Nyamlell: Father Michael Barton's Sudan mission: Mount Sinai on Thanksgiving Day

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Mount Sinai on Thanksgiving Day

A e-mail note from Father Michael from the Holy Land, Nov. 26:

On Thanksgiving Day 2007 we as secessionists went up to Mount Sinai. We got up at 2 am and started up the mountain at 3 am. The day before we went Jerusalem at 5 am and visited Mitzpe Ramon, which was a wonderful lookout in another wonderful view of the mountains and plains of the Israel desert and then down to Eliat and we crossed the border at Taba and the Egyptian Comboni Sister got turned back and the Ethiopian priest make it but had to take a lot of stuff from both sides. We were at the border for three hours.Then we drove on the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba and then up the high plateau in the Wadi Ghazala to Wadi el Sheikh.
Thursday November 22nd, we took a bus to Saint Catherine's Monastery and started the ascent up "Jebel Musa" along the Sikket-el-Basha path and we all walked even though there were camels available which took two hours and then straight 743 steps to be there for sunrise. The sun make it but not everyone else. I used a flash light and did make it. With Moses in mind I thank God for his revelation and even his commandments and the view of the mountain tops was just something outstanding.
Then down the 743 steps and them down the traditional Moses' path of some 2000 more steps and a few falls. It was day now but still tough, very hard on my knees.
Once we all got down we had Mass outside on the mountain side. and then we went in to the Orthodox of the historic Saint Catherine's Monastery and then lunch and went on a short desert walk up to the Rock of Inscriptions of many travelers and the graffiti left by them. We spent the America Thanksgiving Day on the Gulf of Aqaba or the Red Sea. I was tired indeed.
The next day we crossed the borders with no problem at all and we stopped to see the coral reef and the Eilat Aquarium. Then we went by bus to visit the Timna natural reserve and Solomon's Columns, the Temple of Goddess Hathor, which was an ancient copper smelting installation done by the Egyptians.
We got back to Jerusalem after dark and got woken up by another earthquake around the Dead Sea. No harm done.
On Saturday evening we started an eight day directed retreat and will be till Sunday December 2nd midday.
I may go to Jordan on the fifth till the ninth and on the tenth I head back to Africa.
Michael

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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.