Saturday, October 28, 2023

Visiting Churches and South Sudanese Diaspora in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska

What a gift to visit Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska, last weekend! We are grateful for Pastor Melodie Jones Pointon and Eastridge Presbyterian Church for hosting us, and thankful for opportunities to visit Westminster Presbyterian Church of Lincoln and the Nuer Union gathering which met at Nile Church in Omaha.

Sebit teaches on fasting and prayer and the 
significance of the season of Lent at 
Nuer Union gathering (Omaha)  

For me (Bob), it also felt like a homecoming, as my grandfather was born and raised in Broken Bow, western Nebraska, near the Sand Hills. Somehow the landscape feels native to my soul.

 





It also felt like a homecoming as we were able to visit and connect with South Sudanese Diaspora. Praying and worshiping with Nuer friends and their family in their home in Omaha felt like a slice of heaven. The family of Rev. James Guek and Mama Sarah Kuac, whom we visited, are vitally connected to the late Rev. Pastor Moses Kuac, the first Nuer pastor in South Sudan, who serves a central part of one of the case studies of my PhD research. It was a gift to hear more stories from his Sarah daughter, and to meet all their children.


Rev. James Guek and Mama Sarah Kuac and family 



Mama Sarah and Pastor James with 
Kristi and I 



2 comments:

Rob and Gloria Kelley said...

What a wonderful visit with friends!

Jim Berger said...

How wonderfu!