I first met John Deng in 2003, while leading our first medical team to Akot, South Sudan. We were helping an American missionary start churches by holding bush clinics in communities around Akot. John was the first of several young men being trained to tell Bible stories which would lead to church plants. John and…
There they crucified him (Jesus), along with the criminals–one on his right, the other on his left. One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us.” But the other criminal rebuked him and said to Jesus: “Rmember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus…
“Ebenezer”, mentioned in 1Samuel 7:12, refers to a stone that was erected to commemorate a victory for the Israelites. The word ebenezer actually means “stone of help”. What an appropriate name for this secondary school established by the Baptist Churches in Bidi Bidi Refugee Camp. Bidi Bidi is the largest of 11 camps in Northern…
You know that feeling parents have when they drive off and leave their college age child on the college campus the first time? That is how we, as the Board of Living Water Community Transformation felt as we released Akot Christian Ministries in December. I felt like a mother bird pushing the chicks our of…
“Mama Ayen how do u help orphan? Now i am a orphan for both father and mother. How do (can) u help me in this situation. i am in school and i have 5 brothers and 3 sisters, i don,t have power to feed them. If possible u can help me in the name of…
I find it fascinating to be be a part of two extremely different cultures. You and I may not realize it, but we are rich by most of the world’s standards. At this time of year we are encouraged to count our many blessings. But what do we really consider to be our blessings? The…
Education has become highly valued among the South Sudanese people. This was not always true in the Dinka culture. Because of so much turmoil in the world’s newest nation, schools are increasingly difficult to maintain, for both the government and for private institutions. The number of operational schools has been reducing steadily over the past…
“The whole town of Akot was set on fire by General Riak Machar, so we had no school for 2 years,” said John as he relayed his life story to me many years ago. It was a story I won’t forget. Riak Machar was serving as the Vice President of South Sudan at the time…
“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so the birds of the air come and perch in it’s branches.” Matthew…
“South Sudan is in the midst of a catastrophic humanitarian crisis driven by over 4 years of brutal civil war. Half of the population are facing extreme hunger and are indeed of urgent aid,” states Kenyi Alison, Oxfam Emergency Response Officer;” “Hunger Crisis in South Sudan” ” Oxfam International; July 19, 2019. On July 11th,…
