know I butchered it however, the people just loved it.

Pastor Joseph was feeling much better today. Praise God.

I mentioned before that the Sudanese view time very differently from us. This morning our ride was late again (on time for the Sudanese). In the van on the way to the conference we talked about time. I asked, "What time do people start work?" Pastor Apollo's wife answered, "9 or 10." Apollo explained to us later that during an 8 hour work day, one only works 3 hours. I can't believe it. His wife made the comment that nobody really knows what local Sudanese time is. You would think that there are no clocks in this country. God bless them.

Tomorrow is the last day of the conference. We hope to pour ourselves out like a drink offering; till the last drop. Pray for peace in Sudan.

For His Glory,
Vergil

Thursday's:
Today was the final day of the conference. We believe the Lord has used this conference to equip, encourage, and excite the teachers that attended. Tomorrow, we will go the the desert camps. The students will be applying what they have learned this week; some will teach using the puppets, others will teach through song, some with drama, others with crafts. It will be a marvelous time.

I have learned so much from this experience. When we first arrived, my heart was broken for the church in Sudan. I could not hold back the tears. However, over the course of this week, the Lord has given me a peace that really surpasses all understanding. The Lord Jesus Christ, God our Father, the Holy Spirit is moving in the war torn country of Sudan. He is sovereign!

I have been so privileged to travel, teach, and room with Micheal and Gary. They are both great men. But I have to admit, they don't compare to my roommate in Portland.

Sudan will always have a special place in my heart. I look forward to supporting the work God is doing here. I am most excited to show and tell you about all of the wonderful people I've met. Here come those tears I talked about. I love Sudan.

For His Glory,
Vergil

I write this with Christmas music playing in the background. It is fast approaching. Weird to think they would do play this in a Muslim dominated country. Everywhere you look in the skylines you see the peaks of mosques.

It has been great to have all of us write something each night - it gives different perspectives to the day and you can pick and choose what to read.

GARY:
What an amazing day it was today. God has definitely answered my prayer that it would be His agenda and not ours. If you prayed for the situation about Micheal addressing the marriage issues from yesterday, know that it was answered. God spoke to him during the night. Not compromising on what the scriptures say, but humbly apologizing to his lack of sensitivity to its application, God moved in a big way. We took communion and started on more worship. Rosemary mentioned to Pastor Joseph (who was back to his spunky self - answer to all of our prayers - thanks!) that he should invite people forward who needed special prayers. Again, it was like Acts 2 with the disciples being in the room when the Holy Spirit came down. Lots of ministry happened. This all took about an hour. Many, many lives were changed. I have been to services like this before, but never as one who was asked to pray for those coming forward. Definitely needed to trust the Spirit to know what to pray because of the language differences. My prayer has been that we would follow God's leading because He knows what these young people need. Obviously at this point, it was not more of our teaching! I sure wish we could bring some of these young leaders over to encourage our young adults. Their heart and passion for Christ amazes me more and more each day. Rosemary made an interesting comment on the way back to the hotel this afternoon. She said she would not want to move to the US because with all her visits, she sees people being too fake - almost decieving - in their relationships. Ouch! Hopefully God can change that in the relationships we share.

Amidst the tears being shed this morning, there were some great times of laughter. I know Micheal is writing about one in his note. One other thing that happened had to do with the young boy, Rafael, that I mentioned on Monday. He came at the end of class and told me the man in the front row was his dad. I even took my picture with both of them. They both spoke English so why not. You know where I am going with this - don't you! Yesterday, I spoke to the man (I have still not been able to understand what his name is.) about when Rafael would be coming and he said after the afternoon break. Sure enough, Rafael came just on time. Today, I was talking to the man about what a fine son he had. He then proceeded to tell me that he was not married - his finace was in the class with us. He did not even know Rafael before Monday! Oh we laughed hard about that!

