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Sudan

 

Day Five

Wednesday 22nd October

We sat outside in the relative cool of the evening, after the rain. We chatted about life in Sudan and England, occasionally being startled as a cricket landed on one or other of us. Frogs jumped all around us, and from time to time we caught the unpleasant smell from the latrine. We discussed the payments that pastors receive in each country. Basically very little or nothing in Sudan - perhaps just enough to buy food if the collection is good. Even the pastor who receives a company pension gets just £30,000 per month (£7.50 Sterling) and two thirds of this goes on petrol for his motor bike.

When Elizabeth and Fiona went to bed, they discovered they were hosting an impromptu meeting of the Mothers' Union in their room. The head of the MU in Wad-Medani is a remarkable woman called Lois D. Aragi from the Moru tribe. She is also a lay Reader licensed to preach and lead worship. Lois learned English at school in the mid sixties, but had to give up her education when she married. She has 10 children and also cares for three grandchildren. Lois regards education as a top priority. One daughter is at university studying biology, a son is in Khartoum studying physics in order to get the grades he needs for university. Only 25% of students choose sciences in Sudan, but Lois believes that science is both practical and employable, and this seems to have rubbed off on her children.

Lois took part in our meetings with the Pastors, another sign of her unusual status. They treated her with a great deal of respect and affection. She was interested to see that Elizabeth had brought a small water filter with her to protect our weak European stomachs; this led to a debate on the fine line between necessary hygiene and over-fussiness.

Lois' husband is a soldier and is away most of the time. Lois farms 5 feddans (roughly 5 acres), growing a grain called dura. Another soldier told her that the land belonged to him and kindly suggested that she should farm it on his behalf, but so far she has resisted this. She hopes that "when peace comes" her husband will return and her land will be more secure. Incidentally, just about every conversation we have had in Sudan includes the refrain "when peace comes". The people are desperate for this day and we can only hope and pray that they will enjoy true peace which is so much more than an absence of war.

Like most of the Christians we have met in Sudan, Lois has had to rebuild her life from scratch after being displaced from her home area by the civil war. She sends her greetings to the Readers and Mothers' Union members of Bradford Diocese with these words from Romans 8:35: "Can anything cut us off from the love of Christ - can hardships or distress, or persecution, or lack of food and clothing, or threats or violence?"

After a rather hot night,we showered and then started the day with prayers and tea. We met a 26 year old woman who had been given in marriage at the age of 12, to an Arab soldier who offered her parents "presents" during a time of famine. He promised to return for her in eight years, but actually came back just 18 months later, and took her away. His parents would not accept a non-Muslim wife, so she was forced to convert to Islam. She had 3 children with him, but he treated her badly, eventually leaving her, and taking their son with him to the capital. She followed him there, took her son back and ran away. She is now divorced, but wants five more children to look after her in her old age. She knows the man who will do this, and is hoping that he will offer her parents enough cattle to be able to marry her.

Lois and Martin took us around Wad-Medeni, showing us the market, hospital, the 'Harley Street' of Medeni, and the local bookstores. We walked back along the Nile to St. Paul's. Elizabeth and Stan discussed some of the needs of the Southerners, and how they could best be helped to become self sufficient in an increasing modern Sudan. Elizabeth has identified a real need for computer expertise. This is not just someone who can make an application work, but who can repair broken computers, and who can also go into the operating systems to adjust these. At present, this support is provided by a limited number of ex-patriots (well, one), but if locals could be trained, they could support all sides of the community.

Canon Thomas had arrived back by this time, and we spent some time getting to know him. Thomas is married to Wilma, and has ten children. He is one of five Archdeacons in the Diocese of Khartoum, and his Archdeaconry covers an area of several hundred square kilometres.

We also met Pastor Abdul Aziz, from Asheron, who greeted us very enthusiastically. Abdul Aziz went to Bible college and was recommended there as being suitable to be ordained. He then was interviewed by the Bishop and chosen for ordination. There was no further training, before be was ordained a Deacon initially, and later a Pastor. Abdul Aziz is unusual in this area of Sudan, as he has an e-mail addess.

Elizabeth had brought a water filter with her, so we were able to fill our water bottles with filtered water from the urns that are outside every house. This was a much needed preparation for our journey back to the capital. After breakfast (begun at about noon), we were taken by Lois and Thomas to the bus station and put onto an air conditioned coach back to Khartoum, where Leoma was busy making a wonderful evening meal of spaghetti bolognaise.