DiAnn Mills

We started the day with devotions. The biblical passage was Hebrews 11:1-7. I had a little difficulty following in the Arabic/English Bible; it reads back to front. We sang “Holy, Holy, Holy” and “What a Friend We have in Jesus” in Arabic and English. No instruments, just the harmonization of voices lifted in praise to God.
 
Charles drove Rosemary and me to the immigration center. This office is a part of the northern government in Khartoum. They asked for a letter of recommendation from Across for both of us, a photo, and $55.00 each. Charles handled it all. Three Europeans who were on the flight with us the morning before had been assigned tents along the Nile as their accommodations. Praise God for Across.
 
The NGOs (non government organizations) working in Sudan have actually made life worse for the Sudanese. The prices on everything have increased, and the poor suffer. It is appalling that Rosemary and I would be spending $120 each per night in a tent if not for Across.
 
Rosemary talked to me about her special project in Boma, Sudan. There the people live in nests and have no concept about the rest of the world, or even the conditions outside their own village. She has been working hard to establish trust with them. Rosemary went on to say that she talked to the tribesmen about building a school for their children. One man asked if the children would learn about this “God” that he has heard mentioned. Rosemary told him yes, and he said “Good. Build the school so we can learn about this God.”

Through Sudan Partners, Rosemary was able to purchase a brick-making machine. The villagers are learning to make bricks for their own school and also be able to learn a trade. She went on to tell me that the girls would not be able to attend school. They must work all day pounding millet into grain for food. Because the area is rich with waterways, Rosemary wants to raise money for a mill grinder so the girls can also attend school. The area in Boma is fertile and work is also being done to show them how to plant gardens.
 
A young man by the name of Peter will be driving us around Juba today. He’s a Christian and very friendly. Unfortunately his car does not have air conditioning. For safety reasons, we must keep the windows up and the doors locked. It becomes very hot inside. We drove outside of Juba, and we stuck to the roads due to landmines. It sickens me to see naked children living in those areas. I learned Juba has an outbreak of cholera. No wonder with the poverty and lack of sanitation. The slums here are worse than I ever imagined. On the other hand, I see expensive SUVs everywhere but no evidence of what the NGO is doing for the people. I realize some, like Across, are doing good things, but it’s the UN peace monitors that frustrate me.
 
Peter drove us to the Nile. The day before a cement truck collapsed one side of the bridge.

At first it was thought that the weight of the truck was the problem, but further evidence reveals missing bolts. Sabotage. These people have come to expect it. One more time, I’m thankful to be staying at the Across compound.

Peter then drove us to John Garang’s memorial.

He was the leader of the SPLA during the two decade long war, then became the leader of the south and vice president of the entire country. He was killed in a helicopter crash two months after taking office. The SPLA soldiers guarding his memorial gave me a Dinka name: Ayen. It means yellow. I assume there is no word for white, because I’m really pale. We then continued to the memorial of the other men who died in that helicopter accident.
 
Unfortunately we ran out of gas and coasted to a make-shift gas station.

I am so hot that I fear I will become ill, but I refuse to complain. The heat bears down with a mixture of suffocation and oppression. I have no other way to describe it, and to think these people live like this. No, I refuse to complain.  Peter finishes the tour. At one time we are locked in traffic in the market place. The heat makes a person incredibly tired. Seems to yank my eyelids down and sting them with dust and dirt. Some places are so thick with dirt that we can’t see the road ahead. A man attempts to open my door–three times. I now understand Peter’s insistence for the rolled-up windows and locked car doors.
 
Thomas returns from a meeting in which the northern government states that visitors entering Southern Sudan may continue to follow the SPLA mandates.
During the late afternoon, Charles invites Rosemary and me to accompany him to the UN compound where an air conditioned trailer has wireless internet connection. I simply could not cool down. At the trailer, I used Charles’s laptop to e-mail Dean (husband). I purposely said very little, just let him know I was doing very well. Later he told me the e-mail read like a telegram, and he read “between the lines.”
 
Back at the compound, I realized the heat had melted my toe polish. No wonder I was hot! The evening brought cooler temperatures. Oh, how I wanted a shower!

Additional photos can be found here.