Overview of our Trip to Sudan
Africa is an amazing country. I was recently blessed with the opportunity to travel to such a magical place and experience things I never would have imagined back in the States. I traveled over 10,337 miles and did not lose any luggage, I ate “questionable” food and did not get sick, and I was surrounded by mosquitoes and have remained healthy. In all of this, I got to see over 450 men, women and children give their lives to Christ. I got to see 3 new churches get started, and as you will read in the following stories… I got to see and be used by God.
A typical day –
On our very first day, we were divided up into teams. We had several doctors and nurses that would drive to a predetermined location each day to set up and hold a medical clinic. The clinic would treat many minor aches, pains, rashes, cuts, infections and general lack of nutrition. We also brought along several hundred pair of glasses and an optometrist. People that had long ago lost their ability to see clearly, now were able to experience their world in “High Definition”.
On one occasion, I just stood back and watched people go through the eye exam. Once a correct prescription was determined and they could see, their face would light up and they would become so joyful. It was amazing.
I, however, was assigned to a church planting team. Prior to this trip, I had never really understood what “church planting” meant or entailed. Basically it is moving through an area door to door to share your faith and allow God to use you to bring people to faith.
Once they accepted Christ as their Savior, we would share with them that a church was in place for them to meet with other believers. We told them where it was located and then invited them to come to that area later in the evening to meet others and to participate in worship. This allowed people to come together to learn about their new faith, meet other believers, ask questions, sing, dance and just have fun.
My assignment was to join the church planting team in an area called “Sodogo”. Basically it was a large mango tree with a cross carved in the trunk. It had several limbs from trees that were supported off of the ground and arranged so that people could sit on them. This was the church.
Each day I would meet my team of 1 translator and 1 pastor and we would set out on foot walking the many footpaths through the jungle. We would visit village after village and sit down with as many people as we could.
Typically, I would be introduced as an American that had a story to share with them of how Jesus came into my life. I would then briefly tell them “my story” or testimony and then ask them if I could tell them more about Jesus. I would explain the gospel and ask them if they would like to accept Christ as their Savior. If they did, we led them through prayer, explained to them what it all meant and how to be a Christian. We took down their name and other information so that the pastors from Sodogo could follow up with them.
We would walk about 7 miles and visit 5 or 6 villages each morning. Then we would walk back to the mango tree at Sodogo and hold evening services. Generally, by the time we got back to the tree, there were 15 to 20 people waiting on us that we had visited earlier in the day. Many brought friends and other family members as well. Many people accepted Christ at the evening services.
It was so special to worship in that manner. No instruments, maybe 1 or 2 bibles total, just a willing heart, a love and excitement for their new found faith, clapping and singing…what a way to worship!
I was told by the pastor at Sodogo, that I had been the first white person many had ever seen in that area. It’s hard to believe in the year 2007, something like that could be true…but by the reaction of many Sudanese men, women and children that looked at me as I walked into their camp or village…I would believe it! However, God was able to use me to share His good news with several hundred people. By the end of my week, over 150 people in Sodogo alone had accepted Christ.
In all of my meetings, God showed up several times. But on many occasions, He showed me things I would have never believed…had I not experienced them myself.
Slow Down!
On my first day we had a driver that was taking us to Sodogo. The roads to the area were like an old logging road. In some areas the roads had potholes in them that were three times the size of our Land Cruiser and about 2 to 3 feet deep! We would drive into the jungle on these roads for about 1 hour each way. In some places the road opened up and was relatively smooth.
In one particular case, our driver thought it might be a good time to hit the gas (to make up time…I guess). We were cruising along about 60 miles an hour when we suddenly ran out of “good smooth road” and our truck lost control and missed our turn. We continued driving through bushes, small trees and by the grace of God, did not come to an abrupt stop by hitting anything large.
After we pushed the truck back onto the road we discovered that it would not start, it would not even turn over. We walked to a nearby village to recruit some people to help push, but there were only two women in the village, one of whom accepted Christ as we were fiddling with the engine!
After several unsuccessful attempts to get it started, we finally resorted to our last opportunity…prayer. We got together for a quick prayer and the next thing we heard was the driver turning the key and the sound of the engine purring like a kitten.
However we were now leaking gasoline from a punctured hose. More prayer…then by grace…the driver took the hose off with his hands and put it on again…no leak. Off we went.
We were lucky enough to get back to the outer edges of town when our front axle suddenly broke. It was officially time to walk. So without hesitation, we jumped out and started “footing”.
Several miles down the road, a member of our party had to use the restroom. We stopped by someone’s home and two more young men accepted Christ.
