Trevor writes from London

After a long absence, this blog was meant to come to you from Juba. However, we are in London. Last Monday, on the eve of our planned departure, we were blown backwards by a freak gust of wind down steps on London's Victoria Embankment. Tina fell to the bottom and fractured her ankle, collected a variety of other cuts and bruises and spent the night in hospital. There was no way we could travel. Our visit is therefore postponed to sometime yet to be fixed.

This is very frustrating as we are anxious to get to BGC to support Joseph and his team in the current semester. But it is just another time when we need patience. This is something we have had to learn many times over in the last three years.

We have also learned the importance of prayer. We are very grateful for those who are praying for us at this time. Tina is making the progress expected of her, and we appreciate all that people are doing for us. But we would ask that the main focus of prayer be for the college staff and students.

Principal Joseph Taban is under enormous pressure. He is quite capable of doing the job, but from experience we know that it is not an easy one. It means long hours in uncomfortable conditions with very basic facilities. We believe the water situation is a bit better than last semester. But in Juba this depends on fuel for power. We are told, owing to the shortage of fuel that traditionally came up the Nile from Khartoum and no longer does, the city has had no electricity for several weeks now. When it is a struggle to pay wages and buy food and water for the staff and students, teaching and learning become very hard.

Nevertheless, it is gratifying to note that all the first year second semester exams sat in June were passed. These are marked in Limuru, Kenya, so they have to be of a higher standard. We congratulate those young men. We pray for the new students in the first year.

As South Sudan gets established, conditions must improve, but it is not going to happen overnight.

The conflicts in the North all along the border are getting no better. Although the Khartoum government is denying it, report after report of civilians being attacked by Antanovs from the air and other atrocities keep coming out. No humanitarian aid is being allowed into South Kordofan or Blue Nile. People are displaced and starving and have access to little or no medical care. Reporting is not allowed either. Sadly this last is very effective because little is getting on the TV around the world. Please keep praying, and should occasion permit, give generously to relief aid.

Prayers and Thanksgivings

Dear Prayer Partners

Thank you all again for your wonderful prayers for everything that has been happening, and the things we want to happen in these historic times. Since my last prayer request the Sudan has divided into two parts with a new independent South Sudan. This has been a time of exhilaration for some and dread for others, depending on which part of the Sudan (south or north) you find yourself or your family and friends in. The ECS is in both of course.

Tina and I were in London for 9th July and went to some celebrations there. The mood was summed up by one lady who arrived draped in the new South Sudan flag ready to celebrate, and then promptly burst into tears as she clutched a framed photo of the son she lost in the war. The speeches all spoke of the suffering that they will never forget. There was genuine joy that South Sudan is now free of the oppression that has beset them for centuries, and especially since 1956 when the nation of Sudan became independent. You can see our photos and videos here: http://www.picasweb.google.com/nbgc.juba . Let us not forget that the civil war was not so much about independence for the south as freedom from oppression – an oppression that continues in the north.

There is still the disputed territory of Abyei to resolve which the Sudan Armed Forces took by force in May, and from which many Dinka people have been forced to flee. Sadly for them, their homeland contains oil.

In the north, the agony has been multiplied in the last two months. The people of South Kordofan have suffered a military campaign in which civilians have been targeted. Churches and mosques, schools and hospitals, offices and houses have been burned and property destroyed. Church personnel have been arrested and presumably executed, along with community leaders and people of influence suspected of sympathizing with the northern branch of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLMN). This includes people belonging to Arab tribes as well as Nubans. There is a huge refugee problem as people have fled the area. The government have refused to allow in humanitarian aid and UN personnel have been prevented from doing anything either. It is reported that the UN have also suffered casualties and have been deliberately isolated and badly treated.

In Khartoum, those regarded as originally from the south have all been dismissed from government paid employment with no other source of income. Moving to the south has become logistically very difficult and expensive. For those who make it to South Sudan there are few jobs for them in the towns. Many have never lived in country villages and, even if welcomed there, would not know how to look after themselves in rural environment.

BGC does not reconvene until the end of August but this week they have been hosting the ECS Theological Education Commission. Special Entrance Exams have taken place for those invited to resit for the Limuru Diploma course. We are expecting 18 students in the new first year.

Security is an issue as violent crime increases in Juba. The neighbouring Juba Diocesan Model Secondary School remains in our prayers following their break-in.

