Home

I am back in the U.S safe and sound. The flights were long, and the layovers seemed even longer, but I am finally home. I can hardly believe that my summer is finished and my school year is about to begin. While it feels like I have been gone for ages, it also feels like I just left. It is so strange how time can play so many tricks in my mind.

I have left Sudan and left Africa, but my mind has not. I have been given the great blessing and struggle to figure out what this summer and all its stories mean to me. Sometimes things in life change you quickly and suddenly. And sometimes things unfold quietly and gain more meaning as time passes.

The conversations I had, the people who befriended me, and the stories I now have turn slowly in my mind each day. The everyday interactions I had that seemed so commonplace in Wadupe, now seem so much more inspiring here. I have so much to learn from things I have seen and heard this summer - and I am excited to continue to think through them and wrestle with them. I have learned many lessons this summer, and I have many more to figure out.

I was given the great privilege to spend my summer in someone else's country to learn how they live each day, and that is not an opportunity that many have. Thank you so much to everyone that sent me! I had an amazing summer, full of Him and full of people. My two favorite things.

Now my next big adventure is starting: Another semester. And I am encouraged to know that it will be full of Him and full of people. And a whole new set of lessons to learn.

People are the Project

Monday: When Monday laughs, she really laughs. She throws her head back, sticks out her tongue, closes her eyes and lets it ring. She has the straightest teeth, the cutest overbite and the kindest eyes. She has three younger siblings : Sunday (8), Boy (5), and Condition (2) and cares for them with all the love a ten year old girl can give. They have no parents and live in a compound with their cousins and widowed aunt. A compound of widows and orphans. I have never seen Monday when she is not smiling or giggling (even when carrying a huge and seriously heavy jerry can of water on her head). She is sunshine to us.

Boy: He is about three feet tall, his nose is always crusty with snot, and his face is always covered in a grin. We can hear his giggle long before we see him emerge from the tall grass. He loves all things that have a motor and spends a large portion of his day running in little circles making the sound of a motorcycle engine. He can lift your spirits just by the sight of him.

Condition: Condition is two, has a bloated belly from worms, and a terrible case of diharrea. He runs around Wadupe naked because Monday can not wash his clothes fast enough before another set is soiled. He has a serious little face, but when you get him to giggle (exposing 5 rotten teeth) he looks just like his older brother Boy.

Sunday, unfortunately lives with a different relative several miles away....

These kids are SO much fun to spend time with. They always bring smiles to us and remind us why we are here. They teach us lessons about life simply by being themselves.

Village Life

We are so dirty our band-aides don't stick. We eat beans and rice twice a day. I can look up at any moment and eight people will be staring at me; the language barrier is exhausting.....but as I brush various bugs off my mattress and get in bed, it is all absolutely worth it.

There is a calmness that covers Wadupe. The hours in the day pass easily and small things become huge blessings. A breeze that cools us, a well that waters us, food that fills us. Even the rain (which slows down building work and traps us inside all day) is beautiful. You can hear it coming way before you feel it. You can watch as it rushes toward you across the grass. Relationships are everything here. You can hardly go twenty feet without stopping to shake someone's hand and exchange Kakwa greetings.

Here was a great experience me and Abby had:

5 ears of corn - 3 pounds (1 dollar)

Bag of potatoes - 15 pounds (5 dollars)

Some beans - 6 pounds (2 dollars)

1 pineapple - 2 pounds (less than a dollar)

Trying to cook in Sudan over a mud brick oven made with bike sprockets: priceless.

It took three hours to cook one meal, all the while Sudanese women were laughing at the two white girls trying to figure out the Sudan kitchen. It was a good experience for sure.

We learned a new game the other day. It is called STOP (or in Sudanese accent - ESTOP!). It involves jumping, running and representing a country. I chose the honorable nation of Denmark. I learned I am not as good at running and jumping in a skirt.

And now we are in Yei once again. Back to the town of multicultural experiences. Like this one: We were sitting in Sudan in an Eritrean restaurant with Ugandan employees watching an American movie with Chinese subtitles about Italians. How is that for multi culture?

We brought a girl from Wadupe into town with us. She has been coughing for a couple months now and we took her to see a doctor and get some medicine. Her name is Ena, she is nine and she is amazing. It was fun to watch her be amazed at the microwave, the freezer, the shower and the light bulbs in the room. She teaches us dance moves and card games. Right now we are sitting together and she is playing with Abby's iPod. Here is a message from Ena to you all:

sddddddddddddffffffffffffffgggggghhhhhhhjjjjjkkkkklllllll;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;''''kjhdfgurhsjfdhurnnnnnnnmmmmmmmmmmmmm,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,..................////////////////////////////////////

She hasn't mastered the computer keyboard yet. But as we put it - she is non-stop ENAtainment! ;)

Two more weeks in the village!! It has gone so fast.

Keep praying for us. Pray that we will be renewed every morning by the beauty we find in Wadupe.

allie

Mom, my feet are dirty again!

I have officially signed in as a visitor to Wadupe in the presence of the Paramount Chief.

We left for Wadupe Saturday morning in Billy's red chariot (a three wheeled cart with an engine) loaded down with mattresses, bags, people and a monkey. The fifteen mile trek to Wadupe took about an hour and a half as we bounced down the road and avoided huge pot holes. Some parts of the road were so bad we had to get out and walk behind Billy as he maneuvered through brush and mud. We arrived - sweaty, sunburned, and covered in monkey pee - but it was all worth it. The school kids from Wadupe Primary were waiting for us at the top of the hill and we were escorted the rest of the way with singing and drums. I almost cried. They wrote the lyrics to the song especially for us - one part of the song saying "our visitors from Denmark". I am not sure who missed the memo on that one, but we accepted it with Love all the same. (We were all trying very hard not to laugh every time they welcomed us from our home in Denmark).

