Thanksgivings and Prayers Requests

The college has reopened for the New Year, but not much is happening here at the moment as we are still gathering together the students following the referendum. Voting continues to the end of this week. Here in Juba there is a quiet, thankful, festive atmosphere. People are full of joy that today they have been able to vote for independence from what has been an opposition from the north extending back for centuries, but especially during two civil wars raging for most of the time ever since Sudanese independence in 1956. We are very grateful for the way peace is so highly regarded here. Much still has to be resolved about the distribution of oil revenues, the border demarcation and other instruments of government. The result will be finally declared on 15th February.

We are very grateful for all your prayers.

One sadness has been the death of Revd Samuel Kayanga who was a part-time teacher of Religious Studies last semester. He completed his valued teaching duties at the end of November but was recently taken ill and died in hospital in Nairobi. Samuel has played an important role in the ECS for many years in the course of the war and beyond. He is the coauthor of But God is Not Defeated with Andrew Wheeler.

Thanks,

Trevor

Thank God for way everything has come together and that the Referendum is taking place on the exact date promised six years ago at the signing of the CPA in 2005. We thank God that, despite the sporadic disturbances in some of the border areas, southern Sudan is probably more peaceful and less divided than it was in 2009. The inter-tribal violence and cattle theft has certainly declined. Please continue to pray that this trend continues.

We ask God's blessings on the family of Samuel Kyanga as we commit him to God's heavenly care.

Pray also for all the members of staff. Especially we pray for John Turpin, a new volunteer from Texas, who has joined us as lecturer in Church History. Pray for Larry Duffee who is joining the staff part-time to teach parish budgeting and financial administration.

Thank God for the improvement in the financial situation of the college. Some of the unpaid rent has now been paid, but there is still much to do to get the college on a sound financial footing. There are houses that have yet to be let. Pray that we can find suitable tenants soon.

We give thanks that God has given us the help of Elger in the financial management of the college.

Thank God for the generosity of several overseas charities towards the development of NBGC. The Anglican Communion Fund has grated us a further £10,000 towards the completion of the first phase of the development. St Saviour's Guildford has awarded us £1,500 from their mission fund. The Slavanka Trust has given us £2,500 for the re-establishment of the library on the new site. And there have been many other contributions from dioceses, parishes and individuals in the UK, Germany and the USA - some large and some small.

Please pray that the gifts continue to enable us to finish building the second staff house, and then embark on the the second phase - the multi-purpose chapel.

Referendum Day

We have arrived on 9th January 2011 and voting is taking place in the referendum on the future of southern Sudan. This is a great day, one that many people wondered whether would even happen only a few months ago.
The NCP (National Congress Party - President Al Bashir's party) has honoured the CPA (Comprehensive Peace Agreement) on this question, and the vote is happening six years to the day following its signing. The people of Juba are in festive mood. Things seem to be going their way after so very many years. The people here are quiet and peace-loving. They have had more than enough of war. Although there are still disputes over the border, and things to be worked out concerning the oil that is so very vital to the economy of both north and south, neither side, it seems, is prepared to fight another war over it - a war, of course, that could never be won outright. Everyone knows that compromises and agreements have to be made.
The people who will suffer the most are the southerners living in the north. Many have come south but others remain. We are very concerned for the church in the north. Although the country is going to divide, the province of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan will not. We need to pray for these people. The churches have been growing there for some years. They now face a very difficult time.

We had a good time in the UK over Christmas and the New Year. Staying in Bath we saw lots of our new family in Bristol. We were joined by our others from London and China. In Cornwall we had a quiet time with Trevor's parents now in their mid to late 80s.

The college recommences this week. Trevor will be teaching philosophy and Tina continues with her English. We have been granted money from a trust in Wales to move the library to the new site so that will be a major task that lies ahead of us.

