Nyamlell: Father Michael Barton's Sudan mission: Lenten letter from Father Michael Barton

Monday, March 1, 2010

Lenten letter from Father Michael Barton

Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus Parish-Nyamlell February 23, 2010
Comboni Missionaries
P.O. Box 21102
Nairobi, Kenya 00505

Dear Friends,
Greetings as we are at the start of the Lenten season of 2010.

I came back from Juba on January 29th after a meeting and a good six-day retreat and resumed my pastoral visits to the chapels. It is very hot and dry but in Juba on Jan. 24 it rained when I was visiting my first mission of Kworijik-Luri and it never rains in January; then on the 31st as I had already had two masses and a parish council meeting and baptized 33 infants and had Mass in the hospital and anointing of the sick with tuberculosis. Then as I was crossing the Lol River I got stuck in the mud -- all four tires and no way out that day because I had a third mass for a SPLA officer who had died in Juba but brought for burial in his home.

Well, I left the car in the mud very near the mission (one should never get stuck in the mud in the dry season so go figure). So on Monday, at dawn, the first day of February, I and three other boys were out jacking up and digging out my Toyota pickup; it took a lot of effort and by ten o’clock we were on our way not to return till the parish center till Feb. 21.

I was happy to bless and name five newly constructed chapels and have all the sacraments but Holy Orders on many days. However, I was sorry to hear on Feb. 8 that the favored Indianapolis Colts had lost the Super Bowl. In the evening I got into a heated argument with the head catechist over nothing and then had a pouring out of diarrhea even before I could get out of the hut. I had to clean everything myself. Everything returned to normal again with all agreeing with the proverb that the least said the soonest mended.

I also spent two days visiting three missions in a neighboring state and another diocese that I had heard of but never seen and as the roads are vastly improved it make travel quite easy. They were Mayen Abun, Turalei and Abyei. I even visited our neighboring parish of Gordhim for a few hours and had a nice lunch and lots of sharing and laughs.

Saint William Church, which is also Saint Julia Activity Center in Gong Machar, is about half way completed with doors and windows in, and may be finished in three to four months.

Up to Holy Week will be non-stop pastoral visits but Holy Week will have me back to give a Teachers Training Workshop here in Nyamlell and I shall be in Nyamlell for Easter as well.

In this Year of the Priest let us pray for each other.

Have a wonderful Lent!

Father Michael Barton, MCCJ.

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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.