The Future of IDAT

Last year we announced our desire to train a Medical Doctor to run the IDAT Hospital and lead the medical team as the Medical Director. We rejoice that the Lord heard our cry and Gabriel Gojoh has been in medical school for the past 8 months. Our ministry has invested in our own medical staff over the last 9 years so they can fill the primary roles needed in our hospital. Gabriel started with IDAT in 2010 as a Community Health Worker and was trained on the job. He loves helping people and we chose him to receive a scholarship back in 2013, where he studied Clinical Medicine and graduated top of his class as a Clinical Officer in 2016. It has been a joy to watch him grow spiritually and take on leadership roles and responsibilities. As the hospital grows. so does the need to raise up the next generation of medical professionals to continue to walk out the vision the LORD has given us.

This is a huge seven-year commitment for Gabriel, who is away from his family, living in a foreign land and not earning an income that has previously helped his younger siblings go to school. Would you remember Gabriel in prayer, write him in your prayer journal and share his story with your prayer groups. Gabriel said, “he is grateful to God for this opportunity and is doing well.”

The Fruit is Sweet

All over Tonj you will find 40 year old mango trees. They’re huge and during the months of March and April there is plenty of fruit to enjoy. The IDAT compound has 4 large trees, two of which are not publicly accessible. Sure enough the mangoes on the other trees are stripped quickly, while they are still green. On the other two trees though, we let the mangoes ripen until they are yellow, juicy and sweet. It’s definitely worth the wait!!

In today’s culture of instant everything, we have a hard time waiting for the fruit in our life, families, ministries, to ripen. The book of Galatians in the New Testament of the bible, the Apostle Paul encourages us to “not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” This verse has become a theme for IDAT in 2022. It has taken years of hard work, sacrifice, planting seeds, watering those seeds and waiting for the harvest. Now in 2022 we are enjoying the spiritual fruit and like the mangoes, it was worth the wait. Our CHE program continues to expand, in the first quarter of this year we added more centers making a total of 38 and we hope to add another 19 by December. Our hospital faithfully serves 50,000 pregnant mothers and infants each year. We have multiplied ourselves with 35 pastors now on the team and being trained for effective service. We now have 29 church plants and it continues to grow!! If you’re going through a tough season don’t be discouraged, in God’s perfect timing it will be worth the wait!

“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack!”   Psalm 34:8-9

Suzy and Jed’s Easter Trip

What a joy to be back with the team in Tonj. And what a journey to get there. First flight was cancelled forcing a 5-hour drive. COVID test came back late forcing another change to rebook everything by 24 hours. One night sleeping on the airport floor! Finally got the negative test only to be told it was past the date allowed for the arrival. Managed to persuade them to board us and then the uncertainty of the next 4 flights and wondering if they would refuse us at any point! In the middle of the chaos the Lord reminded me, He is in control, TRUST ME, He said. Relax, and let me be God!! So grateful for the peace that came over us and thankful we made it along with the oxygen concentrator, CPAP, oximeter, medical uniforms, baby blankets and student tablets we were carrying! Sitting on the cold, hard airport floor in Atlanta I thought about the hundreds of refugees I’ve worked with over the past 20 years and how horrific their journeys were to get to safety. I passed the time praying for the millions of Ukrainians whose lives took an unexpected turn and are now facing their own journey of uncertainty. Suddenly, my ‘travel’ crisis just didn’t feel like a crisis anymore!

This trip is for the purpose of dedicating the new main church plant, CC Tonj on Easter Sunday and to welcome two missionaries with Intensive Care Ministries who are coming specifically to train our pastors. Battlefield, warfare, obstacles, YES!! “For the battle is not ours, but God’s.”

Transforming Lives through CHE!

Through IDAT’S Community Health Evangelism, individuals become followers of Jesus and communities are released from poverty through tangible solutions that change the course of their lives.  We have taught CHE for over ten years at In Deed and Truth in Tonj, and I have witnessed first hand that it is one of the most powerful teaching methods for sharing the love of Christ in life transforming ways in communities fraught with poverty and disease. We can’t change ourselves. But the Holy Spirit can transform our hearts and our lives. It’s what gives us hope.

“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26

A recent story of how CHE has truly changed lives would be this incredible testimony from the field.

