Please pray for Sudan, Loki, and us

On the ground in Doro. Shade provided free of charge by the DC-3. Outside temp was 42 C (108 F).

Today marks history in a sense. The first elections happen today in South Sudan in almost 25 years. Elections signal a time of possible unrest in Africa. This is especially true with the full powder keg of charged politics, persecution, and recent civil war in Sudan that ended in 2005 with comprehensive peace agreement. Next year the south votes in a referendum, spelled out in the peace agreement, which decides whether the south will become a separate country.

Theories abound regarding tactics of the northern government to destabilize the south by supporting an armed cult driven north out of Uganda, as well as fueling the existing animosity between tribes of the south. Whether these are true or not, most people agree the south is not very unified right now, and peace is tenderly held.

The best thing to do RIGHT NOW:  pray for the elections that have started. We hope peace will continue, violence will be thwarted, and the work of the gospel will be allowed to continue.

AIM AIR 206 and DC-3 on the ramp in Loki

AIM AIR asked us to move to Lokichoggio to serve there. Lokichoggio, a ghost town near the Sudan border in Kenya, stages a lot of our flight ops into Sudan. It is fairly remote, hot, dry, and dusty, but does have its down sides as well. I have visited there several times to fly into Sudan, but never more than several nights. Breanna and the kids have never seen or experienced "Loki." So this week we plan on changing that.


We will fly up together  later this week and stay in one of our co-workers houses for two weeks (they are finishing up a furlough, so the house should be available :). This is a trial run for us ... we want to make sure we aren't biting off more than we can chew. I imagine the kids will love the endless sandbox of the desert there, but it does mean giving up the convenience of the city.


Please pray it goes well and we are able to make a good decision on how to best prepare for our new assignment.


Obviously the elections in Sudan, and the reforendum next year, could have a significant impact on the operations in Loki. There has also been a change in our organization that could affect how our part in Loki operation is set up. We are learning once again the need to be flexible.


Finally, in unrelated news, we found out after church today that a fellow missionary was shot in the knee. An airplane was flown up to their area in northern Kenya to evacuate her to Nairobi for medical care. Please pray for this family. They were part of the AIM AIR team several years ago, then left to help run a bible school up in the rural part of this country.