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September 25, 2005
A Big Day
Dear Friends,
Greetings from Sudan. Today is the day we pray for you, our supporters, so please know that we are thinking of you and praying for you. We hear bits of news through email and so enjoy hearing even the smallest detail. Today, we sat down and prayed that God would protect, strengthen, encourage, rebuke, teach, and shield you in all things.
It was a quiet day in Lake Woebegone. . . at least that's how Garrison
Keilor begins his stories. Yesterday was quite a huge day. The base is quiet at 7:30am, because everyone is still resting from a hard day.
Last week a short term team came to Kurmuk but had only minimal
preparations. They had a plan but we ended up trying to assist them when their plans fell through. At the invitation of some village leaders about 1 hour away, they were going to show the Jesus film. The military lorry they rented broke an axle and they were stuck in Kurmuk.
So, we developed a plan that allowed them to hitch a ride with our tractor to a place called Dem Monsuer (aka - Dem). They got permission for another NGO called GOAL to staff the outpatient clinic there. Also they would show the Jesus film.
But, some of the local church leaders heard about the team and asked for a meeting with them to find out what they were doing. The church leaders gave approval but were really quite stern with them. At one point, an elder said to the visitors, "Why do you think you can come to my area without asking me? Can I come do evangelism in your village without asking you?"
They were of course willing to allow the Jesus film work, but do you hear the ownership in his voice? The Sudanese believers really feel a strong obligation to spread the good news to their own areas. We westerners could learn from that.
So, long story short. . . two local elders agreed to go with the team to Dem. About one hour later, Gabriel Majok (one of the elders) and I
followed on a quad-bike (ATV). We came upon the tractor broken down.
Bearings on the wagon had burned up. So, I took a guy back to Kurmuk and picked up the spare part. We returned, fixed it, and continued. After an hour or so, Gabriel and I sprinted on ahead of the tractor to set up a meeting with the churches in Dem.
About two hours later we thought "where is the tractor". So, I climbed back on the quad bike and goosed it back up the road. I found some kids and asked them in Arabic "wosul baboor bita Samaritan"(did it arrive the tractor from Samaritan). The kids said "lissa" (no, still not yet). So, I went another 4 or 5km and met a guy, his wife, and a kid on a donkey (I refrain from Joseph and Mary jokes). I asked him, and he replied it was "back there about 3km broken down."
Long story even shorter. . . the huge four-wheel-drive Massey Ferguson
tractor was mired up in mud for two hours, got unstuck for 15 minutes, and promptly got stuck again. I started loading people and things on the quad-bike to shuttle them into town. The whole village was filtering in waiting for the Jesus film which was stuck in the mud!
Anyway, we got it all done, and the Lord blessed the telling of His story.
Cultural insight: the biggest tribe in Dem is called Mabaan. These people love, I mean love, pigs. It is their favorite thing to eat. So, in the scene where Jesus casts the demons out of a guy into a herd of pigs, they went nuts. Every Mabaan started hooting and laughing. They ate it up.
I walked through the crowd listening to people's reactions. Many of them were talking back to the film - for instance, the Muslim guy next to me clucked loudly with disapproval when the Pharisees tried to trap Jesus with words. There was more clucking and shaking of the head when the soldiers were slapping Jesus. Then, when Jesus was crucified he started saying, "Who ma Rabuna! Who ma Rabuna!" (He is not God!).
He was confronted with the fact that Jesus claimed to be God all through the video, and yet now this awful bloody thing was happening to Him.
It was a reminder to me that Jesus's death is a shocking thing. It is indeed scandalous. The Muslim guy understood correctly. I pray that he will also come to realize the death of Jesus was a willing sacrifice. It is a gift - a beautiful, costly gift.
The team showed the film the following night also, and there were 18 people who were baptized after accepting Christ. The local church leaders from Dem and our guys too were there bringing them into the fellowship of the church. Praise God.
Then the tractor broke down. Three guys came from Dem to rescue them on a quad bike. Then that quad bike broke down. So, about 10 people started the three hour walk back to Kurmuk. . . in the dark with only a few flashlights. At some point they met some boys with donkeys and made a deal with them to carry the luggage (yes, they were carrying their bags!).
Several hours later they arrived back in Kurmuk with blistered feet.
One day later, one of our guys came down with malaria. The next day,
another one was down with malaria.
But, the tractor is fixed now!
Well, for those who have read this far, thank you for your interest and love. We are so happy to be God's hands and feet in Sudan.
Your servants,
Chris and Beverly Crowder
SIM Sudan
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* SIM by Prayer *
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Published at September 25, 2005 07:48 AM
