(Written February, 2007)

I stood in the bathing room of the Lui Cathedral Guest House looking down at my feet. I was wearing some old red rubber shower shoes that had fallen apart in the Sudanese heat and were now held together with green camouflage duct tape. I washed my feet twice each day with soap and water but nothing worked. For a time I fantasized about arriving in London and going immediately to have a pedicure but now I was certain I would never show anyone my feet again. As I stared down at them I wondered if they would ever again approach their normal color. I longed to put the basin of water on the floor of the bathing house and stand in it but, by then, I knew that people would come in the late evening to look for bath water I had left so I tried not to dirty the water too much. (more…)

(Written January, 2007)

“In the land where all are blind, the one-eyed man is king.”

At a conference held in Lui, one of the presenters used this saying as an example of how the priests and deacons would be seen as leaders in their communities in situations related to more than religion and faith. Abraham was making the point that these leaders of the church were more educated than their parishioners and would be looked to for all kinds of help. I saw a young priest frown and furrow his brow at this idea but I was soon distracted by the next topic and forgot about it. (more…)

(Written December, 2006) January 9th is a very important date in the lives of the Southern Sudanese people. It is a day of celebration and rejoicing but also a day that signals the racing toward a day of decision for our friends in Lui. In four more years they must vote whether to remain with the Khartoum government or to become a separate nation. The early days of January last year were days of change as the UN troops moved into the area and some degree of order returned to the area following the year of tribal warfare with the Dinka Bor. It was a time of reflection for those who had lived through the many years of conflict. (more…)