Church Plant

Church in Pictures and Pastor Kibe

1 Comment

One of our greatest burdens has been for the church we planted in Tonj town. When Sabet is not there we don’t really have an assistant pastor to help us. Because we teach in English with translators we attract an international crowd. Last year we were finally able to move the church off of our compound and into the community which has caused it to grow. Recently our team began praying for a missions minded person with a pastor’s heart to come alongside Sabet in pastoral care of our team and national staff. As we sought the Lord and His will for Tonj we realized the church was also lacking cover when Sabet is not around, even though our team always jump in to help, it can be challenging for them. As we shared the need with fellow missionaries while in Kenya, we were not expecting such a fast response. A missionary friend and pastor of Calvary Chapel Nairobi said he thought a young man in his church fitted exactly what we were looking for. So Kibe has joined our team and today was his first experience in a South Sudanese church. He has ministered in rural and troubled places in Kenya but had never flown or traveled outside of Kenya. The elders prayed for him as we welcomed him into the church and community.

Kibe

Sabet started teaching through the book of Acts. Below is our church in pictures:

IDAT team leading worship

IDAT Team Leading Worship

Sabet playing cajón

Sabet Playing Cajón

Margit playing guitar

Margit Playing Guitar

IDAT team worshipping

IDAT Team Leading Worship

Church in prayer

Church in Prayer

Sabet praying – notice the bullet holes in the wall, a reminder left from the war

Sabet Praying

Hannah collecting the offering

Hannah Collecting Offering

Sabet teaching Acts

Sabet Teaching Acts

 Jed and Agum get a ride home after church

Jed and Agum get a ride home after church

Kuj Family

Home Sweet Home

1 Comment

It’s always good to hear our kids say “home sweet home’ as we bounce along the dirt airstrip in Tonj with our team waiting anxiously under terminal “tree” to greet us. We are blessed with children that don’t get tired of the heat, dust and poverty surrounding them. Thank you Jesus for these three special blessings in our lives, Hannah, Agum and Jedidiah.

It was a crazy week for us with the embassy appointment requirements as well as packing to go back to Tonj. We were blessed to get a flight share that could carry our family and our new pastor Kibe. It has been a long time since we flew out of Wilson airport and avoided immigration in Juba, so it was a very nice treat for us. They welcomed us at Rumbek airport and cleared our family as Southern Sudanese returning home!! And 30 minutes later we were landing in Tonj and it felt so good to be home. Little notes were waiting on our doors that just made it so much more special.

Note

And even though February is typically the hottest month we are now enjoying cool breezes. Pray for us as we prepare for 6 weeks of visitors from Diguna mission, Every Village, World Gospel Mission, Simply the Story and the Bridge International.

Kuj Family

Update on Agum’s Visa

7 Comments

Thank you so much for the covering of prayer for Agum’s visa appointment. It went very well and we were encouraged. Even if things do not work out we know the embassy are for us and will help us to know exactly what is required. We were asked to wait a few weeks while they verify her papers and documents so we are just waiting to get that email! As soon as we know we will be sending out an update. Again we really appreciate your prayers and words of encouragement.

Kuj Family

Prayer for Agum’s Visa

Kuj Kids

Dear Family and Friends,

We just entered our 5th year without taking a furlough because of the difficulty in getting Agum’s adoption finalized. We are really in need of a family time in the USA, visiting family, friends, churches and ministry partners. Sabet was finally able to get a court order stating we are the adoptive parents, stamped by the high court in Juba. This has been a long road for Agum who has been part of our family for the past 4 years. With the country separating and no proper policies in place, it has not been clear to us the correct path we should take in pursuing the adoption. The American Embassy in Nairobi were very helpful but even they told us they had not processed any Southern Sudanese adoptions since the country separation. So in order for Agum to travel with us on our furlough we need to apply for her to have a visitor non-immigrant visa from the US Embassy. This has to be done in Kenya as the South Sudan embassy has limited services. In order to get her a visa we need to satisfy embassy officials that we have legal parental rights and she is able to legally travel as part of our family. We hope and pray that what we have finally received from South Sudan courts would satisfy that requirement. Then secondly, we have to show that we are planning to only visit with her and return to Africa after the visit! With our ministry supporting our furlough I think this can also be shown to be the case. So we have set up an interview for Agum at the US Embassy in Nairobi for Wednesday 13th February at 6:45 am. We then leave to return to South Sudan on 15th February. We were warned that the process may need an investigation before issuing a visa and this could take time, so we are hoping they will email us while we are in Tonj and we can collect the visa in April and then leave for the USA the same month. This doesn’t give us much planning time but we are trusting the Lord and His timing for issuing this visa. We have a great peace about the whole process. Agum tearfully asked us a month ago if we would go to America without her and we told her absolutely NOT. So our request is to please pray the Lord’s will be done on Wednesday as we go to this appointment and for Agum’s heart to be protected throughout the process.

We love you all and hope we get to see you in person very soon. Thanks for standing in the gap.

Sabet and Suzy

Newsletters

February 2013 Newsletter

4 Comments

Happy New Year!

Thank you for your prayers and love this past year and to the many who used their time and gifts to come and serve alongside us. We are entering our 14th year of serving our Lord Jesus in South Sudan. Stepping into this New Year, we have refreshed faith, determination and eagerness to press on towards the prize. What joy there is in knowing if God is for us then who can be against us? As Sabet took time over the Christmas break to seek the Lord and His calling and will for 2013, we are all excited to implement the vision he received for In Deed and Truth Ministries in Tonj.

