A letter from Nancy McGaughey in Sudan
November 16, 2009
Friends,
What a glorious day it has been so far. It rained (heavily) during the early morning hours. The thunder and lightening woke me up in time to put out my basins and buckets to collect water for laundry later.
It rained so much that our local church was cancelled. The sanctuary under the mango trees was a puddle of water and mud. Some of the students knew of a smaller church a 20-minute walk away. One of the students was actually preaching there, so we went off to hear him. The walk was nice (although very hot on the return), a small path through tall grasses.
The church was lovely—another one under some trees with tree limbs arranged for benches, as in Adol. However this time we had not carried our own plastic chairs as we do to the Adol church, so we went “local” and sat on the tree limbs. A shorter service would probably have felt better, but we did survive. There were 190 men, women, and children (again, mostly children) present.
At 4:00 p.m. we will start our weekly Bible study with students. This is optional, and we have from five to twelve students there most weeks. We are still studying various names used for God in the Old Testament. This week is El Roi, the God who sees me. Last week they said they wanted to start memorizing one verse each week. It will be interesting to see who has managed to do it and who has forgotten.
After Bible study I am continuing with the students’ practical exam on taking vital signs (temperature, pulse, respirations and blood pressure). They have been practicing for some weeks now, but I fear some have not practiced so much. I did the exam with three students yesterday, two had to retake part of it, and the third is trying again on Wednesday. It seems such a difficult concept for them to understand. I am told this is the same every year and not necessarily a reflection on my teaching. It is going to take me over 12 hours to complete all of their practicals.
I have been trying to explain to the students what autumn in Indiana is like, but it is hard for them to understand. Leaves do not change colors here. They said Sudan has different seasons as well. We are about to start the summer season. Hotter weather to come, I can hardly wait. It will soon be time to move the bed outside!
Must close for now.
Love and peace to all,
Nancy
