Nyamlell: Father Michael Barton's Sudan mission: Letter from Fr. Michael, October 2006

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Letter from Fr. Michael, October 2006

Letter sent to friends of Father Michael Barton:

Hello from Africa and from Northern Bar el Gazel in South Sudan and from Nyamlell in particular.
This must be the year of the snake because I have had two of them in my room and three on the veranda, and the biggest cobra that I have seen in Africa was waiting for me in our shower room as I was starting my day. Did it ever frighten me but slowly but surely I killed it and not it me. I had the help of another young man who serves as our watchman but he, like me, was a terrible thrower. After a lot of effort we smashed its ugly head and tale.
The Dinkas call a cobra "Atak" which is the same word that is used to think. It raises up and spits when it is thinking, well, that one thought five time at me but I stayed far enough away so that it could not blind me nor bite me.
I spent several nights thinking about it so you see it also got me to think.
We are now in the fifth week of the second semester. It is a very difficult year due to the teacher situation, yet all is going forward as best as possible.
I have the convent done finally and now we are putting on the screens and shower and bowls in the pit latrine. Also there is another house in that compound that I am trying to repair so as to be used as a mothers center. Two more classrooms are finished and four more are still to be done this year if God so allows and wants. We also put our boat into the water and the children are using it to ferry the Lol River to and from school and church and other activities.
I have been to some 18 chapels this last month. Then from September 1-11 I went to Nairobi to renew my American passport. I also made a spiritual retreat for six days in a Jesuit House in the suburbs of the Kenyan capital.
I want to thank you for your prayers and let you know that you are in mine.
Yours in the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
Michael D. Barton

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Saint Teresa Parish

Comboni School

Nyamlell (Aweil West)

Northern Bahr el Ghazal State

South Sudan

The permanent school and the Activity Center that serves as the Saint Joseph Church, as well as a block of four classrooms in the Comboni School in Marial Baai in Aweil West in Northern Bahr el Ghazal, were completed and the Church is used for two classes of Comboni School there. Until further plans or possibilities present themselves, the Marial Baai Community will have to maintain two locally built classrooms. However, in 2009, six classrooms were built – two of them in the first permanent Church built in the entire state since the 1950s.

The Science Laboratory and two more classrooms were roofed and completed in Nyamlell, also in 2009

We celebrated the 75 years of foundation and of existence of the Catholic Church in Nyamlell, which is the second mission built by the Comboni Missionaries among the Dinka. It began in 1934 for the first evangelization of the Dinka Malual so there have been 75 years of the gospel and the sacraments in our state. It was a very big celebration and many thousands of people came and so much preparation went into it.

There was a drive to get donations from the local Christians especially by the youth, and to my amazement the youth and the elders responded marvelously and most of the costs was covered by the Catholics of the parish; the OLSH sisters helped so much in organizing so many details. It was a Christ-centered celebration of Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus and a strengthening of the Church for continued preaching of the gospel in this parish, state and country of the South Sudan.

Our school did very well and got first place in the whole state of Northern Bahr el Ghazal in the state-run class eight leavers certificate examination in 2009. Our best was first in the state and our worst was 99^th out of 1,568 class eight leavers. The best went on to high school and the worst became a policeman. The class eight in 2010 should be sitting soon for theirs and we shall see how they will do.

A non-governmental organization (NGO) in Juba had promised $50,000 when the Activity Center was being built in Marial Baai, but when finished they said that it looked like a church to them and in the end did not give a red cent or piaster of any kind. So all this was done by money that had been donated by people like you.

There are NGOs who have built classrooms but they will only do it for the South Sudan Government and not for the Church even though our results are far superior than those of the government. All these took great effort.

In 2009 the Christmas collection all over the parish in all its centers and chapels was dedicated to building of the first permanent Church in the entire County of Aweil North. This building will be for two purposes. It will serve as a Church and as an Activity Center. It will be called Saint William Church and Saint Julia Activity Center and is being built in Gok Macar, the county seat of Aweil North.

We started the construction as of December 2009 and it is much too early to say when we shall finish but it will be done some time in 2010. I am thinking that U.S. $80,000 will be the cost and one thousand will come from the local community in the form of Sudanese pounds of items.

Next we would like to build a smaller chapel in Ariath, another important center in Aweil North with a good population and many Catholics in both Gok Macar and Ariath.

We have another Comboni school in Makuei, also in Aweil North, which is up to class five. Not far is a large church that has only local grass structures. I would like to build a block of four classrooms that will cost close to U.S. $100,000, which will only be started when we have the money. So I am looking for that too. I hope to get something from some organization. Much cheaper will the repair and finishing of our last classrooms if we can by 2012. I shall move one step at a time.

In 2010 there will be two schools that are up to class eight. They are Nyamlell and Marial Baai, both in Aweil West. As I have said Makuei is our smallest school and has class five this year.

Sacred Heart High School had a great year and in 2010 we shall have Form One and Form Two and growing but also struggling as students coming from other schools like the government ones are very difficult to find as to fit the poorly taught and the well taught who have the basics in place.

We all need help, so that something can get done and that what is up and running stays that way.

Sincerely yours in the Lord of all,
Father Michael Barton, MCCJ.
Comboni Missionaries-Nyamlell,South Sudan.
Post Office Box 21102
Nairobi, Kenya 00505.