On the Other Side of the World: July 2006

Saturday, July 29, 2006

It's Been Awhile

I'm sorry I haven't updated lately for Cliff - I've been compiling bits and pieces of information from conversations he's had with his family members and myself over the last two weeks to try and give you an idea of what's new.

First, Cliff got to Yei safely and has been incredibly busy since arriving there. Near the compound where he stays is the office block and they worked for a few days getting him an office all set up. So he now has his very own office at the base in Yei! Aside from that, they've been working on a lot of logistics and Cliff was responsible for putting together the Welcome and Training Manual for the base at Yei along with compiling pictures and information from the project to send to the project supervisor. Other than that, he has been just working steadily each day in whatever capacity work needs to be done.

His biggest prayer request as of late is for his decision as to whether he will commit to doing this long-term (meaning for the next year) as field staff or if his time will be over when he finishes his internship in November. Because of the nature of the work he is doing there and the need Samaritan's Purse has for workers, Cliff is being given a lot of responsibility and the leadership of SP needs to know relatively soon whether he plans to stay or not, because if he doesn't, they need to get someone there in time for him to train them. Cliff was not prepared to make this decision so soon, and has asked that you all would be praying for wisdom, clarity, and peace for him as he seeks God for direction and tries to reflect upon what little time he has spent there to make this decision.

Thank you guys!

Friday, July 14, 2006

On The Road Again

After a busy week in Lui, Cliff and his co-worker Matt leave Saturday morning (at 7am) for Yei, which is on the way to Juba. Because of the nature of roads in Sudan, this trip will take about eight bumpy and tiresome hours. Cliff has become quite a professional at facing these road conditions, though, as most trips around Lui, to neighboring villages for church meetings, building projects, etc. take anywhere from an hour to three hours, just to go 15-30 miles at a time. His time in Lui sounds as though it has been eventful; they had several VIPs come into town to work on a documentary, which he thinks he might have a few appearances in. Also, he’s been driving the land cruiser as well as the lorry (fancy name for a big truck) quite a bit, transporting materials and workers to finish up church projects in local villages. In fact, he was often taking care of a lot of this on his own! Speaking of, it looks like Cliff will be in Yei for the next month or two, and after the first few weeks, will probably be running the base there on his own.

He has asked for your prayers for safe travels to Yei and also for continued protection as they transition into the work there in that town and with the people of that region. God has evidently been with him through some interesting situations, and so he also mentioned being very thankful for all of your prayers thus far.

Thanks!

Saturday, July 08, 2006

An Update from Lui

Hey guys, here's a message from Cliff:

I am here in Lui, Sudan and I made it alright. Things are definitely different here than in Nairobi. It's a lot hotter and I am working on some churches here along with Matt. There are some VIP's coming into Lui on Monday to see the hospital here and one of our churches in a village called Lozo. The roads are bad so you bounce around a lot and it takes about an hour and fifteen minutes to go the 10 or 15 miles there. I've driven the landcruiser a bit now, and I think I'm getting used to it. Yesterday was the first time that I've got to meet with the village leaders in Lozo, and it was a good experience. I believe Matt and I will leave for Yei in about a week. I'll be there for about a month or two and then after my R&R, I will be by myself running the operations for a group of churches in one of towns. Probably either Yei, Tonj, Lui, Maridi, or one like that. We need more staff than we already have, so I know I will be by myself at some point. Please pray that God will continue to be with me and strengthen me. It's hard adapting but I am getting better. I have a bunch of other interesting stories, (like having to help some people move a dead man back to his village in our truck just two days ago. The guy was 18 I think) Yesterday, Matt and I also stopped by some SPLA soldiers at their camp on the way to Lozo to see if the group coming in next week can video their tanks (old Russian T-55's). They said yes eventually, but we'll see how that goes on Tuesday. Well, I've got to go because I have to get my work clothes on and head out to the village. I will write again, soon.

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

My Last Night in Nairobi

Tonight is my last night here at the Samaritan's Purse Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. I've just finished getting all of my gear together to leave in the morning, so I thought that I would write one last post before I headed to bed and then to Sudan. I have to get up at 4:30 a.m. tomorrow morning and then head to airport at 6:00 a.m. I will be flying on a DC-3 airplane from here to Sudan. I'll be in a town called Lui for about the next week and a half. After that, another team member and myself will drive down from Lui, 8 hrs to Yei where I will be located for the majority of my time in Sudan. Yei is a town located in the southwestern corner of Sudan, near the Ugandan border. I will write more about Yei once I'm there. I believe that I will be helping manage our base there in Yei which is the main base in that portion of Sudan. I have a pretty good idea of what I will be doing there, but I think I will wait until I get there to write that down, when I know for sure. At first glance, it seems as though I will be using a large portion of the education that I just earned at Belmont University. Especially my operations, finance, and general management knowledge. Thank goodness for college. Well, I will end here and pick up again once I am in Sudan. As God leads you and as I am on your mind, please pray for my travel to Sudan and while I am there. It's the rainy season there and the roads have been pretty bad lately. Also, please pray that I won't get too sick as my body is about to have a major shock. Pray for the SP staff, the Sudanese people, and myself. And pray for the church reconstruction project, that we will be able to build relationships with the people while productively building churches throughout the country. Thanks for your prayers!

Happy American Independence Day!

~ Cliff ~

Saturday, July 01, 2006

A Note From Nairobi, Kenya

I made to Nairobi, Kenya last night after a delay in London and a long wait in Customs. Nairobi seems like a good place thus far and I've been around town a little already this morning with my director Brad Penner. I've already meet two other guys that I will be working with when I get to Sudan next week. I will be leaving around 6:00 a.m. on Wed morning to head over to Sudan. I will be in a city called Lui at first and then I will travel 8 hours down to Yei. From what I've been told this morning, it seems as though I am coming at a great time and at a point where our operations with the church reconstruction program are starting to rapidly pick-up. It seems as though I will get to use my management degree in a big way here very soon. I will be working side-by-side with a guy named Matt for a bit until I learn the system and feel comfortable being on my own. I'm pretty sure that at some point I will be running our base in Yei by myself. I will be meeting with church and city officials on my own as well as other NGO's. I'm sure that some of this might change at some point and I will know the rest once I get into Sudan. The team that I will be apart of consist of about 8 other guys in their mid 20's, except for one guy who I think is about 32. I'm also not sure if I will always be able to post exactly everything we are doing in our program because our communications out of Sudan are monitored by the government of Sudan. As often as I can I will up-date my blog, so if you would like, check it week to week to find out what I'm doing. I will also be able to up-load my photos from the office here in Nairobi, so about two months or so from now I will be able to do that when I come back here for two weeks to rest. You can check those out under "My Pictures" to the right on the blog page. Well, I will end here for now, but feel free to e-mail me as much as you want through next Tuesday, July 4th. After that, I'm not sure how often I will be able to write back. I can receive snail mail but it will take almost a month for it to get to me. I will post that address on here if you want it. Also, please do not send me any packages through the mail, just letters. (for example, a small package of just a couple of magazines and a DVD will cost me about $150 do get out of customs here.

Thanks!
Cliff

Mailing Address:
(please do not send packages)

Cliff Neeley
Samaritan's Purse
P.O. Box: 76143
Yaya Towers 00508
Nairobi, Kenya
East Africa

On the Other Side of the World