Sudan Trip through the Eyes of John
John Jefferson, my friend, roomie on this trip, and a guy passionate about Sudan put together a great report. I asked him if I could post it on my blog verbatim and he agreed. Here goes. I changed the formatting, which causes some loss.
By John Jefferson
The trip to Sudan started out with the first ever Southern Sudanese Baptist Convention meeting in Rumbek. Over 20 pastors from throughout the country joined forces to bring together the Baptist Church of Sudan. Mike Congrove, the trip leader, and I traveled apart from the team for this leg of the journey. As a result of 20 yrs of civil war, most pastors didn’t know the others existed save their local counterparts. The conference lasted three days and was literally a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me and all involved. God will undoubtedly use what transpired to set the direction for the Baptist church in Sudan for many years to come.
This in turn fits into what I believe God is doing in His church throughout Sudan as revival takes place after the war years. He is using people like us, through prayer and sacrificial giving, to do this mighty work!The next stop was Torit, where Mike and I met up with the rest of the team to begin the formal church planting mission.
The E3 Torit team (pronounced “Toreet”) met every morning over hot tea and chapattis (basically flat, square donuts), before going out to the field. Mike would do a devotional, followed by prayer for guidance from the Holy Spirit, a few worship songs led by a young man named Josh from Waxahachi, Texas, and a time of sharing experiences of the previous day. There was always something new…
Then it would be off on a 1.5 hr [bumpy] journey east to the foothills and the village of Kor English, where one of the two church plants was to take place. Sometimes we’d pick up a hitchhiker or two. (Ones with M-16s got first dibs on space)
Everywhere along the road were signs of the recently ended, 20-yr “civil” war; disabled tanks, overturned trucks, and gigantic mortar shells from air & artillery raids. Kor English is a village of approximately 300, twenty miles east of Torit. The village relocated behind a military encampment after 28 people had been killed in attacks by LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) rebels from Uganda in November of 2006. Some people remained in the mountain villages behind Kor English as well.
Technically speaking, the “Kor” is now an IDP (Internally Displaced People) camp located next to an SPLA military base (Sudanese Peoples Liberation Army). As one might imagine, spiritually speaking, the ground was very hard in the village due to all the strife the people had suffered. There was an abundance of alcohol abuse and a lack of decent medical care. This is where the team was to plant the first church. The village had a bore hole well in the center, which provided clean water and a center of activity where kids played and hard-working women filled 5-gallon containers of water, which they carried on their heads.
With every task in the village being done by hand, from pumping of the well for water, to collecting sticks for firewood, there was always a lot of work to do.
Simple tasks like cooking a meal could be an all day affair by the time all was said and done. Washing clothes and any other domestic duties seemed to occupy a huge percentage of each woman’s day. Unless there was some fighting going on, the men seemed to have it a lot easier, except for those who farmed alongside the women, in the outlying fields.
Each afternoon a church service was held under a large tree in the center of the village. David Kaya (E3 Staff) helped structure the services and led them the first three days while the team added to the congregation bringing new converts, recommitted Christians and curiosity seekers alike.
One of the highlights of each day was seeing villagers stream to the “Big Tree” as the service began with songs of praise.
The Prestonwood Baptist Church Awanas group raised $1,500 for a feeding program for the school-aged kids, many of whom attended services each day.
I worked with a team in an area of huts sandwiched between the military barracks and the bush to the west of the village. Most of the 14 villagers we shared the Gospel with were wives’ of soldiers. Sadly, many of the men were out on “missions” patrolling the area, drinking, or resistant to receiving the Gospel. Despite these obstacles, God was faithful and by the end of the week a couple of the husbands had the Gospel presented to them and one even showed up at the Church service. (Thanks for the prayers!) The Great News is that most of the wives prayed to receive Christ, attended services when they could, and will provide a foundation for the next generation of believers. And who knows, maybe their unbelieving spouses will be won over too!
On the Sunday before the formal mission activity began, the team attended a church service at the local Africa Inland Church in Torit. One of the team members, Mark Jordan, spoke on suffering as a part of the Christian walk, something many if not all Sudanese can relate to.
Many came forward for prayer after the sermon. By “chance”, I met a man named William outside of the church, with whom I had worked in the northern part of Southern Sudan 3 years ago! He was my interpreter, and I had given him a compact Bible my wife, Dawn, loaned me for the trip. He still had it and told me it was the “sword” that protected him these past three years. (This means a lot more in Sudan than it does in the US for obvious reasons) He was in Torit for a couple of days visiting family he had not seen for many years due to the war…a very common story in Southern Sudan.
Despite all of the hardships and suffering, there is still an indomitable spirit in the heart of the Southern Sudanese. This mission revealed a people deeply wounded by the effects of Jihad, greed, and hatred, but still willing to embrace brothers and sisters from far away, with a timeless message of salvation and hope through Jesus Christ.
posted by Mike @ 1:45 PM
1 comments
