Ministry in Pajok, South Sudan

The Lord gave us 2 1/2 months to minister in Pajok, South Sudan. It was a rich time of ministry and learning. Working within another culture, in an area that speaks another language can be challenging. But the Lord gave us the ability to minister His word and to live among the Acholi people of Pajok.

We were involved in many ministries while there:
* Morning Bible study with the children at the orphanage home Monday thru Saturday
* Evening Bible study (Creation to Christ - New Tribes Missions Curriculum) with the GTM children and village children M,T,Th,F
* Weekly evangelism to homes surrounding the GTM compound
* Movie night on Wednesdays and Saturdays
* Tuesday adult bible study
* Bible study with the GTM teachers M-F
* Reading club with Deborah Saturday morning
* Established a Sunday morning church service in the GTM church building

Sunday was kept as a day of rest! With the exception of Church in the morning, we rested the rest of the day....and it was needed. We attended the AIC church each week which was a 45 minute walk away. The last Sunday we were in Pajok, we held the first GTM church service! It was mostly youth and children with a few adult women, numbering approximately 60 people total. Now each week the GTM church worships and teaches verse by verse through the Word of God. Praise the Lord!

Below are some pictures of the 'one on one' evangelistic outreach:

Atim surrendered her life to Jesus and faithfully attends all the Bible studies and the movie nights each week!

 This is Bosco Okot's family and friends. They listened to the Gospel message but wanted to hear more later... Please pray for God to draw these people to Himself.

From left to right: Sunday, Sabina, Jane, & Jane. I don't know the name of the teen on the far right. All the ladies received Jesus Christ! Jane and Jane attend the Bible studies.

This is Sampson's family. Pray for Sampson. He is a very outgoing talkative man, however, he still needs to receive Jesus.

I will post more pictures and some videos in the coming days.....

Merry Christmas!!!

3 Months in Pajok

I have been praying for many years for my family to serve on the foreign mission field. Soon after being saved, I had a desire to go to the world with the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ. Over the years the Lord has directed us and led us to focus on Pajok, South Sudan. Five years ago God's Tender Mercy was born by the will and leading of the Lord.

September 1st, 2015 our family will travel to Pajok, South Sudan to stay for 3 months. This is very exciting! Many decisions have to be made concerning what we need to take with us to care for our 3 children (Luke 8yo, Jacob 6yo, & Grace 4yo). I know the Lord will lead us as we wait on Him.

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"

Ps 46:10

 



My primary desire is to teach and disciple our leadership in Pajok along with helping them to teach those in the village who have responded to God's revealed word. Kathy will be caring for our children and homeschooling them.

GTM's main focus has been the children of Pajok. Now we are seeking to dedicate more time to sharing the truth of Jesus Christ with the adults of Pajok. Those who respond we teach and disciple. David is currently sharing Jesus with various people in the village and teaching those who have a desire to know more. The only foundation that can be laid is Jesus Christ. He is our Rock and Salvation.

"For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ."

1Corinthians 3:11

 

David is currently building us a couple rooms to live in. He is also building a new latrine....Praise the Lord! The existing 3 stall latrine serves the orphanage and the GTM school....roughly 150+ people. We tend to take for granted the simple amenities we have here in America.

 

Thank you for your prayers and support!



Reconciliation...the Lord's will.

Our brother Francis has been serving with us since last year as I have previously written. He has served the Lord well in his time with us. However, Francis has had a heavy heart for his wife Judith and their 5 children. They live in Uganda. He has been separated from them for about 4 years. His heart was to have reconciliation. Recently, Francis has moved back to Uganda to be with his wife and children and is in the process of reconciling their relationship and marriage. We know this is our Lord's heart, for He hates divorce.

Malachi 2:16 "For the LORD God of Israel says That He hates divorce, For it covers one's garment with violence," Says the LORD of hosts. "Therefore take heed to your spirit, That you do not deal treacherously."

 

Please pray with us for repentance and reconciliation in both Francis and his wife Judith. Please also pray for the Lord to restore what has been lost over the past years with his children. May Jesus Christ be glorified in their relationship, family, and marriage. Thank you!

