He has seen many people come to Christ, but all this has been at cost to him and other Christians. For example, whilst visiting a church in one of his parishes, some men attacked nine Christians in the congregation and killed them. William was miraculously protected. 

Often, because of poverty, Christians cannot afford theological education. This lack of trained teachers and pastors means that congregations have little or no chance of growing in their faith. Through its bursaries best helps students like William who want to make a difference in their church, community and country. 

William has a burden and love for his people and land and wants to be equipped to serve them, through Christ, in an effective way. With the help of a best bursary he is currently studying in Kenya at St. Andrew’s College of Theology & Development. His desire is to be trained in greater depth in theological studies in order to help establish a Bible school for the training of pastors and evangelists in his own country. Pray for William as he studies at St. Andrew’s, that he will be equipped to become part of the rebuilding process in Sudan. 

The best programme is funded by churches in the UK and Ireland that give money for student bursaries. At Crosslinks, we use our knowledge of the individual colleges and courses and the needs of the worldwide church to recommend students in whom you can invest for the long- term benefit of their communities. Costs vary from between £800 and £4000 per annum with most students studying for three years. Your sponsorship money will go mainly towards the student's tuition, exam fees and a book grant, while a small part goes towards Crosslinks' expenses in running the scheme. Why not encourage your Mission Committee or PCC to consider student sponsorship? Click here for more information, or for copies of the best leaflet or further information please contact Janet Ricketts by email: jricketts@crosslinks.org or phone: 020 8691 6111. 

Sudan fact file 

Since independence in 1956 Sudan has had just 11 years of peace. In the last 20 years there have been over two million deaths, around four million internally displaced people and widespread famine. On 9th January 2005 a peace agreement was signed by the Government of Sudan and the Sudanese Peoples' Liberation Movement bringing the conflict to an end. The war has devastated infrastructure and social services, hindering the work of development in a country of 30m people. 

(Based on the Department for International Development (DFID) website’s facts.)

Crosslinks magazine April 2005 index