A Future & A Hope...

“For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all of your heart. I will be found by you, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations…” (Jeremiah 29:11-14).
These verses are so often quoted, but as I listened to them within the setting of Kolmarek, Southern Sudan, I was struck again by the reality that these hope-filled promises were written to the Israelites as they entered 70 years of exile. And as I looked into the faces of my Sudanese friends, I saw that the promises of these verses have been clung to, waited upon, and are now being lived out. For 2 decades, they were in exile crying out to God for peace and justice to fill Sudan. They were praying that they might return home. Because of the war, many had been separated from their families, and they have been praying that they might be reunited. Over and over again, stories have been told of children being lost from their parents. For many, they are still waiting, still hoping to be reunited.
As these verses were being read, I could also see out the window of the church as 900 Southern Sudanese refugees were returning home. Men, women, children and animals were loaded into the back of open beded trucks. At the end of their journey lies a land they know as home. For years they have waited to return, but 20 years of war has left the land different than they remember. 20 years of war has left them different. Still they long to return.
So many of the struggles of life are impossible to understand and may not change within this life; but this past week, I witnessed again that God is close to the brokenhearted. He is faithful to His promise: if we will search for Him, He will be found. He is gathering these Sudanese from many lands and bringing them home, but I thank God that His ultimate promise is nothing more, nothing less than Himself. He alone is the future and the hope of Sudan.
The return to Sudan…
I am at a loss for words as I try to write about our team’s 6 days in Kolmarek, Southern Sudan. There are so many stories to be told, and there are no words to adequately describe the intensity of the journey or the emotions that were felt along the way. For sure, God’s favor and grace were experienced, and His provision led our way. He prepared the hearts of us who were going as well as the hearts of those we were going to serve. He granted us health and protection in all that we did. He allowed us to live amongst a community of survivors and to see glimpses of what life, within the Dinka culture, is like. Personally, He allowed my heart for the Dinka people and the ministry within Southern Sudan to grow larger than before.
It was an incredible blessing to be a part of this united team of 9 who traveled from Kenya to Sudan to serve the sick within the village of Kolmarek. Resources were limited and the climate was extremely harsh (120 degree days intermixed with torrential rain & wind); but with God as our strength, the mission remained clear. The partnership that developed with the Sudanese nationals who hosted us was equally wonderful. Without their assistance with translation and the countless other ways they served us, the mission would have been impossible. We held a mobile clinic in a local school for 4 days and treated 1046 patients with general medical and dental services. A majority of the patients were treated for preventable diseases related to food and water borne illnesses, worms, malaria, malnutrition, and an eye disease which leads to blindness known as trachoma.
I want to share the story of one of the patients we had the opportunity to care for. Her name is Abiei, and she is a 16 year old who was carried to the clinic on a mat. Like so many of the people in the community, Abiei and her family live as pastoralists in a cattle camp amongst thousands of cows. During the day, the cows range to get food; but in the evening, the cows and people gather together and sleep in the open air. The people survive by drinking the milk of their cattle. For generations, cattle camps have been a way of life for the Dinka people.
Due to contaminated water, there has recently been a cholera outbreak in different areas of Southern Sudan. Without intervention, cholera causes severe dysentery and eventually death. Upon arriving, it was reported that Abiei had been suffering from severe diarrhea and vomiting for several hours. Upon physical examination, it was clear that she was going into shock. Her extremities were ice cold and her blood pressure was no longer audible. We began to give her IV fluids to rehydrate her and monitored her very closely. At moments, it seemed that she was not going to make it. There was no place to refer her for more extensive treatment; and if our mobile clinic had not been there, there would have been no treatment for her. We, along with her family, cried out to God on her behalf and asked that He would spare her life and bring healing to her broken body. He did; and for the next four days, Abiei and her father lived with us as we continued treating her.
One of the first nights, she was critically sick and continued to have severe diarrhea and vomiting. Throughout the night, I was getting up every 2 hours to give her medication; and I had the privilege of watching Abiei’s father lovingly care for her. He cleaned her and comforted her in a way that I have rarely seen before. I thank God for sparing Abiei’s life and for allowing me to be a part of caring for her. I also thank God for the example of selfless love I witnessed through this father- it has touched my heart in a deep way.
Thank you for choosing to partner with me in this mission. Your prayers, your financial support helped to make this trip possible. There is no way to measure your investment’s worth; but by God’s grace, I watched the life of a 16 year old girl be spared and 1045 others helped. The need for ongoing community health work as well as basic medical services was deeply impressed within my heart. As ELI’s vision for ministry in Sudan continues to take shape, I am praying that God will raise up Sudanese nationals who speak Dinka to continue in this work. Please join me in praying for God’s will to be done in the health of these dear people and for peace to continue in the land of Sudan.