Churches are multiplying!

A member of the South Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SSPEC) was displaced to the region of Wau, and did not have a church to worship in. She began gathering with friends to pray in her house. They wanted to start a congregation and sent a message to SSPEC leaders for support. The leadership contacted a pastor in Abyei, several hundred kilometers away, who spoke the same language and was willing to move to Wau to start the church. But SSPEC did not have funds to enable the pastor to travel to Wau. Finally, they found a portion of the funds and the pastor and congregation raised the rest. The congregation in Wau has since outgrew the house they were meeting in and is struggling now to find a place to worship.

People gather for worship in a new congregation

When leaders in the South Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SSPEC) are asked what their priorities are, church planting and evangelism consistently ranks at the top. There are many needs and many challenges in South Sudan, including conflict, famine, and economic crisis. But church leaders recognize that the foundation every person needs is experiencing the transformation, freedom, and love that life and salvation in Jesus gives. Through local congregations, the church can then holistically help people meet other needs such as finding healing from trauma, equipping and educating people, providing food relief, or promoting peace in the community.

SSPEC has been in South Sudan for about 15 years, and has about 50 congregations spread through the Eastern, western, northern, and central region of South Sudan as well as among refugees in neighboring countries. In the last two years, twelve new churches have been planted, both in rural and urban regions. When a new church is planted, it needs extra support for a period to get established and to meet needs such as getting land, purchasing chairs or benches, or supporting a pastor until they find a job in the area.

Women sing in worship at new congregation

In Juba, three pastors who were not serving congregations were encouraged to start a new congregation at the edge of Juba where there were not many churches. They worked hard getting to know people in the community and assess needs. They began worshipping and a congregation formed that included people of several different tribes.  They found that in the nearby market area there were many homeless boys who were not going to school. With some support from a few friends, they invited the boys to come for a meal and some teaching. Now the boys come to the church every day, and one of the pastors provides some teaching on trauma healing, literacy and the Christian life, along with feeding them a meal.

Pastors and members in the new congregation near Juba

Please consider joining this significant work by praying and contributing towards new church development in South Sudan. Pastors and church members are eager to share God’s love and establish new congregations. While support needs vary by location and situation, even a small amount such as $500 can significantly help a congregation in securing land and covering basic expenses. Current specific needs include paying the balance on land for a new congregation in Juba, constructing a temporary shelter for a new congregation in Wau, and supporting a pastor to relocate to a village in the Pochalla region that does not have a church. You can give towards this need through SSPEC's account with PC(USA): https://pma.pcusa.org/donate/E052148/. If you donate, please designate in the comments for "New Church Development". Thank you for joining in the significant work God is doing in South Sudan!

Mud bricks and thatch for roofing are ready to make a

temporary shelter for worship in a village near Pochalla.

Reunions

John Akwan

After Kristi and I finished our run on an early Sunday morning, we walked it off through our Hai Malakal neighborhood. Suddenly a young boy collecting plastic bottles standing in the middle of the road fifty feet ahead of us made a loud shriek as he saw us coming. He stood there, transfixed. He stood there in recognition. He stood there in silent surprise. The woman sitting at her corner shop shouted to silence the boy until she was arrested by the unfolding scene.

“Simon?” I asked, tentatively.

“John Akwan,” the boy asserted, standing in the road half-naked in the lightly falling rain. Yes, I said to myself. Of course, it is John Akwan. It was the meeting of souls long estranged, a poor discarded child in the heart of a war-ravaged land and two white persons of privilege from a far off place. We exchanged pleasantries and I explained that we had returned to Juba. I moved towards the boy and grasped his arm in fellowship and loving concern.

John responded, “Ana gait” (I am here, I am around).

As we turned to walk on, the eyes of the woman at the corner shop turned towards the ground. “John Akwan, you are alive!” I whispered to myself. “You are here,” I thought. Praise the Lord! I wondered then about the others, particularly Grovener and Simon. These lost boys who live off the streets of Juba live in my heart. Thank you, Lord, for John Akwan.


Daniel Mawer

My phone rang. I answered it. The other side felt garbled, difficult to distinguish voices which seemed somehow in conversation with each other and not with me. Suddenly, I heard my name. Then I heard the voice on the other end identify its owner, “I am Daniel Mawer.”

“Daniel Mawer?” I answered in grateful surprise and joyful recognition. Daniel was at a loss for words. Nuer men do not cry, but it seemed that my former student was choked up. I gave him a moment to recover.

“Teacher, you are back in Juba.”

Yes, I replied. Daniel gave me a short update on his life. Though our conversation did not last more than ten minutes, I walked away from my phone feeling blessed, reconnected to the life of one of my dear students. Over the next few hours, I recalled special memories I shared with Daniel – my first meeting with Daniel at the college in 2017, going with Daniel to visit his pastor in the hospital, getting caught together in a massive rainstorm and huddling together under a large Neem tree, visiting Daniel’s church and Daniel treating me afterwards to a Nuer specialty called “Wal Wal” at a local eatery.

