Welcome to our Dukul

Welcome to the Dukul of Bethany and Kim! We are very exciting to have a small place to call our own and have enjoyed adding personal flare to make it feel even more homey.

Our dukul is divided into 3 sections, two of which you will see below. There are two small bedrooms and a larger front/sitting room.

This is our sitting room with our cozy bowl chairs puchased from Uganda. Bethany and I have already gotten great use out of this room as we sit and plan for our next teacher training or watch an episode of Heros on one of our computers.

Welcome to my bedroom! After a year in Mundri I now have a space that is just for me :o). It is a true gift to have a place to go to when I just want to read quiety, journal or just rest.

I love this unique little home. It provides personal space, yet still offers community with the open ceiling and shared common room. Our whole team compound continues to be an inviting peaceful haven.

Youth Day

This last Saturday both young and old gathered near the Mundri Cathedral to enjoy the sounds of vibrant voices singing to the Lord. They call this gathering Youth Day because youth choirs come from various churches around Mundri to share a few songs.

It is unheard of to have any kind of gathering without sharing in food or drink. So while songs were being shared, plastics cups were passed, tea was poured, and bread was given. It was one big tea party...

...with lots and lots of dancing!

Astypalea Island

Some hundreds of years ago my Italian ancestors were given an island that from bird's eye view is in the shape of a butterfly. My ancestors constructed the castle on the top of the hill that you see in the picture below. My feet have now touched ground that my great great great great greats... had once touched. I walked around the castle ruins that still remain and couldn't believe I had been giving such an opportunity. This island is where my last name originates. My ancestors started out as the Querini family, but later after living on this island changed their name to Querini-Stampalia (which is the western version of Astypalea). What an amazing journey!

Beginning of Greece Travels

Every 3-4 years WHM comes together for a mission wide conference. This year we all met outside of Athens, Greece. It was an amazing week full of prayer, praise and worship, encouragement, inspiration from the Word, fun, Greek food, dancing, workshops such as how to communicate to supporters or how to use Bible storying on the field, and endless stories of how God is living and active all over the world. I continue to stand amazed at the power of my heavenly Father. I am also thankful that through this week the Lord continued to reveal my own personal need for Jesus. As I return to Mundri I know that it is not going to be my own strength or abilities that will open doors or allow me to further the Lord's kingdom, but only through Christ.
Before I met with my fellow WHM missionaries I met up with a family that I used to nanny for in the states. They now currently live in southern Italy and gladly agreed to meet me in Greece. I could have never imagined a few years back that I would one day explore the ruins of Greece with them.

Sorry the picture is small, but this is the WHM crew that gathered for our 2010 conference.

Highlights from my time in Washington

Getting to see my fiance was definitely a highlight. Because I am in Sudan for 7 more months and he lives in Maryland we do not get to participate in the traditional wedding planning festivities together like wedding expos and endless bakery and florist visits. I am thankful that a local bakery happen to have an open house cake tasting while James was in town. We did not decide on a flavor, but just having the shared experience was enough.

My niece has gotten so big. We are predicting that she is going to be quite the pianist because of her long fingers and the fact that pushing down the keys keeps her interested for over 20min.

The main purpose of my visit back to the Seattle area was to be a part of my friend Michelle's wedding. It was an honor to be a part of the activities leading up to the big day and then of course to witness Michelle and her husband committ their lives and hearts to one another. The picture above shows Michelle in the middle and our friend Rachael on the left. The three of us have known one another since the 3rd grade and have shared in many life experiences. I am so thankful to have friends like these two beautiful women.

On my Way

I am amazed at how travel can be so tiring when all you do is sit on a plane for hours on end. I headed to the airport yesterday morning at 6:30am thankful that the disruptions from the Iceland volcano are no longer an issue. However, when my taxi pulled up to the airport I noticed an extremely long line overflowing out the doors and onto the sidewalk. I have never seen this and my first thought was that the flight was just extremely full because of people still trying to get home from the ash cloud disruption. It wasn't until I was inside and halfway through the line that we were told computers were down and they were checking everyone in manually. I couldn't help but think...only in Uganda. The flight ended up being delayed 3 hours as they made sure everyone was checked in and had a seat. I was actually pretty surprised that there was only a small handful of people who were given the same seat number. It was an amusing experience, but probably wouldn't have been if I had missed a flight connection because of it. Thankfully I had an overnight in London and got good rest after a long day. I get on my next flight in a few hours and will arrive in Seattle in the early evening. I look forward to seeing many and joining my friend Michelle as she counts down the days until her wedding.

Progress and Preparation

There are now walls and a roof on the dukul that is soon to shelter Bethany and myself. I have never had a home built specifically for me. Bethany and I have had good times imagining how we want to decorate and place furniture. I look forward to having a space of my own that I can uniquely personalize.

The dry season in Sudan is slowly coming to an end. People are now beginning to prepare for the rain by gathering their seeds and clearing their land. Last Sunday at church everyone brought some of their seeds and placed them near the front. To begin the service we all went outside and began praying around the church, reading scripture and asking God to bless the land. During the service the pastor also held up one of the baskets full of seeds and asked God to bless them and use them to provide food and nurishment for His children in Mundri. At the end of the service Bethany and I were given some seeds to take home. We hope to plant some of them in our team garden and taste a little more of Moru culture and life.