I came to South Sudan to help Samaritan's Purse in its project to rebuild churches that the Fundamentalist Islamic government of Sudan, based in the north of the country, had destroyed in the past 40 years, or so, of civil war against the Christians and people of traditional/tribal religions who make up most of the population of the south.
We just completed a church in the town of Yei, where our base is located. So I was able to go by the construction site and take a picture every day, showing the progress of building over the 16 or so days it takes for the average church. So here are some pictures and some brief explanations about what you're looking at. I'm not an engineer (we're blessed with several highly capable engineers from the US and Kenya) but I'll tell you what I can about the photos, and you'll get to see a church rise up from the ashes...or from the dirt, as it were. This first photo was taken about half way through the first day of construction.
The crew, comprised totally of Ugandans and Sudanese, has set out the bounadries of the building with stakes and building line. They then dig the foundation by hand and make sure everything is level, with a method I'm not completely sure about, but which uses a thin transparent hose pipe, water and the principle that if you fill the pipe and hold the two ends up, the water will settle to the same height in the two ends of the pipe. Like I said, I'm no engineer. But apparently it works, so that's what is important!
In the next photo the crew has begun to place the foundation blocks in the place where they've excavated and has begun to erect the trusses.
The blocks being used for the foundation were built by hand and a simple block press by two skilled block makers and help from 8 or 10 guys from the local church community. The blocks are made of "river sand" which the community gathered by hand with shovels and hoes, and cement which we provide. The trusses were fabricated in our workshop by Ugandan and Sudanese welders. So on day two the trusses are all put up with concrete footers poured around their bases. The crew then builds up the foundation of the building with their concrete blocks.
On day three the forms for the "beam" are built. The "beam" is poured in the forms between the trusses using rebar and cement. I'm told this is so a "beam" connecting the tops of the vertical section of the trusses is not necessary. At least that's what I gathered from the mumbo jumbo that I heard when one of our engineers tried to explain it to me. :o)
The next day, after the concrete has had 24 hours to set, the forms are removed and another later of blocks is placed on top of the "beam". Then the crew begins to back fill the foundation with a compactable clay-like soil called mirrum.
It's basically the red dirt you see whenever you see a picture of Africa. On the fifth day the back filling continues while the foundation for the veranda is added to the front of the church and purlins are welded across the tops of the trusses for stability. Day six involves more back filling of the foundation and installing the veranda trusses. On the seventh day they rest. Just kidding. :o) On the seventh day they back fill some more, this time in the veranda foundation. Also, the masons start to bring up the walls with blocks. Day eight means installation of the zinc roof.
A specialized roofing carpenter is brought to the site and bolts the roof on the trusses. Fiberglass sheets are used in four locations instead of zinc, so that light can enter during the day. The building will not have plumbing or electricity. This is part of the reason it can be built so quickly. Also on day eight the steps up to the veranda are constructed. The next day the walls begin to climb in the front and rear of the church, and fascia board is installed along the front of the veranda.
The roofing carpenter had to be moved to another site before he could finish the roof of the veranda, so he'll return in a few days to wrap up the job.
On the tenth day the walls all around the building climb higher still.
Day eleven shows that the walls are all constructed up to the top of the window openings on the sides.
The windows and doors arrive to the site on day twelve from the carpentry shop on our compound where Ugandan and Sudanese carpenters build them. They use the most beautiful mahogany for everything here. It's as abundant as pine in the states. We even burn the mahogany scraps in fires for the shower water and for cooking sometimes. Anyway, we end up with these windows and doors that are the most beautifully-stained works of art hanging in each building. The crew continues the walls after installing the windows.
On the thirteenth day a mason hangs from the veranda truss and perplexed children stand on a dirt mound staring at the white guy with the camera pointed at their new church. :o) Hahaha! Actually, on the thirteenth day the walls are finished up to the roof and plastering begins inside. Also the crew begins to plaster the base of the outside of the building...skirting, I'm told it's called. The plastering inside and out takes a few more days.
And on one of those days the roofing carpenter returns to finish the veranda. Somewhere around sixteen days after construction began, the church is finished.
The community of Yei now has a permanent structure to replace the stick and mud-wall, grass thatch-roof building they built after their church was destroyed in the war.
Despite all the work that goes in to making these beautiful buildings, our hope is that the ultimate result of our work here is that more and more people are presented with the Gospel than ever before, that people hear how Jesus loves them and how he died for them.
The next step in the work of Samaritan's Purse in Sudan, after these churches are rebuilt, is to begin to train their existing pastors and enrich the lives of the Sudanese with community development programs such as HIV/AIDS education, water purification and filtration systems and World Medical Mission, among others. Take a gander at the Purse's website, www.samaritanspurse.org to see what else is going on in Africa and around the world. I feel an intense sense of honor and excitement to be part of this organization and I know I'll never be the same because of it!
But today was especially nice. The weather was clear with the temp. in the mid 80s. The sky was beautiful, the deepest, cleanest blue with the same clouds from the opening theme-song scene on The Simpsons. I drove about 25 miles from our base to take building materials to one of our sites, then pick up two of our carpenters who had been taking care of the final touches to another church building. The police left me alone, I made it back to our compound in time for dinner, and the cherry on top of this day is that we're having fried chicken tonight! Yeah! 
Most of the time I love it so much where I am that I'm pretty sure I'll be in Sudan for more than just a year. But days like today make me feel like I could stay forever. Today gave me a feeling of well-being that made me actually feel physically stronger, taller, more handsome, just, well, right. Incredible! It's a powerful thing when you have such a sense that you are where you belong that it makes you feel this way. 
