Monday, March 26, 2012

March 14, 2012

Dear Friends,
Greetings from Malakal. We experienced a severe rain/wind/thunder and lightening storm here last night. I have never been alone in a house before during this kind of an event. I am grateful that God placed peace in my heart that I was not truly alone, Jesus through the Holy Spirit kept me company as the fury of nature’s wrath was unleashed all around my new little home and one side of the veranda flooded.

I had two visits this morning from three different people checking on me to make sure I was okay. That was awfully nice! Last night was a good preview of things to come and helped me to learn about the work that needs to be done on the house in order to be ship shape and battened down for the rainy/mud season that is soon to come.

In the two rooms of the house there are two windows in each. The bottom 2/3 of the window is covered with a double metal shutter. The top 1/3 however has no covering but mosquito netting and bars. The rain slashed in through those openings and I had to rescue several items in the library/storage room and get trunks buckled shut. I am really hoping that when I open the trunks of books that are located near the one of the windows that I will not find water logged pages. I now know that I will have to reorganize the room, placing boxes (plastic trunks) as far away from the windows as possible. I also have to get some kind of a covering for the top 1/3 of the windows. The bedroom did not fare as badly but it is mostly bare except for a mattress on the floor and a mosquito net tent placed upon the mattress. I hope and pray that a bed frame and clothing rack will be soon to come.

ln the larger community outside of my little life the storm was very destructive. There was a loss of life and at least one person was injured. Houses were destroyed and I have heard that many fences were blown down. There is no fury like a woman scorned? I beg to differ -- perhaps not worse but equal if the fury of the first storm of the season as it vents its power upon human beings and our perishable lives and structures.

I did realize last night that I have placed myself in a position where I am no longer on a compound shared with other people who I could shelter with if necessary. That was part of the sense of isolation last night. I am in a Nuer neighborhood and it is going to take time to get to the know the folks here. It isn’t the same as being in an ex-pat, foreigner neighborhood where we have history and heritage that gives us the commonality for relating to one another and quite often the English language in which to communicate, even if that language is a second language for many or some.

Life is different here. How to explain? It is slowly, bit by bit. Instead of looking at just today’s schedule and compartmentalizing I have to look at the week. What is to be accomplished in a week or a month? Things go along and somehow tasks get accomplished, it rarely works in a linear fashion and this takes some getting used to. I believe that the past ten year or so in my life have been preparation for this way of living in life. I have learned to be flexible, very, very flexible. In a country which is not developed there simply cannot be the expectations of a developed country in terms of life as clock work. It is more like circle work. It gets done when it gets down. Eventually.

Now, I will remind myself of that as I try to get help with having my solar generator reinstalled on the roof of the new house and the plastic on the windows -- both before rainy season which is approaching rapidly. Not to mention waiting for help from a computer expert for reinstalling the internet software on my Apple computer after a non Apple computer used it for over two weeks. I of course want technology instantly available as I know it can be. I’m not in Kansas anymore.....
Blessings,
Debbie

March 10, 2012

Dear Friends,
Greetings from Malakal! I am back in the hot and dusty little city, or big town, whichever way a person chooses to look at it.

The possibilities for mishaps on the way back yesterday were multiple. All things considered I made it back with a very small amount of drama. I do have a deep realization that one of the wounds in South Sudan from the many decades of civil war is that there is not an innate sense of being civil among the South Sudanese and certainly not with foreigners. When disembarking from the plane in Juba, which we must do due to a lack of coordination on the part of immigration officials (those who are going to Malkal should be able to have passports stamped in Malakal and not Juba) the passengers just kept going in the line, never stopping to ask if another person wanted to get out. It was better going to Malakal, there was more courtesy extended at the end of the long route.

Even though I had a valid visa and was making my single entry on that visa I was required to purchase another visa. $100. for one month. Very, very expensive. To give a comparison, Ethiopia is $20. for one month. I always have a feeling of pressure inside of me at immigration in Juba. There are no lines per se, it is a pushing match and people all sticking their passports at the ill equipped people working behind the counters. I am fully aware that I have less than an hour to get the visa stamped, pay the money, and have my luggage and person checked manually at two points before reboarding the airplane. It always feels like, and is, a race against time.

I got into Malkal during the daylight for which I was very thankful. Upon first sight of the new house I thought, oh dear Lord can I really do this for another three years? Do I really want to? After spending over two weeks in a nice house in Addis Ababa, a house with a proper bathroom and a kitchen that has a sink, running water and a stove I looked around at the cracked cement floors and ripped plastic shades on the veranda mosquito netting -- the area where light and air comes in can’t really be called windows, but it does sort of serve that function. I looked at it all and nearly wept.