Prior to our coming, I was told that we were basically “bait”. God had done all of the work in peoples hearts prior to our arrival and our job was just to create conversation. Once again…I was amazed.
“The Goose bump Gospel”
The second day found me sharing the gospel in a village with 5 men. We were gathered sitting on small, hand made benches under a mango tree as several others looked on. One of the 5 men seemed to understand what I was sharing with him and he was ready to accept Christ.
When I asked him if he was ready, he accepted. Then I shared with him a verse in Luke 15:7 that talked about the angels in heaven rejoicing when a sinner repents and accepts Christ. As soon as I said this…my arms erupted with goose bumps even though it was very hot and humid outside. I raised my arm and showed the men. I said “see…by these goose bumps…the Holy Spirit is confirming that the angels are indeed rejoicing”. At that moment, the other 4 men raised their hands and accepted Christ.
Being Available
Later the same day, we were in another village. I was speaking to some members of the village when I heard my Sudanese interpreter call out, “Pastor Bob, we need you over here”. You might imagine my initial thought… Anyway I walked over to him and knelt down beside a young woman crying while she held her baby close to her chest. The baby was probably 6 – 8 months old and I was told that the baby was really sick. I asked the mother what was wrong and she said the baby had not been eating and had been “passing water” for several days.
With everyone in the village now looking at me to “do something” all I could do was to pray.
I placed my hand on the child and in my heart I remember saying to God, “well here we go…I know the Bible says that the Holy Spirit can work through those that believe by faith in Jesus. I believe and I pray you can use me to help this little baby.
As I continued to pray out loud, I felt my arm and hand grow from warm to hot. It was as though hot water was flowing inside my arm down to my hand and into the baby! I even opened my eyes while praying just to make sure I wasn’t imagining it. I finished the prayer for the baby and I also prayed that the mother would have peace in her heart.
We then got up and left the village. As I left, and for the rest of the night I wondered and I prayed whether I would ever see that baby and her mother again. I wondered if I “needed” to see them. I wrestled with how little my faith was. Wasn’t it enough that I got to experience what I did?
The next day, I was still wrestling with my faith, but I had become ok with the possibility of never seeing them again. As we walked through the jungle going from village to village, we came through an opening into a village where I saw a woman happily sitting on the ground as a small baby played happily behind her. We walked up and both mother and child looked up with the most beautiful smile I could have ever asked for. God didn’t have to show me…but He did.
Out of my league…
The next day we continued to go from village to village as usual. We got deeper and deeper into the bush. Many of the people we visited were miles away from their neighbors. We entered a village and as usual I sat in a small chair that was brought out of their hut. It was amazing that in each village the same thing would take place without a word ever being said.
They would place the chairs in a semi-circle under the nearest shaded area. They would come out of their gardens and fields, or stop their cleaning, food preparation or other tasks to come sit on the ground on a mat made of reeds.
Anyway, at this one particular camp, a woman arrived with no legs. She walked on stumps from her knees and her fingers were gone. The pastor told me that she had been a victim of Leprosy. I immediately began having flashbacks of old movies where people would shout out “unclean”, “unclean” whenever the lepers would come around.
To say I was “uncomfortable” would be an understatement. But her name was Joyce and she said she was a Christian. She seemed light-hearted and nice and I quickly regained my composure. Then my interpreter began calling me over to a woman that was sitting off by herself.
I walked over and knelt down beside her. I was quickly told that this woman had demons. I asked, “What do you mean demons”? He said that she wanted to hear the story about Christ but the demons in her head would not let her. I asked her if I could pray for her and she said no. She never looked at me and you could feel the heaviness surrounding her. We soon left the village and all the while I was walking away…I felt the Holy Spirit inside me telling me to go back and pray for that woman. I was afraid. I couldn’t do it. I was dealing with something that I felt I didn’t have the knowledge to play with. I kept walking…and praying. My faith was shaken.
That evening back at our camp, I told my pastor, Chuck Jamison, about the day. I told him about the woman and my reluctance. He gave me the reassurance that I needed by quoting several areas in scripture that I needed to hear. I turned it over to God and prayed that if He wanted me to see the woman again…he would arrange it.
The next day the medical clinic came to Sodogo. It was the first day that I really had little to do. I enjoyed seeing all of the people that I had met previously in their villages, come to the clinic to be cared for. I saw people get glasses and become elated. I saw the disappointment as well when we didn’t have either the medicine they required or the glasses they needed. That look of disappointment cuts deep within me. I quickly think about all that I have access to in America. I take so much for granted.
