I Need To Think About The Grade...

I decided that I would like to approach the University of Northern Iowa about the possibility of studying abroad in the about to emerge country of South Sudan. There was a quick and ready response after an hour conversation with Dr. Cornish and Dr. Meredith. I wished that they had responded as readily with a plan of action, proposed courses of study and an advisor. I learned the answers to many of the questions only after being here for 6 months. If I were to take nothing else away from this experience, as my Father says, “Mary and I sent a boy from America to South Sudan, and the people of that country will send an African American man back to the U.S. Of A.”

One of the highlights was a teaching Bishop Peni asked me to do for a clergy conference. He posed this to me as he had recalled that my Father knew the Rev. Marc Nikkei in seminary in New York. While only a few of those that were to gather knew of “Father Marc”, they all knew of him. Marc was an American that spent some 20 years plus in Africa while they would say that, “Father Marc was a great man... a great America... a great Christian..” Many knew of him while fewer had met him.

I started off by introducing myself and noting that my awareness of the world and also my faith had been enhanced by living amongst the Zande people. I thanked all gathered for being my teacher, most especially The Rt. Rev. Samuel Peni. I told the gathered clergy and church leaders that I never knew Father Marc but my Father went to The General Theological Seminary in New York City. My Father, the Rev. Canon H. Milton Cole knew Marc. They had living quarter that were beside each other, and thus were good friends.

I suggested that we start our learning together with a prayer that Marc left. Everyone agreed that this was the best way to begin. I had read the prayer in English and then translated it into Zande. The local tongue, that I was able to learn after a 2 months of 2 hour training Mon- Sat. I was able to procure the English version from my Father. The prayer follows.

Lord Our God, we your children have accepted your punishment because we have sin against you many times and we have forgotten your ways. When you have driven us out from the Country to the countryside for seventeen years wandering the bush, you have done this to us that we may learn more of your ways and your truths because you love us.

Lord in you mercy!

In the bush you have kept is save from been kill from Arabs and Anyanya, we were in between those armies.

Lord in you mercy!

From the rain and from the sickness. No house for your people to live in, no medicine for the sick people. We are leaning under big trees. But you have ket us safe from all the difficult situations.

Lord in your mercy!

You have protected us from the wild animals and snakes and all kind of dangerous things in the bush. Even you have sent animals to become refugees in their home in the forest!

Lord hear our cry!

You have shut the mouths of small children not to cry when the armies are near to the place where their parent are hiding, because you are the God who take care of little babies.

Lord in your mercy!

People in the bush were expecting death when will they die!these seventeen years are the years of thanksgiving to you. O God, because people were very close to you in prayers day and night. You have made us ti learn a great deal about you.

Lord in your mercy!

With our own eyes, with our own ears, we have seen your power, and you have open our ears to hear your voice.

Lord in you mercy!

Every morning we offer you prayer of thanksgiving because you have protected us during the night. Every evening we offer you payers of thanksgiving because you have protected us during the daytime.

Lord in your mercy!

No division at all, people were united a one body under your umbrella that we are one, we called ourselves Southerner, and we have one color. You have united those who took refugees in the neighboring countries. They call themselves Sudanese. No division at all!

Lord in your mercy!

You have ended the war in this country an you have brought the peace to us by your mercy O lord. Only your power we were defeated not at all. But you have made the Addis Ababa agreement to us, by your mighty hand you brought us together as the Father of many children does when there is any misunderstanding between them.

Lord in your mercy!

Through our repentance and by your mercy you brought us back home from different places where we hid, Lord in you mercy!

We are now forgetting the past. And we are now cleaning our weak power by bringing many confusions and many misunderstanding among us.

Lord in your mercy!

No unity among us, we begin to divide now O Lord! We pray you Oh! Father to not let it happen at all. We are one, make us not divide lest we will come weak. Lord in your mercy!

Bring peace among us and let us not forget your ways and let us not forget the Addis Ababa Agreement.

Lord in your mercy!

We remember our brothers in Bor and protect them from the war in that area and bring peace among us Lord!

Lord in your mercy!

Then I began to teach and converse about “Father Marc.” The point of my teaching/conversations are listed below.

