A (lengthy) update and a poem...

WARNING: This is a rather long letter, but I am afraid we may not be able to communicate with you again in the near future and there is so much to tell.

What an honor and a privilege to work shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and sisters in Gambela and to share with them the trials and struggles of every day life! Louise and I are reminded on a daily basis of how much we have been taking for granted for years and how we have forgotten to trust our Father quite literally for our daily bread…or water, for that matter. Stripped of many of life’s comforts, we are learning what it means to be incarnational, even though we still have far more than the average person here. It is humbling, but it is also so rewarding, and the pros far outweigh the cons. How the Father has shared His love for all with us!

The Gambela market is an extraordinary place…a hustle and bustle of people and animals and vehicles…all sharing the same narrow little mud streets. The stalls are filled with colorful items for sale…”everything and anything a chap can unload”, as the song goes…ranging from food to soap powder. Everything tastes so much better here…the flavors are so enhanced because everything here is ‘organic’. The eggs – which can be dicey at times – are a bright yellowy-orange.  The papayas are fleshy and juicy. The beets are red and sweet.  Of course, we are limited as to what we can buy – there is no cheese, milk, yogurt, or butter to be had here – but these things can be found in Addis and brought here by those who visit. We really have no reason to complain…the Lord is very gracious and kind to us all.

I (Johann or Johannes, as they call me here) have been working rather hard on getting a patch of barren soil prepared for the planting season next year. Part of our instruction at St. Frumentius College will be on sustainable methods of food or even income generating ideas. Mulching and composting are very important in an extreme climate such as Gambela, but these practices are not known here. It has been very interesting to explain to our folks and curious onlookers (I seem to be a kid magnet wherever I go) what I am doing and why. Thankfully, we have a slaughter-house just across the street from us with loads and loads of good cow manure…the rotting heads and other body parts are a problem, but only when the wind blows from that direction. J

I have been preaching in the local churches, leading staff devotions, and have just completed an intensive training session on the Ten Commandments with the Clergy and Lay Leaders. Needless to say, I have been as happy as a warthog in mud!

Louise is currently teaching the Mother’s Union Representatives along with Dr Wendy. Her message this morning about love and forgiveness was amazingly powerful...remember how much these women have been wronged over the years! She gave each woman a stone to hold, and asked them to imagine that the stone was something that had happened to them in the past – something they needed to release to the Lord – some person they needed to forgive – and then to lay it at the foot of the cross. It was a holy moment as each one went forward and knelt before the Ethiopian processional cross.

Bishop Grant and Dr Wendy leave for Addis this Friday. Please pray for them, especially for Grant as he travels around the Horn. There are many, many wonderful things happening throughout the area!

The remodeling of the library continues, but the end is in site. The new windows and offices are such an improvement on the previously dark and awkward interior rooms. Once this project is complete, we hope to start with the (very much needed) wall around the property and the construction of the College chapel, which will also serve as home base for St. Barnabas church…they are now far too large for their small meeting space!

Praise God! He is doing a mighty work under the Anuak! Please pray for our attempts to reach out to the local Anuak community in whose territory we are situated. We showed the Jesus film in Anuak to a crowded room of children and their parents…this is the first moving picture these people have ever seen in their own language! Imagine! The first time ever…and what they saw and heard was the Gospel. This film will be shown at a large Anuak gathering – brethren from all over the area – this Saturday. I will be preaching to this gathering on the Sunday morning. Please pray that the Gospel will go forth in power!

We are so grateful to our Lord for bringing us here…all thanks and praise to Him!

Praise items:

We have received more support from new partners! Praise the Lord and thank you all so much. We want you to know that we pray for you all daily.

We have moved into our new home, even though there are a few problems yet to fix!

Prayer requests:

The dry season is at hand and has not started well. It is very hot and we have no municipal water. We have water from the Baro River, but this is not safe to drink without boiling and filtering.

Pray that we bond well with our new family in Christ.

Pray that we have the grace to die to self each and every day – that the Holy Spirit will help us to “mortify the flesh”.

Pray for wisdom and grace as we continue to plan for the opening of St. Frumentius Anglican College. We already have far more prospective students than we can handle!

