Surgeries for Tonj!
What joy to have a General Surgeon with us in Tonj. Dr. Stick arrived mid-January from USA and will be with us for three months. He is greatly needed in so many ways but as this is a new area of medical care for us as well as the community we are taking things slowly. The main focus for surgeries will be hernias and people are coming for miles to book an appointment with him. Dr. Stick arrived with much needed skills in this remote place that has little technology to offer him yet he just has a heart to serve the Lord. He is a pleasure to meet, a blessing to be around, humble and open to what the Lord wants to do through him. We can testify and relate to his passion for missions and for the work God has put in his heart, using his professional skill to share Jesus’ love with those who are the least privileged in this world. We are excited to report the testimonies back to you all over the next few months. So far he has managed 10 surgeries with 100% success. As the patients are ministered to, pray they would understand God’s love, grace and forgiveness. We are very happy to see the hope in people who have been restored and the future in their eyes now looks brighter. The town is at ease more than ever because of these surgeries. And so are we, as we have the realhope and now the opportunity to present it to these patients knowing it will bring long-lasting change and make a real difference in their lives if they choose Jesus as their Savior.
As with the cataract surgeries in September we have partnered with the government hospital which is not being used to its full capabilities and we are using their operating room to perform the surgeries. We have added some local staff to help with translation and other minor duties that will hopefully help free up our regular medical team who are being stretched to help cover the afternoon surgeries as well as our normal clinic program and outreaches. We ask you to pray for them over this next few months as their workload is heavier than normal. It is our biggest challenge not being able to find medically trained Sudanese staff and the cost of bringing sufficient Kenyan medical staff, flying them in and out and providing accommodation and board is very high. Pray for Sudanese that were displaced during the war to return to their home country. Many were able to train and acquire medical skills overseas. We are praying for medically trained Sudanese to return to their home as missionaries.
“The humble also shall increase their joy in the LORD, And the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.” – Isaiah 29:19
Aid Sudan!
Aid Sudan is a Christian ministry that is partnering with In Deed and Truth to bring a radio ministry to our area. This month they began work on erecting the tower on our compound. Their vision is to plant radio towers across Southern Sudan to broadcast the gospel message in local dialogs. We are very excited for this opportunity to have the Message of Hope aired through a satellite feed in local dialogues of Dinka, Jurchol and Bongo. We are estimating more than 45,000 people will be able to hear and listen throughout 3 different states, Warrap, Lake and Western Bahr El Ghazal. It will also be a great tool to bring health and hygiene awareness and education.
Prayer Requests
- For our staff and missionaries as they serve the Lord selflessly. That in the midst of the busyness they can enter into HIS presence and experience the peace of the Lord.
- For the Losee’s as they continue to teach the pastors in the final year of school.
We (Sabet and Suzy) chose to spend Christmas in Kenya this year to give our family some 1181much needed ‘down time’. This was our first Christmas away from Tonj in three years, which was hard for us to do as we love spending Christmas in Sudan also. But family needs had to come first and with so much time apart this last 6 months we knew we needed to reconnect and spend time away from our compound and work. As it was a last minute decision, we were blessed by Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) who diverted a charter airplane to collect our family from Tonj. Africa Inland Mission (AIM) were also kind to offer us a four bedroom furnished home used for their own missionaries in transition. This has been an amazing blessing for our children especially. We’ve had a wonderful time of fellowship with friends, our church family here and have been able to join in all the Christmas church activities. Attending the candlelight carol concert with a picnic was very fun! But being able to go to church Christmas Eve and Day was awesome. We baked cookies for MAF and AIM and thanked them for their sacrificial service to missionaries like us living in the bush. Without these support services we could not survive each day in Sudan. Christmas Day was a joy to entertain 12 people by hosting a dinner for missionary friends also working in Sudan. December 30th we celebrated Hannah’s 10th Birthday (pictured) by spending a day swimming in a pool. She then had a double party with her old friends (one whom also turned 10). New Year was relaxed with Kenyan friends sipping chai, eating baked potatoes and worshipping the Lord around the bonfire. We are so thankful for this time of refreshment and fellowship. We are so thankful for each one of you for being a blessing and joy in our life.
