The year started well and our Bible School Pastors Training opened on 23^rd January. Our Bible School teachers Joe and Nancy Losee arrived on 20^th January and we thank God for the safe flight and for protecting them this far. Some of our Pastors came on 21^st January and you could see joy in them as they are happy to begin this semester’s training.

We have thirteen Pastors in our Bible school. Eleven of our Pastors have returned to class as of 27^th January. One Pastor is at home sick and we were told the other Pastor was ‘on the way coming’.

The teachers are finding it a blessing and fun to be back to teach the Pastors again this semester. They have already had some lively discussions during class time as they finished the 5^th Manual on Bible Doctrine and even now as they are working through the 7^th Manual of the BTCP curriculum.

Please pray for Joe and Nancy…that they will have good health and for their safety while here in S Sudan…that they would have the grace needed while here and the anointing of the Holy Spirit for teaching these precious pastors who desire so much to be taught the Word of God.  Please pray for the pastors and their families whom they have left back in their villages while they are here at the Bible Training Center for the next three months…for grace for the pastors while here and for their families to have the Lord’s protection from the constant cattle raids; for their families to stay healthy and for the Lord to provide for all their needs.

We also again thank each of you who continue to support this ministry with your finances and prayers. Together we will see much fruit harvested as we labor in HIS Kingdom and together we will share in HIS reward when He returns.

“In him we were also chosen,having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.” – Ephesians 1:11-12.

Teaching Sunday is seen as a hard task especially here in Sudan because you must have a translator.   Here we have a very committed and God fearing young man called Donato Ng’oang. He translates for us every single Sunday, by doing this he is able to learn more about the Bible Stories .You must have a heart for the kids and also a burden. We usually have more boys than girls in the class.

Here women are denied their rights, a girls education is not as valued as the boys. Here in Southern Sudan they pay certain amount of cows for dowry. Something interesting I learned 2 days ago is that the more educated a girl is, her chances of getting a husband is lessened as well has how many cows will be paid for her dowry to her parents.  That is a good reason for them not to educate a girl. They believe the more educated they are the more they will argue with their husbands and also they make decisions instead of their husbands.

I have found it a blessing teaching these children with love and joy. It really blesses my heart to see how they need to know more about God. Every week we usually have 60-80 children. They are good listeners and learning more about God each week. Those who are able to answer questions we give them presents and this encourages them to have courage to raise their hands and answer questions about the Bible Story.

Children are so important in our Community and we should appreciate them always and not value one more than the other. Jesus shows a good example to us when people brought the little children to him, His disciples tried to hinder them but Jesus said to them;

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” – Mark 10:14

God bless you.

(by Esther who is teaching the Sunday School children and helping in the compound)

It was on a Monday evening when Kiir Mayen (7 years) was brought to our clinic by his parents. The boy had two Hernias in both sides. The boy had to spent the night in the clinic so as to prepare him for surgery the following day. This is because he had to fast for at least six hours for the surgery to be performed. Albino our compound manager together with our medical staffs went and prayed together with the boy and his parents.

On Tuesday at around 10.00 a.m the medical staffs together with the Surgeon Dr. Stick went to the hospital and started preparing for the surgery. They called the boy’s parents who were already there prayed with them and then they signed the consent form.

There was a team of 7: the Surgeon Dr Stick, our Nurse Margaret and Dennis the Clinical Officer and Albino compound Manager. The rest were Sudanese staffs one of them being from the Government Hospital. They all joined hands together before surgery and prayed.

The Surgery kicked off at around 11:30 a.m and took four and a half hours and it was successful. After the surgery the boy was taken outside and you could see the joy from the family. Albino prayed for them again.

The Surgeon said he got supported and said it was a joy to work with the team. The boy was brought back to our clinic and after an hour he was awake. Today in the Morning I went to see him and and he is doing much better. The mother(Abak Akuar) said that she is glad that her son is getting better. I ask her if she knows Jesus of which she replied she doesn’t know anything about God. I encouraged her, shared shortly about God. She accepted Jesus as her personal savior and told me she is Going to share with her husband finally I prayed for them. Lets continue to pray for healing for this boy, and for Abak who gave her life to Jesus and also for her husband to accept Christ.

Thank you all for your continued support and for praying for this community.

“The King will reply, I tell you the truth whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” – Matthew 25:40

A New Year, A Fresh Vision!

