Reflection from Abraham Maketh Aruai
I am very grateful because of the trainings you offered to us in July through August. I am also grateful to God because of the opportunity to participate in these trainings. You really gave yourselves and we urge you to keep on with that spirit. The one-week counselling for trauma course was really helpful and timely for me because I am a counsellor. I thank God for this chance he gave to all of us. Finally I wish to say that you need to establish more training here in Kakuma and you can establish a GSLTC office and compound in Southern Sudan such that all our pastors must be taught there.

 

Congratulations GSLTC!
I am very delighted by the work you are doing. I hereby send my heartfelt gratitude to GSLTC for inspiring us and helping us to be fruitful. It is my prayer that you will extend the same service to our brothers and sisters in southern Sudan who have not yet been reached by GSLTC. I believe that personal growth is a key to success and that is what GSLTC is helping us to achieve. Change alone is not enough. Our growth has enabled us to evaluate where we are coming from and where we are going.
Course participant
Kakuma Refugee camp
February 2007

 

Open letter to GSLTC
We would like to request the Good Shepherd Leader Training Centre to assist the Jol Wol Lieech ( Youth Ministry) leadership in New Site to acquire leadership and development skills, and to acquire knowledge about the foundation of the church and its history. We would also like to be taught on how to go about conflict resolution. We have been able to accomplish a number of things so far because of the training that the Good Shepherd Leadership Training Center had offered to some of our members. Right now we are doing well in accomplishing activities like evangelizing other youth, building and construction projects such as of our office, and writing worship songs, but we feel that we are limited in some areas. We would like to be more systematic and effective in the way we work and we can only achieve this through GSLTC because we have seen the fruits of its training among us.
Thanks.
Ev. Dot
Chairman
Jol Wol Lieech committee
New Site, Eastern Equatoria Diocese of Bor S. Sudan

 

A Christian Soldier discovered a vision to transform others
After being inspired and equipped by the GSLTC, I became convicted with much hope to improve the literacy levels among my comrades who previously had no access to education. I did not know that I have a potential to help others but through the training of GSLTC I was able to see far and to dream.
My dreams for the next few years and what I have already started is to introduce literacy classes (on how to read and write) among my comrades who were previously engaged in the war for the liberation of our country and could not go to school. Therefore; I shall double my effort to help the soldiers know how to read and write through a kind of adult education programme that I am establishing.
As we wait either for the unity or separation of the Sudanese people in the interim period, it will be good if my comrades in the army could read the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and understand how it will transform their lives. This calls for an accelerated or adult learning programme. If I do this, it will help the army leaders to know the objectives of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement / Army and besides that they will be able to know the policies and the political roles which are positive to the society. Above all they will be able to know Christ and his love. Additionally, as a financial clerk of a military unit, I have learnt much knowledge during the GSLTC training that has given me a new way of understanding things, in this case I will encourage my comrades to keep proper records of accounts that they are entrusted with because they are only stewards of the money they keep as we were being taught at the GSLTC.
I want to mobilize them to be active and participative in learning the English language, as they will be expected to communicate with their seniors, expressing their own ideas in English. I would like to see those holding higher positions in the army in future to be more effective. And the only way is by being proficient in English. This is the vision I have received in regards to the training that GSLTC has given us. Dr. Oladipo and Rev. Daau told us in our week training that a leader must be a visionary leader and he or she must be a good steward of the vision and the resources that he /she is ask to be responsible.
I pray that God will bless this dream and inspire people that this programme will extend to other units in order to eradicate illiteracy among our soldiers. Finally, my feeling is that Good shepherd Leadership Training Center should build a place so that all leaders in Southern Sudan must come to that center in side Sudan to learn those good skills and knowledge offered by this unique institution. Thank you Good Shepherd L.T. C
BY David Bol Ayul
GSLTC participant
Commando, New site, Sudan
June 2007

 

