Imagine living in a country where there are no longer any paved roads, no schools, no telephone service, no government services, no dependable banking system, and no electricity except in the downtown area of the capital. The basic infrastructure of South Sudan was completely destroyed by the enemy during the civil war and will take a long time to rebuild.

Until just recently, if we needed to send money to our workers, it was necessary for them to make a difficult journey of a day and a half to Kampala, Uganda to receive it,and then another day and a half journey home. Don't forget to include the expense of finding transportation, meals and lodging for the entire time--plus the dangers of carrying a large amount of money on public transportation!

A few months ago, we finally succeeded (with the help of Healing Hands International in Nashville) in obtaining a government permit to electronically wire money to bank accounts in Juba,South Sudan.This has been a great help to our workers as it saved them from having to travel to other countries to pick up their paychecks, and money could be transferred quickly for special needs.

One of our Sudanese workers and future teachers in the preacher training school is Kennedy Shuruma, who is supported by the church in Turlock, Calif. On their behalf, we recently wired $7,300 funds to his bank account in Juba, South Sudan.

When the transfer was sent, we emailed Kennedy that it been done. It usually requires 7-10 days for money to arrive in Sudan. When the money shows up in his account, he e-mails us back that he has received it; and we all breathe a sigh of relief. This last time, however, in the time between the arrival of his money in his account and when he went to withdraw it, the bank failed; and no withdrawals were allowed! Such is the state of banking in South Sudan!