Wadupe is beautiful! The land is beautiful, the mountains are beautiful, the people are beautiful. They are so sweet, so welcoming, so excited to have us staying with them. Kids hang around our house everyday and teach us Kakwa and help us with yard work. There are Acacia trees and mango trees all over...I sit and draw them in the afternoons. Every morning we drink Africana Tea with milk - pulling out the occasional ant that finds his way into the cup of sugar at night. We eat beans and rice twice a day and I dream about Italian food at night. We shower with a basin of hot water, splashing ourselves in a vain attempt to wash off that days dirt. Mom, my feet are stained again - I don't have you here to bleach them for me.

The very first Wadupe Community Bible Study happened on Sunday! Billy taught from Nehemiah about having a vision for what you want to see changed and first praying and planning on how you will accomplish it. The people who attended asked good questions after and I think everyone really enjoyed it. Seeing God in Wadupe has made the world seem big again. It has made Him big again. Perspective can change everything.

Now we are back in Yei for a few days to get supplies. I am happy to be able to eat meat and potatoes.

Sudan Sudan

Sudan is so great. I love the houses they live in. I am not sure I would love to live in them, but they give sudan a cool feel. There are grass roofs speckled everywhere over the hills. When you get closer to the "neighborhoods" as I call them, there are a number of tukals fenced in by a well kept bush.The dirt is packed so hard around the houses it looks like concrete and they have little perfect patches of grass with purple flowers growing all around. Everything is very clean cut. Not what I expected. Some of the houses are painted with white and black flowers.

Ah! And Sudan is so beautiful! I am used to perfectly paved roads and skillfully designed shopping centers. I like the openness of Africa, the green everywhere. The 'in th middle of nowhere' feel. There are beautiful places in the States that I love too - but they are just harder to find. In Africa you have to go a long way to get to somewhere, but in the US you have to go a long way to get to nowhere.

Giving out the cards yesterday was so much fun!! To Grandma Paulson - both of yours were given yesterday - and they were loved!! The kids would smile shyly at me when I told them the card was from my grandmother. They all spent the afternoon coloring in the front of the card. There is no doubt in my mind these kids know they are totally loved! I especially loved giving them to the older kids. They really appreciated your prayers and have promised to pray for American brothers and sisters as well. Now comes the task of organizing and editing 300 some pictures and writing about all these awesome children.

Yahweh is opening my heart to these people! The kids especially, as kids do, stole my heart. They are so funny. Spending the mornings with them is my favorite part of the day. They each have their own personality that makes us laugh! Zion hates to keep his pants on and will take them off whenever he can sneak it. Jembe will cry if we show attention to any other kid. Iko loves to be held and is the resident drama queen. Viki is totally independent - you have to win her over. Ima loves to laugh, but cries whenever he gets the least bit frustrated.

We head to Wadupe tomorrow morning! So this will be my last blog for a few days. Pray for us!!! It will be a whole new world to me - and I can't wait.

Yay! Yei

Hello All!

I am back to the land where holding hands is okay with anyone at anytime. Back to where two lane roads are really three and where you spend as much time in the right lane as left, no matter what direction traffic is going. Back to children yelling "muzungu!!!"

I am safely in Yei, Sudan!! After an ALS flight from Wilson airport to Loki, we flew AIM Air Cessna to Yei. Jim Streit was our pilot and he let me sit up front with him! It was so fun. He even plugged my ipod into our headsets and we were serenaded by Shawn McDonald and Josh Garrels all the way into Sudan. We landed on a strip of dirt and Billy met us at the um...airport...which consisted of one small building with a table in it. We very officially signed into Sudan.

We are staying at the SP base and it is so nice. They have really fast internet. That is what I love about Africa - you can be in the middle of no where and order cappuccinos and have wireless internet.

Yesterday we went to Iris - a children's village - to meet the kids and talk about how we were going to organize The Send Me Hope Project. Today we are giving out the first 40 cards or so!! The directors are so excited about it and I know the kids are too! I can't wait to tell you all how it goes today. Be praying for them!

We head to Wadupe on Saturday.

Blessings,

Allie

Africa!!!

I am here! Safe, sound, jet lagged and smiling.

First, I will say how much I love Boeing 777s. They are air planes with two aisles and nine foot ceilings! They give you socks, a toothbrush and very stlyish headphones. They are amazing. I also rediscovered my love for airline food. No really, I loved it. AND they had on demand movies!! Last time I remember flying I watch The Little Mermaid over, and over, and over....and over.

We (my dad, Abby and Connie Elder) arrived at Jomo Kenyatta airport last night around 9pm Kenya time. ALL eight pieces of luggage made it!! I walked with our driver to the vans and Abby and Connie strolled behind. I turned to see that they were still behind us and remembered that I had completely forgotten to tell them about the airport "porters". They had been swarmed by men grabbing their bags left and right to carry them to the van. O brother. Nothing I could do about it now. They caught up with me and Faraji (our driver) and told me that they wanted 20usd each. I laughed and said no!! I gave one of them the only 50 shillings I had ( about 75 cents ). We all jumped in the van and drove away. Welcome to Kenya.

It is good to be here! Everything seems smaller than I remember it - but I guess that is the way the world works as one grows bigger. I am with my Dad right now at the AIM International guesthouse. All the workers here remember me as the one who ate all the icecream. It is an odd feeling to come back to something. Nothing has changed, but everything has changed. I feel like I never left, and that I have been gone forever.

Keep us in your prayers!!! We fly to Sudan Monday morning!

much Love,
allie