Monica rises very early every morning, before her 7 children get up. She sweeps the dirt around her tukel (mud hut) with a bush limb to clear her compound of snakes and scorpions. She walks for an hour to the nearest well to pump water for her family. She hurries back to make tea for…
Marks of Warrior Traditional practices of the Dinka culture are fascinating. Scarification is one of those practices. Scaring is done for cosmetic reasons for some, but for a Dinka Agar boy it is part of the initiation to manhood. On each boy’s forehead will be cut 6 horizontal lines that mark him for life as…
Transforming Culture by Tangibly Showing Christ’s Love By the time we walked from the airfield to the ACM/ALP Compound, I was dripping with sweat. Afternoon temperatures of 107 are not unusual in March. The 4-classroom school building, built in 2017, stood in stark contrast to the thatched roofed structures still used for grades 1-4. Indoor…
Independence vs Interdependence By Gracia Sugantharaj Self-sustainability is the buzz-word frequently used to describe the goals of many ministries operating in the developing world. By definition self-sustainability means the ability to support or maintain something without relying on outside aid. In the Western context, self-sustainability and independence are often used interchangeably. There is a tacit…
Remember the Wonders He Has Done A part of my morning routine for the past many years has been to read an online news publication,The Sudan Tribune, which reports news from South Sudan. I rarely find any good news, and quite honestly, it is usually it is downright discouraging. However, I follow that time up…
“Why do you do this? Isn’t it dangerous? Don’t you get discouraged? Isn’t it just hopeless anyway?” These are questions Living Water Community Transformation board members are asked frequently by family and friends who are concerned about our mission in South Sudan. Just yesterday, in my early morning quiet time, I read a familiar passage…
That is counter-cultural. Women have never had a meeting here. They are not to be educated. Their only purpose is to bear children and be work animals. They have too much work to come to meetings. They will never come.” These were some of the discouraging comments I received when the concept of a women”s…
“Back to School”, is a theme proclaimed everywhere in the United States at this time of year. It has become almost as commercialized as Christmas. It means shopping for new clothes, shoes, backpacks, lunch boxes, and school supplies. Students and parents alike are excited, but for different reasons. ? Things are drastically different in South…
There were no loaves of bread or small fish. However, there were sacks of sorghum, beans, and cooking oil, and getting it to the 2000 souls in 7 remote areas of South Sudan was kind of like a miracle. Just finding enough food to purchase in South Sudan, where food is extremely scarce, was no…
“Before I received help from ACM (Akot Christian Ministries) I did not know where I could find food for my myself and my brother and sisters. I used to think a lot about school, but our future seemed hopeless because we did not have parents,” wrote Petero in a thank you note via Facebook. Petero…
