Update from Pageri, South Sudan
The signs of war and turmoil are all around. Many burned-out homes still remain empty as those who owned them are living in the refugee camps of Uganda. Slowly people are coming back, cautiously seeking to restore what has been destroyed. The people who are coming back are weary of the wars, they just want peace and maybe a little hope.
The history of this compound is painful. People died here not so long ago. So, before the training there was a prayer and worship service of pastors who have come back. They are seeking a new start and to dedicate the place to the Lord. Tobias has begun to restore the compound. The burned-out church building has been painted and the roof replaced. Many of the buildings have a new coat of paint.
The students are sleeping on mattresses in tents all around the compound. It is the rainy season. The rains have been so heavy that when we arrived this morning a few of the tents had collapsed. Mattresses are wet and belongings are soaked. Yet they come and they are hungry for truth.
We have Catholics, Anglicans, Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostals, Evangelical Free and a few independent churches. There is no conflict here. Our leaders have done such an amazing job of bringing all of these together from communities around and the refugee camps on the border.
The infrastructure of South Sudan is almost nonexistent. They must import food and goods because the farmers are in the camps. Those who have come home cannot produce crops because the government will tax them beyond what they can pay, so there is little food beyond what they can grow and what is here is very expensive.
Please pray for God to continue His work here. Pray for God to continue to provide for this trip. It will cost up to two times more than we were first told because of the large number of participants. It is a good problem to have.
God is doing something bigger here than only a training on how to study the Bible. It is amazing that we have been honored to be apart of what He is doing.