BGC Prayer Partners Update

Dear Bishop Gwynne College Prayer Partners
We have been buoyed up by your prayers and we are very grateful to you all.
Tina and I returned from Juba yesterday restored by the sunshine and the amazing spirit of the people we have met. Despite all their problems (caused by the failure of people in key places) so many people are ready to make South Sudan work. Generations have been traumatized and damaged and it is this that leads to the outbreaks of violence by men with guns, often drunk and out of control.

The people we met are humble (but by no means powerless) Christians close to God. They, too, are traumatised, but they are open to the healing balm of God's presence. The Spirit flows freely like blood in their veins as they work for justice, peace, reconciliation, and healing in their torn world.

BGC is recognised as a key element in the task as young and dedicated students are trained to be in the forefront of the work of God in every corner of South Sudan and beyond (we have a student from the Nuba Mountains too.) These children of generations of civil war need more than humanitarian aid and resources to help them help themselves, they need our prayers and our love. Thank you for giving them that.

Find attached a fuller report of our visit.

Trevor Stubbs,

International Consultant

For your prayers in particular:

The College

• Thank God for the wonderful work of principal and staff making a little go a very long way. Pray that God will bless this work and keep them strong.
• Thank God for the ten graduates who have now mostly gone back to their dioceses and are engaged in the front line of the mission of God to "preach the word and share the love" (as is the motto of BGC).
• Thank God for the new students and those who are continuing in their second and third years - altogether forty-two students (five women and thirty-seven men). They specifically ask for your prayers for the end of November and beginning of December as they come to sit their exams.
• Thank God for some very able part-time tutors to complement the staff. Pray that they teach effectively and overcome the difficulties of transport etc..
• We thank God for the new college library and the ten new computers donated by World Vision and the evening classes in their use. Pray for the librarian as he works through cataloguing the new book donations, and the students as try to keep the library in good order.
• Thank God for keeping the college financially in the black for the past few months due to the gradual recovery of the local economy and the generosity of overseas donors.

I return with three specific prayer requests:

• Please pray that the right person be found to become the Academic Dean of the college. We are looking for an ordained pastor (male or female) with at least a bachelors but preferably a masters in theology. This is definitely a vocational post for someone who has a heart for the students and the development of South Sudan who is willing to stay in post for several years. BGC not only deserves the best, but needs the best for the work it is called to do.

• Please pray for significant overseas donations for:

a) funds to help increase the salaries of the staff. Inflation is high. Our levels of pay are very low compared to those offered by other institutions. (I was shocked to discover our principal earns about the same as a simple driver for an NGO aid charity based in Juba!). People who work for the college do so from a sense of vocation (this includes everyone – the watchmen, cooks, cleaners, logistic officers and tutors) but they all still need enough to feed their families and pay their children's school fees.

b) a grant to put solar panels on the roof of the new library to guarantee power for the computers during the day-time. We're looking for at least USD $10,000.

The Nation

• Pray for the talks in Addis Ababa and the readiness of the political leaders of South Sudan to really desire to find a peaceful solution.
• Pray that the official cease-fire is taken seriously by all sides in Unity, Upper Nile and Jonglei States as we enter the dry season. Pray that we do not get a repeat of the horrific atrocities earlier this year.
• Pray for the hundreds of thousands in refugee camps in and around South Sudan and the UNHCR and IOM efforts to sustain them. Pray that the international community will honour its contributions to the World Food Programme funds.

Report for BGC Prayer Partners

Report of Visit to Bishop Gwynne College, Juba

October-November 2014

Introduction

This report to the Bishop Gwynne College Prayer Partners follows the visit of the international consultant to BGC at the end of October 2014. The general impression is that the college is in very good heart despite the terrible situation of the country. The site is clean and free of the detritus left by the former workshops. The neighbouring hotels continue to be built although relatively slowly. The new building is in full use for worship and lectures with the library upstairs. The new showers and toilets are very much appreciated.

The welcome was enthusiastic, the worship vibrant and the faith clearly present. There is much evidence of hard work on behalf of students and staff.

Graduation

Ten students graduated on 25^th October 2014 with a diploma from St. Paul's University Limuru. Nine men and one woman. A majority of these had begun at the college with a foundation year in 2010 – some as early as the re-inauguration on 31^st January 2010. The standard of the pass was impressive with some coming out with distinctions and credits in a number of subjects.

New Intake

The college now has forty-two students of which over half are in the August 2014 intake. Four of these are women which brings the number of women students to five. SPU is no longer running a Special Entrance Exam. Instead they require a secondary school certificate. This is not good news for us because nearly all of our students come from a background of disrupted and patchy schooling. However, an internal entrance exam was set. The results indicated that only ten were up to the standard we deemed necessary to undertake the diploma and certificate for SPU. The other students have however been offered the opportunity to study for a BGC diploma in theology.

