Thank you all for your fantastic prayers in the last few weeks. So much has happened that I have not had time to give you an update. So now here goes.
We have so much to rejoice about - we have received nearly everything we have asked for. Thanks be to God. He delivers much more faithfully than I do when I am sent out shopping! Well done. Now I have a new list for you!
Building Works
Give thanks for all the building work that has been completed and is on the way to being completed. We thank God that the new dormitory, the wash and toilet block, the hall and kitchen are all completed and in use. (You can follow some of the story on our blog and picture page).
Give thanks that, although it took a very long time, we now have electricity and water from the mains so student life is now much more comfortable.
Give thanks that the flow of money from Salisbury has been established and we have now received most of what was given. Give thanks that one of the two staff houses will be finished before the end of this month. The main structure has already been completed, and the electrician and plumber are at work.
We praise God that the fence is in place and the goat sellers are out, and the gambling establishment and their clients that has set up under a big tree on their way, although they are more resistant.
Give thanks that the house we have had for up for rent has now been let long term at a good return. Pray for good tenants for two other houses that are coming up for rent at the moment. We pray that there will be a minimum of delay here.
The only problem that remains regarding the reclaiming of the site concerns the containers that are still parked here. Please pray that the owner will see that he must move them quickly. We have been asking him to move them since March 2009. Pray that we do not have to go to law on this one.
We thank God for the interest in the land available for investment, possibly for a Conference Centre. Pray for the negotiations with these people, that a good deal may be made in the best interests of the college and the Church. This has the potential of moving fast. Pray that we may do so safely and accurately.
Praise God for the interest in the idea of a multipurpose chapel from different places. There is nothing solid yet, and all the money still to be found. We need lots of prayer as we move into Phase Two of the development.
We have application for grants for the moving of the library and the building of a second staff house. Pray that these will bear fruit.
Staff and Students
Praise God that we now have all the staff at the college! Joseph Taban joined us at the beginning of October. Mark Mayool came, at last, last week. This delay has put them under great pressure. Pray for them as they struggle to catch up in this their first semester.
Please pray for Simon Lual and his family. Simon is experiencing a lot of problems with one of his sons who is in danger on the slippery slopes of bad company. This is a huge worry to his parents. Please pray for him.
Thank God that the students are all working very hard and getting used to college life. Pray for them and the staff as we work out the ways in which we want to live as a community in a new college setting. Pray for Joseph Taban who is setting this up.
Pray for improved health for both students and staff. Thank God for Dr Katie who has given her time free to lecture and tend. Pray that God may help all the students to live by the hygiene rules she has ordered - not something that most of them are used to.
Pray for the health of our teachers who are regularly under the weather with something. There is much malaria, some typhoid and other things going around. Give thanks that Trevor and Tina, despite all the hard work, remain in excellent health!
Pray for Andy Wheeler who did not make it to Juba because he had to have a multiple coronary bypass op. Give thanks that he us now on the mend.
Pray for all the students as we approach the exams at the end of this month. This is something new for most of us, including the staff.
The Political Situation in the Sudan
The point of the referendum due on 9th January is to ask about dividing a country into two. This is not something that happens everyday! There is a lot of uncertainty. No-one is sure how it is going to work out. However, we are all carrying on knowing that whatever happens there will be still be a church and people needing ministry. South Sudan is undergoing a huge development. Much is being invested, hope is high.
Our biggest concerns are for those in the border areas, and the ethnic southerners in the North. Also the Christians there of any tribe. If there is trouble this is where it is going to be centred. Large numbers of ethnic southerners are already coming south - often with nothing. The Nile transport captains are cashing in and charging much inflated fairs. These people are often urbanised and have lost touch with the traditional way of life in their ethnic homelands.
So please:
Pray for a referendum that is fair and acceptable to both sides that will take place on the appointed day.
Pray for those living in the north and in the borders areas who are most at risk.
Pray for those coming south that they might be re-absorbed into the south without too much hardship or rejection.
Pray for soldiers on both sides that they will remain disciplined and under the control of their political masters.
We give thanks for the good ethnic diversity at NBGC. Pray for their families and home dioceses in this time away over this challenging period. The college will be in session on 9th January.
Pray with for the Sudan Council of Churches (the ECS and the Christian Church of all denominations) and the many Muslims across both South and North seeking to unite the people in love and peace. May their prayers resound around the whole of the Sudan so that the belligerent minorities will be overcome with love.
Ma Salaam!
Peace be with you
Trevor and Tina
