Newsletters

May 2012 Newsletter

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Are We Going Back To War?

This is a question we are being asked a lot in light of the recent news coverage on South Sudan. The answer is we don’t know; only the Lord knows what tomorrow brings. The world is watching closely and international leaders are urging both North and South Sudan to maintain peace but sadly many border areas ARE already under attack and living in a warzone. The effect of all this on our presence and ministry in Tonj is minimal at the moment. The rising prices of fuel and food, if you can find them, are about the only evidence that borders to the North are closed due to fighting. So you may be wondering what does all this mean for our family to continue in our mission work? It means we hold fast to the calling that gripped our hearts 14 years ago. We know our Lord equipped us to go and minister in South Sudan which was in war when He first gave us that assignment. We love Tonj and her people and our greatest burden is to bring the truth of His Word to them, so they might taste and see that the LORD is good. It is the work of the Father to take two seeds, useless in their own strength and plant them in this dry and barren land. He was confident in the life He had put inside us and by His Holy Spirit He watered us and brought much fruit. He told us to GO and be strong in the Lord and the power of His might, to put on the whole armor of God so we could stand against the devil’s schemes. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers of the darkness of this world. Aren’t we all living in one big ‘warzone’ called the world? If we are Christians we are fighting a spiritual battle daily and Satan is our only enemy. Let us pray for one another to be effective, bold and courageous in our faith. May the Lord Jesus fill us with His Holy Spirit daily giving us His wisdom, power and strength as He divinely directs our paths to those that need the Gospel.

“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” – John 12:24-25

CHE Training!CHE Training!

CHE, Community Health Evangelism, is a program we have begun teaching in Tonj that integrates discipleship and evangelism with community based development. The work is wholistic, seeking to meet the whole need of individuals and communities through complete obedience to everything that Jesus commanded.

We facilitated a team from World Gospel Mission in Uganda who led the CHE workshop from our compound. More than 20 people attended from different areas in South Sudan. We love the ministry of CHE, it empowers individuals to use the local resources God has given them to solve their problems. Our desire is to have Community Heath Evangelists planted in the villages surrounding Tonj that many of our patients travel from.

Prayer Requests!

  • For the completion of the new medical building.
  • Pray for CHE teams to be sent into local villages and implement what they have learnt.
  • Pray for peace between north and south Sudan.
  • Pray we can finalize all the adoption papers and visit USA in January 2013 as a family.

Kuj Family Adoption and Land!Kuj Family Adoption and Land!

Since 2006 our family has been living out of boxes and in 1 or 2 small rooms. This has become increasingly more challenging as we added Agum to our family in 2009 and homeschool all three. Agum’s adoption is now 70% complete and we hope to take a home assignment in early 2013. This year our board felt it necessary to begin a fund to help our family build a home so we can function better and continue to serve long-term. Communal living has many blessings and challenges, but as our ministry and staff have grown we recognize it is time for our family to live off of the compound and to have a home. So we have been looking for the right land to buy and as everything is undeveloped it was not an easy task. But, we prayed and the Lord led us to a piece of land that we both love and have so much peace about. It is officially purchased with the title deed!! Now we have to wait for the rainy season to pass before we can start construction in October. We need help…yes, if you are interested in helping us construct our home please get in touch. We need volunteers from 1 week to 6 months. It’s an overwhelming task but we firmly believe the Lord is in this and trust Him to bring it to completion quickly. One of the attractions was the massive mahogany tree pictured here with our family standing under it!

Medical Clinic

From Dr. Tom in the Field

1 Comment

Hi everyone,

Hasn’t been too eventful of a week. I am thankful for 3 children  with comas awakening from their comas. Two with meningitis and one with malaria. The kids with meningitis take 3-4 days to wake up where with malaria they wake up within 24 hours.I am just thanking God they all awoke. What a joy to see the happy parents.

