Arriving in South Sudan Part 1

DAY 3:

Continuing along in our story, the next morning we ate a yummy breakfast in Uganda and headed to the Kajjansi Airfield for our flight into Sudan.  (Note:  The more planes it takes to reach a destination, the more remote your destination will be.  Our journey took 4 planes...just sayin')

I was definitely nervous to ride in this type of plane.  I've never rode in a single propeller plane before.  But, surprisingly, this flight was so comfortable and smooth, I actually loved it.  Not to mention, they fly low enough that we could see the ground the whole time.  We flew out of the Entebbe area, and I watched all the buildings and structures give way to jungle, grassy fields, and the Nile River snaking in and out of the greenery.  I kept hoping I would see some zebras or antelopes or something, but I never did.

We landed at the edge of Uganda to go through customs.  The air strips are made of red gravel, and despite all the Ugandan soldiers stationed all around, the airfield was calm and easy to manage.  We just walked off the plane and into this little building where a guy on a couch stamped our passports.  This was also the last place I used a western toilet before heading into Sudan.

We flew another 30 minutes and we began to see grass huts and dirt paths.  We finally landed in Kajo Keji, our final destination.  Kids and many onlookers came to see who these two planes full of white people were.  We must have been quite the spectacle to them!  The First Baptist bus picked us up and we headed to our compound.  Here are a few pics we got on the flight:

Walking out to the planes 

Leaving Uganda

Part of the Nile

Landing in South Sudan

We stayed at the compound of the pastor of First Baptist Church Kajo Keji.  Here are a few photos:

The dorm building where we slept 

Our room...those mosquito nets were like gold

Bamboo bridge leading to the latrines

Commons room where we met for devotions, meals, and debriefing

In the next post I will share about our visit to the orphanage and about my struggle with culture shock. Check back soon!