The second leadership training class for churches in South Sudan and Northern Uganda was held in November by Sudanese preacher Isaya Jackson. All the leaders from all area churches of Christ were invited to come to a host congregation for intensive training classes for one week. The men were taught to lead prayers, lead singing, conduct a communion service, and make talks.
These training sessions bring both successes and challenges. One of the big successes of this second session is that all known congregations except two were represented.
Twenty-seven men attended one of the preaching classes, and a total of 43 students were enrolled for the training week.
Among the challenges were the logistics of feeding these men.
All members of the host congregation had just returned from exile and so do not have many possessions. Getting together enough eating utensils for the meals was a real struggle. Some had to go without food until late in the evening so the same cooking utensils could be reused.
With only a few bicycles among them, transportation was another challenge. Providing first aid was also difficult. One brother developed malaria, but no medicine was available.
Border fees presented a bit of a problem as well. Six Ugandan churches sent leaders to the training week, and the cost to cross the border was $10 each way. Some could not afford that, which limited the number of those who could participate. Fortunately, a small amount of financial help was available for those who couldn't afford to pay their own border fees.
You can see that most of the “challenges”are simply financial.
Food prices have also recently risen. All of those attending needed to be fed by the host congregation. Some arrived several days early and, of course, had to be fed. Isaya was able to use some of his training budget to help feed these men.
Another training session will be held next year close to the Uganda border. This will make it more convenient for brethren from that country to attend.

The only telephones in South Sudan are the few cell phones of those rare people who can afford them. No postal service exists. All this makes communication between churches and leaders in South Sudan very difficult.
However, the communication we are able to receive is good! Isaya Jackson in Juba sends an e-mail that seven were baptized at the Pajok congregation on Sept. 21. On Oct. 12, 10 more were baptized at Pajok; and on Nov. 9, eight more were baptized at the same congregation. On that same Sunday, 10 were baptized at the Obbo congregation.
Kennedy Shuruma, another native preacher who lives in Magwii, reports that 13 were baptized at the Agoro church. He also reports that in August, six were baptized, and 19 more on Sept. 13. No doubt others are being baptized in the congregations from which we are unable to receive communication.

How many Bibles do you own personally? In our country,we just take for granted the availability of Bibles and song books for our worship services. During the recent Sudanese leadership training session, leader after leader raised the issue of having no Bibles or song books.
Some congregations have only one Bible in the whole congregation!
Other leaders actually have to borrow a Bible from a denominational church in order to have one to study for their sermons.
We need to fix this problem!
A Bible in their African languages can be purchased for $5 and a song book for $6. If anyone would like to help with this, the address is above. What better way to celebrate the season of giving than to give the gift of God's Word to a country!

South Sudan has a population of more than 11 million people. Landwise, it is slightly bigger than Kenya, and twice the combined size of Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. Perhaps easier to grasp is its similarity to the size of Texas.
About 85 percent of the oil in Sudan comes from the South. South Sudan also has vast mineral wealth and large swaths of land that can be used for agriculture and forest cover.
In spite of South Sudan being one of the poorest nations on earth, it is estimated that the land is so fertile it could feed the whole of Africa and have leftovers to export.