Week One

We have officially been in Arua for one week now. Writing this title of "Week One" has reminded me once again that we are in another time of transition. I wouldn't have expected that a year and a half into our term on the field with Serge, we be having a new "week one" on a new field. Even though this wasn't expected, it is good. We are grateful to be here and have direction from the Lord to work with South Sudanese people in Arua for the next 4 months. God is not surprised by this new beginning, so we will trust in His direction and plans.

Here are some highlights from our first week in Arua. 
We are house-sitting for a missionary family while they are away on Home Assignment. We are so grateful for the house we are staying in! It is spacious, comfortable and well organized.

We were able to attend the Moru church service on Sunday and were quickly reminded of how loving, welcoming and hospitable the South Sudanese people are! There was so much joy and excitement in the service. It is so encouraging to see their worship of God through dancing and singing. There is so much energy and joy in the room as they worship!

There is a women's Bible Study here in Arua that I have been able to be a part of. This is a group of missionary women from all over the world. It is refreshing to come together with other women and hear their stories/ study the Word together. I'm looking forward to getting to know the women in this group better.

We have been pleasantly surprised by the food that is available in Arua! There are SO many things here that we could not purchase in Mundri. We can get apples, BACON, cheese, and exciting vegetables like carrots and nice green peppers. It's quite exciting :)! Today, Justin and Will even found grapes!! I was actually giddy when they came home with them! Things like this feel like such a treat now since they were not available to us at all before.

The guards at the compound we are staying at are wonderful! They are so kind and welcoming. They always greet us at the gate when we return with a huge smile and a loud, "Karibu!!" (Welcome!). It makes being around the compound feel welcoming and homey.

Here are some things that have taken a while to get used to again:
THE HEAT! Before you say, "Duh, Theresa, it's Africa!!". Let me just admit I was surprised that this one took me off guard so much. Arua is not even as hot as Mundri, bit has still been getting into the mid to upper 90's each day. We usually adjust back to the heat pretty easily because we are used to it by now. However, with being pregnant this time away, the heat is way harder to deal with! I find myself having to take things much slower than usual and give myself time to rest during the hottest part of the day. It's taking some getting used to, but we're figuring it out.

The Noise: I remember going back to America and thinking, "wow, it is so quiet here!!". In Africa, everyone's homes are pretty open to everything else. There are no glass on the windows and most life happens outside all the time. So, even if we are inside trying to work or sleep, neighbors are usually outside (it's typically cooler outside in the shade than inside homes here). The main noise that is hard to get used to again is that of all the animals here. We wake up everyday to the sound of very loud rooster outside of our window. There are also constantly goats, cows, etc. always around and singing songs. On Saturday night, we even had a 24 hour wedding going on down the street. This wedding was complete with loud music and a DJ. It went ALL night long with speeches, etc. Yes, we could hear the whole thing... all night long! I bet that makes you grateful for noise regulations :).

The distance from home: After 30 hours of travel, you are very aware of how far away from home you are. However, this never truly hits you until something big happens at home to remind you that you aren't currently there, and it isn't easy or practical for you to get there anytime quickly. We were hit with this reality this week as we got the tragic news on Saturday that my Uncle Victor died suddenly of a heart attack. This news has hit Will and I very hard. Uncle Victor was always full of life, ready for adventure and a friend to all. To hear of his passing felt like a strong punch to the gut. We both wish so badly we could be with family this week to mourn and celebrate Uncle Victor's incredible life. The ocean feels too big on weeks like this. Our hearts feel divided and confused, but we are grateful for technology which connects us quickly to family and allows us to feel a part of things are not actually physically present for.

We are grateful for this first week. We started language classes with the Moru community yesterday and are looking forward to digging deeper into language. We're looking forward to seeing what all God has in store for us here in Arua.