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January 02, 2007
Southern Blue Nile Academy
Godspace
Have you ever embarked upon a project which was doomed to failure unless God was driving it forward? A friend of mine calls that “Godspace” – the place where God is moving.
Southern Blue Nile Academy, a Christian secondary boarding school in South Sudan is moving forward in Godspace. We’ve watched in awe as we a) received government approval, b) watched the community respond, c) sensed young people’s excitement and d) saw the local SIC church really engage the project.
However . . . our financial “man” power that was filling the sails is about to run out. As project manager, I was awed at the generous donations that have come in but still aware that upper level education requires a higher level of financial support. After 21 years of civil war, the SIC church is not able to contribute financially to a project of this size.
Bricks and Mortar
The Yabus site was chosen because there are serviceable buildings onsite – a true rarity in South Sudan. The bulk of our first year’s funding (75%) is going into renovating the buildings. We feel the school structures should be very humble, yet we feel strongly that computers and textbooks simply must be protected from the elements. Of the five buildings onsite, three have good roofs! However the others require walls to be repaired and foundations to be mended.
“We go to Yabus on Jan 3”
That was the text message I got from our trader’s satellite phone! Praise God that his big lorry (truck) arrived from Damazine (on a road built by Osama bin Laden) and is leaving Kurmuk tomorrow morning. Nightfall should see it rolling into Yabus. It contains 500 bags of cement and about half the lumber we need to finish all the renovations. Other loads will follow later.
Plus Ten
In January, the population of Yabus will increase by ten as we move in and set up shop. Three separate flights (there’s no way to enter by road) will bring in mattresses, materials, masons and . . . missionaries. Please pray for safety and good logistics as we fly on Jan 10, 11, and 13th.
The co-located Basic Education Learning Center will be cranking up with Pastor Kasu (Ethiopia) and Nate Kidder (USA) as the first teachers. Michael Odhiambo, a fantastic Kenyan engineer and friend, will be the Engineering and Construction Supervisor. Then, Beverly and I will move to Yabus with baby Thomas around the first of February. That is, as long as I can boost the living conditions from “bush camping” to “luxury camping”.
Setting Up Shop in South Sudan
How do we do that? Well, we’ll be working on the basics: food, shelter, and water. The food will be a mix of staples we fly in and things bought locally. Mostly it will be rice and beans followed the next day by beans and rice.
For a while, shelter will be big canvas tents or in the Crowders' case a small 2-room brick building with a big tarp for a makeshift roof. Water will be brought from boreholes or the river via our brand new SIM donkey. The water will be boiled and/or treated then filtered with big Katydyn filters to ensure drinkability.
All these things cost money. The water filter costs over $500. We are purchasing a Toyota Landcruiser to move sand and stones up from the riverbed. That will cost a pretty penny, not to mention $10,000 just to fly it in (again, no roads). And cement costs $13 a bag.
Our Vision
Can I share my vision for Southern Blue Nile Academy? Through eyes of faith, I see a graduation taking place in about a year and a half. About 30 boarding students, a mix of men and women, will be receiving certificates of promotion from Form 1 to Form 2. They will have been challenged, loved, disciplined, and shown how to follow God. They will be the first students from a population of 1 million people to have any hope of upper level education. And that’s really the point – hope. The hope that comes from repairing the walls.
“Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.”
Isaiah 58:12 (NIV)
Thanks for your prayers and your love,
Chris for the Crowder family
Published at January 2, 2007 02:51 PM