• Marc was born in California- 1950
• His family were mennonites,
  • A religion that began in Europe and has always been involved in peace.
• He trained as a artist
• As a young man he spent two periods of 9 months in Africa
• Place 1, Zaire (what is now present day Democratic Republic of Congo) with his sister and brother-in-law who were missionaries.
• Place 2, 9 months in Nigeria
• Father Marc studied at Fuller Seminary in California. He became very interested in theology and mission work.
• In 1982 he “converted to Anglicanism.”
• His Mennonite commitment to peace and reconciliation never left him.
• After a year in Sudan Marc returned to the United States to study at the General Theological Seminary in New York City.
  • This is where he and my Father met.
• Before returning to Sudan Marc told people about Bishop Gwynne college in Mundri, in hopes of prayers and support.
• Marc became “Deacon Marc” in the Untied States.
• He then returned to Sudan and was Priested in the Chapel at Bishop Gwynne college in 1987
• Later that year he was abducted from Mundri by The Sudanese's People liberation Army.
• After his release he was not able to live in Sudan and moved to Kenya.
• Father Marc was loved by the people of Sudan.
• Since adopting the culture and traditions of the Dinka, he was often times refereed to as “White Dinka”.
• Marc taught liturgy & worship, and four courses on doctrine, creation, salvation, God and Incarnation, and Christian Initiation and Growth
• Father Marc found through his time in Sudan a greater awareness of God in his life through identifying with the lives and struggles of others.
  • Their struggles became his strengths
• Many knew that Father Marc left Sudan as a sick missionary
  • though they didn't know the nature of his death.
• Father Marc was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 1998.
• He then sent the last years of this life writing and working when he could for the benefit of the people of Sudan.

I invited those gathered to ask questions- not that I was an expert- but I knew more about the topic than those gathered. (aged 25- 78)

Teaching on Day ll of Workshop

I began the gathering with a prayer- a briefer one than the one of yesterday! Then, asked those gathered to state what they remembered from my teachings from the previous day. As a group their memory served them well.

Collectively as a group, I asked the leaders of various parishes to state what they thought an outstanding church leader to be, and as they brain-stormed these answers, I gave Bishop Samuel paper and asked for him to be the recorder. The wisdom of the group filled 8 pages of newsprint. There were no right or wrong answers, all were welcomed.

When lunch approached, the leaders dispersed to get a plate of food and came to sit in groups of 7 -8 and continued talking about the previous conversations. This time, in Zande and within their group.

When we came back to gather a person from each group gave a brief report of their lunchtime conversations. Once again we took notes on newsprint. The comments used the last 2 pages of newsprint! Upon the conclusion of this exercise I invited the gathered leaders to ask questions.

I followed the previous exercise with an invitation for people to write on a provided piece of paper ways in which they can become a more outstanding leader in the church. The leaders of the church were not asked to share their personal plans. I then read a prayer that Father Marc had sent my Father.

Let us give thanks: Let us give thanks to the Lord in the day of devastation:

Let us give thanks in the day of contentment.

Jesus has bound the world round with the pure light of the Word of his Father.

When we unite our hearts and beseech the Lord. And have hope then the bad spirit has no power.

God has not forgotten us.

Evil is departing and holiness is advancing;

this is the transformation which throws the earth into convulsions.

We closed our 2 day workshop with a Eucharist. The service was from the 1620 English Prayerbook, strange to my ears in many ways, however, not dwelling on that, I asked Bishop Peni to include the following hymn into the service, and that I'd like for us to sing the first and last verse. He did.

“Father Our Lord in Heaven”

Father of our lord in Heaven

Visit us for we are worried in our hearts

We are without faith, O Lord; try to visit us all.

We are all worried; the hardships of this world are upon us.

The sin of the world has cut us away from your path.

We are left alone, we are left, we are left, we are left.

Father of our Lord, who is able to help,

Allow us to sit at your right hand.

Your truth I have heard, O Lord.

Release us from sin for we are falling in the fire.

The sin of this world has divided us and thrown us into the fire, I Lord.

We are burning, we are dying. We are burning. We are burning, we are burning.

That evening I found myself conversing with Bishop Samuel in regards to the 2 day workshop. I asked him what were his thought, on my teaching. I was looking more for feedback then accolades. He replied, “it's not only what I thought but what the conference participants thought as well. And well all thought you did a great job” first of all, they appreciated my ability to teach in Zande as well as English, and that because I was switching between languages that kept them even more engaged as they have a high desire to continue strengthening their English. He also stated that he had over a dozen people come up to him and revealing that they had learned a lot from the gathering. Bishop Samuel indicated that the pastors who were present will take most of what they learned and incorporate it into their sermons. Then he said, “Now George, I will give you my assessment..I award you the grade of A+, and do you realize that when I studied in Yambio and Juba in South Sudan and Nairobi, Kenya along with Wart burg, Iowa I never received an A+! So what do you think of that?” I humbly replied, “I need to think about it.”