July 13, 2005
Dear Friends,
I just came back from Leer, Sudan, again. My schedule is probably
going to be two weeks in Sudan and two weeks out, or something
like that. We have pretty ambitious plans for Leer. We’re
starting to build the Christian health care workers training school
there. At the same time we are building a base compound so there
will be a place from which to operate our projects in Western
Upper Nile. After the health care worker training school opens,
we hope to expand to vocational training. Then maybe the University
of Leer? Don’t laugh—if we don’t aim for it,
it won’t happen. That’s the dream of some of the Sudanese
guys I work with, and I believe it can happen with God at the
controls.
We have the same dreams for Akobo, if security in the area can
be attained. The Akobo area is the most important in Eastern Upper
Nile to the Presbyterian Church of Sudan (PCOS). Ever since the
war began in southern Sudan, the PCOS has been divided, with church
administration in government-controlled areas working out of Malakal
and administration in liberated areas (that is, areas controled
by the Sudan People's Liberation Army or SPLA) based in Akobo.
That’s why you see separate designations for PCOS/Malakal
and PCOS/Akobo. The PCOS isn’t split, but it has had to
be administered separately because of the war. We hope to rejoin
as a single administration soon. We are trying to hold a General
Assembly, but the cost of getting everyone together is expensive.
There aren’t many roads to transport people by cars or trucks
and, in any case, many of the roads are full of land mines.
I’ve been asked what my hopes and fears are. Now, I have
more hopes than fears. You can read about these all through this
newsletter. I really only have one fear: that powerful people
(mostly military) in the Khartoum government want to see instability
continue in the south. Upper Nile has historically had more inter-tribal
and cross-tribal problems than other parts of southern Sudan.
These powers want to exploit that so they can point to south Sudanese
as incapable of governing themselves, much less taking part in
the governance of the whole of the Sudan.
The Presbyterian Church of Sudan, with Presbyterian Relief and
Development Agency (PRDA) as its humanitarian arm, has the best
chance of resolving those differences, and they’re taking
that responsibility very seriously. Because our church leaders
and PRDA staff come from every community in the whole Upper Nile
region of Sudan, they are more trusted among the people in the
southern part of the country than any other entity in Sudan.
We have just had a very successful peace gathering among warring
factions of the Murle tribe, which had supported different groups
during the war. A PCOS pastor, who is also the acting program
officer for PRDA, was the chief facilitator for the Murle Peace
and Reconciliation Conference. His verbal account of that was
one of the most encouraging accounts of our peace efforts I have
heard yet.
PRDA and PCOS are also involved in another peace effort among
Nuer groups in another part of Upper Nile (the “land of
Cush” in the Old Testament). It is going on even as I write
this in a place called Yuai, which is close to Akobo.
My responsibility for now is to learn how to be a contributor
to peace efforts. I’ve never taken any conflict resolution
courses, but I have some fine examples to follow. An advantage
I have is that I don’t come from any tribal group so I am
viewed as impartial and can mediate as such. But you all can pray
for me and for the Church here as we continue God’s difficult
and wonderful work here.
I have been asked to express the appreciation of my Sudanese
friends at PRDA and PCOS to you and also their greetings. That’s
a bigger deal than the formal way I just put it. They really do
mean it and so do I.
In His grip,
Joe |
