Just as one country became two with South Sudan’s independence in 2011, Nile Theological College, offering both Arabic and English curriculum tracks, also split into two campuses in two countries the same year.
“Your story is our story.”That’s what a group of visitors from global partners Nile Theological College (NTC) and RECONCILE (Resource Centre for Civil Leadership) in South Sudan, told members of the staff at Protestant Institute of Arts and Social Sciences (PIASS) when they visited Rwanda recently. Rwanda has just marked the 25th anniversary of the 1994 genocide that killed more than 800,000 Tutsi at the hands of the majority Hutu population.
“Today the playground is transformed, adorned with flowers and the presence of many dignitaries.”
Those were the words of the Honorable Rebecca Joshua, government minister of Roads and Bridges in South Sudan’s capital city, Juba, during Monday’s ceremony celebrating 15 graduates of Nile Theological College. Presbyterian mission co-worker the Rev. Bob Rice is an instructor there; his wife, Kristi, also a mission co-worker, is an economic and development adviser for the South Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church. This report is taken from a Wednesday post on their blog, “Embracing Hope.”
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission co-workers Bob and Kristi Rice have accepted a call to serve in South Sudan after six years in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In South Sudan there is a fragile peace and a surprising veneer of normalcy, but just below the surface lurks layers of ethnic violence, severe food shortages and exponentially growing inflation. Still, the Rev. Debbie Braaksma returned to the U.S. last week with a sense of hope that minor miracles are happening daily that may lead to a more lasting peace.
