Filming Among the Laarim

As we have been planning and praying about how to approach ministry among the Laarim, my future team leader Jonathan has been looking into ways of bringing other coworkers of the gospel to this people group. Not long after Jonathan had mentioned to me his hope for other missionaries to come, he discovered that a friend of his with a group based in Capetown, South Africa was making a film. They were looking at ways that the Lord was working among the people throughout different areas of Sub-Saharan Africa and exploring opportunities for future ministry. Jonathan, seeing this as an opportunity to create awareness of the needs of the Laarim people invited his friend to come and visit their territory at the end of October to do some filming. Not only did the friend agree to come, but he decided to make the filming among the Laarim a separate project that could potentially be used to recruit missionaries to the area. Certainly this was an answer to prayer.

Jonathan, the filming crew, and my Laarim friend Clement, who is working to translate the Bible into Laarim, and I arranged to meet in the town of Loryok (also known as Camp 15) located on the main road which crosses the state. Clement and I took public transportation from Torit and reached Loryok 4 hours later than intended, since we had missed the first vehicle going out. In Loryok we met up with Clement's aged father, Joseph, who is quite a remarkable man. Despite his age, he continues to be very active frequently traveling and attending meetings on behalf of the Laarim community. After greeting one another and introducing ourselves to those who received us, we gathered into three vehicles, and departed for the town of Kimatong where the filming would take place. All went well with the filming and Jonathan's friend was able to get the needed interviews. Due to time constraints and our hope to leave Kimatong by early afternoon, Jonathan and I would be interviewed later in Nagishot where Jonathan was based.

Journey to Nagishot

Rather than returning to Torit after my visit to Kimatong, I would join with Jonathan and the filming crew to travel to Nagishot, a village up in the cool and rainy Didinga Hills. I was in need of some R&R and this was the perfect opportunity for me to take a week away. Our plan would be to drive south to Chukudum, a town at the base of the Didinga Hills and stay the night there before heading up the Hills the next morning. When we arrived to Chukudum several hours later, due to a number of factors we decided to make the journey to Nagishot on that same day. It was already approaching five o'clock so we needed to get moving. What followed was the most difficult journey by road I had ever experienced. I was on the back of Jonathan's pickup with Morefu a Didinga friend of his. Standing up on the back of the truck gave us a distinct vantage point allowing us to see if Jonathan was straying off the road in the tall grassy areas so that we could redirect him when necessary. Traveling with three vehicles meant that each obstacle had to be crossed three times before we could continue. One of the vehicles had a winch that saved us on a number of occasions. The vehicles got stuck multiple times throughout the whole journey and before we reached halfway, it started to rain. There was a lot of digging, gathering rocks, and pushing vehicles out of mud all in the cold rain. Thankfully someone had given me a nice waterproof jacket to wear at the beginning of the journey, but unfortunately I could not get it zipped up no matter what I tried. What could be a three hour journey under ideal conditions took us over nine hours. At 2:00 am we arrived to Nagishot cold and soaking wet. All my belongings were wet as well. I was given some heavy blankets and was brought into a tukul (mud hut) with a nice big comfortable bed for me to sleep in.

The next morning, I stepped out of my tukul, and walked out the compound gate to see all the beauty that surrounded me. There were, green rolling hills, a small forest in a valley that lay ahead of me, and mountain peaks in the distance in every direction. It was quite different from anything I had ever seen before in South Sudan. Thankfully the next eight days of fellowship, resting, praying, reading for enjoyment, sitting around a fire at night, and exploring the land was just what I needed to be refreshed and restored.

Getting Back to Torit

When my time there was finished, I left on foot early in the morning with Morefu, who guided me and carried my other bag. Two and a half hours later (the foot path is much shorter than the road for vehicles) and about 3,000 feet lower in elevation, we reached Chukudum where I could board a vehicle heading up to the main road. I could then hopefully catch another vehicle going to Torit within the same day. It did not take long to find a vehicle in Chukudum, so I quickly boarded and we headed off. Before leaving town the vehicle was stopped by police and taken to the station. After about an hour the vehicle was released, but it began to rain and the driver decided to wait until the rain cleared up. We ended up leaving nearly three hours later, thus making it unlikely for me to be able to reach Torit that same day. Our vehicle arrived to Loryok that evening and I would need to find a place to sleep. As soon as I exited the vehicle, one of the Laarim youth, Henry, recognized me and called out my name. After explaining to him that I needed a place to stay, Henry welcomed me to stay with him and some of the others. I was surprised by the number of youth staying there that I had already known. I enjoyed the rest of the evening visiting with and meeting others in the town.

The following morning I found that Clement's brother, who is a member of the state parliament, happened to be visiting the town. I had been recently trying to contact him and this served as the perfect opportunity to meet with him and talk a little more about ministry among the Laarim. We had a short, but nice visit. Soon after I was able to board a vehicle and return to Torit. Looking back I now thank the Lord for that extra day in Loryok He gave me to meet all the people I did. It was a simple reminder to me that God knows what is best for us.