Dr. Tom’s Back!

The people of Tonj are rejoicing that Dr. Tom is back! Oh, how they have missed the ‘kawaja’ cycling along the dirt road. Patients missed his silly jokes, villagers missed chasing him on his bike and coworkers feel like their family member returned home.

It is a testimony to our Lord Jesus that even though we treat our patients with modern medicine and have trained doctors on hand we also completely rely on Him and his healing power. Our clinic is limited in lab testing and equipment and asking for wisdom when making a diagnosis is critical.  Offering prayer and counsel is an important part of our treatment and we have our trained chaplains on hand to share with every patient. The alternative is for them to go to the local witchdoctor so we take seriously the opportunity to present the gospel message to them. Many of our patients come from villages several hours walk away and their visit might be the only chance to assess them physically and spiritually. From each visit we get a picture of what is happening out in the villages; food or water shortages, outbreaks, and if they have a church. This information can help us determine the best place to do our next CHE (Community Health Evangelism).

The Jesus Film!

Pastor Santino is one of our trained chaplains and He uses the Jesus film to make God’s Word come alive, especially in the villages where people are more isolated and there is a high rate of illiteracy. During the Christmas break Pastor Santino took the responsibility to reach out to an area we had never been to before. It was directly after counseling a patient in our clinic that had come from that region. He showed the Jesus film in nine places; three of them were markets, three homes and three churches. An astounding total of 4,161 people watched the Jesus film and 426 of them responded to the invitation to receive Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.

With security in our area getting worse, there are a lot of hostilities between clans in the villages around our town. God is faithfully using our pastors to meet the lost souls in the villages where a lot of these clashes begin.

One man was completely transformed after watching the Jesus film and sharing his heart with Pastor Santino, who counseled him and prayed with him. He confessed he wanted a peaceful life but all he has known is fighting and retaliation, never had he heard a message of love, grace and forgiveness.  To be accepted by Jesus brought this man to his knees and he laid down his weapons long with his heart.

Security Update!

“Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” – James 1:27

The BIG question we keep hearing, “Is peace possible in South Sudan?”

Last August there was a peace signing between the rebel leader and a reluctant President after pressure from the international community.  Recently in January, South Sudan’s president dissolved the nation’s 10 states and created 28 new states! This left the country very tense as people tried to work within these new systems. Now the President has announced that his former vice-president, who he fired in 2013 and was leading the rebels, has been reappointed as his First Vice President. They seem committed to the peace treaty but it is still early days. The government army continues to be accused of attacking opposition bases in violation of the permanent ceasefire agreement.

This constant insecurity does make our mission work harder but it also opens the door to share with people who have a need for true peace, which we know can only to be found in Jesus Himself. Opportunity surrounds us and that is exciting. This is our prayer: Pray, the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” (Matt. 9:38).

An Amazing Year!

On behalf of In Deed and Truth Ministries’ staff, missionaries and board members, we would like to sincerely thank you for helping us serve the people of Tonj, South Sudan in 2015. We are so grateful for your prayers and financial gifts and can’t thank you enough for your ongoing support.

As we closed 2015 our team celebrated a fantastic year together with a Christmas party for the staff.

Let’s give the rightful praise to our Lord Jesus for all we accomplished in 2015, here’s a quick reminder of how the Lord used us in partnership with you: 25 remote villages watched the Jesus film, reaching thousands of people; 15 village churches trained in oral bible storying; 1 church was planted; medical and spiritual care of over 10,000 children under the age of five and their families; maternal health and spiritual care of over 5,000 pregnant women; assisting in the healthy birth of 145 babies; five students in medical school training to be Clinical Officers; 1 medical student in nursing school; amazing testimonies of God’s miraculous healing; hundreds of decisions for Christ; protection and safety of our team and staff in a country where security’s unpredictable; provision for our family and ministry needs.

A New Year!

We are so excited to get started in 2016 with all the Lord has in store for us. Our first priority is to complete the new medical clinic building which needs about $25,000 to finish the interior. We would love to get that opened and operating this year, please be praying for that.

Community Health Evangelism (CHE) has changed the way we minister in the villages. It promotes Christ-centered development by involving and training the people to identify assets, choose wisely, implement plans and use their local resources, which in turn avoids unhealthy dependency. In 2016 we are praying about implementing CHE in 2 new villages and strengthening and renewing training in the existing villages. Pray for us to have wisdom as we put together a plan that involves our missionaries, pastors, CHE’s and partnering churches/visitors.

Jono and Destinee have used the past 18 months to medically train our Community Health Workers (CHW’s) in preparation for further study. In 2016 we will continue to support the 5 medical students in Kenya and add two more students to training. Pictured are Akol, who will be sent to nursing school for further training and Emmanuel, who is starting a 3 year pharmacy course.

A New Hope!