Fortunately since my initial shock my sense of adventure has begun to return. The house is not good as houses go. However, it is a fine camping house for a church camp site, and it is also a good cabin in the woods.....so I just have to put my imagination cap on and the view becomes very much better!

The new Western toilet works, more or less, meaning some local adjustments have needed to be made on it but it does work. The shower is in place and today workers came and began work on getting a storage tank on top of the shower room. They will come back tomorrow and, I sincerely hope, finish the project. I am going to have to miss church which is a pity.

I have discovered that just about my first priority is finding someone to help me clean the house and do laundry. When the house is dusty I can’t think clearly to organize it.

I can’t access internet for the time being, so this post will be posted later. When I loan my modem to other people it doesn’t work for me again until an Apple expert has reinstalled the system. I was able to get on once yesterday in the early evening and all subsequent attempts have failed.

I’ve got to get charcoal very soon as I have realized that is one of the things that I left at the old house and must retrieve shortly...right now I have no way to cook anything....although in 41C weather the water is generally hot enough to do some good. The tough part is having nothing cold. At the old house there was a freezer and for me there was nothing better on God’s green earth than that very cold water. Sigh.
Blessings,
Debbie

March 7, 2012

Dear Friends,
Greetings from Addis Ababa!

My time here is running short. Tomorrow is my last full day and then Friday I head to the airport in the morning and back to South Sudan. Prayerfully I will make it to Malakal on Friday as there are possible visa challenges and/or flight challenges facing me once I make it to Juba. Actually, the first challenge will be at the airport when I find out if the visa that was obtained for me in Malakal before I began my journey at the end of February will be sufficient to get me back into South Sudan in the first place. This is a good time to remember to eat breakfast, have a cuppa joe, and stay calm. I also need to remember to pack my scissors in the check in bag and not accidentally leave them in my carry on this time! I’ve lost a good metal nail file and a good pair of small scissors in the last few months by forgetting to pack them in the right place.

Tomorrow is my last day in Addis until June when I plan to pass through here on my way back to the states for about three months. I’ll only be in Addis for maybe two days, long enough to be sure that I won’t have problems with connecting flights and to pick up extra luggage that is packed and ready to go back to Seattle from Addis.

I plan to return to South Sudan in early September and may not be returning to Addis until December for Christmas. So tomorrow will be a day of good byes and packing. I am allowed 30 kilos going on Ethiopian Airlines from Addis to Malakal. I really do hope that the flight through to Malakal is still happening. If I have to take a local South Sudanese carrier such as Kush from Juba to Malakal I have a feeling that I won’t be allowed 30 kilos and then I am going to have to figure out how to approach that challenge. It may be that I’ll be knocking on the gate at the Mission Aviation Fellowship in Juba asking them to deliver my 30 kilo suitcase to Malakal on the next flight that they take there!

So, packing, good byes and last minute eating of things-that-I-cannot-eat-in Malkal are first and foremost on my list for tomorrow. We are enjoying a pan of Giralldi (probably the wrong spelling) brownies here since yesterday. Oh my gosh are they good! I think I am going to bring some back with me in September because I am pretty sure I can cook them in the solar cooker I plan to bring back with me.

This has been a good R & R and I feel more ready to begin life in my new house in Malakal now. This will be the first time I will be facing a full three month stretch there and in the midst of it the rainy season will begin. As I am gaining experience in living in a town that is so different from anyplace I’ve ever lived before my confidence is increasing in terms of handling the different situations that arise. I’ve had some practice now with using a charcoal stove so I know that I can make that flame again that will light the charcoal and I should be able to get it hot enough to get water boiled. The more the successes with everyday life the less dramatic the failures are. I still cannot envision life without a sink and yet that life is coming in about two days!
Blessings,
Debbie

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

It's Almost Friday....

Dear Friends,
Greetings from Addis Ababa!

My time here is running short. Tomorrow is my last full day and then Friday I head to the airport in the morning and back to South Sudan. Prayerfully I will make it to Malakal on Friday as there are possible visa challenges and/or flight challenges facing me once I make it to Juba. Actually, the first challenge will be at the airport when I find out if the visa that was obtained for me in Malakal before I began my journey at the end of February will be sufficient to get me back into South Sudan in the first place. This is a good time to remember to eat breakfast, have a cuppa joe, and stay calm. I also need to remember to pack my scissors in the check in bag and not accidentally leave them in my carry on this time! I’ve lost a good metal nail file and a good pair of small scissors in the last few months by forgetting to pack them in the right place.

Tomorrow is my last day in Addis until June when I plan to pass through here on my way back to the states for about three months. I’ll only be in Addis for maybe two days, long enough to be sure that I won’t have problems with connecting flights and to pick up extra luggage that is packed and ready to go back to Seattle from Addis.