Training has given ideas to improve personal and family status for the glory of God
After the GSLTC training, my eyes have been opened to other opportunities. I discovered a decision that I cannot depend only on the government small salary that I am now earning. I have to find other means of raising money to support my family. I intend to open up a small micro business, which will need only a small capital to start it up. I am also thinking of starting to rear livestock and chicken. All these activities will be a blessing to God and will improve our living standards at the family level, instead of just sitting down and waiting for big things to come my way. Through the teaching I received from GSLTC I have resolved that every job I do is important and is valuable in the eyes of God. Now I am returning home with the zeal to teach my family and friends to work hard and not to be lazy for the glory of God. This way we are able to fight poverty that has been made permanent by the long war. I plan to do all this, if God wills just for His gory.
By Santino Achiek
Nimule Southern Sudan,
GSLTC participant
August 2007

Southern Sudan

……“A leader takes people from where they are to where God wants them to be.” These are the words of Bishop Nathaniel Garang that served as the theme of the recent clergy conference in Nimule. Reverend John Daau, Pastor James Kuria, and I joined together with the Bishop to cover different aspects of this theme during the first part of the training organized by the Good Shepherd Leadership Training Center. My focus was on the biblical foundation for mission and the call on the lives of the Southern Sudanese Christians to reach out to others. When God called Abraham to mission (Genesis 12:1-3), He explained that Abraham was blessed to be a blessing to others. In this same sense, the southern Sudanese are being called by God to be a blessing to others as they share a saving faith in Jesus. Clergy, lay leaders, and spouses attended the conference from many denominational backgrounds. Four days of walking was necessary for some to attend. They represented the people who remained in southern Sudan during the many years of fighting and those resettling from IDP and refugee camps. All were hungry for knowledge to share with their flocks………
Dr. Katie Rhoads
Missionary Doctor for Uganda/Sudan Medical Mission
August-October 2007

 

“ Dear brothers, you have made a fresh start. I can say it is God’s plan for you to think and reason on how you can bring change among the clergy of Bor diocese and others. You have implemented the great commission as Jesus said …go and make disciples of all nations…please know that your kindness is treasured.”
Rev. Daniel Manyok Gabriel,
ECS Diocese of Bor.

“It is a great joy and a privilege for us as the ministers of the Word to receive these very crucial in-service short trainings. May God bless and expand this important ministry. We need it to grow bigger and bigger and to train leaders of the word. We have enjoyed the December training and my favorite topics were Delegation and Time Management. I extend my thanks and appreciation to the partners and donors like the Church of Apostles, and the committed facilitators of the training. I believe change has come to our church leadership practice and it will continue and we will be changed.”
Rev. James Deng Akeer,
Assistant Secretary, Kakuma Archdeaconry office ECS.

“Good Shepherd Leadership Training Ministry has provided an opportunity to show the love of Christ in order to impact non-believers who may be converted and drawn to Christ by seeing the care from the church.”
Rev. Abraham Riak-rieu.

“How happy I was to find a rich treasure from this opportunity and I can confess that I have never witnessed this kind of training in my many days in ministry but GSLTP has made it a reality. It is very unique and it is opening the eyes of the leaders and equipping them and Sudanese Christians to be able to accomplish their tasks. The change we wanted has surprisingly and gradually come to us, especially we Christians. For this reason, the Good Shepherd ministry qualifies as a change agent for the Christians of the new Sudan and Africa at large.”
Rev Andrew Apihny Macham,
ECS Diocese of Wau.

“This training is providing an opportunity that contributes to national unity and it creates a moment of sharing together and resolving things together. The training is really changing us through the knowledge and skill of how to relate with others and how to identify our roles from the individual levels to the national levels.”
Rev. Joseph Aleu Dau,
ECS Diocese of Bor.

“This is a story of courage for GSLTP to provide training and it is a genuine need not only in the Episcopal church of Sudan, but all the Christian denominations in Sudan need such forums of in-service training.”
Rev. Nathaniel Garang Aduot,
ECS Diocese of Kongor.