Pray for our churches, our clergy, lay leaders, the Mother’s Union, every parishioner, and all they seek to serve.

Pray for our brethren in the refugee camps.

Pray for talks concerning the work of the Anglican Church on both sides of the border.

Pray for peace in South Sudan and peace here.

I will be posting photographs on our blog site and Face Book site.

Finally, here is a poem I wrote (a true story) about the power of forgiveness.

My Children’s Foreign Mother

He gazed at me through darkened eyes,

This man who fled from war.

“I had to wait until my wife

Had died from all her sores.”

“Her sores?” I asked without a thought

Of how this mem’ry might

Uncover pain too deep – too raw –

Too close to fear and flight.

He blinked and turned his face away

As if to hide inside;

And then with measured words he told

Me how it was she died.

“You see,” he murmured quietly,

“We were from different groups.

When we were joined in matrim’ny

We were not split in troops.

But now the war has pitted us

‘Gainst one, and ‘gainst the other…

My people just could not accept

My children’s foreign mother.

At first there were just angry words

And insults flung her way,

But soon there followed slaps and blows

And threats if she should stay.”

But then things got quite out of hand,

As I was pushed aside.

The mob was now out of control

And she was trapped inside.

I pushed and pulled and sobbed and cried

Until I found her there,

A bloodied mess of flesh and bone

With blind and vacant stare.

She did not die that fateful night,

But fought and fought for life.

How could she leave me all alone

With children, but no wife.

As in the dawn began to creep

Her soul began to leave…

One light come in and one go out…

A family left to grieve.

We buried her under the tree

Where we two once were wed.

And with her in that sandy grave

I lay my heart to bed.

And then we packed up all our things,

The little we still had,

And started out on foot towards

The good or t’wards the bad.”

“And now we live within a camp

Together with those who

Had dealt the blows that killed my wife

And left me with these two…

Little ones too young to know

Such sorrow and such strife;

Too young to know that they will ne’er

See her in this life.

How can I speak to them of heav’n,

When hell is all they know?

How can I speak to them of love,

When hatred brings us low?”

He sighed a sigh and closed his eyes

Perhaps to recollect…

Was that a quiver in his voice

Detected, but soon checked?

He turned his face to me once more

As if with pleading eyes

He sought from me, a mortal man,

An answer to his whys.

“But there are some,” he softly said,

“Who suffer more than us…

You see the ones who dealt the blows

Now live among the just.”

“And they must look into our eyes

Each and every day,

Their conscience pricked when every time

We choose instead to say

That we forgive and we still love,

In spite of all the pain

That by their actions they have caused…

For only one thing will remain…

For faith and hope, the Bible says,

Will all too quickly pass,

But love goes on beyond the grave

And on beyond our past.”

He slowly rose as if to go

But then he turned and said,

“I miss her so, my foreign wife,

And even though she’s dead,

A part of her I always see

Within my children’s eyes.

And when I think I may forget

I find her in their smiles.

And by their lives they testify

To one and to the other,

That bitter hatred could not kill

My children’s foreign mother.

© Johann Vanderbijl 2014

Visitors, tiffs, puppies, and rain...

“Oh hello, we have a little visitor,” I said to Roger, our priest in Addis, as I was talking to him on the phone. A juvenile Boomslang had just made an appearance on the porch of our Bishop’s house while I was telling Roger of all that had transpired since our return to Gambela. But I have begun the story in the middle…

Since we left the United States for Ethiopia, we have been busy mostly with documentation, meetings, and conferences. We only had a few days in Gambela before we left, Louise for Holland to meet with her mum and family, and me to Egypt for the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East Conference held in Luxor. It was a marvelous time of catching up with good friends, my bosses (Archbishop Mouneer Anis, and Stewart Wicker from SAMS), and meeting so many new and wonderful people from all over the Near Middle East, the Middle East (the Gulf Region as well as Iraq), Cyprus, and North Africa. Some of the stories from the front-lines of some of the world’s most difficult countries were very moving indeed. One man remarked, “We are told, ‘You are not like us therefore we will kill you.’ We respond, ‘You are not like us, therefore we will die for you.” And he wasn’t speaking metaphorically.

