An outside perspective always helps. Within the last two weeks I have been able to sit and share with a couple of visitors who have come to Juba, this being their first visit here to South Sudan.
Antoine Rutayisire is an Anglican pastor, Christian leader, and preacher/teacher extraordinaire from Rwanda. Some of you reading this post will know his name quickly, others will not. I lived with Antoine in Rwanda for one year and served alongside him for two and a half years with the organization he led, African Evangelistic Enterprise, Rwanda. Antoine has always been known as an original thinker and a man of deep understanding and abiding faith. I still refer to him as my “spiritual father.” I could sit and listen to Antoine for hours; his life and his story and the story of his people are the primary reasons I was drawn to this great continent. A couple of weeks ago Antoine and three colleagues came to South Sudan on an exploratory trip, listening and learning to church leaders, discerning how they can come alongside them and promote a way of “being church” that will better serve the peoples of South Sudan. During our evening meal and fellowship during his visit, I asked Antoine, “What are your impressions now at the end of your trip?” Antoine’s ready response came with one word, “Potential.” In the midst of so much trauma and dysfunction which seem to define this young country, the word that Antoine reached for was ‘potential’. He described how South Sudan feels like it is just waiting for the right environment so that it can take off. Antoine also shared his observations regarding the “weariness and tiredness of the people.” He says that he does not feel a sense of urgency amongst the people. “People have been living in an environment that is so troubling and difficult for so long, they have no idea what normalcy might even look like,” he said. Yes, there is potential, but there is the tragic history and the dysfunctional present which keep people down.
With Antoine and his wife Penina and their sons, Christmas 2014 (in Kigali)
Rev. Karen Krige returned to South Africa from Juba this last Sunday. She was sent to us by the Network for African Congregational Theology (NetACT), a network of theological institutions in the Presbyterian and Reformed tradition in Sub-Saharan Africa. Rev. Karen had come to assist me with the Spiritual Formation class I am teaching. I gave her the last two weeks classes of the course for the degree and the diploma students. She taught my students about the value of Spiritual Direction and also the need for discernment. She took time to do Spiritual Direction individually with students, quietly and humbly and lovingly listening to their stories of pain and trauma. In listening to these stories, she was struck by the utter cruelty exacted against so many in this land. Yet, in spite of all the pain and hardship, she saw glimmers of hope, and commented on the power of the human spirit, with divine aid, to overcome.
It is always helpful to see the place where you live and breathe and work 24/7 with new eyes and fresh faith. I am grateful for both Antoine and Karen and their recent visits. I feel strengthened and encouraged to continue the good work God has called us to here. May God bring more visitors here to encourage His people in the work He has called us to do. Amen.
Antoine Rutayisire is an Anglican pastor, Christian leader, and preacher/teacher extraordinaire from Rwanda. Some of you reading this post will know his name quickly, others will not. I lived with Antoine in Rwanda for one year and served alongside him for two and a half years with the organization he led, African Evangelistic Enterprise, Rwanda. Antoine has always been known as an original thinker and a man of deep understanding and abiding faith. I still refer to him as my “spiritual father.” I could sit and listen to Antoine for hours; his life and his story and the story of his people are the primary reasons I was drawn to this great continent. A couple of weeks ago Antoine and three colleagues came to South Sudan on an exploratory trip, listening and learning to church leaders, discerning how they can come alongside them and promote a way of “being church” that will better serve the peoples of South Sudan. During our evening meal and fellowship during his visit, I asked Antoine, “What are your impressions now at the end of your trip?” Antoine’s ready response came with one word, “Potential.” In the midst of so much trauma and dysfunction which seem to define this young country, the word that Antoine reached for was ‘potential’. He described how South Sudan feels like it is just waiting for the right environment so that it can take off. Antoine also shared his observations regarding the “weariness and tiredness of the people.” He says that he does not feel a sense of urgency amongst the people. “People have been living in an environment that is so troubling and difficult for so long, they have no idea what normalcy might even look like,” he said. Yes, there is potential, but there is the tragic history and the dysfunctional present which keep people down.
With Antoine and his wife Penina and their sons, Christmas 2014 (in Kigali)
Rev. Karen Krige sits and listens to the story of one of our students
It is always helpful to see the place where you live and breathe and work 24/7 with new eyes and fresh faith. I am grateful for both Antoine and Karen and their recent visits. I feel strengthened and encouraged to continue the good work God has called us to here. May God bring more visitors here to encourage His people in the work He has called us to do. Amen.
2 comments:
Good that you could facilitate these folks to come and observe and encourage..
Agreed! (from the other Jim B)
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