Joseph Madingdit is one of our community health worker. He is a believer and have been very committed at the church. He has been helping a lot with translation in the devotions, at church and with Sunday school, as well as cleaning our church on Sunday mornings. He stands out among the rest of the people we have in service which he does with humility and joy. I have been having discipleship classes with him and he is very faithful in attending.
Joseph serving in Church
Joseph comes from Akop in Tonj North County. He tells me that most of his fellow villagers have not heard the good news of out Lord Jesus Christ. There is no evangelism going on there. He has a passion to see his fellow villagers come to Christ. He has a plan of going back to the village during the Christmas season and he plans to share Christ with the people there. He hopes that God would use him to bring many to the Kingdom. One of his friends has a small portable video player and Joseph hopes that he can borrow it and use it to show the Jesus film to his villagers.
Jed in Joseph’s Sunday school class
Pray for Joseph as he offers his service to the body of Christ here in Tonj.
Pray that he will continue to grow spiritually in a steady way.
Pray that God will use Him at home when he goes for Christmas.
Pray that he will get the video player for him to show the Jesus movie.
We had a great day last Sunday celebrating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We were blessed to have guys in the church being of great help in putting everything in place. Some of our church members from the community joined the praise team and glory to God we had a wonderful time worshipping together as a body. We had guys still help us to prepare the meeting place since we were holding our service under a mango tree rather than in hall. I was just blessed to see the service that this believers gave to the Lord and to the body. It is evident that the Holy Spirit is working in their lives and drawing them closer. Their participation was worth noting for I believe they are walking in obedience to the scriptures as far as serving each other in the body is concerned and making use of the gifts that the Lord has given us.
“Now to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good”
– 1 Corinthians 12: 7
We have being urging them to get involved as we go through the book of Acts and it is beautiful to see them take some responsibilities in the church and in help with the Sunday school. We continue to pray that they will keep the fire burning in their hearts and lives through the help of the Holy spirit and that their walk shall be evident of the risen Lord.
We also had a wonderful service being reminded that just as Jesus resurrected in a new body, so also we who hope in Him will also have our bodies raised to be like Him. Thus we have to keep watching and keep our hope alive until that day that He comes for us as He promised.
“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if [it were] not [so], I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, [there] ye may be also.” – John 14:2-3
Ultimately we had our breakfast together and enjoyed a great fellowship with each other as we had our snacks. Blessed be the Name of the Lord.
“But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.” – Luke 18:16
As each Sunday the church gathers, part of our congregation is made up of kids. They join us at the beginning of our service at 10 am. Before they can be released to their classes we have songs that are relevant to them. It is happy to see them sing in both English and Dinka. We have one teacher very committed to the Sunday school and I had a chance to help her for two Sundays. I realized that the kids are very attentive and creative and can remember past lessons, which was a great blessing to me. We have been having one class but are implementing a second class such that we can be having two classes every Sunday. We believe and hope that this will help in reaching many kids and increase effectiveness. It is always happy to see the kids have fun outside after their classes. They do various forms of games.
Pastor Kibe with the Sunday school
We believe that in reaching the children, we are reaching not only this generation but a generation to come. These kids are still fresh and their minds are quick to learn. The bible tells in Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it”.
I also travelled to Malony last week with the medical team where after ministering the word to the adult patients, I called the children aside and it is kind we had another wonderful service. I shared the word from Genesis about creation and fall of man. We then prayed together and had a couple of songs. The kids were very excited and kept telling me that I should do the same next time I visit.
Pastor Kibe with Kids at Maloney Outreach
I also visited the head teacher to the local primary school, which has a population of 97 pupils. I shared with him our idea of showing the Jesus film to the pupils in school and requested Him for permission to do so. He was okay with it and promised us that when they begin the feeding programme sometime later in April we are welcome to go and minister to the pupils as well as show the Jesus film. This we feel is a breakthrough worth praising God for.
These are part of the effort we are making to make the gospel get to the children, and have them won for Christ. Statistics show that about 85% of Christians give their lives to Christ when they are still children.
Prayer Points
Pray that we shall have breakthroughs in many other schools to air the Jesus film and share the gospel regularly.
Pray for our Sunday school that we shall have enough teachers and helpers.
Pray that these kids shall make their personal choices to follow Christ.
True christian fruits are seen when mere men chose to put their faith in Christ and in His word despite their hardship, cultures and what the world teaches them. One of the greatest hindrances to the gospel here is a culture that is so much implanted in belief in witchcraft and sorcery. The community believes in them greatly, that is their first option in case of a disaster or sickness. We know that this is idolatry, and God does not want His children to practice it.
Today we saw this change. One of the guys who has been very keen to discipleship is Peter. He is a student in secondary school, and he is born again. He has been coming to our ministry premises at IDAT every week where we spend time in the word of God. He also comes to church every Sunday for fellowship. We also pray together. His story is that of breaking away from tradition by not only embracing Christ but also His teachings.
I see him as a good example of what Paul said to the church in 1 Thessalonian 1:9b, “…and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living God”. Peter’s dad was sick two weeks ago, his brothers were planning to have their dad taken to a witchdoctor (which is kind of the norm here) but Peter said no. He suggested they take him to the hospital in Juba since that is where his dad works. Peter feared that the brothers will not take his advice since they had also taken their dad to a witchdoctor for treatment last year. He came to me asking that we pray together and ask God that his dad not to be taken to a witchdoctor. We prayed and after 3 days Peter came back with a testimony that his elder brothers had agreed to take their dad to the hospital. On Saturday March 17th, Peter came with the good news that his father was now well and had been discharged from the hospital.
This story is one among many others that we witness everyday here ay Tonj. The Bible tells us that we are not to live as the unbelievers do, Ephesians 4:17-18, 24
“This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind. Having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart…But we are to put on the new nature which is created in the likeness of Christ”.
For Peter it took courage to say NO to what was ungodly, to walk away from what the culture advocates and to follow what the Bible says.
Prayers points:
Peter and other believers that they will continue to trust in Jesus in difficult situations and they will severe any ties with the witchdoctors and spirit masters.
Pray for Peter’s growth and continual commitment to discipleship.
Pray for his Dad and brothers that they will fully trust in Jesus and that they will accept Him as their Savior.