There was time for more leisurely activities and I got to see some amazing sights as well as enjoy a Felucca trip on the Nile. Mind blowing.

From Egypt we returned to Addis for a Faith2Share Consultation. It too was a great time of catching up with old friends, making many new ones from all over the world, hearing stories from martyrs and saints, learning so much from the breakout sessions, and, most importantly, praying with and for each other. We met dear brothers from Kenya who specifically wanted to meet us as they want us to collaborate in a mission to a people group that straddles the border between our two countries. This is a dream come true for Bishop Grant and Doctor Wendy – I remember them talking about reaching this particular people group the first time I met them years ago!

Another piece of good news is that Bishop Grant was asked to reopen a church that had been "lost" decades ago in an up until now closed country. Please keep this in your prayers, as there is still much to do.

And then finally, the blessed reunion of husband and wife in Addis! Louise returned two days before we left for Gambela and we spent the one day shopping for supplies and food one cannot get here.

Our flight to Gambela was uneventful and oh, the joy of being back home again! But as we were driving in to town we were told that the whole town was on lockdown as two people groups had a bit of a tiff in a nearby town. The unrest had spread and the local government was not prepared to have it get out of hand. The town had been shut down – not a single store was open – and was filled with troops and police armed to the teeth. Their overwhelming presence was strangely reassuring…no one in their right mind would dare to make trouble while they were around!

When we go back to the Anglican Center I called Roger to let him know what was going on. It was then that I spied our unwanted green guest (about 18 inches or 46 centimeters) peeking out from under a blue barrel of emergency water. I called to Louise to bring me my sjambok and one whack settled the matter. Roger expressed astonishment that I was killing a snake while still chatting on the phone…well a man must do what a man must do, I guess.

That same night, I heard strange squeaking sounds outside the lounge window. Louise thought it was a cat, but it soon became apparent that one of the local dogs (which seems to be perpetually pregnant) had decided to have her new litter under the bougainvillea on the side of Bishop Grant’s home. Sigh…it never rains, but it pours…and that’s exactly what happened. The heavens seemed to open up and it poured down intermittently for two days. I guess that’s one way to keep the curfew!

Today the town reopened and we were able to go stock up and get out Internet taken care of. Meetings are still going on to resolve the dispute so please pray for wisdom, cool heads, and peace.

Building has ceased as the builders too had to stay home, but so much has been done! Our home is move-in-ready, but far from complete…it still has a few, shall we call them, character flaws…especially with regard to the plumbing. But slowly by slowly the egg walks…one of the first lessons one must learn here if you are to survive.

We now have a mattress for our bed and an ill-fitting mosquito net…our shower and toilet works…well, sort of…and we have redeemed a few bits of furniture here and there. This makes the place quite livable we think.  I have also been preparing a piece of land for a vegetable garden that, hopefully, will one day serve the College and have created a composting area. The slaughterhouse across the way does have its advantages.

This is a long letter…I apologize for that, but so much has happened in this short space of time and there are still so many things left unsaid.

Items for Prayer:

Bishop Grant and Doctor Wendy are in Australia speaking to churches and various Anglican Aid Societies. Pray for these meetings that they may prove to be fruitful.

For our clergy, lay leaders, Mother’s union, and churches in the Horn.

For the approximately 300,000 refugees – some of the camps were flooded recently.

For the situation in Gambela and for peace and harmony among the various people groups in the area.

For Louise and me as we try to finally settle and get things unpacked.

For the Area conference in November.

Finally, I have added a poem I wrote about the present situation. Thank you for your love, concerns, and support.

You are much appreciated. Please do let us hear from you.

Much love and blessings.

Johann and Louise

The Lockdown

The lockdown of the town became

The lockdown of us all.

“Go home!” they said, “Go home and stay!”

A curfew was installed.

A cry for vengeance had been heard,

For blood that had been shed.

Two children’s argument the cause,

An adult’s death now fed

The raging fire that had spread –

That could not be resolved –

And now engulfed entirely

The people groups involved.

