Joy at last

Finally a day filled with joy amongst so much suffering and pain. Yesterday I had the privilege of delivering Bibles to a local school. Last year in May I was here in Tonj with a team from the U.S. All of the team visited one of the public schools. One of my team members was deeply touched when the students were asking for English Bibles. When she returned to her home and discussed it with her husband they felt that God was wanting them to donate the much desired Bibles.

The Bibles were purchased in Uganda and have been waiting for the right time to be flown in. It worked out well logistically for them to be on the same flight as me. From the photo you can see them in the back of the plane.

Albino, the IDAT compound manager and one of the Diguna men, Dan, and myself loaded all the boxes  and drove to the school. The headmaster met us outside and immediately there was a lot of excitement. Since there are 950 students enrolled we had to do this in some sort of orderly way.

I was given a megaphone to address the students. Many understand some English but for clarity and full understanding I had a translator, Albino, on my left and the headmaster was on my right.

I told them the value of the gift that they were being given and referred them to James 1:25 which tells us not to just hear the Word or in this case read it but to do what it says. There were many bursts of applause. Sometimes here it is like a status symbol to have a Bible in English so I told them not to boast about what they had but instead share the gift by learning to read well, using the Bible as a tool and tell others about the truths they learned.

The children were dismissed to their respective classes and we went around the entire school handing out the Bibles to each individual student.
Class sizes here are a bit different than most western style classes. Level P5 for example had 100 students. The classes are not by age but more by education level. You can have a young man who is 16 with an 10 year old. Uniforms are not required but each student pays 35 Sudanese pounds for a year of school. That is the equivalent of $13 U.S.

There are no desks. Each student sits on a bench with his book or paper on his lap. There are no windows to block out sound, light , heat etc. There is a simple chalk board and no posters or charts of any kind. The lessons are taught in English.                                                                 

It was so much fun watching them open their Bibles and immediately I could see them mouthing the words as they read.  I am praying they never lose the desire to read the Word that transforms lives.

Girls are not a common sight in schools but it is improving. I even thought there were more this time than when I visited in May 2011. Education is the key for change in South Sudan.


Did you know that it is more likely for a teenage girl to die in childbirth than graduate high school? That's a staggering statistic.

Even the smaller students  whose classroom was outside under a tree were given a Bible and encouraged to learn to read fast.

As we were leaving the headmaster was handing out Bibles to all 20 teachers. Yes, 20 teachers for 950 students. Anyone want to apply?  It would be hard, but you would have you socks blessed off.

I know I felt so blessed to have been a part of this special day.
When God taps on you heart to give and you obey great things can happen now and for eternity.