Well, we really are not bored anymore!
Hot - well, I count 110 and higher as HOT! The nights don't cool down much, maybe to 80, so I am really happy that we have air-conditioning in our apartment. It is really dry and windy now too so keeping hydrated is a real problem and headaches are a daily thing. Can you tell I am tired?:) I am thankful for the wind as it helps to cool me off when I am out around the city but it also stirs up the dust and aggravates the allergies. It also requires a shower overnight or you leave dusty body prints on the sheets!
Tired - Well, yes we are tired. The heat tires you out more than you realize. Plus, we have had 4 people coming through Juba that we have been doing logistics for and while we do like having visitors it is tiring. It is a good tired though, a sense of having done something and maybe actually successed at doing things in a timely fashion. I have been to the police registration place so many times they recognize me now:) They are very friendly and helpful to me so the process, while long(up to 2 hours) does go smoothly and I leave with a smile on my face.
Lynn is tired for another reason though. He has been getting supplies bought for the school building in Pochalla and arranging for the trucking of these supplies. The lorry(truck) was supposed to go las week but we are praying it is going today. Lynn left today for Pochalla by air. The plan had been for the lorry to go last weekend and arrive about the same time as Lynn but now Lynn will have 3-4 days to wait for the lorry. Not all bad because he can arrange things for when the lorry gets there. He will be gone for about 2 weeks. He will also have some company in Pochalla this time as there is a co-worker from the States and one from Tanzania that will be going to Pochalla on Friday to work on a water project.
So, I think the busy part has been explained too:) Between taking care of visitors I have had numerous trips to the bank trying to arrange accounts to benefit the church here and the visitors that come needing money from the account for their projects.
Things are on edge here in South Sudan. The devaluation of the currency has become a real life threatening issue for many people. Prices have quadrupled in the last few months and it looks like that trend will continue. Many people are starving and crime is on the rise. There has been renewed fighting in several areas of South Sudan which means even more displaced people.
It all makes me feel a little guilty for being able to leave for 3 months and go to the States to see my family and so many of those supporting us.
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Making plans
We are making plans to be in the States! Looks like we will be there May through July - a great time for cook outs, picnics, chasing grandchildren around the yard and having time with friends and family.
Of course it is not all vacation time. Actually, very little vacation time but lots of time with new and old friends. We will be traveling around the eastern USA speaking at churches and making new friends and saying thank you to so many who have been supporting us without even meeting us. Ok, quick before some smarty pants says it - maybe they are supporting us because they haven't met us!!:)
We already have speaking engagements in Ohio and are looking forward to making more in other States.
So, until we get Stateside, what are we doing? A cousin of mine always wants to know what our daily lives are like and it is so NOT exciting. We have been spending a lot of time on the computers arranging things for people who are going to be visiting here during the month of February. This morning a spent the morning walking to 2 offices to arrange meeting for one man then met with another man about our visa application. Doesn't seem like much but I felt like I accomplished a lot for a morning!
Lynn is also trying to arrange some transport for building materials to Pochalla so that that project can be underway soon. Yes, this is the same place where Lynn was stuck for almost a week and where he will be going back to very soon.
A couple of weeks ago we were up until 11 or 12 for several nights doing email work. Sometimes I think people forget we are 8 hours ahead of them:) Now we are busy during the day and not quite so much at night which is WAY better. We spend an amazing amount of time figuring out money. The financial situation here in South Sudan is not good. While on paper we have money in the bank, we are not always able to get it out of the bank. This means the Treasurer of the church and I have to sit down and figure out how much is needed in the coming month, let the bank know and then pray they will be able to get us that amount through out the month. Makes for interesting planning.
It is now the season of getting our students back to school and that is a stressful time for me. These students live in, guess where, Pochalla! This means we have to fly them in on a UN plane and getting 4 students on the same flight can be a challenge and then the planes only go once a week. Of course we need them back by a certain time for school so it gets, interesting:)
So, you can see we are not bored or sitting around doing nothing. We both like being busy and that will make the time go fast until we can leave for the States. Hope the grandchildren are ready to be hugged A LOT!
