Updates for kids, written by the kids in the field.
The following write-up was compiled from an interview with some of the youngest members of the Cush4Christ team.
To celebrate birthdays in Sudan, we have parties. All of the team comes. We have cake and treats, we open presents, we do some fun stuff, we play games, and we eat lunch together. We love chocolate cake. Sometimes our Moms make special desserts, like crepes or glazed doughnuts. We don't have any ice cream. The gifts that we get, we buy in Nairobi and bring here and save them till the birthday. We even get some cards from people in America. One of us (Samuel Ward) got so many cards when he was turning 3 that we couldn't even hang them all on the line.
This month we asked 8 year-old Nate Stringer to tell us about the 'full moon parties' that his family has.
>>I want to know about your full moon parties. Can you tell me why it's called a full moon party?
Mom and Dad stay home and we just run around everywhere. Or we play football with Dad, and Mom comes every once in a while with the camera.
>>How often do you have your full moon parties?
When the moon's full.
>>How often does that happen?
Like, not very often.
>>Why do you go out when the moon is full?
Because it's not dark.
>>Oh, ok, the sky's really bright. Then you don't need a flashlight when you go outside?
No, you just go play.
>>But on other nights would you need a flashlight?
We don't go on other nights.
>>You don't go out because it's too dark?
No, we usually just play in the yard for a few minutes and then go for a shower.
>>So you usually have to go to bed right away?
Yah.
>>But on full moon nights do you go to bed at the same time?
No. We play (in the yard), and then we ask dad if we can go (out of the yard), and dad says we can go, and then we go out.
>>So how late do you get to stay up?
Not very long.
>>(Laughter) Well what time do you usually go to bed?
I don't know!
>>Just when you get tired?
No! We just keep playing and then dad says, �Everybody get inside for showers!�
>>But on a full moon night it's later?
Yah.
>>So what kind of games do you play on full moon nights?
American football, and sometimes soccer. We play soccer in our yard.
>>What do you do when you run around? Are you chasing each other? Are you looking for anything?
No, we're just running around. It's kinda fun.
>>Do you ever have marshmallows around a fire at your full moon parties?
No.
>>But do you ever have s'mores?
Yes, some days, but not every time. Like last time, we just read a book and sat around the fire.
>>Does your dad usually read to you or is it your mom?
Dad's usually reading his own book inside.
>>Did you have full moon parties in Canada, before you came here? Or when did you start this tradition?
A long time ago.
>>Who's idea was it?
I don't know. Ask Liam, Joel or Aaron, or ask my mom and dad.
>>Have you ever gone out on a day that wasn't a full moon, like a 'half-moon party?'
A half-moon party?!
>>Yah, you just did! Last month, was it?? I think you missed the full moon so you had a half-moon party.
When we miss a full moon we just can't do it. And we just want to do it with Dad. It's not fun if we do it by ourselves.
For this month's Kid's Korner we will hear from one of the youngest kids on the Cush4Christ team, Samuel Faris.
Hi everyone. My name is Samuel. I'm 1 year old and I live in Sudan. My Mama wants me to tell you all about life here from my perspective.
I'm not sure what's so unusual about my life, since I've lived here since I was 8 weeks old. But Mama tells me it's pretty different from the lives of many of my cousins and friends in America.
First, let me tell you about my jumbo TV screen. No, it's not a TV, really. It's our big screen door to the backyard. I like to crawl up in front of it and stare out. We have 40 chickens and two cows in our yard, and I love to watch them. They often come right up to the door and the chickens even try to peck at me through the screen if I get too close!
Oh yeah, and just a few days ago somebody gave us a sheep, so we have that in our yard, too. It has really cool big, round horns, like the ones you see in picture books. He bleats throughout the day and I'm working on my �ba-a-ah� response back to him.
And then there's my dog, George. We brought him from Nairobi when he was just a puppy. Now he's getting so big. He's part Rhodesian Ridgeback (maybe you can look this up online and learn about them) and actually has a ridge of hair down his back that stands straight up. George and I get along pretty well.
When I'm not staring out our back door or playing with George, I like to crawl or walk around on our cement floor, finding anything unusual I can get my hands on to play with. Sometimes I find bugs or things like that, and Mommy snatches them away really fast. She also does that when I manage to get to the broom and dustpan. She seems to be most happy when I just sit and play on my plastic mat in the middle of the room. I have a little box with toys, like books, blocks, and things. But I still think that tin cans, pieces of cardboard, and clothespins are more fun to play with.
I don't have too many Dinka friends yet. I like our hired lady, Akec (pronounced 'ah-kech'). She always gives me a happy greeting and I flash her a big smile back. Sometimes I even sit on her lap and she sings to me.
Once in a while Dada or Mama put me in a backpack on their back and we go for walks outside. I love to see all the trees, birds, sheep, goats and cows. Sometimes I even get to ride on the motorbike with Dada! I try to make the sound of the motor: �Mmmm!�
Especially after we come home after being outside, I'm really thirsty. In fact, I'm almost always thirsty here in Sudan, and keep my cup right near me. A great way to cool off in the middle of the afternoon is to get in my little plastic bathtub!! I guess it's something like a kiddy-pool. I splash all over the place and don't like it when I have to get out.
