January

This may be slightly more informative/ interesting/ less disgusting for the general unbearded population.

The new year has started well here. It is steadily getting warmer (about 45C today), windier, and therefore dustier. The Christmas celebrations have finished, but we managed to squeeze in one last celebration on Sunday for Sarah’s birthday! It may not have been the most luxurious of birthdays, but some care packages from home made it special all the same. Numerous treats have been promised for during our time in Nairobi at the end of January.

The base here has remained quiet with only 5 people here at present. The downside of this is that the list of chores increases. My list includes: feed the dogs, look after the money, top up water filters, organize weekly devotions, and clean a latrine. Needless to say I am looking forward to more team members arriving in the next few weeks.

Sarah has been working hard to get the maternity unit looking ship-shape and has done a fantastic job. It looks amazing! They will hopefully be open for business in a few weeks.

I have been looking after the leprosy work while Vicky is in Nairobi which has been an interesting experience. Lots of gorey wounds, nasty contractures, and missing digits. I will dedicate a post to the leprosy stuff in a few weeks time.

At the moment the biggest challenge is finding original things to cook. With only 10 days to go before Nairobi, our supplies are diminishing, and the dishes are getting weirder. Two particular odd ones from me have included lentils and aubergine, and tinned chicken sausages with cabbage. Sarah compassionately eats them all the same!

I will leave you with a picture of 3 kids from a family we have become friendly with. The little girl is called YoJima, and the boys are Butrus and Stephen (I can never tell which is which!)

P

Answers on a postcard

This post is more of a cry for help than an update. I need the wisdom of a certain type of man…

... a real man...

… the bearded man!

I have made the most of my African experience to grow my first fully-fledged beard. I felt that this was somehow appropriate living in a mud-hut in the middle of the bush.

However following 2 months of growth I appear to have reached a crossroads. I have the choice to shave, groom, or let it go wild.

I require the assistance of such beardy men as Neil Logan, Stephen Jones or the occasional Ally Lamont. Or perhaps a man of my father’s vintage who sported a substantial growth in the 70s.

My questions are 3 fold:

-        - Exactly how much grooming is acceptable in a beard before it becomes feminine?

-        - When you can taste your previous meal in your moustache is this a cause for concern?

-        - Do you think I look hot???

Answers on a postcard to “The hairy white man, The bush, South Sudan.”

Christmas in South Sudan

I think it’s safe to say that our Christmas this year was a little different to our usual wet, cold, cosy, family Christmas in either NI or Scotland.

Thank-you to those of you who sent Christmas emails and the like, it helped us feel that bit closer to home.

In a few ways Christmas here isn’t that different to home. For example, Christmas is massive here too. People save for months, buy new clothes, get a Christmas haircut (or new extensions!), have a big celebration, and have lots of church services.

However there are a few differences too. None more so that the 35C heat! In the local churches here in Mabaan County there is a big joint service on Christmas day, followed by celebrations in each  surrounding village on consecutive days until 1^st Jan. We were invited to all of these, and pretty much the whole community takes the week off and attends most of them.

A celebration will generally consist of the following:

Arriving on time (if like us you’re silly enough to believe the alleged start time) and waiting 2-3 hours for anything to start. The men get several cups Chai and a bowl of meat before the service (and always plenty of chat). The church service then can last anywhere between 2 and 6 hours and will include up to maybe 6-8 choirs from the surrounding churches, sermon, baptisms, communion and anything else to generally extend it in length!

Following the service there will inevitably be more Chai (and more chat), several plates of meat (we’ve had goat, cow and lots of pig) for the men. If there’s enough left the women and children get some too. This is followed by several cups of coffee (with more chat while trying to excuse ourselves, and being told we have to stay for more meat and coffee). Finished off by a long journey home in the semi-dark.

Although the days have been long, it has been a brilliant opportunity to spend time with the local churches and continue to build relationships with people. Our Mabaan is coming along slowly and I was told by a Pastor “Bolus! (Paul in Mabaan) You are fighting with Mabaan.” That just about sums up how my language learning is going! People appreciate so so much you being willing to spend time with them and eat with them. And their generosity is so humbling. It’s certainly a Christmas we won’t forget quickly.

Some Christmas facts:

-       -  celebrations attended: 5

-       -  modes of transport used: bicycle, feet, 4x4, wading through river

-        - cumulative hours spent in church services: 19

-       -  words understood in above church services: 7

-       -  cups of Chai consumed: >20

-        - pigs eaten: 4

-       -   most unpalatable dish: Badida (wallpaper paste consistency, sorgum based, warm, smells like vomit)

-        - lost in African bush in complete darkness: 1

      

      P