Mission team departs

On Saturday, the mission team is on the way to South Sudan. We covet your prayers and support. Thank you to everyone for your support, your labor, rides to the airport, donations of aid to the community in Malual and your prayers. Thanks for spreading the word about our project on Facebook pages, with letters to friends, or inviting friends to join KLC. Approximately half of the funds raised came from outside the KLC “family.”

Going with the team is 600 pounds of humanitarian supplies. The tools and equipment to build the latrines and water filters, plus 175 little dresses and 75 shorts for children, hundreds of pencils and erasers, several pounds of undergarments (requested by the women of South Sudan). Three grain mills, twenty-two soccer balls, soccer jerseys, fifty pairs of reading glasses, dozens of children’s books, maps globes, and school materials along with dozens of pairs of shoes.

Because there are no roads in the area, we cannot send equipment by freight—everything had to be packed into checked suitcases for the airlines, and we’ll truck them ourselves.

If you’d like to pray along with the team members, the office has a list of team members, and a calendar of flights and activities—stop in for a copy!

How to follow along

We appreciate all those desiring updates from the field. Telecommunication is very difficult in South Sudan as it can only be done by mobile phone. We will call in to Jenny Morton and she’ll be posting updates for us in the following places. Team members will post while we’re in Addis Ababa Ethiopia, at the beginning and end of our trip.

To follow along, you can use any of the methods below.

1. Our Facebook page. This gets updated very regularly—sometimes several times a day with snippets of information, news, trivia, motivational quotes and news from the team. This is also the first place photos go! Find us at www.facebook.com/klcsouthsudan. You must join Facebook to see updates (free).
2. The Blog: www.klcsouthsudan.blogspot.com. Photos and news get posted here on a regular basis. You can also see a news ticker with news from South Sudan from twitter on the right hand side. You can also find the local time there.

3. The Mailchimp account. If you forget to check Facebook or the blog, you can get the latest news delivered to your email box! http://eepurl.com/fxi_c
4. Check the bulletin board at the church. Just outside the restrooms at the church is a bulletin board with all the information about the team’s latest activities.

Important Dates

The team leaves Seattle on Saturday the 25^th, and arrives in Addis on the 27^th. After a few days to acclimate to the time change, the team flies to Gambella, Ethiopia on March 2, and will travel to Malual on March3, and should arrive late that day. On March 17, the team will travel back to Gambella, and most of the team leaves Addis on March 20^th arriving in Seattle on the 21^st. Some get back the 24^th and 30, and five more are staying through April.

South Sudan Mission Team Prepares for Departure!

The 2012 team: Jane, Bob, Peter, Judy, Koang, Reuben, Jessica, Coleen, James (traveling later this year), Nyareu, Andrew. Not pictured: Kathlyn, Gach, Jacob and JJ.

Ethiopian Airlines Flight 500 is nearing departure!

Next week, 10 team members will leave from Seattle, one more from Kentucky and will join the three team members already in South Sudan.

We covet your prayers for traveling safety and health.

For those who have asked about our flight schedule: The team leaves Seattle on Feb 25th in the evening, and flies until arriving in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia’s capitol city) on March 27th. We’ll stay in guest houses and acclimate until March 2 when we fly to Gambella, Ethiopia, a city on the western border of Ethiopia. We’ll spend one night in Gambella, and then drive the next day to Malual, in South Sudan, a half-day’s drive. If you have specific concerns, the KLC office has a copy of hte

There are several ways to follow along with the team’s adventures.

1. Our facebook page: www.facebook.com/klcsouthsudan.

2. Our Mailchimp mailing list: http://eepurl.com/fxi_c (you can subscribe at that link)

3. Our blog www.klcsouthsudan.blogspot.com

South Sudan in the News

Many people have expressed concern for the safety of those traveling. Rest assured, we are serving in community with the local people, who are friends and relatives of team members. This affords some protection, as we are not strangers to this place. Also, this particular area of South Sudan has been very peaceful. However, if you would still like to catch local news broadcasts (in English) the Internet is a great place to do that. Voice of America offers a Sudan In Focus podcast. http://tinyurl.com/Sudan-in-Focus

