Category Archives: Newsletters

March 2024 Newsletter

Empowering Pastors!

In Tonj, South Sudan, we are privileged to be empowering pastors and transforming communities by training the next generation of Church leaders. It is an honor to support the growth of the church through church planting, pastor training, and sponsorship.

A group of people sitting in a circle
IDAT church plant in Tonj East

Our program provides vital monthly training and resources to passionate leaders who are eager to share the Gospel with their communities. Additionally, we provide comprehensive training through diploma and certificate programs, equipping pastors with the skills and knowledge they need to effectively lead and serve their villages, fostering spiritual growth and transformation.

A group of people sitting at tables in a room

With your support, we have already sponsored 45 pastors, enabling them to serve full-time and reach thousands with the message of hope and redemption. As a result, churches are being planted, communities are being transformed, and the kingdom of God is advancing in this young nation. Thank you for partnering with us in this critical work, and please continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in South Sudan as they boldly proclaim the Good News!

A group of people in a room
Pastor Mabior leading the training

To sponsor a pastor, go to: https://pastors.indeedandtruth.org/

Suzy in South Sudan

On my recent trip to South Sudan, I had the honor of training a dedicated IDAT finance team in best practices for effective financial management. Together, we learned to use new online software to enhance transparency, accountability, and sustainability in financial operations.

A group of people standing in front of a vehicle
Suzy and the IDAT team

It was a joy to witness the team’s eagerness to learn and their commitment to serving IDAT and our partners well in this area. With this newfound knowledge, they are now equipped to make a lasting impact, ensuring resources are used wisely to bring hope and transformation to South Sudan. We had an independent annual audit done while I was there. Thank you to all our partners for your support, which makes this annual financial step a ’new’ but necessary part of our growth.

“Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:9

CHE Explosion!

Five years ago our 3 CHE centers met for a conference, and we had a combined attendance of 80 people. Two years ago we had to split into 4 CHE conference locations, with a combined attendance of around 1,500 CHE volunteers. This year we had to expand to 9 different locations with a combined attendance of over 4,000 CHE volunteers!

A group of people sitting on the ground
Over 4,000 attend CHE conferences

Our CHE conference days over the past few weeks have been a fantastic time of worship, prayer, testimonies, preaching, feasting and words of appreciation from chiefs and community leaders. One of the highlights was hearing so many stories of transformation, such as that of James Guc. James had been the Paduer village witchdoctor, until he heard the gospel through CHE – he shared that he has now entered into a new life of freedom through Christ.

James Guc

Please pray for our CHE team as they expand into 30 more villages this year!

February 2024 Newsletter

Passion and Vision for 2024!

This month marks a significant milestone for me – 25 years since I took a leap of faith and embarked on a life-changing mission trip to war-torn South Sudan. I’ll never forget that first moment after landing on a dusty airstrip, as I stepped off the plane, naked children emerged from the underbrush, running towards me with beaming smiles. I was struck by the stark contrast between their joy and the devastation from a famine that had ravaged their town for the past year. The famine had left deep scars, but during that trip, I witnessed firsthand the resilience and determination of a community on the path to recovery. It was a journey that forever changed my perspective and deepened my faith.

In 2000 – Holding the first baby named ‘Suzy’ after me

The call was clear, and my heart was stirred with a deep love and burden for the people. A passion burned within me to share the hope of Jesus, and my life was forever changed. Years of weeping, praying, and fasting for the church in South Sudan have borne fruit. Together, we’ve witnessed 35 church plants and 45 national pastors arise. We currently have 18 of those pastors in Bible College and in May we will celebrate their graduation as they receive a diploma in Pastoral Ministry. Two IDAT missionaries and two national pastors are preparing to co-teach future classes in both English and Dinka, ensuring that even the most remote villages receive inductive Bible study training. God’s answer to our prayers is a testament to His faithfulness and the power of united prayer and partnership.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

Exciting developments are underway at our Bible School and medical centers! This year, we’re expanding our educational studies with additional classes, empowering more pastors to deepen their understanding of the Bible. Meanwhile, our community medical centers are breaking ground in two villages, bringing vital healthcare services to those CHE areas.

You too can join us in bringing hope and healing to the people of Tonj! The IDAT Maternal Child Hospital is dedicated to providing quality care and lifesaving treatment to those in need, but we need your help to make it happen.

