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 26^th 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. 2024 was a great year and also a very fruitful one! We celebrated 25 years of ministry in South Sudan and graduated our first class from the Tonj Bible Institute!

Here’s a recap of how the Lord used us in 2024 and impacted an entire community for the Kingdom of God.

In 2024, our Maternal Child Mission Hospital treated over 60,000 patients, a 30% increase from 2023.

We saw over 12,000 pregnant mothers, an increase of 1,200 since 2023. We delivered 922 babies in a safe environment, which is a growth of 15% from the year before.

Lamentations 3:22-24 says, The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.”

We vaccinated thousands of children and cared for 3,978 in-patients who were admitted to our ward, which is almost 1,300 more than last year. Many of these were premature babies in need of oxygen and an incubator. This huge increase is why we are building a second ward, starting construction as soon as possible in 2025.

Suzy with a IDAT Ward baby

IDAT continues to be 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 went from 70 to 96 villages in 2024. CHE continues to impact and transform these villages through health lessons and evangelism.

In those 96 villages, we trained 6,895 CHE volunteers who made 83,362 home visits teaching people about Jesus. As a result, 21,924 people made decisions to follow Jesus; 136 bible listening groups were meeting, 25 village schools were started, 68 CHE community gardens were planted, 12 community boreholes were drilled to provide safe drinking water.

Our village medical outreach teams treated and vaccinated over 10,000 patients! We are excited to continue to expand our CHE program to reach 140 villages in 2025!!

Church Plants!

Thank you for praying for our church planting ministry, for sponsoring pastors, so we can reach more people with the gospel.

CC Tonj Prayer Night

We have 40 church plants, and 50 pastors, some still in need of sponsorship. 7.500 decisions for Christ and 1,500 of those new believers got baptized. To sponsor an IDAT pastor go to: https://pastors.indeedandtruth.org/.

Altogether 2024 was a fantastic year!

Women’s Christmas Tea!

It was a joy and honor to share at Horizon Church’s Women’s Ministry Christmas Tea, reflecting on the incredible journey God has led me through over the past 28 years.

From the unexpected twists of heartbreak to the resilience He built in my calling, I shared the story of how He transformed my life “from Madame to Missionary.” My hope was to inspire the women in attendance to see that no matter where they’ve been or what they’ve faced, God can redeem every story and use anyone for His purpose. God is faithful and we can trust in His promises.

CHE Ministry Update!

What a year it’s been for CHE (Community Health Evangelism)! Thanks to your support and prayers CHE is now running in 94 villages, with our team of over 5,000 volunteers bringing health training, Christ-centered community development and the hope of the gospel to around 100,000 people each month.

Our medical outreach team has this year provided medical care to over 10,000 vulnerable children and pregnant mothers. Over 10,000 people have this year made commitments to follow Christ through personal evangelism and Jesus Film outreaches. Churches have been planted in 40 villages, 12 new boreholes have been drilled, 25 village schools opened, and 57 CHE Community farms have fed many widows, orphans, and disabled people.

Every CHE village has to have a committee overseeing the CHE volunteers. This month we held a graduation for 10 CHE committees celebrating over 200 CHE volunteers graduating. At every graduation the village chief, elders and community members, as well as IDAT leaders and pastors.

“Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.” Psalm 25:4-5

The appreciation and engagement from the communities at these graduations reflect the strong partnership between each village and In Deed and Truth Ministries.

Graduates from the CHE Village of Alur

But there is still so much Kingdom work left to do, with over 100 villages currently on our waiting list, each village desperate for the gospel and CHE. Would you consider making a year-end donation towards a CHE village to help us reach these communities in 2025?

Vision Trips to Tonj in 2025!

Are you ready to step out in faith and experience the transformative power of serving others? Join us on a mission vision trip to South Sudan in June or October 2025. This trip is more than just an opportunity to witness the fruits of In Deed and Truth’s efforts; it’s a chance to support our ongoing projects, engage with our CHE villages, and see firsthand how God is bringing hope and restoration to this region. Pray about joining us as we partner with South Sudan in faith, love, and action!

As we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ let us remember the hope He offers to all who surrender to Him.

Women’s Conference!

Last month we distributed food to a community of Muslim refugees that fled the fighting in north Sudan. We invited them to attend our one-day women’s conference at our church and more than 100 of them came.

This powerful women’s event served as a bridge of unity and understanding, where women from different walks of life came together to learn, share stories, and experience the message of Jesus’ love and hope. Our topic was “What does it mean to be a Proverbs 31 woman?” Missionaries Sarah, Suzy, Destinee and Laurie each taught a session, with breakout sessions in between. Over 600 women attended, and the day was filled with inspiring testimonies, heartfelt prayers, and moments of genuine connection.

Proverbs 31:29-31 “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all! Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised. Reward her for all she has done.”

A New Ministry!

We’re delighted to share that we have started a new ministry. As we shared that we hosted our first women’s conference at the church. The day before this conference we did a food distribution specifically for refugee women who had fled the civil war in Sudan (north). We had many Arab women come for this food distribution and we invited them to the conference.

