A powerful Moment

Last week I had the honor of teaming up with e3 to drill water while they provided medical care, evangelism, and veterinarian services to the people of Terakeka. Terakeka is a very tribal area about two hours drive North of Juba. It is very common to see men and woman, old and young walking around naked. The main tribe of the area is Mundari, and they have some pretty interesting customs including painting themselves with cow dung, and scarring themselves for decoration or family markings. Camping and living with these people for a week was truly an awesome experience and the people turned out to be truly beautiful and loving. The well we drilled for them is the highest yield well we have drilled and there is more water there then they can ever use.

The most powerful moment for me came on the last evening, and I want to share the story with you. On the last evening, we had finished our work were staying in the Harvesters Orphanage compound for the night before heading back home the next morning. The whole group was together, both WHI and e3 team members. Mike Congrove, the e3 Country Director, had set chairs up in a big circle in an open area of the compound. After a time of fellowship, Mike got up and started seating select people into the circle. All of the people he brought into the center were people that were serving God in Sudan in different capacities. Some of the people included Lance and Kim who run the orphanage in Terakeka, the founder of Harvesters, and the e3 missionaries in Terakeka. After bringing these people into the center, he selected elders to come and stand in front of these people. Some of the elders included Mr. Radler, Mark Waddell, David Kaya, Pastor Mulli from Yei, and some excutive e3 people that were also on the trip. Mike then had the elders wash the feet of the seated people while Glenn Cambell described the last few days of Jesus. The rest of us that were seated outside the circle were instructed to pray and praise God. Glenn would describe how Jesus was tortured and beaten and then would say, "Do you know who He was thinking of? I think He was thinking of..." and then say the name of one of the people seated in the middle of the circle.

Just sitting there praying I knew this was a powerful moment, but it was about to get even more so. As I sit there praying, Mike came up and grabbed my shoulder and said, "Stephen, you are supposed to be in the circle too." My first reaction was, "No!" but then Mike said, "You know you can't say no to me." and made me bring my chair and sit in the circle. Of all the elders washing feet, the man that was washing my feet was Pastor Mulli.

Now, before I continue I just want to say a few things about Mulli. There are few people I respect more on this earth than Pastor Mulli. He was one of the first chaplins in the SPLA during the war and he has served God faithfully under the harsest of conditions. He's a big man and looks like somebody that you would want on your side in a fight, but he's probably the most gental and loving man I have ever met. God knew what he was doing when he choose Mulli to wash my feet because He knew nothing could have humbled me more.

Knowing the man Mulli is and what he has gone through during his live and how faithfully he has served God only made it more difficult for me to watch him kneel in the dirt before me and wash my feet. Everything in me wanted to stop him but then God brought to my mind when Simon Peter wouldn't allow Jesus to wash his feet and Jesus replied, "Unless you let me wash your feet, you have no place with me." It then hit me that this was just a small glimse at what the Apostles must of felt like when Jesus washed their feet. That the God of heaven and earth would humble himself as a servant and wash the dirty, undeserving feet of his followers. In human terms it doesn't make any sense that the King of Kings would do that. One needs to look at it in terms of pure love before the meaning becomes more clear.

When the full realization of what Jesus had done for me hit me I couldn't help but break down and cry. I have never felt so humbled in all my life and it broke me. What an beautiful and awesome God we serve!

Next week I will be headed to Morobo county in West Sudan. We'll be drilling six wells in Morobo for churches donated by Salinas Valley Community Church and also another two wells in the Yei area for Pastor Mulli's church and one of the Harvesters new Hospital.