Then usually after I take a bath, whether afternoon or evening, it's time for nap or for bed. I sleep inside a tent in our house-my very own tent! The whole thing is all screening, so that way the wind can blow threw it but it still keeps all the bugs and mosquitoes away from me.
In this month's Kid's Korner we'll meet 9 year-old Joel Stringer. Keep reading all the way to the end and hear about the toys he and his brothers make in Sudan !
What do you enjoy most/least about living in Sudan ?
Um, I like hunting.
For what?
Birds and squirrels and rabbits.
What do you use to hunt them?
Dogs and slingshots.
What else do you like?
Climbing trees and playing with my friends.
Like the Dinka kids?
Yah.
What don't you like?
Uh, it's pretty hot.
(Laughter)
It's not that bad.
Can you tell me what a normal day is like for you?
Um, we mostly help my mom and do chores. Sometimes we can play soccer.
You guys don't do any school?
Yah, we do some school.
What are your chores?
Sweeping the house, tidying the yard, tying up the jargonia (grass mats) on the fence.
Do you know any Dinka?
Not much.
Can you think of any words? Like for dog, or tree. I mean, how do you communicate with your friends?
Jong is dog. Kuburo is cat…
So what about your toys? I hear you guys make a lot of your toys?
We made a baseball. Luke and Johnny were ripping up the couch and we got some foam and put a rock in it to make it heavy, then we taped it up.
And you used it as a baseball?
Yah.
What did you use for a bat?
Pringle cans…. Or the old shovel.
What about tops? Do you play tops? What do you make those out of?
Pen caps and bottle caps. You make a whole in the bottle cap and stick the pen cap in.
What about your slingshots? What do you make your slingshots out of?
You have to get a fork stick and tie rubber around.
Where do you get the rubber?
From an old bicycle tube.
What about that can and stick game that you guys play? Who invented that? Tell me about that.
Aaron invented it. You just put a can on a long stick and you try to knock other people's off.
Are there other toys you guys play with?
Koch Koch - You get the metal part off the bottom and top of a battery. They look like coins and have a hole in the middle… though the boys are using coins now, or bottle caps that they smoosh them.
And so you spin them like coins?
No, you flick them.
Have you guys ever made one of those grills out of tin cans?
No, but we bought one. Though now we use tin cans to grill over the fire.
What do you grill in there?
Um, birds and oatmeal.
(laughter) Oatmeal?! So you just put the can in the fire?
Yah.
What about cardboard boxes? What games do you play with those?
Um, we just like put them on chairs and make little houses. Or one time Nate wanted to make an airplane. But then he just took the cardboard pieces and made a fort… and then he tore about the pieces and made pitfalls.
Pitfalls? What are pitfalls?
Uh, you just dig a hole and put cardboard over top. And then dirt on top of that.
So what happens?
He steps on it and then it just breaks in… Sometimes we put sticks there, and tie it to fishing line, and then tie something like a little rock or a twig on the other end and he steps on the stick and it falls on him…
Last month, we heard from 11-year old Liam Stringer about his life in Sudan . Liam is the second oldest of the six Stringer boys. Here’s the rest of what he had to say:
>>The rainy season. Ok. Can you tell me about the weather in Sudan ? How would you describe it throughout the year? How long does the rainy season last? I thought you guys lived in the desert?
Well, part of the time. Half of the year it’s the rainy season, and half the year it’s the dry season. Throughout the dry season there’s lots of dust storms, and there’s no leaves, there’s no birds (well, hardly any – they go away for winter.)
>>Where do you get your water? Especially during the dry season?
From the pump.
>>How far away is the pump? How long does it take you to walk there from your house, carrying gerry cans?
Five minutes.
>>So you and your brothers all haul the water for your mom from the pump?
No, we hire a water lady.
>>What’s your water lady’s name?
Her name is Mary. She also does our wash (laundry.)
>>How would you describe the local people? What are they called, and what are they like?
They’re called the Dinka. They’re just like, African people with not really any clothes. And also little things on their heads – they cut their heads.
>>They scar their heads?
Or their bellies.
>>Have you had any chances to share Jesus with any of the Dinka people?
Well, sometimes my friends say, “Can I come pray Jesus?”
>>They come to church then?
Yeah, sometimes.
>>Can you communicate with them? Do you know any Dinka?
Yeah, a little bit.
>>Like what kinds of words?
I know most of the greeting words and lots of other stuff.
>>What are some of the greeting words? How do you say, “hello” in Dinka?
You say, “Cheobak.”
>>How do you say, “How are you?”
You just say, “Yin apol?” And, “I am well” (is) “En apol.”
>>You mentioned a while back playing with the local kids. What would the local kids do for fun?
Well they do lots of stuff. Mostly football. When they don’t have footballs. They just use watermelons.
>>Watermelons?!
Yeah, it’s all craziness. They’re just kicking them around, and then they’re all broken, and then a guy gets stuck in it and it flings up into his eye. And everyone has watermelon all over them. But they have like five or six watermelons.
