Not Just a Letter

South Sudan does not have the infrastructure to support a postal service, so we cannot send or receive letters in Juba. This was a big disappointment to me when we first visited Juba! Living so far from family and friends means that receiving a letter or piece of post always brings great excitement!

Digital mail is great, I love getting emails and online messages, but I think many would agree that nothing can replace a real piece of post! It's not just a letter. It's an actual piece of our home country, bringing tangible reminders into our foreign home. It's a reminder that the connections we have with familiar people and a known culture are still alive and well, whatever the distance between us.

Being able to send post is also important to me, for the same reasons- as a way of staying connected with family and friends special to us, even though we cannot easily visit or spend time with them.

Despite this challenge, we have found a round-about way to get or to send post! It transpires that the MAF plane which visits Juba from Kenya each week can bring (or take) any mail for us from the Nairobi office. Horray!
It just means that letters may take a longer time to reach us or to be sent.
Firstly, the pilot flying up from Kenya on Mondays or Thursdays needs to remember any post. Secondly. the MAF Juba freight room which receives and checks any items from a foreign border has to let us know that we have something to collect OR I need to go and ask when I remember that a flight has come in!

Last week, Andrew walked in the front door with some post! :-)

He was a little put out as my priorities shifted, Did I make him a nice cup of tea after his hot and busy day of flying? I'm afraid not- nothing was done until the post was read!