Ethnic Diversity

One of the significant things about BGC is that it draws from many of the dioceses of ECSSS including Kadugli (Nuba Mountains). It is also open to applications from other churches. Interest has been shown particularly from the Presbyterian Church. In among representatives of a large number of tribes and language groups studying and living alongside each other, we have both Dinka and Nuer, the ethnic groups between whom there has been the most serious tension following the political in-fighting that came to a head last December (2013). This enables us to ensure the students understand that under Christ there are no ethnic divisions. We along belong to Jesus Christ wherever we came from. This has been a long standing ethos of the college dating back to its inception. Students stick up for each other. (The famous story of a student from one tribe facing down a drunken soldier intent on killing his fellow from another tribe in the early 1980s when the college was in Mundri is often told). Of recent, one the students (from Nuer) who fled to UNMISS during the crisis was encouraged by the Principal to come out and joined his colleagues to complete his studies. He had graduated with is colleagues and now helping at BGC Canon Benaiah Poggo Library.

Justice, Peace and Reconciliation

This has always been of concern to the college and our application of the SPU syllabus has been done in the contextually taking full cognisance of the South Sudan situation. However the emergency following the 15^th December 2013 has left the country in a state of insecurity, trauma, displacement and humanitarian need. The BGC principal has been anxious to expand the use of the college to assist in initiatives within the ECSSS (Episcopal Church of South Sudan and Sudan) and SSCC (South Sudan Council of Churches). An opportunity arose in July-August to run a two week workshop for pastors and others at the college. This was funded by AFRECS (America Friends of the ECS). AFRECS have also offered finance for the employment of a part-time teacher in the area of peace building and trauma healing for our regular students.

Staffing

Currently the college teaching is done mostly by part-time staff that the principal has managed to attract. These are are of good quality and the standards remain high. We are fortunate in our location we can access these people from Juba University and among our church leaders. However it is recognised that this is not a satisfactory situation.

There is an urgent need for the appointment of full-time staff. We need at least an academic dean and an additional tutor who could act in a pastoral capacity as well as teacher. Finding such suitable people has not been fruitful to date.

We also need to review the salaries of all staff including the support staff as the rates are falling behind those for Juba which is an increasingly expensive place in which to live. Food prices and rents are rising all the time. Inflation is high.

Administration

The college is blessed with a top quality administrator in the form of Esparansa Emil Karl. She is intelligent and efficient and is determined that the college goes ahead. Although she is well qualified and experienced as a teacher and could command a salary far in excess of what she gets at BGC, she is committed and highly respected. Without her hard work the principal would not be able to cope with the pressures of running a college in a very difficult situation.

Principal

We are most appreciative of our gifted and highly motivated principal, Samuel Galuak Marial. He has a vision for the college that includes both practical training of humble pastors for the church in South Sudan and the advancement of academic standards. In talking with him one becomes aware that BGC is an academic institution fit for its place in the academic world with intellectual standards, without compromising on the need to train priests to work in parishes and dioceses in every corner of the country.

In addition to his learning Samuel excels at communication – a gift not often seen in South Sudan. His attention to detail has won him friends among supporters of the college around the world.

Finances

The college is in a better position than it was a year ago. The crisis of December 2013 did not help since the college relies heavily on rents from it houses and offices which, if they are unoccupied or tenants do not pay, means we have a crisis in income. In 2013 the college had an overall income of $246900 USD of which just over twenty percent ($50542 USD) came from overseas. This reveals just how vulnerable we are to local changes. However, things have picked up since February and currently all our property is occupied and rents are coming in.

Inflation has been noticeable however. Food and fuel are increasing. The cost of medicine has also gone up. Transport is a major cost to the college as it it all has to be hired in. Up until now it has not been possible even to contemplate the purchase of a vehicle and a driver.

I have undertaken to resume my efforts to attract further donations for 2015. I am grateful to our partners in the UK (Good Books & Services, Peter Green), the US (Diocese of Virginia – Mary Anne Bryant) and Australia (St Mark's Church, Warwick – Peter Johnson) for their work in collecting donations small and large. (If any of our Prayer Partners are aware of any organisation or grant-making body that might support BGC, I shall be delighted to hear from you.) This year we received a donation from the UAE for the first time – our supporters come from around the world.

Library

BGC has a wonderful new library situated upstairs in the new building. This is its fourth home since 2008 – each time growing in size and beauty. The present hall was equipped with $10,000 USD worth of shelves – mainly from a grant from the Slavanka Trust. The Theological Book Network has sent a large number of second hand books from the USA, and Dorothy Lowe has given a car load of books from her husband's library. John Lowe died in 2013. Dorothy and John served the BGC in the 1950s and 60s up until the time they were forcibly removed by Khartoum Government 1964 with all other white mission workers. The proportions of this new library means that it can host 18,000 volumes of books and still have a long way to get 13,000 books more. We are always grateful for visitors willing to bring books in their suitcases. We have average of receiving 4 to 5 books per a day.

Computers

Thanks to World Vision, BGC is now the proud owner of ten desktop computers that are established in the new library. The world Vision Program happened to be taught by professor taught our Principal from different seminaries in the US and through that connection, we got those wonderful gifts to equip our future leaders. Tuition in their use is being given after school in the evening when the generator comes on-line. During the day we have no power except for the occasional and unpredictable bursts of city power. Our dream is to put solar panels on the roof and this will give us twenty-four house use with all the benefits that modern students have of accessing material on-line. (Bearing in mind that V sat is not like fast broadband.)

