March 2010

Prayer Answers, Thanksgivings and Petitions

There has been so much happening in the last two month's. Although we haven't sent a formal prayer letter, we have contacted you on various developments and we know you have not given up praying!

NBGC now has its own webpage. See the link on the right.

So we hope there is plenty to keep you going for your prayers.

Trevor and Tina

1. The Staff and Students

Praise God for the long awaited re-opening of the college. We have all but two of the 15 students who were here at the suspension of the college in February 2009. One of these will join us in August. At present he is very busy - he has been made a bishop! (All our students, of course, are already ordained).

Praise God for the four new students that have come to learn English full time.

Praise God for their enthusiasm and hard work. The industry and application of the people of this country when given an opportunity and sense of direction never ceases to amaze.

Praise God for the wonderful way the teachers have quickly settled in.

Please pray for all the students and staff as they grow and learn and meet the challenges of studying Scripture and tradition at some depth.

Pray for Robin Denney as she prepares to return to Juba on 11th March. Among her jobs is teaching agriculture at the college.

Pray for the bishops of the ECS as they discover new students for the new year. We are looking for at least 25 and we need you to "pray them in!". The applicants needs to be a certain level to ensure we can continue to aim for a high standard. The criteria are on the college website.

2. College Development

Pray for the forth-coming inspection from representatives of St Paul's, Limuru (23rd to 26th March) to ascertain whether or not we have reached the standards necessary for affiliation. We are praying that we will be able to begin offering Limuru Diplomas in August 2010 so that the new students will be on a path that can take them on to a degree and beyond.

3. The New Site

Give thanks for the support we have been awarded by the Anglican Communion Fund and the Appeal of the Bishop of Salisbury that began on Ash Wednesday. This has brought the development of the new site much closer. Pray for the success of the appeal, not just in terms of money but love and prayer.

Pray that those who are occupying the site as a lessee, on a short-term basis or informally may quickly find new places for their enterprises so that development can begin without causing too much difficulty for them. Pray for those being asked to tender for the work and design new buildings, the legal department of the ECS, and all the other professionals involved.

Pray for Anglican International Development who are working an idea for future development for supporting NBGC as well as other economic development through micro-finance in Juba and beyond.

4. Our Visitors

Pray for those planning visitors to our college this term. My they travel safely and without difficulty. Remember Bishop David and his party from Salisbury, Professor Joseph Britton from Berkeley College (Yale, USA), and Prof. Eeva John and students from Trinity College (Bristol, UK).

5. The ECS

We give thanks for the newly appointed bishops in Nzara and Wau and we pray for those dioceses as they continue the task of witnessing and caring for their communities.

We pray for the Diocese of Twic East and Bishop Ezekiel Diing as they face problems of local conflict. May the Church bring a real desire for peace in that vast area on the borders of Ethiopia.

We give thanks for the safe arrival of Rebecca Coleman to work as the Archbishop's International Coordinator in place of Nic Ramsden who is now working for the government of South Sudan. Pray that she settles into the job well.

6. The Nation

We praise God for the enthusiasm for the first elections in 26 years. We give thanks a real desire for democracy in the south of the country. We pray for those standing for election both locally and nationally. May there be a good turn out in April in polling week. We pray that the whole process - before, during and after - may pass peacefully.

