On Friday, Fr. David, Luke and I went to the “Hope for a New Nation” Festival in Juba. Our parish was asked to come and bring 100 youth to the festival, which was supposed to “help lay a strong spiritual foundation as the world’s newest country faces spiritual, economic, social and political challenges.” We arrived at the festival grounds around 5pm, joining thousands of people gathered to hear music, prayers, and speeches. Despite a very lackluster talk by the headliner Franklin Graham (definitely living off of his last name), I was very impressed with the turnout and attitude of the people. The park was packed, and people were actually standing on cars in the street to join in the celebration. The whole crowd got completely silent for the moment of silence and prayer. They sang and danced during praise and worship songs. They demonstrated the importance of having that strong spiritual foundation during this time of hope.

And it really is a time for hope in South Sudan. In a way, I liken the feelings here to those of the United States of America in 1777, a year after the Declaration of Independence was signed. Our founding fathers believed that all people are created equal, and they hoped that everyone would have life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. They laid out the grounds of hope for others, and their hopes came to fruition in our great nation. The South Sudanese hope for many of the same things. In their national anthem they sing of peace and harmony, justice, liberty, and prosperity. Not only are they hoping for these things we Americans are so blessed with, but also they are putting their hope in Christ.

A few months back I read a great article on the hope of this new nation, and this blog post reminded me of it, so I figured I would share (http://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/06/opinion/archbishop-tutu-south-sudan/index.html)

On Wednesday this past week, my soccer team (Don Bosco Senior Club) had a meeting with Brother Issac, one of the Salesians here in Gumbo who is in charge of the youth center. Br. Issac came to Gumbo a few months back, and has been meeting with the various parish organizations to see what they expect from him and what he expects from them.

The meeting was long – not only did it go on for two and a half hours, but it was conducted completely in Arabic. Since I have only been learning Arabic for about six weeks, it is fair to say I did not understand any of the main content being discussed. However, from hearing the tone of meeting and “mushkila” (the Arabic word for problem) repeated over and over again, I could tell that the two sides were not seeing things the same way. I felt caught in the middle, being a member of both the team and the Salesian community, but I did not even know what was happening. I am not sure what the meetings were like with the other groups, but I’m fairly sure ours was unique. Much of that can likely be attributed to the dynamic of our team. While some members of the team are students in the Don Bosco Schools here, many of the players are young adults of the parish who work during the day. It is in no way bad that they are part of the team and participating in the youth center, but they are not particularly the “youth” that the Salesians focus on.

Anyway, I talked to Br. Issac afterwards and asked what the meeting was about He said the main discussion was the team feeling like the youth center was not supporting them enough. Some examples included not having proper equipment (nets and balls) and not having transportation to away games. However, from Br. Issac’s perspective, the team is more than capable of supporting themselves, but the “mushkila” is their mindset. They are used to having everything given to them, and for good reason. During the civil war that devastated this country just a few years ago, NGO’s provided everything to the people, since they could not get it anywhere else. However, now that South Sudan is a new, albeit developing country, people are still adapting to what their “new life” is like. Br. Issac said that their mindsets need to change, and that the Salesians are a religious order to help, not an NGO to give.

Though the players were not thrilled with Br. Issac, and several questions were left unanswered, his message was received and taken in the end. After practice early Saturday morning, the captains each took turns addressing the team. Translated to me after by one of the guys, they announced they were collecting 30 South Sudanese Pounds (approximately 7 USD) from each team member for the needs of the team.

The core of the Salesian sites in South Sudan is institutions of learning, including schools and vocational training centers. Part of our job as missionaries is to not just help those we serve, but to teach them to help themselves.  I remember a quote from our orientation: “Missionaries should go where they are needed but not wanted and leave when they are wanted but no longer needed.” The goal here is to create a community that is able to help themselves so much so that we are no longer needed. Indeed, someday I hope we are no longer needed here in Gumbo, South Sudan.

On Thursday, Pope Benedict XVI announced the beginning of the Year of Faith. How perfect that my year of missionary work coincides with this important time in the Catholic Church. To be honest, one of the reasons I was interested in service upon graduation and ended up with the Salesian Lay Missioners was to deepen my faith. Several months back before knowing about the Year of Faith, when asked why I joined the SLMs, I wrote “I want to be a friend to the youth and to share the love of Christ with them. Through the SLM mission, I hope to be the light of Christ to South Sudan, and in turn become stronger in my faith.” After a few weeks in South Sudan, I know this year presents the opportunity to do all this, and the outcome will be extraordinary if I am willing to work for it.

