May 5, 2005

Dear Friends,

Since our return to Sudan in November, Betsy and I have found a lot of things that have changed or are in the process of changing. A lot of our colleagues who have worked with us for many years are now deciding it is time for them to be moving on. Their departure will leave an emptiness with us in our work areas as well as in our personal lives, as we lose good friends. Nile Theological College is continuing with a new principal and is in the process of attempting to review the progress or lack of progress towards its becoming an accredited institution here in Africa. The local international church continues without a pastor and so the elders, including Betsy, are now having to take over more of those duties. Betsy, in addition to her teaching schedule at the college, now preaches at the international church, leads worship, and even performs weddings for couples who have met here and decide to celebrate their marriages in this wonderfully diverse international environment.

Barry continues to work with the church partners as they are in the process of looking forward to the future and what it will hold for them and how they can best be serving their people. It is a time of transition for the churches and for Christians in Sudan.

The Sudanese churches have started to take time to see how this agreement and this peace will affect their ongoing and future work. This process has not been easy for church leaders. Many have doubts and have taken a wait-and-see attitude. They say, “We have heard promises before and they have all proven false.”

Betsy and I are also being challenged to look into the future and try to determine what that will hold for our working relations with the church. To what extent will the leaders and people of the Presbyterian Church of Sudan (PCOS) leave the north and return to their home areas? How many will be staying behind? What will happen with the church in the north, especially after the six-year period when the decision is made about whether Sudan will remain as one country or split into two? The Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Sudan, for one, will definitely retain its heritage as the “northern” church and remain in what could become almost a totally Islamic state. Or will the new northern Sudan also create a new constitution and take on an entirely new identity as well? The future now is cloudy. Already there are signs of concern, and many questions are beginning to surface. How can we have a comprehensive peace agreement when such a large portion of the country is still embroiled in a violent conflict? What about the signs of growing unrest and conflicts flaring up in the south between the different militias and tribes? How are you going to have security with so many unconnected groups that are relatively well armed?

In times such as these, when there are both signs of hope and reasons for doubt, we need to find a sense of consistency and a source of guidance for the way ahead. It is necessary then that we look to the one we serve, our Lord and savior, to give real hope and real direction. The Presbyterians and all the Christians here in Sudan continue to pray for the situation and for guidance through this time of transition, with the knowledge of the promise of our Lord to be with them even until the end of the age.

Barry Almy and Betsy McCormick

The 2005 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 325