Departing Torit

On Friday afternoon, July 24 I flew out of Torit on a Mission Aviation Fellowship flight originating in Juba with a final destination of Nairobi. Before leaving I took one last photo of the most recent progress on Mercy House: the pouring of crown beam around the top of the outside walls of the structure in preparation for the placement of new roof support beams. I met with Bishop Akio Johnson the day before to try to make sure that everything was in place for work to continue in my absence.


For the first time I was able to take off directly from the airstrip in Torit. It had been closed for several months until recently to improve safety conditions. The photos below show Dennis Kiyimba, who accompanied me to the strip to say goodbye, and a final shot of some of the homes along the airstip as we lifted off.



The next three photos show a hill just a few kilometers to the east of Torit, heading toward Hiyala. It was from this spot that SPLA forces shelled the Khartoum army in Torit, and eventually set out to capture the town during the civil war. It was the site of intense military activity.




These final photos show the main road that traverses South Sudan from the capital of Juba to the Kenya border. It looks great from the air, but a closer look at the second photo reveals the large, water-filled potholes (which sometimes reach the proportions of small ponds). The last shot shows a single, lonely vehicle. It is a route on which one can travel a long way before seeing another car.