At devotions this morning, we talked with Rosemary about the situation with the women in thsi country and throughout Africa. She said most marriages are arranged - you ahve no say as to who you will marry. Most of them are arranged when they are young and dowries are paid throughout the children's lifetime - so there is no getting out of them. So you might end up getting married to an unbeliever and/or an abuser. The women cannot get out of the marriages because no one will take them in and they cannot get jobs. They are stuck! She also mentioned that if you have HIV, you will get killed by your family as brings disgrace. So even if you know about it, you won't tell anyone because you know you will be killed. Then you get married and spread it to your spouse and to your children and any other partners you may have. She has a friend in Kenya who comes up with all kinds of excuses to not getting married because he does not want to infect the women he has been arranged to. How devastating! No wonder the problem continues to escalate.

The rest of the day went great. More worship, Vergil's teachings and the unveiling of the puppets made for an amazing day with the Lord and with these students. Tomorrow is our last day of classes and then Friday we are off to the desert camps to minister to the children. Graduation party is then on Saturday before we fly out.

Prayer:
- We keep our agenda open to God doing His work
- Preparation for our final classes
- The future for these students. They are working hard and want to be used mightily by God for His Kingdom purposes

MICHEAL:

What a wonderful day it was. Half the day was on our schedule, half was not -- and both were very good. Vergil opened this morning and talked about the I Am's of Jesus. When he got to 'I Am the Life', he asked the group what gave them life. A young man in the back raised his hand and stood -- they always stand to answer questions -- and said, 'What gives me life is the smile of a woman'. Very funny. Before my session I asked for all the ladies to smile (what beautiful young women with these gorgeous smiles), I thanked them saying I just needed some life.

I made a very stupid American mistake yesterday and felt a heavy burden after the conference. During the last session I was talking about marriage and how Jesus makes both the man and woman whole so that they can become one. One lady was very sad and wanted to ask questions but time was ended. It seems I didn't think through the implications of arranged marriage and that some are arranged with non-believers. Women can only get out of this if they can come up with the payment given for them. This is almost never the case. So here I was telling the young single ladies that as their father I wanted the best for them and to make sure they married a Christian. I woke up at 2:00 this morning with a direction from the Lord that did not allow me back to sleep. I told them that the Bible was true in every culture but when the Truth is shared without wisdom and sensitivity it was a sin. I had done this and asked for their forgiveness. I continued with the fact we have no choice as to the culture we are born into, and that every culture from Adam and Eve has been twisted by sin. I told them about my culture of materialism. Even what I have that I consider essential (home, car, education, etc.) would be more than
excess is Sudan, and could be viewed as sin in the light of scripture when so many are poor. Arranged marriage is one of those twisted cultural things. I told them there was one marriage where they did have as a choice and that was to Christ. Being a good bride of Christ can make us a good wife and mother in any circumstance. This is just a part of what I shared but you get the idea. Then the four of us (including Rosemary) served them communion offering the cup as a marriage proposal from Jesus -- by drinking they were saying yes to becoming His bride. It was very powerful, but the really powerful came after this. For over an hour, Pastor Jospeh led a Spirit filled ministry time that was wonderful -- there is so much hurt and pain. The woman who was sad the day before was truly touched by the Lord. I had prom! ised a question and answer time regarding marriage after that session on Tuesday and when we had one this afternoon, she said she had no questions about marriage. Yes! I was dreading those questions. Vergil next did a teaching on Lazarus. He has been quite smitten by the Sudanese. I had told him before we went that he would enjoy teaching these people more than any other group in his experience, and this he has found to be true. He is truly in his element and does such a wonderful job. He read his favorite verse, I John 4:19, in Arabic today and was a great hit. Joseph said it sounded like he had an accent from the Juba Mountains in Southern Sudan. Sudan has come to occupy a special place in Vergil's heart and will forever influence his ministry. I know, I'm his dad, but I am very proud of him. He asked them how old they thought he was today and one guy said 40. After Vergil's session, Gary and I brought out the puppets for the first time with a lesson on Lazarus. They were an instant highlight of the conference. Afterwards, we handed out the puppets (40 of them) for a session on how to use them and they were so fun to watch. We practiced with the words of an English song Gary had taught them that we sing at closing every day. It was fantastic. These puppets were such a great investment and if anyone from Rolling Hills is reading this, thank you so very much. You have started a puppet ministry in Sudan. Also, you should be very proud of Gary as he is doing a tremedous job. The last 45 minutes were spent in groups planning for our outreach to the Desert Camps on Friday. The students are doing it all. Some groups are doing parables, some stories, some puppets and we will have worship, food, drink and small groups where we have
wordless bracelets for all the children (thank you again Rolling Hills). Thank you very much Cornerstone Church for making this outreach possible. It was rewarding to see so many of the students from last year in groups excited to plan their parables. I didn't mention the worship times today including two conga lines going in opposite direction around the room. Those people are so much fun but they wear me out -- they seem to run on unlimited energy. Sorry for the length of this, but my heart is full. It is wonderful to see the growth in the students from last year and to see really strong leaders emerge, leaders that may soon be able to do their own training in Khartoum. I can see this happening and that is exciting.