New Bishop Gwynne College Up and Running

The college is open and running.
We had a grand opening service on Sunday afternoon last that was attended by no less than four bishops, the provincial secretary and other distinguished guests. We have managed to upload pictures on the Picasa NBGC website. See the links on the right. It is very difficult to upload pictures to this blog because of the restricted bandwidth we have here.
The wonderful tall man in the purple is our new lecturer Simon Lual Bang. His wife Martha has a matching dress that you can see in one of the photos. Simon's subjects are Old Testament and Sudan Church History.
The lady with the long black hair is Daniela Rapisarda. She is a volunteer lecturer in NT and Systematic Theology. Although she an Italian she is married to the Norwegian Political Consul here. Daniela was born into one of the rare Italian Protestant families in Sicily.
The lady with the short white hair (Tina!) is showing off the newly arranged library. Here she is teaching the students the library system. English teaching is taking up most of her day.
The man with increasingly less hair (Trevor!) as well as being technically "in charge" teaches Homiletics (Sermons) and Anglicanism - the subjects "what got left over". This, however, leaves enough time to get sorted out on the new site, which is at the "meeting standing on site" stage. Since the temperature is pushing 40C these days (we are in the height of the dry season and even the Africans are wilting in the sun) so our meetings are not going to be long! (The upside to the extra hot weather is that the mosquitoes have almost vanished - nowhere to breed, or died of heat-stroke!).
Today we are struggling with our electricity and water in our house. After a power surge two days ago the sockets in the kitchen and sitting room don't work - but the bath tap is live! The electrician is coming tomorrow. The whole place should have been rewired twenty years ago, but then TIA (this is Africa).
Thanks everyone for your prayers. They are working.

Preparing for Reopening

We are going through exciting times at New Bishop Gwynne College!
On 30th January the college is due to re-open. Lots of last minute construction and cleaning is happening. We still don't have the septic tank completed. This is taking a long time - it is about two and a half times as deep as the average man - all dug by hand! A phenomenal feat. When it is finished a water tank for fresh water will be erected to ensure a continual supply. The town electricity is due to be reinstated any day. This should make a difference given that town power is now much more consistent than it has been.
Tina is now shelving the books in the catalogued order but this is a never ending task. She is missing her kind volunteer from Save the Children whose husband has now been relocated to Addis Abba.
The returning students are due to arrive a week on Saturday, together with two who are starting an English course that Tina is running. Please pray for them and Simon Lual Bang (Old Testament and African Church History), Daniela Rapisarda (New Testament and Systematic Theology), Robin Denney (Agriculture), Trevor (Homiletics and Anglicanism) and Tina (English). Other subjects we will share as they come up.

We are delighted to report that the Archbishop of Canterbury has a awarded us £10,000 towards the first phase of the development of the new site. Together with the money in the Good Books Fund this will get us going. (Although the whole first phase will require £66,000!) We are also pleased to hear that things are afoot in the Diocese of Salisbury to support us - we will report more as we are able. So we are approaching the development of the new site with a confidence we did not have at the beginning of the year.

The three phases are currently planned as:
PHASE 1. Fencing and clearing, repairs to existing buildings, the introduction of water and the installation of toilets estimated to cost around £66,000. (This will make the site usable in combination with present college building).
PHASE 2. A multipurpose chapel, additional dormitories, and two staff houses - £160,000
PHASE 3. A three story block to house teaching suites, a separate library and two more staff houses - £137,000
However, now we are getting the finances sorted locally, we can certainly report that it would be unlikely, unless conditions change very radically (always a possibility here of course!), that the college will never have to seek running costs from overseas. All the giving from overseas will go into developing and expanding the college and ensuring a growing investment base.

Merry Christmas!

Now in the UK for Christmas! Brrr....

A few notes on the latest happenings. Life in Africa is never quite what you expect!
Just as the college was approaching a habitable state it was taken over at two days notice by a group of thirty preschool teachers who were in urgent need of a place to hold their six week workshop - their existing arrangements having fallen through. Interestingly a good proportion of them are men. Several of the women brought their young children along, and twenty extra people from the Juba area were added to their number in the daytime, so the amenities are greatly overtaxed.

We very quickly organised the building of an outside washing area and shelter for eating etc. which we had not expected to need until January. The thirty people soon turned into fifty people. They are sleeping on every bit of floor available(!) - staying in a building with just two newly renovated toilets. Sadly the pipe to the septic tank (on a separate property) appears to be blocked, which means that it is necessary to build a new tank at some cost. There were soon large bowls of water in evidence outside for washing clothes, dishes and babies, and the fences filled with drying clothes as is the usual Sudanese method - even if the neighbour has put up razor-wire!