Faithful to God's Gifting & Calling

In November 2014 Pastor King George and Francis joined God's Tender Mercy. Pastor King George oversees the GTM nursery/primary school and Francis oversees GTM's animals.

Two others who joined GTM are Juspin who is a new helper for Grace and Deborah from Uganda who is a new GTM teacher. Juspin joined us last year and was one of the ladies cooking porridge for the GTM school children. Deborah joined us in January 2015.

Pastor King George is seminary trained, which is rare in South Sudan. Francis is trained in animal husbandry and veterinarian practices. Both men are an answer to prayer! God indeed provides for the needs of His people.

Pastor King George Translating for me at the Bible conference November 2014

Pastor King George teaches the children attending the GTM school (currently 120-130 children) the scriptures. He teaches them each weekday at 10:00 am while the children are eating their porridge.

Francis standing next to me

David (standing on the left side wearing white pants) has been discipling Francis since November 2014. Recently, Francis shared his faith for the first time! The Lord worked through His word shared and Francis' obedience to testify of Jesus. The man forsook his drinking and is currently attending church!

David is teaching the children in the orphanage each day and the GTM teachers each morning through the Bible.

Jesus said to go and make disciples. The full council of God's word teaches us everything we need to know about who God is, who we are, and what our relationship should be with God and the people around us.

I praise God that we have men dedicated to proclaiming and teaching the truth of God's word!

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

(Romans 10:17 NKJV)

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
(Matthew 28:18-20 NKJV)

Juspin has been faithfully helping Grace full-time with cooking, cleaning, the children, and anything else needed. As king Solomon said: "Most men will proclaim each his own goodness, But who can find a faithful man?" (Proverbs 20:6 NKJV) The same goes for women! It can be difficult to find a person faithful and dedicated. Praise the Lord He sent us Juspin!

Deborah has proved to be a wonderful teacher! She was grieved that most of the children cannot read. All children are behind the curve in South Sudan. Deborah decided on her own to have class on Saturdays for a couple hours to teach any child who comes to read!!! She lives in our compound and has taken to all of our children as well. She engages well with the children and likes to lead them in singing to the Jesus. Once again, praise the Lord for His provision!

Please praise God with us and continue to pray with us for the Lord's will to be done!

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...

I thank everyone for their prayers and support. We returned 2 weeks ago from Pajok, South Sudan. As usual, the time with the people was priceless. People always ask "How was your trip?". There never are words to describe such an experience. Our human languages don't have the ability to express deep spiritual and emotional feelings.....they fall short.

Whenever we are able to proclaim the eternal word of the only true living God, pointing people to the Author and Finisher of our Faith, Jesus Christ, there is great joy that words can't describe! As we taught through the book of Colossians for 2 full days and worshiped the Lord, I looked around at the unfinished church building and rejoiced!!! The walls and floor are unfinished and not painted but the joy of the Lord was there. The praise and worship of God's children sounded forth as a city on a hill that cannot be hidden!

Below are a handful of pictures and 2 videos. A small window into the time we spent in South Sudan.

I will be sharing at Long Green Baptist Church on November 23rd @ 6:00pm. If you can make it, you will see a much fuller presentation of our time in Pajok!

The Ladies Worship time under the tree

Auntie Angela during Worship time - David's Aunt

Lunch!

Corn, beans, & beef......My favorite!

Russ teaching Colossians & David interpreting

Pastor George & David teaching/interpreting Colossians

Me teaching Colossians & Pastor King George interpreting

Lucy teaching the ladies Colossians

"Little" George teaching some of the school children

"Little" George teaching the orphanage children

Each year we take coloring books from Day One Publishing which cover different books of the Bible or even surveys of the Old and New Testaments. This year we chose Hebrews. It specifically taught through chapter 11, which talks about many people in the Old Testament who had great faith. On the left page is the scripture and on the right page is a picture to color that go along with the scripture. The kids love it!!! We took 40 coloring books and 40 packs of crayons. We ran out quickly this year! We could have used 50+ coloring books. Praise the Lord!

