A few weeks ago, Jonathan had the opportunity to do a flyover of our territory. An AIM pilot took Jonathan and Shannon (our team leader) over the area that our people live. It is vast, covering more than 12,000 square miles. Shannon has split the territory in half, since we are the only two families (IMB) targeting this people group. 

As you can see, there is no Wal-Mart here.

Just miles and miles of grassy plains and mountains with villages scattered throughout.

Most villages in our area are on the other side of these swamps and rivers.

With no paved road or bridges this cuts them off during rainy season (1/2 the year).

You won't get claustrophobic here.

During the flight, they were able to find the location of the large pockets of villages, find the best way to access them, and plan a better strategy for bringing them the Gospel.

This is Loki, our home until we move up.

Loki Tour

Welcome to the official Lokichoggio (aka Loki) tour. We know that after the tour, y'all will be jumping in line to buy your plane tickets. Loki consist of one main paved road with two branching dirt roads. We honestly love this little Mayberry town. It used to be bustling and busy, as it was the main hub for NGO's when Sudan was in war. Now that the country has split, so have all the white people and business. It literally is a ghost town now, which is one main reason we love it. Here is the tour, starting at our home and circling the town. Now don't blink, or you might miss this little ol' town.

Our compound-See grandma, I do work...sometimes.

Our home sits on about 5 acres, just outside of town.

Just outside our compound you will find a gang of young boys who kill all the birds around the town using homemade slingshots. Thus we have dubbed them the 'slingshot boys.'

This is for all you green people out there...our internet is charged by the wind. No wind, no Facebook.

Once leaving our home, you come to our lovely round about.

                                                    

Entering town and on your left, you will see that we have a decent airport.

Just around this curve is the start of the town.

Paved roads, yeah, almost there...

There it is! Here you can buy charcoal (made by the local women), oil, flour and basic cooking items.

This is Main street and where all the action takes place, can't you tell?

This is down one of the two side streets. It is here you see most of the closed stores and shops. 

Didn't we tell you? We have a Walmart! Express shopping-You point at random objects you want, they get them for you, and then tell you a total price.

This is the seasonal river that flows when it rains. This is the only road to S.Sudan, so when it is raining, you are stuck here.

After circling through town, this road is the back way home.

 It is also the route of all the herds and shepherds. Yes, these little boys are shepherds.

Thanks for spending a day with us in Loki, we hope you have enjoyed the tour. 

What a Surprise!

Over the past few months, we have been delightfully surprised to go to our PO Box and find letters, packages, and boxes. We cannot thank you enough! It never fails-when it has been one of those “Boy I miss home” days, there is an encouraging letter awaiting us. Trust me, this is not a guilt trip for those who haven’t been able to send one, since we would probably fall in that category if the roles were reversed. This is simply a public thank you for those who have pain stakenly hand written a note or packaged up a few goodies. I know you wish to be unnamed, so you know who you are! We have received drink mixes (really help the water go a long way), seasoning packets (helps the beef go down), colored pictures (which are hanging all over our walls), letters of encouragement (which are all over our fridge), summer sausage (Jonathan is saving for his birthday), mac and cheese (made our anniversary special), instant sides (great for those long days), and the list goes on. I never put out a ‘wish list’ and you knew exactly what we needed, so thank you. As for those who have not sent a letter or package, wipe the sweat from your forehead because there are no worries! We honestly know you still love and pray for us, and that is enough!

Yeah for fun wallpaper! It sure does brighten up our home!

We are thankful for the beef and goat we can get here, but the taste is not like we are use to. Thank you for helping the meat go down!

We have been able to spread this out and make it last. One Jolly Ranger a day can go a long way.

Jonathan is one happy man (thanks to his sister, cousin, aunt, uncle and parents).

6th year anniversary dinner complete with steaks and yummy sides.

Now that Loki has chicken, the possibilities are endless.

We have had many people ask, so here are the basic things we can buy here. 

Meat: Beef, goat and now chicken! Veggies: Tomatoes, onions, potatoes, collard greens (from our garden) and occasionally carrots, avacodos, and apples. Other: Tomatoe paste, romaine noodles, spag noodles, flour, sugar, coca, powdered/shelf milk, and other random stuff.