Announcement of Trinity Presbytery’s Sudan Ministry Mission Trip
Trinity South Sudan Ministry seeks to take two mission teams to South Sudan in February 2015 to the new administrative area (same position as a new state), the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA). At the present time this area is safe and free from the civil war that engulfs much of South Sudan. It is located in Southeast Jonglei and encompasses the previous Pibor and Pochalla Counties. A segment of the SPLA commanded by Gen. David Yau Yau protects this area. By agreement with the Government of South Sudan, his forces will not participate in the civil war. Gen. Yau Yau also is the Administrator (governor equivalent) of the GPAA. Both he and others have invited us to come. The environment is harsh with temperatures routinely exceeding 110 degrees and primitive living conditions.
Week One: The team for week one will fly into Pibor from Nairobi on February 7th and return on February 14th on a charter flight. This team will focus on:
Medical Training: Nurses and doctors will work alongside the local staff to improve their diagnostic and treatment ability. Obviously this will be a combination of training and treatment. PC(USA) mission co-worker Nancy McGaughey will assist us in identifying the specific training needs and the specific medications which we will order through her.
Need: Physicians and Nurses with both medical skills and patience to impart skills to others.
Theological Training: Initial theological training focused on the concept of servant leadership, sacraments, and how pastors, elders and deacons must live lives focused on demonstrating their faith at all times. Our second training focused on the Gospel of Mark. On their request, this time we will teach the letter of James which focuses on how genuine faith transforms lives, putting faith into action, and how true faith transforms lives. Basic Peace through Evangelism practices will also be taught.
Need: One or more ordained ministers who has a desire to help theologically weak, but faithfully strong officers of the local church greatly improve their understanding of practical Christianity. Potentially we also will have agriculture and teacher training.
NEED: Someone to manage the camp, assure water safety and cook.
Week Two: The week-two team will fly in on the flight which brings team one out on February 14th and will fly out on February 21st. This team will focus on: Physical Therapy: Women who live very hard lives physically develop back problems early in life. We will teach them exercises which will relieve their pain and cultural practices to avoid which will allow younger women to grow up without back pain.
Need: One or more motivated physical therapists.
Trauma Healing: Peace Mobilizers (primarily those who will be in theological training week one) will be taught how to assist communities and individuals get over the trauma which is a product of the years of horrible tribal and civil conflict that ended in mid-2014 with a peace treaty between the Government of South Sudan and the fighters (largely Murle) who sought a better life for their people and now comprise the SPLA in the GPAA. Again, Peace Through Evangelism will be emphasized as fundamental to mobilizing peace.
Need: One or more appropriately trained psychologists or other professionals who can teach a group of 25-40 these skills and how to use them.
Administrative Training: At the request of the Administrator of GPAA, we will provide training for selected government officials. Among these are: Lawyers and Judges: A relatively undefined combination of civil law, common law, and traditional law exists in the GPAA as elsewhere in South Sudan. Principles of law, Biblical teachings on justice, and fundamentals will be taught to this category of student. Some of these Judges may be traditional judges – others may have legal training. ALARM, Inc will assist.
Need: One or more lawyers with a strong understanding of the Bible bases for justice and willingness to train in fundamentals.
Certified Public Accountants: In South Sudan budgeting and accounting skills are very week. The result has been a lack of transparency, corruption and theft. We anticipate that improved training will help to correct that.
Need: One or more CPAs who can train in the basics of accounting and bookkeeping.
Business or Public Administrators and Education Administration: As a beginning state, there is no administrative capability in this new state. People will need to teach basics of administration and help to set up systems.
Need: one or more Business or Public Administrators and one Education Administrator.
NEED: Someone to manage the camp, assure water safety and cook.
For more information contact: Bill Andress 803 951 3025 or billandress@ureach.com