November 10, 2005 Warm greetings from Khartoum
November 10, 2005
Warm greetings from Khartoum
Not being able to sleep, I arose early, showered, and went to breakfast. In the dining room I met up with fellow teamate Donna. We had breakfast and shared stories together. It was a good start to what would be a busy day.
Following breakfast, I spent time catching up on my notes and reading my devotional provided by Rev. Janet. While sitting in the lobby one of our other teamates Sylvia reported the passing of John Jennings, a commisioned Lay Pastor who had Polio. We were informed he died in his sleep. I knew him from his supporting the IPPC retreats of which I was a committee member. I was also present at a Presbytery meeting when he received his commisioning. The Presbytery has lost a vital person. My sympathy and prayers go out to his family.
We were picked up at 10:00am (American Time.) We were taken to the Sudan National Mueseum for a tour. It was very interesting to see artifacts dating back 60,000 years. We also took photos of a 6,000 year old Mummy. There was also an Egyptian part of the mueseum that we went through and saw a statue of a king who is described in Isaiah(sp). Unfortunately, the Christian part of the museum was "closed for maintenance." In that part of the mueseum, there are artifacts that refer to Christianity from about 550 ad until about the 13th century. It was too bad we could not tour that part of the museum.
After the museum tour, we were taken to the home of the "Khalifa" a man who lived in the last part of the 1800's who was a hero to Sudan when the British were trying to take control. He fought in a great battle in the city of Ondrunum(sp). he was eventually captured and executed. There is a picture of him lying dead in the middle of the street having been shot in the chest. In his home we were taken to the place where he ate, slept, went to bathe, and went to toilet. In addition there were other things to see like some of the firearms used in that time as well as a 1902 horseless carriage. Following this tour, we were taken to our hotel for lunch.
Later we walked over to SPEC headquarters for our meeting. The meeting was to establish what the expectations are of both the SPEC(Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church) and the Presbytery of Redstone. It was a very detailed meeting but at the end both parties were in agreement on how the partnership will proceed. This information will be shortly shared with Redstone.
After the meeting, we were taken to the shores of the Nile River for a ninety minute cruise. There is a saying here that if you touch the waters of the Nile, you have to come back. Well I guess I will be comming back. It was a sunset cruise, the sun descending behind us as we made our way. We noted fisherman on the banks and on the water who waved friendly greetings to us. As I watched the sunset with the wind blowing through my hair, thoughts of home came forth in my mind and although I feel like we are not yet done here, we have a lot of work to do back home in getting churchs to support the partnership. I look forward to being with my family again, and also hope to take on a vital role in getting the message out that we need to support the church in Sudan.
After the cruise we went to the Hotel to change. A van picked us up as we went to dinner at the Egyption Coptic Club. Along the Way, we saw a Muslim Wedding party being photographed, the bride being very beautiful in her ornate wedding dress. The club was like an oasis in the middle of the desert. There was a real lawn. The food was exellent having Lamb ribs, Chicken, and Fish. There was a tomato plate with a rich cheese flaked over them, and homeade chips with a tangy mustard dip. The water was iced cold thank God, and soft drinks were served after. After dinner we made the presentation of our Presbytery Banner which was eagerly and gratefully accepted. We received a gift of a wooden carved clock with the background an outline of Sudan. I suggested that the clock be always kept at Sudan Time and some of the team members agreed.
After dinner and our goodbyes, were taken back to the hotel and had our final team meeting. Tomorrow, some of the team will be meeting with a womans group to explore their needs and how Presbytery can help them. The men are going to meet with a man who converted from Islam to Christianity and wanted to share his testimony with us. After that, we will have lunch and worship with the Khartoum congregation. We have to check out of the Hotel by 5pm and get to the airport for the trip home.
Please pray for the team as we get through this last day and also for traveling mercies as we make our way home.
I look forward to seeing you all soon, especially in church on Sunday. I have invited Donna to visit with us since she will not be going to her church on Sunday and she lives close to ours.