Peter coloring his Hebrews - Men of Faith coloring book

Therese, Helen, & Lucy taught the children about Colossians and how Paul was in prison when he wrote it. As a craft, for ~130 children, each child made a chain with 3 paper links. Then they connected all of them together. The chain was long enough to go around the entire circle! They then hung sections of the chain up in their classrooms.

The GTM school is in the background. 3 grass roof classrooms on the right for the Nursery School and 1 grass roof classroom on the left for grade 1 of Primary School.

GTM School children eating porridge

Helen teaching GTM Nursery School

Judith teaching GTM Nursery School

Clay teaching GTM Primary School - Grade 1

Our GTM School Teachers

[Left to Right: Beatrace, Lilly, Clay, Judith, Helen, and Marie who helped teach, manage, and organize]

Yes, those are Marshmallows!!!

Yum! The guy on the right is trying to figure out how to get it off of his hands!

Fun w/ Pipe Cleaners! Therese, Grace, Lucy, and the children

Marie & the children

1 of 3 Swings that Russ setup for the kids!!!

Before we leave....a picture with the children that hadn't left for school

Our Amazing Team! (Marie taking the picture)

[Left to Right: Jeff, David, "Little" George, Francis, Pastor George, Russ, Ryan, Grace w/ little Rachel, Lucy, Helen, Therese, & Auntie Angela]

Ryan and Marie lived with David and Grace for the past year. They are leaving tomorrow and will be sorely missed! Ryan spent the year being engaged in the community and working on his research paper. Marie was also engaged with the community and made herself available to help with the children, the GTM School, and many other things. Please pray for them. Our prayers are with them.

Ryan & Marie

Upcoming Trip to Pajok, South Sudan

Russ Crane and I are travelling to visit the GTM ministry in Pajok, South Sudan on 12 October. We are very excited and rushed to finish the preparations! This year we plan to teach, Lord willing, the book of Colossians. Therese, George 2x, Lucy, and maybe Helen are coming up from Uganda to help teach. The theme will be truly knowing and following Jesus Christ. There are many who claim Jesus but do not have works befitting of repentance. Their lives are worldly with a veneer of Christianity loosely applied. This is true here in America and abroad. Our desire is to call people to the truth of Christ's call.

Mark 8:34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 35 "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. 36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? 37 "Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."

There are also many Born Again Christians who need to be strengthened and washed in the water of the Word of God.

The topics that are covered in Colossians:

Their Faith in Christ

Preeminence of Christ

Reconciled in Christ

Sacrificial Service for Christ

Not Philosophy but Christ

Not Legalism but Christ

Not Carnality but Christ

The Christian Home

Christian Graces

If we can obtain enough "Hebrews - Men of Faith" coloring books, we will teach the children about faith and how it defined the lives of the faithful in Hebrews chapter 11.

We ask you to pray with us for this trip to be inline with the Lord's will, that His word would be rightly divided, people would have ears to hear, hearts prepared to receive, and the Lord providing the increase. The dates of the trip are: 12-26 October 2014.

Thank you! Grace & Peace is found in Jesus Christ alone.

Judith - Poisoned

Judith is our lead teacher for God's Tender Mercy. She runs the nursery and primary school along with teaching. About 2 weeks ago she was poisoned. She is doing much better now, but is probably going to move back to where she used to live which is about an hour north of Pajok. She has a baby a couple months old to care for also. There is a possibility she may stay in Pajok to care for the crops she has planted on her land. If she does, then she will continue teaching for GTM. If she goes back home, we will need to find a replacement to run the school and teach. Judith has been a wonderful leader and teacher. We want the best for her and her children. It will be a great loss for the GTM school to lose her.

Please pray for her to fully recover and for the person who has done this to be convicted by the Lord of this evil. Pray they would come to repentance and be saved by Jesus Christ. The practice of poisoning is not new in South Sudan, however it is rare in Pajok. I pray it does not become more prevalent. Please pray with us.