Thanksgivings and Prayers Requests

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

Settling into the New Site

So much has been happening in so many directions, it is difficult to know quite where to begin! First, we have now largely moved onto the new site - although not completely. We still need the old building for one of the classes and six resident students. Our offices are still located here too. The library is due to move to the new site as soon as we can get the new shelving built. We are not quite sure when that will be. This is not ideal as the two sites are about three quarters of a mile from each other and traipsing between the two is hard for some, and you never quite know where a particular student is if they are not in the place they should be! And not just the students. Staff are frequently getting lost. However, as the timetable settles in, the problems should ease. Moving the kitchen from one site to the other was quite a palaver.

Pictures on the picasaweb site when we get round to uploading them.
Secondly, we can now report that, at last, we have every expected member of staff present and working. One should not assume that just because a person is agreed and signed up, that they will actually turn up! But, after two months we have got everybody, which is a tremendous relief. At one point in September with sickness and other things, Tina and Trevor were the only teaching staff on duty with fifty enthusiastic, but often homesick, students! Not good. Thanks for your prayers on this one. Now, having got over the initial settling in period with the new students, we are beginning to gel into a community. Joseph Taban, our newest full-time member of staff, has taken on working with the students to form a proper community with an agreed way of life.
This is not easy as we still have to share the site with all sorts of people. The workshops are still operating in the middle of it, for instance, but we will not ask them to move until we have the money to clear all the buildings properly. Nature abhors a vacuum. If the buildings are empty we would be inviting who knows who, or what. There are, of course, a variety of fauna including human that would delight in empty buildings!
So we need to get on with the second phase of the development - the multipurpose chapel - before we can be really comfortable. But this is where the usual patience comes in. We couldn't have done anymore than we have done in the time; there just aren't enough hours in the day. But now the question arises of where we are going to raise the money for the next stages. We have some exciting developments here.
The roadside area of our site that is earmarked for leasing to an investor is already drawing interest from people. I have had a meeting with an interested agent. Other ideas are out there. After the planned referendum, if all goes well, we anticipate quite an investment spree in Juba and we are on land that is very central. So we need to see what transpires on the political scene - but not for long because the referendum is due to take place in January. But if a lease were agreed this would result in more rent money - quite a lot in the long term.
Then there is the possibility of a visit to the USA in June next year to tour some of the parishes and groups that might be interested in supporting us from there.
But more immediately we have applications in to two charities in the UK for money to help us build the second house. We have also applied for a grant to enable us to move the library to the new site. Lots to pray for!
People are asking about the political scene and all that goes with it. From everything we hear all is still on track for a referendum in the South on 9th January 2011. The question to be put is whether or not Southern Sudan should be independent of the North. Most people in Juba are assuming a vote in favour of separation. But, of course, no one knows for certain how things are going to turn out, so we are inevitably in a time of uncertainty mixed with excitement and a lot of hope. For those of you who are not familiar with the geography of Sudan, it is the largest country in Africa. The northern two thirds is mainly desert type land. This includes Darfur which has had an issue with being ruled by Khartoum/Omdurman for centuries. The southern third is green and fertile with many great rivers, and now oil has been discovered in it. Juba is many, many miles from the border - two or three days by road - and has long looked south to Uganda and Kenya for its trade, so whatever happens we here will not find as much day to day change as those along the border or in the north. Our plan is that the students all register to vote here in Juba. This means we will be open again in time for 9th January so term will start early - 5th January 2011- which means we will be in the UK for the whole of December until just after the New Year. Then we shall all be safely in Juba when the hoped for referendum takes place.

Thanksgivings and Prayers Requests

Dear Prayer Partners,

Developments at NBGC have been wonderful even if fraught at times. However, the problems are small in relation to the blessings, so let us start with the latter. You might like to download the interim administrator's latest report for greater details.
Thanks. Trevor and Tina.

Give thanks for the building that has been completely renovated on the new site and is currently in use for teaching and as a temporary dormitory, and the the fact that the actual dormitory and toilets are almost completed.

