Randy
Ok. Where to start?. I left Nairobi last Wednesday headed for
Kampala via Busia border. Due to some delays we had to sleep in
Kisumu. So Thursday morning we arrived at busia border. We did not
clear customs and till 4:30 that afternoon and they only gave me 3
days to get out of Uganda or else we incur a huge fine. No problem
right? So i drove to Kampala and did not reach until 9:30, just in
time to hit massive commercial traffic jam. I managed to meet Ross
and Juma John that night. It was nice to be in Kampala with the two
of them. Just like the old days. The next morning i went to secure
visas for Silas and Christine from the embassy. Once again there was
a delay and we did not leave until about 5:00 pm. We drove north to
Gulu and made it by 9:45 pm. From Gulu until on we are no longer on
any paved roads, its all wild from here. I managed to navigate us to
Adjumani by about 12:30am. Totally exhausted I passed out quickly.
We left early Saturday morning and arrived at Bibia (Uganda/Sudan
border) around 8:45. it is nothing short of total chaos. Fortunately
we had John Kur (the most well connected man in all south Sudan and
northern Uganda) with us. He made short work of all the red tape and
we were soon in Sudan. Unfortunately John had to stay on the Ugandan
side and things got a bit tough. When we pulled into Nimule a barrage
of soldiers, agents, and customs officers approached the vehicle, all
anxious to collect the desired "taxes" due. Then out of the crowd
comes the beautiful face of Onek Brian Juma. He quickly took our
papers and moved to the front of the massive crowds, cleared our
documents and drove us to the imports office. I don't think any of
this would have worked without the help of these young men. Who would
have thought that the young orphan I found years ago would be the very
man to save me at the border crossings.... more than once.
Long story short - customs still wanted about $4000 USD which is
way more than I had and totally more than the legal tax. So I called
Awan AKA "The Godfather". I left the Land Rover at the border and
trusted that it would be resolved. of course it was. That night I
was phoned by a Governor, a General, and a member of parliament all
assuring me that there is no need to worry and they will take care of
it in the morning. And of course they did. The vehicle was released
with exception that the military carry my documents to Juba until I
get an exemption from the Minister of Finance. Let me stop here for a
minute and explain what was really on my heart while this was all
going down.
After leaving the vehicle at the border i went straight to the
orphanage. Upon arrival I found Morri in very bad shape. Morri is a
young boy who has epilepsy and my history with him is extensive and
his place in my heart is eternal. His fever was raging out of control
and he was unconscious. He was unresponsive at first. I prayed for
him by his bedside and was then summoned to speak to an officer. I
went straight back to see him. I asked the others kids and they said
he may have malaria and has not eaten since he collapsed the day
before. He finally responded to my voice but seemed out of his right
mind. I left him to go ask the compound manager about taking him for
treatment. Morri attempted to follow me and made it out of the house
but then collapsed again. I did not see him follow me i just saw him
on the ground. When i went to him it was obvious this was more than
his usual seizure. As we we trying to get him onto the transport
Pastor Juma prayed for him. When he had finished i saw many of the
other children had also gathered and had tears in their eyes. The
love these children share with one another is immeasurable.
No one was at the local clinic so we took him to a private
clinic. The doctor moved quickly to get some fluids in him. they
finally got a vein and started him on some kind of IV drip. Morri was
conscious but in a sort of coma. Eyes open but unresponsive. His
heart rate insane. He would go about 5 mins of what looked like
painful choking follows by 45 seconds of violent seizures. We had to
hold him so he would not bite his tongue or shake out the IV. This
lasted all night long and into the next day. Every time the seizures
would start my heart screamed. I knew if the Lord did not intervene
that Morri would not make it. The test for malaria came up negative
but the test for typhoid was positive. So the typhoid was spiking his
temperature and triggering seizures. I don't know how it is humanly
possible to suffer so much and yet still hang on. I prayed, they
prayed, and you prayed.... and He answered. His convulsions stopped
early hours on Monday and mid morning he came out of his coma state.
It will be burned in my mind forever, he opened his eyes and looked
into mine and smiled with a small giggle. I don't know if he knows that
i was with him when hes was sick but he knows i was there when he woke
up. It is nothing short of a miracle. His fever broke and we were
able to give him juice and some broth that day. He has not seizured
again and is gaining strength rapidly. In 2005 his father ( too old
and weak to care for Morri) came to me and said "If he dies it is not
your fault, but if he lives it is to your glory." I say not to mine
but to the glory of out loving and merciful Father. During the days
of this sickness I watched as the other children came just to sit with
him, hold his hand, wipe his head with cool water, simply to love
him. Thank you to all those who joined in to pray and fight on
Morri's behalf. From that side its hard to see the fruit but over
here its blinding.
During all this my phone was ringing off the hook from both sides
of the world. Lots of people were now on the move to assist me with
the clearing of the Land Rover. After a few big men called the
customs officers i was cleared to travel to Juba. So here I am.
However i need every paper that was taken back to the states. The
constitution, by-laws, everything. It is now Wednesday morning here.
if i don't clear today and start driving i will not make it to Rumbek
in time to catch my flight back to Nairobi Friday morning. so once I
clear here i may have to drive through the night and into the morning
to make the flight. Pray for favor. At this point though we should
just realize the Lord is in control and no matter what the
circumstance may be, He is going to see us through. Ill update again
once the package is delivered.
