We get everything: rabies, tetanus, back pain, a simple fracture, diarrhea.
FP: Your hobbies before going to Sudan included scuba diving, bicycling, and basketball. You can't do any of that anymore. What do you do when you're not working?
If I get some time, I lie in bed and read a bit. My dad sends magazines that get there eventually. Books. The work is pretty much all encompassing. I've thought about getting a mountain bike and bringing that in.
FP: Do you ever think that if you continue leading this kind of life, you won't have a family?
Yeah, I've thought about it. I have. Because it is isolating... Marrying a local person is a possibility if I stay long term. There's certainly a culture gap. But to get a Western lady to go there, it would have to be somebody who has the same mission. I could not meet somebody here in the U.S. and bring her along. It's too isolating. She would independently have to have the desire to work in that missionary field. Otherwise I'd make somebody very miserable.
I really feel that I've been given everything in this life. I was born to this incredible family, very supportive. My parents have been married 50-some years and I've never heard them fight. I got the chance to attend great universities and medical school. I've had everything. I don't think I've had any adversity. I mean, yeah, I studied hard in school but that's not adversity. Everyone in the Nuba Mountains has faced incredible adversity, every single one of them. Just to finish primary school is an incredible challenge. What the heck?
You asked about God. I wonder why God gave me all this stuff and gave them the short end of the stick. I don't understand it. I feel I have some obligation to even the score up a bit.
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