Pictures

I shall upload pictures of BGC and it students to our picture website here.

Prayer Partners

If anyone would like to be included in the regular Prayer Partners email please let me know at international@bishopgwynne.juba.anglican.org. You might like to ask your friends. Please don't be shy of telling people about BGC and including us in the your prayer meetings.

Please feel free to circulate this report to anyone who is interested. It will be published on our website: www.bishopgwynne.juba.anglican.org/

Trevor Stubbs

International Consultant

Bishop Gwynne College,

Juba,

South Sudan

6^th November 2014

Prayer Partners Update

Dear Bishop Gwynne College Prayer Partners,

Thank you so much for all the prayers you have offered for BGC, the Episcopal Church of South Sudan and Sudan and the people of those countries in the past few months. Tina and I have booked to go to Juba on 21^st October.

The college is now re-convening for the beginning of a new semester with the potential of 32 new students as well as those continuing in their first and second years.

Ten of these new first year students will be studying for the St Paul's Limuru University diploma but the other 22 do not meet the SPU admission levels. In the present conditions in South Sudan this is inevitable. But the need to educate men and women in the ministry is urgent, so the college is offering an internal diploma for these students.

The college ran a course during the long vacation in reconciliation and peace-making which was well attended.

The ECSSS has now established a new internal province for Sudan with Bishop Ezekiel of Khartoum as its head. Archbishop Daniel's address, which includes an excellent historical summary of the ECSSS, is here: http://www.salisbury.anglican.org/resources-library/mission/sudan/news-and-info/Archbishops%20declaration%20Statement%20during%20Entrhonement%20of%20Inter.pdf/view?searchterm=declaration%20statement

The political and humanitarian situation in South Sudan is dire. Talks have taken place in Addis Abba but previous agreements have not been implemented. The latest communiqué from IGAD that commends the protocol on the arrangements for a Transitional Government of National Unity (TGONU) can be found here: http://igad.int/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=943:communique-of-the-27th-extra-ordinary-summit-of-igad-heads-of-state-and-government-on-south-sudan&catid=47:communique&Itemid=149

https://radiotamazuj.org/en/article/s-sudans-president-kiir-agrees-prime-minister-position-rebels

The mood in Juba is reported as calm but imbued with disillusionment and shame. The churches are a beacon of hope and peace, and the Archbishop, leaders of other churches, pastors and lay-leaders are outspoken in the need for an end to the forces of destruction.

The people of the Nuba Mountains and South Blue Nile continue to suffer attacks as they resist the Khartoum government. http://enoughproject.org/blogs/doctors-view-foxhole-sudan?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+enoughblog+%28Enough+Said%29

Keep praying,

Trevor.

The College

1. We give thanks for the well-attended course on Peace on Reconciliation. We pray that the participants may have the opportunity and courage to implement what they have learnt.

2. We praise God for 32 new applicants. Please pray that they will all be able to take up the places offered and manage to arrive on time.

3. Pray for Samuel and all the members of the teaching faculty and other staff at the college as they engage with this new semester.

4. Pray for those who are waiting for the results of the exams sat in June, especially those hoping to graduate in October.

The Church

Give thanks for the determination and courage of the Churches to speak out and work for peace and humanitarian relief. Pray for Archbishop Daniel, leaders of other churches and all those engaged in Christian ministry throughout Sudan and South Sudan. Pray for Bishop Ezekiel and the new internal province based on Khartoum.

The Nations

1. Give thanks for the continued work for the formation of a transitional government in South Sudan led by IGAD (assisted by the UN, AU, the Troika (US, UK & Norway), the EU, the Sudan and China and others) and pray for them as they continue to engage the parties in talks in Addis Ababa and encourage implementation.

2. Pray for the people of the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile as they continue to suffer attacks from the Sudan Armed Forces.

Further updates for BGC Prayer Partners

Dear Prayer Partners,

Thank you for your prayers which continue to bear fruit for BGC.

• The college remains among the poorest among colleges of tertiary education in Africa. But we have come a long long way from 2008 and the trend is still upwards despite all the problems in South Sudan. We give thanks for all of this.

• Give thanks for the arrival of computers for the students at the college. The first we have had since the college re-opened in 2010. Pray that we can now get connected in some way. Internet connectivity is important but very expensive.
  

• All went well for the final exams which finished earlier this month. All the students have now gone home - or at least to wherever they can find to be. We await the results which will not be published until the end of September. The graduation for those who have completed there three year diploma will be on 25th October 2014. Some of these students began in a foundation year in 2010 and have been at BGC four years. We give thanks for their commitment though tough times and their generous sponsors.

• The Principal, Samuel, has just had a two week holiday with his wife in Uganda and is now back at the college overseeing ...

• The completion of the library and foundation works to hold back the variable river that is constantly breaking down the bank. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• The neighbouring hotel has given a substantial sum which has been allocated to building a guest house for visiting lecturers and college supporters. Here is Samuel's email:

Dear Canon Trevor,

Greetings to you once again in Christ's name. I hope this email finds you well with Tina and your mother.

We are also doing well.

By God's grace, I came back from Uganda through Kenya as I mentioned it to you in my last email.

