A letter from Debbie Blane serving in South Sudan
May 2015 - Back in South Sudan!
Dear Friends,
Greetings from Juba, South Sudan!
I reached Juba on April 2, returning after nearly a year and a half of being absent. Colleagues met me at the airport and after my trunks were examined by immigration, I was taken to the apartment that will be my new home while I am here.
Since I arrived on Maundy Thursday, government offices soon closed for a long weekend. Good Friday, the Great Easter Vigil of Saturday, Easter, and then Easter Monday were all spent away from desks and phones. So while I was supposed to register my presence within three days I was not able to do so until Tuesday.
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On the new campus.
Rev. Michael the Registrar, Rev. Santino the Principal and me. Nile Theological College, Juba, South Sudan
The Nile Theological College has relocated to Juba. Malakal in the Upper Nile State has been unfortunately rendered unsafe and unliveable by the fighting between government forces and rebel forces. Homes have been burned, civilians murdered, and there is no safety to be found except at the United Nations Protection of Civilians (POC) site, where thousands of South Sudanese have sought shelter. Therefore the college has relocated.
A building was located to serve as the offices and has been renovated. Although I did not see it before it was cleared of rubble and had power installed, I understand it was in very rough shape. So what I see now is a very pleasant building, in much better condition than the building we had in Malakal. There is also a building that will serve as the chapel/classroom; the work on that building has still to be done and I have not been inside of it yet.
A handful of colleagues are in Juba and several are in Kenya and Ethiopia, making plans to come. Our students are spread to many parts of South Sudan itself as well as refugee camps in Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and also in Sudan.
We plan to reopen for the next semester in July 2015. I will be teaching Counseling to the Juniors and Theology II (Sin and Salvation) to the Seniors.
There is fear and concern about coming to the capital of South Sudan. The country is unstable, famine is likely in some places, the currency is not stable, and peace talks are suspended indefinitely.
The staff meet daily in the mornings at the college to read Scripture and pray. Prayers for our colleagues and our students are always on our lips. Prayers for the country and for the wisdom of the government are always lifted up. It is the ordinary citizens who are suffering the most here. The families of the government are not in South Sudan, and they are not in refugee camps in the other countries. They are not suffering as the citizens are, the ones who cannot afford to leave the country for a better environment.
And so we pray for God to intervene. We also pray for the partners of the college, and this includes the PC(USA).
Our denomination is facing financial challenges and in this time of falling membership and revenues World Mission is also facing financial challenges. I would ask you to consider giving a financial gift to World Mission if you have not done that. If you have, thank you!
All of our mission co-workers are placed in areas of the world where the church has been asked to give support and accompaniment. In South Sudan in this time of uncertainty it is critical that our partners continue to receive a ministry of embodiment, to know by seeing people on the ground with them that they have not been forgotten or left alone. Jesus said that he would never leave us or forsake us; sometimes our partners need to see Jesus-with-skin to experience Jesus with them.
If you wish to read more about the financial challenges I refer you to the Presbyterian News Service story: www.pcusa.org/news/2015/4/15/presbyterian-world-mission-faces-potential-funding/.
To give financially as well as prayfully to God’s ministry through me you can go to my web page and click on the giving button: www.pcusa.org/debbie-blane/—or use the “Give” link below.
If you are able to make a multi-year commitment this would be most helpful. I thank you for being Christ with me to the people of South Sudan and to the staff, faculty and students of the Nile Theological College.
In Christ,
Debbie
The 2015 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 139
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