I plan to return to South Sudan in early September and may not be returning to Addis until December for Christmas. So tomorrow will be a day of good byes and packing. I am allowed 30 kilos going on Ethiopian Airlines from Addis to Malakal. I really do hope that the flight through to Malakal is still happening. If I have to take a local South Sudanese carrier such as Kush from Juba to Malakal I have a feeling that I won’t be allowed 30 kilos and then I am going to have to figure out how to approach that challenge. It may be that I’ll be knocking on the gate at the Mission Aviation Fellowship in Juba asking them to deliver my 30 kilo suitcase to Malakal on the next flight that they take there!

So, packing, good byes and last minute eating of things-that-I-cannot-eat-in Malkal are first and foremost on my list for tomorrow. We are enjoying a pan of Giralldi (probably the wrong spelling) brownies here since yesterday. Oh my gosh are they good! I think I am going to bring some back with me in September because I am pretty sure I can cook them in the solar cooker I plan to bring back with me.

This has been a good R & R and I feel more ready to begin life in my new house in Malakal now. This will be the first time I will be facing a full three month stretch there and in the midst of it the rainy season will begin. As I am gaining experience in living in a town that is so different from anyplace I’ve ever lived before my confidence is increasing in terms of handling the different situations that arise. I’ve had some practice now with using a charcoal stove so I know that I can make that flame again that will light the charcoal and I should be able to get it hot enough to get water boiled. The more the successes with everyday life the less dramatic the failures are. I still cannot envision life without a sink and yet that life is coming in about two days!
Blessings,
Debbie

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Thoughts.....

Dear Friends,
Greetings from cool, green Addis Ababa! My time is drawing nearer to return to Malakal, South Sudan. I will be in Malakal until early June when I will leave for Mission Interpretation in the states and I hope to be back to Malakal in early September to begin another term with the Nile Theological College. I hope to be teaching Theology III, Christology, to the current seniors.

Today seems like a day of random, unconnected thoughts. It may be my own unique way of processing all that has happened here in Addis in the past week and a few days. I remember upon boarding the Ethiopian Airlines plane in Malakal on the first leg of the journey to Addis at the end of February the feeling I had that "the other world is seeping in."

Addis Ababa is a city whereas Malakal is a town, at least from my perspective. Malakal does not have even one electric traffic light, and come to think of it I'm not sure there is even one stop sign. There are a couple of hotels, a few small eateries and some local banks along with the Kenya Commercial Bank which deals internationally. I somehow don't see Malakal being a popular tourist destination or a vacation destination. The friend and fellow Mission Co-Worker with whom I am staying here in Addis Ababa frequently receives packages in the mail or has people visit her from the United States and they often bring with them food goodies, books, or other things for her that we cannot find in Africa. Being in Malakal I don't have visitors or mail service so I can't receive gifts in this way as I could in Khartoum for instance.

I am grateful for church or church headquarters delegations as these have allowed me to receive things as my solar system generator and Katadyn water filter. Later this month I will be receiving a large solar lamp and two smaller ones through a delegation that will come to Malakal. This is very good because the person who is currently staying in my new house in Malakal has told me that the power in the BAM area (where the house and where the college are) has been off for three days now. This means no lights and no power to recharge computers. No refrigeration and no kettle for hot water. I've got to get help shortly after arrival "home" to get the solar system on the roof of the house so that I can use the computer during the day. I am going to be practicing an integrated cooking system in this new home; charcoal, solar and electric. I suspect I am going to get a lot of experience with heating water on charcoal for my instant coffee.....my VIA (Starbucks) coffee envelopes that I got from Costco have run out and I am not down to using instant Gold coffee that is available in Malakal. I have come to appreciate the full cream powdered milk in Africa and SUGAR. They make the coffee drinkable.

This afternoon I sent an expanded and extremely preliminary outline for my DTH Dissertation Proposal to my two promotors at the University of South Africa (UNISA). It feels very good to see and experience some movement forward in that work. Knowing that I am not going to have 24 hour access to internet or electricity upon my return to Malakal I wanted to devise a way in which I could at least read during the daylight (and hopefully at night as well once I have the solar lamps in my possession) and have a systematic way to store the information that I learn in reading. This way I can read by category or at least make notes by category. It is always nice to feel that I have some control over some aspect of my own life.

I am also realizing that I must continue to work on my Mission Interpretation assignments for this summer. Please keep me in prayer as I do the work of making plans for going from city to city, state to state. This is going to be challenging without having reliable internet to work with.

For prayer requests:
1. That power would become more consistent for the entire country of South Sudan.
2. That peace would become more powerful than not peace.
3. That my work on my dissertation proposal, mission interpretation for this summer, and plans for teaching the next semester would flow smoothly.
4. That the work on do on 3. would bear fruit.
Blessings,
Debbie