In the early afternoon one of the doctors wanted to take a break and to go to a village to evangelize. He had been so busy with the clinics and needed a break. He asked me to take him. I asked one of the translators to join us and off we went. I didn’t know where we were going, but it didn’t really matter…being out in the woods again was “home” for me. We walked for miles, crossing streams and cutting across endless open fields of natural African landscape.
Finally we came to the village that the interpreter had selected…or I should say…God selected!
There she was! She was wearing the same yellow tattered dress as the day before. It was the woman with the demons…sitting right where she had been the day prior. I wasted no time. Immediately I asked the interpreter to tell her that I had returned because Jesus wanted me to pray for her. She looked at me for the first time and agreed. Without wasting a second, I held her hand and prayed as hard as I knew how. During the prayer, the only response I got was one “shutter” of her body. I didn’t even notice it, but the doctor told me about it later that evening.
After I prayed for her, we had a great conversation and she was asking many questions about Christ. We answered what we could and left when she said she just wasn’t ready to accept Christ into her life. I told her that the church pastor would follow up with her and visit her every week to answer any questions she might have. She seemed to like that and even smiled for the first time, yet another blessing.
On the border…
One of the daily events that were unpleasant was our daily border crossing from Uganda into Sudan and back again in the evening. As one might imagine, the border guard would question us each day and sometimes delight in holding us up as long as he felt necessary. He was always flanked by young military men with AK-47’s and we were always a curiosity to the hordes of people hanging out at the guard station. He would ask us time and time again why we were there, what we were doing and other information that had to be replayed two times each day. We always greeted him with a smile, jokes and a warm attitude.
Finally on our last day, he asked that on our final crossing that we pray for him! So as we approached the border on our last day, we all got out of our vehicles. All 20 of us greeted the guard and prayed for him and his men. In addition, we shared the gospel with him as all his men gathered around to listen as well. After the gospel had been presented, he and 3 of his men accepted Christ! We ran back to our vehicles, grabbed 3 bibles and gave one to each of them.
We then spent some time just celebrating, hugging, laughing and teaching them what to do next.
As we made our way back to our vehicles for the last time at that border crossing, I was overwhelmed by what God had done. Borders that separate man from man cannot keep man from God. What a blessing.
A final thought…
I was trying to sum up what this trip meant to me and how I feel about it. All I could think of was thinking back to my childhood.
On the weekends my dad would spend most of Saturday and Sunday down in our basement working in his woodworking shop. As a child, I would go down there and just watch him work.
Sometimes he would let me hold two pieces of wood together as he nailed them or glued them together. There were times that he would give me an old scrap of wood to drive a nail into, sand or cut with a saw. We usually never really talked, but I enjoyed being down there as he smoked his pipe and worked.
That is how I view this trip. I got to hang out with God. I got to do some odd jobs and He let me experience him in a whole new light. He became very personal and He became much bigger because of the time we enjoyed together.
He didn’t need my help…He just wanted me to hang with Him and love Him.
I am so grateful to each and every supporter that found it in their hearts to offer financial support and prayers to make this trip and experience a possibility. I’ve been changed. I thank them for that.
I pray that God will bless them for their commitment to Him and by lending support to His work in Sudan.
All I can say is te-na-te. (That’s thank you in the tribal language of Ku Ku.)
Random thoughts and observations:
Men hold hands. It’s a sign of friendship and respect.
They hug much longer than Americans! I don’t know why!
EVERYONE wants to shake your hand!
Small children sometimes bow as they shake your hand.
Waving “bye-bye” for an American means “follow me” to an African! I learned this the hard way!
Cobras live in the termite mounds!
There were no “big cats” where we were. All the large animals had been killed or driven out by the war.
People say “nice morning” rather than “good morning”.
There was absolutely NO trash! It is all used somehow.
I saw a soccer ball that was made entirely out of plastic garbage bags and string.
They are a self sustaining people. Everyone has a garden that they use to feed themselves.
They usually have several goats and chickens as well.
Alcohol abuse is the most prevalent stumbling block for men.
“Bon-da” means “hello”.
The Christian churches have had a large influence in the area.Anglican, Pentecostal, Catholic churches are prevalent.
Despite the influence of the church, many villages still rely on Witch Doctors and believe in Animism.
Mango trees were everywhere!
Along some of the roads, we saw rocks that were painted red and white. That means that land mines were still remaining on that property! On many of these properties, people were living,
children were playing and there were gardens planted. We asked our interpreter if they were in danger of stepping on a mine, he replied that if they did, they would not set it off because they were not heavy enough!!
Some of the best news of the trip was the evidence that the UN was bringing the refugees home again. Many of the people that had fled from their villages during the war, were returning home. Given all these people have to deal with just to live…we can only pray they can finally enjoy a season of peace.
te-na-te!