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November 27, 2005
To Boil an Egg
Dear Friends,
Someone recently wrote and reminded us to tell not only what we are doing but HOW we are doing. So, we will try to do that.
We are generally well. Bev has been sick for a few days with Giardia-like symptoms. She was down all day Sunday, in fact she slept for 24 not eating or drinking anything. By Monday at noon, I saw her smile again and she was up and around after that. She went to the hospital today and yesterday and is almost "mia fil mia" ("100 by 100" or 100%). She went three days with no food and is now down to a healthy 50kg.
I (Chris) have been healthy mostly. Some days we are both bursting with energy, other days we can feel our bodies fighting something. If we feel abnormal, we take it easy and sit around for an hour then keep going.
We are both ready for a break I think. R&R is in 2 weeks. Bev is especially ready to go - this time she's had a really busy schedule. Mine has been a little more relaxed. I'm excited about getting some good food. Our colleagues have a bottle of Hershey's syrup on the shelf in the kitchen, and on the label is picture of a cheesecake drizzled with chocolate. It was hard not to fixate on the cheesecake.
We admit that the heat and the spiders are starting to get to us a little. We have a really nice tukul, but it's still a hut and we still get bitten by unknown bugs all the time. Our living situation is great. We have a great homey tukul. It is the nicest tukul in town with a handmade quilt and even makeshift curtains on the 1'x1' "windows". We are adjusting to most things.
We try to have a proper expectation of how much effort things should take. This is hard because we cannot be hard-charging Americans who blaze through our to-do lists. For example, cooking a scrambled egg. How long should that take in the US? Well, in Sudan it took about 30 minutes. You have to gather all the stuff, carry it to the cooking tukul, light the kerosene stove because the gas bottle is out, wait for the feeble heat to warm the pan, and try to keep the cats out of the ingredients. Finally, I abandoned
the
kerosene for the charcoal fire which was much hotter.
Physical surroundings are one thing, but for me (Chris) the biggest
stressors
are people. Relationships are messy, but that's why we are here. It is hard to be at odds with friends, but as we try to be salt and light in this place, we are sometimes at odds with people. Sometimes we have to say no, when people don't want to hear no.
But with relationships comes richness beyond description. We are friends
with
guards, nurses, doctors, Brigadier Generals, farmers, pastors, elders, evangelists, housewives, merchants, and kids.
Anyway, not to descend into complaining, but it is so vital to have the right expectations. We are asking God to help us to not be constrained by the wrong expectations. I think of it as living gently, making plans but being flexible. We just ask God, "Lord help us to let go of our own expectations".
Thank you so much for praying for us and supporting us in so many ways with care packages, e-mails, and snail mails. We can't express how much we appreciate each one of you. We are loving being here in Sudan as the Lord has called us here for this time. We know that with the Lord and your support we can do all things.
There are so many things we get to experience that are hard to express on paper. We get to be loved on and to love on so many people here in Kurmuk. The people are so absolutely loving, and they welcome us every time they see us. Many of the nursing students are so thankful for the education that Bev is giving them in English, Anatomy and Physiology, and Nursing Skills. We have wonderful co-workers who have also sacrificed to be here and are a lot of fun as well. We wish that each one of you could be here, but since you can't be, we hope that you can be here through our conversations and
e-mails.
So, that's how we are! How are you?
Chris and Beverly
Published at November 27, 2005 09:40 AM
