Moving from Temporal to Permanent...

Often God's plan for us doesn't come to pass as straight forward as we would like it to be, but somehow he still gets us to where he wants us. Before I came to Africa, I thought I would be staying in Torit and lecture at the Bible School there. However, when I got here it became obvious that the school was not ready yet. So we looked for another temporal placement in Sudan to fill time. I've been in Melut now for 3 months and it became apparent to me fairly soon that God wanted me to consider GTC for a permanent placement. So after talking to my unit leader and praying for some time, I am very happy to announce that I will be staying in Melut to become permanent staff at Gideon Theological College. In January, another missionary couple from Australia, Gerald and Kath Donker, will come to GTC as permanent staff, which will be great for fellowship. FAR, the aid wing of SIM Canada, will also move onto the compound in January to run operations from here. So it seems that next year will be a busy and interesting one with a lot of change ahead.

Building on a Solid Foundation

With the decision to stay at GTC permanently also came a decision to build a house for me on the compound. I've really enjoyed being in my tukul (Sudanese mud hut) over the last few months, but unfortunately, there is no electricity here and it's not really big enough for my things - some of which are still in Torit and everything else is spread over 2 tukuls here.... Half of the money for the house will be provided by the AIM housing fund, but the other half has to come out of my own support. The house will have one larger bed/living room, a small kitchen and a bathroom - the estimated cost for the building is set at $12,000 with another one thousand dollars to fit a solar system. This translates roughly into £8,000, of which £4,000 will have to come from donations. FAR and the Donker's will be building next January/February and it would be economical to team up with them in order to cut down on costs.

I would greatly appreciate it if you considered helping with this project as a church or as an individual. Individual private cheques can be sent to AIM directly at "Africa Inland Mission, Halifax Place, Nottingham NG1 1QN" made payable to AIM International with a note to say "Verena Schafroth - GTC Lecturer's House". Elim church donations can be sent to Elim Missions headquarters with the same note.

Prayer Requests
+ please pray for continuous growth of relationships here
+ BA graduation (28 November) and that the students will be able to finish their last term well
+ spiritual protection and good sleep at night
+ that I won't feel lonely
+ that preparations for the new academic year will go well
+ that preparations for the building will go well and that the funds will come together