Pennsylvania Dutch

A few weeks ago I was in Nairobi for some meetings. In Sudan I don't come across many women from a similar cultural background. In Nairobi there are quite a few, and I met a lady who was working with a different organization in a different part of Sudan who happened to be in Nairobi along with a friend who was also living in Sudan. Since there was another guy I work with in for the same meetings as me, I decided to see if the girl and her friend wanted to go bowling with us (one of the nice things about Nairobi). The timing didn't work out for bowling, but we did manage to meet up for dinner instead.

You see, people who live in different environments become a bit socially awkward when they do come in contact with those of similar backgrounds. Since we all were in that category, it's no wonder what became of the evening. It started nice enough as we met them at the apartment and covered introductions a bit before heading to a place in town that has Mexican(ish) food. It had been a year since my last experience with Mexican food, and I imagine similar for the others, so we were all pretty excited about it. About 5 minutes in, Mormons or Mennonites came up and the one girl talked of how Mennonites aren't weird like Amish people. Being from Pennsylvania and near many Pennsylvania Dutch communities, I thought I'd probe a little deeper and ask why she said that. She went on to discuss how Amish can't wear buttons and were weird and backwards. And, although there are Pennsylvania Dutch near to where I'm from, the main reason I pushed the issue is that my buddy working with me is from an Amish background. (Ok, now I know you're wondering how it happened that I came across an Amish guy in Sudan, but we'll not get into that right now.)

While she's going into different things about the Amish that are weird, I start laughing quite a bit and my buddy is also, although not as hard as I am. The friend of this girl catches on and tries to interrupt her, but she keeps going on and on about how the Amish don't use electricity and the men have those weird beards (also funny considering the facial hair I have) and so on. When she caught on that there was something unusual, we told her that my friend was Amish. Of course she didn't believe it at first, and she says, "No way. Are you really Amish? If you are I'm going to feel really bad." And then she went on saying other things that she thought were weird about the Amish and reasons why my buddy couldn't be Amish. The driver's license that showed his last name as Yoder didn't even convince her. Because he was wearing blue jeans, not black, asking if he came by boat, things like that. She really still didn't believe us even as he was explaining about Amish life and how he is from a non-old Order (more progressive) Amish background. It took her calling a couple of our staff with my phone who knew this guy's background before she finally did consider it might be true. But, she still continued to bring it up many times and asked all kinds of questions about the Amish. It was an interesting evening of conversation and education for our new friends. I learned a few new things about the Amish too.

And, although it was an evening centered around the Amish, it was fun to be out of Sudan and practicing my social skills again. The food was good and the girls really were nice. We got to talk quite a bit about NCAA basketball and look ahead to March Madness as well, so that was also fun. As all of my MK friends in university attested to, it's a little tough fitting back in after spending time in other environments, so maybe if I can practice every now and then it won't be so bad when I go back to the States for home leave in a few months.

Random Photos

Here are some pictures of some things which are pretty common to come across.


This is the Sudanese version of a drive thru. Often times, there will be one goat on each side (The chickens he has riding above the tire taste better though)

That is really the body of the queen termite. At one of the building sites the termite mound had to be destroyed and they found the queen down in the middle. It really is amazing how much bigger she is than the others.

If only they had rodeos over here I'd be able to fulfill my dream of being a rodeo clown amongst some of the scariest looking bulls I've ever seen.

I Don't Know

There's so much I don't know. I'm sure most of you are much more aware of that than I am. But, maybe I'm getting better at not being a know-it-all and not trying so hard to have all the answers. That would be really nice anyway. I'm just too busy trying to have all the answers that I don't really look for questions (or maybe am just focused on the wrong questions).

My friend Josh wrote something the other day that has me thinking. I've always tried to have all the answers someone might ask and trying to be a step ahead. Nick, who I've been working with knows all too well how I try to answer questions before he's even asked if there is a slight pause while he thinks for a moment (I'm not sure if this is a new thing, but something I've recently noticed...those who've known me for a while will have to let me know). I like to be a teacher much more than being a student. I think I give the impression that it's better to have answers for people than questions. And I give the impression because it's how I feel most of the time.

I don't know why God has me here or why he's had me where I've been in the past. I don't know if it's to reach out to this person or that person or if it's because of this thing or that thing that I've done, but even those are the wrong questions. For a long time now I've looked to have answers to stuff like this so I know how to respond and can be prepared. But, God doesn't need me to be prepared for what he has in store. He wants me to be willing. While I might want to know everything, I don't look for what God is teaching me or seek things other than knowledge. I know that I should always be learning, and I know that God teaches us through all circumstances. And I base so much on what I know. It's about time I start asking God again. Not to have answers to tell this person or that person, but to really come to God honestly with questions that I don't understand. There's so much that doesn't make sense, so much that you really can't find an answer to, but have to have answered. Unless I ask, I just get indifferent and apathetic. I want to search after God again. I want to seek. And even though I may not get answers to speak of, I'm sure I'll find God in the search and He will answer. It's not about knowledge, but about a relationship. Who knows what I'll find out and experience in the process...probably a lot about God, about myself, and about living.

Well, I've been back at our main base for the last couple weeks now as three of our experienced staff are out at the time and there's a few gaps to fill. I'll be back out of touch with the internet soon enough I hope, but until then I'll try to keep things updated. I'm glad I could surprise you with all the recent posts and you'll have to keep looking for how I continue to mix things up.

The Office

Don't know if you've seen the show "The Office" or not. I'm not real sure if it's just because I'm in Sudan, but that show is the funniest show I've ever seen. The first Rush Hour movie used to be my favorite thing to watch, and I watched it over and over again, and this is the first time since that there's been something that I just keep watching. I've seen every episode at least two or three times and keep watching anytime anybody wants to. Please let me know if it's just me or if really is that funny. So far I've only seen the first 7 episodes of season 4 and hear that's all so far because of the writer's strike. Looking forward to the new ones when I get a chance. Here's a few pictures I doctored up quite a while ago that I thought you might enjoy. (The other guys are some of the studs I've been working with who also appreciate the office)