First Impressions

12 March 2012 We arrived in Yei, South Sudan one week ago – after safe flights to Uganda and 12 hours of road travel through Arua (comfortable hotel called White Castle) into South Sudan. Interesting that near Oraba on the border, Uganda, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are a stone’s throw away in places! The terrain, roads, heat and dust reminded me of our visits to game park in Kenya. But, all in all, it is good to be in the place we have been speaking about and praying over these past many months! First impressions………friendly, hard-working people walking everywhere; curious children with big eyes and eventual smiles, yelling “How are you?” More vehicles and Boda Boda (motorcycles) along the streets than 18 months ago on our visit. Abundant fruits, grains, vegetables in the market – most still imported from Uganda at this time. Mango-laden trees nearly ready as the rains approach (2 good showers so far!); roosters crowing long before the sun rises; cooler mornings and gorgeous skies at night, a relief from the afternoon oppressive temperatures; guinea fowl pecking at the ground in front of our room in the morning – goats wandering all around throughout the day, seeking green grass in the dusty ground. Currently we are renting a room at the Yei Vocational Training Center (YVTC) about a 25 - 30 minute walk from the Captain’s House and UMCOR compound where we will eventually build a small house. We are thankful to say we are no longer “living out of a suitcase!” We have electricity from 7 am to midnight each day and a water pump (borehole) just 30 feet away for fetching water. The deep pit latrine with a raised seat is luxury compared to the squat latrines found in most places. If we didn’t have to “step outside” to use the latrine before bedtime, the peaceful, moonlit sky would have been missed! Learning to cook again without refrigeration is coming along and the gas burner is nice as compared to the kerosene burners and charcoal jiiko we used in our early days in Kenya! And our conditions are so much better than most of the families living around us here in Yei and in the villages where we will work. Today we have relaxed after a busy week of getting oriented to the town and market, traveling out to 2 village churches, and participating in a 3-day training for the United Methodist Health Board just formed here in South Sudan. We will tour the government hospital on Wednesday and visit several other sites in the coming week, with the prayer that God will clarify for us how we will join the team of dedicated people serving in this place. Hopefully we will begin to work with a “language helper” soon to help us move along in speaking Arabi Juba, a trade language that is aiding communication between people with 160 tribal languages! We recognize God’s faithfulness over these last few months especially and THANK YOU for your prayers – past, present, and future! In the board training we were inspired by Nelson Mandela’s Eight Lessons on Leadership. The impact of these lessons was remarkable for our South Sudanese colleagues! One final quote from this wise leader touched me – “After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.” With God’s help, we are climbing on! 