Daily life and images--Malakal Sudan

Here is my typical day in Malakal, Sudan
7:00 Climb from under my mosquito net and prepare for the day

7:20 Water the garden

7:30 Meet with team for devotions

8:15 Cook semolina (I call it Malt-O-Meal) and eat breakfast

8:45 Quiet time

9:15 Ask the other missionaries questions

9:30 Go to the market for supplies for meals OR study Arabic. The marketplace is a great place to practice my Arabic.

11:45 Eat a snack and make juice drink for language tutor
12:00—1:00 Arabic tutoring session
1:15 Eat lunch
1:45--4:00 It depends on the day: do meal prep in solar cooker and/or go visit the Darfur ladies, wash clothing, make Arabic flashcards, download photos or read about communicable diseases
4:00--5:30 Assist with teaching ESL to group of 14 ladies
5:30-7:00 Cook dinner for the group (every other night)
7:00 Eat dinner and assist with clean-up
8:00-10:00 Go online via satellite and check email, blog updates, and do ministry “paper work”
10:00 Cold shower outside (usually I’m hot enough that I’m grateful it’s cold)
10:20 Climb back under the bed net and read more about communicable diseases until I get sleepy

It is going really well. I'm enjoying language study more than I expected. God is answering prayers! Language study along with helping with cooking and cleaning are really my only responsibilities for the four weeks I am in this city, but I'm filling my days with assisting with teaching English as a Second Language classes with other missionaries. I have also been visiting with some ladies from Darfur with another missionary. I’m intrigued by these new friendships. They are some of the most hospitable and outgoing people I have encountered here.

I'm so excited to be learning so much. I practice my Arabic in the market. We go almost daily because there is no regular refrigeration here. We "have all things in common" and purchase groceries and household items with money we all pitch in, and share most meals together. I’m amazed at how much of my day revolves around food preparation. In the US food preparation/eating was a very small portion of my day. Now with market walks, solar cooking, the knowledge that since it is for the group I need to put effort into it, limited supplies, new cookbooks, etc., meal preparation takes forever! I’m enjoying learning to cook different things than I’ve ever done and am much more resourceful now.

There is no hot water. All water for cooking/drinking goes through filters. Dish water is cold (and slightly brown—it is water from the Nile). After dishes we recycle it by watering the plants and fruit trees.


The city is noisy--but not in the way you'd expect. It is not so much cars and sirens-- it is the hee-haw of donkeys, the rattling of their carts, and the shouted greetings of the many pedestrians about 10 feet on the other side of my tent. My tent is on the street side of the SIM property so I catch the city sounds as it wakes up early each day. The streets are dirt, with the exception of two asphalt ones I've seen so far.


When it rains, the dirt becomes a slick sticky goo and travel by anything except Wellingtons becomes virtually impossible unless you want to have mud up to your knees. Some vehicle owners still travel and frequently become entrenched in the mud and require assistance to get moving again. The soil is some kind of clay that has no rocks in it. Within 30 minutes of a rain the soil gets this swishy, bottomless quality and shoes/boots become heavyladen with the mud. It is an intereresting mess.


The rains always bring a cooler day and night or two. The consistent rains, necessary for the local crops, have not yet arrived. My language tutor told me that the crops have already failed and will have to be replanted when the consistent rains come. I know that is a great financial burden for individuals and the community as a whole. Please pray that the people do not have additional drains on their economy.  There are so many challenges for the the south Sudan people already.
Here are some of the sights of the city for you.

Some of the Shilluck tribe ladies in the beginner ESL class
Mary, in front, second from L, runs a teashop nearby and has been incredibly helpful allowing me to practice my Arabic with her.

Blessed rain coming. Mary says, "The rain, it wants to come." when the sky looks like this.

 The wildlife aren't much to worry about here in the city.

Hedgehog found in one of the empty tents.

I frequently run into this litle girl on the way to/from the market.  She is full of smiles and always says a few greetings in Engligh. Oh, yes, that is one of the main streets of the city.

Random pic after church.

Every Sunday everyone lines up and goes the length of the line and

shakes hands with EVERYONE before leaving. Love this custom! 

Sudan Interior Church School morning assembly. This elementary school

for 400 students is just across the fence from us.

There is a hammock for chilling. : )

Mary in her teashop with another missionary, Heather

Amanda and Heather walking to Hi Jalaba to visit Darfur friends

Well, the two on the left are actually relieving themselves.

Yes, right in the ditch between their tukul and the street.

Cute little one we visit along with a whole group of ladies living in community together as refugees

Gale (missionary) and me visiting with Mary's family in her home

Angelina (one of the ladies in the ESL class) with Gale, me, Heather in our lawas

The view from the hammock of the shelter over my tent

Beautiful!

My transport into Sudan. Since there is little in way of commercial flights in South Sudan, we are dependent on a number of connecting flights with organizations such as World Food Program

and Mission Aviation Fellowship

Bun for five. The ladies serve us this sweet, spicy coffee in tiny cups with many refills.

Some of our friends

Me with some of the ladies ESL class. I'm going to miss them!