Update!

Since returning from Mundri, South Sudan I have gained employment with the Florida Department of Transportation as a Professional Engineer Trainee in Tampa, Florida. I am living at home with the parents which is good (free food) but also awkward at dinner parties after you tell them about how much you love playing Xbox and watching Star Wars. All jokes aside, I have also gained a new fiance, Heather Heath, who was so faithful to let me leave her for six months to go to South Sudan. We plan on moving in together (silent fist pump as I write this) to an apartment in Tampa after the wedding and honeymoon to St. Lucia (double fist pump!)

As for the future, see below...

1) Get married on September 27th of this year

2) Sign up with a mission organization (a little biased towards Serge, previously known as World Harvest Mission, the group I went with to Mundri, South Sudan)

3) Get out of Dodge (or Florida) and on to Africa!

These are the desires of my heart right now, but I know God sometimes has a great sense of humor by sending me to places I didn't think I would ever go. My mission now is to line up with His mission for us (Heather and I) to glorify His name above our own.

South Sudan Update

If you follow the news you would know that things have been a bit rough for the country of South Sudan. However, the friends I have who live in Mundri, South Sudan are unaffected by the fighting that is currently going on in South Sudan. Regardless, my friends are not without heartache, much of which I feel equally. A great friend of our water engineering team, James, died at a very young age (30ish?) earlier this year. In a talk with the Water District manager, Kenneth (who is coincidentally James' older brother), it was apparent that many of the boreholes that we fixed in Mundri were once again broken and in no sight of repair. These things made my heart very heavy for the people of Mundri and especially South Sudan. If you are looking for people to pray for definitely keep them in your prayers.

Mundri Water Video

Check out this great video complied by one the most talented interns to come to South Sudan, Andrew Shaughnessy. This video has some clips from projects that we worked on the past 6 months!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmOxM8JlPuE&list=HL1366810483&feature=mh_lolz

Man and Stomach

An old African story tells the story of Man and the Stomach that I got from a book I am reading about South Sudan called "Emma's War."

Once upon a time Man existed separately from Stomach. Stomach was content with eating roasted insects and didn't care for anything else. Then one day Man decided to put Stomach in the place that it now resides. When Stomach entered Man it was no longer satisfied with roasted insects but desired other foods. It didn't matter what Man gave Stomach to eat because it was never completely satisfied and always desired more.

This story depicts the African culture perfectly. If you a person with a big waist, you are seen by the community as someone of importance. Large people are not seen as important just because African's fear big people but because large people require lots of food, which means you have some food to share. Large people are treated well as long as they share what they have received. This may not be true for all of Africa but it seems to be a noticeable trend.

Around and About

NEW YEAR CELEBRATION!

FISHING TRIP

 

CHRISTMAS DAY

 

CHRISTMAS VOLLEYBALL TOURNEY

NOVEMBEARD (minus Gaby)

Merry Christmas from Mundri!

People in Mundri love to celebrate anything, especially the 25th of December. With drums thumping through the night and the sound of songs in a foreign tongue echoing through the crisp cold air, it was hard to fall asleep Christmas Eve without a hint of excitement for the following day.

                                          Christmas Morning at the Missionary Compound

Christmas morning was spent opening homemade stockings stuffed with candy and other goods. I dug out a bar of soap from my stocking, which led me to believe that Santa is trying to give me a hint on the state of my body odors. The missionary women left after opening stockings to help the local Moru women at the church prepare the Christmas lunch. There was a noticeable excitement in the air as we rode our bikes down the dusty dirt road to church in an area called Mirikalanga. Christmas is when most of the children and youth receive new clothes for the year. Mundri had changed, if only for a day. I had grown accustomed to seeing children with torn shirts and no shoes wandering the streets, but today it was a struggle to find those children.

                                                Everyone waiting for Christmas Lunch 

Church on Christmas morning was filled with random announcements, Moru Christmas songs, and a sermon from the Chancellor of a nearby town called Lui. Most of the service was a combination of Moru and Arabic, which made it pretty challenging to keep from nodding off during the long service. After the service all the "big men" (as the African people would say, which included white people) were ushered to a small mud hut to enjoy Christmas lunch. The church was able to afford a cow for the lunch in which all the "big men" of the service were given the choice cuts. Along with the sirloin steak that we were served, we were given biscuits and linea (a corn based food that has the consistency of dried mashed potatoes). It was truly the best Moru meal I have had in Mundri, with all utensils put aside. We ended the day greeting unfamiliar faces and drinking a sweet reddish purple hibiscus tea called keteh keteh. Whether all of the Moru community were true believers or not was not evident, but it was evident that they all knew why they were celebrating the 25th of December. This day was the day that they, along with the rest of the world, celebrated the day that Christ was born. The day that our hope of salvation from the sin and evil in this world first appeared.