My visit to the USA has been a success. I was extremely well received everywhere I went, meeting people who genuinely care for the Sudan and its churches. The timing of my arrival immediately before southern independence was apposite. In just over three weeks I spoke, preached and met people in five States (North Carolina, Virginia, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Michigan), two cities (Washington DC and New York) and three theological colleges and universities (Virginia Theological Seminary, Berkeley Divinity School, Yale, and Duke University, Durham, North Carolina). I was impressed with the real interest the people I met had in what was happening in the Sudan and their keen desire to help the work of the ECS and BGC in particular. These people are frequently not understood by their neighbours because they live in a world where concern for other people, especially overseas, is often discouraged. We should be aware that it can cost our friends as much in terms of social rejection as financial giving. We thank you for all this, and pray for you as you pray for us.

 At American Friends of the ECS (AFRECS) conference. 

Left to right: Me, Prof Ellen Davis (Duke University, NC); Rick Houghton (who organised my tour); and Prof Stephen Cook (Virginia Theological Seminary)

Thank you for keeping Tina and I in your prayers.

Trevor

The Politics

Give thanks for Independence Day on 9^th July for South Sudan. Please pray for the new nation of the Republic of South Sudan, its institutions and civil structures.

Pray for those involved in the border negotiations, especially those concerned with Abyei taking place in Addis Ababa.

Pray for the Khartoum government. Pray for those who can make a difference in South Kordofan and Dafur. Please pray for the people who are bereaved and displaced and those living in abject poverty, deprived of any income, with nowhere to go and no-one to look after them. Pray that humanitarian aid will be allowed in. Pray for the UN and its people on the ground as they struggle to survive and operate.

The ECS, Christian Churches, and those of any religion who seek God's peace and presence.

We give thanks for the resilience of the Church in the most testing circumstances. We rejoice in the unbelievable courage that they have shown through persecution, displacement, deprivation and isolation. May they know the compassion of God and somehow know just how much support there is for them from around the world even if people can't get in to help.

Please pray for the five ECS northern dioceses, El Obeid (includes Dafur), Kadugli (South Kordofan), Khartoum, Wed Medani (Blue Nile), and Port Sudan.

Please pray for the Archbishop, Daniel Deng Bul and the provincial office staff.

Please also pray for the many Muslims who are also suffering in the north, and give thanks that both Christians and Muslims play a full part in the Republic of South Sudan.

Give thanks that staff from different theological colleges have come together for mutual support and encouragement. Pray for all the ECS colleges and teachers and the Theological Education by Extension programme.

Bishop Gwynne College

We give thanks for those who re-sat the Special Entrance Exam by invitation on 16^th July. We pray for them as they await the results. We pray for all 18 of the students preparing to begin a new first year in August. We continue to pray for those who will now form the second year that they will all be able to return happily to the college to continue their studies.

We pray for Joseph Taban in his new role as principal with all the work that is before him as he prepares the college for opening in August. We pray for those who will be involved in teaching in the next semester, especially new members of staff currently being recruited by Joseph.

We continue to pray for the financial situation where the budget is very tight and doesn't allow for much flexibility.

We thank God for my successful tour of America, and pray that the growing friendship, prayer and financial contributions will enable growth and development of the college. We thank God for those who are looking at the possibility of future contributions to the college as we put together formal application forms for consideration by various committees. We pray for our friends in the West, who give us their hearts in true friendship.

Independence for South Sudan - 9th July 2011

What a privilege to be around at the birth of a new nation! South Sudan became the world's 193^rd independent country on 9^th July 2011 – six months after the referendum in which a 95% turnout voted almost 99% in favour of independence.

Sadly we were not able to be there in person, but we celebrated with the diaspora in London NW6. It was a moving occasion at which we were made very welcome. It began with prayers led by Mark, an ECS pastor who works in London, and the meeting was addressed by a representative of the Government of South Sudan's mission in London.

Trevor has spent most of the past month spreading the good news of BGC in the USA. The welcome was fantastic. The Episcopal Church has some very gracious, generous, kind and compassionate people. Although you don't get much information on the ordinary US news about Sudan, many of those Trevor met were pretty well informed and were anxious to hear more. States visited were Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Virginia, North Carolina, Michigan as well as the District of Columbia. This included visits to Virginia Theological Seminary, Berkeley Divinity School at Yale and Duke University, Durham. The students and staff at BGC need not feel on their own but understood and on the hearts of so many.

Tina managed to get to see our old friends in Bridport from where two people were ordained priest on 2^nd July – Ann Ayling and Margaret Preuss-Higham. It is good to see the Bridport Team going from strength to strength. The local newspaper, The Bridport News, also had a substantial article on the Sudan based on our call for prayer.

Yesterday we had a phone call from Simon Lual, a lecturer at the college. He seemed upbeat about things. This is good news. It is amazing how quickly you can feel cut off from the action! And things move so fast in Juba.

