Travel to South Sudan

Travel between African countries is sometimes challenging to arrange. Unless you want to fly back to Europe first, it often involves arranging smaller flights that can take you directly from one location to the next. We contacted Mission Aviation Fellowship to see if they could fly us from Bundibugyo to Yei, South Sudan since they make stops in both of those areas. They said yes, and we were excited it was all working out so well. Then, we saw the grass runway in Bundibugyo and became a little nervous. A grass runway in the rainy season can be a challenge for even an experienced pilot. It poured the day before we left which left a few muddy spots on the runway. It took us two tries to get off the ground, but we were eventually up in the sky. For those with fear of flying, a small propeller plane is probably not something I would recommend!

That other little one seen below is not a stow-a-way. Eli and Hailey's new friend just wanted one last picture from inside the plane before we left. :)

We had the most amazing aerial views along the Dem. Rep. of the Congo/Uganda border. The lush, green landscape with winding rivers was so beautiful. I think this river below is the Semliki River.

That is Lake Albert off in the distance which is another major lake in Uganda.

This map shows you a little more of our trip up along the border into South Sudan.

Our babies have all slept best in their bed. They don't fall asleep well on someone's lap. This is wonderful when we are at home since I just lay them down and they fall right asleep, but it does make travel harder when that bed it just not available. Isaac was a trooper through it all.

Our MAF pilots were great. There was lots of experience among the three of them which helped us relax and enjoy the flights. They also treated us to a flight on this brand new plane!

Eli and Hailey sat in the row in front of us and loved the whole experience.

And sweet Isaac finally drifted off to sleep. :)

We landed in Arua, Uganda where we checked out of the country with immigration and then had one more quick flight across the border into Yei, South Sudan. South Sudan has been having some political conflict since December, and we really weighed the situation heavily before we continued on with our planned visit. The region we visited was very close to the border with Uganda and had not experienced any of the violence seen in the northern part of the region. We felt we could trust the assessment coming from the families living there and they felt safe. We encountered no problems during our stay which we were very thankful for. We really appreciate all who were praying for us during this trip. 

We ran into a friendly face at the immigration office in Arua! We knew Jonathan from the fellowship program we did in Wichita. He had just finished up working at the hospital that we were headed to in Yei. It is always fun to cross paths in Africa with people from home. It doesn't happen very often. :)

This is unfortunately where my pictures of the landscape and local people stop. I actually don't have any pictures of Yei outside of the missionary compound because it is illegal to take photographs without a license. You can obtain a license for $100 to take pictures, but we were told that wouldn't guarantee our camera would not be confiscated by authorities. I do have lots of pictures from our time working with the team in Yei and those will follow soon!