A letter from Debbie Blane, mission worker in South Sudan
June 2012
Dear Friends,
Greetings from Washington State in the U.S.A.! I’ve been back in the States now for a few weeks and in about three more weeks I will be heading out for Mission Interpretation (MI) assignment throughout the United States.
I left Malakal, South Sudan, just a couple of weeks before the rainy season began. Internet and cell/mobile phone service had been very intermittent before I left and I was pretty sure it would be hard to be in communication with students, colleagues and friends in Malakal. This has proven to be the case. I am assuming that this rainy season is quite muddy, but I do not know this for sure.
When I left the temperatures were well over 100 and food had become very expensive. South Sudan in general is struggling with a lack of access to resources and with thousands of Southern Sudanese returning as displaced persons from Sudan there is an added burden on already strained public services.
Even as I left Malakal behind me the town came with me to the U.S. Mission Interpretation is time I will be spending in different cities and presbyteries. I will preach seven times that I know of, and I will address groups ranging from Adult Education to Mission Committees. The goals of MI include educating Presbyterians about the work of the PC(USA)’s World Mission with mission partners throughout the world and asking for prayer support and/or financial support for my own ministry and that of the Nile Theological College (NTC).
My own work relies on the generosity of Presbyterians throughout the United States who feel called by the prompting of the Holy Spirit to support my work in South Sudan, and without the financial support of many partners throughout the world the work that NTC does in educating Christians for service in the church and society would not be able to continue.
I have been very busy at “home” in the Seattle area stocking up on supplies to take back to me to Malakal. I have been reorganizing my Porta Box that contains my treasures from the last 10 years or so of overseas travel and service. I spent two weeks working on my dissertation proposal for the University of South Africa Doctor of Theology degree that I am working toward.
I am looking forward to about two months of travel and Mission Interpretation in July and August. I am excited to meet so many of the people who are already supporting me and NTC, and I am excited to meet people whose hearts may be touched by the Holy Spirit. I love talking about my teaching and my students and the unique experiences of living in a brand-new country that faces the many challenges that are a part of the African experience in South Sudan. It is my pleasure to interpret the historical events that are happening in South Sudan at this point in time and I hope that I am able to make the people I work and live with more alive and real to people who are on the other side of the world.
I look forward to experiencing your lives with you too!
Blessings,
Rev. Debbie Blane
The 2012 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 94
Visit Debbie’s blog: Debbie's Journey Continues
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