Pray for sleep for us and pray for the outreach on Friday. I am looking forward with great joy to seeing the students minister to these little ones. Vergil has been taking about 10 minutes of video each day which will convey so much more than pictures or our words. It was a very good day.

Blessings from Khartoum
Micheal

VERGIL:
To follow later tonight when he gets to write it.

I wish we could get some pictures on the blog right now and show you how rock-paper-scissors is played with over 60 Sudanese children's leaders! What a hoot that was. These calm, warm people turn into competitive maniacs when it comes to games. It was a lot of fun. Other games and the calming of the storm skit brought a lot more laughter to the day. Tomorrow should be something else as we bring out the puppets. Hearing Jingle Bells as a ringtone on a cell phone also brought a big smile!

At one point during the worship, one wishes that you knew what they were singing. It was so glorious. You have to make-up your own words to express your worship, but you want to be in unity with the others. It brings tears once again realizing the consequences of sin and how wonderful Heaven will be.

Vergil has done a great job and really engaged the people with his Bible teaching. He has such a heart to proclaim God's Word and so God has blessed him tremendously considering he is only 24. Micheal continued his teaching on marriage. It is generating many questions which we will get to tomorrow. We know some of it is because there are still pre-arranged marriages here. The question for all of us is how much of our thoughts are based on what the Bible says and how much is the American application of the scriptures.

So pray for our Q&A time that we might have discernment and Godly wisdom in answering these questions. Once again, pray for sleep for all of us. Sleeping pills are not even helping for those that brought them. Tomorrow we get more practical with the participants which will help as I think we have stuffed their brains with enough information. They are so anxious to learn. Pray that we are sensitive to the Spirit as to what they need at this moment and push our agenda aside if we have to.

MICHEAL:
Morning Thoughts:
Before getting up was thinking of why tears are so close at any time here in Sudan. God's heart is broken for these people and if you have God's heart, it is broken as well. When I think of these gentle, loving and joyful people and how 2 million of their brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, family and friends have been killed the past 20 years -- and yet to see them remain gentle, loving and joyful -- what an amazing witness that should humble us all. I hope you as a church continue to get a feel of being here this week and I hope you continue to have a sense of pride (the good kind of pride) for the investment you are making for the Kingdom here in Sudan. On a lighter note, at church on Sunday, here we are out in the desert with mud brick buildings and a church with not walls, metal benches and dirt floor, and before service starts, Pastor Joseph asks all people with cell phones to please turn them off. There were a number of beeps and music as phones were indeed being turned off. Some things are universal.


