Zanzibar Round 3................

In case you didn't get enough the first time I wrote about Zanzibar, let me tell you about my third trip there. This R&R I decided to go back to the delightful island off the coast of Tanzania. I really am going to take advantage of the opportunity to see more places in the east, but you just can't beat Zanzibar! My friend Bethany flew out to meet me and hang out with me for the two weeks that I had for break from Sudan. We beat around Nairobi for a day then headed out into the Indian ocean. After arriving at the airport cautiously early, and waiting for three hours to board a plane with five other people, we were on our way. I was looking forward to the full moon celebration that takes place each month in Nungwi, but we missed it by one day. So we spent a couple days in Nungwi on the beach and dodging all the hagglers who want to arrange a snorkeling trip for you, or have you purchase some of their hand made collectibles that they purchased from a mass producer in Dar es Salaam. We journeyed down to Stone town on our third day to see the markets and do some shopping. We experienced many people in Stone town who want to sale you a CD of music from Zanzibar and they all start singing the first song to you as if you'd recognize it like it's on MTV or something. We were able to have lunch atop the Africa House hotel one day which was an awesome place to hang out. One night I hate grilled shark for the first time in an outdoor market, along with breadfruit and fresh squeezed sugar cane juice. I'd never had either, but now I now I'll never eat shark again. We did treat ourselves to one night at the Serena Inn, a five star hotel in Stone town as well, which was quite an upper scale treat. After a couple days in Stone town we headed back up to Nungwi to relax on the beach. It was rainy a couple of days, but for the most part we got to enjoy the most beautiful sunsets on God's green earth every afternoon. A couple of days the tide was low enough for us to go out and catch a glimpse of all the different sizes and colors of starfish sunbathing in the shallow water.









On another day we made our way up to the aquarium where there's a conservation project to preserve the lives of the sea turtles. Afterwards we saw this boat that matched Bethany's shorts. Nice to see Zanzibarian fisherman have taste in boat names. (The state, not the school, Go State!) Walking the beautiful beach by day followed by dinner on the water and great conversation by night proved to be another fulfilling time in Zanzibar, Tanzania. You really can't go wrong with restaurants on the water with breath taking sunsets at any rate. The seafood and spices are the freshest on the planet which makes for wonderful seafood curry. It was great to see Bethany and have time to spend together just catching up, in paradise. Living across the globe proves to be trying at times on friendships back home, so it was nice to have a wonderful part of home come to visit. I think she enjoyed Zanzi, if not she is really deceiving! We spent our last two days together back in Nairobi in shopping centers and great restaurants. Which brings me to my next life changing experience, the best meal I've ever had. I had heard about a Cuban restaurant here in Nairobi a few months back and we decided to try it. I never thought a meal could be a heavenly experience but I have been trumped on that one my friend. On the menu a glimmer of light appeared around the fillet so I read the description. It was a fillet of beef stuffed with onions and cheese and smothered in a blue cheese sauce. Grilled beef with cheese in it and on it can't be wrong from any angle! And trust me when I say it will change your life. We in America don't have that great of a relationship with Cuba, but in some aspects I think we are missing out. They know their way around a piece of grilled meat! I really am sorry about the Cuban Missile Crisis and all the complications around Gitmo, I really am. But that was the best meal I've ever had in my life! The empanadas were a great starter, and the tastiest ones I've ever had, but that steak will make you wanna slap your mama! No joke. So this R&R was definitely amazing. The only bad thing was when my external hard drive was stolen. That was definitely a blow to my happiness. Long story short, by my hard drive being stolen from my check bag by someone when I was boarding a FLY 540 (that's right, I put you on blast, and now refer to you as DON'T FLY 540) flight means that all the photos that I've taking in Sudan and East Africa over the last year are gone. Yeah. It sucks. But other than that, it was a wonderful trip with an even more wonderful friend. I'll fly back in to Sudan at the end of this week and continue on with my crazy life. Cheers. Jeremy.

I'm a fan of laughter........