We were thrilled to have around 100 ladies join us. Our senior pastor’s wife told us that three of the women prayed to receive Christ. Throughout the conference we bonded with these ladies and sought ways to see how we could minister to them further. This is how we found out that the majority of them would like to learn English. We agreed to teach them English if they agreed to allow us to teach them the gospel and just like that, 84 women signed up! This is how our new ministry was birthed. We have begun our English classes and what’s even better is we have now had two occasions to share the gospel with these ladies, which is the key part of this ministry.

Men’s Conference!

This month we held a Men’s conference at CC Tonj!  We called it, “Every man is called to be a leader!”  We created topics to share among the Pastors and male leaders and divided the time.

The Conference was opened by our own Field Director, Albino Dut. The first session was from Pastor Mabior who spoke on “leading the Church”. The second session was by Pastor Santino Bak on “leading in the community”. The third session was done by Missionary Michael Herzinger on “a Faithful man”. The fourth session was led by Pastor Joseph Kuol and called “leading the family”. The final session was led by Missionary Ben Beard entitled “A Humble man”.

We had a very enjoyable fellowship with around 300 men from the church.  Communication about each topic was encouraged for 45 minutes afterwards during the breakout sessions and was animated and exciting. We are looking forward to seeing much fruit from this venture and we were bombarded with requests to do this every year.  Amen!

Leader’s Conference!

In South Sudan, a nation rich in culture and history but also scarred by conflict and division, the role of effective leadership cannot be overstated. This last month our national team of leaders gathered together in Wau, the second largest city in South Sudan. The purpose was to welcome Nathan into the team, revisit the vision of In Deed and Truth Ministries and to equip them with the mindset and faith necessary to lead with integrity, unity, and purpose.

Every sector of our ministry was represented by our Field Director, Medical Director, CHE manager, Bible School Director, CC Tonj Senior Pastor, Finance Director, Church Plant coordinator, Missionary Support Specialist, and Infrastructure coordinator. We also invited our missionaries, and new Executive Director as we focused on nurturing and empowering this next generation of South Sudanese leaders for our ministry.

They are the future and it is our heart to equip them with biblical principles that foster humility, resilience, and servant leadership, all essential for navigating the pressures and responsibilities, with the continuance and growth of IDAT long-term.

“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19

Ongoing Food Distribution!

Our ministry, by God’s grace and with the support of faithful partners, has been actively involved in providing food to both the internally displaced people (IDP’s) within our region and the muslim  refugees from Khartoum. We believe this is a critical moment to live out our calling to be the hands and feet of Jesus to those in desperate need.

Our maternal waiting homes are full of IDP’s that ran away from the tribal fighting in Tonj East. One woman had seven children killed and her 8-year-old daughter came with her who was also shot but survived. Another mother we are caring for was running with her 2-month-old twins. Her 10-year-old daughter was carrying one twin and she was carrying the other. As they fled gunshots, the daughter and twin were both killed. These women came to Tonj town but have no shelter or food.

360 bags of food (18 tons) were distributed to the refugee community that fled fighting in Khartoum.

Update on the Food Crisis!

South Sudan continues to grapple with a worsening food crisis, as the impact of tribal unrest, unpredictable weather patterns, and economic instability deepens. Over 7 million people, more than half the population, face severe food insecurity, with many areas still at risk of famine. Our town and the surrounding area have not received any aid from the World Food Program or other aid agencies and In Deed and Truth Ministries (IDAT) has been their only hope. As we share the food we share the truth, that we get our hope from Jesus.

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

A government representative in Tonj was very happy when he witnessed the relief food distribution to refugees from North Sudan. He announced to the town that only In Deed and Truth Ministries who are doing food distribution in Toni South and Mapel, while other Non-Government Organizations are doing nothing this year to help.

So far we have bought and delivered 120 tons of food, feeding 19,000 people! Even though these numbers sound impressive we are only giving enough food to prevent starvation. Please keep praying we have one month to go.

New Water Well Partnership!

Over the past 3 years, our IDAT team has facilitated 12 new water wells in our CHE villages. This has provided safe drinking water to thousands of people throughout Tonj who previously had been drinking contaminated surface water.

These wells have had a life-changing impact in each community, however, our team is already stretched to capacity planting churches, caring for the sick in our mission hospital, and establishing Community Health Evangelism (CHE), so we have not been able to keep up with the needs. This year we started a new water well partnership with another ministry in South Sudan called Every Village, which recently purchased a powerful drilling rig. IDAT conducted community surveys, identified CHE villages in desperate need of safe drinking water, held community meetings, and shared the gospel.

We also purchased the core materials required for the water wells such as hand pumps and pipes. The villages each raised $400 to contribute toward material costs, this provides ownership and investment in the need, breaking decades of unhealthy dependence. They also pay a subscription to the Every Village Well Maintenance Program to ensure the well continues operating effectively.

Every Village used their new rig to drill down to depths of 40-70m to reach underground aquafers of pristine water, and then installed the pipes, handpump and concrete pad to enable each of these villages to bring this pristine water into their homes.

We are grateful to Every Village for their partnership; and to each of you – our IDAT supporters whose donations have made these water wells possible. It is great when God’s people work together to bring His Kingdom!