Of course it is not all vacation time. Actually, very little vacation time but lots of time with new and old friends. We will be traveling around the eastern USA speaking at churches and making new friends and saying thank you to so many who have been supporting us without even meeting us. Ok, quick before some smarty pants says it - maybe they are supporting us because they haven't met us!!:)
We already have speaking engagements in Ohio and are looking forward to making more in other States.
So, until we get Stateside, what are we doing? A cousin of mine always wants to know what our daily lives are like and it is so NOT exciting. We have been spending a lot of time on the computers arranging things for people who are going to be visiting here during the month of February. This morning a spent the morning walking to 2 offices to arrange meeting for one man then met with another man about our visa application. Doesn't seem like much but I felt like I accomplished a lot for a morning!
Lynn is also trying to arrange some transport for building materials to Pochalla so that that project can be underway soon. Yes, this is the same place where Lynn was stuck for almost a week and where he will be going back to very soon.
A couple of weeks ago we were up until 11 or 12 for several nights doing email work. Sometimes I think people forget we are 8 hours ahead of them:) Now we are busy during the day and not quite so much at night which is WAY better. We spend an amazing amount of time figuring out money. The financial situation here in South Sudan is not good. While on paper we have money in the bank, we are not always able to get it out of the bank. This means the Treasurer of the church and I have to sit down and figure out how much is needed in the coming month, let the bank know and then pray they will be able to get us that amount through out the month. Makes for interesting planning.
It is now the season of getting our students back to school and that is a stressful time for me. These students live in, guess where, Pochalla! This means we have to fly them in on a UN plane and getting 4 students on the same flight can be a challenge and then the planes only go once a week. Of course we need them back by a certain time for school so it gets, interesting:)
So, you can see we are not bored or sitting around doing nothing. We both like being busy and that will make the time go fast until we can leave for the States. Hope the grandchildren are ready to be hugged A LOT!
Monday, January 11, 2016
Nothing is as we plan
I better get another blog post written before people start wondering where we are:)
I think it is time to catch you all up on how things finally worked out for Lynn leaving Pochalla and the 4 students getting home to Pochalla. Lynn did get out of Pochalla on Monday the 14th - the day we were supposed to leave for Kenya. He sat at the airport pretty much all day waiting to see if any plane would come in that maybe he could get a ride on. A plane did come in and thanks to the help of Othow, our friend who lives in Pochalla, Lynn got a spot on the plane. You see, when planes come in like that it is pretty much every man for himself getting a spot on the plane so there is lots of pushing and shoving going on. I had not heard from Lynn and it was getting towards 5:30 pm and I was feeling like I did not want to look at my phone or turn the computer on and see a message from him. About that time Lynn walks in the door! I had been able to change our flights to Thursday the 17th with only a minor cost so we were set to go.
The students from Pochalla arrived in Pochalla on Christmas Eve! I have never been so thankful to hear about people getting on flights.
The week we left Juba the President had changed the bank rate to a free market rate which means that the bank rate was now able to try and keep up with the black market rate. The bank rate had been around 3 and the black market around 19 so you can see that this was a problem. Now the problem is that goods and fuel have tripled in price and some things are no longer available. It has been a challenge to get money ( US dollars) out of the bank even from our Dollar account so this has really put a road block up for getting things done.
We had planned to leave for Kenya on the 14th and those plans changed to the 17th.
We had planned for the students to be home on the 9th and that changed to the 23rd.
We had planned to start getting things ready to send to Pochalla for building but with the cost of things those plans are changing.
We had planned to get money from the bank but those plans have changed.
God does not change!
I was asked recently what we do on a regular day. I am not sure we have a regular day but the day I was asked that had been an interesting day. We met with the Moderator to get a check to see if we could get some dollars from the bank. We were at the bank for 1 1/2 hours spending most of the time talking with a manager of some sort. We talked about the war, his being in a displaced persons camp, people who come to help versus those who come to see what they can get and about Lynn and I meeting in Juba. It was a nice time of visiting and hearing someone else's ideas and then on top of that we were able to get some money!
