Exams, Empty Tummies, A Snake and Wisdom

South Sudan changes quickly. It had been only six months away from Wau but things were different: Kenyan Commercial Bank had finally opened the first secure bank in Wau; the Ugandan shop that sells soap had doubled in size; a girl from the village had bought a new phone (even if there is no phone signal). In the village, a few more brick buildings had appeared and rare houses have new bamboo fences to make their homes private. Yet, the fencing around the panakim had been stolen, flooding the small health clinic with more cows than patients. And, prices had risen in the North-South political storm of the last months. Sorghum (the main grain) has become three times its old price. People were unsure that they could afford to eat.

1) Exams
The P8s from Marol Academy started sitting their exams last Friday. If they pass, they will receive their Primary School Certificate - the highest qualification most people in South Sudan aspire to. They are sleeping at another school where the exams are being held. There are 32 pupils there from Marol and 76 pupils in total including pupils from other schools in the county. Pray for their peace, confidence and insight.

2) Empty Tummies
On the first evening, I visited my closest friends in the village. My heart leaped to be home amongst them. My Dinka name makes me part of their family. Talking into the evening, I finally walked home with a friend. Yet, all through our hours of conversation, I realised that no fire had been lit. That night, my friends would not be eating. Even though my friend's wife is pregnant and her other children small, their bellies would rumble that night. With the harvest still many months away, this is an early time to already be hungry. They had tried to cultivate much land last year.

3) A Snake
At the Marol teachers compound, Marco and Bol are local boys who have become the guardians/caretakers. They have worked hard to care for the teachers and pupils. They remained on the compound while all of us were away. Yet, last week, while walking back at night, Bol was bitten by a snake. He is alive. He was taken to a traditional, spiritual healer. Please pray for his physical and spiritual healing.

4) Wisdom to Listen
The month ahead will see me start to try to understand the local justice system and the conflicts in this area that claim hundreds of lives each year. There is fear of attacks on the cattle and many people are unsure where it is safe to graze their herd. Please pray for vision, insight and wisdom to help with this learning and listening. Please pray that I will be humble too.

Teachers, Travel and Talks

If you turn left through the gates and right at the road's end, having avoided the swerving cars as they avoid the potholes, you come to a little row of ladies selling fruit. For a few pence, they will give you a bowl of fruit salad cut from fresh bananas, mangoes and such sweet avocados that are unknown in the UK. Kenya gives many treats to enjoy. This week, as I wait to return to South Sudan, I have tried to indulge in lots of those little gifts of daily Kenyan life. Staying here in a friend's flat has been such a blessing.

Teachers
Next year we hope to have 70 pupils at Marol Academy Secondary School. In an area where only a few dozen people have had a secondary education, this promises to make a massive impact. Yet, there was no certainty of having even one teacher. That's partly why it's been good to stop in Kenya. Post the blessing of having three, trained, Christian teachers from Kenya last year (Loice, Rachel and Emma), we hope that the same will happen in 2012. FOCUS (the Kenyan Christian Union) helped us find these teachers last year. Having met them on Friday, they have promise to find us five teachers for 2012. Loice (from last year) and Floyd have already committed to come. They come as volunteers yet we support them financially. Now the task begins to find sponsors for these brave, faithful people who are prepared to spend a year in South Sudan.

Travel
Tomorrow, just after midday, as church services start in the UK, I fly to South Sudan. Then, on Friday (or as soon as transport can be arranged and a couple of meetings have passed), I fly to Wau and the village. I am praying I would love it as much as ever and that it will feel as if I am coming home. Yet, I have been away a long time and England seems most familiar.

Talks
The North and South Sudan were due to start negotiations today post the closure of the oil pipeline. The sale of Southern oil is dependent on it being piped out through the North to Port Sudan. Yet, the North and South have failed to agree the levy for the use of this pipeline. 98% of South Sudan's revenue is from the oil, so it was a significant decision to turn off its flow.

http://africanarguments.org/2012/02/06/pipe-dreaming-over-oil-in-south-sudan-–-by-luke-patey/ .

Snow to Sun

The floor is covered in pieces of paper and piles of clothes. The suitcase was hauled from the attic a couple of days ago and the familiar, final preparations for returning to South Sudan are nearly complete. However many times I pack, I can never finish before the last minute hurry. Yet, despite its familiarity the return journey still seems daunting. Having been away from the village for many months, I wonder if I have remembered what life there is. The heat of the dry season has already engulfed South Sudan. It seems very far from the snow of Bath.

Please pray for:

1) Peace in the Sudans
There are new whispers of conflict post arguments over the oil between North and South Sudan. This is an old argument but is now between two sovereign nations. Do pray for wisdom for the leaders and compassion for their people.

2) Safe Travel
On the 5th (snow permitting), I fly to Nairobi. I then hope to meet Kenyan teachers to recruit a new cohort for Marol Academy. On the 12th I fly to Juba and, then, on to Wau. Do pray for safe travel.

3) My Parents
They have been kinder to me than I could have imagined while I have been at home. However, I know that my return to South Sudan is never easy for them. Pray for their peace and growing faith.

Please Pray for Healing

Please pray for healing for Jok Madut (founder of Marol Academy) who was assaulted by a band of his own country's soldiers on New Year's Eve.

And pray for healing for South Sudan. As the country is formed and war-time memories continue, there are many lost people in South Sudan who don't know where their security lies. Soldiers who would commit such violence must be amongst these lost.

Prayer Request

I just wanted to write to ask for urgent prayer for the people of Jonglei State. It is far from Marol, but friends' home villages are nearby and people fear it is sign of broader instability.

There have been attacks between the Lou Nuer and Murle communities that have left uncounted numbers dead. A friend described it as "like Rwanda" because of the disregard for any ethics in combat. "If the world saw this they would not believe in South Sudan any more". While there has long been cattle raiding between groups in Jonglei, the dynamics and scale of the violence have rejected previous restraints.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16375646

Please pray.

2011 bought so many answered prayers for South Sudan: a peaceful referendum; independence day; some good rains. Yet, there is still much uncertainty.

“Yes” said Queen Lucy

“In our world too, a stable once had something inside it that was bigger than our whole world.”

I pray that you have a happy Christmas and that you are reminded afresh of the love that dared to let a king be born in a stable.

Thank you for another year of love and prayers for Marol Academy and South Sudan. After independence in July, this is South Sudan's first Christmas...

Yet, really, the story has only just started.

Graduation, Growing and Safely Home

Thank God For:
1) Safe Arrivals Home
Now, finally, Gordon, Joyce, Loice, Rachel and Emma are all safely back in their homes. Some are now in the Lydney and others in the bustle of Nairobi, but they are still at the heart of what Marol Academy has done this year.

2) Nhial's Graduate from Teacher Training College
A star of the college, Nhial Bona has finally graduated from Yei Teacher Training College. He is the first trained teacher amongst the 90,000 Apuk Dinka and will return to Marol for the 2012 school year. We are so, so proud of him. And we hope to send another teacher for this two-years' training. It seems one of the most lasting legacies that is possible. We have only been able to do it thanks to the funding from teachers in the UK. So, thank you.

3) Growing Support in the UK
Thank God as He gathers His people in the UK to love, be envisioned and serve the children of Marol.