Solid Ground

I have not posted in a while because 1. the past 5 days have been a whirlwind and 2. I have not known how to put that whirlwind into words. So, here is my attempt to do so.

We had to evacuate South Sudan on Saturday. That statement is much weightier in my heart than I think it looks when it's typed out on this blog. Let me put it another way to see if the "weightiness" comes out a bit more: We had to leave the place that we struggled to adjust to, but have come to love within 24 hours of finding out we needed to leave.

Since we live in South Sudan, we knew evacuation was always a possibility. This is a country where war is their history. They are trying to build their own independent country, but all they have know is war. We knew things were getting worse and we might not remain safe forever.

To find out a little more about what is going on in South Sudan right now, click here. In general, South Sudan has been working through "peace talks" between the president and former vice president to try to come to an agreement and stop the fighting that has taken place. However, every one of the peace talks have failed. There was finally a deadline put on them that they needed to come to an agreement by March 5th. They held another peace talk, and it failed once again. Since they were not able to come to an agreement by the deadline set for them by outside countries, we knew this could only lead to more war and fighting.

We left Mundri as a precaution. There has not been fighting in our little town yet, but we are not sure if it will stay that way. There was a significant increase in military personnel when we left on Saturday and tensions seemed to be increasing. We are hoping and praying fighting does not come to Mundri (and is stopped in South Sudan in general), but we knew it wasn't going to be helpful for us to be around if something did happen. There is a point where we quickly would become more of a burden to those around us than a help. They would be concerned about protecting us and getting us to safety and would be willing to risk their safety in the process.

The best way I know how to describe my emotions about evacuating is that it felt like the carpet was ripped our from under our feet. Everything happened so quickly and changed so fast...it was hard to figure out which way was up.

However, the beautiful thing about God is that He is our solid ground no matter what "cushioning" is taken away. The "carpet" of our life in Mundri might have been taken quickly, but we are still standing (or laying in a frazzled pile...) on solid ground. He has not changed. His promises for us have not changed, and he is not surprised by this.

A friend sent me a verse that has been very fitting in this time. It is Isaiah 26:3-4 and it says, "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal."

To be honest, our hearts do not feel at peace yet. We are still very concerned for our friends we left behind and we are coping with the losses of not being able to be present for our friends in Mundri as well as mourning the ministry we cannot do there right now. However, we have complete access to perfect peace. It is ours if we chose to embrace it. So, we will continue to remain steadfast in Christ and trust that peace is ours. We will continue to entrust our friends into God's hands and know He loves them far more than we do. We will trust that God is not finished working and He has the power to end wars and protect His people at any moment He choses to do so. We will also trust that in the midst of all of this, God is our advocate. He is working on our behalf and on behalf of our friends in Mundri. He has not forgotten or abandoned any of us.

As I think about Mundri, these sweet faces come to mind. These are our neighbors who come to get water from our compound multiple times a day. Please join us in praying for them, and for the other people in Mundri. Pray for protection over all of them and that they would experience God's perfect peace. Please hope with us that God has the power to end this war and create peace in South Sudan. We can be confident of this because, "He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world." Believe with us that peace can happen and that God has the power to change hearts and protect lands.