Our hearts now go out to the people in the north. Things are very bad indeed for the people of South Kordofan (the Nuba Mountains). Those associated with the southern states that are now part of South Sudan, have been told they have to obtain visas to remain and work in the north. Most of these are in Khartoum and have been there many years. The churches there are going to find it especially hard, but it is by no means only the Christians that are suffering. Please pray for all the Sudanese people wherever they are, in the new independent South Sudan, in the north or in the diaspora across the world cut off from their relatives and friends back home.

Thankgsgivings and Prayer Requests

Dear Prayer Partners,

Why the world's media chooses to largely ignore the terrible events that are happening in the Sudan I do not know. The attacks made on civilians in Abyei and South Kordofan and also aerial bombardment in Unity State are driving thousands into the bush without access to basic human needs. Little children are dying daily. Others are being separated from their parents. Pregnant women are giving birth under trees as they flee. Patients have been driven from their hospital beds, and old people who cannot run are being left to accept their fate as soldiers and militia shoot, shell or deliberately destroy civilian homes, schools, clinics or churches.

It is reported that church personnel in Kadugli have been killed. The presence of UN peacekeeping forces is largely ineffective.

BGC college news is much more cheerful. 13 third students graduated in a ceremony in All Saint's Cathedral, Juba on 4^th June. Foundation Year students received their certificates.

Joseph Taban has now officially taken over as Principal. But his first duty and joy was to get to Khartoum to be with his wife and new daughter, Jacy, born on 30^th May.

I depart for the USA tomorrow to attend the American Friends of the ECS conference and tour to talk about BGC in particular and the Sudan in general.

We have launched an appeal for over $300,000 from the building of more housing and a multipurpose chapel. http://www.bishopgwynne.juba.anglican.org/index.php?PageID=appeal

Thank you for your wonderful prayers.

Trevor 12/6/2011

We give thanks the 13 third year students and the foundation year who finished the academic year with certificates last week.

We pray for them as they return to their homes in different parts of the country. We thank God that our student from Abyei will be able to join his mother who has now safely arrived in Wau, along with fiancée and her family. We give thanks, too, that our student from the Nuba Mountains (South Kordofan) will be reunited with his wife and children in Khartoum where they have fled.

We pray for the seven new students preparing to join the college when it reopens in August.

We ask God's blessings on Joseph Taban and his family and the staff at the college. We give thanks for the safe arrival of his new little girl.

Please pray for my trip to the US as I visit Washington DC, Virginia, North Carolina, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Michigan.

Pray for the success of the BGC Project Appeal.

We pray that the developer who has contracted to develop the roadside part of the BGC site will get started soon so that the site can be tidy and secure. We thank God that the preliminaries have now been largely completed and that the remaining containers will not hamper the work.

Let us pray for for peace, and a speedy end to the conflicts in Abyei, South Kordofan and elsewhere. We pray that it doesn't spread to new areas. We pray for the UN, that its personnel may be truly effective. We pray that humanitarian aid can reach the places it needs. We pray that the conflicts will be fully reported around the world so that war crimes may not go largely unnoticed.

Pray for the Government in Khartoum and the Government of South Sudan in these critical days leading up to independence on 9^th July.

Interim Period Ends

Our Interim Period at the college has come to an end. Last Friday, Trevor officially handed over to Joseph Taban as the new principal. On Saturday we had the graduation of the third year diploma students and the one year foundation course that Tina spent most of her time with. They presented us with plaques to say than you – but the real thanks should go to the many many people who have given in so many ways in this past two and a half years. And not least, of course, to the providence of Almighty God who has gone before us and ensured we survived and prospered. He has truly led, directed and filled in the bits where we were going to fail before we encountered disaster.

The next phase of our work involves Trevor as International Consultant which means travelling around the world promoting the college and the work of the ECS in Sudan – beginning with America this month. So this blog will go internal! We have launched an appeal for over $300,000 – literature available upon request!

We plan to be in the US and UK until the beginning of October when we shall come back here and and see what we can do to support Joseph and the students in their next phase.

Prayers for Bishop Gwynne College

We have a few urgent things to pray about at the moment, so I thought I would send out this extra request. I don't know why, but it definitely seems that the more people pray for something, the more that prayer is answered! Why this should be I don't know, but your prayers do work. Praying the other night I felt the Lord telling me to get others praying too. He wants us (needs us?) all to pray. Thank you everyone. (Did you know we have prayer partners on five continents of the world?)

1. On Tuesday, 10^th May, staff and students are going down to the areas on the roadside still occupied by others. The developers are ready to move in. These people know they have to go, but unless we take some positive action they will just stay. This includes the owner of the 8 containers still on the site! We shall win this one, but we need you all to pray. Thanks.

