SOUTH SUDAN FALL 2012

our team: Steven Samantha Hailey Brian Bart Me

T  H  E     M  I  S  S  I  O  N

            The purpose of our trip was to expand the church planting work that E3 ministries is doing in the Eastern Equatoria state of South Sudan.   Our destination was a village called Helieu outside of the town of Torit, which is the largest town in the Eastern Equatoria state.  The main goal for our team of 6 was to assist the pastor in Heliu with strategic planning for church planting in the region and to do evangelism in the village.   A personal goal for me was to assess if this is a place that I would like to return on a yearly basis to take part in the church planting work that E3 is doing.  As you may know I spent some time working with refugees from South Sudan when I lived in Cairo and it was my desire to go there ever since.  This trip was in many ways a fulfillment of that desire and an opportunity to see how I can serve this group of people that I care a great deal about.

T  H  E     J  O  U  R  N  E  Y                                                                            

            On our way from the United States to Torit we experienced some travel difficulties that required a little creativity and a lot of patience to overcome.  We began our trip with a flight from Dallas to Amsterdam, followed by another from Amsterdam to Nairobi.  After spending a night in Nairobi the plan was to fly to Juba, the capital of South Sudan and then drive to Torit.  This is where we had some difficulties.  The South Sudanese government had changed their Visa policy that week and said that we were supposed to have our visas before we entered the country meaning we could not board the plane from Nairobi to Juba.

Thankfully our trip leader, Brian Bain, who works full time for E3 and has traveled in Africa extensively, was able to keep us moving forward.  We were able to fly to Entebbe, Uganda and spent the following day driving across most of Uganda to the town of Adjumani, close to the border with South Sudan.  The following day we met Pastor David Kaya in the town of Moyo, on the border of Uganda and South Sudan.  Pastor Kaya is the Sudanese pastor who heads all of the church planting that E3 does in South Sudan and he was our driver and guide for the rest of our trip.  An hour later we were finally in South Sudan!

                Thankfully we had no problem buying visas at the border and after a short stop in Kajo Keji, where the E3 headquarters is located, we were off to Torit.  The roads between the major cities in South Sudan are unpaved and require dodging potholes and at times crossing rivers and streams.  To give some perspective of traveling in rainy season, as we did, it can take between 3-4 hours to go 70-80 miles.  An hour into our drive our land cruiser got a flat tire.  While were able to put on the spare it was not safe to travel the other 8 hours to Torit without a spare so we went back to Kajo Keji for the evening while Kaya and his team repaired the tire and made sure that our vehicle was ready for the trip.  The following morning our team set out again for Torit and after a long drive we arrived safe and sound that evening.  Despite all of the difficulties God brought us safely to our destination and although we were exhausted from the journey we were joyful to be there and eager to minister to the people in Helieu.  I thank God that I was with such a great group of people who had incredible patience and humor as we made this journey.

T  H  E     D  E  S  T  I  N  A  T  I  O  N

            Helieu is a village about a 30-minute drive from Torit.  The surroundings are picturesque; blue skies, green trees, tall grass, and mountains in the distance with mist on them in the morning and white fluffy clouds during the day.  I didn’t think Africa could actually be as beautiful as it is on TV but it is.  For all it’s typical African scenery there were no lions or giraffes, only cows, goats, a few stray dogs, and a lot of chickens. The people there wear western clothing and for the most part grow their own food and raise their own livestock. It’s somewhere between a modern industrial city and the dramatic images you see of people in loin cloths dancing with their faces painted in the middle of the jungle. They live in small brick and mud homes called tukols. They don’t have running water or electricity but they do have schools and books and plates and cups and no one has their face painted or carries a spear.  The men play dominoes and the children play soccer with a ball they made from rubber gloves borrowed from the local medical clinic.  It is very third world to our eyes but when you think of the history of war these people have endured and look around you at the natural beauty they call home it is a place that makes you feel very humble.