It is always good to reflect on what the Lord has accomplished, where He is leading us and who we are in light of who HE is!

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the LORD and not for men, knowing that from the LORD you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the LORD Jesus Christ.” – Colossians 3:23-24

We continue to be humbled and amazed by what the LORD can do through the obedient hearts of HIS children. As we partner together in 2016 we ask for continued prayers for our family, our team, our staff, our pastors, pray for protection in the field, unity, Agum’s immigration process. Pray for God to go before us every day and that He would give us opportunities to share His love with those we encounter and give us His heart for the people we serve. May He strengthen and use us for His honor and glory. May He provide for our needs above and beyond what we have asked Him for and may we be faithful stewards of all He entrusts to us.

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” – Numbers 6:24–26

Christmas greetings from all our team both in USA and South Sudan! We want to say a huge thank you for not only touching our lives with your continued love and support of our family but also the love you have poured out on those we serve in South Sudan. Thank you for praying for us and for encouraging us with your notes, calls and emails. We are blessed to have you part of our support team.

This year has been a challenging one for our family as we have been working stateside while securing Agum’s US citizenship and Sabet has spent more than 6 months apart from us, mostly due to caring for his mother’s health needs. Many of you have provided words of encouragement and hope and helped us to keep our focus on the Lord and His plans during this time. It’s because of these prayers our family and ministry are both doing so well. The Lord has raised up remarkable Godly men from within to serve in areas we are not able to and we are now witnessing and enjoying the fruit of years of prayers and labor. Several of you have labored with us, over the years, for these souls that are now serving the Lord in South Sudan. Your touch on our lives has been extended to touch and change these lives for eternity. It has been our greatest privilege to be used in this way.

2015 seemed to go by so quickly and yet here we are making preparations to celebrate the wonder and splendor of our Savior’s birth. It’s my favorite time of year so I don’t mind entering this season again when the last celebration feels like yesterday!! As soon as Christmas passes we are heading to California to attend the Calvary Chapel Missions Conference in Murrieta starting on January 4th. We are so excited to have this opportunity as a family to see our friends and church family in California! The Lord knows if Sabet will be able to join us and that is our prayer and our hope.

Every day in South Sudan is hard; it’s hot, there are scorpions and snakes, deadly diseases, poor quality of all basic, essential needs, like; medical, water, food, education, jobs, transport, housing, electricity, communication and security. These are things we take for granted every single day and yet considered a privileged lifestyle by South Sudanese living in extreme poverty. This year you chose to join hands with us and with our brothers and sisters of South Sudan. Your contribution both prayerfully and financially directly impacted their lives and allowed us to continue in the calling the Lord has placed on us. We are humbled and blessed by your generosity and love.

2016 for South Sudan looks bleak with continued conflict devastating the country’s progress and threatening the world’s worst food crisis to date. It is going to be a tough year ahead but our family and our team are ready for the battle. We are committed to the calling and to the ministry’s success and impact on the ground. We are looking forward to returning as a family to Tonj. We are excited to begin Community Health Evangelism across the villages and to move into our new clinic building. We can’t wait to have our first ‘home-grown’ South Sudanese missionary (not including Sabet) graduate from medical school and serve in the clinic. Our pastors have done a fabulous job ministering to patients and pastoring our church plants. We have much to reflect on and much to look forward to. We hope you will join hands with us for another year of service to the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings.

We wish you and your family joy and peace this Christmas!

Our vision here at In Deed and Truth Ministries is to transform ordinary South Sudanese communities into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. Our ministry provides a platform for those who feel called to help us reach that vision, not part-time but fully invested in this Kingdom work, to go all the way with us. As Jesus commanded:

Matthew 28:19 – “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

As fully involved believers that are committed to Jesus and earnestly live for Him your “GO” may be committing to pray, volunteer or financially partner with our ministry so we can “MAKE DISCIPLES” in South Sudan together. And as most of us find as believers, this is often hard to actually put into practice. We get frustrated or overwhelmed by the size of the task and often live with a sense of defeat, “Will my effort make the slightest difference?” The answer is YES!! Allow the power of Jesus to use you and include you in His greater plan to impact and transform lives thousands of miles away. He calls us, He equips us and He goes with us. He has sent us His Helper, the Holy Spirit, to direct our lives and empower us.

Philippians 4:13 – “I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.”

Please pray for our ministry, we currently have 46% of our monthly needs met by fully invested financial partners. If the Spirit of God is leading you to financially partner with us in making disciples and to get involved, now is the time. As the Spirit has filled us and directed us to make known this need, please pray if this is an area the Lord is directing you to be involved in.

Testimonies from the Clinic!