                 From left: Chancellor of Lui, Ex-commissioner of Mundri, and the Chancellor's Son

South Sudan Team!

This is the team that I will be working with for the next 6 months in Mundri Town, South Sudan. Starting in the top left is Michael Masso (team leader & engineer), Grant Curtiss (me), Stewart Goodwin (fellow engineering 6 month intern), and Andrew Shaughnessy (writer/man of all trades and a 1 year intern). Middle row is Karen Masso (Michael's wife, mother of 3, and our accountant/ organizer), Larissa Wolowec (teacher/ adviser of agricultural practices), Liana Masso (second oldest Masso sibling), John Sender (water engineer and engineering intern coordinator), and Scott Will (physicians assistant). Bottom row is Gabe Masso (youngest Masso sibling), Jennifer Disse (MK teacher and primary school teacher), Bethany Ferguson (teacher trainer for Mundri Primary Schools), Heidi Lutjens (nurse practitioner), and Melissa Garner (primary school teacher). Pray that God would continue to use us to spread the Gospel to Mundri!

My Living Quarters

The hut with the thatched roof with the concrete walls to the right is the hut that Stewart and I live in currently. A typical Sudanese house (or so called "tukul") will look like this except their wall and floor will be made of dried mud instead of concrete. The brick house to the left is Scott Will's living area which is connected to our shared kitchen.

This is what it looks like inside the tukul. Stewart's bed is to the right and the bed shown is mine, complete with a mosquito net and a much needed 12 volt fan! Notice the motorcycle helmet on the floor. I am almost an expert here in South Sudan, which is quite an accomplishment considering the condition of the roads...or lack thereof a road.

The above two pictures are our shared kitchen, complete with couches to the left for visitors, a stove in the center, and a running faucet on the right for cleaning our dishes. We don't drink water from the sink because the water is tapped to a city line that may or may not be clean. We get all of our drinking water from a biosand filter seen in the top right hand corner of the picture immediately above.

This is what it looks like inside the latrine. Not much to explain here, got to know this place pretty well the first week I arrived to Mundri. Thankfully toilet paper is available here...

A view of the latrine from outside, which is behind one of the three metal doors in the shack in the distance. The corrugated metal structure on the left is the urination/ bathing area. In Sudanese culture it is known that you urinate where you bath...which makes for a rather foul smell where you wash yourself. Thankfully we have an outside shower attached to the side of Scott Will's house, complete with running water and no urine.

Lastly, I decided to include Neville. Neville is a common African toad who loves to claim the shower drain as his own. He always gets grumpy when I try to oust him out of his much coveted shower drain.

London and Uganda Pics

Houston, We Have Lift Off...

As I write this I am staying in the care of a generous World Harvest missionary host (Mrs. Chrisy Kind) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania! I leave for London tomorrow evening at 10:00pm. Once I get to London, I will have a 12 hour layover upon which I plan on seeing the Westminster and Big Ben. Pray for safety and for opportunities to present the Gospel for the last few times in my native tongue. After my layover in London I will be leaving for Kampala, Uganda where I will be spending the night. The next morning we will be "up and at 'em" to leave for Mundri, South Sudan! Thanks for your encouragement and prayers thus far for they will be more helpful than you could possibly imagine. 

Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!    Matthew 7:9-11

Runners Take Your Positions

The anxiety of expectation begins to course through my veins as the day approaches when I leave for South Sudan. For the sake of being exact, I have 40 days left to prepare for my 6 month long stint in Mundri, South Sudan. Fear begins to grip my confidence as I wonder if I will be useful there. Worry hovers above my head as I read stories about other missionaries of the faith and the trials they endured. Dismay creeps into  the back of my mind as I begin to count all the holidays, birthdays, family, and friends that I will not see for some time. In addition to these sources of doubt, I have only raised 78% of my goal. I still have to raise $2257. I have 40 days left.

However, as I meditate on these inadequacies and misfortunes I realize a simple fact that cannot be ignored. God is here and He is not silent. I can't help but be comforted by this fact. The knowledge of a Being who is above my control or understanding and is in it for my benefit sends my heart leaping for joy. There is hope. Although I can't see the big picture of everything that is taking place around me, I can only stand in awe of how He chose to love me when I feel most like a traitor. How can I not share this love with others? How selfish can I get? Check out the following verses for how God addresses my inadequacies (fear and dismay) and backs them up with five promises (highlighted in red). You could say God is giving us a 2 for 5 special!

