My perspective

Greetings to all from South Sudan!  In my last post, I gave my dad's top ten memories from his trip to Juba.  Well, now it is my turn.  Get comfortable and grab a nice snack and hot drink, as it is a little bit longer than normal.

It is tough to describe such a powerful, peaceful, fun and life changing trip.  While I have done a lot of reflecting on the trip that already has so much meaning, I know it will continue to bring meaning for the rest of my life.

The trip started with my dad visiting Juba for a couple of days.  While it was great so see him and I am so grateful for his visit, it was a trip more for others than me.  It was great for him to be able to see our compound and the work the Salesians are doing in South Sudan.  It was great for all of the brothers, sisters, priests, pre-novices, students, and children to meet him and for him to meet them.  It was great for him to experience South Sudan in a way that can't be done through just pictures and descriptive words.  We toured the village many times, went into Juba to show him the "big city", walked along the Nile river, and had a wonderful dinner on the banks of the North-flowing Nile.  To share my mission experiences with him was really cool.

For me, the real trip was when we made our way to Israel and the Holy Land.  Our first day in the morning we were both like kids in a candy store.  Everything we saw filled our entire beings with complete awe and wonder- even though we had really no idea what it was or what the significance of it was, it was SO COOL!    After wandering around aimlessly for a couple of hours, we started putting pieces together and gathering more information.  The highlight for me was the Garden of Gethsemane.  What shocked me was how close to Calvary it was.  As Jesus was praying to "if possible, let this cup pass from me" he was looking at and could see what lied ahead.  Yet he still followed that with "not as I will, but as you will."  This one really got me thinking from two different perspectives.  One of the greatest fears that I have, and I think a lot of people have, is fear of the unknown.  To me, that is where faith comes in.  Faith isn't faith until you have nothing to hold onto.  It is scary when we don't know exactly what is going to happen or what the future holds.  But it is in these moments that our faith and courage truly grow and we become better people and Christians through total surrender.  Then there is also the fear of the known!  This is another way we are tested and out faith grows.  I have always been amazed and inspired when people set lofty goals, knowing they are going to have struggle immensely, and do it anyway.  They are often asked in the beginning, "are you sure you want to do this?" or "you know what you'll have to go through to to accomplish that, right?"  They answer with a resounding "yes" and never look back.  Jesus knew the suffering he was going to have to go through, and his love for the Father overcame all fears.  May God grant me the grace to be able to do the same.

The rest of the trip was spent continuing to explore and learn, a half day trip to Bethlehem, and a day trip to Tel Aviv to walk along the beach of the Mediterranean Sea.  I'll share two of the many, many countless and priceless memories.  The first was praying the rosary in St. Anne's Church.  Being that my saintly grandmother's name is Anne and she prays the rosary every day before going to bed (she first prays to her guardian angel to finish it for her in case she falls asleep in the middle of it) I offered it up as a prayer for her and her intentions.  As I was going through the mysteries, there was so much peace in my heart, and images and joyful memories of my grandma and I continually flashed through my head.  When I finished, I just sat there smiling from ear to ear.  The second highlight was doing the Via Dolorosa, or stations of the cross.  My dad had said he wanted to "walk where Jesus walked" and this was what added so much significance.  To walk the same path Jesus did was just amazing.

I could go on and on and on, but overall it was a trip filled with so many wonderful memories and experiences, and to be able to share them with my dad made them all the more special.

For my next blog post, I will be stealing an idea from my site partner Tom and having a Q&A.  If you email me, Facebook message me, or reply to this post any questions you have about me and my mission, I will answer those questions in the next post.

Thanks you all and God bless!

Top Ten

Since my last post, times were very busy with all of the wonderful Christmas festivities (they were very different than in America, but it was awesome and all about the birth of Christ), my dad visited Gumbo for a few days, and then we spent 5 days in Jerusalem!  It was a life changing trip, full of so many unforgettable moments of peace, love and memories (I'll blog more on this later).  I have also worked on my New Year resolutions, full of weaknesses to fix, daily/weekly/monthly habits to work into my life, things to do, attitudes to adapt, and of course books to read.  Now for the hard part of tackling them and making them happen, one moment at a time.  For this post, my dad has given his top ten of his trip here.  He thought (and I agreed especially in the light of the new year) that it would be good to give a different perspective to my work and like here in South Sudan.  Here you go, for your reading pleasure:

1.        Airlines.  Taking the 11-12 hour flight across the pond got me ½ ways to Juba.  It’s easy to fly overseas and my first destination was Istanbul, but from there it’s another experience getting to Juba.  I flew into Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at 1:00 AM from Istanbul and the only person I could find recommended I get a hotel room, come back at 7:00 AM to catch a bus to the other terminal and my flight to Juba. Alone, except for the homeless person sleeping behind a counter, I wandered a bit, sat at a bench to weigh my options.  Another homeless person sat next to me and stared, so I wandered till I found some civilization and napped a bit with one eye open.  The security in Africa was minimal in regards to scanning (if operational) and searching bags and persons.  Regardless, I got to all my places on time and with my baggage.  (I was gone ten nights but four of them were spent in airplanes or airports. Thankfully, none of those nights were in Juba.)

2.       Parish/Compound.  Luke is safe at John Bosco Parish.  The place he lives is surrounded by an 8’ fence and a 24/7 security guard.  His private room has a concrete floor, running water (toilet and shower) and a mosquito net over his bed.  (I also got to enjoy a mosquito net.)  6-7 people (volunteers and Salesians) reside in this area and they have food 3x per day.  He has internet and he can relax.