Give thanks that we have 32 new students bringing our total to 50 (10 more than we had planned for!). Do pray for them.

Give thanks that we have so many generous sponsors for them. Thank God for the finances that have come our way and the promises made to us for the future.

Thank God for the very warm welcome we received at St Paul's University, Limuru and that we are now a fully affiliated university college offering a diploma in theology. We rejoice that we have 15 first year students embarking on this programme.

Give thanks for God's blessing us with excellent staff, both full and part-time, to ensure quality teaching.

Give thanks for yourselves, our prayer partners all over the world.

Pray for the smoothing out of the hiccups we have encountered.

Pray that the Revd Joseph Taban is soon enabled to come and teach at the college as planned. He is key to the progress of the new diploma students, and his delay is threatening to damage their prospects. Pray also that Mark Mayool will soon be able to join the staff part-time as hoped. Pray for the students in their frustration. Even though we are prepared to do long hours to try and cover, we cannot be in two places at the same time, and it is painful to see the students suffer.

Pray that the money being sent from England flows without problems. We have had to delay the work twice in the last month because of the banks raising difficulties. We trust they have at last been overcome.

Pray for the powerhouse here that they will come and connect up the electricity as promised. All they require has been paid them, but somehow we don't seem to be priority. This makes life very difficult for the students who are studying by torchlight. Our logistic officer has spent hours on this work when there is so much else to do.

Pray also for Andy Wheeler who was planning to be with us and teach in October with a team from Guildford. We were so much looking forward to his coming but he has been told he needs medical treatment which will prevent him from coming. Pray that he may soon be put right and be able to come before long.

Pray that we can let an empty house soon at a good rent so that we can guarantee our funding.

Our dreams ...

Pray that we can soon start building the new staff housing so that our staff can be comfortably accommodated on site. This has to be approved by a committee of persons in the province. Pray that it is not held up at this stage.

Pray that we can find someone prepared to invest in a major conference centre on the site, to both enhance the project and provide some investment income in the long term.

Pray that donors can be found for "stage two" of the project, a multi-purpose chapel. This will enable the new site to really come together and effective teaching to be done in one place (it is hard for both students and staff trailing about three quarters of a mile from one site to the other on foot). It will also enable us to expand the college further.

New Beginnings

Thanks for your patience in waiting for our latest from Juba. Things have been so busy it has been impossible to keep up with all the reporting etc. But all the busyness has been worthwhile. In the last month we have a new site to add to our old one, 30+ new students, four new members of staff, and a new affiliation to St Paul's University, Limuru, Kenya! The Salisbury Appeal by Bishop David did indeed bring in the £66,000 for which he asked. Brilliant. Add to this £10,000 from the Archbishop of Canterbury and the £4000 we got from Bridport when we left in January 2009, and we are well on the way to completely renovating two large buildings on our new site, originally built in the early 1990s through the foresight of the then principal, Canon Benaiah. Sadly he died before this site could be properly developed. Indeed the dormitory building was not even completed. It is now. We plan to move the students into this building at the end of next week. We have also constructed a new sanitary block with tiled flooring - which is more than many enjoy here. Check out our latest pictures from the picasaweb website (see links on the right-hand side of the page). This next thing is staff housing. It's a question of whether we can afford one or two houses. If we can build two that will release a house for rent in the neighbour and raise a possible $18,000 more dollars income next year.