A mother brought a child in Friday night severely dehydrated. For 5 days the witch doctor who tries to tell people that we give meds that kill people cared for the child. While we were giving IV  fluids and 50% dextrose and antibiotic the mother was saying they are killing my child. I did not understand all this and was told later by the community health worker. Later she pulled the IV out of the child but we already had given 500 ml of fluid and child was stable. I could not believe a parent could watch a child get so sick before coming in but it is just ignorance. I am sure for many years the folks only had the witch doctors and it takes time to earn the people’s confidence. The child is doing well for which I thank God.

I preached at church this AM and I think it went well. I also helped lead music. I love singing Amazing Grace it brings back good memories.

I have been fighting off an intestinal bug which has limited me to work and rest. I hate those bugs.

Ministry, Pastor Training

CHE Training Update By Rick Morse

“And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.” – Acts 5:41

I was reading Acts 5:17-41 today. That was a pretty amazing time and the apostles were filled with the Spirit of God. Gamaliel told the Sanhedrin in vs. 38 and 39 “…leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

My mind was immediately brought to our CHE work in South Sudan. In general, I feel some scepticism about the many humanitarian efforts that go on in Africa (including some in which I have been involved), and I feel that many of these efforts cause more harm than good.

Somehow though, I felt that our recent trip to Sudan was different. I felt that the Spirit of God was present in a way that was stronger than in any other activity that I have been involved in the past. These words in Acts seemed to ring true that if this work is from God, no one will be able to stop it, but if it is of human origin (perhaps like a well intended humanitarian effort on our part) then it will fail. Of course if you read on in Acts you will notice that the apostles got beaten, so everything is not always warm and fuzzy even if God’s Spirit is present.

I can’t say that I look forward to being beaten, nor do I have a desire to live in South Sudan.I love Kenya and Uganda and enjoy being there and feel comfortable. But if the Spirit of God is descending on this troubled part of the planet, it will be amazing.

So, please pray as often as you can remember for these areas in Tonj and Akot in South Sudan where we have introduced CHE. Especially pray that the Spirit of God will envelope this whole area.

Medical Clinic, Ministry

Medical Team

“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the LORD Jesus, giving thanks to God and the father by him” – Colossians 3:17

We are so excited with the new additions to the IDAT medical team. The addition of Auxillia and Annie to Margaret all nurse midwives has given a great boost to our nursing care and ability to treat sick patients both in and out-patients. Patients in our clinic and Malony outreach are well cared for in the competent hands of our nurse midwives.

Our clinic is also well covered in the night shifts. Some people call our clinic a hospital since many things are covered here especially the hernia surgeries which Dr Stick had done for three months. We thank God also our new clinic is being built and so many things will be done as a hospital does.

There was a child who had the neonatal tetanus and he unfortunately died. Approximately 90% die in the best of circumstances. There was a child with meningitis and we are praying and trusting God for healing.

We sent a mother to Wau for an abruption of the placenta (the placenta breaks off the wall of uterus). They did a C-section and mother is fine but baby was born prematurely, please pray that he will live for our God is Jehova Rapha our healer, we treats but He heals.

Please pray that God will give our medical staffs the energy and strength to continue with the good work they are doing in Tonj.

Ministry

Snakes in the Compound

Snake

“Thou shall not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that waisteth at noonday.” – Psalm 91:5-6

It was Friday night after dinner and our staffs were relaxing at the dinning after a long day of work. Suddenly they heard somebody screaming near the dinning and they all rushed outside to see what was happening. They found Margaret outside her room and she was astonished. There was a big snake outside her room about 3 feet long and thick.

Luckily Dennis and Pritty were able to capture and kill it. On the same day later in the clinic another snake was killed. It rained so hard and I think the snakes move to high ground. We thank God nobody had been bitten so far, we are also grateful because whenever there is a snake God alerts his people and the snakes get killed before attacking anyone.

Please pray for the safety of our staffs against snakes, scorpions and any other attack from the enemy. The enemy is always ready to attack but our God is our shield and our protector in the time of trouble.

Please pray for the safety of Albino who is on the way from Uganda, where he went to buy the materials for the construction of our new clinic. The truck takes at least 2 weeks from Uganda to Tonj, they are risks involved like theft and harassment from the boarders, please pray for Albino that he will arrive in Tonj safe and sound and also for the drivers God to give them wisdom and to direct their paths.

News From The Field