Sorry I’ve been away from the blog world for so long. I realize I haven’t posted anything since just before I went to the U.S. It’s partly because I haven’t had much internet connection here, things have been pretty busy, and I’m kind of lazy. So after coming back to East Africa from my home leave, I began back in Yei again. I was just in transition on my way to Kajo Keji. I spent about two weeks there writing stories for the church dedications that were going on. I was able to get out into the bush and see the country side there. Kajo Keji is about 15 miles from the border to Uganda. It is a very peaceful and a comfortable place to be. However, during the war it was one of the worst areas for fighting. There was a heavy presence of GOS troops there during the 90’s. Since it was on the border to Uganda and Uganda was one of its allies, the government troops kept a large amount of infantry in that area. One day as I was traveling out to a site, my translator showed me the area of one of the larger ambushes in that area. The SPLA had set up to pounce on a convoy of government troops that were making their way back to Wudu from Uganda. There were approximately 160 government troops traveling together. The group of SPLA rebels only numbered about 50. The SPLA set up on top of a ridge just by a river bed that the road crossed. As the convoy came through the SPLA shot missiles and RPGs at the convoy completely defeating them. All of the frames from the burned vehicles were still there, and still in a single file line. My translator, Chaplain, informed me that the skeletons of those GOS soldiers remained there until the late nineties when the government of the South instructed the villagers to clean them up. It was an eerie reminder of just how soon ago the war here had ended. A few days later I received instructions to head up to another area for research.

I left Kajo and headed to Terekeka.I made the 8 hour drive to Juba, the capital and spent a few days there preparing to go to Terekeka. I headed up to Terekeka to begin assessing. Mundari is the prominent tribe in Terekeka. On the drive in one of the first things I noticed was a girl whose body was painted completely red. The Mundari women, upon getting married, paint themselves completely red to show the community around that she has now been wed to her husband. It’s partly so the other men will know she is no longer available, and a way for her to brag without speaking. As we reached Terekeka I had arranged ahead of time to stay with another American at his compound. Harvesters is a faith based NGO that builds orphanages in South Sudan. Once I reached the town I didn’t know where the Harvesters compound was so I had to go in and ask someone to tell me. My translator found two young guys and they agreed to help us out. They showed us how to get to Harvesters and we returned them to town as we were in need of lunch. We dropped them back off and found a “nice” little Ugandan restaurant to eat at. About half way through our meal those two young guys showed up. Now, you should understand that being white here can be horrible sometimes. The Sudanese, especially the ones in the bush, automatically think you have tons of money. They have actually been taught as children that the government in America just gives us money and we don’t have to work. We have all the money we won’t and it’s just given to us. So it sounds funny to hear that, but to live in a place where that is the people’s reality of us can be scary. These young boys proceeded to tell my translator that we needed to give them 50 Sudanese pounds (about 20 dollars) for taking us to Harvesters. I told them that I had never paid for directions and I wasn’t starting today. I told them that I was here to do work for the Bishop. The Bishop is one of, if not the most respected individual in the community. I told them if they wanted money they would have to ask the Bishop for it. I was thinking that they would just leave then, fearing the Bishop. Well they called my bluff. They said, “You need to go and get our money or we are coming after you tonight. We know where you are staying because we just took you there.” So I called their bluff and went and got the Bishop. When we came back they were gone. I explained to the Bishop what had happened and he told us we’d be fine. A few days later he gave a speech at a funeral about how Samaritan’s Purse had come to help the community and those boys had tried to rip us off. The boys were actually there and later turned themselves in to the police and issued an official apology to us. So after all that madness for one day we went to Harvesters and spent the next few days doing our assessments with the Bishop. The Mundari are a very different tribe. Their scaring is similar to the Dinka, but way more elaborate. Terekeka is right on the Nile River, and I slept only a couple hundred feet from the bank to the Nile there every night, in a tent. That is where I came down with malaria for the second time. I’ve always heard that the second time you contract it the symptoms aren’t as bad. That’s all lies! It was the sickest I’ve ever been in my life. First I had a fever of 105 for about three hours. The nurse at Harvesters wrapped me in wet sheets to cool me down. I passed out once my fever broke. When I woke up around midnight, my body was so cold my teeth were chattering and I looked like I had convulsions. Once that stopped I felt about 40% normal. Then all over again. I’d get a horrible headache and fever. Then the fever would break and I sweat and be freezing. Round and round I went for about three days. I was taking a medication to cure the malaria and eventually I was well enough to stand up. Once I could stand, I left and went back to Juba for about an hour, then on to Yei. I just wanted a comfortable bed to finish recovering in. I’m sure you’ve never had malaria, but to make a 6 hour drive on these roads with malaria is not a treat. It makes a good story, but there’s not a lick of fun involved in that let me tell you.So once I got back to Yei I was instructed to stay in the bed and just get well, and that’s what I did. The symptoms come and go for about a week. One minute you feel like a million dollars, the next minute you’re wondering if you’ll wake up in the morning. Not fun at all.

