The Joys of Juba

Just before the thatched roof bar in our hotel is a small bridge that leads over a little stream that gushes down to the Nile. When it rains, the little flow becomes a torrent to carry Juba's rain fall down stream. Over this bridge, as you walk out of the hotel and into the rest of Juba, the roads run red with mud and small boys, whose play was interrupted by the rain, shelter beneath thin grass roofs. For a moment the bustle of motorbikes and LandCruisers stands still, too timid to face the torrent. Yet the people of this city over time have seen everything from seasons of being beseiged during the civil war to bursting with development as it is now. Juba has the chaotic haze of any bustling city. The educated and aspiring, the entrepreneur and the nephew all descend on Juba. Life comes and goes here.

Please Pray For:
1) Gordon, Joyce, Rachael, Loice and Emma
This saintly cohort have just over two weeks at Marol before the school year ends and they head home for a rest. Pray for easy good byes that remind them of the joys they've known and the difference they've made. Pray for last minute opportunities to make a world of difference. And pray that God would already set the logistics in place so that they safely make the three flights home from the red dust of Wau's airstrip to the swarm of Heathrow.

2) Students at The University of Juba
Again and again and again the University of Juba did not open. It was meant to open in April, then August and then October. The students returned but the lectures never started. And with no lectures and no funding, the students now sit in the university accommodation without a means of getting food or the money to return home. The promise is that the university will open in December but students are not confident. The University of Juba was initially founded in 1975 to support the education of Southern Sudanese, yet during the war the university was moved to Khartoum. While some of the university's departments reopened in Juba after the peace agreement of 2005, since the Southern government took over this year they have found it hard to find teachers and funds to get the university open. The same is the case in Wau and Malakal.

3) Peace
There are increasing whispers of possible attacks between Unity State and Warrap State. Rebel leaders just over the border from our county seem to want to advance towards us to make a political statement. The rebels are also claiming that many soldiers already in Warrap State will defect to their cause. At the moment it is far from a reality, but it is a season of rumours of wars. The rain laden swamps will hopefully act as a natural barrier for peace at least for now.

4) Work on Communities
This week God has been gracious enough to give me two incredible meetings that I know could not have been without him. Key people just happened to sit in front of me at church or be friends of friends over breakfast. But I still need his guidance as I work out what I'm doing and what doors to knock on.

5) Universities
Having thought God had put things together, there are small complications with the details of my PhD due to new regulations at the university that had not filtered down to the department. I am also seeking funding and would appreciate your prayers for provision. I know my struggles are nothing compared to those at the unversities in South Sudan but it has still upset me. With the growing threats of conflict in Warrap, I hope the work of my PhD will serve well the communities of this land