A letter from Debbie Blane, mission worker in Sudan
September 4, 2011
Dear Friends,
Greeting from Africa! At this moment I am in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Last week I journeyed from Louisville, Kentucky, to Washington, D.C., and then to Juba, the Republic of South Sudan, via Addis Ababa. After two nights in Juba I flew back to Addis Ababa to retrieve some of the things I had left here earlier this year when I returned unexpectedly to the United States for several months.
Malakal
Early this coming week I will be flying again to Juba and then on to Malakal. Malakal is my final destination and it will be a great relief to finally get "home"!
I have reflected this week on several things, and one of them touches on the 9/11 tenth anniversary that is coming soon in the United States. In 2006 I was in Pristina, Kosovo, on September 11. My memories of that date are filled with votive candles as the city remembered the American grief by lighting many candles in our honor. During the presidency of Bill Clinton the United States intervened for Kosovo when the country was being brutally annihilated by bombing from Bosnia. Because of this the people of Kosovo remember us with affection. Therefore their hearts are tied to us also in our grief and in our healing process.
I reflected also on Juba, the new capital of the new country of South Sudan. Juba reminds me of Nairobi, Kenya, and not so much of, say, Addis Ababa. Juba is very green, which is in stark contrast to Khartoum in the north of Sudan, where I lived and taught for over a year. I felt an energy, a vibrancy of life, in Juba. One of the things that I did not see that was quite common in Khartoum were the desperately disfigured people who were forced to beg in order to survive. It is also clear that Juba is an African city and not an Arab city, as is Khartoum. There were fewer women with scarves or other head coverings, and I saw bare arms on some of the women.
College day in Malakal
The availability of electricity and access to the Internet were problematic. The power went out frequently during the days and night that I spent in Juba. I stayed at the Episcopal Church Guest House, and one of the employees graciously accompanied me to the Ethiopia Airlines office, where I was able to make my travel reservations. He also took me to several of the local Internet offices, and each of them was having a lack of ability to access the Internet.
In Africa because the infrastructure has not been well developed yet many of the countries have bypassed "land lines" in homes, the telephones that so many of us grew up with in the United States. Most of the people in the African nations that I have visited or lived in thus far have only cell/mobile phones. Because of this, dial-up Internet never took hold. The wireless systems in Africa mostly consist of individual USB modems that are plugged into the computer, although some homes do have Internet wireless systems set up so that more than one person can be online at a time. The advantage for the USB system is that it is mobile. As long as I have my modem with me I can get online anywhere if the infrastructure system is up and running. I was told that the modem that I purchased for using in Malakal may not work in Juba. It is possible that I will need to have two modems for South Sudan.
My 11 bags (two free and nine excess baggage) were checked through from Louisville to Juba. Now I must get them to Malakal. I am doing this by using the services of the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF). When I arrived in Juba and was picked up at the airport by one of our South Sudanese Presbyterian partners, he and his wife kindly drove me to the MAF headquarters. I was able to leave the 11 bags there, and as space is available over the next few weeks the bags will make their way to my home in Malakal.
I am looking forward to seeing my students again in just a few short days, to setting up house, and to getting my teaching materials organized, as well as my own degree program work with the University of South Africa (UNISA) organized and begun in earnest. I will be teaching the seniors this coming semester; these students were my juniors the last two semesters. I am teaching Women and Men in the Bible and Theology I this term.
South Sudan appears from the maps to be in sub-Saharan Africa, and therefore I believe that there will be seasonable changes there since it is not arid high desert. I have been told that right now Malakal is having a rainy season. It has been suggested that I have "gum" boots with me. I brought two pairs of them and they are in different boxes, the first pair being in the first box. I hope to see them soon as I wade into this new life in this brand-new county!
Please continue to pray for me. If you feel that God is calling you to respond to God's ministry through me with your financial resources as well as by prayer, you will find the links to donate online below.
Many blessings,
Debbie
Rev. Debbie Blane
The 2011 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 54
The 2012 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 94
Visit Debbie’s blog: Debbie's Journey Continues
Write to Debbie Blane
Give to Debbie Blane's sending and support
