Peace?

Each day, I can open my email inbox and find a daily security update, warning us of recent fighting and trouble spots or incidents which may have occurred across the country. If I read every update, every day, I think I would feel weighed down with despair and maybe fear, so I pick and choose my days to read these updates in detail. It is good to be informed; but it is not good to be overwhelmed. I try to have a balanced approach to how much information I need to know.
Despite the reality of trouble. there are strong visual reminders nearby to show me that peace is the goal of many. I don't need to go far to see this poster, at the end of our short, dusty street:

The slogan may be simple but the message it emits is powerful. It speaks more than a thousand words:

On the back of the poster, another hard-hitting message, to ensure that it is received by pedestrians or motorists coming from either direction:

When I am out and about at the shops here, I am struck by the military presence. This was not something I was used to in Dodoma, so it is all the more noticeable to me as a new-comer. I try not to stare. I expect I will get used to it one day. Maybe I will accept it as a normal part of life here, rather than seeing it with the eyes of a Juba novice, peeping timidly out of the corner of my eye! It is unsettling. I feel vulnerable as I head down the street to the shops. The shops are not far, but I am still getting used to this new environment. I can definitely say that I am out of my comfort zone!

For Andrew, seeing and meeting military personnel is all part of a day's work. The reminder that this is a country with a volatile security situation is a very present reality:

However, we have been struck by the work of the South Sudanese pastor at the local church we attend. He is the Secretary General of a specially created organisation, headed by the Anglican Archbishop: The Committee for National Healing, Peace and Reconciliation. This is their symbol:

You may have remarked that they are the group responsible for the street posters featured above. This October, they have a month-long conference in Yei to train peace mobilisers, who will then go out to train people in their local communities in peace and reconciliation skills. So much rests in the balance for a conference like this. There could be so much hope. Many want peace. We pray for it too.  

We admire people like Rev. Bernard Oliya Suwa and those who travelled to be part of this key conference. Andrew was part of a team of MAF pilots who were ferrying the delegates to the conference:

It is good to know that there are so many behind the goal for peace, aiming for hope for this next generation, offering an alternative to fighting: