Our first 10 days in Melut

 This blog post has taken me 6 days to write and publish! Spotty internet and enjoying life here in South Sudan.

Our travel to South Sudan was quite a tiring journey! We were supposed to stay overnight in another part in the Upper Nile State, but the pilot (AIM Air) decided to drop us off at Paloich, South Sudan first. The plane we traveled in was called a cessna (I think!). It had 6 seats and we were with another couple with their 3 month old.

Our luggage being loaded at Wilson airport in Kenya.

 Rachel has always done great on commercial flights, but this one was not fun. She cried/screamed each time we landed and took off (3 times), or if there was turbulence. Good thing she's still nursing, as that is the only thing that would calm her down! It was very cool to see all the different NGO's and the UN at all these airports.

Refuelling at Loki, Kenya

As we were flying over South Sudan, I teared looking down at the arid land, humbled that God would lead us to this nation, to be part of this global work.

Flying over South Sudan

We landed in Paloich and Eli Fader was here to receive us up in a pick-up truck. It was an hour drive to Melut, with a few stops to pick up our luggage that would fall out! We were greeted by a throng of children with a few khawajas (white person) singing a welcome song. It was quite surreal, seeing everyones beaming faces, and seeing the Nile River. After a few handshakes and greetings, David unloaded the truck, while I chatted with Bethany Fader and her youngest son. Rachel was enamoured by their cat Q-Tip and I cannot say that the feeling is mutual. David came back when it was turning to dusk, and he told me about the strongest coffee (we aren’t coffee drinkers!) he had ever tasted, the first of many probably. We had a scrumptious meal, while being blessed by the company of the Faders.

David got to work our house the next day, while I accompanied Bethany to the market on her quad bike.

The pad on which our house is being built

We got sim cards and credit for our phones, South Sudanese pounds and a few other essentials. A lady who was selling lil snacks, decided to name me Aweng (sp?), which is Dinka for cow, which is a good thing here :)! The afternoon was spent napping, as the heat really hit us; 42+ degrees celsius. It is currently, the dry season here in Melut, and the bonus of that is no mosquitoes! The next day, Bethany gave me a tour of the campus and it was such a pleasure to meet and greet all the wives and children at Gideon Theological College. I am still learning names! Each family has 5+ kids. The men are currently away, as the new term begins in the first week of March. The men usually go back to their home towns to work. In the afternoon, after a nap, I leafed through an Arabic phrase book. I am eager to learn, but just need to get into a routine to find a time to dedicate to learning the language. The evening was spent hanging out with the Faders and getting to know them more, and dreaming with them the potential this college has in impacting its community, the nation and ultimately the world.

Over the weekend, we moved into the house of the campus nurse. She, and a few other students just left for a 2 week conference at another city. We have been unpacking, organizing and trying to cook.

Kitchen

The shower bag

The pit.

It’s a weird stage to be in, because this is not home, but I am really ready to not live out of boxes! We’ve unpacked 60% of our things. The water in the house is only on from 10am-6pm, so we've learned to store as much as we can during the day for showers, washing dishes and clothes, and drinking! I am also getting used to cooking with an electric stove.It once took me 35 min for 2 cups of milk to come to a roiling boil. David bartered for some fish for a great deal one morning and we got someone to gut it and fry it. It was delish. I'm dedicating a whole blog post to that :)

My view as I wash dishes

I am also adjusting to re-living life, with lizards, geckoes, spiders, and other critters. Rachel goes around saying "Hi!" to lizards, geckoes, ants, flies and even held a fish with her bare hands (by choice!). I’ve also washed some clothes by hand, and even had an unplanned visit with a neighbour, which was incredible as other ladies joined in too. One of the ladies spoke English, so very graciously did all the translating for me, but the conversation ranged from shopping, Indian movies, cooking, family planning, breastfeeding and learning Hindi words. They also concluded that Rachel is not khawaja since she looks like me! We've had young girls visit us in the afternoon and I am trying to learn all their names.

Young girls visiting

I also hired a house help and she has already worked for me twice. She is wonderful and I am so excited to be having her part of our life for the next year. I also had a chance to get my nursing critical thinking cap on at one point! The other family from SIM USA arrived this week too!

For the next few days, David will continue to work on our home, while I continue to experiment with cooking here. He is working very hard in the hottest time of the year, so we are very thankful for his provision for our family.