2. We are currently owed, or due to receive, a total of around 84,000 sdg (US$30,000) from seven sources. Some of this we expected weeks ago. This is both for the running of the college, student fees and the completion of the second staff house. I am having to chase it all with emails and letters.We need at least 17,000 sdg before the end of the month. So we would be enormously grateful for your prayers.

3. Otherwise, we give thanks for the way the students are studying for their forthcoming exams, and their dedication. They are a credit to college and church. The graduation is on 4th June. More details to come ...

May God bless you all,

Trevor

PS New photos on http://www.picasaweb.google.com/nbgc.juba

Thanksgivings and Prayers Requests

A very happy Easter to you all! Holy Week has taken an inordinately long to time to come this year but it has at last arrived. Wednesday in Holy Week, was a day of prayer and fasting in the college. We followed the theme of the proclamation of repentance and forgiveness (Luke 24:44) and used the biblical Stations of the Cross, beginning at Gethsemane, from the C of E Common Worship material. This led into the Eucharist (Eucharistic Prayer H) and the renewal of our commitment to ministry (taken from Maundy Thursday). The students spend the triduum itself in parishes around Juba. Some will be at Juba cathedral where the college is helping introduce a bit of liturgy.

We are grateful for your prayers. Please keep up the good work. Zephaniah (the owner) has moved four of the twelve containers from the site. Please keep up the prayers that he may remove the eight that remain!

A very happy Easter,

Trevor and Tina

Students

We give thanks for the results of the first semester exams for the first year which have turned out better than any of us dared hope. Out of twelve students who sat the exam taking five subjects each (a total of 60 exams) only 3 papers were failed. This is not a bad result for the firsts attempt.

We give thanks that 33 people sat a Special Entrance Exam in March, a very difficult exam set by St Paul's Limuru in English, General and Bible Knowledge. The results of this exam will be announced after Easter but we are confident that we will have a new first year with competent students at a starting level higher than this year.

This semester's exams will soon be upon us. We pray for all the students as they prepare for them.

Staff

We give thanks for the appointment of Joseph Taban as the new Principal of the college. He will take over officially at the end of the semester on 4^th June. His position was officially ratified by the new chairman of governors, the Bishop of Maridi, Justin Badi. They are both very competent and experienced. Please keep them and their families very much in your prayers.

Please pray for Joseph as he puts together a set of people for staffing the college in August.

Development.

The second staff house remains half built as we await the grant from the Anglican Communion Fund. Pray that the money may soon arrive and that we can finish the house for Simon Lual.

We are also anxious to be able to get the roadside development under way. For this we need those who are using it to leave as agreed. Please pray for the developer as he comes onto the site and those who are slow to move. Pray for the removal of the last 8 containers.

We pray that we can find the money to erect a fence around the rest of the site to give us proper security. Some of this depends on the roadside development.

Finance

Please pray that those who still have rents to pay will come up with the money quickly to ensure we have enough money for the month of May.

We give thanks that we have got this far and made a relatively little go such a long way.

Pray for us as we draft new policies on financial management for the coming years. We have to hone the policies for fees, salaries. medical care, housing and so forth.

University Feasibility Study

We praise God that after some difficulties and delays, two experienced academics from the UK, Dr vision of a university to be set up by the ECS. This study will enable us to get a bit nearer to realising the vision. We pray for God's continued guidance for these two ladies as they put together their report. We also give thanks for the realism so many of our bishops and others have to this and other questions about the future. The challenges are enormous. We thank God for the willingness and courage of brave and sacrificial people to tackle it, and we pray for them and their families.

Rapid Change

We thank God that so much is changing so fast in the development of South Sudan for the better. But a building site is a difficult and dangerous place to live in, physically, mentally, psychologically and spiritually. Pray for us as we encounter daily changes, some expected but most not, some planned, and some unwelcome (like the imported crime from neighbouring countries). Pray for the hospitals and the doctors severely stretched. Pray for our schools, many with insufficient staff and buildings, furniture or equipment. Pray for our pastors mostly unpaid and barely trained. Pray for our politicians, army, and police as they gain experience on the job with minimal training in a country in which new rules are having to be formulated as we go along. Pray for those who poverty means they no access to basic services. Pray for expats who come to help – some (especially through the churches) receiving no financial support. Thank God for the patience and understanding of their families elsewhere in the world.

Thank God that in the midst of all this, things are as good as they are and that things are much, much better than they were.

Independence for South Sudan

We give thanks for the opportunities that will come to the south following independence scheduled for 9^th July. We pray that all we be peaceful at that time.

We pray for the northern provinces of the Sudan continuing without the south and the government in Khartoum.

We pray for the people from the south who still live in the north. We give thanks and pray for the work of the churches in the way they continue to support the Christians there, despite so many people moving south.

Pray for peace.