Newborn in the IDAT Ward

We have a vision to build a second ward that will ensure vulnerable neonatal babies receive the specialized care they require, and allow us to separate them from the other sick children. Together we can bring hope to these helpless babies and their families, providing them with not just access to excellent medical care but also to a Father in heaven who loves and cares for them deeply. Our budget is $80,000, and every gift, no matter the size, counts!! Please consider supporting our vision today!

Transforming Lives in 70 Villages!

Our Community Health Evangelism program is making a remarkable impact, bringing hope and change to remote villages, one household at a time. Every day, we receive inspiring stories and testimonies of lives transformed. One such testimony comes from our CHE trainer in War-Alel village who shares a miraculous experience that happened over Christmas. This is the story of Anek Madhieu Deng.

Pray for Anek

Earlier in 2023, Anek was devastated when doctors told her that her eyes could no longer be operated on and she would never see again. This was a significant setback as she had undergone eye surgeries in 2021 and 2022, which had partially restored her vision.

On the last day of the CHE program before the holidays, the CHE team laid hands on her eyes and prayed for her healing. And then, on the night of December 24, something incredible happened – one of her eyes suddenly regained sight! Anek was overwhelmed with joy and gratitude to God. She acknowledged that this was a miracle only possible through Jesus Christ. She couldn’t stop thanking the CHE team for their prayers and praising Jesus!

January 2024 Newsletter

Happy New Year!

As we celebrate the New Year, we thank God for YOU our partners and supporters. It’s because of you we are now going into our 25th year of serving in Tonj, South Sudan!! We are so grateful for the way you supported us in prayer and partnered financially with the vision of In Deed and Truth Ministries. 2023 was a great year and also a very fruitful one! We started the year praying for a bible school and closed the year in such a positive way, officially opening the Tonj Bible Institute building!

Tonj Bible Institute

Here’s a recap of how the Lord used us in 2023 and impacted an entire community for the Kingdom of God.

In 2023, our Maternal and Pediatric Mission Hospital treated over 46,000 patients, a 15% increase from 2022.

Busy IDAT Hospital Waiting Room

We saw over 10,800 pregnant mothers, an increase of 1,300 since 2022. We delivered 803 babies in a safe environment, which is a growth of 23% from the year before.

Newborn baby delivered safely

We vaccinated thousands of children and cared for 2,662 inpatients who were admitted to our ward, which is almost 1,000 more than last year. Many of these were premature babies in need of oxygen and an incubator. This huge increase is why we need to build a second ward. The cost is $70,000, please pray we can do this in 2024. IDAT is the only hospital in Tonj with incubators and oxygen, rabies vaccines, snake anti-venom and x-ray.

Our 24-hour care literally saved hundreds of lives physically, but we also poured into each patient spiritually, making sure every patient was prayed for and heard the gospel. Many prayed to receive Jesus Christ as their personal Savior before going home or being discharged from the ward.

CHE!

Our Community Health Evangelism (CHE) program has reached 70 villages in and around Tonj. CHE continues to impact and transform these villages through health lessons and evangelism.

CHE Volunteer training

In those 70 villages, we trained 3,150 CHE volunteers who made 64,283 home visits teaching people about Jesus. As a result, more than 11,000 people made decisions to follow Jesus; 5,352 people joined our bible listening groups, 25 village schools were started, 51 CHE community gardens were planted, 9 boreholes were drilled to provide safe drinking water and our village medical outreach teams treated and vaccinated over 13,000 patients! These numbers are more than double from the previous year and we are excited to continue to expand our CHE program to reach 100 villages in 2024!!

Hebrews 3:13-14 “You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.”

Church Plants!

Thank you for praying for our church planting ministry, for sponsoring pastors, and for helping us build our bible school so we can equip more people to share the gospel. We currently have 35 church plants, and 45 pastors, some still in need of sponsorship. Through those church plants, we welcomed 5,000 new believers into the family of God, baptizing 1,500 of those new believers in 2023. To sponsor an IDAT pastor go to: https://pastors.indeedandtruth.org/.

Pastor Mayom reading his bible

We ended 2023 with 1,300 youth from across our church plants attending a conference and Samaritan’s Purse completing 562 cataract surgeries and opening our bible school! Not a bad year!!

December 2023 Newsletter

Sight to the Blind!

Last month I shared about the amazing cataract team from Samaritan’s Purse.

