Notes from Nzara: February 2015

Friday, February 13, 2015

Stoles, stoles, stoles

Thanks to the Diocese of Iowa Altar Guild for the many stoles!

Photos from Mary Cole-Duvall

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Saying good-bye. Matoke Inn, Kampala. Flight for Amsterdam departs 23:30

Photos from Mary Cole-Duvall

It is our last evening here. Again, the stillness is such a hallmark of life here that it pervades even the sounds of voices, Joy's crying, people going about their daily work. What makes noise is the rain—and it is raining as I write. Actually raining hard! Mary and I are in the Bishop's office getting internet access and waiting for the rain to lighten up a bit before we make our way back to our tukul.

We went to Yambio today, enjoyed the markets, took Bob North to the airstrip and waited 2.5 hours for his plane to come in, be loaded and leave again. You don't "drop someone off at the airport" because you have no guarantee that the plane will 1) arrive and 2) depart, so until you see wheels up with your guest on board, you just stay put.

We had a wonderful visit with the Roman Catholic Bishop of Yambio after leaving the airport. Bishop Eduardo is a wonderful man who works very closely with Bishop Samuel in Peace and Reconciliation work. Bishop Eduardo was very gracious, welcoming us warmly and offering us coffee or tea and a beautiful raised banana bread that was as delicious as it was beautiful. He gave each of us a carved wooden map of South Sudan with the states outlined and named. As we left he gave us his blessing and we reiterated that we will continue to pray for the work he and Samuel are doing.

Although we can't call MAF regarding our flight status until 9 a.m., we will have to be on the road by that time. We are supposed to be leaving Yambio around 11 a.m. We are looking forward to seeing you all again and being welcomed home. It will, however, take some time for us to really process all we have seen and done here and what it all means for each of us.

What is God calling me to do here and now? How does God think I can best serve? Yes, our prayers are essential. But so are our hands and feet, our minds and our hearts, our dollars and any expertise we can give.

Thank you for praying for us as we have traveled and will travel again.

Jeanie Smith

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

The Last Full Day

Our last full day visiting with many people, including Bishop Samuel's father and Bishop Eduardo of the Catholic Diocese of Yambio. Visited the Yambio market. Grateful to St. Timothy's for providing new bicycles for the five newly ordained deacons and two evangelists.

Photos by Mary Cole-Duvall

A Peace Beyond Description

It is still here in the morning. Still both in terms of the silence and still in terms of the weather. No electricity this morning, so where you want to be is definitely outside, because inside without the fan and the light working is both dark and humid. The drums beat half an hour before and at the start of morning prayer in the Cathedral. While there are the sounds of the drums and of the women cooking and cleaning, sounds seem muted and distant. There is a peace here that is, I think, beyond description—or maybe just beyond my description. Maybe I will be aware of the competing noises of our Western culture when I get back.

I wonder what will be sacrificed as we bring "progress" to this land. I put "progress" in quotes because I am keenly aware the older I get that every step forward also takes something away. Sentina recently lost her father and she was telling us yesterday of Zande customs when a husband dies. Her mother loses everything—not just her home and all her possessions, but her clothes as well. They even shaved her head. She said it used to be that widows were not allowed to see their husband's grave or to walk on or cross a road that he had traveled. Sentina spent the day yesterday in Yambio purchasing some canvas to make a tent for her mother, getting her some new clothes and some things to cook and eat with.

All of that surely sounds barbaric to us, but it is part and parcel of the close-knit culture that binds these people together. As we lighten the restrictions, we also loosen the bonds, do we not? At least to some degree.

We head into Yambio this morning, to drop off Bob North for his UN flight to Juba, to see the markets in Yambio, and to visit with Bishop Samuel's mother and father.

More later when we return!

Jeanie Smith

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Wonderful people and the gift of water

We have had an easygoing day today, but before I get into that, I need to mention something that I forgot to say about the day of the ordinations and closing Eucharist. The evening before, we gathered those to be ordained in front of the porch on the Bishop's house to present them with stoles from among the vestments that had been collected from churches around the Diocese of Iowa. There were so many stoles and chasubles that every priest in the Diocese also came up and selected something. The altar linens were used during the Ordination service. News travels fast here and it wasn't long after our service that a few priests from other Dioceses also came up to the Bishop and asked if they could have stoles too! What a joy to see all of the Archdeacons in matching stoles! Everybody was thrilled.

This morning we visited the Bishop's "gardens." I put gardens in quotes because what he showed us is more like farms. They have cleared two "fedans" (that's a plot of ground 70 x 65 meters) and are planting pineapples, which are a great cash crop here. Incredibly hard work to clear the land and bring the water, which is not exactly easy to do here. We visited another church where we were given two huge pineapples and three of the largest bananas I have ever seen! Then we returned to the Bishop's compound and then walked to the markets in "downtown" Nzara. Again, the market area is large with some stalls where people sell things and more mats on which they sit with their produce. We walked through the crowded market area. Mary purchased some dresses for Mary Scout and Leah and some fabric to make George and Milton shirts. The Bishop bought two new bicycles for the evangelist leaders. We actually found a place to purchase COLD water and sodas! What a treat!

This afternoon we have been lounging around. I tried taking a nap in our tukul, but it's just too hot, particularly when the electricity goes off and we don't have the fan. But sitting outdoors under the mango tree is delightful! As long as we don't move, or if we do move, we do so slowly!

