Last Update from Boma, Dec. 3

The Rocket Stove Made by the Women of Boma

Part of the Circle Forming that Closes the Church Services

I forgot one thing from last Sunday. At the end of each service those who were leading go outside first and then everyone else follows singing a song. As each person greets those already in line they then take their place in the forming circle. When the circle is complete, a blessing is repeated by all -- a nice way to end a service. There is a little girl about 3 or 4 who runs to greet me every morning as I walk up to the school. She stood in line with me after church holding my hand. All of a sudden there was pain in my arm and I looked down to see her pulling the hairs. I realized how strange those hairs must appear because Sudanese have very little of any body hair.

The community meeting on alcohol and smoking that was supposed to have taken place on Tuesday did not happen. It rained early in the morning and then there were some problems and a big meeting with, you guessed it, the Mbotonya boys which the chiefs attended. Dr. Nandi's meeting was rescheduled for Thursday afternoon. It is now Thursday afternoon and the Mbotonya have not showed up for their dance and pre-dance lecture. At least the chiefs and community leaders heard Dr. Nandi and will speak to their people. In Sudan you plan and then do what the Sudanese make available to you. Little by little is at least progress. Dr. Nandi had a great line today after the meeting did not happen, "You do not plan things in Boma, Boma makes plans for you."

Speaking of the Mbotonya, Pastor Godfrey gave an excellent teaching today on Paul's conversion in Acts 9. He is teaching the first 12 books of Acts for the pastor training. His point was that Paul was a devout Pharisee who was saved and then immediately went back to his Pharisee brethren to tell them the truth about Jesus Christ. Throughout his ministry he continued doing this though it resulted in severe beatings and threats of death. Some of these pastors are Mbotonya and his point was that they need to go to these Mbotonya (every Murle village has their own Mbotonya and Titi groups) and tell them the truth about Jesus Christ, even though it may mean beatings and threats of death. I think they got the concept.

I have really enjoyed getting to know Pastor Godfrey and Dr. Nandi. They have done a wonderful job and are both just outstanding teachers. I have learned so much about the Murle culture from sitting in on Dr. Nandi's Christian Family Living class. He gets the men to open up and share the reality of Murle family life and it has been a great education for me. The pastors are going away with some very different, life changing ideas from scripture on God's principles for being a family. Dr. Nandi and I have very similar beliefs regarding the family; we are also the same age and have the same number of children and grandchildren so we have had some great conversations. I told him he could come to the US and teach on family anytime he wants as his wisdom and insights are very much needed.

On Wednesday morning we made a Rocket Stove! It was very fun. About 6 women and 2 men came. As I was mixing up the clay, grass seed and mango juice by hand, I was suddenly joined by 3 of the women. They proceeded to make the whole stove as I stood back and gave instructions through the interpreter. They did a great job and the stove came out quite nice. They were very proud of it and told me that when I come back to Boma I would see more of these stoves. One woman wants to take the stove kit home with her and make one tomorrow. After carting six 5 gal. buckets and other materials used to make the stove across the Atlantic and Africa, the response did indeed warm my teacher's heart. I took a lot of pictures, some of which I will share in the December newsletter.

Wednesday evening we had our staff prayer time and I led a communion service. Iris made mango juice and I bought a loaf of bread from Freddie. The communion, prayer, worship and fellowship made for a very rich time and we continued on well after we normally stop for dinner. We have one more time together tonight before leaving tomorrow morning. It was a little scary this morning waking up to a huge wind and rain storm, but by 10:00 it had started to clear up. The truck from JAM came this afternoon and we unloaded food for the school. The driver is spending the night and we are leaving at 6:00 in the morning for the airstrip and then on to Nairobi with MAF. That is God willing and the airstrip is dry. I just heard thunder and it is starting to rain. Boma always keeps you a little unsure of things forcing you to become further dependent on the Lord. This is one of the great Boma lessons to be learned by someone coming from the US - we don't really exert that much control over the world around us.

The sandals people wear here are of a very cheap plastic and do not last long with all the walking they do. I have had several men, including Chief Leno, ask me if they could have my sandals. If someone were to come up with a simple design for sandals that could be made here and sold, it could be a very good little business for someone. I remember going to Tijuana in my younger days and buying sandals made from old tire treads; if anyone has a design like this for sandals that could be made in Boma with materials brought in from Kenya, please send me an email.

Well, this is the last update before I return to Portland on Monday. It has been a good trip and I have learned a lot. Looking forward to getting back and seeing my wife Renee' and the grandkids.