So, here we are again, waiting for the office people to come back from the month long Christmas break. We need to be getting supplies bought for Pochalla and are looking forward to a visit from Michael Weller in February.
Oh, and Lynn's frozen shoulder is starting to thaw:)
I think it is time to catch you all up on how things finally worked out for Lynn leaving Pochalla and the 4 students getting home to Pochalla. Lynn did get out of Pochalla on Monday the 14th - the day we were supposed to leave for Kenya. He sat at the airport pretty much all day waiting to see if any plane would come in that maybe he could get a ride on. A plane did come in and thanks to the help of Othow, our friend who lives in Pochalla, Lynn got a spot on the plane. You see, when planes come in like that it is pretty much every man for himself getting a spot on the plane so there is lots of pushing and shoving going on. I had not heard from Lynn and it was getting towards 5:30 pm and I was feeling like I did not want to look at my phone or turn the computer on and see a message from him. About that time Lynn walks in the door! I had been able to change our flights to Thursday the 17th with only a minor cost so we were set to go.
The students from Pochalla arrived in Pochalla on Christmas Eve! I have never been so thankful to hear about people getting on flights.
The week we left Juba the President had changed the bank rate to a free market rate which means that the bank rate was now able to try and keep up with the black market rate. The bank rate had been around 3 and the black market around 19 so you can see that this was a problem. Now the problem is that goods and fuel have tripled in price and some things are no longer available. It has been a challenge to get money ( US dollars) out of the bank even from our Dollar account so this has really put a road block up for getting things done.
We had planned to leave for Kenya on the 14th and those plans changed to the 17th.
We had planned for the students to be home on the 9th and that changed to the 23rd.
We had planned to start getting things ready to send to Pochalla for building but with the cost of things those plans are changing.
We had planned to get money from the bank but those plans have changed.
God does not change!
I was asked recently what we do on a regular day. I am not sure we have a regular day but the day I was asked that had been an interesting day. We met with the Moderator to get a check to see if we could get some dollars from the bank. We were at the bank for 1 1/2 hours spending most of the time talking with a manager of some sort. We talked about the war, his being in a displaced persons camp, people who come to help versus those who come to see what they can get and about Lynn and I meeting in Juba. It was a nice time of visiting and hearing someone else's ideas and then on top of that we were able to get some money!
So, here we are again, waiting for the office people to come back from the month long Christmas break. We need to be getting supplies bought for Pochalla and are looking forward to a visit from Michael Weller in February.
Oh, and Lynn's frozen shoulder is starting to thaw:)
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Here we are in Kenya. Today is a beautiful day with sunshine and 80 degrees. One of the things I love about Nairobi is that just about anytime of the year it is nice enough to eat outside! Most restaurants have outdoor seating, actually more outdoor than indoor:)
As we are here, eating good food, shopping for things to take back and enjoying the cooler temperatures, I feel guilty. There are four young men who have not been home since January and they are sitting in Juba trying to find a way home. These men are in the Teacher Training Program through the Education Project that we work with. After classes ended the beginning of December we flew them to Juba so they could then get on flights to their home town of Pochalla. Yes, the same Pochalla that Lynn got stuck in:) We had 3 flights fall through and are now hoping for a flight tomorrow. Please pray that these men get on that flight! These men are polite, kind young men who keep telling us that God is with them and that He knows their need. Not sure I could be that positive if I was them! They have to leave their homes again the beginning of Feb. to be gone another year for school.
While here in Nairobi we always try to get medical stuff done. Lynn has just had it confirmed that he is getting older - he now has a frozen left shoulder! :) This will get better with exercises. Maybe Lynn is right, he can never retire because then his body will fall apart. Oh, man is he going to get me for writing this.:)
It is hard to believe that Christmas is just days away. We are going to keep the Kandel tradition of Ethiopian food for supper Christmas Eve, it just will not be with our children who will be doing the same thing about 8 hours after we eat ours. While at the mall the other day we had the opportunity to listen to a band playing Christmas music. It reminded me of the days when Dana was in band in high school - good memories! It also helped to focus me on the time of year we are in and to think about the meaning of this time of year. It really is the simple things that bring us the most joy.