Our hearts are full for these wonderful people. If they had running water, I think I might be content to stay. Someone please slap me, and slap me hard, if I ever, ever fail to appreciate the gift of water. We are so very lucky to have reliable running water, any temperature we want at any time, that is also potable! That is a remarkable gift and I am reminded many, many times each day of how often I do not appreciate it.

Bob North leaves tomorrow on a UN flight from Yambio to Juba. Suzanne, Mary and I are due to leave the following day on an MAF flight (or flights?) back to Entebbe, Uganda and thence to Amsterdam, Atlanta and Des Moines. A group of Rotary Club representatives were due to come in tomorrow to start the project of drilling the wells that are so desperately needed here, but something happened with their flights and they can't get in so have cancelled. This is a regular type of occurrence here. How difficult it must be for Bishop Samuel to live with this type of disappointment on a daily basis. He is truly an amazing man!

I'll try to write once more after our visit tomorrow to Yambio.

Love to you all!

Jeanie Smith

A tour of the diocesan farm, visiting a parish, then to the market

Photos by Mary Cole-Duvall

Monday, February 9, 2015

Ordination under the mango tree

Yesterday was the big ordination service and the closing Eucharist of the Standing Committee meeting. We vested in our albs and stoles (except for Bob North, who conveniently "forgot" to bring his vestments). Of course, he's been here before and so knows how incredibly hot it gets here and what it feel like under those robes! There was this huge procession from the Bishop's house across the road to the Cathedral. In the procession were all the priests of the Diocese, the Dean of the Cathedral, the four Archdeacons, the Evangelists, the Youth Choir, the Mothers Union, all four of us and the seven people to be ordained and, of course, the Bishop. However hot we were, though, the Bishop had to be a whole lot hotter since he had on easily two layer more than we did.

We initially gathered under the large mango tree where the ordinands signed their certificates. That was at 9:30 a.m. We processed across the road to the Cathedral and the service began at 10:00 p.m. Much singing, some dancing, great joy, and a LOT of people giving long speeches of greeting. We had been told that the service would go until 1:00 p.m., but it actually took til 2:30 p.m. We ordained 5 deacons (1 woman and 4 men) and 2 priests (1 man and 1 woman). Two of the new deacons were the people who had been primarily responsible for the simultaneous translation of the sessions of the Standing Committee meeting, so we felt as if we knew them.

Mary gave a very lovely (and blessedly short) sermon and had Suzanne, Bob, and I come forward and teach "This Little Gospel Light of Mine." What a hoot!!

I believe the Bishop told us that there were more than 1,000 people in attendance. Mary and I in one pair and Suzanne and one of the Deacons in another pair distributed communion to more than 450 people! That's just a lot of folks. And the handwashing that is done as part of the service is not ceremonial at all. It means really washing your hands with soap and water and drying them on a regular bath towel. And you are tremendously grateful for it! All of us were pouring sweat under our robes and were more than delighted to get out of the clergy collar and the hot clergy shirts for the balance of the day once we got back to our tukuls.

There was a large luncheon/dinner after the service held under that same large mango tree where we began it all in the morning. These women are amazing. You can't imagine cooking for this many people with the facilities they have. Truly I marvel! They have these beautiful fresh-baked rolls. We asked how they do this without ovens. Bob North gave us a little tutorial on how that's done and explained how difficult it is to keep an even temperature so that the rolls cook but don't burn. There was beef, chicken, fish, rice, casava greens, spinach, pineapple, bananas, and on and on!

Mary has had a bit of queasiness and stomach rumbling and now I have it too. Really don't want to eat anything, but that's difficult without insulting people. Today, we went over to St. Timothy's Pre-School and Lower Primary School and then on to the ECS (Episcopal Church in the Sudan, which, when they can afford to change their signs and logo, will be ECSSS, Episcopal Church of the Sudan and South Sudan). The children sang songs for us and we toured the classrooms. We taught "This Little Gospel Light of Mine" there as well!

From there, we went out into the bush to visit two churches, one St. Paul's in Nambia and the other St. Luke's in Rangu. Distances are not far, but the roads are so terrible that you just can't travel very fast. We were originally due to visit three parishes, but couldn't leave as early as we originally planned because some high-ranking person died yesterday and, although he was not of the Zande tribe, his family wanted the Bishop to bless the body. We waited quite a long time for the caravan of cars to arrive, but they didn't so the Bishop asked the Dean of the Cathedral to take over and we left.

We travel in an old, but sturdy truck with two wooden bench seats facing each other in the back. After about an hour of travel, we arrived at St. Paul's to an enthusiastic greeting of a large crowd lining the road and then walked on palm fronds from the road to the church. The Bishop greeted the people and then each of us visitors was given a chance to talk. We presented some of the pillowcase dresses and have photos of the girls dressed in them. Then tea and more food. Then another hour's drive to St. Luke's and a similarly enthusiastic greeting, distribution of more pillowcase dresses and some of the eyeglasses. And, of course, more food!

We arrived back at the Bishop's compound about 4:30 p.m. and, once again, were very grateful to take off the clergy shirts and collars.

Internet access has been difficult. I'll try to see if I can get this posted sometime this evening before they turn it off. I'll have to go down to the Diocesan offices in order to get the connection. We'll see!

More later!

Jeanie Smith