Welcome to 2012! This past year was full of good times. It was also full of hard times. We learnt a lot about ourselves as a ministry as well as individually. The Lord was faithful to see us through to the end. We have much to be thankful for as we reflect on 2011:

• A peaceful referendum in January and successful election resulting in the birth of the Republic of South Sudan in July.
• The completion of the second year of training for our pastors.
• A partnership with Mango Ministries that has provided us with medical coverage when our staff have needed a break.
• Simply the Story training with outreaches into the bush.
• The purchase of an oxygen concentrator for the clinic.
• The arrival of our ambulance.
• Hosting Tenwek Mission hospital’s cataract surgery clinic resulting in over 170 people receiving sight.
• Individual prayer offered to every patient resulting in more than 500 a month receiving Jesus as their personal Savior.
• Providing critical medical care free of charge to more than 35,000 people.
• Bringing a full-time chaplain for the clinic to minister to patients.
• Partnering with Michezo Afrika to bring Sport’s ministry to the youth through soccer tournaments and leadership training.
• Sending three individuals to Uganda for Community Health Evangelism (CHE pronounced chāy) training.
• New church plant in the village of Gwairai.
• Weekly medical outreach to the village of Maloney.
• Church growth in Tonj resulting in the need for a new location.
• Partnering with AID Sudan to bring a radio tower to Sudan.
• Three successful prayer walk fundraisers to bring awareness, prayer and donations to cover future ministry operations.

We now plow ahead and prepare for the new and we are looking forward to an exciting, fresh, stimulating year doing things from a new and refreshing angle whilst seeking to glorify God.

“And the LORD answered me, and said, ‘Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.’” – Habakkuk 2:2

Our focus for 2012 is to build up the CHE ministry and it begins with the development of training teams through “Training of Trainer” workshops. Prayerfully, In Deed and Truth Ministries can become a host for these workshops in Sudan. The CHE’s are trained in physical and spiritual topics to help their neighbors identify problems, find solutions and implement strategies.

Kuj Family Christmas

We (Sabet and Suzy) chose to spend Christmas in Kenya this year to give our family some 1181much needed ‘down time’. This was our first Christmas away from Tonj in three years, which was hard for us to do as we love spending Christmas in Sudan also. But family needs had to come first and with so much time apart this last 6 months we knew we needed to reconnect and spend time away from our compound and work. As it was a last minute decision, we were blessed by Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) who diverted a charter airplane to collect our family from Tonj. Africa Inland Mission (AIM) were also kind to offer us a four bedroom furnished home used for their own missionaries in transition. This has been an amazing blessing for our children especially. We’ve had a wonderful time of fellowship with friends, our church family here and have been able to join in all the Christmas church activities. Attending the candlelight carol concert with a picnic was very fun! But being able to go to church Christmas Eve and Day was awesome. We baked cookies for MAF and AIM and thanked them for their sacrificial service to missionaries like us living in the bush. Without these support services we could not survive each day in Sudan. Christmas Day was a joy to entertain 12 people by hosting a dinner for missionary friends also working in Sudan. December 30th we celebrated Hannah’s 10th Birthday (pictured) by spending a day swimming in a pool. She then had a double party with her old friends (one whom also turned 10). New Year was relaxed with Kenyan friends sipping chai, eating baked potatoes and worshipping the Lord around the bonfire. We are so thankful for this time of refreshment and fellowship. We are so thankful for each one of you for being a blessing and joy in our life.

We wish each and every one of you a glorious, blessed New Year!

Prayer Requests

• Pray for wisdom and the Lord’s will to prevail as we lead the team into 2012.
• Pray for the transformation of individuals/villages as we send out CHE trainers.

Prayer Walk!

It was great to come back home to my family after many weeks away in the USA. The trip was a success; I connected with supporting churches, home fellowships and many individual ministry partners. In addition to the San Diego and Tonj prayer walks, it was a great blessing to be joined this year by Eastgate Christian Fellowship in Florida (pictured) who hosted their own prayer walk. This has been our prayer that the burden of raising support for this ministry would be shared by those around us. Thank you everyone who walked, prayed and supported this annual event. There is a light shining in South Sudan for Jesus Christ as a result of In Deed and Truth Ministries being there, thank you for continuing this journey with us and walking this path.

IDAT Church Plant!