School is closed [for the recess] and we still have final touches on the library work but we are done with more basic stuffs. As you can see on the photos attached; the shelves are already in their places including the counter at the library reception. The white stripe you can see from the bases of shelves are aluminum fixed there to protect them from the water or moisture. You will see the details of these when you come to us. All these works including the labour has cost us $9,300. We thank God to find such skillful carpenter who did this great job.

Secondly, the river behind us has been causing us trouble for a couple of years now. There has been an erosion and that has taken off almost two metres from our land. In consultation with our chairman of BGC council, we released 54, 000 SSP ($11,134) from guest house project to make gabion or dyke to protect our land from this fast moving erosion. The work is still underway but I took these photos for you at least to have an idea of what we are doing here. We are going to anchor metal fence on the dyke to keep strangers off from the college.

Third, I have asked John Jal, one of the students who finished this semester to help our librarian. The purpose of this is that, I did not want him to go back to UNMISS' harsh living.

Thanks so much and God's blessings

Rev. Samuel G. Marial, BA, MAR, STM.
Principal,
Bishop Gwynne College

• The next event scheduled for the college is a short course for the training of pastors in peace and reconciliation work. Please pray for this.
  

• New applicants are due to sit the entrance exam in the middle to July. Your are prayers needed. May they be able to travel, do well and then get the money to come.

Thank you all so much for your prayers,
Trevor

Prayer Partners Update

Dear BGC Prayer Partners

There are a number of things in addition to the huge challenges to South Sudan that you could pray for at this moment. Thank you for all you do. Your prayers are keeping BGC working and effect amid much chaos.

Students

• We give thanks for the students sitting their exams. We pray for them as they try to return home.
• Sadly Juba is not safe for people of the Nuer tribe and some of the other tribes from Jonglei. Most of them have retreated to safe havens and that includes our staff and students. I have just learned that Wal Geng (a very industrious and enterprising student) is now in Kakuma camp in Kenya. I am sure he will be working there with Bishop Moses to minister to the people of all tribes.

Staff

• Simon Lual is also a Nuer. I can report that he is completing his studies safely in Nairobi. He has the opportunity of a second year at Africa Inernational University if anyone can come up with $5000 for him.
• Pray for our principal Samuel as he has a two week holiday with his wife in Uganda.

Associates

Please pray for:

• Bishop Justin Badi of Maridi our chairman of governors. Bishop Justin hopes to study for an MA in September.
• Revd. Moses Kose (Juba Diocesan Secretary) who was very instrumental in getting BGC back up and running in 2009 and 2010. Moses is currently in South Africa studying as a guest of the Archbishop of Cape Town. He has asked for our prayers as he takes his exams 16^th-20^th June. Sadly he has no money to go home to see his family before he recommences his studies in September.

Blessings to you all,

Trevor

BGC Prayer Partners Update

Dear BGC Prayer Partners

Nothing stands still in South Sudan. There are daily developments on the political scene, yet the college continues on as we approach the end of the semester and the academic year.

The presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church (in the USA, etc.) has issued a special call for prayer to which we can all heed wherever we are in the world. http://publicaffairs.cmail3.com/t/ViewEmail/r/06957364C8DF2BAA2540EF23F30FEDED/6DB46F76DA8470C884E5AAD5A6C37FC6

Thank you all for your devoted service.

Blessings,

Trevor

The Politics and Hostilities

• Please pray for the leaders of the nation and those who have power. We give thanks for the signing of a treaty to cease hostilities and to set up an interim government (attached). There is much to resolve in the detail. Please pray that this will hold on the ground.
• We pray for the people of South Kordofan – in particular the patients and staff of the RC mission hospital there has been bombed by the SAF.

The Church

• We give thanks that the Sudan Council of Churches – especially Archbishop Daniel and his Roman Catholic colleague – are working effectively in the peace process.
• We pray for the bishops and the their diocese throughout South Sudan – especially those in Malakal, Renk, Twic East and Bor.

The College

• We pray for God's blessing on the students as they come up to their exams. Some to their finals.
• We give thanks for the ten new computers recently delivered to the new library and the equipping of that library with the shelving and furniture required for a final transfer.
• We pray for the prospect of a short course in reconciliation studies during the vacation.
• We pray for the process of new applicants for the new semester in September.

Pray for Bishop Gwynne College

Dear BGC Prayer Partners, I trust and pray that you all have an good Holy Week and Easter. Please accept the attached ecard! The college continues to battle on positively despite the many hardships in South Sudan.

• The immediate future of the country is not positive. There are setbacks on many fronts - especially in the Upper Nile State and Jonglei, but this has ramifications for the rest of the nation - political, economic, and social. Development in education, health and infrastructure has stagnated.

• The religious institutions (both Christian and Islamic) have remained united and committed to peace-building and reconciliation across the nation. The people of faith, led by Archbishop Daniel and other religious leaders, are taking a strong, positive non-biased line telling politicians and the international community what they believe is necessary for the people of South Sudan while they struggle to minister to the needs on the ground. I attach a statement from the South Sudan Council of Churches. This link to a statement from the UK Government you might find helpful https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/south-sudan-country-of-concern/south-sudan-country-of-concern-latest-update-31-march-2014.

