Sudanese refugees in Cairo
Summer Mission Work Inspires Erskine Senior
Erskine College senior Laura Lee Stuart of Columbia spent June 26-Aug. 1, 2003 on a mission team in Egypt with Global Urban Trek, a program promoted by Intervarsity Christian Fellowship.
"Global Urban Trek sends teams to the poorest cities in the world and places them in ministry situations where they serve the urban poor," Stuart said.
Now, months later, the impact of that experience is still with her.
Stuart gained a passion for the Sudanese people that is evident as she tells the story of her mission work at area churches, but Sudan was not Stuart's original destination. In fact, she was not sent to Sudan at all.
"Actually, I was supposed to go to Kenya," Stuart said. "Two weeks before I was scheduled to depart for Nairobi, I was rerouted to Cairo, Egypt, because of terrorist warnings."
Stuart, daughter of Deborah L. Stuart, and 2003 Erskine graduate Dianna Plyler, who is now a first-year medical student at the Medical University of South Carolina, worked together as members of a mission team.
"I worked for about six weeks with the Sudanese refugee community in Cairo," said Stuart. "Sudan has had one of the longest-running civil wars in the history of Africa and people from southern Sudan flee to places like Egypt and Kenya."
The Sudanese have no voice, according to Stuart. They live in a country that is mostly Arab, with Muslims in the north seeking control over the south. "The south is rich in oil and farmland and also holds control of the Nile," she said. "The government wants control of the whole country and especially the Nile."
In their own country, Stuart said, the Sudanese are beaten and jailed. "The Sudanese flee Sudan to Egypt, where they face discrimination that is worse than that in the United States in the 1950s," she said.
Stuart taught English in schools for half the day, and also spent time in homes. She said she went to weddings and even played Frisbee. "Anything we could do to get to know the people, we did," she said.
"Our purpose was to serve people who are victims of injustice, poverty and discrimination in Egypt," Stuart explained. "We wanted to let them know we care about them and want to have a relationship with them and show Christ to them."
Stuart believes "God challenges us to serve the poor and when we serve the poor we are ultimately being of service to Christ." But her short-term mission trip was not all about giving. She received a boost for her own faith from the Sudanese Christians.
"I have never seen hope like they have," she said. "Christ is their hope and shield. They mean it when they say, 'Christ is my life.'
"They don't know where their next meal is coming from and don't even know if they are going to be safe tomorrow, but they know Christ loves them," said Stuart.
As well as inspiring her with the example of the Sudanese, the summer mission experience strengthened Stuart's sense of calling. "I have realized God's calling to serve the poor even more," she said. "He has given me a heart for the poor and I believe God calls his children to hurt for his lost people just like He does."
Stuart plans to pursue medical training in nursing or medical school in hopes of serving overseas in long-term mission work. She said she wanted to make sure that working in the mission field is what God is calling her to do.
"I do not believe that you just jump into long-term missions," she said. "I believe it is something that God must gradually prepare you for."
Meanwhile she continues to plead the cause of the Sudanese. "Please pray for peace in the Sudan and the resettlement of refugees in Cairo," Stuart said.
Stuart also urges her fellow students to get involved. "For more information about how you can get involved to help out or go on a mission trip yourself, check out the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship Web site at www.IVCF.org and follow the links to Global Urban Track," she said.
Erskine College sophomore Brandon Brown of Dillon contributed to this story.