The In Deed and Truth Team is made up of a multitude of nationalities and personalities! It is so exciting to see the unique gifting of each person the Lord has called to be His hands, feet and voice to the people of Tonj. We have transitioned over the years from running the programs as a family to raising up volunteers, missionaries and nationals to help fulfill the vision.
As we head into the year we wanted to introduce some of our team so you can be praying for them, the vision and the ministry areas they oversee.

In Deed And Truth Tonj Team

Whitney, an American, is a one year ‘Volunteer in Action’ with World Gospel Mission serving in Tonj as part of Mango Ministries’ Community Health Evangelism program. She works specifically with the national team that are training and implementing CHE in the villages. Pray she would be able to train up someone to continue once her year is completed and for fruitful relationships as she serves in the community. Pray for clear communication as she is learning the Dinka language.

Annie is from Kenya and serves as our senior nurse/midwife. Our desire is to see our ante-natal program complement the community health evangelism program and become more community based. This year we plan to transition this vital service we provide to hundreds of expectant mothers to include home births and visitations. Pray for Annie to have strength as she sometimes works day and night when we have women in labor. Pray also for her as she teaches Sunday school in the church to over 100 kids every week.

Margit is German and has served in South Sudan for many years. She has medical experience and background working with Primary Healthcare Centers in rural areas. As a volunteer, she is helping us transition our clinic to be more focused on the type of healthcare we provide to the community. Pray for Margit as she learns more about CHE and her possible future involvement in the program in Tonj. Pray for God’s will and plan for her as she waits on Him for direction.

Tom is a missionary doctor from Florida and entering his third year of serving with In Deed and Truth Ministries. He oversees the daily running of the medical clinic and national medical staff. Pray for him as he endures the heat, long hours and insecurities of South Sudan. He would like 2 months cover every summer to return to the USA to visit his family, please pray for that provision as well as his financial support to increase so he can remain in the field.

Sabet (South Sudanese) as the founder and director of the ministry he is always under spiritual attack. Please pray for him to have wisdom, faith, endurance, good health, and strength as he implements the vision. He pastors the Abundant Life Christian Fellowship church as well as overseeing the ministry operations.

Albino is a South Sudanese from Tonj. He has served the community of Tonj alongside our family and now ministry for the past 13 years. As a faithful and loyal brother in the Lord, he manages all logistical aspects of the compound, clinic and pastoral outreaches and oversees almost 40 national staff. Pray for him as he is always being pulled in many directions.

Sham is Kenyan and recently joined our medical team as a registered nurse. He assists Annie and Tom in the daily management of the clinic and medical staff. He has taken on some administration roles in the clinic and is excited to see the clinic shift to a more preventable holistic approach to medical care. Pray for Sham as he serves the Lord to remain strong in his faith and to be able to pace his work.

IDAT Medical Team

Not in the photo but part of the team are:

Suzy (American / British) is co-founder of the ministry, she supports her husband in any way she can with her administrative gifts. As host of teams and volunteers, she handles communication, logisitcs and bookkeeping of all African transactions. As a stay at home mum of three homeschooled children her time is carefully balanced between her family and her ministry responsibilities. Pray for Suzy to remain faithful, focused and fruitful as she serves Him with gladness and joy.

Jeamette (American) is based in Colorado and has served our family and ministry for more than 13 years as our stateside coordinator. She handles all aspects of the ministry in the USA from donations to teams, volunteers, prayer walk, communication and representation of the ministry to churches. Pray for Jeamette as she often works alone and under pressure to remain faithful and true to the calling the Lord placed on her heart years earlier.

Tyler (American) serves as a volunteer and handles all our media communication from newsletters to the website/blog, prayer requests, calendars and prayer walk cards. He donates 100% of his time to the ministry for the Glory of God. Pray for him as he continues to serve us.

Joe and Nancy Losee (American) are missionaries serving in Kitale, Kenya and serving alongside In Deed and Truth for the past 4 years. Their extensive training and experience in teaching the biblical foundations of the bible make them a valuable asset to the team. They recently completed three years of teaching through the Bible Training for Pastors curriculum to 14 pastors in our Tonj bible school. Pray for their health to improve so they can have a future involvement and continue to teach the Foundation Bible Course to a new class.

Michael Kibe (Kenyan) is the newest member to the team. He serves as a deacon at Calvary Chapel Nairobi. He is joining our pastoral team in Tonj to help oversee the national pastors and their church plants, teaching in the church, spiritual welfare of the team living on the compound, spiritual welfare of the national staff, and assist Pastor Judah as chaplain of the medical clinic.

The vision – To glorify God by sharing and living according to the truth of His Word and bringing that truth to the impoverished people of Tonj, South Sudan through Community Health Evangelism, which seeks to meet the whole need of the community through obedience to everything Jesus commanded and dedicated to provide quality health care specifically to pregnant and nursing mothers and all children under the age of five.

Please prayerfully consider joining our team and supporting the vision through a commitment to pray, volunteer or financially investing in the Kingdom work of In Deed and Truth Ministries.

“Then the LORD answered me and said: ‘Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it.'” – Habakkuk 2:2

News From The Field