Sometimes, God's plans are different than the plans we have in our own minds even when we think our plans are Gods. Our plans have been God's and I believe we have been where He wanted us. However, God has taken me and our whole YWAM base by surprise. It was just two and a half weeks ago that I wrote that I was at the "half-way" point, but God new my trip was over. Last Thursday, we looked at some South Sudan news online to figure out what was happening in our country because we were hearing many rumors of war, bombings, and attacks. The news was not comforting or encouraging when we found out the rumors were true, but nothing said that the war was officially declared. On Friday, we went to DTS class at a nearby NGO and the director came to talk to Chris, Emily , and me (THE DIRECTOR IS ANOTHER WHITE PERSON BESIDES OUR SELVES, a mam named John, from The Netherlands). John told us that we should seriously consider leaving South Sudan early because the war had officially been declared. A couple other people gave us the same suggestion so we began praying about it. We did not want to just act out of fear but to trust God. We most of all, did not want to leave our students, and leave the staff (there would be only 2 remaining). So we prayed for confirmation. I was at the NGO for class at the time, and Chris and Emily were now at home. At the same time, we all prayed the same prayer. We prayed that God would give us a clear sign to confirm what we were suppose to do, "should we go, or should we stay?" As I prayed this, I was watching a UN helicopter coming to land nearby, and I was beginning to make the ten minute walk back to our house under the hot African afternoon sun. We reached the house and noticed that the helicopter had just landed and wasn't on the ground for one minute before it began ascending straight up into the sky like a hot air balloon. We watched this unusual behavior and then stepped in the house to discuss what we should do. Not even five minutes later (no more than 15 minutes after I had prayed) we heard a jet plane. Now, this also is very unusual because no commercial airlines fly over Sudan and the airport here is closed due to a plane crash (the same plane we were originally going to fly on to Wau). We all went outside to look at the jet, and a Sudanese staff member (also a man in the government) shouted, "THAT IS THE ANTENOV, THAT IS AN ENEMY PLANE! Why are they not shooting it down?!" Now, the Antonov is a bomber jet and it had just flown over our house. We considered this as our clear sign from God that we were suppose to try to leave as soon as possible.
Now, leaving as soon as possible is more challenging than it sounds. We could not fly because, as previously stated, the airport is closed. We could not make the 12 hour trip by land because it is too dangerous because of people who like to lay in ambush and rob cars and buses, Emily is six months pregnant and the road is so bumpy, it would be very dangerous and risky for mother and child (not to mention painful). There is an airport to our North, but again, even 2 hours would be hard for Emily and also going closer to where all the attacks and most bombings are. Our only option was to see if the UN would fly us in a helicopter to Juba (South Sudan's capitol). Now, the UN also will not allow ANY pregnant ladies fly. So these were just a few of the many challenges. By the grace and miraculous works of God, we got approved to fly with the UN so we planned to fly Friday.
You may remember a month ago we prayed for our renewal of visas. The man said "no problem, you feel at home here and when you are ready to leave, you just come back and we will stamp your passport and give you the right visa." This sounded good, but growing up with a mother who is obsessed with Judge Judy, I knew it is better to get that statement in writing, but we didn't. Now that we knew we were leaving, we went back to the government offices. Turns out that minister had been transferred to another state and another man (not so lenient on rules) was in office. He did not want to give is visas because they were expired. He did not want to even give us grace seeing that we were deceived by the previous man with authority. He tried to buy me from Chris as a wife in exchange for two visas for Chris and Emily (even though he was old and had a wife and kids). This failed (thankfully) and Christopher's love for me prevailed his need for visas, 2 million dollars, or 300 cows and a life time supply of ice cream at Wau Sweet. Finally, he looked at Emily and said, "You have an expired visa by one month, I DO NOT FORGIVE YOU OF THIS" he gave a long pause "However, i do forgive your prisoner" as he pointed to her belly with his pen. "because i know it would be better for that baby to be born at home and with your mommy with you, i will give you your visa." Christopher and I were relieved for Emily but wondering if he would forgive us too even though we did not have prisoners and i said i would not be the mother of his children (as he right out asked me to do). That day, after about 2 hours, Makayla Joy and God's grace saved us all from being detained and allowed us to receive our visas to leave South Sudan.
