Touch Down

Well, I know you are all waiting on pins and needles to know if I made it here alive or not... and despite my lack of sleep, I am here and doing well, and already loving it.. well, what I’'ve seen so far of Khartoum at least.  Africa, even on this new side is still Africa- I feel at home again in the insanity, and already the beautiful Sudanese colors in the dusty sky are amazing me.  My flight went without hassles and the only surprise was that my direct flight from London-Khartoum went via Beruit. Unfortunately we couldn’t get off the plane in Lebanon, but I longingly looked out the little window for 45 minutes at a strange land that my feet have not yet touched.

 

Just about 1:30 am we touched down in Sudan. I’m still finding it a little hard to believe that I’m really here. Without much complication I got some Arabic looking stamps in my passport and moved on through baggage and customs. The funniest part was that the only cart I could find for my luggage had broken wheels and was a bit stubborn in moving- but at 2am with little sleep and a great desire to just finally be somewhere, I was determined. I pushed the thing sideways and backwards and in circles with people looking at me like I was part of a comedy show.  The people I will be working were waiting at the arrivals to rescue me from my luggage disaster, and I was thankful. Within an hour I was in the apartment in Khartoum struggling to make my over-exhausted self fall asleep.

 

This morning I got up for a little gathering that they hold here on Fridays. Apparently Friday is our day of rest, so I timed it well for a good start to my new job with a day off.  Ironically, at this little gathering, I met up with someone that I knew from Sierra Leone and wound up spending the day at the International Club by the pool. Since I imagined myself landing my first day in the desert in 200 degrees, thus far the beginning of the adventure has exceeded my expectations. Hopefully I will continue to be pleasantly surprised.  It looks like this little touch down in Khartoum will last until Monday and then I shall be traveling onward again…

 

The Initial Approach

I got stuck in a holding pattern again today, but this time it was a real one. Groggy from a night of sleeping upright in seat 28F and suffering with dry-mouth from a Tylenol PM hangover, I listened as the pilot announced that there was too much traffic at London Heathrow to land, so we would begin circling. I didn’t mind circles because I wanted 25 more minutes to nap. Oddly, however, it seemed to me to be one of those moments when God captured my attention in a strangely normal, unusual way. I’ve been in what I’ve called my holding pattern for awhile now, and it was almost as if these circles about LHR were a little reminder for me of where I’ve been walking these past 6 months and a nudge from my pilot saying, “Get ready now Stephanie, we are making our initial approach into this new season.”

In preparation for embarking on my Sudan adventure, I’ve spent the last 2 days in Baltimore, being oriented to my new job at the World Relief Headquarters. In these 2 days of pre-flight preparations I learned that moving to Sudan is enough to make you bi-polar. One minute you are very excited and full of anticipation and the next minute wondering why in the world you would ever do such a thing. I caught myself asking God again why I can’t just be normal and settled and want to stay home where it could be easy and safe. He answered again in his usual, unusual way.

One morning I stopped at Starbucks on the way to the office. Minding my own business and drinking a latte in a big fluffy purple chair, I looked up to find an Asian man standing in front of me looking panicked. “DO YOU SPEAK ENGLISH?” he asked.

I thought maybe he needed help ordering a cappuccino, but he quickly solved the mystery of his presence. “Could you look at a letter for me? My English is no good and I must send a very important letter.” He worked in the gift shop next store, and knowing how it feels to be linguistically helpless in a foreign tongue, I complied. The letter of course was written with nearly perfect grammar- the only mistake I found was in a sentence that seemed to be jumping out at me anyway, “Everything from the beginning is difficult and there is no gain without pain in this world.” I see a Korean gift shop worker, but I hear God’s still small voice telling me that it will all be alright although there will inevitably be growing pains.

So here I sit in the Terminal 4 Starbucks. A few more hours left in London to enjoy my last latte and then another long flight. Tonight I’m Khartoum bound. Crazy.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have begun our initial approach into this new season. Please make sure your seatbacks and tray tables are in their upright and locked position. We will be landing shortly.

