Our Last Week in Sudan

This marks the our last week here in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan. We are still healthy and well! Thank you for you prayers as I believe that is what has helped to keep us this way.

The dry season is upon the land here and the effects of the hot sun with no rain have already begun to take their toll. The crops that have yet to be harvested have begun to turn brown and the people have begun burning the dry grass. The sisters who are here permanently fear a famine next year as the dry season has come early and the people have not been able to harvest enough food for next year.

We continue to plug along with our work here. This week I was able to observe a total hysterectomy which unfortunatly turned out to be cancer. I couldn't believe the size of the overies when they were pulled out...as big as oranges. I have to admit that as much as I try to be tough amongst all of the suffering here my deffences are getting worn down. There is a child here who is a victim of Cerebral Malaria and not only has upper body weakness but seems to "live in a different world" then we do. He often cries out with wailing noises and it pierces my heart. I try to imagine that the angles are with him and parallel his helplessness with that of baby Jesus as we come upon the Advent season. Seeing all of this suffering really puts your life in perspective and when I feel a little tired and hot from the weather I remember quickly this child and all of the others at the hospital and I just suck it up and deal with it.

I have had to drop the Melissa from my name while I am here as 2 names is a tough concept for the people here to grasp and the local brew is called Marisa and Melissa is often mistaken for that...and well that just isn't good for business, HA HA HA! I am counting down to having a cold one though and have little faith that it will be my favorite Mother Ship but at this point I would willingly take a cold Milwakee Beast..I mean Best!

Yesterday I went with Fr. Tom to the local playing field for some local wrestling. The Nuba people were VERY well known for their wrestling skills, however, due to the war it seems to have been lost but I hope that it is a tradition that will pick back up. The maternal instinct inside of me wanted to yell out, "someone is going to end up crying," but I held strong and just winced inside when someones body came crashing to the ground.

Next Thursday Morning, God willing, Sr. DeDe and I will board a Samaritan's Purse plane for Nairobi and will arrive in the evening. On Monday we will head to England where Sr. DeDe is going to meet with some young women who feel called to the religious life and I will spend a few days with Grandma and Grandpa!!! I have already requested my favorite Grandma meal of Bacon and Onion Pudding and I have to admit that I am not sure if I am looking more forward to having a beer or getting the sand out of the inconvenient places it has found itself!!

Thank you again for all of your prayers and support. Without you this wouldn't be possible!!

The Stars at Night are Big and Bright....Deep in the Heart of Sudan

Can you believe that we have been gone for almost a month now? Neither can I!!

Last week I witnessed my first normal baby delivery as opposed to the stork dropping of the baby. It was pretty intense. I was the person coaching the patient to push etc. Can you believe I was the first person to hold baby and I got to tie and cut the cord? AMAZING!

Melanie and I went with Fr. Tom to the market on Saturday. Just like home there is a "Starbucks" on every corner, HA HA HA. The coffee is locally grown and pretty awesome. There is normally wrestling in the market on the weekends but due to the rain it was cancelled...maybe next week. We tasted some of the local brew out of gourds....all I could think was please God don't let me die from the germs of the million people who have drunk out of this thing before me :)

On Sunday I went with Fr. Tom to a welcome home celebration for a young man who had been separated from his family due to the war and had been in a refugee camp in Kenya for the past 10 years. He was actually on the cargo flight with us from Locochoggio, Kenya and it was beautiful to see the initial reunion. As this was a "big" feast for the family a goat was slaughtered...again I tested the strength of my stomach in an attempt to not offend the family that had so graciously welcomed me into their home. So...I ate goat and sorghum tortillas and continually talked myself out of throwing up. I did manage to escape a concoction of okra that looked like snot when you spooned it out of the bowl...phew dogged that bullet!

We have had several sad cases come into the hospital over the past few days. I know I have said this before but I can't get over how life and death are so matter of fact here. No one points fingers of blame...it is just part of life. There is a baby here who is 4 days old and has Spina Bifida. There is fear that Baby already has menegitis as he has such a high pitched cry. Tomorrow Sr. DeDe will perform surgery to repair the opening and I hope to observe the surgery. Please pray for her and the baby!

I am greatly enjoying my time with the Camboni sisters. They have been more than gracious hosteses to me and are teaching me little nuggets of wisdom. My favorite so far is: In order to be a good missionary you must have the stomach of a pig to eat anything, the shoulders of a donkey to carry you belongings with you where ever you go, and the knees of a camel to spend a great amount of time in prayer.

I am helping the sisters with a project to obtain funding for the secondary school here in Gidel. The young people that attend St. Joseph Seconday School live at the school as the school is very far for some of them. While the young women are able to reside in a dormatory, the young men have to fend for themselves and some have built make shift homes near the campus of the school. I couldn't get over the fact that some of the students, due to lack of money, only eat the 1 meal a day provided by the school. I was floored!! Sr. Angelina was telling me that the cost in US dollars to send a young person to secondary school for 1 year including food, shelter, medical care, the whole nine yards....$200 A YEAR!! People in the US spend that on jeans!! It has been an eye opening experience to work on this project to say the least!

We all continue to be strong and healthy and work hard. Please continue to keep us in your prayers for the next three weeks!