An American-African Partnership in Southern Sudan |
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by Danny Howe and Anne Travis |
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New World Outlook, May/June 2009 Driving home down Interstate 81 toward Knoxville, Tennessee, we witnessed a beautiful sunset behind the mountains of East Tennessee. Having just attended an all-day "packing party" with those who would leave in just nine days for Southern Sudan, we had thoughts of Sudan on our minds. We talked about what a beautiful world God has created for us. And in just a few hours, our brothers and sisters in Sudan would also witness this same sun rising on the other side of the world -- the same sun with the same God watching over us all. Ah, Southern Sudan …the sights, the sounds, the smells of this part of Africa! The sights -- from the airplane flying in, we clearly saw burned-out villages and destroyed forests, signs of more than 30 years of war. On arrival, we saw the rapidly growing city of Yei, Sudan, with thousands of people returning there each month from Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in nearby D.R.Congo and Kenya. We saw smiling, welcoming faces and people washing themselves, their cars, their dishes, and their clothes -- all in the same part of the river. The sounds -- the sound of drumming could be heard all night long, mourning a child who had died the night before. Mosquitoes buzzed around our mosquito nets at night while we tried to sleep in the dense heat. The voices of a thousand barefoot children rang out as they entered their church singing "Jesus Number One!" The smells -- we inhaled the smell of dirt and sniffed the fragrance of foods being cooked that were different from those to which we were accustomed. We were hit by the stench caused by inadequate sanitation. Our noses also noted the scent of the unfamiliar vegetation around us and smoke from cooking and trash fires. These were impressions that we brought home from our first trip to Southern Sudan in March 2007. Now, two years later, we are preparing for yet another Holston Conference trip. Six teams have now gone from Tennessee to Sudan in a three-year period, as the East Africa Annual Conference (EAAC) and the Holston Annual Conference continue to develop their covenant relationship. In partnership, we are training clergy and teachers, providing desperately needed medical care, building a school for the children, conducting Bible school, and awarding scholarships for young Sudanese to attend Africa University to study theology and agriculture. A Covenant of Hope and PromiseOur covenant agreement, signed in February 2008 by three bishops -- Daniel Wandabula of the East Africa Annual Conference; Felton May (then-acting General Secretary of Global Ministries); and James Swanson of the Holston Conference -- was a significant step in the work of the two conferences. With assistance from Global Ministries' staff members -- Dr. Caroline Njuki, Assistant General Secretary, Evangelism and Church Growth, Mission Contexts and Relationships, and Mission Education; the Rev. Edwin Francisco, Associate Treasurer; Dr. Sam Dixon, Deputy General Secretary, Global Health and the United Methodist Committee on Relief; and Ms. Jane Ohuma, who was Head of Mission in Sudan at the time -- we have been able to direct funds to the EAAC for our work in Southern Sudan. Holston's partnering with the East Africa Annual Conference in a covenant relationship has enabled both conferences to concentrate their efforts in areas of need. Priorities are set through dialogue and understanding with The United Methodist Church in Southern Sudan. The UMC in Sudan is still in its infancy. The original team that visited Yei in 2006 identified nine existing local United Methodist congregations that had struggled to survive during the last 23 years of war between northern and southern Sudan. Now, in 2009, having grown to 17 local congregations, The UMC in Southern Sudan needs trained clergy and laity who will lead their congregations and communities into a new future, inspired by hope, but framed by the reality of a land stripped of infrastructure and human rights by years of war and oppression. Teams from Holston conduct clergy training for pastors (along the lines of Local Pastor Licensing School) and also offer educational opportunities to lay members of each local congregation. The church can become, and is becoming, significant as thousands seek new life. The people need not only hope for tomorrow but faith in a future that will be free of war and strife. Bishop James E. Swanson, in agreement with Bishop Daniel Wandabula, has appointed a clergy couple from Holston to serve in Southern Sudan. The Revs. Buford and Phyllis Hankins will begin their work in Yei in June of this year, with Buford serving as district superintendent until indigenous clergy can be approved under the rules of The Book of Discipline. This appointment will provide the leadership and experience to nurture the congregations and their leaders as they become the rock from which a broken people find their strength. In addition to nurturing United Methodists as they grow into a vital part of the communities in Southern Sudan, the covenant between Holston and East Africa ensures educational opportunities that will strengthen the possibilities for a brighter future. Holston has been blessed to have the enabling assistance of UMCOR in Yei, Sudan, to meet logistical needs. UMCOR has constructed the first block of classrooms at the United Methodist compound in Yei. There, UMCOR had already built several schools. In 2006, this