So after all of that, I left Yei and drove up to Rumbek. That’s about a two day drive. We drive all day, overnight in Mundri and then drive all day the next day. So I’ve been back here among the Dinka. Things are okay, but there’s lots of fighting. Cattle raiding is at it’s peak for this area right now. The Dinka value their cows above all else. I moved our carpenters to a church today to work and we had to supply them with an armed guard. It’s pretty funny to see a pastor with and automatic assault rifle staying at the church. But it will be necessary for our guys, especially once the community learns they are there. The chance that they will be robbed is very high. But anyway, he’s there now to help protect them.

I’m also with my best Sudanese friend, Moses. I came here to manage this base while the regular manager was out for his R&R. It’s been good to spend time with Moses and all of our Dinka staff again. I only know a small amount of Dinka, but we can still communicate enough to laugh, a lot. I’m a fan of laughter. With all the stress that comes along with this job, you have to laugh. To find common ground in humor on the other side of the planet, with people that are so different from me is a life saver. I’ve been back in the field for 9 weeks and I’ll go out for my R&R in about 10 days. I’ll be going to Zanzibar for my third time. Yeah it’s that good. And I’m sure this trip will be even better than the first two. Best regards to all of you.

So I've spent the past couple months in Yirol, South Sudan. After coming back from Christmas vacation in Zanzibar, Tanzania, I flew in to Rumbek. Rumbek was once considered to be developed into the capital of South Sudan. After a day or two there, I made the 3 hour drive over to Yirol. In between the two areas there are vast amounts of water and wildlife. To see birds that are four feet in height, families of baboons, and an abundance of other animals was quite the "African" experience. Upon reaching Yirol, my first impression was that it was just another South Sudan village. Indeed it is, but it was so much more. On the compound there we live in mud tukuls very similar to that of the locals. There was no power, it was hot, humid and just boring for the first few days. So as I got my lists of villages together to research and hired a translator, it was just another day in paradise. But I soon came to love Yirol so much. Aside from the fact that I was very sick for a couple weeks and had no idea what the problem was. There are many security issues and tribal conflicts sometimes on a daily basis. I had more things to go wrong with my work in Yirol than anywhere else I've been. Although I still had an appreciation for the area and the people. The locals of the greater Yirol area are all Dinka. There are many sub clans of people within the Dinka however. Those sub clans tend to rival each other frequently. From cattle raids, to arguments, to all out fighting and killing, the sub clans don't get along all the time. But the people I encountered in Yirol had a tremendous impact on my life. Sadly a lot of people in conflict areas, or areas that are suffering, have figured out how to embellish their story to receive pity. For someone like me, who wears my heart on my sleeve, they can smell me coming. But the people in the bush areas of Yirol haven't had enough people from NGOs around to grasp this concept yet. So what I usually ended up with, was being face to face with someone who had never really been helped. I witnessed things in Yirol that I've read about here in Sudan, but never actually seen, at least not to the extent that I witnessed here. One day while traveling back from Bunagok, an area about two hours into the bush from Yirol, I saw children drinking from he dirtiest water I had witnessed yet. In Bunagok the boar holes dry up this time of the year. There won't be water available again until the rains come. When I saw the children gathering the water to drink, I stopped immediately. I wanted my translator to tell the children to boil the water before they drank it. The kids just started laughing, and continued drinking it. A similar case was in the town of Bunagok, I saw a kid with a plastic bottle filled with mud. My first guess was that my small friend was just playing with the bottle. Soon he removed the cap and began to drink the water off carefully keeping the dirt in the bottle. I told him to stop drinking that, it was going to make him sick. He just smiled and continued drinking. The people of these areas usually know the water isn't safe, but what would you do if you were that thirsty and had water in a bottle? Even if you knew it would harm you, you'd do the same. And so would I. Because of the water issues, food is also scarce in these areas. There is no cultivation this time of the year because the ground turns to a bone dry desert. WFP (World Food Program) has a strong presence in these areas and they are distributing maize flower and oil for cooking. So to meet some of the people that I've met, and have some of the conversations I've had, I have so many questions. The first obviously being "Why?" Why do these people have to suffer so much? Why do we have it so well? And why do we not take more time to seek out people who are suffering and lend a hand? Surely we could spare $20 to an organization that's helping, or better yet give of our self to help. I've developed this theory while traveling and living in Sudan. Generosity isn't so much a choice as it is a responsibility. Selfishness is a horrible disease that every person on the planet has, some worse than others. Some people use ideas such as these as the punchline to jokes to take the emphasis off the fact that they themselves do nothing to help anyone outside themselves. Now it's easy for us, especially me, to do things or give to those that are special to us. Someone whom I love or care about, it's easier to give. I try my best to show those that I care for how much I care. But I don't have that same drive for people I've never met, until I'm placed in their situationa and I can see the suffering. I've been told by some that you can't save the world and it's ridiculous to give up everything for an ineffective cause. But many years ago a group of people had similar beliefs. Even you don't possess faith in God, you have to admit that this is admirable.