We have been inundated with more students than we were looking for. But when bishops and archbishops and all the kingdom of heaven put pressure on you, what can you do? We've got them them in - somehow. So we now have two more classes to add to the existing ones. Tina has 7 in her full-time English group. There are 13 in the foundation year - this consists of students who have not got the qualifications to get into the diploma course. Then there are the two diploma years, one and three (the continuing students). Being affiliated to St Paul's means that we are now a university college offering a university diploma in theology. Trevor and Daniela went to Limuru at the end of August and were very warmly greeted and inducted into all that is necessary to run the course. It was well that the welcome was warm, because the weather was not. The temperate hovered around 12C - and, of course, none of the rooms are heated. It took four thick blankets to be warm enough at night. After three days the cold just soaks right in. Oh, how we were glad to be back in Juba at 30C! Here is a picture of the new library at St Paul's


All through this period our house has been full too. We have had a young woman from the MU called Sarah stay, as well as a doctor and her helper from Uganda. Queueing for the bathroom would not have been so back at times if we had abundant water. However, we only got to the point where we had to carry in from a distance once. We have got through a few candles too as the electricity seems to be feast of famine. We learned that the town powerhouse ran out of fuel. The political situation here is interesting. The CPA requires a referendum in January 2011 for the people of the south to decide on weather or not they want to succeed and become a separate nation. The general feeling is that that is what people want. However the process appears to be stalled with the registration for the referendum due next month and nothing yet having been announced. So people are concerned. However, we have timed our semesters to enable the students to vote in Juba so we will be back in session on Wednesday, 5th January. We will finish early, therefore, and be in England for all of December.

Prayer Answers, Thanksgivings and Petitions

August 2010

Dear Prayer Partners,

First, may I welcome those who have just joined the Prayer Partners of the New Bishop Gwynne College, Juba, Sudan.

Your prayers have been so much needed at the very busy and crucial time in the history of the college. That is why we are issuing this special request.

1. NBGC Day of Prayer

We rejoice and give thanks today, 8th August, for a special NBGC Day throughout the province for prayer and giving. We are enriched by this day. (Some of the province is keeping next week instead =15th.)

2. Students

Pray for the students preparing to come to the college from 14th August for the beginning of the new semester. Pray especially for those living in areas where the risk to travellers from criminal gangs is high. Pray that they may travel safely.

We give thanks for the offers of sponsorships for our students from three countries, Germany, the UK and the USA. We have sponsors for all three of the students from Torit and others too. Pray that all our students who dioceses cannot pay will get sponsorships.

Pray for the new students that they will quickly settle in.

3. Staff

We give thanks that the Revd Joseph Taban and Mr Mark Mayool have joined the staff for the new semester. We also pray for Bishop Francis Loyo who will be teaching African Christian Theology.

Pray that we can soon find an agency to teach the basic facts of HIV/AIDS to tie in with our pastoral care topic.

Pray for all the members of staff at the college, both teaching and ancillary.

Pray for God's guidance in the use of two sites 15 mins walk apart, and the staff as they devise a workable time-table. Pray that we may the right number of staff to deliver the programme effectively and efficiently.

4. Library

Give thanks for hundreds of new books that have come and are still coming from Britain and the UK. Pray for Tina as spends many hours processing and shelving them. The library has had to be reorganised for a second time to accommodate them all.

4. New Site

Give thanks that work on the first building will be completed for the arrival of the students on Saturday, 14th. This large building will house a temporary dormitory and teaching room.

Pray for the Interim Board meeting on 11th August when the final decisions will be made regarding the awarding of contracts for the building of the fence, the renovation of the dormitory building, the erection of a new toilet and washing block, and staff housing. (We shall need all the money promised us from Salisbury, the Anglican Communion Fund and Bridport. As hoped for investment at the front of the college is still at the ideas stage, the archbishop has indicated that we should enclose a much larger portion of land from the outset, and this may limit what we can do elsewhere.)

5 Long-term Investment

We have land and sites that, if developed, will bring in all the money the college will need for the foreseeable future. The need for this is urgent if NBGC is to keep on track and maintain the growth in the student population.

Pray that investment in income generating enterprises may be forth-coming.

Pray for those already considering a large convention and knowledge centre with halls, libraries, restaurants, media and technology centres, and accommodation etc.

Pray for investors who will value the ethos, work and aspirations of the college.