Jason
Ok. Where to start?. I left Nairobi last Wednesday headed for
Kampala via Busia border. Due to some delays we had to sleep in
Kisumu. So Thursday morning we arrived at busia border. We did not
clear customs and till 4:30 that afternoon and they only gave me 3
days to get out of Uganda or else we incur a huge fine. No problem
right? So i drove to Kampala and did not reach until 9:30, just in
time to hit massive commercial traffic jam. I managed to meet Ross
and Juma John that night. It was nice to be in Kampala with the two
of them. Just like the old days. The next morning i went to secure
visas for Silas and Christine from the embassy. Once again there was
a delay and we did not leave until about 5:00 pm. We drove north to
Gulu and made it by 9:45 pm. From Gulu until on we are no longer on
any paved roads, its all wild from here. I managed to navigate us to
Adjumani by about 12:30am. Totally exhausted I passed out quickly.
We left early Saturday morning and arrived at Bibia (Uganda/Sudan
border) around 8:45. it is nothing short of total chaos. Fortunately
we had John Kur (the most well connected man in all south Sudan and
northern Uganda) with us. He made short work of all the red tape and
we were soon in Sudan. Unfortunately John had to stay on the Ugandan
side and things got a bit tough. When we pulled into Nimule a barrage
of soldiers, agents, and customs officers approached the vehicle, all
anxious to collect the desired "taxes" due. Then out of the crowd
comes the beautiful face of Onek Brian Juma. He quickly took our
papers and moved to the front of the massive crowds, cleared our
documents and drove us to the imports office. I don't think any of
this would have worked without the help of these young men. Who would
have thought that the young orphan I found years ago would be the very
man to save me at the border crossings.... more than once.
Long story short - customs still wanted about $4000 USD which is
way more than I had and totally more than the legal tax. So I called
Awan AKA "The Godfather". I left the Land Rover at the border and
trusted that it would be resolved. of course it was. That night I
was phoned by a Governor, a General, and a member of parliament all
assuring me that there is no need to worry and they will take care of
it in the morning. And of course they did. The vehicle was released
with exception that the military carry my documents to Juba until I
get an exemption from the Minister of Finance. Let me stop here for a
minute and explain what was really on my heart while this was all
going down.
After leaving the vehicle at the border i went straight to the
orphanage. Upon arrival I found Morri in very bad shape. Morri is a
young boy who has epilepsy and my history with him is extensive and
his place in my heart is eternal. His fever was raging out of control
and he was unconscious. He was unresponsive at first. I prayed for
him by his bedside and was then summoned to speak to an officer. I
went straight back to see him. I asked the others kids and they said
he may have malaria and has not eaten since he collapsed the day
before. He finally responded to my voice but seemed out of his right
mind. I left him to go ask the compound manager about taking him for
treatment. Morri attempted to follow me and made it out of the house
but then collapsed again. I did not see him follow me i just saw him
on the ground. When i went to him it was obvious this was more than
his usual seizure. As we we trying to get him onto the transport
Pastor Juma prayed for him. When he had finished i saw many of the
other children had also gathered and had tears in their eyes. The
love these children share with one another is immeasurable.
No one was at the local clinic so we took him to a private
clinic. The doctor moved quickly to get some fluids in him. they
finally got a vein and started him on some kind of IV drip. Morri was
conscious but in a sort of coma. Eyes open but unresponsive. His
heart rate insane. He would go about 5 mins of what looked like
painful choking follows by 45 seconds of violent seizures. We had to
hold him so he would not bite his tongue or shake out the IV. This
lasted all night long and into the next day. Every time the seizures
would start my heart screamed. I knew if the Lord did not intervene
that Morri would not make it. The test for malaria came up negative
but the test for typhoid was positive. So the typhoid was spiking his
temperature and triggering seizures. I don't know how it is humanly
possible to suffer so much and yet still hang on. I prayed, they
prayed, and you prayed.... and He answered. His convulsions stopped
early hours on Monday and mid morning he came out of his coma state.
It will be burned in my mind forever, he opened his eyes and looked
into mine and smiled with a small giggle. I don't know if he knows that
i was with him when hes was sick but he knows i was there when he woke
up. It is nothing short of a miracle. His fever broke and we were
able to give him juice and some broth that day. He has not seizured
again and is gaining strength rapidly. In 2005 his father ( too old
and weak to care for Morri) came to me and said "If he dies it is not
your fault, but if he lives it is to your glory." I say not to mine
but to the glory of out loving and merciful Father. During the days
of this sickness I watched as the other children came just to sit with
him, hold his hand, wipe his head with cool water, simply to love
him. Thank you to all those who joined in to pray and fight on
Morri's behalf. From that side its hard to see the fruit but over
here its blinding.
During all this my phone was ringing off the hook from both sides
of the world. Lots of people were now on the move to assist me with
the clearing of the Land Rover. After a few big men called the
customs officers i was cleared to travel to Juba. So here I am.
However i need every paper that was taken back to the states. The
constitution, by-laws, everything. It is now Wednesday morning here.
if i don't clear today and start driving i will not make it to Rumbek
in time to catch my flight back to Nairobi Friday morning. so once I
clear here i may have to drive through the night and into the morning
to make the flight. Pray for favor. At this point though we should
just realize the Lord is in control and no matter what the
circumstance may be, He is going to see us through. Ill update again
once the package is delivered.
Jason
