Start to a beautiful journey

Day 1 - Entebbe, Uganda

It's Wednesday night and we left USA on Monday night...and still not in South Sudan.  We fly out on a 12 passenger flight in the morning!  I feel at home here already.  There is so much poverty but it was expected.  People are so thin even here in the main city of Entebbe.  We are staying at Banana Village overnight.  There are tons of monkeys, horses, and mosquitoes!  Those things swarm like schools of fish...insane.  We are staying in a little hut with 3 beds, a toilet, and a shower.  No hot water and it's great (little did I know what was to come).  I'm ready to give up my life the next month.  It's all about them.  I had a nice religious conversation with Frank (our driver) today.  He said there are wars between the Catholics, Muslims, and Born Again Christians (protestants).  There's a growing number of Muslims here apparently.  There are many refugees from Darfur, Sudan who have come south to avoid the wars in their home country.  We checked out a local market and Lake Victoria this evening.  We stand out because we are white.  I hate looking like a tourist but I guess I can't help it here.  People are nice and I hope nothing I do is offensive because I'm still trying to figure out the culture.  Can't wait to arrive in Kajo Keji tomorrow!

Day 2 - Kajo Keji, South Sudan

We finally arrived 4 days later!  We took a small plane (12 seater) from Uganda to KK.  Akem, our pilot, gave us the scenic tour which included some low flying over the Nile River!  We were looking for elephants but saw none unfortunately.  The sheer beauty of the nature was breathtaking.  Truly God's handiwork.  When we arrived to KK, David, the pastor of First Baptist Church, took us to the compound.  On the way there children lined the roads and were waving.." byeeee!!! hiiiii!!!"  It brought tears to my eyes...yes embarrassing.  The happiness amidst the poverty is amazing.  We arrived at the compound and met everyone.  The crew is so nice and Christ filled.  It truly makes a difference.  The humility and servant hearts that these people have is amazing.   I had a great conversation with one of the girls, Elizabeth, about her life story.  She has such a beautiful trust in the Lord that it served as a reality check for me.  I need to re-center my life on Christ and realize that He has a great plan for my life.  I need to commit less and just sit and wait.  It will be hard for me but I have to learn to be patient.  I will see the blessings afterwards hopefully!  Tonight I went on a great run with Jessica (nurse practitioner), Grant (MHI project manager), and Elizabeth (Grant's fiancee).  Good times and needed exercise.  Also a lady, Efaf, from Darfur brought her 9 mo. old baby in for malaria.  The crew also tested 115 people for malaria in the field yesterday.  Everyone has it because of rainy season!  So sad.  Tonight we played a fun card game "Nerts".  Took a bath and now in my toocle (no idea how to spell it because very few here write).  Thank you Lord for this enlightening day and please help prepare me for tomorrow.

Day 3 - KK, South Sudan

I slept my first 8 hours in 5 days!  Finally over jet lag.  Today was awesome.  We started off with an hour of Praise & Worship and bible study.  It really taught me the lesson of humility and truly being a servant of the Lord without seeking benefit.  After breakfast we went to our little clinic/lab to do medical inventory and package pills for our days out on the field next week.  I got to practice memorizing all my drugs and what they're used for!  Too bad boards are next summer haha.  After lunch we relaxed a bit then went out to immunize WHI (Water Harvest International) staffers.  Guess what? I got to give 6 shots (my first ones!)...Tetanus and Typhoid.  They went well except Grace's (cook) whose hurt a bit because her arm was skinnier than the guys.  Woops...I guess it's all in the learning.  We got back, relaxed, and went for our 2nd nightly run!  Great weather but it rained last night which means that it was so muddy out.  We were slipping and sliding all over the place and jumping streams, cow patties and sliding past the occasional cow.  The kids were laughing at us.  You never see people running in a line like we were unless they are running away from something!  It was truly a mud run...Sudanese style.  Authentic.  Love it.  When we got back Grant wanted to do CrossFit...great!  We did arms/legs for 15 minutes which seemed like a lifetime.  Awesome workout.  Who would have thought I'd be running and doing CrossFit in South Sudan?? Not this girl.  And since we can't wear shorts we have to wear pants or capris.  Talk about hot!  Great times though.  Grace fixed us a cute Italian dinner of noodles with tomatoes and garlic with basil.  What a treat!  Overall great day of action and looking forward to building relationships with the staff here.  They're great :)

I relate most to pictures and lyrics in songs so every post I will leave you with something that really made the experience real for me.

 

 

Bed at Banana Village in Uganda

 (L to R) Danielle (nursing student), Kristen (EAM staff) at Lake Victoria

 View of the Nile river from the plane

 Little toocles

Landing in Kajo Keji, South Sudan