 

Marko Biith & Albino Ater were known in their community as fighters. Wherever conflict was occurring, they would go and capitalize on the fighting by stealing people’s cows. One day they were passing by a CHE training in the village of Parasika and heard Pastor Rueben sharing the gospel. They were convicted by the Holy Spirit to leave their stealing and become followers of Jesus. Last month Marko was visiting his sister when he heard fighting coming from a nearby house. He ran over and found a man severely beating his wife, so he leapt in front of the woman to protect her. Marko then talked with the man about caring for his wife, and the man repented and reconciled with his wife. Through the transformative power of Jesus Christ, Marko and Albino have gone from being cattle raiders to community peacemakers!

There’s More…..!

When William Deng was selected by his community to be a CHE committee member he had no understanding of God’s love for him. He regularly joined the local witchdoctor in offering animal sacrifices and worshiping idols.

In May he was arrested after being falsely accused of shooting someone. He was grateful when the guards in prison gave him VIP treatment because he was wearing a CHE shirt. The guard was grateful that some CHE volunteers had recently come and helped clean the prison as an act of community service! While in prison William  had an encounter with God, which radically transformed him. After he was found to be innocent and released from prison, he went home and burnt all his idols, and has since joined Calvary Chapel Tonj. Two weeks ago he was appointed chief of his community, and when our CHE leaders visited he was giving all the glory to God!

What makes CHE unique is the community select their own CHE’s, who mostly do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ. We train them and they teach Christ-centered community development. Through the spiritual lessons they hear and pass to others, their own lives are challenged and changed. As a community starts to put into practice the lessons from ‘CHE’ they also start to learn about God, His love for them and His plan versus satan’s plan for them.  Since starting CHE on 2012 we have 29 active CHE centers and another 9 training their committees. New believers are joining the churches and from these CHE centers we have planted 21 churches. It has been a beautiful, natural progression born from the hunger and desire for righteousness within the community. So many people turning away from trusting in witchcraft and false gods and putting their trust in Jesus.

When an entire community is affected by CHE and lives are being transformed, the witness to other villages is phenomenal, creating a ripple effect and chiefs are now coming and begging us for CHE in their village.  That’s because CHE releases people from a cycle of physical poverty and a life of spiritual poverty too.

Due to CHE programs, many households now have dish drying racks, cooking stoves, rubbish pits and vegetable gardens.

*Please pray for Suzy and Jed who fly to Africa on April 2^nd.

Training Indigenous Leaders!

Before going to the mission field I heard a missionary share that if you have sat in a bible teaching church in USA for at least 6 months you are more qualified to teach God’s word in a third world country than most indigenous pastors. About 90% of these global church pastors and ministry leaders have very little training to do the vital work they are called to. IDAT has made training indigenous leaders a priority because it fulfills a Biblical mandate.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. – Ephesians 4:11-12

Paul’s instructions are clear and a God given assignment, to equip believers to carry out the work of the ministry, wherever a body of believers exists, we are appointed to equip them!

Ten years ago we graduated 13 pastors from our Discipleship Training Center. We now have 25 full-time pastors and ten new pastors needing to be trained. IDAT is committed to equip these servants of God to share the Word of God effectively. We are currently doing monthly pastor training and if you’re interested in partnering with us to help with this need, please let me know via email, we have scheduled trips in April and July.

Please pray for the Lord’s blessing and favor over a connection I made at the Calvary Chapel Missions Conference. We are hoping to partner with a ministry that will start a bible school!  They are planning to come to Tonj and teach May 4^th-11^th.

Missions Conference!

What a joy and blessing to attend the Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa Missions Conference in person and with Hannah, Agum and Jed. It was great to connect with old and new friends and make some ministry connections, especially for training our pastors. It was also refreshing, encouraging and affirming to sit under such great teaching. We were reminded that as Christians we are serving on a battlefield not a playground! As missionaries we live a risky but rewarding life to take the gospel to the unreached. It was a great privilege to be part of the Africa panel and share what the Lord is doing in South Sudan.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to meet and share with many of you in Southern California while I was there.

Suzy sharing IDAT’s Vision for 2022Many of you showed an interest in a short-term mission trip to Tonj in 2022. Here are some dates to pray over:

April/May 2022 – Church dedication, and Chaplain/pastors training.

July/August 2022 – CHE Well Drilling Training, medical outreaches and pastors training.

October/November 2022 – Cataract Outreach, medical outreach and pastors training.

 New Church Building!

Please pray as we continue with the construction of our new church.

One of the challenges we faced that caused a significant delay was our brick machine stopped working. So thankful for MAF who sent us their mechanic to fix it.

The builders use these interlocking bricks which use little cement and no mortar.

Our prayer is to dedicate the church on Good Friday and have our first service on Easter Sunday!