"We had a very, very good day"

"We had a very, very good day," Don said almost immediately when he called tonight. One could hear in his voice that he was tired, physically and possibly emotionally as well. The team had experienced some very moving events today. They had visited ELI Sudan's school where the 160 children (the numbers rise by the day!) were being fed kideri. Twice a week, the children are given this meal of rice, potatoes and beans. "For many children, these meals are the most nutricious food they get all week! I wish we could feed them every day, but right now, two weekly meals is all we can afford. The children are covered with dust and look hungry. They're skinny and many are sick-looking... It was a very moving experience."

The children meet in some abandoned classrooms across the road from ELI's property. There are no desks, no chairs, and only two of the five classes have a small chalk board. "The staff had built little rows of seats for the kids from mud." Right now, we employ five teachers:
two first-grade classes
one second-grade class
one third-grade class

The kids don't have uniforms (public schools in Africa require uniforms), but they're very grateful for school.

Other than visiting the school, the team rode for 20 minutes on the back of a pick-up to go to various meetings. They did home visits and met with the village chief who expressed his appreciation for what ELI is doing. "We welcome ELI completely," he told the team.

They also had three to four hours of discussion on what can be done down the road to help the people of Sudan. Daily, more and more refugees are returning from the area, but the cost of living is very high, and most people have little or no money. A bag of maize sells for 1,000 Kenyan schillings ($13) across the border. In Sudan, the price is trippled.

Tomorrow, they will train Steven Reech (ELI's country director in Sudan), Zacharia Maluk (headmaster of the school) and Abraham Kon (a Sudanese man who spent two months last year doing agricultural training at ELI Kenya) on how to plant and care for the seeds Steve Fitch had brought. The Sudanese leaders are very keen on planting the mango, papaya and guava seeds and to see the trees bearing fruit!

"One of our greatest needs right now," Don explained, "is water. We'll want to dig a well soon.

Please pray:

1. for continued health and energy
2. for discernment on what God would have them do
3. for their visit on Saturday to the cattle camps where children are living among the cows
   
4. for their visit on Sunday to a local church, and their meeting with pastors after church. Pray that they will know how to encourage and bless the believers and their pastors
5. for clarity on how ELI can partner with churches to plant spiritual seeds and see those come to bear fruit...

Thank you for praying!