SUDAN
September 2005
A Flame International team was invited by a Bishop from Southern Sudan to visit the area in September 2005. One of the team writes:
BACKGROUND
The war in Sudan, which started in 1956
soon after independence from the Anglo-Egyptian Administration, has raged
intermittently through the years until January 2005. At least two
million Sudanese have perished in this conflict. There is an obvious
lack of infrastructure in the area, with only a few miles of paved road. There
is no postal service, minimal telecommunications or viable currency and
few schools. Almost no secondary education is available, and hospitals
and clinics are without equipment or medicines. I think that all
of us were shocked by the devastation of nearly every brick building in
what was once a key town in the area. The small church, built by British
missionaries some years ago, has recently been re-roofed by an overseas
gift. The Bishop’s own house is completely ruined, so he lives
in a simple traditional thatched “tukel”. The scars of war,
abandoned tanks, bomb craters and burnt out ruins told their own story,
but for those to whom war has been their life, the real damage is hidden
within them. Most people have been traumatised in body, mind and spirit
and even if their faith is strong, they need restoring and healing through
an encounter with the Father’s love.
Just six weeks before our arrival, the tragic death of Dr John Garang
in a helicopter crash had severely shaken the hope of a lasting peace agreement.
Garang, who had just been made Vice-President of the New Sudanese government,
and was the Father of the SPLA movement, had international standing
and his success in achieving the peace had brought him enemies as well
as friends. He had visited the town we were in on many occasions and endorsed the Bishop’s
ministry whole-heartedly.
The Bishop, who is so well respected in the diocese, had not only invited key members from five archdeaconries to our conference, but also the military chaplains based locally and several civilian representatives. These included: the local chief of police, a captain of police from 30 miles away and two sergeant majors of police, as well as several army personnel. After the first day of the conference, one man said “We never knew it would be teaching like this, why did you not invite ALL the government officials? And the army need this as well!” This reflected a gracious lack of inhibition regarding the secular and the spiritual and a wonderful disregard for political correctness! About 60 men and a few women were present for our meetings over five days. One deacon said, “I was 10 years old in 1983 when the war started again and we went to train as soldiers. We need you to pray for us, that we can be forgiven, and I ask that you would do this for all soldiers.”
TEACHING
After three days of teaching, it was encouraging to see how the people put it into practice. A policeman arrived each morning with a new testimony of how God had shown him to act. He had visited the local prison one evening and, seeing some of the internees shackled together, he told the men that if they asked Jesus into their lives, God would unchain their hearts and give them spiritual freedom. In order to illustrate this, he instructed their chains to be removed and the men promised not to run away!
We also spent two days doing “trauma workshops” with the delegates, spending time in teams listening to the traumas that they had experienced, encouraging them to forgive those involved and praying into the particular situation which had so hampered their spiritual walk since. This also demonstrated to them how to help others in their own parishes and villages.
Everywhere we went there were army groups, exercising or training
or in transit. I gathered from some of the men that they do not believe
that peace will hold and, for many of them, they know nothing else but
war. We heard such terrible stories from the men and were overwhelmed
by the extent of the pain and the suffering everyone had experienced. We
witnessed His transforming work and trust God that the work that has begun
in them He will complete and that this will be passed on to many others.
One Anglican Clergyman said “Fear can destroy people. Fear and hatred of other people prevents you from telling the truth. During the aerial bombardment of our town in 2000 I thought that I was going to die. I stepped into a deep hole and thought: “maybe I will die here and people will not know where I am - but I prayed to be delivered. God is faithful. I never slept, I prayed all night. Next morning at 8, a plane dropped six bombs, but nothing was destroyed and all were protected.
AT HOME WITH THE MILITARY
We had prayed for an invitation to speak to the army and incredibly, an invitation came - to teach the troops for 2 days at their base about 8 miles from the town. We knew some of the redeployed troops had already left, so we didn’t know how many to expect - maybe 100 or 200. We discovered later that there were many, many more!
The team arrived early with a borrowed Land Rover, which somehow transported
the 13 of us, at breakneck speed, along the dusty road to the base. As
we drove through the gates of the camp we noticed immediately that
everyone was carrying rifles, even young teenagers. Fortunately,
it was a cloudy morning, as we were soon led to seats in a clearing where
the troops were marched into position all around us. The sight of
so much fire-power with live ammunition was daunting!! The troops
wore an assortment of clothing – few had boots, mostly in flip flops
which were removed and used as cushions when they sat down for the teaching. The
team were introduced one after the other with many smiles and much emphasis
given to our military ranks. The sergeant major came up to salute
us and announced that 2286 men were present on parade!
Jan, our team leader, had decided to share how the Lord had once dealt with her pride as a British army officer by making her lie down on the floor until He permitted her to get up. Much to the amazement of the men, women and children around us, Jan took out a white bin liner, laid it out on the damp, muddy ground and demonstrated how the Lord had made her repent of her pride and self-sufficiency before Him!
It was amazing to see how the people responded to the teaching about the Cross and the Kingdom of God. We used quite a lot of drama to illustrate key Biblical stories, the Garden of Eden and the Fall, the love of the Father and about how we can be damaged in body, mind and spirit.
At the end of the morning, the men were asked if they would like to receive
Jesus Christ into their life and almost every man responded, raising their
hands high into the air. It was hard for us not to weep with joy and humility
at what the Lord was doing in these people. I felt like the Psalmist when
he says “When the Lord brought back the captives to Zion, we
were like men who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.” (Psalm 126:1-2). On the second
day of teaching many brought various charms and witchcraft motifs to be
burnt and destroyed. Later we learnt that some had asked to be baptised.
We cannot ever understand all that these men and women have endured in
the years since “independence” and we in the UK owe a debt
to a land which was effectively abandoned to its fate in 1956.
CONCLUSION
It was such a privilege to share with these men and women, over the ten days that we were with them, encouraging them that the outside world has not forgotten them and neither has the Lord. We came away feeling very blessed by all that we had experienced and learnt. I know that God has faithful men and women who are working there on the ground, but this nation needs so much to set it on its feet. Various NGO’s are now working in Sudan, in the light of the peace agreement, but the Sudanese church also needs a great deal of support – such as basic theological teaching materials to train leaders for the expanding congregations of returning refugees and exiles. I am convinced that only the Lord and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit offer real hope for the peace of Southern Sudan.