• The college has had good results from its exams sat just before 15th December when the violence erupted. One of two of the first years have a bit more work to do, but it was their first semester and if things continue as they have in the last couple of years, they will realise what is expected of them and their results will improve. The main problem is English and that only comes with practice. Nevertheless the results overall are very encouraging. Please pray for the students as they lead up to this semester's exams at the end of May.

• We are very grateful for a recent gift of ten computers and two printers for the new college library which is gradually coming together.  This new building gives us so much more scope. (Because of personal circumstances, I have not been able to go to the college in person this year and have no photos. However, I hope this will soon be rectified and will let you all know when some are posted.)

• Finances are a challenge but the remarkable response from so many of you has meant a huge increase in money coming to us from overseas. The local income base is very limited this year and we now rely on this giving for our running costs. We have had to suspended the 500*500 appeal for building development while this situation continues. We do not want to deflect funds from the everyday needs. All giving to the college is now going to paying salaries, feeding students, paying for medicines and buying fuel for the generator and transport. We thank God for this generosity and pray for its continuance.

• Please continue to pray for our principal Samual Galuak upon whom so much rests.  Also Esparanza Emil and Benjamin Disi, both vital members of the team that keep the college going day to day.

Blessings,
Trevor

BGC PRAYER PARTNERS UPDATE

Dear Prayer Partners.

Thank you for your continued prayer for Bishop Gwynne College and South Sudan. There are a number of things to add to your prayer list.

Students

• Our principal Samuel Galuak has recently been to St Paul's University in Limuru to which we are affiliated. He attended the Board of Examiners' meeting and reports that our students have done well. There are some in the first year and one in the third year which will need to resit a subject, but otherwise the pass rate has been high. Give thanks for a successful semester: August – December 2013. (The exams were completed before the onset of hostilities 0n 15^th December.)
• We still do not have all the students on site. Please pray for those prevented from attending and pray that the way may be open for them to return.

Finances

• Finances this semester are not easy. There is a shortfall in local income. Please pray that suitable tenants can be found for the vacant BGC properties in Juba.
• We give thanks for the wonderful overseas response to the on-going needs of the college. Grants have been received from Britain, the United Arab Emirates, the United States of America, Canada and elsewhere.

Vacation Course

• The college is planning to bring thirty local pastors and evangelists together for a month course on Reconciliation and Peace-building in July this year. We are currently waiting on news from the USA that we have a grant to finance the initiative. Please pray that we are awarded the grant.

Administration

• Owing to our personal family situation we are unable to travel to Juba at present. However, the college has managed to send the relevant documents to me in the UK and I am now in the process of computerising the college bookkeeping and producing the 2013 accounts that will be published in due course. This is a lengthy task.
• Please pray for Esparanza Emil who is currently working hard to take on the full administration duties. We pray that when things improve in South Sudan she will have the opportunity to study for a professional qualification in administration.

National Issues

• The town of Malakal which had a population of 250,000 has now been completely abandoned by the local residents.

http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/whole-diocese-in-south-sudan-abandoned

• Peace talks between the Government and rebels are due to resume on 20^th March

http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article50289

Blessings,

Trevor

BGC Principal Reaches Kampala

Dear BGC Prayer Partners,

Our Principal
Our principal, Samuel Galuak, was reunited with his wife in Kampala just before Christmas. They have been apart for many months as Stella continues her studies in the Netherlands. It is very good that they are together and safe.  Samuel's intention is to take a well earned annual leave (he didn't manage any in June or July) and remain for some weeks in Uganda.



The Situation in Juba
The general situation in South Sudan has now commanded a slot in the main BBC news broadcasts in the UK, CNN in the USA, France 24 in France and Al Jazeera and their worldwide audiences. Although these reports are accurate they cannot fully describe what it must feel like to live in a place that at one moment was a great hive of development with millions of dollars of investments and thousands of expats from around the world, to one in which everything is quiet except the stories of death, sporadic sound of gunfire, the break down of law and order and the rumours and dread of what might yet be. Our reports from Juba are not good although apparently there is some food to be had in Konjakonja market and coordination between the aid agencies that remain to try and protect the most vulnerable.
The introduction of more UN troops to police the IDP camps around the UN bases creates some stability.



Books Delivery
We have heard that, remarkably, the delivery of books from the Theological Book Network which had reached the Uganda/South Sudan border is now being attempted. The BGC college site is not in the worst hit area. Please pray that the books and transport team arrive safely. Pray for those who will be called upon to unload and deal with the shipment on the BGC New Site.



The Future
The immediate future of the college is, of course, uncertain in the circumstances. It would not be easy, even if advisable, for students to travel unless things improve considerably. Those at home in the states of Jonglei, Unity and Upper Nile in particular will not be able to make the journey. However, the college is not due to reconvene until the beginning of February in any case. So there is time for things to change. Please pray that things change for the better between now and then.
The breakdown of security and commerce in Juba is bound to have an effect on the local income which has secured the colleges re-development since 2009. All that is also 'in the air'. We will depend on foreign gifts even more then we have done before.



