Things have settled down quite a bit since my last post. It turned out to be a pretty quiet week around here. Our water was restored on Thursday evening. My big project for last week was to work with Daniel Lual, a Sudanese man from the Aweil area, to record 8 Bible stories in his native language which is Dinka Rek. Aid Sudan's first completed radio tower is in Aweil. It was finished earlier this year and supports the ministry of an organization called Cush 4 Christ. Cush 4 Christ will begin broadcasting very soon and these stories will be an integral part of their ministry through the use of the tower. Daniel is supported by Aid Sudan and attends Kampala International University here in Kampala.

We began recording last Monday evening and got off to a rocky start (Check out our "recording studio" in the attached pictures). It was the first time for either of us to record these stories. Daniel was struggling with the best way to learn the story and then to retell it in his language, and I was struggling to learn how to operate the recording software and equipment. After a couple of hours we finally had one two-minute story to show for our efforts- "The Creation of the Spirit World". Thursday evening Daniel came by again. This time things went much more smoothly, and we were able to record the second story ("The Creation of the Earth") in about half the time. We also began working on the third story, "The First Sin and Judgment". Daniel returned on Sunday, and we set out to finish the remaining 6 recordings, the last two of which are very long. After about 8 hours, we were finally done. I was very impressed with Daniel. He was extremely diligent about learning the stories and making sure that he was telling them with 100% accuracy. He would listen to the recording and if one small thing was not exactly right, he would ask to record it again. This is crucial because for many people these stories will be the only way for them to learn the Word of God. To my knowledge, there is no complete translation of the Bible in Dinka Rek, and even if there were, 99% of the people wouldn't be able to read it because they are illiterate. Daniel was also in the middle of his finals at school last week, and he is leaving today to return to Aweil where his wife is about to have a baby. His commitment to this project even in the midst of everything else going on in his life was amazing to me. I praise God for Daniel and for the heart he has for his people to know the Bible.

Here are some things you can pray for over the next couple of weeks:

1. Remember Daniel as he travels back to Aweil, a four-day trip by bus on some rough and sometimes dangerous roads. Pray for safe travel and for a wonderful time with his friends and family.
2. Pray for me as I learn how to edit the tracks we recorded and then convert them into MP3 files. Pray that God would use these stories to impact the Aweil area in a powerful way.
3. 3,000 hand-held solar-powered radios will be shipped to me from Aid Sudan in the next couple of weeks. I will be chartering a plane and delivering these radios to Aweil, hopefully before the end of the year. The radios will be distributed by Cush 4 Christ and allow approximately 40,000 people to hear the stories we just recorded. Please pray that the logistics involved with getting these radios to Uganda and then to Sudan go smoothly. Also pray for Cush 4 Christ as they distribute the radios and minister to the people. Pray that these radios will be an incredible tool for them to share the Good News with the people around Aweil and that many will come to know Christ as a result.
4. We have begun looking for a house. Please pray that God would lead us to the right one. We are still praying for a compound with at least 2 houses, one of which will be used as a guest house for Aid Sudan short-term mission teams.
5. My (Bob's) grandmother passed away this past Saturday in New Jersey. Please remember my family, especially my dad and my aunt and uncle as they deal with this loss and make the necessary arrangements. My dad was able to travel to New Jersey on Friday (just before the Houston snow storm hit) and say good-bye to her a few hours before she passed, so we praise the Lord for that opportunity.

As always, we appreciate your prayers and support so much. You are the reason that we are able to do what we are doing, and we are so blessed to have you as our partners in this ministry. Many blessings to all of you!