This is About Tuesday

I woke up early and finished with packing.  My suitcase is too heavy.  The clouds are coming.   Around 7:45 it started to rain, and it rained, and it rained.  I guess I will wear my gum boots to Palabach.  We called Ajak and let him know about the rain.  He said Bor was clear.  That is good.  We finally left around 10:15.  The ground is very wet and muddy.  It is slippery.  It was not too long before the guys were way ahead of me.  Mawiel has my red suitcase on his shoulder, my porter, walking fast with his ultra long legs through the bush.  Quikcorn stays with me.  We talk about problems in South Sudan as we walk.  So much is so good and so much is so bad.

We made it to Palabach around 11:45.  No car waiting.  Hmmm.  About 15 minutes later Makach and Ajak drive up.  Dr. Moses is also with them.  It was a hard drive they said.  I said goodbye to my friends.  This is always the hardest part.  Quickcorn and Rachel drove to Bor with us.  They had business there.  It was a crazy ride.  The mud is the same as ice.  We slid all over the road and at one point came very close to a truck that was traveling in the other direction.  Makach is the best driver I know.  I love him. 

We got some lunch in Bor town, Ethiopian.  It was excellent.  Then Ajak and I went and paid for our ticket.  The man said he was sorry, no receipt and no paper ticket but he would be at the airport in the morning with the list of who paid.  Ahhh, South Sudan.  We ran into a people from Handicap International.  They said they have lots of equipment and they could assess the lady in Werkok with the Rheumatoid arthritis. Check that off the list.  I am so glad. I will email Deng when I get to Nairobi and let him know to make arrangements.  I am so glad about this.  Check that off the list.  We went into the market to a beauty salon and met Ajak’s wife.  She was getting a wig made.  She is beautiful and was very shy of me.  I could tell she and Ajak are very happy together.  I am glad for him.  We met Gabriel and James.  I gave money to Gabriel to purchase some IV catheters and give them to Rachel to take back to the hospital.  Check that off the list.

We went back to Dr. Moses’ place, where we were storing my stuff.  The doctors from Bor Hospital came and we had a wonderful feast.  We talked about opportunities and working for South Sudan.  It is a baby nation and someone with money could get so much stuff going.  It was a great gathering.  I wish all of these hard working people the best.  They are brave and courageous.

Off to Ajak’s house.  We were dropped off on the road with our suitcases.  We walked, in the dark, through “neighborhoods” over a bridge made of sticks lying across two pieces of wood.  I had visions of landing in the stream below.  Up a small hill, slippery, down the other side, winding on the path finally to a clearing.  It is Ajak’s family compound.  It is good to see his mother and sisters.  His wife is there, she greets me when I go into the tukel – “Ah, Mother” and gives me a hug.  Their home is a modest square tukel, the inside is roomy and it is comfortable.  There are two beds and a small square table in the middle of the room.  There is a bouquet of plastic flowers on it.  I know Mary Aman worked to make it look good for me.  The walls are covered with fabric, giving it the feeling of a childhood fort.  It is charming and I feel so welcome.  Ajak and I sit outside.  Of course the mosquitoes are terrible.  I spray and it is more tolerable.  His sister comes over, her youngest on her hip.  She is very frightened of me.  She wiggles down and hits Ajak on the knee.  She is saying to him “why did you bring that kawaja here?”  Ajak is laughing, telling me what she is saying.  It is so funny.  Eventually she calms down and shakes my hand, the sign of hospitality in South Sudan.  She is precious.  We soon go in the tukel, get ready for bed and very soon the entire area is quiet.  I hear Ajak and Mary’s soft breathing with an occasional word being said.  I am content, I am comfortable and I have been honored to be invited into their home for the night.  I pinch my arm, am I dreaming?  It is one adventure after another.  I must keep reminding myself is to live in the moment and be glad in where I am.  Yes, I am very glad.