Evening Thoughts:
After yesterday's intensely emotional day, today was rather Calm. Rather calm is a relative term here in Khartoum. Pastor Joseph was sick today, and being the only interpreter, one of the students took his place for some of the sessions. She was very good but things slowed down considerably and you were never quite sure if she understood what you were saying and thus what was being communicated. Makes us appreciate Joseph. Things were going along smoothly when I decided it would be a good idea to play a game. They had been sitting too long so an activity was in order. The Sudanese are very courteous and will sit for long periods, but they are an active folk and do much better when they are engaged in physical ways with the teaching. I thought that Rock - Paper - Scissors would be a fun game for them to learn. Remember that rather calm is relative and remember competiveness. After going through the rules and what defeats what, I told them they were to get a partner and whoever lost had to sit and another partner found until only two remained and we would declare a winner. Soon the whole room was a scene of pandamonium. It seems some were getting an edge by waiting until their partner had committed to the rock, paper or scissors and then doing whatever defeated them. It took some time to restore order and insure them this infraction would not be tolerated. What was intended to be a simple exercise to get them out of their seats resulted in near mass hysteria and then I gave them over to Vergil for his session. By the way, a young woman did finally win. Vergil asked them what they thought of the Church in America, and if they thought it was better than the Sudanese church. Some of their responses: the American Church has many things, the American Church prays and is giving, they send missionaries and they take care of their pastors (this last point was interesting because it came from Pastor Apollo's wife). When he first asked if the church in America was better, there was a near equal split of opinion. But they did not believe we were loved more by God because of all we have. Vergil did a good job of focusing them on the true treasures that are evident in the Sudanese Church. So we has some fun skits, some good teaching, some great worship and powerful prayer. Rather calm but a good day.

Blessings from Khartoum,
Micheal

VERGIL:
Today was a full day of teaching. The more we learn about the people and their culture, the better we can engage them. When people know that you love them, they are much more inclined to take to heart the words that you speak. So once again the key to effective ministry is relationship. Micheal has been giving short English lessons which the people enjoy very much. Today I greeted them with the Arabic "good morning" they just thought that was the coolest thing in the world. They are shocked when we show interest in their culture. I think they believe that to be a good Christian they have to stop being Sudanese. I asked this question today, "Is the church in America better than the church in Sudan?" Most people responded with yes. That became a great teaching moment.

Micheal has been teaching on marriage. Marriage in Sudan is interesting. It is not uncommon for a Christian man to have more than one wife. Marriages are arranged and women are very subservient. Please pray that the Lord will give Micheal wisdom as to how to teach on this subject. There is so much about the culture that we do not understand and we are only here for 8 days. We need the Holy Spirit.

Gary continued to teach people how to reach children with the gospel message. He is a very creative teacher. We are blessed to have him along with us on this trip. He has been a real encouragement to me about the church plant. He has a wealth of ministry experience which, I plan to draw from during the remainder of the trip.

We have two more days of the conference then we go into the desert camps. No one knows for certain the number of people that live in these camps, but it is well over 100,000. Our students, that we have been training all week, will get a chance to put into practice what they have learned. On Saturday, we will have a graduation ceremony and leave that night to go back to Nairobi. And the journey begins back to Portland.

Prayer Request:
1.) That the church in Sudan will be encouraged
2.) That the students will become more effective teachers
3.) Peace; the violence here is so discouraging to the people. The government (Arabs) want to control all of the wealth in this country. The wealth is in the oil. Different tribes have controlled the oil fields of Sudan (depending on their location). So the Sudanese government, wanting more money, will stir up a conflict between the tribes and then equip one tribe with superior weapons so that they will emasculate the other tribe (the one whose territory encompasses an oil field). There was a similar incident in Southern Sudan last night 100 people died.
4.) Pastor Joseph is doing all of the interpreting; pray that the Lord will give him strength.

May the Lord bless you, may the Lord keep you, may His face shine on you. And may He be gracious to you, and lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace.

Vergil

Itis now Monday evening and we have completed our first day of classes. This email may be rather long so you may want to pick and choose where you read. Each of us have posted our reactions to the tremendous day we had.

GARY:
This now being my third trip to Africa, there are certain similiarities between the different countries. The main one is that there are no traffic rules when it comes to driving lanes. I have just chosen not to sit in the front seat and on occassion see the vehicle next to you just be an inch or two away. You just chuckle and keep talking to the others in the van. For those of you that comment on my New York driving, there is no comparison! Then there are the different modes of transporting property on the roads. Uganda was known for bananas loaded up high on the back of bicycles. Kenya was the carts being pulled by humans right in the middle of the road with all the other traffic whizzing by. Sudan has the same carts but they are being pulled by donkeys. It was interesting cutting one off this morning.