Suzy standing next to the Cataract Program banner.
IDAT partnership with Samaritan’s Purse

We are praising the LORD that the total number of patients operated on was 562 patients in 7 days, which is 100 more than last year!!

Crowd on of patents wearing hair nets sitting on rugs outside.
Patients came from near and far

This was a really busy two months for IDAT. As soon as the cataract team left we received a small team to come and help Calvary Chapel Tonj with three youth conferences and the IDAT Maternal Child Hospital with three medical outreaches to CHE villages. It’s so awesome how the LORD brings individuals from all around the world.

Volunteers and staff standing by the plane.
Youth Conference Team

Sister Visit!

It was a great joy to have my older sister Wendy and my niece Candice, visit for the first time and help on this team.

Suzy's sister handing a small african child an object
Candice on a medical outreach

Teams enable us to host events and do more outreach without putting extra strain on our staff. We also got a pharmacy stock check done in record time!!  Over 600 patients were seen through the three medical outreaches.

Michael praying for patients with our outreach pastor

This team also helped us do three one-day youth conferences in the different CHE regions of Mapel, Maloney and Tonj.

Tonj Youth perform a skit

We had 2000 youth attend and from them over 250 youth give their lives to Jesus across the three conferences.

It was also wonderful to share two baptisms with this team, one in Tonj, with 129 baptisms, and the other in Maloney with 35 baptisms.

“The LORD values those who fear Him, those who put their hope in His faithful love.” Psalm 147:11

Malony Baptism

Tonj Bible Institute!

After just five months the Tonj Bible Institute building was finally completed. We were blessed to have Pastor Jim, our partner in pastoral training, from Intensive Care Ministries Africa, dedicate the new building. Praying the LORD will continue to bless each person wanting to study and grow in their faith. Our first graduation is in May 2024. Email us for more info if you would like to attend.

Tonj Bible Institute building (above), and the ribbon cutting ceremony (below)
Tonj Bible Institute Dedication

November 2023 Newsletter

Suzy in South Sudan!

Thank you for praying for my travels. I arrived back in Tonj and was able to travel with the medevac patients from Juba to Wau. They are all recovering well and thank God for the outpouring of prayers and support for their healing.

Suzy with the medevac patients in Wau

One of our goals as a ministry is to host teams and long-term missionaries which means improving our current living accommodations on the IDAT compound. In 2023 we received grant funds to increase our solar power. The team from Offgrid Tech arrived and installed it just days before we were hosting the 21-person Samaritan’s Purse cataract team.

New solar power being installed.

Benjamin and Ernest are USA-based Ethnos 360 missionaries traveling around the world and serving mission organizations like IDAT, in remote locations. This two-man team worked long hours, in the hot sun, to install new solar and repair our generators, and service our vehicles. This is truly a gift!

Cataract Team!

One of the blessings of hosting teams is meeting other like-minded Christians willing to sacrifice their own agendas and lifestyle and use their God-given talents, their time and resources to serve others. They are Kingdom-focused, generous, selfless, prayerful, and living out their faith to make a difference in the world. My prayer back in 1999 was to build a platform in South Sudan for such servants of the Lord, so they could come and serve those less fortunate in the world without worrying about security, what they would eat, drink, where they would sleep, transport, etc. Jesus has answered that prayer and fulfilled that vision.

Psalm 37:4-5 “Take delight in the LORD, and He will give you your heart’s desires. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will act.”

It has been an honor and privilege to host the Cataract Surgery team from Samaritan’s Purse again this year. This one-week mission started week’s beforehand with the IDAT team announcing through the radio the upcoming opportunity to towns and villages as far as 100 miles away. Back in 2013, we sent Martin Marop, one of our Community Health Workers, to train with the Tenwek Hospital eye team so he could prescreen these cataract patients. Since then, Martin has completed nursing school and we are so proud of him. He traveled to three surrounding areas to prescreen over 500 prospective patients.

Martin screening patients for cataract

The Samaritan’s Purse ophthalmologist said Martin saved them so much time enabling them to operate on even more patients.

Dr. Ben Roberts operating on a patient

This year we had four ophthalmologists rotating and each surgery took about 5-10 minutes only to remove one cataract.

Dr. Roberts removing bandages post-op
Celebrating sight restored

The best part is seeing patients rejoice and praise God for restoring their sight.

  • Please prayerfully consider supporting this growing ministry.