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