Not knowing what to expect this morning - it was a day that changed many of our lives forever. I was surprised by how many young people were there. I would say that 75% of the participants are between 18-25. That was so exciting to see. They love the Lord so much and used this week off from university to attend this conference on how to better work with children in their churches. Oh how I wish people their age in America would hunger for the things of the Lord like they do. Of course, the first thing was worship - and worship we did!! They could go all day and so could I. Pastor Joseph was our interpreter and how he brings to life your teaching and the love of the Lord. What a special man he is. SO rich in faith - so on fire for the Lord knowing the call God has on his life and what he wants to do in Sudan. To hear him encourage these young people in what God can do through them just like He did with the first group of disciples. I too found myself thinking the same thing as I looked out at them realizing God used a very similar group as His first disciples. They changed the world forever. Pastor Joseph is the only pastor I know who would leave his church to come greet us and bring us to his church on Sunday morning. Church was to start at 11am and they were just getting us at 10:45 and we were 1/2 hour away! Did not phase him - the people were actively worshipping when we arrived and Joseph just fit right in.

Back to today. Thanks for your prayers for the Holy Spirit to lead our meetings. That definitely happened today. After one of my sessions, I had the participants turn to one another and pray for the Spirit to be their anoint them for their teaching the young children in their churches and to strengthen them in the areas of weakness, depending on Him all the more. You should have been there to hear them pray - people began weeping - God's Spirit was moving as we had asked of Him. Pastor Joseph felt lead to preay for healing and a boldness to come upon everyone. It was sweating eyes time for most of us. God moved in a powerful way. Other times of serious teaching and laughter as Micheal and I reunited our whacky ways. What a joy to serve with him again after 20+ years. We clsoed with our the Blessing Song that we used this summer when in Uganda. The people loved it and wanted to do it again. Well that lead to more worship and more prayer. Everyone was uplifted by the Lord when we left. I have a new friend. His name is Rafael and he looks to be about 8. When we were doing the closing song, he was standing outside and I finally dragged him in because he was too shy to do it on his own. Turns out his dad had been with us all day and Rafael was playing outside. Now he will be coming and being my helper/buddy. It will be fun to see what God does with this relationship this week.

Prayer:
- sleep for us -we're still not getting very much
- Pastor Joseph - God has a call on his life and in brokenness, weeping on my shoulder, he knows there are areas in his life that he is still finding hard to surrender. God is using Him in big ways, which brings more spiritual battles.
- Holy Spirit to continue to do His amazing work in all of our lives

MICHEAL:
Some things just do not change. A year has gone by and the Sudanese attending the conference are still smiling, still laughing, still making me laugh, still making me cry, still dancing and still the most wonderful group I can imagine to hang around with. It was a very good day. I did a review of some of the main points covered last year and why I am teaching on marriage this year as a realm to impact children for God. Then we played a Bingo alphabet game. I had forgotten how competitive these folks are. I had them copy the alphabet on Bingo cards in a random fashion and gave out cups of beans for markers. We practiced shouting BINGO! for several minutes as they loved the sound of the word. After one game with a prize given to winner, the competition became fierce. You needed at least 5 squares to win and after the third letter I called out, one of the guys yelled BINGO! The room was instantly in chaos as everyone was yelling in Arabic regarding this outrageous claim to Bingo. It took a while to restore order but it was hilarious.