Blessings,
Vic
Warm greetings from Khartoum
Not being able to sleep, I arose early, showered, and went to breakfast. In the dining room I met up with fellow teamate Donna. We had breakfast and shared stories together. It was a good start to what would be a busy day.
Following breakfast, I spent time catching up on my notes and reading my devotional provided by Rev. Janet. While sitting in the lobby one of our other teamates Sylvia reported the passing of John Jennings, a commisioned Lay Pastor who had Polio. We were informed he died in his sleep. I knew him from his supporting the IPPC retreats of which I was a committee member. I was also present at a Presbytery meeting when he received his commisioning. The Presbytery has lost a vital person. My sympathy and prayers go out to his family.
We were picked up at 10:00am (American Time.) We were taken to the Sudan National Mueseum for a tour. It was very interesting to see artifacts dating back 60,000 years. We also took photos of a 6,000 year old Mummy. There was also an Egyptian part of the mueseum that we went through and saw a statue of a king who is described in Isaiah(sp). Unfortunately, the Christian part of the museum was "closed for maintenance." In that part of the mueseum, there are artifacts that refer to Christianity from about 550 ad until about the 13th century. It was too bad we could not tour that part of the museum.
After the museum tour, we were taken to the home of the "Khalifa" a man who lived in the last part of the 1800's who was a hero to Sudan when the British were trying to take control. He fought in a great battle in the city of Ondrunum(sp). he was eventually captured and executed. There is a picture of him lying dead in the middle of the street having been shot in the chest. In his home we were taken to the place where he ate, slept, went to bathe, and went to toilet. In addition there were other things to see like some of the firearms used in that time as well as a 1902 horseless carriage. Following this tour, we were taken to our hotel for lunch.
Later we walked over to SPEC headquarters for our meeting. The meeting was to establish what the expectations are of both the SPEC(Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church) and the Presbytery of Redstone. It was a very detailed meeting but at the end both parties were in agreement on how the partnership will proceed. This information will be shortly shared with Redstone.
After the meeting, we were taken to the shores of the Nile River for a ninety minute cruise. There is a saying here that if you touch the waters of the Nile, you have to come back. Well I guess I will be comming back. It was a sunset cruise, the sun descending behind us as we made our way. We noted fisherman on the banks and on the water who waved friendly greetings to us. As I watched the sunset with the wind blowing through my hair, thoughts of home came forth in my mind and although I feel like we are not yet done here, we have a lot of work to do back home in getting churchs to support the partnership. I look forward to being with my family again, and also hope to take on a vital role in getting the message out that we need to support the church in Sudan.
After the cruise we went to the Hotel to change. A van picked us up as we went to dinner at the Egyption Coptic Club. Along the Way, we saw a Muslim Wedding party being photographed, the bride being very beautiful in her ornate wedding dress. The club was like an oasis in the middle of the desert. There was a real lawn. The food was exellent having Lamb ribs, Chicken, and Fish. There was a tomato plate with a rich cheese flaked over them, and homeade chips with a tangy mustard dip. The water was iced cold thank God, and soft drinks were served after. After dinner we made the presentation of our Presbytery Banner which was eagerly and gratefully accepted. We received a gift of a wooden carved clock with the background an outline of Sudan. I suggested that the clock be always kept at Sudan Time and some of the team members agreed.
After dinner and our goodbyes, were taken back to the hotel and had our final team meeting. Tomorrow, some of the team will be meeting with a womans group to explore their needs and how Presbytery can help them. The men are going to meet with a man who converted from Islam to Christianity and wanted to share his testimony with us. After that, we will have lunch and worship with the Khartoum congregation. We have to check out of the Hotel by 5pm and get to the airport for the trip home.
Please pray for the team as we get through this last day and also for traveling mercies as we make our way home.
I look forward to seeing you all soon, especially in church on Sunday. I have invited Donna to visit with us since she will not be going to her church on Sunday and she lives close to ours.
Blessings,
Vic
posted by Mission Journal - Redstone Presbytery | 10:50 AM
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