The cooking is done in large pots over charcoal burners. The women doing the cooking are doing beautiful embroidery in between their cooking duties.
We managed to preserve one room from being invaded in which all the library books are stored and where Tina and helpers continue to work. One of those most involved is associated with Save the Children which has its headquarters in Juba. Save the Children here is supported by America, Sweden and the UK. Not wishing the books to get into the dusty state they were in previously we had an expedition to the market to find something to use as dust covers and ended up buying sets of the cheapest sheets we could find. So the books have now all been tucked up for the Christmas holiday. We travelled back to England with almost empty suitcases (all our Winter clothes being already here!) which caused some questions in the custom department. Our intention is to return with them full of books, taking advantage of the very generous luggage allowance given by Ethiopian Airways.

Tina has now visited most of the ECS primary schools in Juba. Though some are in a better condition than others, all work in extremely primitive conditions with hardly any resources. Both teachers and children greatly value links with schools in England. Some such links have been in existence for a few years and others are just being established. Communication is the main problem and it is mostly achieved by giving letters etc. to people travelling between the two countries. There is no internal post in South Sudan and none of the schools have electricity. If your local primary school might be interested in such link, please contact Tina at . (See an earlier blog for descriptions of Sudanese schools).

We are now both in England for Christmas and Andrew's (our eldest son) wedding on 2nd January. Having got acclimatized to 30˚C plus, December in the UK has been a bit of a shock, but we are surviving!#

We are very grateful indeed for all the people in England (and elsewhere in the "First World") who are supporting us through prayer and giving. We know that many people are passing on our Prayer Points to their friends, or taking them to prayer group meetings etc. This is very encouraging - it is so wonderful to be so looked after, and God does answer your prayers. On the financial front, despite spending over £1000, our account at Good Books is not less than it was eleven months ago when we left! People have contributed from different parts of the country. For example, although we left twenty years ago in 1989, our former parishioners in Middleton, Leeds had a Harvest collection, and STETS gave us the collection from their graduation service. We have not been able to thank all those who have given because some of the contributions have been given anonymously - sometimes just posted through Peter and Isabel Green's door. We thank you whoever you are, and we are very grateful indeed for Peter Green and Good Books for all they do for us in looking after all this. We are financing the purchase of new books through this account some of which Jo O'Farrell and Good Books are ordering at cost price. When we get onto our new site we will be in need of huge amounts of money for the new development - so keep it all coming! Many thanks. Have a great Christmas.

Prayer Answers, Thanksgivings and Petitions

December 2009

There is so much to pray for that it is difficult to know what to leave out. Below are some of the things that are exercising us from our perspective at New Bishop Gwynne College in Juba. Thanks so much for your prayers.

Trevor and Tina

1. The College

Praise God for the rising interest in the project internationally. Pray that this interest will lead to a financial commitment from groups, churches and individuals as we move into the first phase of developing the new site. Pray that God will smooth the way for us to get established there.

Praise God for Simon Lual Bang and Daniela Lucia Rapisarda as they have joined us with great enthusiasm and commitment. Please pray for them as they prepare themselves for their first term of teaching - Simon on the Old Testament, Sudanese Church History and Arabic, and Daniela on New Testament and Systematic Theology. Please pray for Trevor and Tina as they continue their role in development and prepare to teach homiletics, Anglicanism, conflict resolution and English. Pray also for Robin Denney who will join us towards the end of the Lent term in teaching sustainable agricultural methods and practice from a Christian perspective.

Give thanks to God for the transformation of the existing building from a very sad, dull place without water and light, into something that is usable although limited. We thank God that the intermittent town water supply and some solar powered electricity has made the place more habitable. Praise God that sufficient income is now available to install water tanks to ensure constant water supplies are available, and a new septic tank.

Pray for the fifteen second year students returning to continue their studies and that new students, by God's grace, will be found for a first year to begin in August 2010.

Pray for the communities from which the students come as they begin to learn their responsibilities in supporting them in prayer, encouragement and finance.

Pray that those people who continue to owe the college a lot of money will come forward with it so that we can pay off the remnants of the historic debt (mostly to those who left the college's employ before 1987!)

Praise God for the wonderful way the library is now coming together and the new books arriving through the gracious generosity of people coming from Britain and America. Thank God for the volunteers that are helping Tina to catalogue, paste the stickers and draw up the card indexes. Praise God for the support of Good Books, Bridport and others in obtaining the books we require, and the funds that have been made available for this purpose.