Blessings from Boma;

Micheal

Monday Nov. 30

Dr. Nandi and I Munching on Sugar Cane

More of the Mbotonya Boys

Teacher Iris With Baby Godfrey

I can't really say the time here has gone by quickly as it seems I've been in Boma and away from home for a long while, but it has been a very good trip. All the staff are so excited to go home and see their families in Kenya - we are flying out together with MAF this Friday from Boma to Nairobi. Edwin, our new project manager, has a week old little baby waiting for him. He and his wife have been trying to have a child for some time and she just delivered a little girl, Joy. When I pass Edwin I sing, "You've got the Joy, Joy, Joy….." and he puts his hands on his chest and sings, "Down in my heart".

School closed last Friday with all the students getting their grades for the year and place in their class they achieved. There were some very unhappy students that did not make the top 3 spots in each class. That is good since they are learning that to advance you must make an effort and work hard which is a foreign concept in Boma. We will start anew in January with four classes, K-3. We had a very wonderful time with the pastors this past Thursday. After class in the afternoon Pastor Godfrey, Dr. Nandi and myself went to their camp and did some ministry with them. Some of these men are believers and some are not even born again. So we started with a prayer of rededication which we all prayed together and then they each came to one of us and we prayed for them to be filled with the reality and power of God's Spirit. God was present and it was a significant time in the Lord for these men - and for me too.

I have seen some of the challenges that are here in Boma in a new light on this trip. The young men who are now in power (the Mbotonya defeated the older Titi group during last spring's annual generational fighting) are quite lawless and immature. Imagine a class of average college freshmen party dudes being in control of our government. They are calling the shots and if they want to have a meeting, you all go and meet. If they want to have a dance, you all go dance. And, if you are a Mbotonya and do not join them in a scheduled activity, you are tied to a tree and beaten. One of our young masons did not show up for work one day and then came in late. He had been crying and said he was "under arrest" and scheduled to be beaten because he came to work rather than joining the Mbotonya of Jongali in their raid on Bien the week before. These guys run things by fear and some of the pastors and even our teacher James are member of this group. That was part of our prayer time on Thursday as these pastors must stand firm in Christ and say "no, this is not right", even if it costs them. Change will come when such sacrifices are made. The kids in the village of course imitate their older siblings, but the school is having an impact here. One of the government officials told Rosemary not long ago that the kids being taught in our school would not grow up and participate in this negative aspect of the Murle culture. This is a matter for much continued prayer that the enemy's stronghold in this area would be broken.

On a lighter note, Rebecca, who is one of our compound workers, had a little baby boy last week. On Sunday we went over to visit and take her some gifts. Little Godfrey is sooooo cute! We all held little Godfrey and prayed prayers of blessing over he and his mother. Afterwards, I helped some of our guys carry timber (lumber) from the school construction site to the compound. I had a long 2X10 resting on my shoulder for the ¼ mile walk down to the compound and when I went to throw it on the stack I noticed a spider about ½ the size of my palm sitting right where my ear had been. Scary things seem to be bigger and badder in Boma. At least there have been very few snake sightings this trip and we have seen none in the compound.

We showed the Jesus film last night but about ½ way through it started to rain and we had to scramble to get things packed up. It continued to rain all night and now into Monday. I don't know the affects of prayer regarding weather, but please pray for dry weather towards the end of the week. Rain will mean no truck coming up here to get us and as I have walked down to catch a plane in the mud once before, that one experience is enough.

Observing Dr. Nandi, Pastor Godfrey and our excellent Kenyan staff at work here in Boma has reinforced my conviction that we are indeed blessed to have a partnership with Nairobi Pentecostal Church and CITAM (the 7 sister churches of NPC forming Christ Is The Answer Ministries) . Kenyans are just much closer to the Sudanese culture than we in the west and have insights and wisdom into this culture that would take an American years to acquire, if at all. CITAM and SEA Partners are drawing up papers to formalize our partnership and I can not imagine how we could do this without their involvement.

We now have mangoes, papayas, bananas, sugar cane and limes growing and ripening in the compound. At times, this truly does feel like a tropical paradise. After a couple of weeks of just water and tea, ½ litter of water with a fresh lime squeezed in and a spoonful of sugar makes for a very nice beverage.

