Martyns in Africa
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Advent
Posted: November 30, 2011, 4:00 pm by Taylor
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with the Rounds side of the family. It was a real treat that Avery got to light the first advent candle at Allison’s parent’s church. We were able to share at First Presbyterian Saturday morning, share a brief update with the Sycamore Sunday school class at FUMC, talk with a few folks interested in missions, catch up with old friends and stuff ourselves full of turkey. A busy but wonderful time we cherish after spending the last major holidays away from family. -
Thankful Thursday
Posted: November 24, 2011, 4:00 pm by Taylor
On this Thanksgiving Thursday I am especially thankful to be living in a land with the freedom to worship our Father God without fear from physical persecution.
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Refugees gathering in Doro Sudan
Posted: November 23, 2011, 5:00 pm by Taylor
Below is an update sent from our SIM Sudan director…
Situation in Doro, eastern Upper Nile State, South Sudan – Plans for a Permanent UN Camp
Through various sources, we’ve been able to gather some information on the situation in Doro. What we do know: Tens of thousands of refugees are streaming in from Blue Nile region, and have camped out at Doro, as they are not allowed in the neighboring trading center of Bunj. The sea of people stretches for many kilometers.
We have heard that conditions are very bad. Young and old are suffering, as they have walked many kilometers without adequate food or water. (Some have been walking for up to a month, coming from Blue Nile Region.) Last night, temperatures dropped to 66 degrees Fahrenheit (19 Celsius), leaving blankets and clothing wet from heavy dew, presenting a risk of hypothermia. The UN has now assumed responsibility for refugees in this area (they are “wards” of the UN), and our understanding is that the UN plans to set up a permanent camp in Doro.
In regards to security, there have been no bombings within Upper Nile region since the last incident in New Guffa. Many bombings have been reported inside Blue Nile State (ie. Chali, Yabus airstrip, Bellatuma), and theoretically, bombing in Doro is still a possibility. However, two SPLA (army of South Sudan) divisions have formed a defensive curtain along the border between South Sudan and Sudan. Many have cited the possibility of cross-border militia attacks.
As of now, the UNHCR (UN High Commissioner for Refugees) has a presence in Doro, along with a handful of other volunteers from various NGOs. The Doro Primary Health Care Unit is currently being operated by our Community Health Workers, trained by Barb Hartwig and Vicki Beattie in the CHW program. Dr. Atar, a Sudanese doctor from Kurmuk, has set up his operations in Bunj clinic, with support from Samaritan’s Purse (SP). SP is sending an assessment team of 3-4 people into Doro this week to determine the current situation, and to do a basic security, health and WASH (Water and Sanitation) assessment. SIM is open to sending in a similar team for assessment purposes, to determine what the current patient load is at the clinic, and to collect accurate data on the situation in Doro.
Now that Doro village is host to tens of thousands of refugees, we believe that the human landscape of Doro area has been completely altered. Our brothers and sisters from the SIC church of Blue Nile have scattered to Ethiopia and to Bunj. God’s people, who became a church through SIM’s efforts, are now in trouble again.
We covet your prayers as we wrestle with these questions, desiring to be sensitive to God’s leading.
· Pray that SIM’s Safe Drinking Water program, based in Doro can respond through our borehole drilling partners
· Pray for protection for the young and the old
· Pray for permanent camp facilities to develop quickly
· Entreat the Lord for workers to help reopen the SIM Doro PHCC
· Pray that the bombing and militia attacks in Blue Nile would cease
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Thankful Thursday
Posted: November 18, 2011, 5:03 am by Taylor
To continue our thankful thursday posting… I am thankful for tools like the internet so that we can keep updated about what is going on half a world away.
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Update on Sudan/ South Sudan situation
Posted: November 15, 2011, 7:39 pm by Taylor
The Sudanese rebels in Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan has established a military alliance against Khartoum. This is just another step that shows the tension building and the increased need for prayers for peace and wisdom for all governments involved. The U.N. chief weighed in with his opinions on the matter and you can read the report from the sudan tribune here.
Here is another great article and update from USA Today.