One of the ways God is using us to reach His precious people in South Sudan is through our medical assistance. Most people living in South Sudan live in extreme poverty as it is still one of the poorest countries in the world. After gaining independence after years of civil war with the North, basic needs are still not met. We serve a community that extends to regions further than our immediate town and reach over 100,000 people. Our goal is to exit our ministry one day and leave it self-sustainable in the hands of God fearing South Sudanese people. We have started this process by first ‘making disciples’ and then giving those faithful ones an opportunity to be used by the Lord to serve their own community, five of which today are in medical school and 13 are pastors, have planted 7 churches and minister all over North, East and South Tonj county.

Meet Bor, he is 6 months old and arrived in our clinic with a massive neck abscess. His parents brought him with the complaint of neck swelling for the last five days. He was having trouble breastfeeding, suffered high fever, kept vomiting and was crying all the time. His parents walked a day and a half to bring him to our clinic from the remote village where they lived. After incision and drainage of more than ½ pint of pus we were able to admit him and monitor his recovery. After prayer, antibiotics, cleaning and dressing, Bor made a full recovery.

It still excites us to see what the Lord is doing in Tonj every day. We’re so grateful to God for making us to be a part of it and to partner us with those who want to make a difference in this world. What a blessing to witness the work of the pastor’s at the clinic sharing the gospel and praying patients like Bor and his parents. The pastors have a table well situated and once patients get their prescription and medicine, they join the pastors on their table for prayer.

Here the pastors are able to have a one on one chat with the patient, getting to know of their spiritual well-being and whether they attend any church. The greatest joy is that these patients aren’t forced to go for prayer, they go there willingly. They are able to share their prayer requests, whether it be personal prayer, prayer for their husbands or wives, prayer for the peace of the region. They leave the clinic knowing clearly that it is the Lord who heals and provides the medicines, and life won’t be well unless we care for the ‘whole’ being which includes our spiritual health and the truth about our eternal salvation. It is not about loving in word or in tongue but in DEED and in TRUTH!

• Prayer for our family as we continue to endure months apart. Suzy’s trip update is on the blog.

In the midst of today’s busyness and high-tech lifestyles, it is easy to not find time to pray but what a privilege to be given this calling as children of God. The battle, even for our time, is a spiritual one for which prayer is our answer!! We thank each one of you for praying for our family, missionaries, team and ministry. Your fervent prayers are carrying us through these tough times.

We have received notice that a decision regarding Agum’s US status should be communicated to us by the end of October. We are praising God and praying it would be favorable. Our greatest desire would be to be back in Africa for Christmas.

Sabet is still in Nairobi with his mum. His brother Dominic arrived safely from Australia and the three of them happily reunited for the first time in 20 years. The Lord is amazing and has answered our prayers by providing a ticket for Suzy to ‘nip’ over to Kenya to see Sabet after 8 weeks of separation. She’ll also get to see Sabet’s mum and Dominic before they all go back to Tonj, which may be her last chance to spend time with her. Pray for our time together, October 26th to November 7th, and for our children, Hannah, Agum and Jedidiah who will remain in Florida with Suzy’s mum.

Missions Conference!

Suzy and the kids were so blessed to spend a weekend with Calvary Chapel Merritt Island to attend their ‘Beautiful Feet’ mission conference. It was a time of refreshment, fun and making new friends.

Testimonies from Tonj!

This is Marek, he’s the cousin of our finance administrator, Andrea.

He turned up at our clinic last week to share his testimony of the transforming power of Christ in his life. As a young man he made his fortune raiding cattle from the neighboring Nuer tribe, and like so many of rural South Sudanese he lived entrenched in spirit worship. Several months ago he developed a certain illnesses which even the strongest witchdoctors were powerless to fix. So as a last resort he came to Andrea, who brought him to our clinic. With a course of medication and prayer to the almighty God Marek had completely recovered within 3 days! He along with his 3 wives and many children were astonished at his rapid recovery, and the whole family determined that from this day forth they would follow the God who was so much more powerful than any witchdoctor.

“Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!” – Psalm 107:19-21

Praise to Jesus!!

Four month old Mabior woke up in the night crying with a high fever.

Early the next morning he started seizing, and the seizure just didn’t stop. His mother, convinced he would die,   started mourning at home, but a relative convinced her to go to the nearest clinic. At the village clinic they were told it was too late so they tried a market pharmacy who also couldn’t help. Finally they turned up at In Deed and Truth clinic with the child still convulsing, struggling to breathe from aspiration, and on the verge of death. We promised the mother to try our best but told her that it would take some help from God to save this child. So while starting IV infusions to treat the malaria and stop the convulsions we laid hands on him and committed him to God. The next morning the child was alert and breastfeeding again, showing off his adorable smile… and we couldn’t stop smiling either! After witnessing the healing of her child, our chaplain Santino was able to share the good news of Jesus with her using picture cards, and like so many of our patients she joyfully invited Christ into her life.

• Please join us in praise and prayer for all these needs and testimonies.