Testimonies of transformation

Whew! May was a very busy month, conducting two Healing Hearts Transforming Nations (HHTN) workshops in Juba along with a training of facilitators. But in the midst of the long days and exhaustion, I was so grateful for the gift of working with a talented and passionate group of people among our facilitators and trainers. And above all, I was grateful for the privilege of seeing people experience healing, revelation, and forgiveness. Only the Holy Spirit can do that work, and it is humbling that we get to be part of "setting the stage" for people to experience a fresh encounter with God.

An international organization included HHTN as one of the components of a multi-faceted peacebuilding approach in three counties of South Sudan and they asked us to train some of their staff to facilitate the HHTN workshop. Their staff are already well-trained and experienced, so we wondered how well they would ‘engage themselves’ in the workshop. It was encouraging to hear them reflect afterwards “We are helping people in the communities to find healing, but we did not realize that we also need healing ourselves.” Another one also said “On the first day I was skeptical of this workshop, wondering if it would make any difference. But then I realized the truth that this is what we need.”

An illustration of salt dissolving in water as we

discuss what it means to be the "salt of the earth"

One group prepares their lessons to teach.

As part of the training of facilitators, we organize ‘practicum workshops’, where the new facilitators can put into practice what they have learned and be able to teach and facilitate with their coaches giving feedback afterwards. Two local SSPEC churches who had been requesting the HHTN workshop hosted these practicum workshops. In each location, the number of people who came grew each day as people heard about the meaningful teaching and how God was working. Many of the people who attended have come from Sudan in the last year due to the war there, and this was a good opportunity for them to be able to process some of that trauma and find healing.

A ministry time in one of the practicum workshops -

praying and showing love to people as they face

wounds or a lack of love from their families.

Giving over pain to Jesus during

one of the practicum workshops

I was humbled and amazed by the diversity of testimonies we heard from participants in those workshops. We praise God for bringing healing and reconciliation in a variety of ways, and hope that you will join us in praising God for the ways that He showed love to people and brought transformation this week. Here are a few of the ways that God worked:

• A man shared that he had not spoken to his brother for more than 30 years because of conflict between them. The man said “my brother did not have much problem with me. It was I who was filled with anger and hatred towards him and refused to meet him. But now God has healed me from my pain and I want to reconcile with my brother.”
• A man who had not been able to sleep said he finally slept and felt peace after the cross workshop
• A mother went home and told her children that she loved them. They asked “What happened to you? You have not talked to us like this before. Somethings has changed in you.” She also told her husband that she loved him. He asked “Where is this change coming from? If it is coming from the church, we should all be going to church.”
• An older woman called her pastor and said “I have been going to the church all these years, but now I realize that I was not really a Christian. But through the teachings this week Jesus has really entered my life and I feel like a new person.”
• A man confessed that he was one of the militia who killed people in Unity State in 2013. They were trained and taught to kill every person they found except for those who were inside the church. He killed people inside of a mosque and in some government buildings. He felt terrible about it now, and was asking for forgiveness.

"All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their tresspasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us."

2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Pastor Idris & the Wedding of His Daughter

When Pastor Idris Nyalos Kida invited Kristi and I to the wedding of his daughter, along with a special invitation to a family luncheon the week before the wedding, I was thrilled! Pastor Idris is the center of my third case study of my PhD research, so any chance to spend time with him is a wonderful opportunity.

We expected the family luncheon to be a simple affair at the home of Pastor Idris and his wife Mary. When we arrived at the petrol station near his home, Idris gathered us up into his vehicle and drove us to the event. When we approached the area of his home and I saw the tents outside, I knew that the event was much bigger than what we had anticipated, but it also felt very South Sudanese. As we stepped down from Idris’ Landcruiser, we were met by Pastor Zechariah who directed us to a protocol person who directed us to another protocol person who seated us near the front. As elder family members and dignitaries arrived, the women ululated and the joy was palpable; we ourselves were greeted with this same joyful response. A young man and a young woman emceed the outdoor event, which was punctuated by traditional dancing led by the family of the groom-to-be, who are of the Acholi tribe. I joined in the dancing, and it was clear that connecting with one’s cultural roots during these occasions brings great pride and joy for the gathered families and community.

The formal occasion did not last long; we were all directed to various local homes where we would eat the special meal. Kristi and I joined a pastor couple and another pastor, all of whom serve the largest Pentecostal church in Juba and who would officiate the wedding the following week. We had a grand time connecting and enjoying the festivities together. Looking after our every need, Pastor Idris took us out from an inner room to an outdoor area where the air was cool and we could feel more comfortable.

At these types of events, one always feels extra special when the host spends time with you. Pastor Idris came and sat with the five of us; we enjoyed hearing stories from the other guests of the many and varied men and women whom Pastor Idris had led to Christ and discipled over the course of three decades and more. One story highlighted a man who had come to faith through the ministry of Pastor Idris, but who had turned away from God and had turned back to alcohol after his wife died. While driving his motorcycle from Torit to Juba, this man heard an audible voice repeatedly saying to him, “If it was not for Idris, you would not be here,” meaning, if not for Idris’ influence in your life, you would not be alive. The man, his name Martin Elijah, was shaken to the core. He immediately turned his life back to God. Today, he plants and leads churches among the Lotuko people of Eastern Equatoria State in South Sudan.

Sitting outside with Pastor Idris and other guests

Many other fascinating stories were told that evening as we sat outside of the home of Idris and enjoyed the joy of the occasion. I did not realize it during the event, but the groom-to-be and bride-to-be were not present. The following week we would see them in all of their matrimonial glory. On that day at Juba Christian Center (JCC), while others were going forward to offer well-wishes to the bride and groom, I seized the opportunity to go forward, bend down, place my left arm over my right arm (a gesture of respect), and offer my hand in congratulations to Pastor Idris Nyalos Kida on this great occasion, the wedding of his daughter, Hannah Idris Nyalos.

Bride and Groom 

Bride and Groom and their families ~ 
Pastor Idris in front row, left, tall, wearing beige suit