TORIT

Wow a lot has happened since the last time I posted anything.....sorry. I am in Torit, South  Sudan and living it up. The first term of school went along I taught Math to the primary 7 class and it was an interesting experience. The 2nd term has started and I was teaching English to primary 6 but I have after interesting discoveries been assigned to teach fine arts for the entire school.....so that will be an interesting experience i assume, i will start Tuesday with this new assignment. Art isn't that big of a subject here so it will be difficult teaching students something that they don't really care about but some are very good so hopefully there will understanding and some excitement for a class that is basically based on effort not really getting something correct. i hope that they start to enjoy doing art like i enjoy being creative. 
So about home.....i live with a lady and her baby her name is Stella she is in her late 20s and Elma is a rambunctious almost 2 year old. it is interesting at times but totally always fun making a kid hyper and playing. We share a house with 2 rooms. A sitting room and a bedroom. so there we are 3 of us in a small bedroom with 2 huge beds and lots of stuff...you know ladies always have stuff :) i have recently built a shelving unit for all my stuff and packed the suit cases under the bed. it was an interesting adventure to build and only took a month of work here and there but it is done and i am quite proud of my not so straight shelf. we do have a bathing room in the house so i carry water into the house and splash around to get clean whenever i feel hot and sweaty....which is all the time. Torit is a very hot place we are in cool/rainy season and its 73 outside....a cool day. the only time it is cool is after the rain...which isn't that often. we share a pit latrine with the neighbors 4 other houses and so there isn't much of a line....unless you really have to go then there always seems to be someone else using it. However there is one being built  in the yard right outside the  house but it is taking much longer than we all expected...hopefully someday ill be able to use it and stop carrying toilet paper around. but there is no power or water at home at many houses so mine isn't any different. we get river water for bathing and washing from donkeys who cart it from the river and i have been drinking and cooking with borehole/well water from a reliable pump....its in someones house so i just carry containers over and usually have a ride home cause they are super heavy :) it has been working out well. 
I was sick for a while who knows from what but after 2 different series of drugs and some crazy rash on my face and neck i am finally feeling better and look better as well. I have recently bought a solar light for charging my phone and having a light at home so things are getting brighter :) 
The past 6 months have been rather uneventful...just working at school and settling into life here. some days are better or worse than others but overall things are good. it is difficult to make friends but slowly they are coming up and hopefully be mutual benefiting. There are a few missionary families which i have had the privilege of getting to know and building relationships with. without them this place would be very difficult. But when there is a bad day just a cup of tea and a listening ear is always a good thing. 
I have gone to Juba for work permit issues and been blessed to fly there and not have to experience the 4 hour drive many times. It is always nice to get somewhere in 30 minutes and not sweat in the bumpy 4 hour ride...so thanks MAF (mission aviation fellowship).
Sorry it has taken me long to write....but some prayer requests i have are...
1. making friendships that are meaningful 
2. school, i would feel like i am being useful and not just wasting my time sitting around a lot
3. home that the latrine would be finished
so until next time......xoxo
" I did not give you a spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of self-discipline" 2 Timothy 1:7

Christmas...

Christmas has been rather uneventful...but the past month has been pretty fun!! It all started out with the youth workshops and then a trip was planned to go to Juba the capital city for a week and then to Yei to visit another BVSer for a week or so and then back to Kajo Keji for Christmas...that all happened with a little hiccup...i was suppose to leave on a Monday but the Sunday before i got sick...so sick i vomited in town in the street and found out i had Malaria and Typhoid...so the trip was delayed a few days...I am fine now but i was sick for a few days with no appetite to eat and therefore no energy. I however have gotten all that back and i am back to normal. I went to Juba the capital and had a marvelous time...with a few exceptions...its blazing hot there, i slept in a giant room with rats that made noise all night but i got to eat some pretty amazing food. which was a good thing especially since i went having no real appetite but the food was amazing, chicken, french fries, bread, milk the simple pleasures that i don't normally eat where i live. so it was really good to be there while i gained energy and got to enjoy the people and city for a few days. The conference that took place was also a really good time. i got to just attend and be a part of the people and that was relaxing and to spend time with my friends was definitely a bonus. then we traveled to Yei. another bumpy road trip in the sun and dust. but once i arrived in Yei i was greeted warmly by a HOT shower....something i haven't had since being in South Sudan. Yei was a time to meet the BVSer and learn about possible future placements working with youth and being able to settle somewhere and that was really good. it was also good to hang out with another lady from the states and just talk about frustrations and the joys of being in South Sudan. it was a good time. i am really grateful for my friends though they may be few i know they are genuine. it was also a good time to just relax and get ready for Christmas. so after moving around and seeing new places i headed back to Juba to wait for some visitors coming into the airport with 2 people who had never entered the airport before. it was a really good time to be a tour guide in a place that i don't really know but be able to share my knowledge of traveling. so Moga and Mawa and i sat there for hours waiting for people to come but having no idea when they were coming....the good thing was we got to eat some good food and just chat and spend time together. it was good. i headed back to Kajo Keji on the 23rd and arrived late at night just in time for Christmas...the sad part is....my Christmas packages and cards that i know have been sent have still not arrived...i just pray they will and i will hopefully enjoy them eventually. 