GSLTP registered a very huge turnout at Kakuma refugee camp. I personally did observe carefully the participants’ excitement and keenness and I had realized their genuineness in areas such as their class attendance, cooperation with the facilitators and their comments during the training sessions. the participants turning up in huge numbers is a unique phenomenon that has shown the applicability and importance of this training programme, The participants great interest and readiness to apply the knowledge and skill has encouraged me tremendously and I felt that the time which I had spent facilitating this training was worthwhile, Above all, I am registering my partnership and commendation that GSLTP is the answer to the outcry of our Christian leaders who have earnestly taken up the role of leadership without obtaining necessary skills and knowledge due to the war crisis in Sudan.”
The Ven. Nathaniel Bol Nyok Kuol,
Principal of Malek Bible School, ECS Diocese of Bor, Main Facilitator, GSLTP December 04 & January 05 Training.

“I am hereby endorsing and commending Good Shepherd Leadership Training Program as a creditable idea worthy of financial consideration for the genuine sake of realizing our broad goal of extending the gospel to every nation as far as the principles of Christ’s mission are concerned. The program enables Christian leaders in this Bor Diocese to become conversant with the biblical principles of leadership practices in areas such as biblical studies, peace, reconciliation and conflict resolution, trauma healing, counseling and pastoral care, management and development, so that the ministers would be effective in carrying out the mission of Christ after the dire consequences of the long civil war. Good Shepherd Leadership Training Programme trains Sudanese Christian leaders in order to adapt to the ever-changing Christian environment. It is empowering the local church leaders through facilitation of seminars and workshops in the refugee and internally displaced camps enabling the leaders to acquaint themselves with biblical principles of leadership practice. Indeed, there is a great need for the provision of this kind of training since leadership education and development is a visionary and a fundamental aspect of the Church in South Sudan. It is earnestly desired in this particular diocese as a strategy that aids efficiency in furnishing knowledge and skills to Christian workers in order to produce qualified human resource who would develop the diocese (church), the community and the country as a whole.”
Rt. Rev. Nathaniel Garang Anyieth,
The Diocesan Bishop of Episcopal Diocese of Bor, South Sudan.

“The Good Shepherd Leadership Training Program is developed for southern Sudan in response to a very real need, to assist a very underprivileged and deserving people. The program will bring knowledge and skill and ability to the leaders in the Bor area of southern Sudan, assisting them in helping their people to improve their lives by proper management of the resources available to them”
Dr. C.M Crous
Formerly Deputy Vice Chancellor, Finance, Administration and Planning, Daystar University, Nairobi, Kenya.

“Appreciation to the people who have initiated and supported Good Shepherd Leadership Training Programme and glory to God Almighty who gives wisdom. By training us we shall be putting ourselves to terms with good leadership skills that will enable us serve very effective and efficient in our church ministry. By doing so, there will be healthy growth and development of the Church in the Episcopal Church of Sudan. Many have been baptized and believe in Jesus’ name and they lack deep root in their faith and it is our responsibility to root each believer in his or her faith if we are fully rooted in the word as leaders. It has been our intercession that we receive such training and we thank God for answering our prayers through our brothers, sisters and friends who are committing their time, money, knowledge and talents for this worthy work. I have seen the training is targeting only pastors, but next time as you come back to Kakuma, or go to displaced peoples’ camps and the liberated areas inside Sudan, I suggest that you should be admitting other junior leaders like the Sunday School teachers, youth vicars, church council members, among others, so that our influence will be felt widely since leadership is a matter of influencing others. Through this method I believe our congregation will reap the fruits of change, which are positive, and our visions, goals and objectives will be achieved and accomplished.”
Rev. D. Bol Ateny Nyieth.

“I am very happy for the leadership-training programme you have brought to us here at Kakuma. It has made me developed an interest of reading leadership books as I was reading one of your library books ‘Developing Leaders Within You’. If we can be provided with enough copies of such resourceful materials, we would appreciate. It is important for a leader to have leadership books that can aid and support him for his leadership responsibilities.”
Rev. Gabriel Chol Pareng,
ECS Diocese of Bor.