SIM maintains a secondary school in South Sudan that serves over 1 Million people. Up until recently it was the only one, but in the last year some muslim secondary schools have opened in the area.

Historically the students have been uncompromising in various demands they have. Many if not all of these demands are directed at the head master of the school (an American missionary) and made personal, even though they have nothing to do with her. For example, they have long complained about having to pay tuition (a token amount that doesn’t come close to the actual cost).

This came to a head last week when the students posted their grievances on the wall of the school one morning. SIM chose to close the school temporarily until the local church board (who has been given ultimate authority over the school) can meet and make some decisions about the current events. The local piam (the leadership of the area villages) is resisting SIM’s move to shut the school (however temporary) and saying that SIM would no longer be needed should they shut the school.

The church leadership was to have met yesterday. Please be in prayer with us as our missionaries on the ground there as well as our leadership in Nairobi meet to discuss how we should move forward.

One important difference in the handling of situations in Africa is not so much WHAT should be done, but HOW it should be done. Relationships mean more than anything else in these contexts. Please pray that the missionaries can build relationships through these hardships and become closer with the community there as they work to seek an amicable outcome.

Allison and I had the opportunity to share at a church in Shell Knob, MO. If you’ve ever been to NW Arkansas or SW Missouri, you know what the area is like, beautiful. Nestled up next to Table Rock lake, the beautiful views are limitless. They have seen a lot of rain and flooding is putting it mildly. Many people are trapped in their homes surrounded by 15 foot waters. The lake is over 40 feet above it’s normal level. To say the least, they could use your prayers. It is a retirement community and would be extremely difficult should someone have a medical emergency.

We were very blessed to be able to share with the community about the work Allison and I will be doing in Sudan. They received us with much love and prayed over us. After a quick lunch with the church body, Allison and I excused ourself for the 8 hour ride home. We made it back safe and sound.

Avery always gets a bit of schedule when we go out of town, but is sleeping longer a night. Such a praise for both of us.

Stay tuned as we have a lot going on these next few weeks.

Once a year, the missionaries from each country get together to have their own recoup time. It’s a time for prayer, spiritual healing/awakening/refreshment, and a time to get to see the whole team together. Many of them never see each other but for this one time every year because they work in such remote areas.

The team is extremely diverse with missionaries from Ethiopia, Wales, New Zealand, England, Kenya, Canada and America. This creates such a unique experience while doing God’s work for his kingdom.

Click the image for the larger version.

Well, today, December 28th, is our due date. There’s no signs that it’s going to be happening any time soon. Today also happens to be our half year anniversary. We’re now at 4 1/2 years.

We could sure use your prayers as we enter this final stretch of the pregnancy. The room is ready, bags packed, baby car seat installed and ready to go… we just need the baby to want to be here. We look forward to sharing this new joy of our lives with you in the very near future.

Thank you for your many gifts through baby showers and mailings. You’ve blessed us immensely. We hope that we can return some of that blessing with the new child God will be bringing into this world very shortly. Please come and visit us soon after the baby has arrived. Look back here often for updates on the baby and mother. We’re sure to have photos and video up for everyone to see.

The Problem:
Right now the financial back bone of SIM is very outdated. Much of our process is still done all on paper. Everything is separate and nothing is databased together. When you change something, it has to be done in 10 places and 5 people informed to change in their 10 places.

The Fix:
For the last 6 months SIM has begun the process of making the major overhaul of changing the entire system from the ground up. I recently heard from the project coordinator and a lot of very important decisions are coming to a head before the end of the year. Some of them involved costs DIFFERENCES of $250k. The vendor they would like to use for everything is just to expensive for the whole package. Since SIM would like to still use portions of their package instead of the whole enchilada (as we say in Texas), the vendor wants to remove the special pricing they had, understandably. So now SIM is in a rock and a hard place.

Pray:
Please take a moment as this is not just about a project, but changing a lot about how SIM is run. How every person’s finances are handled. How your donations are processed, communicated, etc. etc. It will all be better once this is done.

No doubt the worst situation is if everything is delayed. This is such a big project, it will take over a year just to build out and implement. The current system is so outdated, it would be a shame to delay this any further.

Please pray for the SIM leadership, and that if God wills it, that the vendors would be willing to discount products for SIM.

It turns out the same man carried out the shooting in Denver at the YWAM office and in Colorado Springs at New Life Church. YWAM has an office in that church. The young man worked with YWAM a few years ago and had a falling out. Please continue to be in prayer for the families involved in both incidents. The young man was killed at the church by their security.

Click here for the latest CNN.com article.

Our church held a Harvest Festival in place of halloween 2 weeks ago and used the event to highlight the missionaries and initiatives of the church. For the first time Allison and I set up an event booth. We had a lot of people come by and talk with us, many asking to stay informed and are now receiving our email newsletter.

At one point that morning, an African gentleman approached Allison and asked if she knew why ‘America’ was in Sudan. Sensing entrapment, Allison explained the mission work she and I would be doing in South Sudan. After some back and forth he said ‘America is there for the oil’ with a forceful tone. Allison was loving and explained that we were there to share God’s love. He then walked away.

Because of our passion for the people of Southern Sudan, and my patriotism, my soul was injured while watching this exchange between Allison and the African. It truely feels like a spiritual attack.

I will always steer clear of any political talk as our ministry has nothing to do with that and desires to work with the Sudanese people, no matter the politcal situation. But I wanted to share the true disinformation that is spread among people and what it can do to rip people apart. As many of you know, there’s a lot going on right now with the CPA and it’s a very tense time. I just read an article today that quoted the President of Sudan, talking to the military, saying that the west only wants to be involved b/c they want the resources in the South and then goes on to say “Those Americans, those British, and those Europeans are not keen about the people of Darfur, or the people of southern Sudan or the Sudanese people.” Wow, that hurt. There are so many people, just in Dallas, who are specifically working in Darfur and other areas of Sudan to help the people. NONE of them have an alterior motive such as oil or any other financial reason.

This cuts deap into our hearts and those doing work in Sudan. I would ask that you would pray for the spiritual battle which has already started for Allison and I.

The Southern government SPLM has pulled out of the unity government today. Please be in prayer for continued peace and implimentation of the CPA (Comprehensive Peace Agreement).

Read about it:
Al Jazeera
BBC News

Update:
It appears the SPLM has not pulled out of the government but the acting ministers (heads of government arms) were recalled back to Juba, the Southern capital, to evaluate the implimentation of the CPA and brief them on some new SPLM government officials. In effect, this ‘recall back to Juba’ is a withdrawl from the unity government.

More Links:
Sudan Tribune
New Sudan Vision