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Pumpkin Village
Posted: November 15, 2011, 7:31 pm by Taylor
Dick and Meg Ackley are the SIM South Central regional directors. They are the ones who help SIM with recruitment in the South central region. We have been fortunate to have known them for 12 years this fall and have been blessed by their guidance all along the way of our recruitment process, first term, and now first home assignment. Growing up as missionary kids themselves, then missionaries oversees, and now missionaries in the US they have been very helpful during all our transitions. Meg invited Allison and the kids to the arborteum last week. It was a wonderful time and we loved getting to walk around in beautiful gardens and the season exhibit of the pumpkin village! It was also a special mommy and me day so there was story time, a petting zoo and face painting! Such a refreshing time, thanks Meg!
It was actually a Sudanese gentleman who came up with the idea and design for the pumpkin village. It was neat to see tukul like pumpkin huts
Larson did well in his stroller and loved the fresh air. It has been neat to get to use a stroller, but he does try to climb out a lot so we will be glad to get back to using the ergo in Nairobi!
Avery LOVED the petting zoo and could have brushed the goat, sheep and bunny for hours. The bunny wasn’t too happy about Avery trying to brush her though. The owner of the petting zoo saw how much Avery loved the animals and told me they come to you for birthday parties. He said they travel far…I was tempted to ask how far. Think he would have come to Nairobi?
This was the best face painting Avery has gotten by far! It was actually done in about a minute as the rain started to come down. As you can see she loved getting to be a tiger! -
Kiir responds to Bashir’s threats
Posted: November 11, 2011, 8:02 pm by Taylor
The Sudan tribune reports,
“Addressing diplomats, the international community and the media in Juba, the South Sudan capital, Kiir described recent accusations by Sudan’s President Omar Al-Bashir, alleging that the south was supplying arms to opposition groups in Sudan as provocative.In response, however, the Sudanese government, on Saturday, announced that it had lodged a complaint with the UNSC against its southern neighbour, based on allegations it had been supporting rebellions in Darfur, South Kordofan and Southern Blue Nile…
This is the second time since August that Khartoum has filed a complaint against South Sudan with the UNSC, just three months after the latter declared its independence.
“We categorically reject these claims to be utterly baseless and malicious,” said Kiir.
The president also dismissed recent claims by the northern government as “totally unfounded.” The north had said that South Sudan was hosting opposition forces that fled as a result of intense fighting in Blue Nile’s Sali area.
According to Kiir, those who fled the fighting were mainly legitimate refugees in search of safety. He appealed to the international community to provide humanitarian assistance to the estimated 1,000 civilians displaced in the border areas of Renk.
“It is surprising that Sudan as a member of the United Nations has arrogated itself to threaten the sovereignty of the Republic of South Sudan through military invasion. This is an issue of grave concern and contradicts the spirit of the CPA,” he said.
The South Sudan leader largely blamed his northern counterpart for his reluctance to have outstanding post-CPA issues resolved, citing issues like the north-south border demarcation, Abyei referendum and popular consultations in South Kordofan and Blue Nile.
“It is unfortunate that even if we have agreed to demarcate the border between the two states, Khartoum remains resolutely opposed to any process that would lead to a peaceful resolution of the dispute over a number of contested border areas,” he remarked.
On the disputed oil-producing Abyei region, Kiir said its illegal occupation by northern forces-SAF and refusal to withdraw as a UNSC requirement, remains a potential threat to regional peace and security.
Kiir strongly condemned Wednesday’s incident in which northern war planes reportedly bombarded Guffa village in North Eastern Upper Nile state, killing seven people.
“We are committed to peaceful resolutions to any conflict but we will never allow our sovereignty to be violated by anybody,” he remarked.
The US embassy in South Sudan, on Wednesday, issued a strong statement condemning “in the strongest possible terms” the incident in what analysts largely view as a culmination of renewed tension between the two neighboring nations.
It also stated that, the “indiscriminate aerial bombardment of civilian targets always is unacceptable and unjustified,” and expressed concern that the attacks “increase the potential of direct confrontation between Sudan and South Sudan.”
For the full article click here
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Doro Base Evacuation Friday *updated*
Posted: November 11, 2011, 7:26 am by Taylor
Dear praying friends,
Bombings have been increasing and coming closer to the SIM Sudan base in Doro. Those that had not been evacuated will be Friday. They stayed behind to finish training up community health workers to carry on the clinic work and to tie up other loose ends. Please keep praying for our team members who are hurrying to wrap things up before they leave and for tearful good-byes. Our Lord is mighty and works all for His glory. Though we may not understand things in the moment we can trust in Him. I cannot imagine how hard it must be for those leaving and for those staying behind wondering about the escalation of bombings and the possibility of yet another war.Updated to let you all know that the remaining team members have arrived in Juba and will fly out to Nairobi. Thank you for your prayers. Also wanted to mention that we still have SIM Sudan team members in our other bases (Malakal, where we were, is one of them) that, as of now, are safe and do not need to be evacuated.