2. The School Links

We give thanks for the developing links of Church primary schools in Juba with schools in the Diocese of Salisbury. Praise God for the now active link between Beaminster St Mary's and Ephatha Basic School with the beginning of the sharing of letters and Christmas cards. We rejoice that the headteacher at Ephatha is computer literate - even though he has no computer and the school has no power supply(!) - which will help in future communication.

Western Star Basic School, Western Juba

Pray for the development of potential links between schools in Tisbury, Salwayash, Bridport and Wool with schools in the Juba suburbs of Munuki and Gudele. Give thanks that Tina has managed to pay further visits - hampered by the lack of transport and streams impassable in wet weather (even within Juba itself).

3. The Nation

Give thanks for those who have recently registered to vote and the intensity of the Churches' commitment to this process.

Give thanks for the enthusiasm of the many politicians to the development of democracy and their willingness to contest elections.

Pray for the Government of National Unity as the date of the elections in April draws nearer and the political posturing increases.

Pray for President Al Bashir of the GNU, and the President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir.

4. The Church

Give thanks for a very hard working and encouraging Provincial Standing Committee involving representatives of all three houses (bishops, clergy and lay) recently held in Rumbek.

Archbishop Daniel Deng addresses the ECS Sybod Standing Committee

November 2009

Praise God for the visit of partners from Britain and America and their commitment to the continuing development of the ECS and the education and health in the Sudan. Pray that they may have patience with the situation here where development is patchy and people with vision, enterprise and energy to make the most of the gifts they bear, are too few and not evenly spread.

Praise God for the central role the Churches play in growing a new Sudan in the face of so many problems.

Thank God for his continued blessing of pastors and laity with love, patience, endurance and self-sacrifice. Pray for these people who have turned their backs on material gain, sometimes receiving less than a living wage when they could command good salaries working for foreign aid agencies and the government etc.

Pray for the development of an effective Theological Education by Extension programme and the diocesan Bible colleges to help bring education to the many untrained pastors in all parts of the country.

Pray for the the Theological Commission and the four other provincial colleges - Bishop Allison in Arua moving to Yei, Bishop Ngalamu in Mundri, Bishop Shokai in Khartoum and Renk Theological College.

Pray that they province may quickly find a new experienced accountant/administrator to be found to work the provincial office. The person may well have to be an expatriate. Pray that the right person may hear and respond to the call of God.

Continue to pray for Archbishop Daniel Deng, giving thanks for his passionate dedication to the development of the ECS in every direction. Thank God for his defiant stance towards all those who disrupt progress or undermine the security of the people. Praise God that he refuses to be deflected by the issues that are dividing the Anglican Communion at present, and continues to concentrate on what Anglicanism can contribute to the proclamation of the Kingdom of God amidst poverty, division and uncertainty in his province.

Thanks to all our supporters. We can now begin on the next stage of our project - the expansion of the Theological College on a new site in Juba

The New Site The new site consists of some 9000 square meters adjacent to the Juba Model Secondary School (founded through the vision of St Francis church in Salisbury, UK) and its sister primary schools in the heart of Juba. Some of the site is already owned by Bishop Gwynne College, and a student dormitory and dining hall/kitchen already stand there. The rest of the site has been occupied in recent times by the church's relief arm, SUDRA. SUDRA no longer requires this site. So we have a substantial site in a prime location that needs developing.

Our first priority is substantial fencing. Next, the site has to be cleared of large amounts of debris left by the bulldozers as they have recently cleared the land of refugee dwellings, and the unwanted SUDRA buildings. It is our plan to utilise all the area not immediately needed for buildings for agriculture. This land has probably never been used for such purposes, and even when cleared, will need substantial treatment with mulching and compost to bring it into production. (The process of achieving this will all form part of the students' education, as every parish priest needs to know how to make the land productive. Christianity in Sudan is properly engaged in both spiritual and material growth).

Then we need to bring the existing buildings into a good state of repair. There is exterior pointing and complete interior re-decoration to be done for the dormitory and dining hall, but when completed these will provide student accommodation for the first stages of the new college development.