³²All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. ³³With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. ³⁴There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales ³⁵and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.
- Acts

If we, the progressive world, adopted this lifestyle, people would think we were crazy. I mean, everyone can rise above their situation and be self sustaining no matter what their circumstance, right? Absolutely not. Some people need help, and if all those who aren't trying to help are just criticizing, then they shouldn't help. Give freely, not because you feel convicted. But if you do feel convicted, good. We should.

The Prominent Antidote (Agape')

When did we lose our sense of caring, was it ever really there?
Often people in need hope it exists, but we’re usually unaware
Faith and hope quickly turn to despair, unless you intervene
Sources of adequate assistance tend to ignore the obscene

Hardship doesn’t exist to those who never experience it
So help who? Because of ignorance, they never consider it
Love is the answer to cure all problems many people would say
And truthfulness does indeed define those things that are cliched

So this word love, has to broken down for us to understand its depths
There is so much more to love, than emotion, ideas, or helpful concepts
For how can one have this thing called love equally, in so many areas?
It renders almost useless, when it’s used to describe everything we cherish

Can I have the same feeling for a certain type of music that’s appealing?
And for the living God that I plead in prayer to, when I am kneeling?
Is it possible for me to feel the same way about my favorite type of food?
That I feel about the most important people in my life? No, this is misconstrued

All of these things I say “I love,” but it is a lack of vocabulary to express the difference
We’ve given ownership of this expression to one word, granting it volume in appearance
True love is only found in the things that we put above ourselves, and then sacrifice for
This is the type of love designed for me to offer a wife, in excessive, tremendous outpour

To find something that you would take care of and protect, even before yourself
Is to realize life is worth living, worthy of that which is always new to you, fresh off the shelf
This is true love, and examples of it stay in our minds, they are never lost in the past
In putting others before ourselves, true love will be the only thing that will forever last

This is what drives those few people in history, to devote themselves to the less fortunate
Equal sacrifice, not equal giving, makes the differences in the world more proportionate
When, or shall I say if, you actually find this true love, allow it to consume your being
Because life without this love is like surrounding yourself with beauty, and not seeing

Got it made.

Sundays for me are usually pretty event less here. It's our only day off and all the guys try to make the most of it, 4 hour naps, watching movies, etc. I can't really sleep in the daytime so Sundays go by so slow for me. This morning I got up, showered, had my coffee and a mandazee and went back to the tukul. I started reading in Hebrews and read through James. Reading in James reminds me of when I first started actually studying the bible. James was one of the first books that I actually "studied." Hebrews is one of my favorite books though. I've read it many times and each time I usually get something different from it. So after reading the entire book, I came away with one thing. Go to Christ when I have issues. I know that's not that deep, but that stuck with me threw the entire book. I did get some other themes that were in my mind briefly, but mostly, go to Christ when I have issues. I picked that up in Chapter 4 verses 14-16.

14Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. 16Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

I always knew to go to God with my problems or when I stumble, but this passage is significant to me where I am right now. I've been in Sudan for six months or so now, and I've had the time of my life. I've met amazing people, heard amazing stories, and seen amazing things. All along I have known that God is with me, that's never been a question in my mind. I've made decisions that probably weren't the wisest, simply because I had put aside the fact that Christ has experienced life on earth. I had an image in my mind that God would guide me, and he's all knowing, but that some decisions I could make on my own because of the situation I was in. But Christ came to save and redeem us and he did that. But in doing that, he lived a life surrounded by sin. So, as it says in verse 16 we should approach him with confidence, because he's been there. Anything you are struggling with, not only can he help you through it but he's experienced it. That should be so comforting to us. I'm not perfect and never will be, but I can't ever say to God, "you don't understand what I'm going through." Because he does. So for someone all knowing and full of grace who's been there and done that, I need to consult him in decision making more often.
I've enjoyed every minute of being here so far, but it will be nice to get a break next week. I'll fly to Nairobi Kenya on Tuesday and spend a few days there before flying to the U.S. on Friday night. I'm looking forward to coming home for a visit and getting a break. But I will miss certain things here. Parts of the culture and experiences in Sudan have started to become a part of me. Waving at smiling children that I pass on the road is part of my life now, that's not offered in the States. Hearing amazing testimonies of faith are everywhere, but the one's here are special to me. I can't relate to them, but I'm living in the country where they took place. Hardships are different in extremes worldwide. I can't imagine what it would be like to live the way everyone in South Sudan did for nearly 21 years. Some starved to death. Some died of malaria. Some were killed by soldiers. Some died from child birth. Some were random accidents while living on the run. The list could go on and on. I can't relate to their situations or even the evil that was spilled out in this country during the conflicts. But Christ can. He's stared that evil in the face and defeated it for us. He was tempted for forty days and forty nights in ways I could never imagine. The Son of man had to endure temptations I'll never know and it's sad from our point of view. But from God's point of view it's perfect. His grace is never ending, He can and does sympathize with our weakness in temptation. He didn't give in as we always do, and that must have been hard as hell. I'm grateful for his strength, and for working out a miracle that his strength would cover my weaknesses. We've got it made from every angle of this thing, but most of us don't even see it.

LRA Displacement

Back in July I was assessing churches in Lainya for the Church Reconstruction Project. As I was driving into the bush to meet with a congregation in Nyangele, the Assistant Bishop of Lainya informed me that we were meeting the congregation but that it would not be in Nyangele. They had been displaced by the LRA and had fled to Lokirarat which is about ten miles from Nyangele. After that assessment, I knew the people would need to return home soon, or they would start to burden Lokirarat’s food and water supply. I left it at that, and continued with my assessments.
A few weeks back I was assessing another congregation close to Lokirarat. I met the Chief of Lokirarat, Joseph Kwaja, and he informed me that the group of displaced people were still in his area. They had now moved to Lokoruba, which is about twelve miles from Nyangele. He informed me that their situation was not good at all. Upon arriving back in Yei I informed the Program Manager and we immediately went to UNHCR to report the group’s situation and their needs. I felt it necessary to follow up with the people personally. After discussing the displaced people with others at Samaritans Purse, we decided it best to go in and do an assessment of the village.

On October 2nd, we left the compound in Yei and headed to Lokoruba. After about a two hour drive we arrived in Lokoruba. The village was down a walking path, so we parked our truck and began walking. Upon reaching the village we saw many make-shift houses. There were crops planted which made us happy to see. As we explained to the leader of the village what our purpose for coming was, he quickly rounded up all the necessary people to talk with. They began to tell us their story.

Gideon and Lemeri Nelson are brothers and were there the day the LRA came in. They were kidnapped, but later released. Gideon explained that as they were resting from working in their garden, they saw the men making their way into the village. There were around 36 members of the LRA who began to get people together, and steal all of the village’s supplies. They left with around 42 people, and everything the village had to survive on. Gideon told us that the LRA made them carry everything that was stolen all the way to Mundri, which is about 100 miles from Nyangele. Once in Mundri the LRA released 38 people and kept 4 children. The 4 that were kept were 2 boys and 2 girls, all around age 12. Those children haven’t been seen since that day the other 38 left from Mundri.

Once the LRA left the village, the remaining people all fled to Lokirarat. They stayed there 2 months, before going to Lokoruba. The people have suffered from many sicknesses and diseases since arriving in Lokoruba, ranging from diarrhea to malaria. “We stay hungry because of the diarrhea,” one man told us. There is no proper health care in Lainya, so the people aren’t receiving any treatment for their health problems. Food has been another struggle. They were given a small amount of food back in July from the Catholic Church in Yei, but haven’t received anything since. The men in the community have started hiring themselves out as casual laborers and buying food in the market with the money they make.
They get one meal a day usually consisting of beans, posha, and greens. They have planted ground nuts, okra, field peas, and potatoes. Another NGO, Malteser, provided them with a hoe and a pick ax to use for cultivating.

