Wildlife Attack!

Well yet again it’s been forever since I blogged! So much happens that by the time I sit down and process things I am way too exhausted to write it out.

We have been in South Sudan for just over six months now. It’s absolutely unreal. I tell Theresa all the time that I feel like we just left America but in the same moment it feels like we have been here forever! Some days that forever literally feels like years and others it feels like the six months it has been. On days when I feel like we just left America there is usually something that surprises me and reminds me that I haven’t been in South Sudan my whole life. A prime example of that is my constant battle with wildlife. The past few weeks have been a particularly bloody and itchy battle between me and nature. At home the worst thing I usually come across is a raccoon or opossum staring at me from the trees in my alley. These incidents are followed by me attempting to run faster than a crawl into my house. Being in Africa my encounters have gotten much more confrontational. The most notable battle has been with the rats. Being away for a month left Theresa and my rooms open for squatters. When we were cleaning them out when we got back I was convinced that something was making a nest in my suitcase and the corners of my room. I found shredded items tangled together in an impenetrable mix, much like what my nieces hair looks like when she wakes up. My suspicions were confirmed that night and every night for the next week or so when I heard digging, scampering and clawing in my room. For the life of me I couldn’t see them but I could hear them. Sleeping was essentially not possible unless I slept with the lights on. Then one night I was quick enough in rolling over that I saw a little nasty rat crawling out of my garbage can! The next day I declared war on the rats getting traps and chasing them around my room with squeegees. Not only could I not catch them, but they were eating the food out of the traps! My room had become the Ritz for bush rats:  Clean, warm and with free food. Just when I had begun to accept the fact that I would not sleep again for the next 9 months and that Theresa would probably kill me because I was a sleep deprived cranky pants, I went to the bathroom and found not one but two rats hiding behind the door! I grabbed my rat killing gear, rain boots and squeegee, and vowed that tonight was the end of the rats! After closing the door and blocking the gap underneath since I discovered they essentially flatten themselves paper thin and slip under the doors I cornered them in Theresa’s bathroom. After wounding one by stepping on its tail I was able to smash it with the squeegee. When the other tried to make a run for it and found them trapped I got it too! In retrospect, I think I was probably a little unhealthy that I was that happy to have killed two animals. So happy I brought them to show the resident rat killer, Fr. Stan, on a dust pan. The great nights of sleep that I have had as a result pretty much justified my potentially psychotic joy of killing them. I am pretty convinced that the rats’ family has a hit out on me now however. The same week during prayer I saw a small hole with ants coming out of it between Theresa and I. In an effort to avoid getting bitten I covered the hole with dirt. A few minutes later I feel searing pain on my thighs and butt. After a delayed reaction as to what was happening I jumped up and revealed a stream of ants scattering under me. They had dug a new tunnel right under me to get their revenge! At first it was a dull stinging but it became intense and I sprinted into the shower. I had half dollar size welts all over. The only thing worse than the stinging was the itching! The next day the histamine in my blood soared again when I was stung by a wasp while teaching! I must have swatted at it by mistake because it stung me twice on my arm. The back of my arm swoll and started itching like crazy! Sister tried to reassure me my misfortune with insects is just because I am too sweet but Im convinced its the rats seeking their revenge! It seems that the only insects that don’t want to attack me are the ones I’m eating! There is a new season I have discovered aside from rainy season and dry season: termite season. It seems like they arrived within hours but one afternoon I noticed these little bugs with huge wings swarming around the light in our bathroom. They were not the standard 2 inch long wasps so I was a little confused. Theresa told me they were termites! I had no idea termites could fly so I was partly grossed out and partly interested. Apparently the students eat them and since I ate a fried grasshopper in Uganda I couldn’t pass up a chance to eat a termite here! It doesn’t taste like anything but it is an awkward feeling when it moves around in your mouth! 

Rat kill victory dance!

It moved in my mouth!



Posing with my prey!

yummy termites.

