13. Into a new world
It was general mission practice for missionaries to spend five years on the field and one year in their home country ‘on furlough’. The specific dates would be subject to various factors. In our case, political turmoil in the Middle East gave impetus to our whole family going to South Africa in July 1958. Due to Shemlan being the line of resistance for the clash of forces, we had already moved to Beirut and when the unrest seemed likely to continue, flights were booked to Johannesburg. We went by plane to Cairo and then Khartoum. In Khartoum we had a night in a hotel and had enough time to see some gazelle in a park nearby. Brenda remembers sitting in wicker chairs in the posh hotel and I remember trying to sleep in the heat with just a sheet and a pillow on the bed, unsuccessfully. The ceiling fans moved the air infinitesimally as they rotated slowly above us. From Khartoum we flew to Nairobi where we encountered small swarms of flying ants. After time in the transit lounge ...