In November 2007, three missioners from the diocese visited the Diocese of Bor, our companion diocese, in Sudan.

By the Rev. Ellen Hanckel

As I look at the photos on a cold winter day, the trip to Southern Sudan last November warms my memory, bringing to life many incredible experiences that transform a lifetime. Six of us from North America joined with two companions from Sudan and together we traveled for two weeks to places whose names roll off the tongue like the names of unfamiliar Old Testament prophets. After leaving the bustling city of Nairobi, our destinations included: Lochichoggio and Kakuma (Kenya); Panyagor and Paliau (Sudan); and ultimately Maar – the most remote place we visited.

Located in the Jonglei state of South Sudan, Maar is where Marc Nikkel, a missionary priest from this diocese, lived and worked. He loved this place and the Dinka people living here until his death from cancer in September 2000. It is now the place where a school is established in his name. Despite some concern about the safety of our travel, we arrived for the school’s November 15 dedication ceremony; a school that provides primary education to 400 pupils – 250 boys and 150 girls.

Two bishops, Cate Waynick (Indianapolis) and Nathaniel Garang (Bor), put their friendship into action across boundaries: one white and one black; one American and one Sudanese; one female and one male. Wearing their red chimeres, they splash bright color in these photographs I see before me now, as they dipped green branches in holy water, then splashed the four buildings that house the school. We, the people, got wet too, in a liturgy reminding us of our baptisms. On that day we gave thanks to the Lord as we lived into the Covenant questions, especially these: “Will we seek and serve Christ in all persons…” and “Will we strive for justice and peace among all people…”

Homeward bound, we returned to places with familiar names: Nairobi, London and Washington, D.C. Then finally home to Martinsville in the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia. I carried with me a whole host of snapshots – in my head and in my heart and in my camera. Looking at these photos now, I am reminded of what it is like: to sleep in a round ‘tukul’ under a thatched roof and a mosquito net; to eat by hand with flatbread the food prepared for us by the hard work of our Sudanese hosts who are friends; to have our feet washed as an act of hospitality when we entered each new village. More than anything, the most lasting impression is that of community built across many boundaries that comes from shared communion with our brothers and sisters in Christ, even halfway around the globe. Thanks be to God!

-The Rev. Ellen Henckel is rector of Christ Church, Martinsville.

By the Rev. Kim Webster

The joy of our sisters and brothers in Sudan is contagious!  In the face of poverty, a lack of infrastructure and instability in the government, our fellow Christians sing praises to God and pray for others around the world. My heart was filled with pure joy. In worldly measurements the Church in Sudan lacks many things, but empowered by the Holy Spirit, and with love and charity for the other, the church is a powerful force moving in the world. 

My prayer is that we in the Episcopal Church USA might take a page out of the Sudanese book of living the Gospel and refrain from passing judgment on one another, striving to see Christ in those that differ most from us, and becoming empowered by the Holy Spirit that we may go forth into this broken world and preach that Gospel.

This is not the Gospel that says I am right and you are, therefore, wrong, but the Good News that says I love you not for what you can give me, not because you see the world exactly as I do, but because we share a common inheritance. We are indeed sisters and brothers who can see Christ in one another before we see what makes us different.  The Church in Sudan teaches us to live in love and charity. My pilgrimage changed me. I pray that I will be forever changed by this unique experience. Thanks be to God.

-The Rev. Kim Webster is priest-in-charge of St. John’s, Waynesboro.

By David Jenkins

Eleven years ago, I visited the Kakuma refugee camp just over the border from Sudan in Kenya with the late Rev. Marc Nikkel, our diocesan missionary to Sudan. Last November I returned for a second visit. I especially wanted to see the study centers that had been created at the suggestion of Marc and supported by the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia for the displaced people living in Kakuma. While primary education is provided at the camp by the Kenyan school system, the study centers provide a place for the students to study in the afternoon and evening with ready access to the books used at school.

Several study centers had been built four years ago, but then peace discussions began and we expected that refugees would return home and not need the study centers. Consequently further funding for the study centers was withheld. But on our visit we found that the study centers are flourishing and new ones have been built so that there are now a total of eight centers serving scores of children. Now repairs are required for cabinets, blackboards, benches and the pressure lamps used for nighttime study. Also Kenya has updated their textbooks, so new books are needed. With this information, the diocesan Companions for Mission committee has authorized the transfer of about $15,000 for improvements from a special Sudan fund. 

-David Jenkins is a parishioner at Christ Church, Blacksburg.