New Friends in South Sudan

A couple weeks ago I joined of people from Flatirons to visit the churches we partner with in South Sudan. We spent a week teaching, training, learning, singing, watching, talking, and working in a clinic. But the trip wasn’t about what we did…it was about the fact that we went. About the growing friendship between our churches. And about how we’re making an impact on their churches, but also how hearing from them and learning from them is impacting what we do at Flatirons too. It’s about the relationship between churches because we are all part of the body of Christ.

One of the pastors kept on thanking us for coming…for making, what he called, “a huge sacrifice.” And after the third time I had to stop him and say, “Look, you keep on acting like us coming here was a completely selfless act. But the truth is, I’m here for some selfish reasons too. Because I know that seeing your joy in spite of your circumstances…your faith when things are falling apart…your welcoming spirit to people you’ve never met before…I’m going to see God in a new way because of what I see and learn from you. We’re getting just as much as we’re giving away on this trip.” We don’t “do missions” to people in South Sudan…we have relationships with people in South Sudan. It’s a mutual thing.

And while we did teach and train while we were there, I walked away humbled by the pastors we were training. Two quick things:

They were unbelievably hungry to know God more. Most these pastors (and there were around 45 pastors, teachers, and evangelists at the training) had walked between 5 and 15 miles to get to the training. They would sleep on a tarp in the village so they would be there for training the next day. For many, this was the only opportunity to learn more for the foreseeable future. I left humbled by their hunger to know more, because so often I take for granted all the resources I’ve got access.

They made huge sacrifices to pastor their churches. Pastoring a church in South Sudan equates to a low salary, more pressure on their families, and oftentimes difficult relationships with other people in their villages. Many of these pastors had to work second jobs to support their families. Pastoring their churches require long hours. Until recently there were threats from extremists from (North) Sudan. These pastors sacrifice so much for their churches. I left convicted about how sometimes I will get frustrated when some part of my job is simply inconvenient.

The men and women who work in the churches in South Sudan, our new friends and partners in ministry, asked us on the last day if we would pray for them, for their families, and for their churches. Would you take a quick minute to ask that God would give them strength, wisdom, and courage to continue pastoring their churches well?