A letter from Debbie Blane, mission worker in Sudan
June 2011
Dear Friends,
Greetings from Louisville, Kentucky! I am now beginning my fourth month of furlough/itineration in the United States. I have a couple of weeks here in Louisville and then will be heading to Portland, Oregon, for itineration in my presbytery of membership, Cascades.
For those who are not aware of what “itineration” means, it is a time for me to speak to churches and other organizations within the denomination about God’s work through me in Sudan. There is both an educational element and also a fund-raising element. The fund raising is for both the ministry of Nile Theological College and my own ministry at the college. Funding for my position is essential in order for God’s work through me to continue at the college.
God’s mercies are fresh every day. I have been reminded of this today. I am having to get some dental work done before I head back to Africa. In Seattle I had a root canal and an estimate for a crown. The crown was unaffordable for my share of the cost and I had decided to have the work done in Africa upon my return.
Here in Louisville I checked out prices with dentists and lo and behold! I discovered that crowns cost half the price here that they do in Seattle. I have been stunned to find out what it means that Seattle is one of the most expensive places in the United States to live. This means that there are many places in the United States where it less expensive to live. There are places where dental care can be considered more affordable.
At the same time one of my students in Sudan emailed me a few days ago to tell me that he is not feeling well. He had to have a tooth pulled and is going to need to return to the doctor. I know why he had to have a tooth pulled. He does not have the resources for dental care and there may not be a trained dentist where he is located.
While I struggle with the cost of dental care, there are so many places in the world where it is not even available, and if it is available it is priced out of the reach of most people. This of course includes the United States and at the same time certainly most of the rest of the world.
Malakal, the south of Sudan.
While I deal with dental care and prepare in other ways to return to Africa in August I am also daily reading reports about the situation in south Sudan. Our prayers continue to be needed in Sudan. In the south of Sudan in what will, I pray, be the newest country in the world, South Sudan, as of July 9, 2011, there is tremendous political and military instability. There are thousands of children at risk of starvation and the brutal and unprovoked killing of civilians continues unabated as the clock ticks towards independence from the north of Sudan.
Please pray for the people of Sudan, both north and south. Please pray for Nile Theological College, both in Khartoum in the north and in Malakal in the south. Please pray for the students, faculty and staff of the college.
If the Holy Spirit so leads you to contribute to the financial resources of the college or to funding my position you may do so by using the links below. [You an always give online. See the give box in the left column of every page. —Ed.]The college is a critical ministry that trains men and women for work in the church and in the government in Sudan. The college is desperately in need of funding in a war-torn country in order to continue its work of preparing men and women to be ambassadors of reconciliation in a country that desperately needs to know Jesus Christ in the depths of its despair. My work is a part of the ministry of the college and needs financial support as well.
Thank you for your continued prayers and financial support.
Blessings,
Debbie
The Rev. Debbie Blane
The 2011 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 54
Visit Debbie’s blog: Debbie's Journey Continues
Give to Debbie Blane’s sending and support.
Give to Nile Theological College.