Blessings from Boma;

Micheal

Thanksgiving Eve in Boma

A Mbotonya Boy Destined to Become a Fashion Designer

The Boys of Mbotonya Out Announcing an Upcoming Dance

Yes, The Lord does have a plan for Sudan and yes His purposes are and will be accomplished because He is God and he loves these people. But situations do arise here on a regular basis that put your faith to the test. The Mbotonya (men 19-28) got together Tuesday night and for hours blew their horns, chanted and sang. I thought it was for a dance but when it continued about 4:30 this morning I knew something was up. Happens at the last dance in Bien some of the boys from that village had injured a boy from Jongali so they were going for a revenge beating of the Bien boys. Thankfully, the chiefs of both villages made peace and fighting was averted. I just returned from the Catholic DOT school compound where the guys decided to slaughter a cow and have a feast instead of fighting. As is most always the case, this planned revenge attack was fueled by alcohol which continues to be such a prevalent problem in Boma. The wages for what little work the men do is most often spent on "nyan" which is their cultural adult beverage of choice. As in every place, nyan is so devastating to families, communities and individuals. I discovered this week that the translator for the Murle Bible (New Testament and Psalms) used the word "nyan" for wine as it was the only word close in their language. So, even Jesus Himself turned water into nyan. But, a very good God thing happened on Tuesday in this regard. Dr. Nandi gave an excellent talk to the chiefs and village leaders on the medical issues involving alcohol and smoking. They sat and listened and asked questions for over 2 hours. At the end they said they would take this information back to their people but wanted him to talk to everyone as a group. People from Kiawa, Bien and our village of Jongali are coming together next Tuesday to hear Dr. Nandi address these issues. Even better, the "Mbotonya" are having a dance that evening and the chiefs are going to be there and tell them they must listen to Dr. Nandi before the dance begins. At the end of the meeting Pastor Godfrey told the men that Dr. Nandi is a very good doctor, but there is a Dr. of Drs. whose name is Jesus and that He is the only one who can fill the emptiness in their lives. So yes, God is working and His purposes are being accomplished in Boma. Please be in prayer for these meetings on next Tuesday the first of December; I will let you know how the day goes. This will be part of the pastor's training because unfortunately several of these guys enjoy their nyan as well.

I have been thoroughly enjoying our nightly devotions with the staff. We are going through both Genesis and Esther chapter by chapter. Some of these chapters are a little tough - one night I was responsible for Genesis 38 (if you are not familiar with this chapter, read it and try to think of an inspirational Bible study to prepare on it). As I told the group, God's Word is so amazing in that it is alive and speaks to us even in sections we may at first find very difficult or boring. We ended up having a very good discussion. The thing I have enjoyed most at these times together has been the singing of hymns. I have not sung hymns on a regular basis since I was a kid and it has been wonderful to revisit them. It doesn't hurt to have 9 Kenyans who can all sing beautifully (most all anyway, as Bernard has a singing voice even worse than mine). "All to Jesus I Surrender", "On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand", "Blessed Assurance", it goes on and on and the words to these hymns are so very powerful. I am predicting a come-back for hymns, maybe arranged in a more modern style, but these words need to be sung and heard.

We showed the Jesus Film last Monday evening and will show it at least once more before leaving. Also on Monday we received word that a little Kachipo child had died; she was visiting her grandparents up here in Jongali but her parents are in Lower Boma. We desparately need some kind of medical services here in Upper Boma and I know the Lord will be providing a clinic for these people soon.

I am still eating my 6-8 mangoes per day. I felt terrible this afternoon as one of my little friends brought me 3 perfect mangoes and asked if he could have a balloon - the kids love balloons as they have no toys or anything like this in Boma. He had helped me gather grass seeds to make the Rocket Stove so I told him I would go get him one. Not thinking, I gave it to him in front of several other kids, two of which were older and jumped on him, bit his arm and ran off with the balloon (these two kids were not a part of our school). I went out later and snuck him another balloon and then with my hand shielding my eyes began searching for the "naughty boys" asking them if they had seen these "naughty boys". They all thought this was very funny for some reason. Speaking of the Rocket Stove, the one I made here actually came out pretty good and has been a source of discussion among all the Sudanese who have come into the compound and seen it. I have given up on trying to get the pastors interested enough to learn to make them. So to whom have I now turned? Why the women of Boma, of course. About 12 of them who were working just outside the compound were forced to come in and take cover when a rain storm hit. I had my Rocket Stove under this cover and was trying to get a fire started. I don't know what it is here, but I can't even get paper to burn well. They got a good fire going and I showed them the steps in making a stove - literally showed as none of them spoke English. I showed them some pictures of the process and had all the materials to make a stove there. They were excited and agreed to come another day to help me make one. The women in Boma rock!