We have been encouraged to get feedback from the Tonj community how praying for patients in our medical clinic has blessed them as much as receiving the free medicine. Even the government officials have acknowledged and praised the extra mile we go for each of our patients. This has really encouraged our staff, who serve diligently around the clock to bring the hope and love of Jesus Christ into their medical surrounding. One story that stood out is about Mary Wenglay. Her mother and uncle openly practiced witchcraft and always turned to it whenever Mary or her siblings were sick. Earlier this year Mary’s younger brother died after the family refused him medical help and practiced witchcraft on him. Mary was hit hard emotionally by the death of her younger brother. After some time the other brother got sick and again her mother and uncle insisted in witchcraft rituals. Mary decided to do whatever it takes to get her brother to our medical clinic. There she heard the gospel and met with one of our pastors. She prayed with him and asked Jesus to be her personal Savior. What she heard totally transformed her life from that moment on. Her brother made a complete recovery after receiving treatment and medicine. One of our pastors visiting Mary’s village called Kwanyria heard her testimony and started praying with her for her mother and uncle’s salvation. Many of the villagers were curious at Mary’s transformation and Pastor Joseph felt the Lord telling him to ‘have church’ under a tree. Many villagers now come to church on Sunday and Mary’s mother has turned from witchcraft and asked Jesus to be her Savior and both her and Mary have been baptized. The Lord used this young lady’s faith to reach an entire village with the Gospel. This new church is very grateful for what the Lord has done through Mary (pictured far right in blue with the church) and through the IDAT Medical Clinic to bring them this church in their village. It is our greatest challenge to direct new believers to churches when they come from remote villages that have not heard the gospel but we can clearly see God at work despite these difficulties. As our community health evangelists (CHE) continue in training we are excited for villages such as Kwanyria to be impacted by this program that will provide follow up care and support both spiritually and physically to new believers.

“This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.” – 2 Corinthians 9:12

Praise and Prayer!

• Praise the Lord for the success of our annual prayer walk fundraiser.
• Please pray for our three Community Health Evangelists in training and the three villages they will impact.
• Pray for Sabet’s family, his sister died suddenly from meningitis and left four children orphaned ages 8, 5, 2 and 6 wks.

Thanksgiving was a wonderful celebration and time to reflect on God’s boundless provision. We look to Christmas with great joy and anticipation for what the New Year will bring to South Sudan and In Deed and Truth Ministries. Jesus came simply and humbly to provide a sacrifice for our sins. What an amazing free gift of unconditional love that we have been given. We pray all that read this newsletter have also received that free gift, the greatest, most precious and priceless gift ever given to us. Have a blessed Christmas celebrating the gift that Jesus is to the world, a gift of eternal life.

Kuac is in bad shape.

About an hour ago, his ten year old body was struck by a speeding truck, then dragged 40 feet before it could stop.

His chin and lower teeth are all but missing; his chest is rubbed three layers raw; and yet he’s conscious.

There is a hole from his molars through his cheek, ending at a stub that used to be an ear.

And both ankles are broken.

Although he’s only ten… and in a lot of pain… he still took the time to thank us for saving his life. I mean, come on!

This kid is strong. Remarkably strong.

His family is gathering money for an immediate transport; the police are filling out accidents report forms; and the looky-loos have all come to gawk.

Now that his ankles are braced and his wounds are cleaned, we are watching his tiny chest bounce up and down as he breathes, waiting for his transport to Wau.

Like I said… he’s in bad shape.

But by God’s grace he’ll live. Please pray that he does. Thanks.

It is Christmas and every year we close our clinic for 3 weeks to allow our Kenyan staff to return to their families for the Christmas holiday.  It is the only time in the year the clinic is closed and it is a hard decision for us.  The last three years we have remained in Sudan over Christmas, operating the clinic on an emergency basis.  But that has proved quite challenging with minimal national staff and only our missionary doctor Tom and misisonary midwife Stephanie to attend to patients.  All our Kenyan staff return home today and therefore we ask for prayer for the clinic over the next three weeks.  In the last 24 hours we have been slammed with patients and 6 births in 20 hours.  Here’s how it looked, we only had one midwife as Stephanie had not yet returned from her R & R, she worked more than 24 hours without a break and with closing for Christmas we know the community will be affected:

6 mothers in labor between 10pm and 7pm. The first delivery was successful-a healthy child with good scores at 10pm. At 12 midnight a second mother came. She was an attempted home delivery, came with the baby between her thighs with the placenta still attached. Our midwife Margaret did a quick obstetric exam revealed that it was twins and preterm at around 7 months. The second twin was borne within 15 minutes. Both twins had very poor scores at birth with 2^nd twin barely having any respiratory effort.  Both of them needed oxygen with the same priority. But we have only one oxygen concentrator . So all the medical staff including our community health worker Gabriel, were working too fast as a team to resuscitate the two dying babies. We had 4 staff doing CPR, fixing lines, suction, setting up for oxygen praying during this crazy time, and improvising warm bags of water to boost the babies’  body temperatures (temperatures were <32 degrees Celsius for both kids) . We had to share the same source of oxygen for the 2 babies+ alternately giving both babies according to their response to resuscitation.  Their conditions were changing every other time with improvements not sustained enough to stop resuscitation. So we went on and on for 4 hours during which one baby, 1^st twin, died, and another mother in labour came. We put the surviving twin on oxygen (at 9am). This child seemed to have chances of survival but 1 hour later was resuscitated again.

The mother in labour who had just come had concerns also: she had been in labour for 2 days, was the first pregnancy and was so uncooperative. At around 10am she was fully dilated and was ready to push. All the patients including those who had come for review and admissions had not started being attended to yet. Our community health workers explained to them and made them calm and patient. Margaret was doing the delivery for this lady and 1 and half hours later she had not delivered. The fetus had developed distress already. Dennis was dealing with another new mother in labour who had just come and Tom was seeing a 2 years old child with very high fever and all other staff were busy giving health talks, taking care of the child on oxygen, giving scheduled drugs to admisions, registering and triaging patients. No one was free.  As Dennis examined the new mother in labour, Dr Tom jumped into the delivery room to help Margaret on the difficult delivery. One hour later, the contractions ceased and no progress had been made. So we spoke to the family on need for urgent referral. The lady was referred to Wau immediately.

The new lady in labour at was least 5 hours away from delivery and was advised to walk around.

We started attending to our regular patients at around 12 PM.

The new borne who was on oxygen later succumbed at 4pm, so both twins died. The lady who was taken to Wau was reported being prepared for surgery (C/S).

This evening 2 more mothers  came in labour. The lady who came in the morning is also close to delivery putting the number at 3 total mothers in labour.  Another 1 day old baby has been brought in with severe respiratory distress, dehydration, looking toxic. Is on Oxygen, antibiotics and rehydration.

We ask for your prayers for the family who lost the twins, for safe surgery for the lady referred, for safe deliveries of mothers in labor, and for staff to have rest thereafter especially Margaret.

Around 7 pm our Senior Nurse/midwife Margaret was called to the clinic  by one of  our community health workers (CHW).  He told  her that there was a woman in labor, the patient is one of our ANC (ante natal clinic)  mothers and has been coming faithfully to all her ANC appointments. 

After an assesment all was good but labor was progressing slowly.   The staff admitted her for observation and prayed for her labor to progress naturally.   After 2 hours she had not progressed, the heart rate of the baby was fast so labor was induced and she delivered  a baby boy.  He was so weak and lifeless Dr. Dennis was called immediately and started to resuscitate while others were praying.  The child eventually started crying weakly and God  answered our prayer quickly as he was soon crying strongly and he became pink and the heart rate was good.

Upon examination Margaret noticed that both legs turned inwards,  the baby had club foot (talipes).  This condition (see photo) is common and can be treated but needs medical attention to avoid the child growing up and walking on his ankles.  Possibly surgery would also be needed but in Sudan even these simple procedures are not available, so please pray for this family to find the help they need.  Pray for the mother and child as they return home, there is a lot of witchcraft in the villages and the child could be subjected to rituals to remove the evil spirit causing this deformity.  It is highly unlikely the family will want to spend the money and time to help this child.  We are praying for his protection, this is the hardest part of letting the patients go.  We have literally handed her over to the ONE and only living God that can intervene and bring hope to a seemingly hopeless situation.

An adult male patient was brought to our clinic on tonight around 11.00 pm.  Majuok was working in his garden around 6 pm when a certain man came from nowhere and attacked him.  He pierced him with a spear on his right arm when Majuok tried to protect himself.

Here are some photos from this year’s Prayer Walk in Panama City.

View pictures from San Diego’s Prayer Walk.

View pictures from Tonj’s Prayer Walk.