Information for Prayer Partners

Dear Prayer Partners,
Thank you everyone for your prayers,
1. This article from Anglican News provides more information on the devastation in Bor (Jonglei State - 100 k north of Juba) and the murders in the cathedral compound. It also gives us some figures of the extent of the problem. Even before this devastation things were extremely hard with sparse medical resources, little safe water and hardly any passable roads in Jonglei. Even then, each community had to manage on their own resources with little or no national structure. Now we read:

The United Nations said on Wednesday (7th Feb.) that up to 7 million people, nearly two-thirds of the country’s population, were at risk of some level of food insecurity, with 3.7 million facing emergency or acute levels. About 900,000 people have fled their homes since December.

http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2014/02/female-church-workers-raped,-killed-in-south-sudan.aspx

2. The fighting has continued in Upper Nile around Malakal with disregard to the Cessation of Hostilities agreement even as a second round of talks gets under way in Addis Ababa.

3. The Revd. Simon Lual has had a successful first semester in his MA studies in Africa International University in Nairobi and is now in his second semester.  He has received a grant of $5000 for one year. To complete the two year course he needs a second grant of $5000 from new sources. Can anyone help here? He has been working most recently for the college based in Malakal and our hope is that on completion of his course he will return there to help with rebuilding of that community. Prayers needed.

Blessings,
Trevor

Dear BGC Prayer Partners,

• A short update.  We now have 15 students who have returned. Some are giving excuses but Samuel is trying to be patient with them.

• Esparanza has not yet returned so there is only Samuel and Benjamin in the administration. They certainly need our prayers. However there is a slow but sure recovery for which to give thanks.

• We are still critically low on funds - but are so grateful to you all. Today we have received $500 from Canada and over £800 from the UK. Sadly this doesn't happen everyday! 15 students doesn't sound much but the overheads are high. Juba is no cheap place to live and food is now even higher priced.

• The US are having a day of prayer for South Sudan on 16th February. Contact me for a prayer sheet from the Diocese of Camino Real which you might find useful.

Many thanks,
Trevor

PS. Some of you have asked about my new novel, The Kicking Tree. It is to be published on 28th May (paperback and ebook). It isn't based in South Sudan but some of it was written there - mostly when I was waiting for people to arrive for meetings! It attempts to tackle the problem of believing in God when suffering happens. There are some accounts of suffering in the book, but nothing like that on the scale of South Sudan. There are lots of nice bits too! I have a young adult audience in mind, but it may appeal to a wider age group of Christians. More information on http://www.trevorstubbs.co.uk