Tom Starr, you will especially appreciate this. Tom sent sheets of pictures from last year which I taped to the walls around the room. These were a huge hit. Joseph, the student, who was so upset with me last year for not remembering his name, came in and I had some fun pretending not to recall his name. Then he asked about Ginny, Billie and Tom (he remembered all your names) and I told him he should look on the pictures to see them. He got this really pitiful look on his face and with head bowed very woefully said, "Yes Micheal, I looked at all the pictures, and could not find my face on any of them." I got our camera out and took his picture which brought a smile back to his face. Vergil did an outstanding job in two sessions teaching on how to study the Bible -- we want them to know how to study the Word and take it into their hearts so they can be effective in teaching the children. Gary is a gifted teacher and did some really fun things with ways to make your teaching both fun and effective. He is a huge hit with those at conference and hasn't even brought out the puppets yet. After having worked together over 20 years ago, it was really fun doing some kids lessons with him after Vergil's teachings. At the end of Gary's first session he had them get into groups of 3 to pray for one another regarding areas where they need to grow in order to become more effective teachers. During that prayer time the Holy Spirit touched all our lives with His presence and Pastor Joseph had some very powerful words of encouragement (as only Pastor Joseph can deliver) for several individual teachers as well as the group as a whole. It was a very holy time. After a break it was Vergil's time to teach again! . He got up to speak and the Lord had a message of encouragement for him to deliver to the Sudanese -- getting only part way through he was broken and there was much weeping in the room. It was just that kind of day. The Lord spoke to us in tears, in laughter, in the Word, in the worship and in our relating to one another. It was a very good day. I told the conference at the beginning that last year was so special and wonderful, and that this year was going to be wonderful as well, but different. The same sentiment was shared at the end of this first day as was last year -- what could possibly happen that would be better than this? In my wisdom of a year's experience I could only say, just wait and see.

Everyone is well but still a little tired from lack of sleep. I even got the good drugs for sleep this year, the kind that the pharmacist said could be addictive if taken several nights in a row, but they don't seem to work so well. Think I'll try two tonight and then maybe go up from there as needed. (Just kidding wife Renee'). If anything interesting should happen at the conference tomorrow, I will let you know. Days like today can only be attributed to your continuing prayers. Thank you.

Blessings from Khartoum,
Micheal


VERGIL:
I have yet to fully adjust to the 10 hour time difference and by the time I do, it will be time to come home and start all over again. Today's sessions were a wonderful time of prayer, praise, and solid teaching. Micheal kicked things off by giving a review of last year's conference and then moved into the english lesson for the day. Gary (children's pastor at Rolling Hills) is a dynamic teacher. He taught from over 20 years of experience on how to teach the bible to children and he gave several very fun examples. Micheal followed in the same manner, teaching by using interactive illustrations. It was fun to watch. Both of those guys really know and understand how to reach children. It was fun seeing them work together.

Today I taught on biblical authority & scriptural integrity and principlizing. I think it was received fairly well. The Sudanese people have great passion for the things of God, we are trying to give their passion direction. Because of their sincere love for God, I know that they will bear fruit of His word; our labor is not in vain. Today, I thought about the long trip over here, the amount of preparation, the amount of money spent to make this conference happen; and I concluded that the people here are worth every penny, they are worth every hour of travel, and they are worth all the preparation.

Well, I better be off now to study. Thank you for you emails.

For His Glory,
Vergil

We had great church this morning! Went to Pastor Joseph's church on the edge of town -- three partial mud brick walls with sheet metal roof and dirt floor. Two guitars, metal drums with stretched leather percussions, old license plates used as symbols and different girls taking turns dancing up center aisle leading songs comprised the most excellent worship team. And the preacher was outstanding. Ou own Vergil Brown did a very anointed teaching on the Lord's prayer with Joseph interpreting. The two of them became close brothers and friends just in the hour of teaching Vergil and he did together. Joseph spoke to Vergil's heart afterwards confirming things the Lord had already directed in his life. It was a very powerful time for Vergil and for the rest of us. Yes, the term "sweating eyes" once again became prominent in our experience here. There were about 125 or so people in attendance with several I recognized from the conference last year. I managed to get some video of Verg preaching. A disappointing thing -- Pastor Enoch is sick and had to stay in the South so will not be attending the conference; I was so looking forward to seeing him. And a sad thing -- due to family financial pressures, Pastor Toban left pastoring to accept a government job. Toban was the pastor last year who repented of his negative opinion regarding the teaching of children. I don't know all the circumstances involved, but Joseph said Toban was very sad and had concluded there was no other option left for him. The pastors here live very sacrificially as their congregations have little money to give for their support.