Great ideas need landing gear as well as wings.
- C.D. Jackson

Wandering On

for those of you who didn't get my latest news in the mail....

I should have known that the minute the newsletter of my future uncertainties hit your mailbox I was bound to get a revelation for what I’m doing next. For months I’ve been without a plan, sowing seeds of hope and interest and wandering in what has felt like a thick fog. I’m happy to report, however, that the cloud has finally moved and it seems that I’ve found some firm footing for the next step.

Yes, my friends, for all of you who’ve been waiting to hear… I know where I’m going next! I have a job! I have a plan! Wandering Zito shall be wandering on.

I’ve accepted a contract job with an organization called World Relief to work in the county of Sudan for 6 months in the position of communications officer. While this isn’t exactly a lifelong plan in our perspective, living among the people of West Darfur could be a once in a lifetime experience.

Things are moving fast, and I will be leaving the country on April 27. So without further ado, here’s a little primer on what I’ll be doing in Sudn and how you can keep in touch with me while I’m away.

For the geographically challenged, Sudan is Africa’s largest country, equivalent in landmass to the entirety of Western Europe, and located just south of Egypt. Topping off the superlative-ness of its size, it is no secret that the country has been home to one of the longest running and most complicated civil wars which has produced one of the greatest population of refugees.

If you’ve managed to catch a glimpse of Sudan in the news lately somewhere between the Michael Jackson hearing, the semi-royal wedding, and the last days of Terri Schaivo, you may be aware that it is still a pretty crazy place. A simple google search of "Darfur Sudan" will give you more information than you could ever possibly comprehend about all the complex things going on in this region.

World Relief is a relief and development organization based in Baltimore ( www.wr.org) which does some amazing work around the world. I’m mostly familiar with World Relief from my visit to one of their project sites in Sierra Leone. In Sudan, World Relief is working in a coalition with 5 other humanitarian aid agencies to work with refugees who have been displaced from this crisis.

Based in a town in West Darfur approximately 30 km from the border of the country of Chad The World Relief/DRC team is working to provide relief services to benefit 35,000 people in 3 areas. The projects include working to supply food and nutritional care to children, nursing and pregnant women, to provide clean drinking water, to prevent disease through improved sanitation, health and hygiene, and to help the refugees survive through agricultural and livelihood assistance.

My job on the team will be to serve as the Communication Officer. While I’m not exactly sure of all that will entail, my primary responsibilities will include communicating. Of course, flexibility and adaptability are the primary job responsibilities of anyone working in Africa, and I’m quite certain that I will learn a lot more about what I will actually be doing when I get there.

What I expect for the advenuter resonates in the words I repeat to myself as I plan for my departure “figure on the worst, and hope for the best.” From the pre-departure information I’ve gathered, the conditions I’ll be living in have been best described as “primitive”. Last week in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, the temperature climbed to 106 f- a temperature that makes you want to take your clothes off, in a culture that demands as much of you be covered as possible.

Although many organizations are working in the area where I’ll be based, I’ve been warned that there is little social life, practically no fellowship, only a few other westerners, tight security restraints, and little independence. Moving to the desert with a handful of others after 5 years on the sea with a ship full of people couldn’t be more polar opposites. Yet despite all this, I’m excited to go, and know that it will be an amazing opportunity for this short season.

Going into this difficult situation, my need for my time in Sudan is your prayer! I will be sending out news and updates of how you ca n pray for me, and all you have to do is
email pray4zito@gmail.comand you will receive all of the details. (Be sure email even if you are someone I email all the time because this list is being created from scratch by someone else for me- and send your name as well if you have a wierd email). If you do not have email , then you are probably not reading this blog, but never fear, you can also get all of this by snail mail if you so desire.

You can still contact me through my email addresses as usual, and I will check them periodically when I have internet access- the frequency of which has yet to be determined. And of course, I will also continue to try to post things on my blog which you obviously have already discovered.