So…once you have re-gained composure from laughing so hard…please say a short prayer that it is only fleas and a small cleaning of the mattress is all that it will take. If……fleas….is all that it turns out to be, then praises are in order. Of course the other nurses hear are telling the worst stories of what it “could” be.
So, were to start. I have actually made up a list of blog topics for the months to come. I am very happy that, for once, I wrote them down during those brief pockets of creativity. It is also a great relief to have the blog setup, the group email list, and photo web site too.
I am also becoming more and more adjusted to life here. Ear plugs are no longer required at night and my “farmer’s tan” is in full affect. I tried to even it out on Saturday. Unfortunately, once I removed my shirt, the older guys were suddenly blinded by the appearance of a large pasty white blob next to them. That will probably take some time. Finally, all….um….G.I. issues seem to have escaped me; which is nice, and definitely praise worthy.
They feed us VERY well, almost too well. Based on what the rest of the staff has shared from their own travels and other missionaries passing through, Harvesters is not “roughing it” in the Africa bush. God has created quite an oasis here. There is plenty of water, electricity 24 hours a day, and the mango trees (which are also in season…..hmmmm….fresh mangos almost daily) are tall, plump, provide a great deal of shade, and require constant attention for when a ripe one decides to fall 50 feet.
We went on a house visit the other day to visit a man named Hillary. He used to be head master at Harvesters School, which by the way is the best primary school in Yei, Sudan. A list was recently made based on the number of students sent to secondary school and exam scores of current students.
…so, the visit to Hillary’s was interesting….in a good way…
We set out from the camp along a dirt road which forks, not more than 100 yards from our gate. If you continue forward, you will in less than a mile t-off on to the main road. We, took the fork to the left that brought us directly into the bush. This is nothing more than two well worn dirt paths from trucks straddling a less worn patch of dirt and sand with an occasional bicycle track cris-crossing over top. Surrounding either side of this one lane two way road in sporadic density are teak trees.
Now, I have some bad news for some of us. If you paid a lot of money for your teak furniture, perhaps you should see the acres upon acres of teak the locals will burn every year. Granted, I know nothing about furniture and how to get teak from Africa or teak furniture from Africa; but I will now think twice when my day for furniture shopping comes.
…continuing…
No street names, no street signs, at that time a few dozen school kids on their way home, or up in the mango trees looking for an after school snack.
….although the youngest eat the mangos with the skins while they are still far from ripe, very green, and sour. They love bitter flavor that also eats away their tooth enamel, but as they grow older the sweater ripe mangos are preferred...
No more than 10 minutes later you are out the teak fields, or fields of teak ash, and will begin to see what resembles a village. Neither a single tukel (house) nor a collection of tukels truly represents a town or a village, but rather permission from a local tribal leader for these individuals or families to build homes there.
A typical tukel is one room approximately 8 square feet, built from fire burned mud bricks, and a straw roof. Once the family size exceeds somewhere around 3 to 5, a second tukel will be built usually right next door, about 10 – 15 feet away.
Along the way, we passed a line of guys anxiously awaiting their turn with the local witch doctor. The presence of the witch doctor in such close proximity does explain the sounds of beating drums and chants long into the morning as they summon dark spirits during a funeral.
As we continue some of the children recognize Tara, one of the teachers at Harvesters School, and come out to say “hello, how are you”, and giggle as they see the new kawaajas (white people) walking with her. Also, from a distance, other children run up and giggle or wave from very far away, all saying “hello, how are you”. One boy from Harvesters School was following us, and I wasn’t sure if he was just playing around, but he would run and hide from me each time I attempted to take his picture. So, I chased him around a tree for a bit, to get a few laughs out of him and then ran off, turned quickly and snapped one. Once I showed him the picture, he didn’t seem to mind any more how many I took. Then of course, I lost interest.
After that we arrive at the “village”. A collection of a few dozen tukels, all carefully aligned, with the dirt and sand that serves as the common areas for children to play and chickens to peck, swept clean. Immediately, Hillary’s wife shows up offering us a glass of water to share. I hesitantly take a small sip and pray for clean water. Once I see that Tara takes a normal sip, I understand that the water here is clean. Hillary had excused himself and we made small talk with James, one of the teachers from Harvesters School. Shortly after, Hillary and his wife re-appear with slightly less than hot, very sweet, grape soda. The sugar buzz alone was worth it; but also, it did taste very good. We then have more conversation about life in the “village”, and learn of the four different languages spoken by the different families who have all moved to Yei either for work or as refugees.
After about 45 minutes we need to make our way back to Harvesters so Moses, a young student who joined us does not miss his nightly bath time nor dinner. Along the way, as we pass by the witch doctors queue, one of the men approaches, and asks where we are going. Once we told him “Harvesters”, which is well known in the area, I believe he inquires about a teaching job, although I wasn’t too sure. His English was not that great, and well…my Juba/Arabic is still awful. I felt he might have already taken some drug from the witch doctor, only because he was talking to me, yet his pupils were clearly focused in opposite directions. One of his friends quickly came over and took him away, while giving an apologetic wave. Then we made it home, and had a delicious dinner.
This one is a bit long, but again I try to give you as much detail so you can feel as though you are physically hear with me, and not just spiritually. I miss you all very much and pray for each of you daily.
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