Daniel shares about the challenges of life in Juba,
October 2017

Stephen

Stephen was one of my first students. Classes had become a challenge for Stephen, being separated from his family. The then Acting Academic Dean and I, along with other faculty members, were sympathetic to Stephen’s plight. Stephen faced many challenges but pressed through them all. On graduation day, Stephen’s smile remains indelibly imprinted on my heart.

Together with Stephen on graduation day, 
December 2018

     

When our current Academic Dean mentioned the name Reverend Stephen as the one we were picking up on our way to church last Sunday, I wondered, “Is it same Stephen?” Sure enough, it was my former student. Stephen packed into the car and we enjoyed exchanging greetings. Stephen leads a ministry to street children at a new church plant on the outskirts of Juba, teaching the children about trauma healing and giving them simple instruction which they would otherwise miss, not being in school. Stephen leaves his home every day at 6am, Monday to Saturday, to take three buses across town to go and minister to these abandoned children.

Various people support Stephen in different ways. Stephen expresses gratitude to now have his family with him in Juba, and he expresses profound gratitude for the gifts given to sustain him and his family and his ministry. I am humbled by Stephen. I stand in awe of his posture of service and his heart of gratitude.

Of course, there are many other “reunions” I could recount since our return, but may these three serve as a sampling. God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good. Amen!

Listening and learning

We are grateful to be reconnecting with colleagues and friends in Juba! There are several people who have come to our home this month and shared their joys and struggles of the last year. These conversations have been a valuable window into our friends’ lives and the common struggles of life in South Sudan. Here is a snippet of what we have heard…

We sat with Pastor Awadiya, who has planted a new church on the outskirts of Juba. She has worked with the community to get a primary health clinic started and a clean water source, and also to equip a new primary school. She described how God has opened doors and given her the strength to overcome obstacles to meet these significant needs. She is known and respected throughout the community now, and many people have been drawn to the church as a result of seeing her hard work to meet the needs of the community.

Pastor Awadiya in our home

We also enjoyed a visit from Pastor Toma, who lives in the rural region of Pochalla. He shared the encouraging ways that different churches are working together in Pochalla on initiatives related to trauma healing, evangelism, and education, and regularly worshipping together. He has felt the challenge of addressing educational needs in his community for several years now. Most public, government-run schools teach only sporadically because the teachers are paid a salary (about $5 per month) that does not make it worth it for them to teach. There was not another option of a school in his neighborhood, and he realized his children were not being educated. So Toma asked one organization to donate chalkboards, and the government contributed some textbooks, and with the help of some volunteer teachers they started teaching children under the trees.

Teaching students in Pochalla

Pastor Toma teaching in the school

In this first year they already have 250 students in the primary grades, which shows the demand in his neighborhood. But convincing the parents to support the teachers and the school has not been easy, because many of them were not able to go to school themselves and do not comprehend its value. Toma described the closing ceremony of the school year, with government representatives, parents, and students present. As the top students in each class were recognized, the parents started to appreciate that maybe their children were learning something worthwhile. We prayed with Toma for God’s provision of uniforms, a building, and support for the school.

The closing ceremony of the new school in Pochalla

Daniel, one of Bob’s students at NTC came over and we enjoyed seeing pictures of his visit with his family in a refugee camp in Sudan. He described the 5-day journey just to reach the camp from Juba, which included a flight, several buses, and a border crossing. You may have heard us describe Daniel’s harrowing escape from Malakal with his wife and young children during the crisis of 2013. Daniel has persevered in his studies and is finishing a few classes this semester that will allow him to complete the degree he started eight years ago. Even in the few months of his visit in the refugee camp to see his family, Daniel was active in discipling youth in the church and teaching in one of the schools in the camp. He shared the burden that he has for his people and how he looks forward to serve in the church full-time, even with the challenges in the refugee camp.

Daniel, on the left, with the Media Team at NTC in 2019

We are so inspired by these friends of ours, and excited by the ways that we see God at work in them and through them. It truly is a privilege to get to connect with them and learn from them here in South Sudan. We pray that God continues to help us keep our ears and hearts open to the people around us.

“I have seen you”

Recently on a Sunday afternoon I was sitting at the edge of our couch, dusting one of our two statues representing the pastoralist Turkana people of Northern Kenya. I heard a voice in the hall followed by an exclamation of surprise, then a knock at the door. When I opened our door, shock, disbelief, and joy were felt on each side of the threshold. “Susan!” I exclaimed. “Bob!” Susan cried out. Kristi joined the circle and we reveled in each other’s presence. Several times during that chance encounter Susan said, “Rabuna fi,” “the Lord is here.” Susan, a former cleaner in our building, happened by the building that day and saw me from the hallway. We were so blessed to experience her presence and her friendship again. Susan saw us and then acknowledged the presence of the Lord. It was a holy moment.