Hope
What ever happens the impetus we all had from the new beginning of the CPA and the euphoria of the independence only two and a half years ago has now completely gone. BGC has indeed made hay while the sun shone - we now have to be patient as darkness has again covered the land. But this has happened so often that the traumatised South Sudanese know how to pick themselves up and knock off the dust and begin again. Nothing is secure or permanent in this world. Hope can only lie in the presence of God who lives in and among us. Even in the rejoicing of the birth of the Messiah is immediately followed by the slaughter of the children of Bethlehem by someone who was crazy to bolster his own political power. God does not abandon people who are killed, driven from their homes and subjected to unspeakable horrors but is born right in the middle of them. God comes to his people in love, and in peace. One day we will know that peace - even if we have to wait until we enter the next world. Sometimes, as in the case of South Sudan, all we are left with is the knowledge that God loves us and that “nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8.35). Our hope is in God that is present even when nothing or no-one else is. Please pray that those in the greatest sufferings will hear and know this.
Above all, pray that those who can stop this – those who have to power to rein in the terror - will do so without conditions. Nothing can justify another war – this time between peoples who have everything to lose and everything to gain if peace prevailed, as the vast majority of them know.


Trevor
 

Dear Prayer Partners,

Many, many thanks for your continued prayer over the past few months. You have served us well during a difficult period. I now right with much positive news an several fronts.

We give thanks for the successful BGC Board of Governors meeting at the beginning of this month which has worked to address the well-being and future needs of the college.

First they have appointed Samuel Galuak as the Principal of the college. He has been working as acting principal since January and now, with the sad parting of Joseph Taban, after due consideration it has been decided to appoint him as the college principal. Samuel has shown excellent qualities that will forward the vision that he shared with Joseph since September 2011. His experience, combined with his academic ability, make him the ideal candidate for the post. We praise God that we have found such a person for BGC when suitable people are so hard to find in South Sudan.

Secondly, the governors have appointed Revd. John Malesh as Academic Dean. John has MAs in two subjects and has been a visiting lecturer at the college since he returned to Juba in 2011. Before that he was the ECS liaison officer in Kampala where many of us expatriates first met him. John has also worked with Joseph and shared the BGC planning.

Thirdly, after 18 months of searching for the right person for the post of Administrative Secretary, the Board have appointed Mrs Esparanza Emil, Joseph Taban's widow. She is eminently qualified having the right kind of skills and a lot of experience in teaching in a primary school. She is also intimately connected to BGC of course.

Offering Esparanza this post also solves the problem of her future. She can continue in the college accommodation and it gives her a reasonable income to buy food and medicine and sufficient to pay the school fees of her three children at present.

These appointments means that Samuel has the support of two new full-time people in the college to add to the very experienced Benjamin Disi as logistic officer.

Eight new students have succeeded in passing the Special Entrance Exam and are ready to begin at the end of this month. Sadly a lot more failed than passed – we were hoping for a bigger intake this year. But the standard of English required is high and it is difficult for students in the remoter centres to get the tuition and practice in English they need.

The national government reshuffle last month seems to have gone off without any trouble. Although it took some people by surprise (especially the scale of it) it has met with fairly broad approval in the country. There is amicability on all sides and all have agreed that the President acted within his constitutional powers. The army in South Sudan, unlike Egypt and elsewhere, appears to keep well out of these kind of politics. The general impression is that South Sudan, despite its being such a young republic, is so far proving to be remarkably democratic despite its history of tribal differences. The churches and Christian message so widely heard in South Sudan is definitely impacting on the mood of the country.

Thank you.

Trevor

The College

1. Staff. Give thanks for the appointment of Samuel Galuak as the new principal and the new full-time appointments among the college staff. Pray for them all including those who continue in full-time positions as logistic officer Benjamin, and his assistant Boniface, librarian Abraham, our cleaner Esther, our cooks Dina, Margaret and Mackeline, and our site management and security staff Lako, Wani, Moses and Frazer. We pray for Simon as he prepares himself to do a one year full-time course in Nairobi at Africa International University.

2. Students. Thank God for eight new students who are to begin their first year at the end of August. Pray for those who were not successful in the SEE exam this time round and pray that they may find it possible to obtain the level of English required and can apply again.

We give thanks for a successful short-term course for potential female ordinands and ask God's blessing those the Archbishop has in mind to study at the college in the future.

We give thanks for those who have completed their three years and return to the college for their graduation in October. We pray for them as they sort out their immediate and longer term futures.

3. We thank God for our Board of Governors under the leadership of chairman Bishop Justin Badi, and we pray for the College Council which meets to help the principal implement the policy of the Board.

4. We thank God for the new two-storey library building erected by the local developers to replace the former dormitory now too close to the enormous hotel under whose shadow the college now finds itself.

The Nation

We praise God for calm and industry at the political level of South Sudan. We pray for the new ministers and their departments. We pray for the continued flow of oil.

We pray for the army and those who lead it.

We continue to pray for an early settlement of the Abyei question.

We earnestly pray for the people of Blue Nile, the Nuba Mountains and Darfur who still suffer so heavily in the Republic of Sudan. May God bless the UN and AU peacekeepers deployed in both countries.

We pray also for Christians who live in Khartoum, Port Sudan and the cities of Sudan.

