Khartoum, Day 1
Today has been a truly blessed day. We had a good rest, a good breakfast, an edifying planning conversation between three different ministries–and that was before we left our rooms.
After that we visited the churches, celebrating this Lord’s Day with them. And what a celebration; these believers give new meaning to the words “raising the roof.” Though one church’s rudimentary sound system was broken, it could have fooled me. And though I could not understand the words they were singing, preaching, and praying, the excitement in their midst crossed all language barriers. They are excited to be a part of the Kingdom of Christ, excited to have us worship with them, and excited about the ministry prospects that we have to assist them.
The first church that I visited was smack-dab in the middle of what was essentially a refugee camp, a place where Nuba Mountain families that need to find work have relocated. It was, quite simply, the most vile place I have ever been in, filled with trash and flies. But in the middle of it rose a sanctuary, and from that sanctuary came joyful singing that overcame all of the filth.
This church is that pastored by Brother Yagoub, a man who is fast becoming not just a ministry contact but also a good friend. He joined us in South Carolina for our banquet, and gave the testimony for Sudan. He is well thought of here, and for good reason. I had the privilege of sharing a few greetings with the members of the church–hundreds of them–and cannot tell you how much I enjoyed hearing their enthusiastic praise, and the opportunity to share greetings and Scripture with them.
Outside the church were a bunch of little kids, the grimiest, dirtiest, snot-nosedniess little urchins you can imagine. And you can bet that they multiplied in a huge hurry when I broke out my bag of peppermints and Jolly Ranchers. But the closer I got to them, and the brighter their smiles became, the more my heart broke to see children in such a situation, surrounded by stench and filth. The one little guy didn’t even bother to brush the flies away from his face, and there they congregated.
The most memorable moment of the day was a very personal one. Throughout the day, as I shared greetings with churches, Brother Yagoub specifically asked me to share my age and marital status. I thought that was a strange request, to be honest, but whenever I would share them it would get a good laugh out of the group, so I complied. As we headed out to dinner he told me why he had asked that, explaining, “There are not many young men in the Sudanese church that are your age, and unmarried, with such responsibilities. They think, ‘Oh, I am not 30 yet,’ and do not get involved.”
Being that example is one of those things that makes it all worth it.
(More pictures over on Ambassadors.)