What feeds this love for violence;

This craving for revenge?

One moment friend – next moment foe

A lust for bloody binge.

Lord, you revealed yourself to be

The Author of our peace.

Light of the world bring light to all…

From bondage bring release.

Foul ruler of the wicked hearts,

Your rule shall not prevail.

As Christ our King leads on the fight

Your evil deeds will fail.

Lord of the Harvest, hear our prayer

For fruit at harvest time.

Cause us to hear Your blessed words;

“I know those who are Mine.”

Instead of hatred, let Your love

Be poured out on us all.

Release Your angels ‘gainst our foe

Let his advance be stalled.

Let enemy love enemy;

Let groups be made as one;

Let us not cease our efforts ‘till

We hear Your words, “Well done.”

Let not the lockdown of our town

Prophetic words become.

Speak Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,

And let your kingdom come.

© Johann Vanderbijl 2014

An update from the Gambela Anglican Centre

We arrived in a cool Gambela on Saturday past. As Addis had been so cold, we had wondered how our bodies would respond to the usual heat of the low country, but our gracious Lord had taken care of that already! Be not anxious, as your Father already knows…ah yes, another lesson on faith and trust.

The Anglican Centre is undergoing some major renovations thanks to the generous donations of many supporters of the Lord’s work here. For the present, it is our home-to-be and the library.  Pray with us for more donors, as there is much yet to be done before the College will be fully functional.

The library used to be dark because the open holes that were mean to serve as windows let in dust (and ashes during the burning season) rather than sunlight. 

But that has all changed now, as walls have been knocked open to accommodate large windows, and other walls erected inside to better utilize the space for books, computers, offices, and study areas.

The old office block has undergone a bit of a transformation as well, and is slowly beginning to morph into our new home. Thanks to one wall knocked out and one wall built in, it now boasts an open plan kitchen and longue area, and a shower! We hope to move in soon…perhaps when we return from Addis in October.

 Yes, Addis. Louise will be companion to the Queen on her trip to Holland, and I will be attending a Provincial Assembly in Luxor, Egypt, and a missions leadership conference in Addis after that. Bishop Grant and Doctor Wendy will be visiting churches in Australia later in the month, but we will return home. Home…that is what Gambela is to us now.

We have been working hard on the Nuer language, but the going is slow. Having taught English as a Foreign Language, I know that there is such a thing as muscle memory and when it comes to the mouth and the tongue, muscle memory is a hard thing to overcome. Some of the sounds in Nuer are so foreign to the English mouth that it takes a lot of practice before the word spoken sound anything like what we hear with our ears.  And even then, our Nuer brethren first frown when we address them and then, recognizing the mispronounced greeting or statement, smile widely and repeat what we should have said several times. They are ever so gracious and patient with us!

Electricity has been a problem since we arrived, which means the cell phone and Internet network does not work either. Also, Louise and I have yet to purchase the adapter needed to access the Internet. But today, we have power and everyone is furiously catching up with their correspondence. +Grant let us use his adapter last night, so we did manage to Face Time with Hanno on his thirtieth birthday, for which we are grateful.

We have also been working hard on the grounds, pruning trees, cutting down those that are too close to others, fertilizing some with manure bought from the butchery across the street, planting vegetables and so on. There is still so much work to be done, but a vision of the future drives us forward. It is important to us to have this centre be totally self-sufficient. Green visions of solar power and wells and water storage tanks dance in our heads…but all in due time.

For now, work revolves around getting our home ready for occupation and learning the Nuer language. Everything else is a bonus…

Slowly by slowly the egg walks...

Slowly by slowly the egg walks...so the Ethiopian saying goes. Today we saw this proverb in action. We had been told to collect our residency cards at 10:30 AM on Monday. Bishop Grant says that we have set a new record for getting my work permit and our residency cards within the space of just over a week...three days over a week to be precise. We attribute this to the prayers of all our supporters and the amazing prior leg work done by our Diocesan staff and friends. 