The community is lacking basic living necessities though. They do not have proper latrines. They are using areas just outside their living space which is very dangerous. They are also not burying dead animals which can cause sickness and disease. There is not a boar hole close enough to them to get clean drinking water from. They have been drinking river water that is not boiled, which is causing a lot of their sickness. They have make-shift houses, with no protection from mosquitoes at night. There aren’t even any mosquito nets to sleep under in the village. They informed us that just last week two people died from malaria. The two people were a married couple and also the parents of the children the LRA did not release back in June. There are a total of 173 people who are displaced. There are about 100 adults, and the rest are children.
Since fleeing Nyangele in June, 15 people have died from various causes, a few even from starvation. The village is in serious need. We hope to be able to partner with them to provide some sort of medical attention. Many of the children have scabies and other easily curable illnesses. We checked around thirty children for malnutrition, and three of them showed strong signs of extreme malnutrition. The LRA is a very evil group of people who has displaced this entire community, along with many others. The people of Nyangele do not deserve what has happened to them. They do deserve God’s love and provision just as everyone else does. I hope we can see what God would have us as an organization do for the people of Nyangele.

Just this week I went to Nyangele to take photos of where the people used to live. It was a very eerie experience. As we pulled up, after about a two and a half hour ride into the bush, everything was abandoned and has grown up. There were still chairs and a table in one tukul with peanut hulls on the table. My translator and I walked around taking photos and just looking in on their church, clinic, market, and all the homes. I can't understand how a group of people can be so evil. The LRA needs to be stopped. A country that's just come out of 21 years of civil war, is still suffering at the hands of this evil group and their even more evil leader. I, as an American, can't even fathom what these people have gone through. Please pray for the people from Nyangele. It's just the name of a village half way around the world to most who will read this, but I've shook their hands. I have spent time with them, talked to the people, held the babies, and played with the children. God hasn't forgotten about them, and neither can I.

Highs and Lows.

The past few weeks since I returned from Zanzibar have been, how should I say, eventful. Upon returning back, I slipped right back into work, going out and researching different areas. I ran across a group of refugees again, and heard that there situation has gotten worse since I saw them last. They are now having problems with food, and have lost 6 people in the last 3 weeks to starvation. I reported them to the UN to try and get some food in for them, and I'm going to check on them again this week. I plan to take a nurse with me to evaluate them, and see just how malnourished they are. Not far from that village, we heard reports that an NGO's vehicle ran over an anti-tank land mine. I was heading in that direction the next day and saw it. The anti-tank mine was planted in front of a school, sometime during the war. The vehicle that ran over it belonged to an organization that helps with education in Sudan. The driver and his passenger were leaving the school when they detonated it. Only the passenger survived. It was a bit eerie to stand in front of what I couldn't even recognize, was a truck. I could see blood on the seats, and there was a huge whole in the ground from where the mine exploded. It was quite the reminder to stay on the roads. There are mines all over that haven't been discovered yet. We have a few different organizations that devote their days to searching, finding, and removing land mines.
A similar discovery was made a while back at a site where Samaritan's Purse was planning to build a basketball court. Three RPG's (rocket propelled grenades) were discovered, undetonated in a tree right beside the primary school here in Yei. They were removed right before the basketball court was dedicated this past Saturday, which brings me to my high for this week, among all these lows.
Joe Wilson, who left for good on Sunday had come up with the idea to build a court for the kids here in Yei. Luckily he got it finished in time to dedicate it on Saturday, and be able to play basketball with the kids before he left. It was a great way to end an otherwise rough week. We had a blast. It's pretty awesome to have about thirty kids between 4 and 14 chasing you around the court trying to steal the ball from you. We were out there literally all day with those kids, it was a great way to just enjoy being in Sudan with nothing to worry about for a few hours. I don't have anything intellectual to add to this. I haven't connected the dots of why the things I've experienced these past couple weeks were significant. But despite the lows I had, I still know that I'm "home" here. Let's see what this week has in store.