Praise Him in the Suffering

Day 14 - Pure, South Sudan "The Field"

I already took an Ambien (this was my first one to have to take b/c the kids were being so loud outside of our tent haha and we needed sleep for the next day) so it's going to be sweet memory bullets today:

- I gave Violet her birthday card today and she loved it.
- I rode in a much needed Land Cruiser to Pure today.  I have never imagined a worse road.  We trekked through a stream, 2 foot deep cracks int the road and LC was rocking about 45 degrees back and forth for 2 hours.  Thank God I did not get car sick.

This was the stream we crossed.  It had gone down a bit so that we could get to Pure.

- We only treated 20 patients today.  It was market day apparently.
- We played volleyball with the crew and catch with the kids from the village.  Gave the ball to them afterwards.  Such a sweet and funny moment that was in trying to communicate that to them haha
- I made "half cakes"/mandazeh with Violet.  She taught me how to make, roll, and cook them.  Great fellowship time.

- We danced to Nigerian music videos.  Violet taught me how to dance.  She's so fun! Love her :)
- Prayed for Mogga's sickness with Violet tonight.  She is so concerned.  Poor thing.  May God grant her peace.
- Thankful at the end of the day for such beautiful people of God who give their lives to serve.  What a testimony of God's love for us.

PS: Alex is translating a movie from English to Kuku so that the kids will understand.  What a sweet soul.

Day 15 - Pure, South Sudan

This morning I helped Violet with breakfast then started the day after devotionals.  I Corinthians 10:20-22 stood out to me.  You either worship demons or you worship Christ.  You cannot live both lives.  AT home I feel like I may live both lives for the sake of being "moderate"/"normal".  I cannot continue leading this life.  I've got to think of the Lord and follow His ways in all that I do, even if it makes me stand out.  God is more important.  I've also been reading my Bible every day which has been a blessing.  I've learned so much from the people here.  We didn't have many patients at Pure as we thought.  They expected 300+ and we probably had 100 in 2 days.  Not bad.  To be honest, I was getting a bit impatient in the pharmacy.  It's hard work seeing that many patients so fast.  I've had some great fellowship here as I wind up my time here in South Sudan.  The way you can work with Christians is amazing.  I've gotten close to Violet and I'm sad to leave her.  I really admire her life and all that she does at 23.  The ride back was bittersweet.  I got to admire so much beautiful nature and thank God for blessing me with this trip.  I also held in my tears because I love this hard life.  Helping the souls Christ made is priceless to me.  I'm not sure of God's plan but I promise to save money so that I may come back to give of my life.  I believe God sent me on this journey for a reason.

Hanging out in the pharmacy!  I loved praying with people after giving them their medication.  So blessed.

A group picture right before we left our last village!

Day 16 - Kampala, Uganda

Today is the day we leave South Sudan :(  I've really loved it here.  The people, environment, purity, nature, kind servant hearts.  Our MAF flight got here earlier than expected so we left around noon.  They all are expecting me to come back and I just asked them to pray.  I don't know what God has in store but I have the desire for this type of life so we'll see what He does.  When we got into Entebbe Frank took us to get some cokes on our way to Kampala.  Our first encounter with a 3 aisle supermarket was culture shock.  So much food....so many choices.  I literally stood there with my jaw dropped.  Crazy, right?  Uganda is such a poor developing country but we were in a place with nothing.

My last tiny MAF flight!  Goodbye to my dear friends!

We stayed at a hotel in Kampala called "The Red Chili".  It was such a great experience.  Young, hip, and TOILETS!  It seemed like a luxury...oh yeah..hot running water!!  It was about $20-$30/night.  Pretty good.  They have all sorts of adventures leaving from there.  They also have a kitchen with different themed meals most nights.  Pizza, BBQ, etc.  People from all over the world are there...most just travelling.  Some quit their jobs, some are on leave, some just are in between school or before/after school.  It's a different world and I have to say that I absolutely am in LOVE WITH IT!  Americans would say it's "hippie" but I say it's cultural and living life!  I wish I had found this passion before medical school.  I would have done this type of work for a few years....I might not have come back! :)

The traffic and environment in Kampala is so similar to Bogota, Colombia.  Pollution, smog, no enforcement of laws, honking, man made lanes, boda bodas (motorcycles) and walkers.  I loved it to say the least.  Felt like home.  We decided to check out a local Indian restaurant called Calypso.  It was SO good and reasonably priced for American standards.  Kirsten and Lars are really nice.  They are the couple from Norway who donated the eyejusters.  Apparently the minimum wage in Norway is $20/hour.  Imagine how high class everyone is?  The amount of wealth in that country is tremendous.

After dinner we went back to the chili for a few drinks and to mingle.  We talked to a couple of Irish guys who were backpacking through East Africa.  I ended up going back to the room because I'm pretty sure I have strep throat.  I would post a pic here (yes I took one) but it was so gross!! Oh well...on antibiotics that I found in a barber's shop and don't feel horrible (Just realized how ridiculous this sounds).  Rafting tomorrow...yikes!!

I miss walking around this place.  We would walk EVERYWHERE instead of taking cars or boda bodas.  It was so beautiful getting to admire God's beautiful creation and all that he has provided for this country (as little as it is).  I especially loved seeing all the kids scurry when they saw "muzungus" (white people) coming!  It was so precious.  They would all wave as if you were the president coming by and yell "HIIIIII".  So amazing.

This is my friend Emmanuel.  We would practice Kuku and English together while he was pruning the garden.  We had such great conversations.  Such a beautiful heart for the Lord and so smart!  He is definitely quite talented and is driven to make something of himself.  It brought tears to my eyes.