A major aspiration is a new multipurpose chapel with attached vestry. This will serve well as a library and administrative centre when not in use for worship. We will also need proper toilets and washing facilities and some additional staff housing.

From the outset the position of the other buildings earmarked for this site in the longer term will be marked out, so that the college area develops in a carefully landscaped manner. A number of trees already exist including eucalypts, neem trees, papaya as well as banana plants. Additional trees will be planted - the traditional mangoes, attractive frangipanis, as well as moringa and other useful trees. Areas will be demarcated for permanent horticulture for the education of students, and also as a source of food for those resident in the college. All these farming opportunities will form an important aspect of the theology students' education.

A New Chapel An attractive chapel is a significant objective in the second phase of the development of the new site. The work of God is central to our vision and worship will form a significant part of the college ethos. Corporate prayer and celebration will begin and end each day, and the chapel will form the heart of the learning process. Although the building will be technically described as "multipurpose", the learning that will go on in it is all part of our worship for a creator who has called us to his service in Christ in his world. Until a permanent building is constructed, the theological library will be housed here. Indeed it may always be the home for devotional literature. Here the students will be able to conduct their private reading and study as well as prayer. Outlines designs for this new chapel are are being drawn up.

The "Foundation Appeal" It is our aim that Bishop Gwynne be self-sustaining (see below under "On-Going Funding"). However, in order to get the foundation "off the ground", we are seeking world-wide grants and sponsorship from corporate bodies and individuals. This will make all the difference to us because it will speed up the process enormously and kick-start various aspects of the project. BGC has been a theological college for 60 years. Our requirements for this vision are:

• The fencing and clearing of the site; Up to US$70,000
  

• Repair of the existing structures and rebuilding; Up to $8,000
  

• Washrooms, toilets; Up to $20,000
  

• Books, study resources, computers and Internet facilities; Up to $10,000
  

• A multipurpose chapel and vestry; Phase 2
  

• A purpose-built library, study centres and staff housing. Phase 3

We are not pretending that this is an not ambitious project, but we are certain that we are doing all the right things to support this vibrant but under-resourced church in trhe Sudan. We know that God is with us. In a European context such a statement might seem arrogant. In the Sudan it is simply self-evident!
Thanks for your prayers!

Prayer Answers, Thanksgivings and Petitions

November 2009

1. The College
Praise God for the way the building work has all come together in the last month on the existing building.
Praise God for water and solar power electricity, and sufficient funds to pay for it.
Praise God that the message has gone out about the college's re-opening in 2010 and the enthusiasm of the bishops to find new students for the new academic year beginning August 2010.
Praise God that we now have the staff we need to teach the first semester and much of the demands for the Michaelmas term too. Praise God for two new teachers, Simon Lual Bang (OT and Sudan Church History) and Daniela Rapisarda (NT and Systematic Theology) both beginning their studies.
Please pray that those who owe the college rent, or are due to leave college houses will honour the colleges needs.
Please pray for the disposing of the hold ups to obtaining access to the new site, and for people to come forward with the money we need to begin clearing, fencing and building.
Thank God for the books we have managed to rescue and the new ones on order. Thank God for those books that have already arrived and please pray for everyone bringing out books for us.
Pray that more and more people across the world will begin to share the vision of theological education here in the Sudan where the harvest is so very rich, and where there is so much enthusiasm of faith.

2. The School Links
Thank God for the increased interest in links with schools.
Please ask God's blessing on Tina as she seeks to get to these schools which is so very difficult without transport or a local person to travel with.

3. The Nation
Thank God for the continuing desire for peace among the local people and the government.
Pray for the political processes and those involved in them as negotiations between North and South are continuing to falter.
Please pray for hearts to put away tribal differences and that those people who are intent on short-term aggression will see a better way to prosper. Pray that the leadership of the government and the churches will be effective in this.
Pray that many people will turn out to register their names on the electoral roll. (A poor registration will detract from the impact of the elections and serve to undermine the legitimacy of the government.)

4. The Church
Please pray for the bishops as the come together for a week long conference in Rumbek beginning on 20th November, and for those flying out from the UK to be in attendance.