Bob and Kristi Rice - November 2021 Update
Nile Theological College
Dear friends,
The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. John 3:8
It all began with a question about the HIV/AIDS course. We wondered, “Can this course be inserted elsewhere as part of another course?” “Maybe it could be grafted into our counseling course?” Alluding to the counseling course, we were then off to the races, finding ourselves in another discussion altogether, which lasted for a good portion of our five-hour meeting. Such was the work of the Spirit on a Saturday morning in early October at Nile Theological College.
“What about trauma healing?” asked a member of the faculty. “If we are genuinely trying to ‘contextualize’ our curriculum, should we not teach according to the felt needs of our students?” “Yes, but can trauma healing stand alone as a course of its own, or should it be coupled with counseling?” “Is not counseling embedded into the whole concept of trauma healing?” “What about the second counseling course for Pastoral Ministry majors?” The discussion continued back and forth, circular in nature, slowly moving in a direction. “What about the HIV/AIDS course? Isn’t that where we began this discussion in the first place? Let’s first go back to where we started.” “Not so fast…,” responded the principal, “the Spirit seems to have taken us in another direction. Let’s follow where the Spirit seems to be leading us.” After a long discussion with a lunch break in between, we decided by consensus, as good Africans do, to replace our counseling course with a brand-new course, trauma healing. We also decided to replace our advanced counseling/trauma course with the course advanced trauma healing and counseling. We acknowledged the value of courses being both informational and transformational. Our students need a safe space where they can receive healing from the emotional pain and trauma they have endured during decades of war and displacement. Towards the end of this course and after this course on trauma healing, we can equip students to be healers. In fact, when one receives healing, one begins to pick up the tools of what it means to be a ‘wounded healer.’ We then retraced our steps regarding HIV/AIDS and decided to create a new course in its place called “Epidemics,” which will cover health issues and the diseases HIV/AIDS, Ebola, and COVID-19. As a faculty, we finished in a good way, and our meeting ended with a word of prayer.
Since the beginning of August, our faculty has been meeting once or twice a month to revise our course curriculum. Much has changed since Nile Theological College moved from Khartoum to Malakal and now to Juba. A new nation has been born, and years of civil war have left this new country on the brink of collapse, encumbered by economic and political disaster. In 2019 conversations began in the principal’s office around the idea of a curriculum review. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), a strong partner of Nile Theological College, was able to provide funds to support the process. As a Presbyterian mission co-worker, I was able to travel with the principal and two staff members to the Protestant Institute of Arts and Social Sciences (PIASS) in Rwanda to learn about how they revised their curriculum after the 1994 genocide, making it more contextual to the felt needs of students after war and genocide.
Earlier this year, we requested Juba University look at our current curriculum and make important suggestions for changes. Now our faculty members are burrowed in the trenches of this process, looking at every course, adding important content and references, assessing which courses must remain and which courses can be adjusted or removed. It is an energizing and invigorating process. Later this month, we will invite church leaders and members to participate in focus groups to help us understand the specific skills and characteristics they need in pastors of congregations and communities in South Sudan. As a faculty, we have decided not to rush the process. We want to strengthen our college’s effectiveness in graduating students who have gained important life skills, have a heart change, and are able to think critically in terms of how to engage with the Bible and how to best serve their congregations and communities. As the academic dean said to me recently, “Our lives must convince the students.” Our lives must be marked by love and faithfulness; our example of life and faithfulness is our most important teaching tool.
We invite your prayers as we continue down this road of curriculum review. We are grateful for the work of the Spirit, and we are praying that God’s Spirit will continue to speak to us. Kristi and I are so grateful for your partnership with us in our work here in South Sudan. We are grateful for your prayers and for your generous giving that allows us to be here. In closing, maybe we can ask you the question, “How is the Spirit at work where you are?” Please feel free to write us a response by email. We are very interested in celebrating the work of the Spirit with you.
Salaam alekum! Peace to you!
Bob and Kristi
This article used with permission of Presbyterian World Mission.
Read more about Bob and Kristi Rice’s ministry HERE and Nile Theological College HERE.
THE OPPORTUNITY
The Outreach Foundation is seeking gifts to support the mission and ministry of Bob and Kristi Rice and the scholarship support of students at Nile Theological College. All gifts of any size are welcomed. You may make a gift HERE or by sending a check to our office.