On the eve of the celebrations for independence we are celebrating outreach we are doing in partnership with the Mashariki Afrika Sports Leadership School. Their ministry uses soccor to reach youth all over Africa with the gospel and it also helps them grow into Godly leaders, confident in their Christian faith. We are blessed to have them serve alongside us in Tonj and bring such an awesome outreach to the youth during the celebration. Please pray for Walter, Frankline and Sabet as they lead this workshop. Please pray for the outreaches to be effective with eternal fruit. Pray for the youth, especially the potential 20 leaders in training that are coming daily, that they will listen, learn and surrender their lives and will to the Lord.
Scary Thunder, Deadly Lightning!
Today we had another horrendous storm. It was right over our heads when suddenly with a loud bang we realized it had hit something close to the compound. Sure enough a little grass hut on the other side of our fence was struck, killing instantly the lady inside and burning the house to the ground. Sabet and Albino went to the house to offer assistance, people were afraid to approach as they have many suerstitions. This provided Sabet an opportunity to share with the neighbors and family and pray for them all. As Albino drove the body to the family’s village the daughter of the victim shared her desire to go to the witchdoctor to understand what had really happened. Albino shared with her the gospel and explained about God being the creator of all, even lightning and can give and take life when He chooses. We are not to fear but to be ready to meet Him. He prayed for her to be ready. Pray she comes to church on Sunday.
Sabbath Day
For those of you serving a church in ministry you know how difficult it can be to get the ‘rest’ you need on Sunday, so an alternative Sabbath must be observed. The Lord said in Exodus chapter 20,
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
I love this because the Lord Himself is commanding us to take rest. Many times the ministry needs are overwhelming and we often feel like who can afford to take rest when there is so much to do? This is exactly what satan wants us to feel, guilty! But God calls it Holy. How can something be wrong when the Lord calls it Holy?
Our family has started to make observing the Sabbath a priority by celebrating it every week. We start on Saturday making as much advance preparation as possible for Sunday so we can rest as soon as church has ended. On Saturday night we celebrate the start of the Sabbath with a special dinner that prepares our hearts for Sunday and morning worship. The kids love this and really enjoyed preparing the table and making everything so special. Our most precious guest is Jesus, we sing, pray, read scripture and enjoy each other in the Lord.
Last Sunday after church we drove to Rumbek to collect our visitors but decided to take a few days there to ‘rest’ as a family. This allowed us some quality time together at a lodge where the kids could swim in the pool and just relax and have fun.
We really thank our heavenly Father for loving us so deeply and caring for us in such special ways and providing for us the rest we need.
Friendship
Some friendships are fleeting and some are lasting. True friendships are glued together with bonds of loyalty and commitment, they remain intact depite changing external circumstances. Jesus, He is the perfect constant friend that promises to never leave us or forsake us. It is important to remember that when you are in such a remote place like Tonj and deep and meaningful friendships are hard to find or far away. Having such a friend visit is a true joy to our hearts and a lifts our spirits.
“A friend is always loyal and a brother is born to help in time of need.” Proverbs 17:17
Today we got to receive one of our dearest friends, Dena Ennis to Sudan. She has been to Sudan many times but it is her first visit to Tonj, though she has been a faithful partner to our ministry and friend to our family, serving both selflessly for years. Dena blessed us with her wisdom and encouragemet at our ladies retreat back in December in Kenya. We are excited to see how the Lord will use her during this trip to help us in celebrating the South’s independance from the North. Please pray for her time here, for her to stay healthy, safe and effective for His work.
Armed Bandits
“He will rescue us because you are helping by praying for us.” 2 Corinthians 1:11
Just as the early apostles depended on the prayers for safety offered by the churches, we also covet the prayers of the saints for our safety here in Sudan.
Sunday the Lord delivered us from armed bandits. Our family was driving to Rumbek, 100 miles away, to collect and escort some visitors back to Tonj. The road was recently fixed and the journey would have been fast except we were ‘inconvenienced’ by a flat tyre that would not let us get going quickly. One vehicle passed us, we struggled with the tyre change when 30 minutes later another vehicle came and this time stopped to help. We were just 1 km from where people were killed a week ago, completely stranded on a rural road and trying as best we could to get moving again quickly! We thanked our good Samaritan for helping us, prayed with him for his safety and continued on our way. We encountered a few cattle herds in the road and then after 45 minutes came to a village where the army pulled us over for questioning. They explained a car in front of us had been robbed by cattle herders at gunpoint just before we came through. We knew immediately our Lord had protected us and delayed us with the flat tyre. It is a wonderful reminder to allow the Lord to ‘inconvenience’ our lives as we really don’t see and understand all that He is doing for us. Our trust needs to be completely in Him, giving thanks in all circumstances.