Our Hitchhiker Arrested After Clinic at Lalanga

Lohutok, Sudan

I drove Martha to the clinic at Lalanga today. I collected data on each child, making note of identification number, name, sex, birthday, months he or she was underweight and months dangerously underweight. I am told that high carbohydrate foods are in short supply so lower calorie vegetables are making up a greater portion of the diet. I suppose that is alright for older children and adults, but children cannot get enough carbohydrates and protein on that sort of diet. Martha said the swollen abdomens could be caused by malnutrition, worms or a spleen swollen from malaria. The children seem to me to be less well fed than the adults. But maybe I am just seeing a biased sample. Most of the children I have seen are those who come to the clinics. They are likely the least healthy children. I asked Michael if it is Lotuko custom for the women and children to eat after the men. He said it is the other way around; the women and children eat first. So much for one theory. Martha thinks the youngest children get along better than the older ones because the younger ones are still breast fed.

Below: Weighing a child at the clinic in Lalanga.

When we left Lalanga, we brought along a woman and her child who needed to get treatment at Lohutok. A man came along in our Land Rover as well. He said he needed to see Daniel, the chief. We met Daniel and about three policemen walking along the road. They were escorting some men to prison. We stopped to talk. The guy riding with us tried to hide his face. The next thing I knew, he was bolting out the back door. The police grabbed him, threw him down to the ground and tied him up after a bit of a scuffle. It turned out that Daniel was looking for him. He had stabbed someone, but I did not learn anything more about the incident.

This afternoon I read more in The Mountain People, studied some Lotuko and puttered around a bit. I really should set aside more time for prayer and Bible study. The battle here is definitely a spiritual one against him who blinds men to the saving words of the good news of Christ. A full day of prayer would be an excellent idea followed by more time alone in prayer on a daily basis.