So, like typical Westerners, we arrived at immigration half an hour early. No problem, I was told as the man behind the counter whipped out my card from a stack that looked very much like a poker pack. But then...he shuffled through them again, peering at Louise from time to time. He put down the cards and began to type on the computer. Uh oh...what's up, doc? No, he said, it has been approved, but it was coming from a different department. Could we wait for twenty minutes? Sure. Why not?

In the meantime, Doctor Wendy was stuck in traffic trying desperately to get our two little cardiac surgery candidates to see the doctor before noon. Louise and I had heard that they needed to see him when we dropped off a photograph of little Wecca this morning before leisurely walking over to immigration. A quick call..yes, we have cell phones...and the driver was off to pick them up...but no one anticipated the traffic. Perhaps it is because the Ethiopian New Year is around the corner? September 11...

So, we are waiting...Wendy is waiting...and the egg still only has one leg.

Finally a stash of new cards come in...no Louise. Ten minutes. Just wait ten more minutes. "Is there a problem?" I asked. No problem. Approved. Another stash came in twenty minutes later...another furious shuffling and glancing nervously at Louise. Room 81. Sorry? Room 81. I suddenly felt like a little boy being told to go to the principal's office. No problem. Room 81.

So we toddled off to Room 81. "Why are you here?" the lady enquired. "Well, we were told to come here." Furious discussion ensued as Louise's receipt was passed on from one person to another. "Wait here." "Is there a problem? Do you need more documents?" "No problem." As this point I couldn't help myself. "Ah," I said, " slowly by slowly the egg walks." The whole office burst out laughing. "Yes," the lady said, "but you had better wait outside."

So we waited...and waited...until we were told to go back to Room 90 and then told to come back after lunch. By this time, Wendy had seen the doctor and all was set for the wee one's surgery some time later this month. She met us outside immigration, we went for a leisurely lunch and, sure enough, the egg got its other leg after lunch!

We now have what we need to move freely around and in and out of the country! We are legal aliens! Praise the Lord! So the plan is to leave for Gambela on Saturday. There is still much to be done, meetings to be held, supplies to be bought...but we will be going to Gambela, and that right soon, as the Prayer Book says!

And so we continue to learn...the egg will walk...eventually. And in the meantime, we will rest in the knowledge that our Lord knows the perfect time for the legs to hatch.

A week in Addis

We have been in Addis Ababa for a little over a week now. So much has happened since we landed at Bole International Airport Friday, August 29.

We breezed through customs with all our excess baggage...only God could work that out! Roger Kay, the local Anglican priest, met us at the airport - but we needed an extra vehicle for our bags. We are stopping with the folks at the Swiss Mission...a lovely room overlooking part of the city as the photo above will testify.

Bishop Grant and Doctor Wendy arrived on Saturday...what a wonderful reunion! What a privilege it is to be working with such a godly couple.

Grant preached on Sunday on David and Goliath - both of us were facing our own personal Goliaths the next few days. They had to renew their residency and we had to get my work permit and our residency cards. But the Lord has been amazing throughout the process. They have their new residency cards, I have my work permit, and, God willing of course, we will have our residency cards on Monday. Grant says we have set a new record - but it is truly the Lord's answer to your prayers as well as a lot of preliminary work done by Meaza Tifera, the Diocesan Office Manager.

In between visits with new and old friends, we have attended a S***** conference (a very moving experience as these brothers and sisters are on the frontline of persecution), managed to get cardiac surgery appointments for two very sick little children from Gambela, attended a graduation ceremony of EGST (Ethiopia Graduate School of Theology) where Grant was the main speaker, and celebrated one of the best birthdays of my life!

If all goes as we think it will, we will be leaving for Gambela on Friday or Saturday...how our hearts yearn to be reunited with our family there! But this is still hanging in the balance. We try not to look too far into the future here...and perhaps, that is the way that God intended for it to be.

