I will be on my way to Sudan!!!
It has been more than one week since I first learned that my application had been accepted and I had been registered to travel to Nimule, Sudan this July. Sine then, I have had the opportunity to sit down and talk to my family about the trip, and while they are quite nervous about me heading to such an unstable place in the world, they are very supportive and understand my need to do this. I have continued to consume information about the region and the culture, and I have also continued to journal my thoughts and feelings about all of this.
The most prevalent thought in my mind is disbelief. I feel excited, but I still cannot believe that I, little ol’ me, will be traveling around the globe by myself (well, with a team, but no husband or family)! I have never been anywhere…especially not a third world nation in limbo between struggling toward freedom and an all-out civil war!
I keep trying to imagine what it will be like, but I know that no image that I could possibly conjure up will come near the reality of poverty, disease, and undevelopment that I will experience while in Sudan. I also keep trying to imagine when this will actually become real to me, and I think I have it narrowed down to one moment…
When the plane which delivers us to Nimule (and which provides us with our only connection to the rest of the world) flies off and leaves us standing, alone, on an airstrip in Sudan!
I also imagine that my first thought will be, “What was I thinking?!?”