Over the past six months Bill, along with staff from IMA World Health, has worked to establish a number of emergency mobile health clinics in refugee (IDP) settlements in South Sudan where over one million persons have taken refuge since fighting broke out in December.  These clinics (housed in large tents) are staffed by South Sudanese doctors and nurses who see up to 200 patients a day.   Most of the clinics are set up in refugee settlements along the White Nile River stretching from the town of Bor in Jonglei State to Malakal in Upper Nile State (a span of around 250 miles).  Bill and his team regularly fly into these areas by MAF or UN flights to supply, supervise, and support the ongoing relief work.

The closest mobile clinic to our home is in a refugee settlement called Mingkamen, a mere 90 miles away and the only site approachable by land.   I accompanied Bill on a recent road trip to Mingkamen, the longest 90 miles I have traveled in a long while!

We left early Saturday morning with every space in the Landcruiser packed tightly with medicine and equipment. An outbreak of cholera had been reported in a neighboring camp, so we filled every remaining space with chlorine tablets and soap for patients and staff.  That left Bill and me tucked into the front seat along with our driver, Juma.   The last IMA team that traveled to Mingkamen two weeks earlier to deliver mosquito nets and tents said we should plan on a four hour trip, but that was before the rains had come in full force.

Two miles outside of Juba (the capital city), heading north along the river, the asphalt road gave way to loose gravel and we traveled at a leisurely pace, taking in the lush green landscape along the way.  Much of the area is low-lying and swampy (known as the Sudd). We saw amazing birds such as sacred ibis, cormorants, eagles, wagtails, goliath herons, and pelicans enjoying the water that spread as far as the eye could see. We watched hundreds of butterflies take wing from pools of water along the road as our vehicle passed.

The road worsened as we traveled further from the capital and became ‘teeth-rattling and bone-shaking’ as we negotiated through washed out sections of road and large stretches of knee-deep mud. We came upon cars which had slipped off the road and were stuck up to their doors.  Later we saw trucks which had flipped over as the road deteriorated further.  We knew we were in trouble when we came upon several vehicles clustered together in the middle of the road having slid into each other ... and later been abandoned. My heart started to beat faster thinking we would never get by.  Later that afternoon the skies darkened as another storm threatened to further pummel the roads and I contemplated spending the night along the flooded road next to swamps infested with snakes and mosquitos.

Even the birds took flight as the skies darkened leaving us alone, now creeping along at a distressingly slow pace.   As we approached each obstacle, with heart pounding, a song started to fill my thoughts:

God will make a way
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me

He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength for each new day
He will make a way, He will make a way

By a roadway in the wilderness, He'll lead me …

… and my heart began to slow and trust in Him. I cannot tell you how we got through the multiple ‘impossible’ spots … but we were able to make it through where others, hopelessly stuck, had abandoned their vehicles.  The 90 mile trip took nine hours. But the trip was worth it in every way.  God reminded me where my trust needs to be focused.

 The medical staff in Mingkamen were overjoyed when we drove up late that afternoon with supplies they desperately needed. As the rains gave way to a setting sun and patients returned home to the hundreds of makeshift shelters surrounding the clinic, Bill assembled the health staff under the shade of tree.  Sitting in low chairs in the cool of the tropical day, they discussed cases from the past two weeks and particular needs.  Bill closed the meeting with a discussion on the management of cholera and a word of thanks and praise.   It was a good end to a trying day. We spent the night in a two-person tent; our dinner... roasted groundnuts and hot tea.   I never slept so well.

That next day as patients lined up to be seen, Bill spent time with staff and patients as I visited some of the refugees in their   humble dwellings, chatting with the women and passing out  books to the young children.  They have so little that a simple book captivated an entire family.

 Our South Sudanese colleagues who serve in the IMA health clinics have sacrificed so much and live in such harsh situations (no running water, a single daily meal of lentils and tea) to provide medical care to others.  They serve the refugees with willing hearts in a way that only God could have instilled.

What a joy it is to walk in the paths God has laid before us, and to be able to bring health and encouragement to those who have suffered so greatly. We share that joy, because you are the ones who surround us with your prayers, enabling us to traverse these ‘long and treacherous’ dark valleys and emerge … with cups overflowing and souls restored.  Psalm 23:4