I'm a Slow Blogger....

Apparently I am not very good at updating my blog…. Since it is August and I have yet to finish blogging about the vision trip in March, I am going to give a quick synopsis of the trip in this one blog post. We spent another day and a half in Nasir. During this time we continued to explore the town. We ventured into the market again one morning to get a better look at what all was available. There was some food, mostly beans, rice, pasta, tomato paste, potatoes, and onions (along with some seasonings). There was also a meat market and a mill to grind sorghum. I was happy to see all that was available. We paid a visit to the town pharmacy, noting what medicine is readily available. Malaria pills, pain medication, amoxicillin, and similar drugs lined the shelves. Unfortunately, the MSF clinic had informed us that the pharmacists were not educated on the use of each medication. For instance, many times women would receive malaria pills or horse tranquilizers for dysentery. This did not sit well with me; this is a preventable issue. In fact, I have made educating some of the pharmacy staff part of my community health development strategy. Later that afternoon we had hopes of hopping on a boat and floating up the Sobat River to the neighboring village of Torpuot. As we walked along the river towards the place where the man with the boat was, the river was crowded with people bathing, animals drinking/wading, children fishing, women doing laundry, and one woman and her child came to gather water in their jerrycans. I still cringe when I think about yet another preventable health issue. We soon discovered that the man with the boat key was not in Nasir that day. The rest of the day was spent visiting another organization called ADRA, who provides health services, and we visited local schools. We met with some of the teachers as well. Both of these relationships will prove to be very helpful in our development strategies. The next morning we broke camp and made the mile trek to the airstrip. As we boarded the plane, I had mixed emotions. I wasn’t ready to leave, but at the same time it was so strange to think that in six short months this would be my home. So surreal. We flew to a village called Aweil, where our missionary friends with Cush4Christ are living. We spent the weekend hanging out with them and picking their brains for advice about living in South Sudan (most of the team has lived in South Sudan for at least a few years). It was such a blessing to be able to spend some time learning from them, and it was encouraging to see that living in South Sudan is do-able as a westerner. Many thanks to all of the Cush4Christ team.

Cracked Nasir Soil in Dry Season

Early Monday morning we hopped on the little Cessna plane one last time as we headed back to Uganda. On the way, we had to make a fuel stop in a town called Rumbek. While in this village, the pilot suggested that we get stamped out of South Sudan. After making our way to the small structure that was the airport for this town, we were told that the man with the stamp was on his way. We waited, and waited, and waited. Finally, someone ushered us into a SUV and drove us into town. We ended up at a government officials’ office, which was decorated nicely with tinsel. After he flipped through our passports and searched for a stamp, we continued to wait. A good deal of time went by as nothing happened. Finally, someone spoke up asking if we were good to go. He told us that he did not have the stamp; it was back at the airport. So he offered to escort us to the airstrip. When we got back to the small airport structure, we were told that the man with the stamp was still on his way. But wait! Suddenly someone realized that the stamp was inside a cabinet, but the cabinet was locked. Of course, the man with the key to the cabinet was on his way. We decided that we had waited long enough, so we told them that we would just fly to Juba, the capital city, to get stamped out. A few hours later we made it back to Kampala, Uganda. After eating just rice and beans for days, we were greeted by Neltia with the best cinnamon rolls I have ever tasted. However, I learned that eating these delicious balls of sugar and butter so soon after coming out of South Sudan comes with a price. In the future when I come out of South Sudan for my R& R, I will have to make the decision if being sick for a few days is worth the deliciousness or if it is better to let my stomach slowly adjust to normal food.

Cattle Horn!

As we boarded the plane the following day to leave Africa, it was bittersweet. I was sad to leave, but filled with excitement as I would be returning soon. I already can’t believe that I am less than month away from my departure date. Time has flown by so fast, but I cannot wait to get back!