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Waiting
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Tank
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Pillage
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Jonglei
Some trust in chariots and
some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. Psalm 20:7
We returned to Africa in late
July beginning with Bill’s visit to South Sudan, a country once again in the
midst of civil war. The flight into South Sudan was literally a journey against
a human tide as mission and relief organizations were undergoing a mass
pull-out and the American Embassy was calling for the departure of U.S.
citizens.
The history of South Sudan is
one of tragedy and paradox. A people who fought for nearly forty years against
a repressive Islamic government gained their independence just 5 years ago. We
were thrilled to be in South Sudan at Independence to witness the birth of this
new nation. Sadly 3 years later in 2013, the country was thrust into civil war
when a people who fought for a generation to be free from the dominion of one
ethnic group failed to settle their own ethnic differences.
A long awaited peace treaty
signed in the spring of 2016 fell apart just last month when warring factions,
brought together in the capital city of Juba to forge a new peace, failed in
that quest and catapulted the country once more into chaos, destruction, and
death. The country is again divided and in a state of turmoil and conflict.
The Old Testament Prophet,
Isaiah, ministered to a divided nation. His words of comfort were not for the
rulers…but for those caught up in the turbulence, deprivation, and struggles of
the day.
Isaiah’s words to the humble
and brokenhearted (from Isaiah 61:1-4) tell of a freedom we all yearn to
obtain:
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted to proclaim freedom for the captives to comfort all who mourn
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of
ashes.
They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated.
Sadly, the landscape in places
we visit in South Sudan is again one of pillaging, ashes, and devastation.
The good news is that there is
hope. Christ came to fulfill the words of Isaiah; to bind up broken hearts,
proclaim freedom, comfort those who mourn, and set the captives free. Indeed in
South Sudan, those caught in the middle have not lost hope. Such are the
promises in Isaiah 61 which propel us forward with courage and conviction.
South Sudan is full of stories
of churches which are growing in the face of conflict, people who are turning
their hearts to the Lord in the wake of ethnic strife and asking for
forgiveness. We recently hosted John Dau, a former South Sudanese ‘lost boy’
who was featured in the film “God
Grew Tired of Us.”
John became a successful businessman in upstate New York after being rescued
from a refugee camp in his teenage years. He has devoted his life (and
resources) to see the Kingdom of God reign in South Sudan and was one of those
who made a treacherous visit back to South Sudan this spring to seek
reconciliation between tribes.
Freedom is not
something attained by treaties between governments or men but through the
indwelling of the Spirit of the Lord.
Our mandate is to provide healing for the whole person, balm
for the wounds…and hope and encouragement for the soul through Christ’s love.
With love and appreciation
from the heart of Africa,
Bill and Ann Clemmer