so as i head into the new year i am constantly reminded of how blessed i am.  God has truly blessed me in so many ways. the fact that i can currently live my dream and do what He is calling me to do at this stage in my life. He has blessed me with an amazing family at home and friends who are always there to listen and talk when skype lines up. I am also blessed by my friends that I'm making here and the ability to serve God in so many different ways. and to imagine that the Savior of the world was born for me...he was born in a humble way and has truly been the living example of love to so many people and if i can only be able to show the smallest amount of that love to others i will shine so brightly. I pray that God gives me that ability to truly represent Him to everyone. i also hope and pray that we truly are living examples to the people around us that God is alive and that Jesus is born!! that is my wish for you all...that even if Christmas is over we never forget the birth of our Lord and Savor. Because without Him nothing is possible...He is the true breath of life and love. and for that i am truly grateful!!

Kajo Keji

Life has come at me fast....South Sudan is very similar to Zambia in the things people eat, and the way that things are done. so therefore i have been kept busy...i have put some pictures as people have requested to see my updated life so here they are.  I am currently in Kajo Keji, South Sudan working with some youth programs and doing some Youth Conferences in different churches and church communities.  I have had the opportunity to meet some so far great friends and i look forward to building those friendships and learning to know more people and seeing where God it taking me in this adventure. I landed on the 6th of November and set out for Kajo Keji on the 7th early in the morning. i was pretty tired but had no other option but to sit on a bus for 8+ hours on horrible roads and in a packed bus.  It was a realization that i was alone in a place where i knew no one and headed to a place where i had no idea what i would be doing or who would even pick me up from the bus station.  But God had it all worked out and i even have a small room with an actual toilet and water most of time and lights that normally work.  it is a blessing and a good transition into the future here in South Sudan.  i have started working with some pastors in youth conferences and being able to teach and see God moving is amazing. i have already slept in a tent in the bush, slept in a church with about 50 other people and it was probably smaller than the youth room at HCOB...so when you think you are cramped while sleeping....imagine that. but God has it in his hands and i am trusting Him to take care of me in  such situations. i Celebrated Thanksgiving by visiting a friends family in the village and eating ground nuts and sweet potatoes. it was really a good time.  so God is really showing me friends and knowing that they are truly following Gods call in their life and that is a blessing. so here are some pictures of the happenings and life here...

the bus i sat on for hours and hours

My room with the Bathroom

Lebron isn't hated everywhere...

Thanksgiving 

Mawa enjoying his Thanksgiving giant cup!

I was expected to cross this....we decided the lemons were not worth it :)

Jocelyn and Mawa I was teaching at a youth conference

Kajo Keji, South Sudan

I have made it to South Sudan. My luggage did not arrive but I was assured that in 3 hours to come back to the airport only to find that it actually came...what a huge blessing :) I landed in Juba and caught a bus the next day for Kajo Keji. the ride was long with the frequent stops to get out and walk through knee high water because the bus was too full, it was interesting but all worth the experience. I'm in Kajo Keji until the new year and the rest to be determined later...things are ok so far, I am trying to figure out things and find friends. I have eaten beans and rice a lot and that is definitely a high note. Keep me in your prayers as I go about my daily life and figure out things as they happen. 

leaving on a jet plane take 2

Well....lets try this again....I am hopefully leaving on Monday 5th November at 10:15 am. Due to some crazy  delays, storms, visas, and stress I venture on this journey again.  I pray that everything works out this time around. Pray for my travels, my safety and my new friends and new adventures!

Well the last three weeks have definitely passed me by and I have truly been blessed. When I was told that in my three weeks before I head out to South Sudan I would be going to New York to work with Brethren Disaster Ministries, I really had no idea what I would be doing but I knew it would be work. When I showed up I walked out of the van they thought I was a youth…I guess I look young. I got to work in the kitchen for a week, paint some houses for a week and back in the kitchen for the last week. I have been blessed by the people I have been able to meet while I have been here. There have been three groups of volunteers from PA and Ohio. I have also had the chance to make some new friends. I have had the chance to meet the BDM staff and have been truly blessed.  Jeff and Sandy a couple from Michigan have really been a blessing. The laughter, stories and genuine interest have truly blessed me. Their relationship with God and their faith journey are really an inspiration. Prattsville, New York is a town that has suffered a lot through Hurricane Irene but in the rebuilding process the community has really touched many people who have come in to help and walked away with a renewed spirit. The church in this town is small but mighty and they are fully supporting each other and building a community of believers. Even in the different views of people I have enjoyed Bible studies and getting to laugh and joke with people. 

I know that as the days get closer to leaving and flying off to South Sudan the anxiousness builds up. So keep me in your prayers as I fly out of DC on Monday mid-morning and arrive in the capital, Juba, South Sudan on Tuesday around noon their time. I know that God is and will continue to use me in this time of transition and protect me as I travel across the ocean and to Torit. I know that His timing is perfect and His plans are much bigger and greater than anything I can ever imagine.