A letter from Debbie Blane in the U.S. waiting to return to South Sudan
December 2014 - Egyptian, Sudanese Christmases
Dear Friends,
When I lived in Sudan for the last quarter of 2009 and all of the year 2010, there were a fair number of Egyptian Orthodox families in the country. The Orthodox faith celebrates Christmas on the Epiphany that is observed by the Western church, on January 6. I was in Khartoum (Sudan) for Christmas in 2009 and had invited myself to the home of a colleague and his family on December 25. This was a learning experience for me since I had not realized at that point that because they were Egyptian, even though they were Presbyterian, they still observed Christmas in January. While they did have a tree up already and gifts were in abundance that they were giving to a local charity, it was very clear that this was not their Christmas as it was mine. They acknowledged this and made me feel as welcome as possible.
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Sudanese Women (2010)
In 2010 I decided to leave Khartoum to be sure I had a Western Christmas, and I spent the 25th of December in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with a mission co-worker friend. In turn we went to the home of another Presbyterian mission co-worker couple where many Americans, and some British, friends gathered for a traditional American/British Christmas.
The next day, the 26th of December 2010, I flew to Cairo, Egypt. I spent nearly two weeks in Egypt. After a few days in Cairo I went by train to Alexandria by the sea, and so of course I was there for the Egyptian Orthodox (and other Christians') Christmas on January 6, and naturally for Christmas Eve as well. I was invited to and attended a Presbyterian Christmas Eve service. There had been a terrorist act toward a Christian church in Cairo and Muslim members of the government were brought to the Christmas Eve service to speak with the Christians and give reassurance as to their safety. It was only a few months later, in 2011, that the Arab Spring began and safety for Christians in Egypt became even more tenuous.
It was very odd for me to be in a country that was celebrating Christmas on January 6. It did not feel like Christmas to me since I had already had Christmas on December 25. I was staying at a Presbyterian ministry in Alexandria, an unheated building on the grounds of a home for disabled children. It was a great privilege to be in an ancient city in the heartland of one of the world’s great cultural centers. I was able to shop from the grocery stores, many people spoke English, and I felt welcomed. I was there only three months before the great Arab Spring swept through Egypt and other Arab countries. There was a growing tension between Muslims and Christians; an attack had happened on a Christian church during this time and Muslim government authorities came to the Christmas Eve service that I attended to reassure the Christians there of their value to Egypt and their safety.
In the near future I was to move to South Sudan with the English Track of the Nile Theological College. My two Christmases during my time in South Sudan were spent in Ethiopia. I have heard, however, that one of the special customs in South Sudan was to take trays of special candy from house to house to share with neighbors, and to give that to people when they came to visit as well.
The Sudanese celebrate events with great joy—the birth of a baby, Christmas, graduations, etc. I can remember times in Chapel at the college when a male student or his friends would be handing out hard candies in celebration of the birth of his new baby. Thus it was with Christmas as well.
In this time of uncertainty in South Sudan I ask that you continue to remember the South Sudanese and the PC(USA) ministries that support the church and the people of that conflicted country; both through your prayers and also financially. Our ability at World Mission to maintain the crucial lifelines of relationship with our beleaguered brothers and sisters in Christ depends on the generous financial giving of our church in the United States.
Please also remember the Educational Initiative that continues to need funding in order to bring hope in the form of living education to South Sudan, particularly aiming for the education of girl children and women.
I thank you for your continued prayers for me, for reaching out to me in emails, and for your financial gifts that enable God’s ministry through me to continue.
In Christ,
Debbie
The 2014 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 129
The 2015 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 139
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