The Newsletter of Tanya Spronk

Tanyas Times
Serving with Wycliffe Canada - Partners in Bible Translation
Christmas 2012

Merry Christmas!
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on Davids throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. Isaiah 9:6, 7 My first Sunday at my home church, the advent candle for Peace was lit. Coming from a corner of the world that has not seen much earthly peace, it was such a privilege to spend some time reflecting on the peace that only Jesus brings. I know it sounds a bit clich (though clichs often contain a kernel or two of truth!), but the world could really use a bit of peace right now! The people of Sudan, in the Nuba Mountains, and in parts of South Sudan, have seen little lasting peace, though officially the war has been over for a few years now. And you just have to turn on the news to see that refugees in camps all over the world are not sleeping peacefully tonight, either. But what a privilege it is to know that Jesus has come to bring Peace in our lives. No matter what is going on, we have the hope that Jesus, and only Jesus, can bring us peace. Over the past few months, SIL in South Sudan has been involved in bringing a translation of the book of Luke, along with the Jesus Film, to five languages in South Sudan! For the first time, thousands of people were able to watch the Jesus Film and hear of the birth of Christ in a language that they actually understood! What an amazing Christmas celebration the Bongo, Avokaya, Jur Beli, Jur Modo and Mundari people are having this year after hearing the story in their own language! As you celebrate the coming of the great Prince of Peace, I pray that you will know His peace. Please join with me in praying for people around the world to also know his peace, even when they find themselves in difficult circumstances. Merry Christmas to you all, and my best wishes for a peaceful 2013.

Praise & Prayers:

Praise that I was able to be home in time to see family and celebrate Omas good long life at her funeral in early December. Praise for 6 good years of healthy and safe living in South Sudan! Pray for refugees in camps such as Yida in South Sudan who are seeking to live in peace. Pray for a teacher training workshop in January with the Murle community.

A Workshop Here, a Workshop There...

Life is never dull in Juba! Just as a baby changes quite drastically in its first year or two of life, so a baby country like South Sudan changes in its first few years! Trying to keep on top of those changes can be quite challenging sometimes, but all those changes also mean things are rarely boring! In our small literacy department, we are contributing to the growth and development of our baby country by working together with the Ministry of Education and other education partners such as UNICEF and other NGOs to try to build up good systems of materials development and teacher training. To this end, over the past few months, Ive trained teachers from six different language communities, helped develop basic literacy materials, including Primers and calendars in five languages, and met with representatives from the South Sudan government, funders such as the British Council and UNICEF and NGOs to discuss language and education issues. Im always amazed by the opportunities that God gives me to advocate for the use of childrens mother tongues in education! After living in South Sudan for over six years, its been a real blessing to look back at all that God has been doing in building up the education system in South Sudan. In November, I facilitated a workshop in Juba for teachers from four different language groups, to refresh their skills on how to teach a new Primer. It was such a joy to work with teachers that weve been working with for the last few years, to see how their skills have increased, and to hear their stories of how well they see the children in their classes reading and learning. Where children were not learning to read until Grades 4 or 5 in previous years, they are now able to read in Grades 1 and 2! I was also invited to help train some teachers in Ethiopia, in a small town near the Sudanese border. There, we trained 16 teachers to use a new literacy curriculum in their own language, which is also spoken across the border in Sudan. The teachers were so hospitable, and I enjoyed celebrating the Eid holiday in a village with the mainly Muslim teachers, as well as eating their traditional food and being served the traditional coffee ceremony by the grandmother of one of the trainees. I was working with a much more experienced teacher trainer for this workshop, so I learned a few tricks of the trade from her, which I plan to put into practice at our next teacher training workshop in Juba in late January.

Tanya Spronk
Wycliffe Canada 4316 10th St. NE Calgary, AB T2K 6K3 Canada Wycliffe USA PO Box 628200 Orlando, FL 32862-8200 USA SIL PO Box 64 Juba, South Sudan +211 918 613 387 tanya_spronk@sil.org

www.sil.org www.wycliffe.ca

A Few Growing Pains

The baby country of South Sudan has also experienced a few growing pains over the past year. Due to a number of factors, including a lack of oil exports, inflation on basic food items over the past year was 43.3% (South Sudan National Statistics Bureau), which was actually an improvement from the previous years inflation rate of 79.5%. This inflation rate has obviously made life more difficult in Juba, as costs for basics such as food and diesel for the generator have soared. And yet funding, both for the projects and South Sudanese staff with whom I work, and for foreigners, such as myself, who depend on donations for salaries, has not kept up to this inflation. If you, or someone that you know, would be interested in becoming a financial partner to support the work of Bible translation and literacy in South Sudan, please do get in touch!

Current Events
In early December, my 93 year old Grandmother made her home in heaven. I am so thankful that God paved the way for me to be at home to celebrate her long and God-glorifying life with my extended family. What a privilege it is to be a part of such a Godly heritage. After spending Christmas in Canada with my family, I will travel back to Juba in early January, where I will take on a new challengethe role of Literacy and Education Coordinator for SILs* work in South Sudan. I appreciate your prayers and support for all that God has given me to do in South Sudan and beyond! Peace, Tanya

* SIL is Wycliffes sister field-work organization

Teachers from 4 language groups came to Juba to refresh their skills in teaching their new Primers. We were so impressed with their practice teaching!

We set up a book display table at a UNESCO Literacy Conference in Juba to show some of the many mother tongue literacy books that SIL has produced over the years. Daniel, a South Sudanese colleague, helped us man the table and advocate for the value of mother tongue education. Daniel is also smiling because in November, the Jesus Film was produced in his mother tongue, Bongo, just in time for people to hear about the birth of the Prince of Peace in their own language.

Western Ethiopia: A Grade 1 girl in our test classes; teachers practicing teaching; the traditional coffee ceremony; a woman in the village we visited.

Zane wants to come with me every time I pack my suitcase; these women keep the offices and compound clean and organized and are great Arabic teachers; view from the hill outside Juba; I had a bumper crop of pumpkins this year!