south sudan: construction
our purpose for being in juba really was to install some telephone and network equipment in the new translation office. it sounds fancy but really it means pulling wire and climbing into filthy and hot ceiling spaces and crawling around. but on the plus side, we had the privilege of working on the construction site. i have always wanted to be in construction, so i totally enjoyed this....
so this post really is about the construction site. they are building a small office and warehouse on a huge 8acre piece of land granted us by the government. this is the office building.
they have 2 international volunteer couples and 2 international servant couples working there. there are also some local brothers and some ugandans and kenyans on site. i learned many things from them all, but one of the most profound was....
how to roast chicken: heres the secret recipe. take a chicken. take a beer. open the beer. in order to conserve resources and not waste anything, drink half the beer. i sacrificed myself for this onerous task. then shove the beer can up the chickens...um...end. roast. apparently it keeps the chicken moist as it roasts...
it was nice to be out of our regular routine....in africa, we let the women do the really hard work. just kidding! Sandi learned some new skills.
everyone had a hand.
we had this excavator for a couple of days and had to make best use of our time. this meant working from sunrise to ... late.
sometimes construction in a former war zone is ... exciting. unexploded bomb dug up by the excavator. seems this is not an unusual occurrence.
i learned new skills too....eat your heart out kennie!
ok this next picture has nothing to do with construction. it wasnt even taken by me (though i wish i had - its a great pic), this one is credit to steve, one of the IS brothers there. kenya airways recently started flights to juba, and as an introductory offer have had a $49 flight. their ad says something like, "juba is one of the fastest growing cities in africa! explore the famous customs market" etc etc. well, this is the famous customs market.
all in all, although juba is perhaps not the place most people go on vacation, we had a wonderful time and it was largely due to the spirit and atmosphere shown by the brothers there - the missionaries who graciously hosted us in their home and with whom we shared many a pleasant evening round the dining table, the bethel family with whom we shared our meal times and a memorable trip on the nile, and last but not least the construction family with whom we had such a great time - this trip has given us some of our best memories.
so this post really is about the construction site. they are building a small office and warehouse on a huge 8acre piece of land granted us by the government. this is the office building.
they have 2 international volunteer couples and 2 international servant couples working there. there are also some local brothers and some ugandans and kenyans on site. i learned many things from them all, but one of the most profound was....
how to roast chicken: heres the secret recipe. take a chicken. take a beer. open the beer. in order to conserve resources and not waste anything, drink half the beer. i sacrificed myself for this onerous task. then shove the beer can up the chickens...um...end. roast. apparently it keeps the chicken moist as it roasts...
it was nice to be out of our regular routine....in africa, we let the women do the really hard work. just kidding! Sandi learned some new skills.
everyone had a hand.
we had this excavator for a couple of days and had to make best use of our time. this meant working from sunrise to ... late.
sometimes construction in a former war zone is ... exciting. unexploded bomb dug up by the excavator. seems this is not an unusual occurrence.
i learned new skills too....eat your heart out kennie!
ok this next picture has nothing to do with construction. it wasnt even taken by me (though i wish i had - its a great pic), this one is credit to steve, one of the IS brothers there. kenya airways recently started flights to juba, and as an introductory offer have had a $49 flight. their ad says something like, "juba is one of the fastest growing cities in africa! explore the famous customs market" etc etc. well, this is the famous customs market.
all in all, although juba is perhaps not the place most people go on vacation, we had a wonderful time and it was largely due to the spirit and atmosphere shown by the brothers there - the missionaries who graciously hosted us in their home and with whom we shared many a pleasant evening round the dining table, the bethel family with whom we shared our meal times and a memorable trip on the nile, and last but not least the construction family with whom we had such a great time - this trip has given us some of our best memories.