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Refugee camp bombed
Posted: November 10, 2011, 10:50 pm by Taylor
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Thankful
Posted: November 10, 2011, 5:00 pm by Taylor
’tis the season for Thanksgiving here in America. This has prompted me to start somethingI have wanted to do for awhile…Thankful Thursdays. As much as I can manage I will post something we are thankful for on a Thursday. So, here we go…
We are thankful for family. It has been such a treat to get to spend precious times with our family during this home assignment. As our travels have wound down and we are settling in for a slower paced holiday season we are extremely grateful for spending time with our family.
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Doro Sudan base being evacuated
Posted: November 9, 2011, 11:57 pm by Taylor
The following was sent from our SIM Sudan team,
“Six of our team members from Doro base have been extracted in advance of any perceived danger; they were flown out of Doro this morning at 10:55 AM on an AIM caravan and are due to arrive in Nairobi at 5:45 PM this evening. These members include: Karen Ihrig, Hiake and Rangteigong Hegui, Dixon Kaburu, Judy Owuor, and Dau Matthew. The remaining team has stayed behind in order to close down Doro base in an orderly way until the situation calms. The conflict in Blue Nile state is threatening to spill over into Upper Nile. As of last night, 8 November, the sights and sounds of war have become, in our judgement, too close. What caused this decision to extract this first wave of Doro team members was a serious and deliberate bombing of New Guffa 30km north of Boing (Guffa is in South Sudan, Upper Nile state). Many Southern Sudanese have been wounded as a result of the bombing. There have been several indications of insecurity, but this actual attack on Upper Nile is a clear sign the conflict could be approaching the Doro area. Please keep in your prayers Bob Ihrig, Karissa Cail, Christiane Fox, Neil Ingall, and Sheila West, as they take care of necessary procedures for closing down the base. Also lift up Nehemiah, our Southern Sudanese compound manager, who has faithfully watched over SIM facilities and staff in Doro. And finally, let’s remember our Sudanese brothers and sisters in Christ who remain in harm’s way, those who have already been affected by this growing conflict, sharing in the sufferings of our Savior. The remaining 5 will be extracted no later than Monday, 14 November.”
Please keep praying!
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Averyism
Posted: November 9, 2011, 5:00 pm by Taylor
On a lighter note than recent posts we wanted to share a recent song Avery sang.
To quote our dear Avery…
Mary had an elephant, elephant, elephant. Mary had an elephant, its’ feet were wide and dirty. -
Bashir clearly threatens war *updated*
Posted: November 8, 2011, 7:51 pm by Taylor
The Sudan Tribune reports,
“Al-Bashir said that Khartoum was still keen on peace but if the south wanted war so be it.
“We tell our brothers in the south that if they want peace, we want peace. If they want war, our army is there,” Al-Bashir told the crowd, threatening to repeat what he termed as the lessons of Abyei, Kadugli and Al-Damazin.
“Our message to our brothers in the south is this: you won the south not because you were victorious but because of an agreement and a pledge we upheld, so you had better stay in your place,” he said.”
If you would like to read more head over to Sudan Tribune.
And as always we ask you to keep on praying for Sudan and Southern Sudan during these intensifying times.
Updated to add in Kiir’s response. Sudan Tribune reported it here.
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Earthquake!
Posted: November 6, 2011, 5:00 pm by Taylor
A 5.6 earthquake happened in Oklahoma last evening. It was reported to have been felt here in North Texas as well. That makes me feel less crazy. I still up and started to wonder why my legs were shaking. As a sign of the times I went online and saw that others had felt the same thing. It also reminded me that if we don’t share of what our Lord has done the earth will cry out. Our time here is so limited. Sad to say that I needed a good wake up call to the urgency we must have about sharing with others. Not just as a Sunday school request to pass out a track or two, but to really share the joy of our salvation. Eternity of souls is on the line. Please join with me in searching out friends, loved ones, even strangers the Lord places in our paths who we can share with.
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Officially official
Posted: November 5, 2011, 5:00 pm by Taylor
Blah blah blah
Fish cakes
Alas a fish cake.
Yet more fish cakes
Guess what ... yeah ... fish cakes.
The end of the fish cakes