Joseph Taban

Joseph Taban Lasuba - died 20th May 2013

It is with real sadness that we have to let Joseph go.  He has been such a blessing to us all, and is so important to his family.

Sarah Goldsmith recalls his funeral at All Saint's Cathedral on 24th May:

The burial service for Joseph Taban took place on Friday 24th May at 9am at all Saints Cathedral Juba.  Hundreds of mourners gathered to pay their respects - many people had to stand outside the church for lack of space.
Dean Jackson led the service and Bishop Enock Tombe gave the sermon.Joseph's body was laid to rest at BGC afterwards - the procession of mourners was so large that it closed the roads and needed an escort to clear the way.  It was clear from the range of ages and people present that Joseph had touched many many people's lives in a very direct way.  Young and old from all walks of life wept for his loss. 
Bishop Enock gave a very thought provoking address, speaking about the deaths of three people.  He spoke about the deaths of Lazarus, Jesus and finally Joseph Taban.  He described how all of these deaths glorified God,even though they were incomprehensible to those affected by them.  Jesus stayed where he was for two days before going back to Judea - something that must have completely frustrated those around him.  Bishop Enock reminded us that in the same way, many people prayed for Joseph including the many people overseas who support the college in prayer and receive email prayer letters.   Bishop Enock reminded us that despite the fact that Joseph's death is completely incomprehensible to us now, that we must trust that it will glorify God, even though we do not understand how currently.  For that reason we can be thankful and celebrate all that Joseph contributed by serving God so faithfully in his lifetime.
Two years ago, in one of the BGC prayer letters, Trevor Stubbs made the following comment on a challenge the college was facing (which in fact Joseph was later instrumental in solving).  "In this new country, we have to be prepared for the unexpected with a huge amount of patience without anger or despair, because they, too, are weapons of evil. A lot of things will happen in South Sudan which may be incomprehensible. We keep loving and being faithful and never give up - just as Jesus didn't and God still doesn't". 

Esparanza

Although Joseph's parents were Kakwa from Yei, he was born in Juba, spent fifteen years
working for the church in Khartoum and, since 2010, has been an integral part of the inter-tribal Bishop Gwynne College community. So he is claimed as their own by all four places. As such he was able to bring people together better than most. He spoke Bari, English and Arabic (he did his first degree in Beirut). But in his heart he belonged first and foremost to God.


Joseph was a man with a mission. He lived what he taught and preached. He was the Lord's
servant.  Servant-hood was central to his vision. When people spoke of him training leaders for the future, he claimed he did not teach how to lead but how to serve, and when they replied with expressions like 'ah yes, servant leaders', his response was, 'no, just servants'.  He loved the students, but he did not put up with any arrogance that they may have come with. He contested the culture of distinction and superiority which exalts 'big men' and makes women possessions. His wife was his companion – they loved each other deeply. They missed each other very much when they had to be apart, which sadly, was too often over the past few years.  It is good that
at least they have been together all the time of the few months of Joseph's illness.

Joseph's faults centred on too things. He would not plan time off, and he would not say 'no'. When anyone is as gifted as he was, everyone wants a part of them. He was no good at getting a proper work- life balance.  He had taken no holiday in decades, and although through encouragement and cajoling he had at last agreed to go to Uganda to visit family, he
never made it. The day before he was due to leave he was in Juba hospital and then instead of Kampala, he was on a plane to a hospital in Nairobi where, apart from a few weeks back home in Juba, he died.

Joseph's contribution to the work of Khartoum cathedral and his teaching at Bishop Shokai
Theological College was enormous. After his many years of service there he went to Duke University in North Carolina to do a Master in Theology advanced degree. The people in Durham, both the university and St Lukes's, the church he attended, remember him with great
affection. They were moved by his humility, resilience in poverty (because as a Sudanese he received no money from home towards his keep) and his enormous capacity for hard work.   

Back among his people, this time in Juba with Bishop Gwynne College, Joseph became quickly respected by the students. He had all the qualities needed to take the institution, stuttering out of one of the lowest points of it's history, to a position of financial stability and as the place of theological and spiritual formation it was founded to be. In the short time he was principal (just three active semesters) Joseph was responsible for building lives, ministries, teaching standards and expanding and securing the campus.  Joseph will be remembered as one of the greats in the history of BGC, it is astounding just how much he achieved in so little time.

The college continues in the safe hands of those who have learned from him and who continue
to implement his vision, but our hearts go out to his wife, Esparanza and his three children for whom there is no replacement. We pray that they and his mother and siblings will find a sound basis in which to continue to grow as he would want them to, and that they will be sustained in part by the knowledge that their son, husband, father, or brother has a place in God's heavenly home as well as the history of the Episcopal Church of Sudan, both in the Sudan and the new
nation of South Sudan.




It is an interesting aside that my father's funeral (Peter Stubbs) was on the same day as Joseph in a small but beautiful service in the UK. He was 92, over twice the age of Joseph. There was a sense of completeness about the occasion that we don't feel about Joseph. Our prayers are those of Bishop Enoch that somehow we may discover the way in which God will bless us in Joseph's death.  He will be remembered, as was his illustrious predecessor Canon Benaiah Poggo, as someone who died before his job was done.  But, just as the memory of Benaiah has inspired many in recent years, so will that of Joseph Taban.  I am confident that those currently leading BGC will continue the good work following his example.  Please pray for them.  But I am reminded of something Archbishop Henry Orombi told the ECS bishops in 2009. He said archbishops are replacable but husbands and fathers are not ... it is for Esparanza and the three children aged between 11 and less than 2 for which we chiefly pray.