There are three other fenced/gated complexes.  One houses the Salesians sisters and more volunteers; one houses another group of nuns; and the third has more priests and students in their first year of seminary school.  There is a fenced complex that has the school with classrooms which are very simple (Student desks and a chalkboard just like the 1800s.)  They are also building a school for industrial skills and this will have more equipment.

The complex also has the church, soccer field, volleyball court, concrete basketball court and swingset, etc. area. There can be up to 400 kids in the open area playing sports and games at late in the afternoon after they scoop any goat or bull poop from the playing areas as these animals wander everywhere and anywhere.  (There is also a well for water near the entrance to the complex.)  We only drink filtered water.  I wanted to run outside this area towards the “bush” but was told it is not safe.  As usual, I complied.

3.       Gumbo.  In traveling to Luke’s parish, we drive thru Gumbo which is the city/town/village which John Bosco Parish services.  The population is unknown but up to 10,000.  Many also don’t know the time of day, the date of their birth and guess on their age.  I refer to Gumbo as a village as there are a few dirt roads that can be traveled at a maximum of 10-15 MPH because of the ruts, goats and turns and many paths.  There are no, what I call, permanent structures.  Homes and the few stores are small huts made of mud and grass or maybe some old steel roofing sheets that were found.  There are many paths that Luke and I walked a couple of times and ran once.  I’m sure two white guys running through the village created conversation.  Many of the children know Luke and he could be “Rocky running the streets of Philly”, if he wanted as they smile, wave to Luke and are tempted to follow us.  I felt somewhat guilty that I was running when these people use their energy just to survive.  There are mostly children in this village, many women and some men. 

When it got cooler/dark, the people would come outside and visit.  A select few had generators and played music from the local radio station.  We could hear all of this from ½ mile away and while inside – it was almost to the point of being loud.  This would continue till past 3:00 AM.  I’m not sure everything they can talk about for 6-7 hours each night, except for the two white men running through their village.

4.       Juba.  This is the capital of South Sudan and has a population of about 250,000 but that is also a guess.  There are markets, scooters and people everywhere.  Driving thru this city is quite entertaining since I wasn’t driving and it’s not my car.  People (and goats) cross the street anywhere, cars and scooters pass on the left or right as they simply beep their horn and everyone seems to be in a hurry.  The very basic markets have people buying and selling (minimal electricity available) along the sides of the mostly paved roads.

We had to cross the Nile River to get from Juba to Gumbo and that is interesting.  Many trucks were pumping water out of the Nile, people bathing in Nile, etc.  The only bridge across the Nile is at Juba and the first time we crossed there were about 20 bulls being corralled across the bridge going in the opposite direction.  I felt like I was in Spain for the “running of the bulls”.

5.       Poverty.  It’s everywhere – from the old building used for arriving/departing portion of the airport, to the people hanging out along side of the road, garbage piled everywhere, women walking with their goods balanced on their heads, a little boy taking his poop and talking to me and Luke along the side of the road we walked, a group of excited boys showing us the rats they caught for their next meal, the older boys that caught a deer inside the fenced area  and killed it by beating the deer in the head with sticks for more than their next meal, kids walking everywhere and playing without shoes, living in huts no bigger than your living room and a dirt floor while having a meal about 3-4 times per week. Luke wanted to work where the need was great – he found that place.

6.       Beautiful smiles.  Amidst all of this poverty, the children were smiling and enjoying what they have.  Games were created in the dirt with rocks and sticks or some metal objects found in the garbage along the side of the road. As we walked the paths, children would yell “Luke” and wave or want to shake our hands and hear some English. They appreciate life and what they have rather than focus on what they don’t have.  I only heard 2 or 3 babies cry during my stay.  Just amazing.

7.       Catholicism.  It was very peaceful being among religious people focused on serving the impoverished.  There was meditation early in the morning (I missed this for sleep), mass each day, a short prayer before and after meals, and the rosary after playing sports in the late afternoon.  More than 100 people generally show up for the rosary. Mass is well attended and Jesus’ name is being spread among the people.  I did hear of one guy who goes to the witch doctor after Sunday mass – I guess he wants to cover all his bases.  J

8.       Dinner.  Luke had his first meal outside the parish while I was there.  No need to lie on this story as you will see I can't make this up. Dinner on the Nile looking at a full moon rise, then a moon reflection on the Nile, watching a field fire far away in the bush on the other side of river, as we sat under a huge Mango tree enjoying an African beer and Indian food.
Behind us on the large screen they played Country Roads (John Denver), some Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton and some other American 70s songs. And there were 3 damn cats rubbing against my leg wanting some of my fish. Great food, beer and atmosphere - except for the cats.  (We seemed to see cats ever in S. Sudan and Jerusalem, it became continuous joke.)

9.       Luke.  To share all of this with Luke was priceless.  In each of the above categories, I could give stories of experiences Luke and I shared which will be remembered for a long time.  It was also comforting to see that Luke is housed in a safe place and teaching people skills to use for a lifetime rather than just giving something material to poor people that would not last a life-time.  Our shared experiences in Jerusalem were quite different but still priceless.

10.   Jerusalem.  Not a part of my visit to S. Sudan but a part of my trip.  That experience is so difficult to describe because everything there is so complex (three continents touching Israel and Jerusalem being a focal point for Muslims, Jews and Christians brings people from all parts of the world to this area).  The experience was quite unique and powerful and spiritual.  To share that experience with Luke and give Luke the opportunity for that is special.  I wanted to walk where Jesus walked and get a sense of life in that area and I had that powerful experience.  I read the Bible with a different perspective and now have more questions than answers – not on why things happened but who, what when and where.  The more I read, the more I realize I don’t understand.  (I told Luke it was a mistake to bring him there as he won’t be able to go anywhere else in the world this special and he went to the best place at such a young age.)

May God grant you many blessings in 2013!