Greetings good people!

Another month, another blog entry...seems it's been tough recently gathering my thoughts, but I'll do the best I can to start updating this thing every week or two, SO stay tuned! I guess the last we spoke I was a week away from my first trip out of Sudan since I arrived in October. Well, Dec 20th I flew from Yei to Nairobi, stayed 1 night then flew to Cape Town, South Africa with a small layover in Jo-berg. I was in charge of accommodations so cheap, I mean "budget", was the name of the game - Hostels BABY! OK so I never actually stayed in one but how bad could they be. For the first three nights of the trip I booked a...rustic...yea that sounds good, a rustic hostel right in the heart of the city. there's a reason we paid $10 a night. I gotta be honest, the experience was worth the lack of sleep...you have to sleep in a unsecured, crowded loud dorm at least once in your life, heck I was just happy with a warm meal and a flushing toilet! Cape Town is a very interesting city, it almost seems the place is run by 30-something transplants from all over the world. Don't get me wrong, CA has an amazing unique culture that is unlike anywhere I've ever seen, but it certainly is a melting pot of young people..just the feeling I got. Our next hostel was much nicer and much closer to the beach, that's right THE BEACH! Wow, CT has the most amazing beaches..the famous foothills of Table Mtn slope down to beautiful white-sand leading to the aqua-see through Atlantic Ocean...houses and restaurants line the mountain as it falls right into the ocean. I gotta say guys, Ft. Lauderdale beach don't hold a candle..except for the bball court. So needless to say I spent the entire vacation lounging on the beach, exploring the city (I did climb Table Mountain), eating whatever I wanted, and..going to movies! Hey sitting in a nice COLD theatre eating popcorn and chocolate while drinking as much coke as you want is really nice when you've done the exact opposite for the past 3 months...always hot, no goodies, 1 coke per week :( The trip really was nice and relaxing guys, what a blessing to take 2 weeks off and just relax...thank you Lord. Got back to Nairobi Jan 2nd and immediately flew out the next day. Nairobi was eerily quiet with the police presence definitely felt..we really need to continue to prayer for Kenya. Well, I've been back in Sudan 3 weeks now with only 5 to go before the next R and R...i really lucked out with the schedule I'm on. I meeting Lee in NBO then off to a small island off the coast of Tanzania called Zanzibar - don't worry Lee we'll find you a long necked, native with massive earlobes and sweet spear hunting skills...Im sorry if that was culturally insensitive, but I live here and I'm allowed...so chill.
Vella was suppose to come but with the civil unrest in Nairobi it just didn't seem like the best idea...please be praying for my sanity, I sure was lookin forward to it! Ok, thats all I got this time. I write in a week or so and update you on our progress with the Church Reconstruction.
Prayer request - Kenya, Jade (a homeless girl I met in CT), Cape Town Baptist Church and my stability now that Vella's not coming...just kidding about the last one..maybe. Ok, love you guys. God's Grace be on us. joey