Update from Sudan: Waiting for Travel Documents

Latest Situation Report from Gary F.:

OPS Normal - Khartoum as of 7:18 AM Eastern Daylight Savings Time (EDST) 29 June.

It's hot! Elizabeth is tired. The airplane made an unexpected stop in Ankara, Turkey. In the It's-a-small-world- department: While in Turkey, Elizabeth ran into someone who knows one of the other seminarians from her diocese in SE VA (Gary Butterworth).

Elizabeth has successfully passed the wad of cash she was carrying to her host (Father Joseph) thus completing the second task on her list. This money is used to buy supplies for both the teachers and students. She and Megan are staying in a hotel to rest, however, the electricity is out, making it too hot to sleep.

Travel tip: In Sudan, hotel guests are apparently expected to bring their own towels, soap, sheets, and toilet paper (and maybe also a generator) so be prepared! Actually, this isn't exactly a 3-star hotel since the NGO people have taken all the rooms at the more western hotels. I guess that's why they don't call it "Doctors without air conditioning." :-)

The next event for "team Sudan" is a 9-hour drive to Renk (no paved road for part of the way). But first they have to obtain internal travel documents from the government. They depart at 4:00 AM local time on Friday - about 14 hours from now. It's supposed to be cooler in Renk.