Enjoy time with your families and thank our heavenly Father for the life He has given us.
As we are here, eating good food, shopping for things to take back and enjoying the cooler temperatures, I feel guilty. There are four young men who have not been home since January and they are sitting in Juba trying to find a way home. These men are in the Teacher Training Program through the Education Project that we work with. After classes ended the beginning of December we flew them to Juba so they could then get on flights to their home town of Pochalla. Yes, the same Pochalla that Lynn got stuck in:) We had 3 flights fall through and are now hoping for a flight tomorrow. Please pray that these men get on that flight! These men are polite, kind young men who keep telling us that God is with them and that He knows their need. Not sure I could be that positive if I was them! They have to leave their homes again the beginning of Feb. to be gone another year for school.
While here in Nairobi we always try to get medical stuff done. Lynn has just had it confirmed that he is getting older - he now has a frozen left shoulder! :) This will get better with exercises. Maybe Lynn is right, he can never retire because then his body will fall apart. Oh, man is he going to get me for writing this.:)
It is hard to believe that Christmas is just days away. We are going to keep the Kandel tradition of Ethiopian food for supper Christmas Eve, it just will not be with our children who will be doing the same thing about 8 hours after we eat ours. While at the mall the other day we had the opportunity to listen to a band playing Christmas music. It reminded me of the days when Dana was in band in high school - good memories! It also helped to focus me on the time of year we are in and to think about the meaning of this time of year. It really is the simple things that bring us the most joy.
Enjoy time with your families and thank our heavenly Father for the life He has given us.
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Lessons in Patience and God's Planning
As I told you, Lynn went to Pochalla last week. He was supposed to go on Wednesday the 2nd but then last minute we found out the plane was going on Thursday instead. Ok, that was fine with Lynn since that meant one less day in Pochalla. Now, while in Pochalla Lynn has internet for maybe 4 hours in a day and that is the only way we have to communicate. So, now this week we learn on Tuesday that somehow Lynn never got booked on the return flight and, remember, these flights only go once a week. So, now what?? We are supposed to leave on Monday the 14th for Kenya and no planes are allowed to land in Juba on Saturdays and Sundays. Many phone calls later and lots of friends helping us we get a possibility. I was at the church offices on Wednesday, spending hours waiting for the car to come back to take the Treasurer and I to the bank. I was doing ok with the wait but it was boring. Along comes one of the women I have been getting to know and she tells me about a flight going into Pochalla with one of the churches partner organizations. I make a call and, yes! they can bring Lynn back. YIPPIE!! The plane is leaving early Thursday morning and will get back late in the day but that is ok as long as Lynn is on the plane. I am able to communicate with Lynn to let him know the plan. Thursday morning I get a call from my new best friend, Rev. John Philip, the guy who said Lynn could come back with them, and he says they are at the airport (8am) and will be leaving soon. At noon Lynn is able to message me to say no plane yet and what is going on! I call Rev. Philip and he says they are having a bad time at the airport and some people are being detained but they are still hoping to leave within the hour. Fast forward to 6pm and a call from Rev. Philip saying they were not allowed to leave on the plane and he was only just then leaving the airport! They have everything worked out and are leaving tomorrow morning at 8am with a shorter day so hopefully will be back early afternoon. Rev. Philip reminded me that our plans are not always God's plans. I had to agree and say that I would rather go with God's plans as they are always the best for us. Not that I am happy that my husband is not back in Juba yet and there is still some question as to if he will be able to get on the fight so please, pray, pray, pray! If he does not get back tomorrow then our trip to Kenya is put off and we are out the ticket but that is a small thing compared to getting Lynn back to Juba.
I spent the day yesterday doing 3 things that should have taken about 2 hours but actually took 7 hours:) That is the way of things here and I felt I had accomplished a lot in the day. It is a chance to sit and get to know people and practice Arabic and pray. I also got to watch the dynamics in the office with all the people coming in and out with issues.