Meet the team

The blog has brief biographies of each team member. As we travel, we hope to send updates from the perspective of each traveler. Meet them all at http://www.klcsouthsudan.blogspot.com/p/mission-team.html

Our Mission and the Pibor Conflict

We've heard concerns from many friends for the safety of our mission team. The Pibor Conflict, which has resulted in 5,000 civillian casualties in South Sudan, has many of our friends concerned. Please pray for the people of the Pibor region during this difficult time. Kent Lutheran's team will be working in a Nuer region of South Sudan, with the Gajaak Nuer clan in Upper Nile State. The aggressors in the Pibor Conflict were the Lou Nuer, a different clan, in the Jonglei State. The tribal war in Jonglei between the Lou Nuer and Murle tribes is about grazing terrority and power, and predates the country's civil war. In fact, the conflict dates to the 1920s according to Peter Manyang, our team's resident newshound, who originally comes from Jonglei State. He assures us that the Lou Nuer and Murle borders do not cross state lines. Remember, in independence, the state and local governments stayed intact, and transferred only national allegiance, so state governments are aware of these regional conflicts. Crossing a state border would be catastrophic for any aggressor. Also, Peter reports that by 4x4, the Pibor Region is a four-day drive from our mission site in Upper Nile, and the Lou Nuer are not using vehicles. (Click the map above to enlarge). For safety-purposes, our team is registering with the US State Departments' STEP program, including latitude and longitute of our camp, and radio signals. We'll also be close enough to cross the National border to Ethiopia if any conflict were to arise, our team could evacuate in under one day. Even with these assurances of safety, we covet your prayers for health, safety and peace in South Sudan.

Water Filter Sponsorship

The water/mission team departs in just 71 days!

In our approximately 25 days in the village, we hope to install 50 water filters. This is a VERY ambitious goal, as we'll be training right alongside installation/construction. We also have other projects going at the same time. But the water filters have been identified as "most critical" right now, as they truly are a life/death project.

Fifty water filters are in our budget, but really, not enough to serve the people in this community, the way we want to, so we are asking you to consider sponsoring one for yourself, or as a gift this holiday season.

Sponsorship of a water filter costs $35 and will cover construction and wages to the local builders (not to our team). The sponsored water filter will be installed in a home, school or clinic on your behalf.

For a home, these filters serve the purposes of approximately 20 people for all water uses (dish-washing, bathing, etc) or for drinking water only, such as a school, it would serve approximately 70. The life expectancy of a concrete biosand filter is a whopping 30 years, and there are no maintenance costs at all through the life of the filter. Free pure water for 30 years. Now that is return on investment!

Would you be willing to sponsor the construction of a filter? This would allow us to continue our program beyond the first 50 filters. For your sponsorship, you would get a color card about the project sent to you (or if you choose, a recipient of your choice) and after the water filter is installed, we will send you some information about the person/people it served.

Your sponsorship would be tax-deductible (Kent Lutheran Church is managing this South Sudan water project, and it is a registered 501(c)3 in the United States.)

For more information about sponsorship, email Jessica Ward jessc098@gmail.com.

Sponsorship must be completed and registered before February 10 in order to get an update when the filter is installed.

Why Water?

Some people ask why we are interested in water as our first project. To clarify, our first-year plan in South Sudan includes both water and micro-enterprise. But we don't believe that anything can happen without safe water.

Why?

See this video from Water For Sudan to understand why.

Shoe Drive "Kickoff" September 23-24, 2011

Your recycled shoes provide jobs and usable footwear in Africa, additionally wholesalers buy these shoes from our collections, so your donation of unwanted shoes actually funds our mission team's trip to Sudan to provide clean water systems!

Drop off your used shoes between 10:00-5:00pm on Friday September 23 and 24th, or until 1:00pm on Sunday to help us "kickoff" our team's fundraising efforts.

Kent Lutheran Church

336 2nd Avenue

Kent WA 98032

If you can't drop your shoes that day, email or call us for a list of collection sites or to arrange pickup. Collection sites will be open until late November and will be posted here.

Contact: Jessc098@gmail.com or Jessica Ward 253-350-5427.