Isaiah 41:10

So do not fear, for I am with you;

   do not be dismayed, for I am your God

I will strengthen you and help you;

   I will uphold you with my righteous hand.

This is Real

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/malnutrition-and-mourning-in-south-sudan/

This is real. This is happening now. Babies like the one pictured above are dying of malnutrition because of an ethnic cleansing that is currently taking place in Sudan. This photo was taken by a freelance photojournalist, Nichole Sobecki, as she was observing a refugee camp in Batil, South Sudan of the Upper Nile state where 114,000 have fled to escape the ongoing violence in Sudan. I will not be working in this part of South Sudan, but this is just an example of what the people are dealing with and have dealt with in the past. Please pray for these people that someone will teach them God's love for them and help them meet their most basic needs for survival.

The Moru People

Click the link below titled "Moru People" for more information on the people that I will be working with! I am at about 45% of my goal to leave in October. If you would like to donate to send me to South Sudan to help out the Moru people go to http://www.whm.org/give/missionary?ID=21711.

                                                                       Moru People

WHM Internship Video!

South Sudanese in London 2012!

Guor Marial, a South Sudanese man, will be running the Olympics in London under the Olympic flag!

Click link below:

http://espn.go.com/olympics/summer/2012/trackandfield/story/_/id/8186507/2012-olympics-runner-country-compete-olympics

An Update From the Field

John Sender will be one of my teammates/ leaders while working on the many different water/construction projects in South Sudan. He just recently arrived in Mundri , South Sudan and has been appointed to serve there for the next 3 years. Below is a quick synopsis of the conditions in Mundri that John recently posted in his blog.

"It did not take long to realize the incredible needs for basic things people face from day to day here. As the bishop of Mundri put it in a fellowship dinner my team and some church leaders had last week, nicknamed a swallowship meeting by Repent, a pastor and vice-principle of the theological college we work with here, "Though we have independence here now, 'we are not out of the woods yet". Today I visited an area set aside for returnees coming from Ethiopia, northern Sudan, Uganda, and other countries. It was hard to sit down and listen to them sharing their needs. They said they had little in the way of food, seeds for beginning to develop agriculture, and the land they have been given to settle in has no access to water. Women and children travel anywhere from 1-3 miles to collect water, multiple times a day. What is really heartbreaking is that the place they get water from was to be a larger water project with lots of capacity for supplying water to many people (2 large water storage tanks atop a steel tower) but there was a semi-collapse of one of the towers just as the project opened for service, and one of the tanks broke beyond repair. The other sits on the ground now and the water flows freely from the pump. With no long term plan for fixing the system, and the NGO installing it leaving the area some time ago, the people there have come to accept that this is just their situation. Please pray as I work with my boss Michael Masso to develop a plan for solving this problem over the next days."

I am still at 40% of my goal for leaving to go to South Sudan on October 21st of this year! If you or anyone you know would like to donate to my cause, please email me at grantcurtiss@gmail.com so that I can contact with more information or just donate at http://www.whm.org/give/missionary?ID=21711.

Much love,

Grant Curtiss

Lecrae Testimony

Great testimony from a great artist!

Cookies in Heaven

The past few weeks has been one coincidence after another. In fact the possibility of me serving in South Sudan has been a hodgepodge of deeper inner callings and coincidences wrapped up and serving as a warm cookie. I like comparing things to cookies. I hope someday to buried in cookies so that when Christ comes back I can grab a few on my way up, although I don't think God's presence could be compared to any amount of "cookies worth" because if it is as great as the Bible makes it out to be, I think cookies would be the last thing on my mind. (See 1 Corinthians 2:9 for reference)

1st coincidence: I fell in love with a girl who has a heart for missions and knew a guy who got me connected with World Harvest, Josh Dickenson.

 2nd coincidence: World Harvest had been praying for months for some guys to come serve in South Sudan and that was straight up my ally, although I thought I was going to end up somewhere in Latin America where all the good surfing waves existed.

 3rd coincidence: It seems that the more people I talk to, the more people I meet who have some sort of connection to South Sudan or that area of Africa. Just talked to a friend of mine from way back whose wife had recently been to South Sudan in the same area in which I will be going. Already getting contacts there and I am still 3 months away from leaving!

 4th coincidence: The support money is coming in! Although this may not be a legitimate "coincidence," I have almost reached 40% and I still have 3 months left to raise. Knowing that a teammate of mine raised 100% in just one month gives me lots of hope. It's too big of a world for me to pass all of these coincidences off as mere luck and chance or just a by-product of who I hang out with and put myself in contact with. I believe wholeheartedly that something or someone is orchestrating a master plan that will help other's find truth.