Thanksgiving dinner here will likely be a mound of ugali with all the trimmings - kale and maybe boiled egg stew - and I will enjoy it all very much. The pastor's training did not take place today because former Pastor Peter, our interpreter, was in Bien this morning helping to negotiate peace. The pastors just enjoyed catching up on writing all the notes from both presenters. I made bricks all morning and ended up making about 90. After another short rain storm this afternoon, it is again a beautiful evening in Boma.

Enjoy the holiday and blessings from Boma;

Micheal

Sunday Nov. 22

Pastor Godfrey Making Bricks

Akeem and His Rat Trap

A Rain Storm Brewing Over the Village of Kiawa

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Boma so Dr. Nandi and I decided to walk to the village of Kiawa. Former Pastor Peter walked with us and it was great, even saw some baboons along the trail. Kiawa is my favorite village as it is built on a crescent shaped plateau under some huge rock cliffs and then a cliff on the other side looking out over the plains. The chief of Kiawa is a very responsible man and does good things looking out for the people of his village. He is the one who at the grand opening of our school last year made a speech and said, "Forget the cows and send your girls to school." This was in reference to the tradition that girls are a source of wealth for getting the dowry in cows when they are married off. Anyway, we met with the chief and then looking up at the cliffs above saw some huge thunder clouds rolling in. We left right away and the hour walk getting there is a little more than that going back as it is all uphill. About ½ way home the rain hit and so the last 40 minutes of our walk was in a driving rain storm. The worst part about it was these two young girls whom we let pass on the trail just before the rain started. They were both carrying big bags on their heads and moving up the hill at quite a brisk pace. When we finally got to the compound they were at the gate and had just a really good laugh at us.

Dr. Nandi is always trying to get us to eat certain things he says are good for us, like the skins of the mangoes which I find bitter. Another of these things is little red chilies. They are about the size of the red dot candies. I happened to notice a bush down by the shower area that I had never seen before. On this bush were little red berries that looked a lot like what Dr. Nandi puts on everything he eats. So just to see I picked one, broke it open and smelled it. I will not have another sinus problem for some time to come. As I walked back to my tukal I was rubbing my beard and suddenly my whole face was on fire; just from touching one of those little things - and he puts 2 or 3 on every meal!

On Saturday Godfrey, Dr. Nandi and I made bricks. Our goal was 300 but we could only manage 225. It takes a lot of time and effort to mix the sifted dirt with cement and then add water, mixing it again. If you get the water content wrong, it becomes very difficult to operate the brick machine. Being the one with the greatest number of kilos in body mass, I was called upon a couple of times to bring the handle down. Anyway, it was good exercise. Some women were clearing some grass near us and one of them yelled and jumped back. Thinking it was a snake we went over only to find a nest of lizard eggs. We broke one open and there was a little black nightmarish lizard inside. The women destroyed the eggs.

One of my favorite things to do is take walks out in the village. There are always new things to see. It is fun because most of the people know who I am now and call me by name. Chief Leno had a cow hide stretched out with pegs drying and said that it would be a sleeping mat. Akeem is a little guy who I have befriended and he showed me an ingenious rat trap - yes they do eat rat meat. It was a square made of woven branches with dirt and two big rocks on top. A stick held up one side and Akeem hides some distance away after setting bait under the trap. When a rat comes underneath, he pulls the string and the rat is crushed. He told me he had captured many rats, but I don't know if he is just telling me a Sudanese fishing story.

Most everyone loves to get their picture taken and then see themselves in the screen. It is impossible to get an unposed picture because at the first sight of a camera they run over each other getting in front of it and the boys all go into their karate poses. Last thing - I know the same stars are above the states, but the stars in Boma are just awesome. I love standing out in the dark and just looking up. The number of stars visible must be similar to what Abraham saw when he looked up after God had told him he would be the father of a nation whose number would be more than the stars. We were going to show the Jesus film again tonight but after the rain it is too muddy. Will try tomorrow evening.