Videos from Friendly Water for the World Training

Disinfecting the Outlet with Bleach Water

p.53 Biosand Filter Manual

http://blip.tv/friendly-water-for-the-world/disinfect-the-outlet-5396269

Construct the Difuser Plate

pp. 33-44 Biosand Filter Manual

http://blip.tv/friendly-water-for-the-world/construct-the-difuser-plate-5396394

Sieving the Sand and Gravel

pp. 18-22

http://blip.tv/friendly-water-for-the-world/sieving-the-sand-and-gravel-5396463

Loading the Filter

pp. 49-59

http://blip.tv/friendly-water-for-the-world/loading-the-filter-5396542

Preparing the Mold

pp. 27-30

http://blip.tv/friendly-water-for-the-world/preparing-the-mold-5396584

Extracting the Filter

pp. 31-32

http://blip.tv/friendly-water-for-the-world/extracting-the-filter-from-mold-5396604

Making Concrete

pp. 28-30

http://blip.tv/friendly-water-for-the-world/making-concrete-5396650

Sieve Set Construction

Appendix 2

http://blip.tv/friendly-water-for-the-world/sieve-set-construction-5398902

Sources of Water – Suzanne Livingston

http://blip.tv/friendly-water-for-the-world/sources-of-water-suzanne-livingston-5399073

Question and Answer Session

http://blip.tv/friendly-water-for-the-world/question-answer-session-5399230

More Q & A

http://blip.tv/friendly-water-for-the-world/more-q-and-a-5403207

Travel Insurance

http://blip.tv/friendly-water-for-the-world/travel-insurance-5399332

Hygiene and Sanitation

http://blip.tv/friendly-water-for-the-world/hygiene-and-sanitation-5399420

Sand Sieve Analysis

http://blip.tv/friendly-water-for-the-world/sand-sieve-analysis-5399810

Maintenance of Biosand Water Filter

p. 54

http://blip.tv/friendly-water-for-the-world/maintenance-of-filter-5399918

Budgeting Projects

Appendix 6

http://blip.tv/friendly-water-for-the-world/budgeting-biosand-water-filter-projects-5400045

Water Quality Testing

http://blip.tv/friendly-water-for-the-world/water-quality-testing-4229084

Prosper Ndabishuriye - Burundi

http://blip.tv/friendly-water-for-the-world/prosper-ndabishuriye-5402631

Keith, Deborah, & Avalon Theisen

http://blip.tv/friendly-water-for-the-world/keith-deborah-avalon-theisen-5402718

Naimat Gilal – Pakistan

http://blip.tv/friendly-water-for-the-world/naimat-gilal-pakistan-5402846

Tips for Traveling Overseas

http://blip.tv/friendly-water-for-the-world/traveling-overseas-tips-4139438

Honduras Medical Project

Dr. Jonathan Hibbs

http://blip.tv/friendly-water-for-the-world/honduras-medical-project-4228243

Kids and Friendly Water for the World

http://blip.tv/friendly-water-for-the-world/kids-and-friendly-water-for-the-world-5405666

Our Project in the News

Many thanks to Friendly Water for the World for the mention in their July newsletter about our project! FWW is a great organization, and they have a fantastic water and sanitation program!

Water Training, Day 3

Today, July 4, we are at the third of five days of training with Friendly Water for the World where we'll learn to create biosand water filters. We're celebrating A different kind of freedom. Freedom from protozoa, from typhoid and cholera, bacteria and illness and premature death, accessible to all regardless of wealth or class, because everyone deserves it. That sounds a lot like "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" to me, don't you think?

We're hot, tired and sunburned, well, Jessica is sunburned. Class has been starting at 9:00 which means a 7:30 am departure from KLC, and we have been returning between 8pm-10pm at night. The work during the day has kept us busy, so no big blog tonight, just a link to some fun photos.

One very interesting thing we learned today is a testing method for determining good filter sand versus bad filter sand, and how to decide where to dig our sand from. Beach sand won't work as particles are too rounded, and the salt cannot be removed. All other sand needs to be as free as possible from pollutants and dust. Naturally, it isn't likely to be like that, but we learned a clever test for determining the best place to dig to save ourselves a lot of extra sand carrying, and sand washing, to ensure that all of the sand and gravel falls within the right size and volume ranges. It will help us to plan our quarry project (i.e., where to dig and where to store sand).

Photos from training so far are on Facebook.