Our meeting with the pastors regarding tomorrow's conference opening went well, but wasn't the same without Toban and Enoch. We will have 4 full days teaching, one day in desert camps outreach and 1/2 day on Saturday for graduation/celebration. Really looking forward to tomorrow and seeing all those familiar beautiful smiles. Went shopping at the same AFRA shopping center (like a Fred Meyer department store which is highly unusual here) as last year to buy things for some of my conference activities -- what a sticker shock! I had exchanged $40 at motel and had 7 small boxes of crayons, 7 small boxes of colored pencils and 100 plastic cups -- I was going to buy the paper I needed in a shop upstairs. I went to pay and I didn't have enough money -- just the boxes of crayons were $6 each! The dollar has fallen in value substantially since last year. I will have to get creative here to make do with things I can find. I would appreciate prayer in this regard. Gary bought some things for his puppets and they gave him back his change in little piece of candy -- the AFRA is no longer your friendly neighborhood shopping center.

Vergil didn't go shopping and when we got back was sound asleep, the kind that making noise and turning on lights does nothing to disturb. There is only 1/2 hour left for dinner so I should go try again to wake him. There should be some fun things to report after conference tomorrow.

Blessings from Khartoum,
Micheal

Some other interesting things to be learned today. It is so inteesting being in a country where you are so wanted on one side and so hated on another. The children's leaders are so eager to have us this week, as we are to be with them. But the rest of the country hates Americans. It's not like we don't stand out here either. So far nothing derogatory has been said or done towards us.

Rosemary shared with us this morning that the language being taught in school is Arabic with English slowly being eliminated. The main reason is because Islam is very much tied to the Arabic language and if they can eliminate English being taught and spoken, then the Christians will have very little or no contact with anyone outside of the country. That is why the Christian Sudanese are so anxious and excited for us to have whatever English lessons we can offer them. So much to be grateful for in our own country, so much to pray for our fellow brothers and sisters and to get our heads out of the sand.

Prayer:
- restful sleep as we try to catch up
- we have done our preparation, now we need to listen to the Spirit so we can be His vessels and pu tour agendas aside
- safe travel for everyone travelling tomorrow
- Knitting together of hearts and spirit of the new speakers and the conference attendees

May the Lord bless you and keep you!

Okay, so what day is it?!! It is hard to believe that as this is being written, we are 15 minutes away from it turning to another day! That means it will be Sunday. Don't know how we lost 3 days already. It actually took exactly 24 hours to get from Portland to Nairobi. Then add the 10 hours time difference. Needless to say, our time clocks are completely out of whack.

Now we have safely made it to Khartoum and are settling down into our hotel - the Acropole. Except for a couple of delays, there were no hitches with our flights; we made all the transfers and our luggage made it here with us. We were not stopped at any of the custom checks, so all the Bibles, puppets, tee shirts, booklets and bracelets made it. Yea God! We only had to wait an hour at the Sudan custom versus the three hours that Micheal had to wait last year.

This afternoon we had a wonderful time with Rosemary (who coordinates these trips from Nairobi and travels with us to Khartoum) and her daughter, Prudence. Prudence made us an amazing authentic African lunch with many of the local spices. Rosemary shared with us how the Lord has gripped her heart for the Sudanese people, especially the children. She recognizes that it will be very difficult to change mindsets and the bitterness of the adults caused by the tragedies from the many years of warfare. But it can be different with the children - learning to live lives that follow after Jesus. Her desire for this week is that the participants will be able to go deeper and gather more skills in their ability to reach and teach the children.

Tomorrow we will be going to church where Vergil will be teaching and then off to meet with the various pastors who will be participating in this weeks conference. There is nothing like worshipping with the Africans!

Okay, the clock has officially struck midnight and this chariot is turning into a pumpkin. Good night from Khartoum!

ps: For those of you who have logged on from Sports Outreach, Gary was able to talk with Franklin this morning and will be meeting with him and 12 of his staff members next Sunday for a few hours of continuous education in puppetry. It was great to talk with him and amazing to think that we were actually in the same city.