He is God, He is love, and He must be found and worshiped.

Kabara ("News")

Recent reports have stated that South Sudan and Sudan are moving towards a signed peace agreement that address the outstanding issues with the Addis Ababa Peace Agreement signed in 1972. (1) Both sides have vowed to respect a buffer zone along the border and will no longer support rebel troops. However, according to an international aid agency called Oxfam, South Sudan is "facing its worst humanitarian crisis since the end of the war in 2005." (2) This is not good news for South Sudan who just recently celebrated its one year anniversary as the world's newest country. With talks of peace in the minds of the negotiating committees, the future of South Sudan is promising. Oxfam's report highlighted these hopes of success to the Sudan Tribune in its statement that "South Sudan is increasingly reliant on food aid. Yet with peace, a stable economy, and investment in its future, South Sudan would be more than capable of feeding itself." The report went on to say that with implementation of these important factors into South Sudan's policies, South Sudan could become the primary bread basket of its region. Sources cited: (1) (2)

Uninvited Reminder

Infant Mortality Rate

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18260082 Water and Sanitation

http://shaughnessyinsouthsudan.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/sud_water.gif?w=545

A Dream

It was a perfect sunny blue day in Florida. The country dirt road split through green pasture fields as dusty rocks spit off the tires of our truck as my friend and I drove to our favorite fishing dock. I was ready for a little "R and R" as I remember my boss screaming at me the other day for something that I couldn't prevent. As we pulled up to the dock there was the frequent visitor that my friend and I were accustomed to greeting. We could never recall her name but she always knew ours and was always interested in what we were up to today, yesterday, and most definitely tomorrow. Typically we answered in one word answers to get her off our back and she would eventually go back to painting her "masterpiece" by the dock as we continued to fish.

Today was different. As we grabbed our favorite fishing tackle to bring in the biggest fish we could never find, we noticed a young dark skinned boy throwing coins off the dock. "Great, not gonna get too lucky today" my friend murmured to me as I remember thinking the same thought in my head. Luckily, the old lady painting her "masterpiece" didn't seem to bother us as we passed by her on our way to fish off the dock. I kept my eyes focused on the dirt below as I considered myself fortunate not to have to greet the old curious woman. We had arrived a little late, maybe she was too tired to talk and needed time to put the finishing touches on her painting.

SPLASH! My eyes quickly diverted from the ground to the dock where I noticed the young kid now swimming in the water. "Welp, shall we call it quits?" my friend commented as we approached the end of the dock, curious as to why the boy would choose to jump in the water and yet disappointed at a ruined fishing spot. Once we reached the edge of the dock I noticed that the boy was nowhere to be seen. Right before the thought of a possible drowning boy reached my head, the boy popped up out of the water with a coin firmly grasped in his fist and raised above his head. "I found it!" he shouted while simultaneously grasping for air. "I reached the muddy bottom but I found my coin!" he exclaimed. "Wow, that's great kid," my friend replied, "would you mind diving over on the other side of the dock while my friend and I fish?" The boy's countenance didn't change as he hoisted himself upon the dock and continued to throw the coin to the far side of the dock most likely to retrieve it again.

The sun was starting to set and my friend and I had yet to get a bite or even see a hint of activity in the water. The kid from before was now on a floating dock nearby lying on his stomach and using his left hand to disturb the water. "Do you think he has a home?!" the old woman shouted from her chair as she packed up her painting supplies. "He was here when I arrived this afternoon and I didn't see anyone with him," she stated with much concern. We looked over to the floating dock and we heard a faint song being sung by the boy that echoed off the edge of the water to our listening ears.

"My mother, my mother where have you been?
The sun is setting and I have no place to go
My father, my father where have you gone?
The sun is retreating and I have no home"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I had this dream last night and I couldn't help but be touched by this young boy's longing to see his mother and father. We have all been there and maybe still are today. But most importantly this dream reminded me of all the people that do not know their heavenly Father and who live each day for the excitement of throwing coins into the water, retrieving them and then repeating the process. The sun is going to set one day and all of life's excitements will be over. Do you know who is going to come for you? Do you know where your true home belongs? We were created to dwell with God forever! He has provided a way for us to do that, so put your trust is Jesus' power to pay for all the bad things that you have done and find your true identity in God!

Message me at grantcurtiss@gmail.com if you have any questions!

"Lost"

Currently finishing up a great book (if I can call it that) about one of the "Lost Boys" of Sudan, Valentino Achak Deng. The tag "Lost Boys" simply denotes the thousands of orphans who fled their huts all throughout Sudan during the civil wars to take refuge in neighboring countries. They fled to avoid being captured by the Arabic militia called the "Murahaleen" who would force the child to be a slave or a soldier. On their journey to the refugee camps, these kids were exposed to thirst, hunger, predators, disease, and most certainly death. Thus, these boys became dubbed as "lost", both in death and in life. 

