Two weeks of learning and participating in life in Khartoum.

Dear Friends,
Greetings! It has been two weeks since I wrote in this blog. Two weeks which have been full of activity, ministry and learning.

I have hosted an end-of- the- year party/movie viewing in my apartment for my English class. I have preached twice in local churches and I have baptized three young women! I've spoken at a conference for Women and Men in Ministry Together and with a small group of spouses of students at Nile Theological College where I teach. The small group talk was about spouses (all of the spouses in attendance were women) supporting their husband's ministry. I have also had small group discussions with students in my apartment. It has been a busy two weeks!

I attended a Christian church wedding here in Khartoum. I was amazed by the sermon, some of which was translated for me by one of my students. The minister said that marriage is between one man and one woman and called for the groom as well as the bridge to be a virgin.

The wedding was beautiful and there was a huge reception afterwards outside of the church on the grounds. The bride and groom were wearing very Western bridal clothing, this didn't surprise me too much as that was also the custom in China. At least here in Sudan the men and women wear their customary Arab or African garb on the streets -- imaginative and full of color (except for the men who wear white). In China nearly everyone wore Western apparel.

In speaking more at depth with my students I have learned that even now there are villages in Sudan, particularly perhaps in the South, which have no internet and no cell phone coverage. When a student comes from a village like that it is very difficult to communicate with his wife. Our female students at NTC all seem to have families here in Khartoum and do not have those communication problems.

An American friend commented to me recently that in Khartoum there is really no middle class as there is in America. There are the rich, and there are the poor. I remembered this a few days ago when in front of the college I saw a woman with plastic sandals (we used to call them zorries when I was a kid) on her hands. Then I realized she was using her hands to drag herself along the sidewalk. Then I realized that she had no legs and she was using her arms as legs and her hands as feet. I admired the tenacity of that woman. I can only imagine the challenges that she faces every day of her life as she feeds herself and tends to her most basic of needs.

I continue to try and piece together what the differences and similarities are between Arab and African culture. Khartoum is an absolutely fascinating mix of the two. I will be leaving in just under three weeks for my vacation time to Ghana and Ethiopia. I am looking forward to being immersed in cultures which are bound to be much more African. I have already spent time in the Middle East, in Israel, Palestine and Jordan, and a brief visit to the Golan Heights in Syria; so I have some exposure beyond Khartoum to Arab culture. The only other African experience I have had is my ten days in Nairobi last September. I expect to learn more about African culture and to experience more of the differences and similarities first hand.
Blessings,
Debbie