Blessings from Boma;

Micheal

Friday Nov. 20

Setting Up for the Jesus Film at the Front Gate to Our Compound

Kids Helping Gather Grass Seed for the Rocket Stove

It's been a good week in Boma. A little too much rain but a lot has been accomplished. Showed the Jesus Film on Tuesday evening and it was well attended despite short notice and late afternoon rain. The pastor training is going very well with Dr. Nandi and Pastor Godfrey covering a lot of excellent material. I had the privilege of being involved in a very beautiful thing last evening. A woman whose family lives near the compound passed away on Wednesday. Some of us from the staff went with the pastors to visit the family. There were about 20 of us and we circled the family, sang several Murle worship songs, offered some words of comfort from the Lord, prayed for them, and as we sang another song, went by and blessed each family member. We also took a bag of millet and some cooking oil to give them. Sudanese do not show emotions, other than anger, but most of the family members were wiping away tears as the pastors sang and spoke to them. It was a wonderful teaching experience for the pastors regarding what pastors do to comfort the grieving.

There are mangoes to be eaten and the kids bring several to school each day. I have had mangoes from various places, but those in Boma have to be the best. We had a fun devotion time in school yesterday. I am doing an OT story one day and a NT story the next. This story was of Elijah and the Prophets of Baal. I made a Baal idol out of buckets, balloons, toilet paper and mangoes. It was quite impressive. I told them how the prophets of Baal were shouting and dancing and cutting themselves yet Baal was not responding, so I suggested they may need some help. I taught them the chant, "Come on Baal, you can do it, put a little power to it!" I made it a contest between sides of the room as to who could be loudest and I am sure they could hear us in Lower Boma. Needless to say, Baal just sat there looking impressive but doing nothing so Elijah took his turn and after pouring a can of water on the alter, an orange blanket came down and burned up everything.

Tomorrow, if it does not rain, we are taking the truck to get sand for construction. It is a 90 kilometer round trip to a river where the sand is located and there is no road. This should prove to be an adventure. I am going to begin training the pastors in how to make a Rocket Stove in the afternoons next week. The stove I made on Monday is working very well and people have been coming in to watch each time I fire it up.

Thank you for continuing to pray for our staff here, the Murle people, the pastor's training and all the other events that are taking place as God's purposes in Boma are becoming reality.

Blessings from Boma;

Micheal

Tuesday Nov. 17

The First Rocket Stove in Boma

Boys in their School Uniforms

Going to school on Monday was a great start to the week. Teachers Iris and Carol collect all the uniforms on Friday and wash them over the weekend. Monday morning they are handed out before school and everyone scurries around changing clothes. The uniforms are then left in their desks after school to be worn on the following day. The kids look so sharp and they are so darn cute! It was cool on Monday so the girls got to wear their sweaters. The boys have no sweaters and are quite jealous, but Iris just reminds them they are big strong men and don't need sweaters. Hopefully we will be able to provide sweaters for the boys at the start of next school year in January. To the people of Boma, any temperature below 75 degress becomes a "sweater required" day. This is exam week, next week will be a grading/play week and then school is out until January. I am doing devotions with the kids each morning which is very fun. Monday morning I did the story of Peter and John healing the crippled man at The Gate Beautiful. I called some boys up to help me by acting the story out and the boys I had play Peter and John were actually named Peter and John. I did not know their names when I called them and the kids thought this was pretty funny. It's a pretty safe bet that a boy's name in Boma will be either one of the disciples or an OT prophet.

One of the things I am doing on this trip is introducing the Rocket Stove to Boma. For more information, just google "Rocket Stove" and you will find pictures and videos. My friends Jon and Flip Anderson in Corvallis, OR invested a couple of afternoons instructing me on making the Rocket Stove and then Flip cooked some amazing lunches on them. If we can get the idea going here, I know they will be a huge blessing. They cook very efficiently using little fuel and generating almost no smoke. There are so many respiratory problems here because the cooking is done inside the tukals with all the smoke, and there is also the danger of children being burned with the open cooking fires. Basically, all you need are two 5 gal. buckets and a two foot section of 4" PVC pipe. The stove is made from clay soil mixed with some type of organic material and about a quart of juice from some type of over-ripe fruit that binds it all together. We have lots of clay soil down about 10 inches below the fertile topsoil here and we have lots of over ripe mangoes for the juice, but I was struggling to find a source for the organic material. I tried chopping up dried savannah grass with a machete but it was a bit too labor intensive and took too much time. So, I just went out on Monday afternoon with my bucket and asked the Lord to show me what I could use. About 10 minutes into my meandering about, I came upon a weird kind of grass that had a top not unlike a cat tail. When I removed the fluffy seeds from the stem, it turned out to be a perfect material for the stoves. Everyone here thinks I am a very crazy American; walking by on the trail they ask why I am pruning the grass and then back at the compound having the women that work for us laugh at me for squishing mushy mangoes into a container. But they were all amazed that afternoon as I made a Rocket Stove and they could see what I had been trying very unsuccessfully to tell them. I built a fire in it today to begin drying it out as I am going to begin teaching the pastors that are here for the training how to make these stoves in the afternoons.