On the bright side, things are looking up for Southern Sudan. My team leader and engineer, Michael Masso reported more Sudanese moving into the area and setting up shop. This is great news, however with the influx of people, the need for clean water increases with the demand. I can't wait to get to Mundri to help rebuild a nation and to help those who have wandered from Christ, be found in Him.

Right now I am at 30% of my goal in getting to Mundri, South Sudan this October to help out with the clean water projects for 6 months! If you would like to support me financially, you can click the link below and it will take you to my donation page.

Also, if you are looking for things to pray about, right now I am pursuing learning Juba-Arabic. This is the dialect of Arabic that is spoken in Mundri, along with English and the Moru language. I have a feeling that my Spanish speaking skills will not come in handy.

Donate: http://www.whm.org/give/missionary?ID=21711

Losing My Sanity

Hallelujah! I am blessed enough to say that I have attained my Masters of Engineering Degree in Structural Engineering from the University of Florida! Now I have more time to devote to raising support and connecting with old friends and acquaintances. Also, I have reached 25% of my goal to go to Southern Sudan in October! It's always fun watching people's reaction to what I am doing now that I have graduated. I guess most people are expecting me to say, "Well, I am applying for an engineering position at Company X and will be making X amount of dollars." The best response I received was from a young man at a graduation event. When I told him that God has called me to go to Southern Sudan to work on clean water projects, his countenance dropped and he stared at me with a blank face for what seemed like minutes. "Why?" was all he replied. Sometimes it seems that I am going against the grain and doubts seem to creep in. However, God has been so faithful in confirming to me through scripture and other people that this is what He has called me to do in this time of my life. I am starting to understand the feeling that Noah must have felt when others might have questioned his sanity when he began building a boat to literally house animals. I can't explain everything, but I know that God is in control and by putting aside my notion of sanity for his, I become like Him. "If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you." - 2 Corinthians 5:13

This is a picture of a well located in Mundri Town, Southern Sudan, which is where I will be going. Here some local boys and girls are "hanging out" near the well.

Pray for Peace

Whoever said that following after Christ is "easy as pie" should reanalyze what kind of "pie" they are consuming. I am with Paul of the New Testament in that "the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature." (Gal 5:17). There is a constant battle within that causes so much frustration, pain, and often guilt which makes walking the "narrow path" that Jesus walked equally lumbersome. So why do it? Why continue in this battle? Why not give up and succumb? Here's the kicker...Christ has already accomplished this for my sake. So all that is required of me is to "cast all my burdens onto him," believe in the power of his salvation, and continue running the race knowing that in the end I will be victorious in this battle because He already claimed the victory! (1 Cor. 15:57)

Right now tensions between Sudan and South Sudan are escalating, mostly due to the presence of oil. This battle is nothing new, it has been at work for decades (ie Darfur Conflict, etc.) and based on history it looks like it may be a "song that never ends." These people need rest but most importantly they need victory over death. Pray for the leaders of Sudan and South Sudan that God would soften their hearts. Pray for strength for the leaders in Mundri, South Sudan. Most importantly that God would provide opportunities for the missionaries there to share the Gospel and that many would be added to the Kingdom!

Life in Mundri

Here is a video of a fellow World Harvest Missionary who has been serving in Mundri as an MD! His name is Scott Will and he is currently in the U.S. for the next couple of weeks until he leaves for South Sudan April 30th.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWEG2W3XoiI&feature=youtu.be

Here We Go!

Long story short, God has called me to use my engineering mind to help provide water solutions for the people of Southern Sudan! I can think of no better way to spend my life than putting my blood, sweat, and tears into a project that will sustain life and hopefully life everlasting...

But I can't take all the credit for what may seem like an extreme case of the "humanitarian urge." No I don't think I can save South Sudan, or even attempt to try for that matter (see George Clooney's recent endeavors or Kony 2012 for reference). God has given me a desire to follow in the footsteps of my great grandfather who was an engineering missionary in the Congo. Based on the stories told of him, he was just a quiet guy who loved solving problems as an engineer and had a servant's heart. My great grandfather was no Livingstone but he went to the Congo because God gave him the desire and abilities to go. God has done the same for me and I am eager to use what I have been blessed with!

This is the first of many posts, if you would like to join my SUPPORT TEAM shoot me a message and I will get you all the information and more that you need! Thanks and keep me in your prayers!

With much love,

Grant