T  H  E     W  O  R  K

            BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS

The first day in the village we were introduced to pastor Dominic Africa Augustan the pastor of the church in Helieu.  Yes his middle name is Africa and I’m jealous that my name doesn’t roll off the tongue the way his does.  He is in his late 20s, is a graduate of the bible school in Kajo Keji, and has an adorable wife and three children.  He is an earnest young pastor with a sense of humor that will surprise you.  He spent the morning giving us a tour of the village and teaching us enough of the local language to at least greet everyone.  “Mong mong (Hello)”. “Ongai (how are you)?”  “Ongneeda (good)”.   We got to know some of the men that Dominic is mentoring and hoping to eventually send out as church planters.  Serrano is a middle-aged man who oversees the local elementary schools.  He is warm and has the fatherly demeanor of a teacher. John is quiet but speaks great English and came out to see us despite the fact he was getting over Malaria.  Paul seems younger than he is and surprised us with his fervor for the Lord.

Brian Bain    Dominic Africa Augustan      Me

We spent the morning learning about the lives of the people in the village.  We heard stories and sampled some local food; sorghum, some kind of dip and nuts.  So much of ministry in South Sudan is about relationships.  In a place that has known more war than peace it takes time and a lot of listening to gain trust.  So we listened to the men talk about their families and about some of the things they had experienced in and after the wars.  We showed them maps of South Sudan and the area where they lived to show where we are hoping to plant churches.  It was a valuable time of building long term relationships. 

DEVELOPING A VISION

We spent the afternoon with Pastor Dominic, Pastor Kaya, and Brian developing a strategy for church planting in the Eastern Equatoria state with Torit and Helieu as the base.  David Kaya is Southern Sudanese, was educated in Uganda during the war, and has been planting churches in South Sudan for a decade now.  He is joyful, discerning and equal parts optimistic and pragmatic.  He was able to share the broader vision for reaching the region while Dominic shared with us the needs of the people in Helieu.  The overall vision is for Dominic to continue to develop disciples who can then go and plant churches in nearby small villages and then larger towns that are nearby.  Then those disciples will mentor others who will plant churches in more villages and towns and so on until there is a network of churches in the Eastern part of the country.  Right now Helieu is one fruitful tree and we are praying that it will produce a forest.  One practical need we were able to assess is more consistent discipleship and theological training for the men in the church in Helieu.  Our short-term trips are a means of progressing this work.  Another practical need is getting Dominic a motorcycle to travel to more villages in the area. We are currently trying to raise funds for this. 

David Kaya                     Dominic Africa

PLANTING SEEDS

The following days in Helieu consisted of mornings doing evangelism in the village and holding special services in the church in the afternoon where we would share the gospel.  In the mornings we would set out with another member of our team and a translator.  While a lot of people speak enough English to communicate, most communicate best in the local Lotuko tribal language.  I spent most of my time with Brian and Dominic walking through the village and speaking with the people. When telling people about Jesus in South Sudan you run into a similar problem that you do in Dallas, TX.  Almost everyone would say they are Christian but they might not understand who Jesus really is.  Christianity became part of the cultural identity of the people in the South as a way of differentiating themselves from the Muslims in the North who they were at war with.  Many people can tell you things about Jesus but they have no relationship with Him.  This is the challenge that Dominic and the church there are trying to overcome.  We spent a lot of time praying with people for practical needs and for Spiritual fruit in their lives.  I felt great power in our prayers as we are trusting God to do a work in the hearts of the people that only He can do.

In our short time in Torit we were able to build many relationships with the people in the village, both church members and non-church members.  We fulfilled our goals of planning for the future of the ministry as well as sharing the gospel in the community and spreading the word about the work that Dominic’s church is doing.  I walked away with was a greater understanding of the people of South Sudan and how I can contribute to their spiritual well being.   

W  H  A  T  ’S     N  E  X  T  ?

            This trip was an opportunity for me to explore the possibility of serving in South Sudan in some sort of long term capacity.  Brian has been looking to develop a team of people who would be willing to go on a short term trip once a year to continue the discipleship work that is happening in Torit on a more consistent basis.  There are still a lot of details to work out but I’m planning to be a part of this team and hope to lead a short-term trip sometime next year and in the subsequent years.  Mo has a similar passion for the South Sudanese as a result of our time in Cairo and while it is doubtful that she will be able to go every year we are hoping that she will be able to go with me on the next trip.

            Thank you so much for your support and prayers concerning the ministry in South Sudan.  As I have written before it means a great deal to me when people take an interest in this part of the world because it is a place that I cared deeply about before I ever went there.  That passion of mine has only grown and I’m always eager to share with anyone who wants to learn more.