When telling my friends at home about my struggles with nature or my battle to teach a class of 80 rambunctious children their response is usually, “that’s crazy” or “I don’t know how you do it!” If I am honest, I say the same things at least once a day every day. But often in the next breath I am saying how much I love these kids and this place. A friend asked me the other day how things were going on a particularly challenging day, but even then I couldn’t say things were bad or that I was really unhappy. I am challenged for sure but as I responded to him I realized that it was for that challenge that I chose South Sudan. I knew going into this situation that it would be hard. I knew that things were going to push me to my limits and beyond but that is what I wanted. I wanted to get down to the essence of my own abilities and strength and discover more of it as well. Ultimately, even though I am only at the 6 month mark I think that I have succeeded. I have grown in my confidence, my creativity, my ability to love and my faith and so many more ways.  I am not finished growing and I am not naive enough to think that I will be done come December either. I actually hope that I am never done growing. If I stop growing, I’ve stopped learning and listening not just to those around me but to myself. One of the major problems of society, in my opinion, that leads to so many others is that no one actually listens. Everyone hears each other but no one listens and tries to understand not just with their mind but with their heart. Even though there are days when I question my every motivation and every action, those are the days that I learn the most about myself and reaffirm why this is the best decision I have ever made.

Life lessons and Nile adventures

It’s been over a month since I last blogged which did not seem like that much time until I sat down to write this. I realized that although time is a very fluid concept in Africa, there’s still always something happening. I’m going to try and hit the high points but I guarantee I’ll forget something but only I know that so it’s ok!

The past few weeks have had no deficiency in adventure and lessons in mission and life! We went to Uganda for a break while the school was on holiday break and the clinic closed for Christmas. The original idea was to be away from our work as minimally as possible. As it turns out that will not be the case! Enter the lesson of flexibility! While on our break we were informed that the road back to Maridi was too dangerous to travel through at the moment, so we would be temporarily relocated to Kenya. With one email, and various subsequent ones, the foreseeable future of our mission experience has been turned on its head. The rector of the community we are staying with, Fr. Sebastian, told us today, while stuck in traffic and late for a meeting, that one of the best parts about Africa is its flexibility. Specifically related to time in this sense but applicable to all situations is the openness to change direction completely, and at a literal moment’s notice. We were late for a meeting and were still twenty minutes away in bumper to bumper traffic and he didn’t get mad or frustrated he simply said, “That’s Africa! If it doesn’t get done today, there’s always tomorrow!” Coming from a production and efficiency obsessed country like America, that concept is, pardon the irony, foreign. Being late to a meeting, class or work in America screams irresponsibility and carelessness while here it’s a way of life.  It’s more important to greet your neighbor on the street than to be the first one at the meeting. It seems wasteful of time but over the past few months and specifically few weeks it seems that it is actually the best way to spend time. Full of wisdom this morning Fr. Sebastian told us a saying, “European’s (or westerners) have the watch but African’s have the time.” This saying and the message it gives about flexibility and quality of time gives such good perspective on where I am at in mission so far. My schedule says that I should be in South Sudan planning my lessons, creating dances and planning a retreat. My reality is that I am in Nairobi until further notice while life goes on in Maridi. This was difficult to deal with at first since my heart is still very much there and for a while so was my head. My time was being spent wanting to be back instead of putting quality into my time here. I have a great opportunity to meet people, explore other Salesian communities and be of use however possible in this place. Although my heart will remain in South Sudan along with my prayers, it does no good to anyone to lament. Every change of pace holds a lesson and if I’m too busy focusing on what my schedule says rather than taking advantage of opportunities for my time here, I’ll miss them.  

During some of our errands with Fr. Sebastian we went to the Provincial house where Pat and Mike had been staying. We were expecting them to have already left for their site but they were still there. We were able to catch up a bit and just see that the others were alive! It was so great to see them even though we had to be evacuated to Kenya for it to happen!

Before arriving in Kenya we were exploring Uganda and taking advantage of all the ice cream and just ice for that matter that the country had to offer. The trip hit some major speed bumps but ended up creating some great memories. On one of the first nights we were in Kampala Theresa and I were walking home from dinner when a boda (motorcycle)  sped up like it was going to hit us. We stepped back to let him pass and as he did he grabbed Theresa’s arm. I grabbed her other arm leaving her purse in a prime position to be taken, which it was. The driver sped past ripping the purse off her.  Enter the lesson of recognizing all your blessings. Theresa’s phone, money, IDs, camera and room key were in the bag. What weren’t in the bag were her passport and the bulk of her money. Just before leaving for dinner she took out her passport and put it away, mine was still in my purse. Despite the anger and overwhelming frustration of it all we had to stop and admit that we were actually really blessed. Theresa wasn’t hurt and she had her passport so no matter what, we could get home. The night receptionist kept the blessings coming, letting us use his phone all night to call her parents and our community in South Sudan. He didn’t complain or protest and was really grateful for the airtime we left him after making all of our calls. My first reaction was that we should go home and cut our trip short. Theresa reasoned that going back to South Sudan wasn’t going to bring her stuff back and she still had most of her money. Another silver lining (and massive migraine) of the situation was that we were in a city that received mail from the US. In South Sudan the postage system was non-existent so no care packages or letters were possible. Being in Kampala is was possible for us to get replacement things for Theresa and some other comfort items from home.  Seemingly it was a perfect set up but we quickly learned otherwise. Not only did the package cost a massive amount to send, getting it out of Ugandan customs was also a small fortune. After randomly added taxes, arguments and being hung up on our package was finally delivered after New Year’s, about a week later. In the mean time we stayed in Kampala for a few more days and then headed to Jinja which is right on the Nile River.  Everything inside the package ended up being intact and accounted for even if my patience was not.

