Dear friends,

I'm very happy to announce that my second term as a PC(USA) missionary is now coming to an end, and that I will be returning to the United States in the first week of June. My original plan was to stay in Maryland, but this hasn't worked out. So I will be staying at the House of Rest, a small apartment building used by traveling missionaries located in Pasadena, California. I will probably be there throughout the coming summer months, but I also hope to get back to Maryland, too—perhaps in the fall. I'm very much looking forward to giving sermons and talking to church groups and Sunday school classes about Sudan, so please do not hesitate to contact me for this purpose. The best way to do so is through my e-mail number, which can be done now or when I return.

It is with mixed emotions that I would like, also, to inform all of you—friends, supporters, interested groups—that I have decided not to return to Sudan when my furlough period is complete. Having been here now for nearly five years, I've concluded that the time is right for me to leave. I say this, first, for personal reasons, because I would like to return to the United States, at least for a time, in order to pursue my teaching career and other professional goals. I also say it as a faithful missionary, because I think that I have largely completed the things that I think God has wanted me to do here. Also, in the last few months three new teachers have arrived at Nile Theological College, one Australian and two Sudanese. The latter have teaching specialities in the areas that I have held (one of them has a masters degree specifically in church history) and will be able to replace me without much difficulty at all. This, I think, is a nearly ideal situation. We are supposed to work ourselves out of mission positions, making way eventually for local replacements. I have not, however, actually worked my way out of anything, but God has nonetheless seen to my replacement with a timing that is nothing less than perfect. So, we give Him the glory here, as in all things.

It's a very curious time here in Sudan for me just at the moment. I just gave my midterm examinations last week, and now I'm moving toward the close of the semester in six weeks. I haven't started to pack yet, but I have gone through everything I own here—papers, files, photos, books, etc.—and gotten everything organized. I've also announced to everybody that I'm leaving, and I'll be making my plane reservations this week. I'm finding it all a much more emotional experience than I would have guessed. Sudan, despite all my original misgivings, has really become home for me. I'm going to miss many friends, both Sudanese and fellow missionaries from the States and elsewhere in the English-speaking world. I'll also miss my students and the very rewarding work that I've been doing here.

I'll be traveling to Nairobi next week for a quick visit to put the finishing touches on my short book on Sudan, which I hope to be able to distribute to interested people when I return. Please pray that my book will be completed in a timely manner, and that I'll be able to compete all the tasks that remain to me during these last two months in Sudan. Also, I'm not at all sure what the future holds for me, so I'd very much appreciate prayer for my immediate future, especially the next six to twelve months in which the next four or five years of my life will probably be determined. Lastly, I'd like to thank everyone for all the prayers, money, letters, and genuine love that they have given so generously during my time in Sudan. May God bless you all.

Yours sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Dr. Michael Parker