first phase of the school complex was originally planned for 500 students, but now the enrollment is more than 1,200. Many of these children are orphans because of war and HIV/AIDS. The hope of our two conferences is that the UM school will soon be completed. Holston has also committed to providing six scholarships for Southern Sudanese candidates to study at Africa University's seminary. Currently, two Sudanese have been enrolled in the university and others will be identified soon. In addition, Holston has sponsored 12 students attending primary school at Humble United Methodist School in Uganda. These students will then return home to their villages in Southern Sudan with new leadership skills. Health care is a critical need for the Southern Sudanese as they struggle with malnutrition. They lack a clean source of water and the population is plagued by HIV/AIDS and malaria. Medical teams from Holston provide clinics twice a year to assess the prevalence of malaria and other parasite-borne illnesses, skin irritations, and respiratory infections. The clinics provide much-needed antibiotics, vitamins, digestive remedies, and ointments, as well as health-care education that seeks to prevent the spread of diseases that affect the quality of life or lead to severe illness and often death. With the assistance of UMCOR, which transports pharmaceuticals into Southern Sudan from Uganda, and the cooperation of Ugandan medical personnel, who help Holston medical volunteers conduct the clinics, the clinic teams treat up to 5,000 patients per trip. Some patients walk for miles in hopes that they will be one of the few to see a physician. Local Sudanese serve as interpreters in these clinics to ensure patients' clear understanding of health issues, while conveying the team's love and compassion to their patients. The provision of clean water has a profound effect on the health of any community. By sinking deep wells that provide clean water, a whole community can expect parasite-borne illnesses to diminish. At the same time, mosquito-plagued open boreholes can be eliminated. If these efforts are accompanied by an effective mosquito-net campaign and adequate and appropriate medicine to treat diseases, the people's quality of life improves and they can actively participate in a sustainable future. With the aid of UMCOR, which has overseen the construction, Holston has provided three wells and three springs in Yei, bringing clean water to approximately 4,000 people who previously had no access to potable water. As we enter the second year of our covenant with the East Africa Conference, though our work in Southern Sudan is sometimes difficult and frustrating, we celebrate many accomplishments. We have come into contact with a culture that is very different from our own and one that has been subjected to the emptiness wrought by greed, hate, and insecurity beyond the people's control. But we see God calling this great denomination -- The United Methodist Church, the great "connectional church" -- to respond to our brothers and sisters in Southern Sudan. Ours is a denomination that provides an agency for every gap between God and humanity, a bridge from brokenness to wholeness. By invitation, God is calling us to be the Living Christ to a people who have struggled in despair long enough. As the leader of Holston Annual Conference, Bishop Swanson reminds its members that too often we think we are Southern Sudan's salvation, while Southern Sudan just might be our salvation. In the most difficult experiences humanity has to offer, God's grace is most prevalent. We are honored that God has chosen us to bring light in the midst of darkness and new life in the wake of death and despair. We returned with Bishop Swanson to Yei in February of this year to continue our relationship with our brothers and sisters in Southern Sudan. We continued to work on the elements outlined in our covenant. We were joined by David Malloy, from The Advance office of Global Ministries, who accompanied us to identify projects and opportunities through which the general church could support the Sudanese people in the coming years. We have so much to learn from the people of Sudan. Their faith is rock-solid in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges, and never have we met people who are so willing to openly and unashamedly share their faith stories and the love of God with everyone they meet! Is it any wonder that the church in Africa is growing so much more rapidly than ours here in the United States? Yes, the sights, the sounds, the smells -- these were our initial impressions of Southern Sudan. But more than any of these tangible memories, we are aware of the genuine hope of the Sudanese people -- hope for ongoing growth in their communities and their congregations, hope for more people to experience the love and grace of God in their lives, and, most importantly, hope for a continuing sustainable peace and a brighter future. As one member of the Holston clergy stated when we were preparing to leave Sudan: "Though our T-shirts say 'Hope for Sudan,' what we really have is 'Hope from Sudan.'" Amen and amen. Danny Howe is Director of Missions at First Broad Street UMC in Kingsport, Tennessee, and chair of the Holston Conference Missions Ministry Team. Anne Travis serves Holston Conference as the Director of Connectional Ministries. Photos for this article taken in Yei, Southern Sudan, were provided by members of the Holston Conference SudanMission Teams.
Date posted: May 01, 2009 |
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The Mission Magazine of the United Methodist Church
