This is just a quick note, as I travel through the urban sprawl of Rumbek on my way to Unity State. The week has been filled with adventures. There is so much prayer needed for this land and especially for those at the cattle camps who face violence and the fear of it on a daily basis. Yet, I have been grateful to sit with strangers, drink fresh milk, sip warm tea and listen to their stories. It is such a privilege. And I am grateful that I have been kept safe as I travel.
As I type, rain is pouring down and the compound's paths have long been flooded to resemble a large lake. Our long (five or six hour) journey to Unity State tomorrow promises to be full of mud. I would really appreciate your prayers. I am tempted to be tired, but am also aware that it is a true privilege to go to the grazing lands in Unity State and spend time with a people I may never have the chance to meet again. I am sure God can travel with me.
A few hundred miles away, the teachers have safely settled at Marol. Please pray that this new community grows to be a family as fast as it did last year.
Tuesday 29 May 2012
Sunday 20 May 2012
Teachers and the Toic
New Teachers
Loice and three new Kenyan teachers (Thomas, Lawrence and Elkana) today fly from Nairobi to South Sudan. All being well, they will spend their first night in the village tomorrow night (Monday) as the new member of the Marol Family. Please pray for ease of travel, especially now the rains are heavy and they will be landing on a small airstrip. Also pray for a strength of spirit as their faith to come is confronted with the challenges of daily life at Marol. Pray that they quickly become a family and feel at home with Gordon, Joyce and Floyd who are already there. Yet, most of all, pray that God will use their faith and sacrifice to come to do amazing things amongst that community.
Funding For New Teachers
The Marol Family now includes five volunteer Kenyan teachers. All straight out of university, they have had little chance to save to fund this service. Therefore, we are seeking to sponsor them to cover the cost of transport, visas, food and a small incentive to spend on living essentials. It costs about 2,000 GBP to support a teacher for a year (or about 170 GBP per month). Some already have sponsorship but we have stepped out in faith to invite the others to Marol, confident that it is God's plan and that he will provide.
The Lakes-Unity Toic
Tomorrow, for a week or so, I will travel to the village of Amok Piny in the toic (grazing lands) between Lakes and Unity States. It has been the sight of heavy raiding in the past, but I will be there to spend time with the cattle keepers as they return from the furthest reaches of their pastures. It is the most remote place I have ever spent time (I think) as it sounds a great distance from even one, grass-roofed market stall. It is a daunting privilege to be able to travel there. Pray for that my spirit will be strong when I am in this unfamiliar place. Pray, also, for good weather - it sounds as if, in a few more rains the village will be permanently cut off by road from other settlements.
Tuesday 8 May 2012
The North and New Things
Continuing North-South Contests
The North and South of Sudan continue to compete with words and bombs as old tensions are brought back to the surface. A new UN resolution is a firm attempt to try to bring the two sides to the negotiating table and prevent full-scale war, yet it is still unclear what the next days will bring. In the village the main concern is the escalating food prices. A sack of maize is now three times what it cost just over a year ago. People feel that they will not be able to afford to feed their families. Yet, they are far from the immediate violence: www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17954805
New Soldiers
Along the gravel road, the newly recruited soldiers walked through the day and the night behind the waving South Sudan flag. Having signed up in the main market village, they have a few days walk to the nearest barracks. With tensions increasing against the North, they have been enthusiastic to sign up to the Southern army to defend their new nation. Most of the recruits are in their twenties and have been sent with the praise of their community. Yet, scattered amongst their number, are much younger boys. Pray for these people and all that is ahead of them.
New School
On Tuesday, the ground was broken to dig the foundations of Marol Academy Secondary School. Having borrowed a classroom from the primary school last year, there was a massive demand for the secondary school to have a home of its own. Bricks were delivered using the school's truck and with the help of another truck in the community. Now the mountains of bricks await the builders. Funding for the whole construction is still not secured, but it seemed the right step of faith to start building. People walked around the dug foundations, praying for blessing and protection. There is much need for prayer for this young secondary school at the moment and for protection of all that God is building here.
New Adventures
As strange as it feels to leave Luonyaker, on Monday I will travel away from the familiar pastures of Gogrial East County for a good few weeks. First, I will travel to Kenya to complete university assignments and rest. After a week I will return to South Sudan but will head to Lakes State (another Dinka speaking region a little further south). I have been invited to do a little research, for one month, in that different terrain on possible ways to build peace amongst the communities. It is a privilege to go but I am already tired and fear the energy needed for any new environment. Prayers for rest, work and new adventures would be much appreciated.
The North and South of Sudan continue to compete with words and bombs as old tensions are brought back to the surface. A new UN resolution is a firm attempt to try to bring the two sides to the negotiating table and prevent full-scale war, yet it is still unclear what the next days will bring. In the village the main concern is the escalating food prices. A sack of maize is now three times what it cost just over a year ago. People feel that they will not be able to afford to feed their families. Yet, they are far from the immediate violence: www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17954805
New Soldiers
Along the gravel road, the newly recruited soldiers walked through the day and the night behind the waving South Sudan flag. Having signed up in the main market village, they have a few days walk to the nearest barracks. With tensions increasing against the North, they have been enthusiastic to sign up to the Southern army to defend their new nation. Most of the recruits are in their twenties and have been sent with the praise of their community. Yet, scattered amongst their number, are much younger boys. Pray for these people and all that is ahead of them.
New School
On Tuesday, the ground was broken to dig the foundations of Marol Academy Secondary School. Having borrowed a classroom from the primary school last year, there was a massive demand for the secondary school to have a home of its own. Bricks were delivered using the school's truck and with the help of another truck in the community. Now the mountains of bricks await the builders. Funding for the whole construction is still not secured, but it seemed the right step of faith to start building. People walked around the dug foundations, praying for blessing and protection. There is much need for prayer for this young secondary school at the moment and for protection of all that God is building here.
New Adventures
As strange as it feels to leave Luonyaker, on Monday I will travel away from the familiar pastures of Gogrial East County for a good few weeks. First, I will travel to Kenya to complete university assignments and rest. After a week I will return to South Sudan but will head to Lakes State (another Dinka speaking region a little further south). I have been invited to do a little research, for one month, in that different terrain on possible ways to build peace amongst the communities. It is a privilege to go but I am already tired and fear the energy needed for any new environment. Prayers for rest, work and new adventures would be much appreciated.
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