News from Bishop Grant and Doctor Wendy

News from Bishop Grant and Doctor Wendy

Soldiers and Saints Little Anglicans   “Yes,” he said, smiling happily, “we’ve come here for a holiday, and then we will return!” I saw Grant’s face tighten with anguish and anger. Images of villages burning, of people shot as they ran, of the elderly and the very young - starving, dying, left behind; tales of the rape of countless women and the desecration of the dead came flooding to mind. The young man sat back, relaxed, seemingly unaware of the tension that gripped the room. The older men’s faces became stony, their eyes darkened. We had been sitting in our living room, serving tea to the relatives of a friend. It turned out they were members of the ***** army of South Sudan, and they were in Gambella for a break. I could see the young man’s apparent unconcern cut Grant like a knife. “What about the victims,” Grant was thinking, “do they get a break?” Instead he asked, “Why are you fighting?” “We fight for our rights!” the young man answered. “What rights did you lack in the new country of South Sudan?” There was no answer. “We fight for revenge.” “Are you Christian?” “Of course!” “Revenge is not the way for those who follow Jesus.” The conversation reached an impasse. “We are praying for you and for the suffering of South Sudan,” I said. My heart was filled with an overwhelming sense of kindness for those entangled in such cruelty. “Lord, show them Your goodness, that they may know who they truly are,” I prayed. A few days later the eldest one came to me. Even with almost no common language, we understood each other perfectly. “I return to Nassir tomorrow” he said. “Pray for me, as you would pray for a little child,” and he bowed his head, that I might place my hand upon him in blessing. St Martha's Anglican Church - new ( the church) ... and Old ( the tree)   Wendy and I went to the Lare Mission Centre on a recent Sunday (August 10) to visit two little Nuer-speaking village churches out in the bush. Neither congregation had had a building before - just a tree to worship under. And neither congregation had been given a name (names are only given to churches when the Bishop visits!). So at 9:00am or so (after walking through fields where we were attacked by hordes of flies) we reached the first church in a place called Pietiel, where we dedicated St Martha's Anglican Church. Then at about 11.15 or so (after slogging through shin deep mud in our wellies) we reached the second church at Waken, where we dedicated Holy Trinity Anglican Church. Both congregations are small, each a part of an eight-point parish, but each has had a long, faithful and enthusiastic ministry in their area - and both are delighted to have a building, even one constructed of mud and sticks and thatch. Dedication St Martha's On August 24 the destination was an Anuak-speaking congregation in Abobo. Bethlehem Anglican Church has no full time pastor and is less than a year old. But they have good lay leadership and they are hard workers  - not only have they built a new church building for Abobo town, they have also planted several new congregations in the surrounding villages in the past year. Thanks to all those whose generous contributions have made the building of new churches in the Gambella region of Ethiopia a reality!   Bethlehem Church, Abobo   Rt Rev Dr Grant LeMarquand and Dr Wendy LeMarquand are missionaries of SAMS (Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders) Bishop Grant is area bishop for the Horn of Africa (Ethiopia, Somalia, Eretrea, Djibouti); under the Most Rev Dr Mouneer Anis, Bishop of Egypt with North Africa and the Horn of Africa If you would like to share in our work, see the following charitable donation links:   In Canada: Devxchange  http://www.devxchange.org/Nehemiah.html      In the UK: Friends of the Anglican Church in Ethiopia, and Egypt Diocesan Association               FACE:    http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charity-web/charity/finalCharityHomepage.action?charityId=1004812 EDA:      http://www.eda-egypt.org.uk/pages/contact.html In the US: SAMS-USA  http://samsusa.org

Friend on Facebook Forward to a Friend Open heart surgery for Wecca   ~ Please Pray with us ~ For protection and healing for 6 year old Wecca  and 8 year old Sarah as they undergo open heart surgery in early September. For blessing and peace for Johann and Louise Vanderbijl as they make their way through the Ethiopian 'Sea of Red Tape' to receive residence permits. Johann will be principal of St Frementius' Anglican Theological College. For the Gambella clergy as they begin teaching new baptism and confirmation candidates For the Mothers' Union leaders of our churches as they teach their members in basic health issues and nutrition. For our new congregations being formed in refugee camps in Ashura, Dimma, Pinyudu, Leitchor, and Akule 1, 2 & 3, and for the new refugee pastors who have recently come from the dioceses of Malakal and Renk. For the Opo Bible translators who are currently translating the gospel of Luke Opo Bible translators David Onuk and James Bol