Today at Mass, Fr. David preached about the Year of Faith, however he noted that having faith is not enough. Fr. David just returned from Rome yesterday, and was actually in the front row of a conference given by the Holy Father on the Year of Faith (I think he might have a good grasp on what it is all about). While it is in fact a year for us Catholics to deepen our faith, it is also a year for us to put our faith into action. I am currently reading Pope John Paul II’s Encyclical Letter Redemptoris Missio (Mission of the Redeemer), and though only through a couple chapters, one line really stuck out to me, “Those who are incorporated in the Catholic Church ought to sense their privilege and for that very reason their greater obligation of bearing witness to the faith and to the Christian life as a service to their brothers and sisters and as a fitting response to God.” If this is not a call to action, then I don’t know what is. We have the obligation to live our lives in the service of others by living our faith. While the physical work that I do here is important and needed, even more important is making that physical work spiritually driven though faith in action.

I have now been in South Sudan for a month. Wow does time fly! If you have been reading this blog, you are aware of all the amazing things that occurred in this past month, and how much I am enjoying everything. I want to share a few more things that are going on in my life. I am learning to play guitar, something that I am very excited about. I have never been musically inclined, and the only things on my “musical resume” are playing the recorder in grade school and the occasional karaoke performance (ok it was more than occasional the last semester of college), but so far so good and it will hopefully be a good way to connect with the children in the future. I have also become more involved on the Don Bosco Senior Soccer Team, practicing with them a couple times a week and even playing in a few games. It is a great opportunity for me to interact with some of the men my age, and play competitive soccer at the same time.

Though I gush about all the great things here, I have to admit there have been some struggles. Teaching high school level English to five pre-novices is not something I expected or “wanted” to do before coming here, but that is where the need is and where I am called to be. Relearning the material and then trying to teach it is difficult and exhausting. The language barrier is certainly frustrating at times. The weather continues to get hotter as we see the mercury reach triple digits (as if the 90s everyday was not hot enough). And the lack of variety in daily life is taking time to get used to. However, this week I was given a not so subtle sign of the importance of these struggles.

During our Jesus Youth prayer group on Friday, where teens from the community get together to pray, sing, and share, we read the bible passage for the week and some words really stuck out. Philippians 3:7-11 says, “But whatever gains I had, these I have come to consider a loss because of Christ. More than that, I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having any righteousness of my own based on the law but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God, depending on faith to know him and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” Two main points really stuck out; gains considered losses and sharing in Christ’s suffering. One of the reasons I was really excited for this year of mission was to get away from the so called gains in that I was used to in daily life in order to truly gain Christ. St. Paul additionally suggests that gaining Christ comes not only from faith to know Him and the power of His resurrection, but also the sharing of his sufferings, something which I am quick to forget. This passage is a perfect reminder of why I am here and strong encouragement to keep on keeping on.

One of the big things I worked on this week was a video highlighting the parish feast, so I though I would throw it here for you to enjoy. God Bless!

As some of you have already heard, an unwelcomed guest visited our house on Friday night. At around 10 PM while I was preparing for bed, I heard yelling and commotion coming from our courtyard. Unsure of what was going on out there, I turned off the lights and tried to peak out the window. After a few loud smacks, I heard my name called to come outside and that it was safe. Still unsure of what happened, I went to check it out. Lying at the bottom of the steps of our house was a three-foot long Puff Adder Viper (Africa’s Deadliest Snake) that the three guards “handled.” It turns out this snake was just outside my room minutes before. Even crazier than the event that transpired is the fact that it occurred on the eve of the Feast of the Archangels (Michael the protector, Gabriel the bearer of good news, and Raphael the divine healer).

At Mass the next morning while listening to the reading of Michael and the angels battling with the devil (The Deadliest Thing To Our Soul), the parallels between what happened the night before and the reading dawned on me. Whether the slaying of the deadliest serpent by our three guards on the eve of the Feast of the Archangels was a sign or coincidence, the event made me think of the presence of the Archangels in my life. How often do St. Michael and the Archangels protect me against the wickedness and snares of the devil? Daily I’m sure. How often do I fail to realize their presence and pray to them? Daily as well. However, the encounter with the earthly serpent was enough to show me that while we all go on with our daily lives, helping and doing battle on our behalf, the Archangels are among us.