The pastor training began today. Dr. Nandi is a very gracious man and an outstanding teacher. He is doing his sessions on Christian Family Life. Pastor Godfrey is teaching on the first 12 chapters of Acts focusing on the Holy Spirit and the early church. He is a great teacher as well and I enjoyed both sessions today very much. There are about 20 pastors at the training. Another "only in Sudan" moment today - we were in the unfinished school room and as Pastor Godfrey was teaching someone yelled out and jumped up for a stick. A snake about 2 feet long was up on a rafter above Pastor Godfrey. The snake was killed and class continued, no big deal.

I am going to show the Jesus Film tonight even though it rained a bit this afternoon. I had promised the kids in school and they were very excited so the show will go on. I got all the equipment out this afternoon and it worked fine. I had said in my last email that our staff had showed the film every weekend since April - that is what I thought they told me. In reality they have shown it about once a month. Still, I am very happy they are showing it at all. I want to show it here in our village a few times and take it to both Bien and Kiawa while I am here.

Rosemary leaves for Nairobi tomorrow so it will get decidedly quieter from that time on. The amount of energy she has always amazes me. Today was her birthday and I told her that to guess her age I would say somewhere between 30 and 80 - she has the vitality of a 30 year old and is the kind of woman that just does not age. So, I don't really have any idea how old she is and she wouldn't tell me.

Unless something happens that needs your immediate attention, I won't send out another update until the end of the week.

Blessings from Boma;

Micheal

First Sunday 11/15

Dr. Nandi Preparing for Pastor Training Class

New Dining Tukal

I was joined in Nairobi by Pastor Godfrey and Dr. Nandi, both from Nairobi Pentecostal Church. They will be conducting their second three week pastor training in Boma. We arrived in Loki on Friday afternoon and spent the night. The place we usually stay had been recently closed; Loki is becoming a ghost town because the UN and most of the NGO's that had used Loki as a staging area for relief efforts in South Sudan during the years of war have now moved to Juba, Sudan. Those who remain are trying to hold on for a couple of years as they believe war will resume between the North and South forcing the NGO's return to Loki. 2011 is the year the South can vote to become a separate country apart from the North and the situation leading up to this vote is not promising. Realizing too late that the room I had been given did not have a mosquito net, I laid down a heavy cover of insect spray throughout the room to kill any hiding malaria carriers. Whether it was heightened awareness of any buzzing sound or the fear of dying from inhaling the spray, I did not get much sleep.

Flew to Boma early Saturday morning with MAF and JAM drove us up the mountain. About half way to the top the engine overheated so Dr. Nandi and I walked to the compound with some young Sudanese men. Never trust a Sudanese who says, "It is not much further", and "It will get easier". I had forgotten how steep this path was. The compound looks fantastic and much work has been done. We now have 10 living tukals, a new storage tukal, a new dining room/kitchen/food storage and two new toilets almost complete. The second school building is very nearly finished and the foundation for the third building is ready for bricks.

As always, the crowd of kids welcoming us was wonderful. My little friend David even had a perfect mango as a gift which I was very glad to receive as it meant there are mangoes to be eaten in Boma during my three week stay. Last night's sleep was ended at about 4:00 AM at the sound of a horn, drums and singing/chanting in the village. The boys were getting an early start in advertising a big dance coming up. They reminded everyone of the dance for over an hour, but I didn't mind too much as it was a pretty cool sound and a reminder that I was not in Boring, OR anymore.

I taught in church this morning which was mostly kids as there was a joint church meeting/celebration in Kiawa which took most of the older members. Pastor Vergil and Gresham Bible Church will be pleased to know that our staff here has been showing the Jesus Film just about every weekend since we left it and the equipment you donated to show it, here last April.

I won't bore you with talk of the beautiful balmy Boma weather, Freddie's amazing baked bread, Rosemary's laughter which fills the compound on a regular basis, the crowds of smiling kids at the compound entrance that wait there for hours at a time for me to take their picture or at the chance I may give out a couple of balloons, or the other myriad of things that make Boma such a special place. I am looking forward to seeing the pastors again tomorrow at the start of training and then working with Iris, Carol and James in the school.

Blessings from Boma;

Micheal