Main Street

Day 2 –

Main Street Bellevue, bathed in record heat, registered eighty-eight for a high today. Main Street Yabus, in the Sudan, Africa scorched by the sun day in and day out, is paved with dust. City people speed along crowded streets in air-conditioned comfort. The Sudanese walk from place to place barefoot. Too often in the U.S. when someone cuts another off, the first honks, shouts profanity or waves the finger. In Africa people have time to stop to shake your hand in a friendly greeting.

A few weeks ago I noticed a t-shirt with these words on the front, “I need Africa more than Africa needs me.” This is truth for me because during my short three weeks in that developing country I discovered people of extreme joy living in the harshest conditions. It is a struggle just to make shelter and find safe water to drink and food to eat. Yet, after fifty years of civil war, the country weakened by conflict hobbles toward unity and peace. The people have a great hope for a whole country. I learned much from Africa and still have much more to learn about joy, hope and peace.