Hope for Sudan
Rhonda & Tony's Experience:

Tony believes there is hope because lives have been transformed. Rhonda believes that it is because of hope that the people are alive. People have been changed, “if people can change, the world can change”, Tony.

There is nothing better to depict the change that has been occurring among the Sudanese than the recent Pentecost experience about two weeks ago. After a lesson about the importance of the Holy Ghost in our lives, the students began to genuinely desire such an infilling in their lives. Such an experience was not without its struggles. We know full well the devil’s work which is to steal, kill and destroy. He wasn’t happy with what was going to happen. Days before SCDC’s day of Pentecost, the whole camp was sick with all sorts of illnesses, stomach upsets and the like. “We went over to pray for them” says Tony, “and the high deacon, someone with a high rank who can run as a candidate for a bishop, was trying to run away because he could not understand why he was crying.” They had to close all doors to prevent people from running away. It was the first time that an Episcopal Church Pastor praying aloud. The manifestations continued… that day they did not play ball. During the evening devotion the pastor was asked to pray. He started in Dinka but in a short while he was all in tongues. Thankfully, this was not to be a one time experience. The manifestations have continued to date.

The difference between today and how they used to pray before, is that today they do not pray from a book like before. They used to sing songs, read the book and finish the prayers from the book.

After three years in Sudan, Rhonda has finally seen what she longed for just before leaving Sudan. When asked to offer some tips on doing good ministry work, Rhonda says prayer and learning the local language are essentials. By the end of the first year, Rhonda had already learnt the basics of the Dinka language.

Challenges:
Loneliness can be a big challenge. The fact that you give more than you receive is very draining and tiring. Being in a mission field is not like being at your local church. While at the local church you can afford to go to church and listen to a pastor delivering the word of God, but in the mission field you don’t have much of an option but to be the pastor, teacher, and all. It’s easy to get discouraged especially when those you are training do not seem to grasp much.

The not yet married couple is not going back to Sudan since their first priority is to arrange for their wedding that is scheduled for February 2006. Looking back, Tony’s greatest joy was meeting the children who were not cared for and to see God caring for them. Rhonda’s joy was to see God accomplishing so much with the people there.

When it comes to mission it is very hard to see the big picture of what God has done. Faithfully they have planted the seeds that God will water as they grow.

» Back to Top