Thursday we went to the UN to see what time the UN flight was and to confirm if we were on the flight. You see, because we were approved, does not ensure we are on the flight, we still have to see if there is room on a flight. The helicopters take 20 passengers and they do not usually take non-UN workers. This means we were lowest priority, thus, we were put on standby after two other higher priority passengers. Thursday night we were so stressed out that we hardly slept (not to mention it was also too muggy). We were stressed because we knew 5 out of 20 people had to not show up for the UN to allow us to fly. We were only allowed a total of 30 pounds of luggage (both carry on and checked) and we obviously were very over weight. Also, as stated before, Emily is pregnant and they don't fly pregnant women. All of this was too much uncertainty to sleep well. At 5 am we got up to get ready and finish packing. We walked 30 min in the dark through the village with our suitcases and backpacks to the UN airport. (Not an airport you might think of, it is three storage containers all connected for the security, check-in and waiting room, and of course a dirt strip where the helicopter takes off from.) We arrived before anybody else, said good-bye to our students (not knowing if it really was good-bye or not). We counted down the minutes and people who were arriving in their fancy land cruisers. They all showed up. We walked back home (30 min) feeling and looking depressed, disappointed, and dejected. We unpacked and prepared for a few more days. Then we got a call, there was a flight at 10 and we should come back. We were excited with this glimmer of hope and rushed to re-pack. We went back and waited until ten until we found out, THERE WAS NO FLIGHT. We found out that there was originally suppose to be two flights that morning but the pilot wasn't in the mood to fly so it was canceled (which was the flight we were suppose to be on). They tried to get him to fly at ten (give him time to sleep in) but that also failed. Now we were felling really disappointed and discouraged. We were just following what God told us to do. Why was it so hard? Why were all of the doors to go home closed?
We changed our flight for Sunday and returned home and, once again, un-packed and moved back in for the second time that day.
Sunday, we had a flight at 1 pm so we were able to sleep in, and go facilitate church at the refugee camp like we had been doing the past few weeks. We packed again, said our goodbye again, an although we were sad to leave, we hoped to God this was the last time we had to do this.Emily wore her baggiest clothes to the UN to hide Makayla so nobody but us would know she was traveling with us in Emily's belly. One man had noticed and found out about it previously on Friday, but he did not say a word about it today to hinder her from flying. We each were about 20 or more pounds over weight, they did not say a word. All of this was God. Sunday when we went it was as if all the doors were open (but we still felt like we were walking on egg shells).
I had never flown on a helicopter. Initially i thought it would be exciting, then it was described to me as utter torture. Everybody gets sick, it is turbulent and the wind pulls the helicopter all around. As you bounce with the turbulence, you are sitting on a wooden bench so your butt hurts afterwards from sitting and bouncing. They leave the doors and windows open. It is so so loud ect. So we were pretty nervous (especially sense I get sick at the first sign of turbulence). We got on the helicopter, sat on a wooden bench that ran along each side of the helicopter so that our backs were to the wall and we faced each other.
I personally did not think the ride was so so torturous as it was described to us. Granted, i would be ok if i never stepped back inside a helicopter. I enjoyed flying low at 3000 feet hanging my head out the open window taking beautiful pictures. Seeing the animals grazing in the new grass that has begun to sprout, or drinking in the Nile. I saw many huts all by their self (not a part if any village) and thought about how these people have never heard about Jesus (there are many truly unreached people here). We landed half way to Juba at another UN base and waited for about an hour for a plane. When the plane finally arrive and landed on the dirt strip, a sand storm had just began and a thunderstorm was well on its way with black clouds rolling in. This was also when we took off as the flight crew rushed to get the previous passengers and cargo off and our cargo on. It was about a 20 min turn around time from their landing to our take off. Although it is dangerous to take off with the wind, they can not take off on a muddy dirt strip so if we didn't get up in the air soon, we would have been stuck there. After 45 min, we landed in Juba (which was much greener and had a sky more blue than when we were previously there). We (and other passengers) genuinely praised Jesus for our arrival.We stayed in Juba until Tuesday afternoon and then flew to Nairobi Kenya. We received transit visas that we thought were good for 7 days but they recently changed it to 3 days. When we arrived in Kenya, we did not yet have tickets home. We had planned to change our tickets and thought (for me) it would be simple to do it online. However, nothing on this trip home had been simple, and fate didn't seem to want to change up it's routine by allowing ticket changes to be simple. We ended up going to the airport Wednesday morning and stayed there for 12 hours before we all could get tickets to fly home and before our flights left. Christopher and Emily (long story short) had a nightmare-ish time changing their tickets and kept hitting brick walls all day long. Christopher worked on changing their tickets from the time we arrived in Kenya up until one hour before their plane departed (26 solid hours or arguing with airlines with no breaks in between to sleep or eat.)
Two weeks from the day we decided to leave and come home, 2 canceled flights, 1 helicopter ride, 5 plane rides, and 44 solid hours of airports and airplanes from Kenya to Texas (58 hrs total) LATER, I FINALLY MADE IT HOME. I give ALL glory to God because I have seen so many miracles on this trip and trying to get home. So many things that happened, could have only happened because of God's grace. I see God's hand and how He worked and moved among us to protect us, guide us, and arrange so that we could come home. I have soured home on the wings of God and under his pinions as he protected us.
I am so so so grateful and blessed beyond words for your prayers, petitions, and intercession on the behalf of me, Chris, Emily, Makayla, my family and Sudan. My whole family is blessed by all that you guys have done to support us in this trip and especially at the end of this trip of trying to evacuate.
