Would You Rather. . . ?

Helping the Sudanese is a calling in itself

One of my favorite games to play with teenagers (especially Confirmands) is “Would You Rather. . . ?” It’s a fun book that asks the question, “Would you rather. . . “ and then offers two different choices. There’s over 400 questions, some with rather bizarre choices and some with choices one hopes never to have to make. For instance:

• Would you rather. . . bite your tongue or stub your toe?
• Would you rather. . . have a scar story involving an alligator or a shark?
• Would you rather. . . shed your skin like a snake or molt like a bird?
• Would you rather. . . get beaten up by a mom or a nun?
• Would you rather. . . be called to mission in a far off land or to be a missionary in the inner city?

My husband, Rod, called me a few weeks ago with a question that reminded me of the choices in “Would You Rather. . . ?” He’s gone on short-term missionary trips to various countries in Africa and Eastern Europe through Engineering Ministries International (EMI), but I wasn’t quite prepared for the “would you rather” question that EMI asked him. “Would you rather. . .I go on a mission trip to Ethiopia or Sudan?”

Wow. What a choice. To me, it was like choosing between a scar story involving an alligator or a shark. Neither, thank you. But I’m a bit of a pampered princess, so I told Rod the decision was completely up to him. He chose Sudan mostly because it was Malakai, Sudan, which is in the southern part of Sudan (supposedly safer than the northern part or the western part where Darfur is).

Rod and a group of 7 other engineers and architects will be working on plans for a proposed orphanage in Malakai, Upper Nile, Sudan. The project is being sponsored by The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sudan (Rod says at least he’s assured of good coffee). He leaves for Sudan on May 14th and will be gone for almost 2 weeks.

Please keep Rod and the team from EMI in your prayers. The names of the other team member are: Kevin, Mark, Bernie, Heather, Brian, Jenifer, and Ruedi.