>>Five or six at a time? In one game? What a waste!
No, but they’re just small.
>>I know, but they could eat them! It’s ok if they’ve already been rotting…
>> What do you mean by football?
Well, soccer.
>>What else do they do, besides football?
They also play tops. If you make it go upside down, you get to hit the other guy’s hand.
>>Where do they get the tops from?
From pen caps and bottle caps. They make them.
>>They can’t buy them at the mall?
(Laughs) No!
>>Why not?
Because there’s no mall!
>>Really? So where do they do their shopping?
In the market. But they don’t really shop for anything.They just shop for fish… just like, old, rotten, dried fish that they pound.
>>How do they eat it?
Well they either cook it with those green, curly vegetables with seeds in it…yeah, okra! or with those leaves.
>>Where do they get the leaves?
They just grow.
>>Grow on the ground?
Yeah. And there’s also fruits. There’s about ten or eleven different kinds that they pick: mangoes, gumels… thou nuts, the ones that grow thorns, coconuts, two different kinds of beans, and there’s that really green fruit, and there’s two different kinds of those sour, yellow fruits, and little black ones that look like olives. And there’s also sap. There’s four kinds of sap from different trees…
>>You mentioned you hunt for birds. What are some other animals in the area? Are there elephants and giraffes, since you live in Africa ?
There’s cows, goats, sheep, chickens, sometimes fish…
>>But what other wild animals?
Jackals, fenix foxes, squirrels, groundhogs, hedgehogs, snakes… oh, and rats and mice.
>>What kind of snakes?
Puff Adders, Night Forest Adders, Black Mombas, Purple Gloss snakes, Asps, Sand snakes, Worm snakes, Egyptian Cobras, Pythons…
For this month's Kidz' Korner, we interviewed 11-year old Liam Stringer about his life in Sudan . Liam is the second oldest of the six Stringer boys. Here is what he had to say:
>>Can you describe what a normal day in Sudan is like for you?
I usually get up about 7:30, and then I set the table, and then Aaron reads a novel to us, and then we eat breakfast, do math, writing, reading, then I play for a little bit, eat lunch, Mom reads a book to us, and then she puts the baby to bed and I go and hunt birds, come back, and then I do my chores (sweeping and stuff), and then eat supper, get showered, we read the Bible and go to bed. And Mom reads us the Bible in the morning, too.
>>What do you like most about living in Sudan , and what do you like least?
I like doing dishes least. I wouldn't care if I had to sweep the whole house if I didn't have to do the dishes. The thing I like most is when I actually kill something when I'm hunting, or when we get treats, or Fridays, when we watch a movie.
>>Do you play a lot with the local kids?
Yes. Usually on Saturdays. We hunt, and then we play soccer. I like to climb trees but the other kids are too afraid. We climb really high to the top of the tree and hang out on one arm.
>>Have you ever fallen?
Yeah, lots of times!
>>So you mentioned hunting. What do you usually hunt?
Birds mostly, with a sling shot. Sometimes I go with the other boys and their dogs to hunt squirrels and rabbits stuff like that.
>>Have you eaten any of the local food before?
Yeah, all the time!
>>Do you like it?
Not really. I like the sauce but the other stuff, the stuff made of sorghum I just swallow it. I'll be chewing and then start crunching because there's sand in it so I just swallowed it. When I start crunching they all start laughing.
>>Was that at a restaurant or at somebody's house?
At my friend's house.
>>Have you eaten anything unusual besides that, like goat intestines or anything?
I have eaten goat intestines before. That was at a restaurant.
>>What kind of birds have you eaten?
I don't think I've ever had one before. Maybe a little tiny piece of two of them. But I usually give them to my little brothers, Luke and sometimes Jonathan.
>>Oh, they eat the birds for you?
Yes.
>>Does your mom cook them?
No, I cook the birds.
>>So you mentioned sweeping your whole house. Can you describe your house for us?
Well I'd probably describe it as this big cement brick house with a tin roof, and (pausing while trying to count the rooms)⦠well, what would be a room? I think there would be... let's see⦠the kitchen, my mom and dad's room, our room, the living room, the dining room, and the porch. So six rooms.
>>Why is it confusing about how many rooms there are?
Well it's just like one big floor, and then there's like two rooms.
>>So some of the rooms don't really have walls?
Yeah.
>>You didn't mention bathroom in there. You guys don't have a bathroom in your house?
No, we go in the cho â the cho outside the house.
>>The cho? What's the cho?
The toilet. It's a room with tarp walls and a thatched roof and a little cement floor and a little cement seat.
>>Ok, what about your shower. Do you guys have a shower?
Well, that's part of my mom and dad's room.
>>So do you have a faucet where you can turn on the water?
We just use a pitcher. But we're going to make a shower. We'll just carry gerry cans and pour it into a big reservoir.
>>Do you guys have electricity?
Yes.
>>So you can play video games and stuff like that?
(Laughs.) No, we just have two solar panels andâ¦one, two, three⦠four lights.
>>Does the power ever go out on you, like when it's not a sunny day?
Well lots of times, during the rainy season.
Tune in next month for part 2!
