prayerwarriorsunite

hey guys. well the old devil is on the war path trying to disrupt the great things that are going on with whythewoods. i have continued to speak at churches and schools including local ellis middle school and new hope baptist in woodruff south carolina. but today i am being admitted into the baptist hospital for what we think is...you guessed it, malaria. i have been feeling the symptoms for about two weeks now, and after visting the doctor wednesday my symptoms have gotten increasingly worse. i pray that it is just malaria and nothing more serious. i appologize to those churches i will have to cancel on this upcoming weekend, but i hope you can understand. please pray for my health, because i know that as the work with whythewoods becomes greater so will the spiritual and physical battles. please don't worry for me....GOD is Greater.

whythewoods

i can't tell you how excited i am about the recent progress for whythewoods. i have filed an application with the IRS for non-profit, tax-exempt status, and i have a big meeting with one of our representatives of north carolina, virginia foxx, tomorrow. my buddy thomas schambach scored a knock-out with the design of my future website, whythewoods.com, but don't bother trying to go there yet because we are still in construction mode. i am praying that it will be up and running within 2 months. i have had several great speaking opportunities including my home church victory baptist of cooleemee, my old middle school south davie, and several others. friends, things are happening fast. almost too fast; so i hired my sister katie to keep me organized. it is amazing to watch the hand of GOD move in all of this. i only wish there was a way to keep in contact with the people of wadupe so they could share in my excitement. i know they are greatful for your help and support. and one day they will share in this great project.

now that i am home i want to be clear on what it is i am actually doing with whythewoods. i have had a lot of questions about the relationship between wtw and samaritan's purse. i went to sudan as an employee of samaritan's purse for two months last summer and again from sept. '07 to april '08. but, now i have completely started a new organization, whythewoods, seperate from samaritan's purse. we will continue to be dear friends as we work side by side in the country of sudan.

so now the question is, "why did you leave s.p.?" and the reason is that GOD's guidance in this has been very clear. samaritan's purse is a great organization and is capable of impacting a huge area of sudan with the many projects it operates. my heart is in the village of wadupe and my style of ministry enables a long term relationship with that village. both types of ministry, short term and long term, meet a variety of needs for a country that is crying out for all the help it can get. i look forward to working alongside my brothers and sisters at samaritan's purse and i know that our passion for sudan will help make a tremendous difference in many people's lives. i am eternally greatful for samaritan's purse as they were the ones who introduced me to the country of sudan.

my website, whythewoods.com (again, don't try it yet) will explain in depth the plan of action, the specific needs, and the beliefs of whythewoods. if you would like a copy of my mission statement, my current projects, and plans of action just email me at billyriddlejr@gmail.com and i will be happy to send you a copy.

i love you guys much....as always thank you for the prayers and support.

i would love to come and speak at your church,school, or business sometime to spread my vision and passion for Whythewoods so please contact me and schedule a date.

lastadventure

my last adventure in the sudan bush was one that left me ready to return to a world with cold drinks, toilets, and ice from the refrigerator door. getting malaria for the second, yes the second time wasnt the final adventure i was hoping for, but it did at least give me a great story.
for my final week and a half i went to stay in my sudan hometown, wadupe. my friends at samaritan's purse dropped me off 17 miles from the base with only the clothes on my back, a small bag with a jacket, my sunday pants, and bracelets that my little sister made for the kids. i hadnt seen my wadupe friends since february so we were all pretty excited about me staying with them. that evening i settled into a tukul they prepared for me and sat down to a hearty meal (by hearty i mean two plates piled high with rotten dried fish, kasava flour--tastes like dough with no flavor--and beans. honestly i would rather have two plates of goat guts than dried fish and kasava flour-by far my least favorite meal in sudan) around a campfire with all the pastor's family and neighbors. they had no idea the food made my stomach turn and offered it as a great gift to me. i was definitely honored...and so were the malaria parasites swimming around in my blood unknown to me. the next few days were great times watching the daily lives of the wadupe people, though my stomach got progressively worse. by friday i was feeling pretty bad with a terrible headache, dehydration, and a churning stomach. every meal was a tremendous obsticle as my appetite was waning. when sunday rolled around i finally told pastor rufus that i felt horrible and wouldnt be able to get out of bed. i was so dehydrated i could hardly think straight and i looked like a drunkard trying to stand up. i thought i was going to die in wadupe. i had no choice but try to return to the base. so they sat me on a motorbike, rode me three miles to the main road, and then flagged down a passing taxi/van that miraculously had one seat open. the 15 mile drive took over an hour due to the horrible road conditions. i sat crammed in the back of the van with about 20 other extremely hot, sweaty people and concentrated on not puking my guts out. thankfully the SP nurse was at the base, and took care of me for the remainder of the week. in short it was probably the worst i have ever felt in my life and i seriously thought i was being eaten alive by parasites in my stomach and brain. the most amazing part of the story is that two days after i had left wadupe, i was lying in my bead recovering and pastor rufus popped in. he had taken the three and half hour bike ride in the 103 degree heat to make sure i had made it ok and wasnt going to die. i asked him why he rode so far in the heat, and he replied, "billy you are family. when our family is sick we take care of them. i have to let the village know you are ok." i gave him a hug and promised i would see him again.

so now i am home trying to adjust to the very different american lifestyle. on the outside it has been a smooth transition, but it has and always will be an inner struggle for me.

i am wanting to get to as many churches, schools, youth groups, etc. to speak about my trip and my future plans. if you would like me to come and speak please contact me-- billyriddlejr@gmail.com -- cell-336.403.3188 home-336.284.2709 --until my website for whythewoods is complete i will continue to post...hopefully more often than i was able to in sudan. thanks for your prayers and support.