Dusting statue of a Turkana pastoralist

Kristi with Susan (middle) and other woman also
named Susan, August 2017

In The Primal Vision, a seminal work on African Christianity, John V Taylor describes the delight and wonder of human relationships in Africa. As he describes the agreeable and amusing account of twelve-year-old Nantume paying him a visit while ironing a shirt in his hut, the reader is mesmerized by the glory and beauty of human interaction and connection. Taylor describes Nantume's curiosity in the hut, coupled with her sense of feeling at home as she leans her body into the wall, "as relaxed as a young antelope asleep in the sun.” Taylor describes how in Africa one can enjoy the presence of another without pressure or feeling hurried or troubled, whether in conversation or in silence. 

I confess that I often struggle with this concept. I feel like I need a purpose when I visit someone. I also feel like there should be conversation when perhaps silence and just being present to one another is the more agreeable option. Taylor describes how in Africa a visitor is never an interruption. In the introduction to Taylor’s book, theologian J.N.K. Mugambi depicts how the interaction between Nantume and Taylor is about presence. Nantume closes her visit with the words “I have seen you.” The primal vision, as Bishop Taylor describes it, is a world of being present to one another, of seeing one another. It is the universe understood in the language of “I and Thou.” While such an encounter between Nantume and Bishop Taylor sounds simple, Mugambi describes it as the core of the Gospel, that even as God encounters us in Jesus Christ, Christian mission should be first and foremost about acknowledging the presence and integrity of others, of 'seeing the other’ as modeled by Jesus in his life on earth (Taylor, 2001).

Recently I enjoyed a long phone conversation with a friend and colleague. Over the course of the call my friend mentioned how he had observed Kristi and I during a recent Zoom call. It was obvious that my friend was present to the moment and present to us, even over Zoom. He then asked an important follow up question from his observation which allowed our relationship to take a deeper turn towards mutual understanding and appreciation. At the end of our conversation, I felt like my friend could have said “I have seen you.” Another colleague, John, described for us an experience he had in Ghana. Being present to the moment and the people around him, he was able to deeply connect with a young woman who was troubled. John spent time with this young woman and spoke words of life, hope, encouragement, and strength to her. At the end of their meeting, truly, John could have said “I have seen you.”

The beauty and glory of the Gospel is that Jesus sees people. In fact, during his pubic ministry here on earth, Jesus chose to see the very persons whom others had overlooked or chose not to see. He saw the ostracized Samaritan woman at the well. He saw Zacchaeus up in a tree. He saw a man with a withered hand in the synagogue on the Sabbath. He connected with each of these persons, offering them in their personhoods dignity and value. 

Jesus sees the Samaritan woman at mid-day
Artist, Jesus Mafa (Cameroon) 

Jesus, unhindered and unhandicapped by self pre-occupation, worry, and the emotional trauma which seemingly perpetually beleaguer us, lived in the moment and was fully present to those around him. I confess that too often I fail to fully live in the moment and be present to others. I pray for growth in this area. I pray that after each meeting with someone, planned or unplanned, I can say, “I have seen you.” May that be so for all of us who attach ourselves to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Preparing for General Assembly

 Our church partner, the South Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church, is busy preparing for a  General Assembly in October of this year. This is a time when elders, pastors, and representatives of all the congregations come together to share their joys and challenges, elect leaders, and connect as part of the body of Christ. Long meetings do not sounds too exciting, but it really is significant for isolated congregations to feel connected to a body larger than themselves – to support one another and have a voice in the decisions being made.

According to the church constitution, a General Assembly should be held every two years. However, because of civil unrest in South Sudan, it has been more than eight years since the last General Assembly was held. Many of the congregations are in rural areas, and some among refugees displaced to nearby countries, which makes it difficult, expensive, and sometimes dangerous for representatives from those regions to travel.

Finally, though, it appears that South Sudan is becoming more stable and that people could travel to Juba. The leadership has set a date in October and started planning and raising funds. They hope to be able to cover some of the travel for all the representatives, but it is a daunting task. The total budget is more than $100,000. But rather than let the funds needed be another reason to put it off, they are pushing forward in faith, trusting that God will provide or help them find creative ways to overcome the shortfall.

If you would like to support SSPEC and their congregations in South Sudan by contributing towards this effort, you can do so through their account at PC(USA) here: https://pma.pcusa.org/donate/make-a-gift/gift-info/E052148/#

Please join us in praying for this meeting, that funds would be garnered to bring leaders together so that decision can be made and elections can be held, and that all would transpire in the spirit of Christian fellowship and love.

SSPEC leaders meet with a representative

from the World Council for Reformed Churches