While we were in Jinja we stayed at a backpackers’ hostel that offers rafting, bungee jumping, kayaking and tons of other Nile based activities. We didn’t raft but we did meet amazing people. We met people from the U.S., the U.K. and other African countries. Everyone was fun and welcoming and had an interesting story to share. We met one group of three American girls (Bri, Camille and Elyse) and an Aussie (pronounced AWWZEE) girl (Kate) while accidentally taking their beds in the dorm room. The guy standing there told us that he was saving the beds for some girls but that since we were American we should all meet up. The guy ended up being Kerion or Papa K and the girls were awesome! The three American girls had met up through their host families in Africa and went on a trip together. They met the Aussie girl by invading her personal bubble in a coffee shop and they met Kerion rafting. To see them together you would have thought they had been friends for years.  We hung out with them for the next few days; swimming in the Nile, lying in a hammock and taking a sunset cruise on the River. As we were getting ready to leave Brianna told us we should come visit her in Kampala. Being in our predicament of waiting for our package and being way over budget on what was supposed to be a week trip we asked if we could really take her up on that offer. She reassured us and a few days later we were having a massive sleepover in a gorgeous house in a suburb of Kampala. Here begins the restoration of faith in the goodness of people.  

 Before heading to Bri’s we went to visit a village that Theresa had volunteered in a few times before, Beduda. Her host family was beyond welcoming. They gave us meals, hot water and a clean bed and didn’t ask for a single thing in return. They were overjoyed by our visit and were just happy we were safe given our little hiccup in Kampala. While we were there we hiked a mountain in flip flops, baked (and finally cooked correctly) a cake and had a dance party. Being there was like being welcomed home by family and it was the first time I had met them. I was so impressed during my days there. Not just by their generosity and out pouring of love but their consideration for others. David, the father of the household, developed and NGO geared at improving the lives of those in and near his village. He built a school, established programs for kids and was proctoring a savings program for community members. He had volunteers from different places around the world and was doing all he could to expand the services and impact of the NGO. The effort he put into everything he did for the company and us as his guests was inspiring. They were a financially secure family but not rolling in the money but despite that they welcomed us and supported us eagerly. They did the same for their community as well.

We returned to Kampala and made our way to Bri’s home. It was breathtaking. She is assisting a family of missionaries that works with a marginalized population in Uganda called the Karamojong. Their generosity was even more inspiring than that of David and his family. Cody and Michaela have 7 children, four of which they adopted. Cody coaches football (soccer) and ministers to the community in different ways. Michaela is super mom!  She cooks amazing food from scratch, homeschools the kids, takes care of a one year old and supports all of them! Being there was not only a blessing because we were safe and taken care of but it was inspiring. It was an ordered chaos full of love that made me consider having a big family although mine is pretty small. The constant chaos of a big family was at first something that terrified me coming from a pretty easy paced home. After being there and seeing all the benefits that go along with it, I definitely changed my opinion even more. They also showed me that living abroad, serving and having a family are all possible and at the same time. The longer I stay in Africa and the more opportunities I see, the more I consider living abroad for at least a part of my life. It always concerned me that I couldn’t have a strong family as well. Cody and Michaela definitely proved me wrong. Leaving them was bittersweet. It was good for us to get back into mission and find some direction for the next few weeks but I will definitely miss everything about them, from playing with the kids, house church and awesome meals to adventures with the girls!  We were so lucky and blessed to have met them!

The past few weeks have had their share of ups and plenty of downs. For me it has totally encompassed what mission is. Mission is about being flexible but still being committed and caring even when you are totally out of your comfort zone. The weeks have been filled with awesome memories and tons of lessons as well as many eye openers as to how blessed I really am no matter what unfortunate circumstance arises.