Anyhow, life is all about changes.
I spent the day yesterday doing 3 things that should have taken about 2 hours but actually took 7 hours:) That is the way of things here and I felt I had accomplished a lot in the day. It is a chance to sit and get to know people and practice Arabic and pray. I also got to watch the dynamics in the office with all the people coming in and out with issues.
Anyhow, life is all about changes.
Saturday, December 5, 2015
A busy weekend
We had a busy weekend last weekend. We went to a 24th anniversary celebration of Nile Theological College on Saturday and then I (Sharon) went to a church service that lasted from 9 am to 1:30 pm. Then Monday Morning had a 9am meeting that started about 9:30:)
This is the banner that was at the front for the College celebration.
This was a really nice day for us and we were so glad we had been invited to it. We got to meet lots of new people and had the chance to put faces to names of people we have heard about.
I have to admit, this little boy ( plus all the others I did not get a picture of) cracked my up. Even here in a refugee camp everyone has a cellphone and they use them to entertain the kids. The choir was singing and there were 3 kids 5 and under recording the singing:) This had been a very long service and the kids were getting rowdy so the moms were all handing the kids their phones to distract them.
I should have gotten a picture of the kids sleeping on a mat right in front of me at the front of the church. This is the the kind of church service I remember from down country with dad.
Ok, I was going to add a video from the church service but I am not sure if I am doing it wrong or our internet is just to slow to do it so I guess no video this time.
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
travel delay
Please don't go into shock that I am writing again within a week of the last post! :)
Lynn was supposed to leave today to go to the village of Pochalla but the flight was postponed for a day because they had to use that plane/helicopter for something else. No, we did not get official word that the flight was postponed, we just heard through the grapevine and then confirmed with a friend such is life here, no certainties. He hopes to leave tomorrow but we shall see.
I made a "big" lunch yesterday since Lynn was to leave today. Have you ever made a meal that requires 4 burners and you only have 2 and one of them does not work right? It is hard to have everything ready at the same time so it is all hot but somehow I managed and felt like I had really accomplished something for the day.
Monday we spent time at the Church office working on the budget for next year. A co-worker had already done one draft and we are just trying to fine tune it now. It was an interesting time trying to make sure we were all understanding each other when discussing money issues - never an easy topic! I think we did pretty good with the whole thing but we shall see when we meet again on Thursday:) Overall, it was a good time at the office, much like usual.
One special thing that happened at the office is that the General Secretary arrived! He has been in Khartoum for most of the year with back issues that resulted in surgery. It was wonderful to see him being greeted so wonderfully by his peers. There were a lot of people coming in on Monday because they (the church) are having Executive meetings this week so there were a lot of reunions happening and seeing their joy in each other was heartwarming.
Lynn was supposed to leave today to go to the village of Pochalla but the flight was postponed for a day because they had to use that plane/helicopter for something else. No, we did not get official word that the flight was postponed, we just heard through the grapevine and then confirmed with a friend such is life here, no certainties. He hopes to leave tomorrow but we shall see.
I made a "big" lunch yesterday since Lynn was to leave today. Have you ever made a meal that requires 4 burners and you only have 2 and one of them does not work right? It is hard to have everything ready at the same time so it is all hot but somehow I managed and felt like I had really accomplished something for the day.
Monday we spent time at the Church office working on the budget for next year. A co-worker had already done one draft and we are just trying to fine tune it now. It was an interesting time trying to make sure we were all understanding each other when discussing money issues - never an easy topic! I think we did pretty good with the whole thing but we shall see when we meet again on Thursday:) Overall, it was a good time at the office, much like usual.
One special thing that happened at the office is that the General Secretary arrived! He has been in Khartoum for most of the year with back issues that resulted in surgery. It was wonderful to see him being greeted so wonderfully by his peers. There were a lot of people coming in on Monday because they (the church) are having Executive meetings this week so there were a lot of reunions happening and seeing their joy in each other was heartwarming.
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