Our cell phone alarms went off at 6 AM Monday morning. John got up and jumped into the shower. O boy, no water... Evidently the tanks outside had leaks in them and the water had drained out as soon as the generator had stopped the night before. We had been told to be at the bus by 7AM no later, because we had to be seated upon arrival... So Rev. had arranged for a small taxi to drive us with out luggage to the bus. We arrived at 7:10 AM to a scene of chaos. The bus had come in the night before from the Town of Wao. More and more people were arriving so we decided to board the bus immediately to get better seats. We were seated no more than 5 minutes when we were approached by a group of travelers from Wao who were headed to Juba as well. They claimed they had seat numbered tickets and we were in their seats. We soon discovered that the bus company had told us only half the story. They had told us that we couldn't be given seat numbers and would be seated in the morning. What they didn't tell us is that those buying tickets in Wao the day before had numbered tickets. The free seating started where their tickets ended.
When we found out the whole story, we kindly gave way and moved back two rows and were assured that we could keep those seats. Between then and the time we left Rumbek at least two other groups of people boarded the bus and wanted those same seats.. The students who had the tickets with numbers on them would leave and come back again with their seats taken. Arguments almost turned into fights several times as we sat there sweating and eyes bulging praying for this bus to get on the road.
It did at about 8:30AM. All disputes settled and all 80 seats taken, we rumbled out of the town... We three had a problem. We had used all our money on the bus tickets and on the run down guesthouse the night before. We bartered with our missionary and agreed to give his fiance' some shillings for Sudanese Pounds. We had enough for a few sodas and water on the way.. We all of a sudden realized that we had 8 or 9 check points to go through and a possibility of being asked three times along the way for 10 Pounds each. We didn't even have enough to pay one time. One can be thrown in jail and kept back from the trip for not paying... So we prayed and believed God. I am glad to announce the faithfulness of God. We were not asked one time for the 10 pounds... We made it to Juba by 6:45 pm. At our last check point just outside of Juba, a member of the military police brought onto the bus a metal detector and waved in up and down the isle. Then we were all asked to get out and have a body search. As my turn came for search the MP asked me if I had a pistol on me. I mis-understood his English and said yes... Then he asked me again and when I understood him, said no, laughing... He let me pass and get on the bus again, but a guy who sat across the isle from me was found with a pistol on him. I later put two and two together and realized the MP was asking me a serious question. I was fortunate he was an understanding man...
We almost crawled off the bus upon arrival and were met by our Juba host in his flashy new Land-cruiser and taken back to our simple Kenyan hotel which now looked more like the Ritz Carleton in comparison to what we had seen since being there one week earlier.
We showered and showered and showered, put on our remaining clean clothes and ate a meal fit for kings... Chicken stew and chapati. The rest of the evening was spend with our host, Martin, and his friends telling tales of Southern Sudan and just how wild of a country this place is...
Once again, we fell into our beds and slept soundly... this time with air-con and fan going the whole night... Wow, what a feeling... Cool!
When we found out the whole story, we kindly gave way and moved back two rows and were assured that we could keep those seats. Between then and the time we left Rumbek at least two other groups of people boarded the bus and wanted those same seats.. The students who had the tickets with numbers on them would leave and come back again with their seats taken. Arguments almost turned into fights several times as we sat there sweating and eyes bulging praying for this bus to get on the road.
It did at about 8:30AM. All disputes settled and all 80 seats taken, we rumbled out of the town... We three had a problem. We had used all our money on the bus tickets and on the run down guesthouse the night before. We bartered with our missionary and agreed to give his fiance' some shillings for Sudanese Pounds. We had enough for a few sodas and water on the way.. We all of a sudden realized that we had 8 or 9 check points to go through and a possibility of being asked three times along the way for 10 Pounds each. We didn't even have enough to pay one time. One can be thrown in jail and kept back from the trip for not paying... So we prayed and believed God. I am glad to announce the faithfulness of God. We were not asked one time for the 10 pounds... We made it to Juba by 6:45 pm. At our last check point just outside of Juba, a member of the military police brought onto the bus a metal detector and waved in up and down the isle. Then we were all asked to get out and have a body search. As my turn came for search the MP asked me if I had a pistol on me. I mis-understood his English and said yes... Then he asked me again and when I understood him, said no, laughing... He let me pass and get on the bus again, but a guy who sat across the isle from me was found with a pistol on him. I later put two and two together and realized the MP was asking me a serious question. I was fortunate he was an understanding man...
We almost crawled off the bus upon arrival and were met by our Juba host in his flashy new Land-cruiser and taken back to our simple Kenyan hotel which now looked more like the Ritz Carleton in comparison to what we had seen since being there one week earlier.
We showered and showered and showered, put on our remaining clean clothes and ate a meal fit for kings... Chicken stew and chapati. The rest of the evening was spend with our host, Martin, and his friends telling tales of Southern Sudan and just how wild of a country this place is...
Once again, we fell into our beds and slept soundly... this time with air-con and fan going the whole night... Wow, what a feeling... Cool!
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