It was great to come back home to my family after many weeks away in the USA. The trip was a success; I connected with supporting churches, home fellowships and many individual ministry partners. In addition to the San Diego and Tonj prayer walks, it was a great blessing to be joined this year by Eastgate Christian Fellowship in Florida (pictured) who hosted their own prayer walk. This has been our prayer that the burden of raising support for this ministry would be shared by those around us. Thank you everyone who walked, prayed and supported this annual event. There is a light shining in South Sudan for Jesus Christ as a result of In Deed and Truth Ministries being there, thank you for continuing this journey with us and walking this path.
We have been encouraged to get feedback from the Tonj community how praying for patients in our medical clinic has blessed them as much as receiving the free medicine. Even the government officials have acknowledged and praised the extra mile we go for each of our patients. This has really encouraged our staff, who serve diligently around the clock to bring the hope and love of Jesus Christ into their medical surrounding. One story that stood out is about Mary Wenglay. Her mother and uncle openly practiced witchcraft and always turned to it whenever Mary or her siblings were sick. Earlier this year Mary’s younger brother died after the family refused him medical help and practiced witchcraft on him. Mary was hit hard emotionally by the death of her younger brother. After some time the other brother got sick and again her mother and uncle insisted in witchcraft rituals. Mary decided to do whatever it takes to get her brother to our medical clinic. There she heard the gospel and met with one of our pastors. She prayed with him and asked Jesus to be her personal Savior. What she heard totally transformed her life from that moment on. Her brother made a complete recovery after receiving treatment and medicine. One of our pastors visiting Mary’s village called Kwanyria heard her testimony and started praying with her for her mother and uncle’s salvation. Many of the villagers were curious at Mary’s transformation and Pastor Joseph felt the Lord telling him to ‘have church’ under a tree. Many villagers now come to church on Sunday and Mary’s mother has turned from witchcraft and asked Jesus to be her Savior and both her and Mary have been baptized. The Lord used this young lady’s faith to reach an entire village with the Gospel. This new church is very grateful for what the Lord has done through Mary (pictured far right in blue with the church) and through the IDAT Medical Clinic to bring them this church in their village. It is our greatest challenge to direct new believers to churches when they come from remote villages that have not heard the gospel but we can clearly see God at work despite these difficulties. As our community health evangelists (CHE) continue in training we are excited for villages such as Kwanyria to be impacted by this program that will provide follow up care and support both spiritually and physically to new believers.
Suzy, Hannah, Jed and I got to visit the UK for a short trip. Unfortunately Agum was not able to join us as she did not get her visa but she had a fantastic time staying with our friends in Kenya. It was wonderful to visit family, friends and two supporting churches that have prayed over us and walked with us for several years. We had the opportunity to visit both churches and share with the saints what the Lord has accomplished through In Deed and Truth Ministries in the past 6 years. As we shared all that has happened in that time it was a great reminder of the many blessings the Lord has bestowed on us and to give thanks for His faithfulness throughout. The medical clinic is now in its sixth year and our first class of pastors are getting ready to graduate next year after 3 years of training. It is wonderful to see how the Lord is working in the UK, an area of prayer for Suzy and I for years. When we first married and would visit over 10 years ago we had to drive 2 hours to London to visit a Calvary Chapel church and now there are over 40 in the UK! Mildenhall Baptist church became our church family while we were pregnant with Hannah and they have continued to love and support us since, it was wonderful to see them again and share the blessings and struggles of our work in Sudan. At the 2006 Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa mission conference we met Pastor John Brown, an American missionary to the UK who has planted a church in an area close to where Suzy went to school. After the conference we traveled back through the UK and visited Pastor John in Norwich. It was a real joy to be able to visit Servants Church (pictured praying for us) a second time and pass on a challenge the Lord has pressed on our lives: that we are all missionaries because being a Christian is a call from Christ to come to Him, die to self and live for eternity. Pray for the church in the UK, it has a very cynical audience that needs love and the grace of Jesus Christ. Suzy and I stayed with Suzy’s sister and did some fun tourist sites with the kids before Suzy returned to Kenya, collected Agum and went back to Sudan and I went on to the USA for this year’s fundraiser prayer walk. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and rest, thanks for all your prayers.