Time!

Where did it go this year?? Everywhere we hear people saying “It’s August already can you believe it?” To be honest, no we can’t!!! This year we have really seen the value of time and the precious gift it truly is. With our home assignment plans changed while we work on immigration issues we are reassessing our time here in the USA. How we spend our time in this world is so important and needs to be prioritized because once it’s lost it’s gone forever!

As we extend our time stateside we have been praying we can prioritize this extra time and use it wisely. We have our goals but we really want to focus on the Lord and align our plans with His perfect will. We want to be ready when He sends us home to Africa in His perfect timing!

As we wait on the Lord for our leaving date our minds are continually focused on the calling He has placed on our lives. We are challenged as we think about South Sudan and the ongoing unrest. How are we effectively bringing evangelism and discipleship to our community in Tonj? Our medical workers can barely cope with rising number of daily patients’ physical needs let alone the spiritual needs. Over 80% of the medical issues we deal with daily in Tonj are preventable and the cost to minister curative medical care is high. Is there a better way? Is there a better use of our time? This has been a question we have asked and prayed about for the past 5 years.

CHE!

Three years ago we began a shift in our ministry focus from curative to preventative and targeted children and pregnant mothers. With the help of CHE (community health evangelism), we have been very successful in combining both physical and spiritual needs of the community and it has proven to be more cost effective too.
The medical needs in South Sudan continue to be drastically under-served with no hospitals or labs. The rural villages make up 90% of the population which has no trained medical workers at all. With such a high number of preventable diseases claiming lives of children under five the need for sustainable community health programs are desperately needed. This is where CHE is so effective to meet the physical need through preventative care along with the spiritual need through one-on-one evangelism. CHE focuses on the individual, one changed heart = a change in attitude = a change in behavior = one changed life multiplied by one community!! It is simple yet amazing and has led to 7 church plants by our pastors, and discipleship of hundreds of people. It can be used by non-medical workers, missionaries, pastors and pretty much anyone who has a heart to empower and equip a community with spiritual and physical truths.

In Deed and Truth Ministries has been hosting the training of CHE’s for a few years and seen firsthand the fruit of this program. Sabet is trained and in July, Suzy made great use of her ‘extra’ time stateside and participated in a training of trainers for CHE.

She learned how to use CHE effectively in the field as well as with churches and short term mission trips. We are very excited about this opportunity to get our supporting churches involved and even make trips to the field to participate and see CHE in action. We know CHE is the way forward for lasting change in Tonj. Would you please join us in praying for this program as it continues to grow and develop and for churches and individuals to be raised up to serve in this area of ministry. We are looking for one year interns to go to South Sudan and serve in our CHE program.

News from the Field!

While Dr. Tom has been on his summer break we are blessed to have Dr. Jan Zijp volunteering for a few months in the clinic.

With the unpredictable insecurity in South Sudan we continue to have limited professional help. Pray our clinic can operate effectively within these limitations. We are waiting on a truck of medical supplies to be cleared and get exemption which will boost our medical stock for the next 6 months. Pray for favor as this has already taken many weeks and every week we are told it will be completed!

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”  – Isaiah 61:1-2

Prayer Requests!

• Pray Sabet can leave for Africa by the end of August.
• Pray Agum can get her status changed while we are here.
• Pray protection and good health for Dr. Jan Zijp and the team.
• Pray for interns to get involved with CHE.
• Pray we we can fill our container by the end of August.