I can hardly believe that last month at this time, I was on my way home from Africa. Life has gone by so fast over the last month, but I still feel compelled to finish off my blogging for the summer.
The last weekend I was in Sudan was filled with many ministry opportunities. It started out with Sebit coming into my room late on Saturday night. The daughter of a local pastor has just died that night and they needed someone to fill in for him and teach at his church, as well as comfort the family and the church.
So the next morning, Missy and I rode out to a village just a few minutes from Tonj with Albino and one of the pastors from the school. I shared a message with the congregation about how in times of pain and difficulty, we can hold on to the truth that when Jesus came to earth, he was 100% God, and at the same time, 100% man.
We can trust in the truth that Jesus is all powerful and sovereign in the midst of our circumstances, and that from heaven he can see the greater picture in our suffering. We can also be comforted by the knowledge that Jesus was 100% man and has felt the deepest pain on earth a man can feel.
After the service, we walked over to the pastor’s home to pray for each of the members of his family and the community. The we stood alongside them as the buried the young girl.
We were able to make it back to the compound in time to hear most of Daniel’s message to the fellowship that meets there. Many of the elders of Peter’s church had come to the service that day. Their church had not yet reopened their doors because of everything that had happened with Peter.
Daniel delivered an inspired message and afterwards, a few of us were able to have a personal meeting with the church leadership. During the meeting, Judah (one of the students at In Deed And Truth’s school for pastors), accepted his appointment to replace Peter as the pastor of the main Episcopalian church in Tonj.
We shared with Judah and the leadership that this was an opportunity to start with a fresh slate. The community would be watching closely and this was an opportunity to show everyone how Christ can redeem even the worst of situations. I encouraged Judah to not put himself above others, but to lead as a servant and to make sure he had confidants that he could share his struggles with and remain accountable through.
I spent my last couple of day working directly with Suzy. In my day-to-day life, I am In Deed And Truth’s graphic designer and Suzy and I wanted to take advantage of our last few days together to get as much done as possible. Being back on the ground gave me a new passion for the ministry and gave Suzy, Sabet and I plenty of time to talk and share our lives and ministries face to face like normal people, instead of through a broken Skype connection.
At the end of the week, Missy, John, Joe and myself flew out to Kenya and were greeted by Gordon, In Deed And Truth’s Kenya logistician. The five of us had a great weekend in Nairobi together. The highlight was definitely visiting the Giraffe Centre and getting to pet and even kiss the giraffes.
I then flew to England to spend five days there before heading back to California. I stayed with my friend Alex’s family in London and got to spend a day there touring the city with my friends Cat and Laura. I went out to Oxford for a night and explored there, I made friends with two guys at my hostel, Zac and Andrew, who were from Australia and Canada.
Thank you so much for all your support and prayers that made this trip possible. I’m so grateful for all my friends and family back home and have loved seeing so many of you over the last month. Africa is a place where I feel so at home and so alive and I feel so blessed to have been able to return there again and see the people whom I love so much.