Back in Juba

Getting behind with your blog is not one of those sins you come across specifically referred to in the Bible! But apologies to all those of you looking for news. One of the reasons for the delay is that I wanted to wait until I was back in Juba so that the news could be fresh and true. What a joy to get back here at last.

The students are happy and working well. The staff new and old are applyinng themselves with energy. The environment is slightly better. At least the water is flowing readily on the new site.

BGC is in good heart, but we still lack enough buildings. As new men and women are coming for interview and to sit the entrance exam this month we are acutely conscious of the need for more accommodation. Please pray about this. Buildings are not cheap, but thank God we have the land.

In coming back I have refused to work after evening meal. I have done so much evening work in the course of my ministry that now I rejoice in the time to use that period to reflect, write and study what I want to, basically just to have fun. Not that preparing for others and being with others cannot be fun. It often is, but clergy are under so much pressure. Deadlines, debates and constantly dealing with disgruntled folk can damage the quality of what is done – especially if it doesn't allow the Spirit to flow.

Rudyard Kipling urged us to work in the garden rather than spend out time sitting in the shade and singing 'Oh, how beautiful', but what's the point of 'doing' all the time without noticing the depths of the beauty that comes from meditating on it? We need a balance.

And it is very humbling also to find the place you worked in not only doing well but in better shape than you left it. Sometimes more can be done by leaving it to others more able than oneself, whilst continuing to offer the support and encouragement and doing little bits here and there to help. It has become clear that the most important job I can do is to keeping working on our brothers and sisters in the West to contribute and invest their funds, their prayer and their love.

Prayers and Thanksgivings

Dear Prayer Partners,

As we are currently in the UK, I am passing on to you the prayer requests as they have come to us. For those who know us, Tina is making a good recovery, but a broken ankle does not mend in a fortnight. She is currently on two sticks inside the house with the next visit to the hospital planned for 19th December.

The situation in the Sudan and South Sudan is not good. There are many new instances of horrors being committed against unarmed people, including the very old and the very young. And, in the north, humanitarian aid is not being permitted to reach the very many refugees. In South Sudan planes (from the Sudan) have recently bombed a refugee camp in Upper Nile causing the UN and other NGOs to withdraw. Negotiations over Abyei continue, but although agreements have been reached in negotiations in Addis Ababa, the SAF have not withdrawn on the ground, and arrangements have been broken almost as soon as they have been agreed to. For those who are interested, I give links to a report from an Amnesty International director and an Al Jazeera report from the bombed refugee camp below.

The economic situation has deteriorated because of the conflicts, most noticeably in the north where the failure to come to a settlement on the amount South Sudan should pay the north for conveying the oil to the port, has meant that they have lost around three quarters of their national income.

New initiatives have been taken to address the problem of the LRA with the decision by the USA to send advisory and support soldiers into the region.

The bitter violent quarrels in Jonglei State have not abated it seems, and the ECS is very concerned to do what it can to heal all tribal differences in the country.

Trevor Stubbs

Bishop Gwynne College

Please pray for the staff and especially the principal, Joseph Taban as we near the end of this semester.

Pray for those preparing to teach in the next semester, including Dr Ellen Hanckel from the USA.

Pray also for the five students who sat the Special Entrance Exam at the beginning of November and who are now awaiting the results.

Pray for all the students as they prepare to sit the first semester exams. Pray that the second year may be encouraged by their past experiences and prepare themselves properly. Pray the the first year will learn from the example of those who have gone before.

The Episcopal Church of the Sudan

We give thanks that a successful synod involving all 31 diocese in the province took place successfully in Juba over the past few weeks. We thank God that it was attended by representatives of the government, the UN and international community as well as the Anglican Communion.

We pray that the resolutions they have passed and the people they have elected to office will serve the church well as we move forward surrounded by so many obstacles.

We pray for a renewed vision and energy amount the bishops and church leaders across the province, and the necessary resources will follow them as the step out in faith to do God's work.

The Politics

We pray for the leaders of both Sudan and South Sudan and all those engaged in the process of reconciliation and peace. We pray for those who oppose the leadership - especially those willing to use force, that all the actions they take will be for the good of all the peoples irrespective of tribe or religion.

We pray for those in government who are seeking to improve the access to health care and education as well as security for the two nations.

We pray that a speedy resolution to the impasse on the division of the oil revenues will be reached so that more resources will flow for the prosperity of everyone.

The Refugees and Beleaguered

We pray especially for those who are suffering directly from the violence and conflict. Pray for those who are injured and sick, particularly for those who cannot access the right medical care. We pray for mothers giving birth to children in the bush or in camps where little care is possible.

Please pray for old people and children separated from their families.

Pray for those seeking to bring aid to the people, not only the UN and Aid Agencies, but the churches and mosques served by the local people.