BELC Graduation a Success!

I talked to Nate on the satellite phone last night and he reported that the BELC (Basic Education Learning Center) celebration went really well. It was a sweltering day (42 degrees C) and the celebration lasted about 6 hours all together. There were speeches and messages of encouragement and the menu included 2 cows and 2 goats!

Nate's had a really good time reconnecting with former teammates and Sudanese friends and meeting new ones. One evening he was able to go to his good friend Yuna's house and sit around the fire, drinking cup after cup (they're tiny china cups!) of strong Sudanese coffee and chatting, just like they used to. He's enjoyed scouting out a good location for our house and he thinks he found the perfect spot!

Karina and I are doing well in Nairobi, although missing Nate and really looking forward to his return on Monday night! We're keeping busy meeting up with different teammates and having great visits.

It's looking like we will be able to go into Sudan as a family on April 7th and stay in another house for a couple months while our house is built. The next 2 weeks will be busy as we continue preparations for the move. Thanks to our wonderful logistics team, we've had help doing a lot of our purchasing already and sending stuff ahead of us to Sudan. Please pray for our transition and especially for Karina's adjustment to the environment, as we're going in during the hottest month of the year! We're thankful that there is a new borehole well near the compound, so it will be easier to get clean water, rather than getting it from the river.

BELC Graduation

The Basic Education Learning Center (BELC) started officially on May 5, 2007. For the previous 3 months we had been interviewing students, building a classroom (pictured above), and preparing our lesson materials. My Ethiopian colleague and I had found a translator to help us teach the 5 subjects... Math, English, Christian Education, Science, and Social Studies.

So when the first week of May arrived, we were ready! A community wide celebration had been arranged and our meal had been organized (a cow, locally made bread, rice, and juice powder were purchased in the market). It's funny to recall now, but at the time I didn't know the significance. Apparently the Sudanese rarely eat enough to feel "full". But with all the food we had, people were filled to the point of refusing more. They later said that we had prepared a very nice celebration - and they laughed at their inability to keep eating!

Tomorrow I will travel again to celebrate with the students. Only this time, it is for their graduation. They have achieved a grade 8 level education in 3 years of work. It will be a pleasure for me to see their progress and to be one of the speakers this Thursday, delivering a Biblical message of encouragement. And as the founding teacher of this BELC, it will be a very satisfying moment... one of the many thrills of having invested part of my life in Sudan.

Friendly Neighbor

The family has settled into life here in Africa nicely. On all accounts, it has been very good to return. As I was returning home from shopping one day, I was amused to see that a new neighbor had moved in... apparently the grass is to his liking!

We are praising the Lord that we've been in touch with an experienced builder. Please continue to pray for us, as we will decide about employing him for 8-10 weeks to build our home in Sudan. That he is a believer is a great encouragement... we hope this will work out well.