Church of the Brethren Sudan Initiative

Well, today was a busy day, and we're jumping into the thick of it. We started after breakfast by trying to send messages, but had some sort of interference, and couldn't keep the satellite signal. So we packed up and went directly to the Sudan Council of Churches (SCC) compound, and there met with Anne to plan as much of the trip, and do as much logistics, as possible. It sure is an incredible help to work with someone on the ground here, who also has contacts in country.

Anne worked on that most of the day, as we caught a lift to the Sarit Center (a shopping complex) to change money and to pick up some things such as treated mosquito nets, disinfectant, and food for tomorrow morning... because, as it turns out, instead of two or three days in Nairobi to get acclimated, we leave early tomorrow before breakfast to catch a flight to Juba, Sudan.

Incidentally, changing money was a bit surprising: they would not accept our $100 bills if they were printed in 1996 or before... turns out that over half of our funds were not acceptable! So here's a note for those who follow us: get bills printed 2003 or later to be sure. We're working around this by getting SCC to deposit the money for us, which they think will go through....

We caught lunch at the open air "Pizza Garden" by the Sarit Center... ended up having a buffet with stew, steamed arrow root, tilapia, and fruit like papaya and melon. While there, I tried to get the internet to work, and so sitting there at the table was able to send out the first set of messages (and the first two blog entries)! We then caught a mutatu (small van for public transport) back to SCC, were able to get our travel permits into Sudan, finalized as much of the logistics as possible, got tickets to Juba tomorrow, made housing arrangements for our return to Nairobi, and met a few other friends and fellow church workers whom Phil and Louie still know from working here a decade ago, including Remy (who helped handle our funds) and Michael.

We then returned to the guest house (Sisters of the Precious Blood), but before supper we began to set up all the water filtration equipment--that took about an hour, but from here on out we will be able to filter anything we encounter. Over dinner we had quite the conversations... people are here from Peru, Tanzania, Uganda, Germany, Georgia (the country), and we asked questions, shared stories... and also shared some Camel milk from Somalia!

After dinner the three of us began repacking and sorting for a leaner but tougher trip, and took time to share devotions (July 10 from "Fresh from the Word" by Donna Rhodes of SVMC), and shared a chocolate bar. Final packing, and then I'm trying to write this entry, and hope to be able to to the satellite connection to work...!

Tomorrow things start in earnest. We're a bit on edge, but also feel the anticipation. We're not prepared--we can't be, what with so many things up in the air--but we are as prepared as possible, and go with the sense that our feet are being guided, and our steps protected. We go with many prayers, not just our own, but with all yours......

Enten, and Phil and Louie