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.
Prayer for Agum’s Visa
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
February 2013 Newsletter
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.
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.
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
Happy New Year
We had a glorious end to 2012 – Christmas spent with Sabet’s Mum in Nairobi. This was her first time to Kenya and a special treat to all of us to have her with us. I love Christmas and making a fuss, so it was an extra blessing to be able to bring Bodo and Aman, two of the four orphan children living with Mama Sabet. We had so much fun with them, and in true African style, we fellowshipped and feasted!! Thank you Jesus for the joy of having these precious ones with us to celebrate your humble birth.
Then we headed off to a missionary retreat at Brackenhurst, to be refueled spiritually for the year ahead, uplifted and united as a team and while there we celebrated Hannah’s 11th birthday having afternoon tea at a local tea plantation.
The speaker at the conference, a Kenyan Pastor called Ken from Emmanuel Baptist in Nairobi, shared two themes. In the morning he spoke from Joshua about leadership and in the evening from 1 Peter on suffering. These two areas are always crossing the missionaries’ path, leadership and suffering. It’s almost like the one can not exist without the other when you are serving the Lord.
But there is great encouragement found in the Word as scripture gives us God’s promises and reminds us HE can be trusted no matter what is going on around us in the world. “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified: do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9. And 1 Peter reminds us that HE is our living hope, we are to be holy as HE IS HOLY. We are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, the end is near, let us focus on the things above and not on the things of this world. Pain is inevitable but being miserable is optional. I felt like I got a good ticking off and then a loving shove in the right direction by God’s own hand as he launched us into 2013.
2013 didn’t quite start the way I had scripted it to, but God in His infinite wisdom and plan for us, prepared us divinely for such a time as this as the past 2 weeks were very difficult as we faced seemingly impossible challenges and decisions. What I can say is, HE was with us, giving encouragement and wisdom and this morning as I read Galatians He reminded me again, to NOT grow weary in doing good for we SHALL reap if we do not give up. The message was clear, You’re doing great, I’m with you, keep going, I’ve got your back, don’t quit!!
So thank you for your prayers. We took an extended time in Nairobi and took advantage of our team all being in the same place for once. This was not an easy decision with the clinic closed but a necessary one to prepare ourselves spiritually, mentally, emotionally and to get the physical rest before going back. The constant demands and spiritual depravity of the people we serve in Tonj drains all our reserves quite quickly, so your prayers for our wellbeing are greatly appreciated. We feel this time has been worth it, we are one with each other and one with our Lord Jesus. We are ready, armored and strong for battle. We are willing to count it all joy and to lay down our lives. Thanks for standing in the gap through your prayers and financial offerings. They are not taken for granted but are the very seeds the Lord uses to bring new life to the people of South Sudan. Here’s to a NEW life in 2013, we want to always be learning, growing, reaping and sowing. The harvest is coming, if anyone feels called to help us please let us know!!
Much love in Him.
Suzy for the Kuj’s and the Tonj IDAT team
Year End Prayer and Praise
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” – Hebrew 10:23
Warmest greetings from East Africa!!
We are currently in Kenya celebrating our Lord’s birth, getting some much needed rest, enjoying the rain and cooler weather and looking forward to attending a 5 day missionaries’ retreat with our fellow missionary doctor Tom taking place over the New Year. We brought Sabet’s mum (who is elderly and cares for 12 children under the age of 9) and also our orphaned niece and nephew with us just to give them a break, so we are a busy household of nine!
2013 is the 14th year our family has served in South Sudan and WOW what a year! As we look back over the last 12 months we can say without a doubt, “Our God is Faithful!”
This year is the worst security the people of Tonj, South Sudan have experienced in over 10 years. Cattle camps, which are the Dinka people’s main livelihood, have been destroyed, families have been torn apart, children and adults killed as gangs of cattle raiders have wreaked havoc, firing arms without hesitation or thought to life. Entire communities are living in fear, immobilized, they don’t know what to do, they have nowhere to go and have absolutely no hope.
Together with the pastors we have trained for the past three years, we are able to go into crisis areas around the Tonj County and minister to these families, pray and encourage them and quite simply just love on them. Tremendous damage has been done to the lives of these people after surviving horrendous conditions and years of civil war and now they are disheartened once again. Food, fuel and basic essentials are not accessible, the only road to the South for supplies is cut off by constant cattle raids and the only city north of us is experiencing political violence and is too risky to enter. By God’s grace we have been chosen to bring encouragement and spiritual support to those in need. Not just as the hands and feet of Jesus but the hope of Jesus.
Three years ago we medevac’d two children who were caught in the crossfire of the cattle raiders. This year we have seen more gunshot victims than ever and have had to be ‘selective’ on those we can medevac for further medical assistance. We may not always have the funds needed to help in these situations but we continually have Jesus. So we talk to the victims about what happened in the raids, they are always open to share their stories and then to hear about Jesus and the steps they can take to find peace with God. One man told us how good he felt that he had come to us and received the care we gave him spiritually as well as physically. His healing was a true miracle when our medical staff did not expect him to live through the night. After praying with each and every patient, the pastors try to follow up with them in their villages, making sure they understand what they prayed and asking them questions about their decision. As a result two churches have been birthed. Hearing these precious children of the Lord say “YES” to Jesus is the greatest gift anyone can ask for. It is a reward in itself and knowing that God connected us to be there for such a time as this, to unite us spiritually has been an enormous witness to the community. They recognize we are willing to jeopardize our own safety to be there for them and they tell us how much it means to them. Our only response to that is the Father sent us to them because He loves them.
As we look at the events occurring in the world around us, it is all so overwhelming but we know it will all fade away one day. For people to come to Christ, to have that hope in him, to have everlasting life with him, that will never be lost.
When life does not guarantee tomorrow, we need to be willing to bring the good news of great Joy to His people. This is the story and reason we are missionaries, to bring HOPE to a dying World.
We want to thank you for taking the time to read our newsletters and our blogs and to hear how we take the Gospel to the people of South Sudan through In Deed and Truth Ministries.
Our greatest prayer need for our family is to finalize Agum’s adoption so our family can take a much needed furlough, which is over 4 years since our last one. Our ministry needs us to raise awareness and fundraise for our work in South Sudan.
We do need partners, we need you to help, we need your support.
Thank you for your prayers and the gifts you sacrifice to keep our family in the mission field. May God bless you in 2013 and be an encouragement and source of hope to each and every one of your lives.
In His love,
Sabet, Suzy, Hannah, Agum and Jedidiah Kuj