From the Beach to the Desert

Well the mystery of what is next for me has been solved. After much thought and prayer I have decided to accept a position in Sudan. It is another finance position however the setting is much different. I will be in Sudan based in a town called Nyala, southwest of Khartoum (the capital of Sudan) in the Darfur region. Here I will be joining a team of 7 expats and 80 nationals.

For those of you unfamiliar with what is happening in the region of Darfur I'll give you a little background. In 2003 two rebel groups had formed in Sudan against the government's policies regarding the Darfur region. The government's responce to these groups was to mobilize and arm a militia group called Janjaweed. This has resulted in horrible acts of destruction, starvation and killing over 300,000 people displacing another 2 million. The UN has described the situation as 'the world's worst humanitarian crisis' and the US Congress and State Dept. has called it genocide. Since the conflict began people would flee into neighboring Chad, refugee camps or into IDP (internally displaced people) camps within Sudan. As things calm down people try to return to their villages however the situation is still very unstable and they usually end up returning to the camps as invasions continue.

Samaritan's Purse has been there since 2003 distributing food aid, shelter and basic supplies to try and meet people's needs. So as the conflict continues SP continues to bring assistance to the hungry, tired and weary. SP has a great little video about the work that they are doing there on their web site www.samaritanspurse.org. On the right hand side it says 'crisis in Darfur'. That will give you a better idea of what is going on. So as I think about what is happening there I feel rather privileged to play a part in bringing help to those in need. My heart breaks over countries in crisis and I have always said that I would love to be in the middle of it doing what I can, so here is my chance. The living conditions are going to be rustic but I hear there is electricity most of the time and running water when the electricity is on. I'm looking forward to all the challenges that this next year will bring.

So I will be heading off to Liberia to join my parents and a team of people from March 25 - April 7. Then I will be returning to Moz to train my replacement here and then I will go right from here to Sudan. I am able to go for a home leave however with going home at Christmas and again in February I felt that a break in three or four months will be needed. So I have delayed my home leave for a couple of months. I will post more details about my new home in Sudan as I get them. Please keep me in your prayers and I work through the nerves of heading into a new environment.