Savior & Provider
After a long and extra hot dry season, the rains have finally come and people are busy in their farms. We give praise to our Savior and Provider, the Lion and the Lamb, the One True God!
Free Gift
Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink— even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk— it’s all free! Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food. Isaiah 55:1-2 NLT
This is exactly what I love about our God, about what Jesus did for us. Come and drink. Come to God and be satisfied. Why waste money on something that doesn’t satisfy you? No other religion or belief in the world can offer you what Jesus does: Free Salvation. We don’t have to sacrifice anything, we don’t have to pray a certain amount every day, we don’t have to do anything for God to like us. In fact, we cannot do anything that would make Him love us more. Easter is evidence of God’s amazing and sufficient love. A God who dies for sinners. Jesus died, won the battle of death and rose again, so that we can have a relationship with this God again. He made peace between us and Himself. And what does He want for it? Nothing. Only your heart and your loyalty to Him. In short: faith. That’s why Easter is the most significant event in history. Thank you Jesus for this free gift of grace (Romans 6:23, Romans 5:1-10, Ephesians 2:8-10).
Scorching heat & refreshing rains
In my last newsletter, I had told you that the rains started. Well, unfortunately that was a one time event. The heat continued and it was incredibly hot. Especially after returning from beautifully mild weather in Kenya. Because of the heat, the government even closed down the schools for 2 weeks. Pretty much every conversation started with the words “Shemish sukun” (arabic) or “Onok holong” (Lopit) for “The sun is hot”. You know it is hot when the locals talk about it.
After weeks and weeks of prayer, God finally provided some good consistent rains for the people. Everyone is excited and the village turns into a ghost town during the day. People leave early in the morning to go to their fields and return just before dark. Fields are a very beautiful thing in Lopit. Depending on the size of the field, between 15 and 100 people come together and finish the work in one day. Men, women and even children work together. Everyone has their responsibilities and roles. And people all share a meal together, usually some sort of meat. It was amazing to witness that and I hope to go to a few more fields in the next weeks.
He is risen!
He is risen indeed! Easter: you have the choice to either believe what happened 2000 years ago or call it a nice story. But if you believe the words of the Bible, the many eye witness reports and the historic texts written by non-believers, then Easter is the most important event in human history. That day, God made peace between humans and Himself by sacrificing His only Son Jesus, the Christ, the Savior. It was amazing to celebrate together in our local churches and some believers seem especially touched by what Jesus has done for us. Pray with us that the message of Easter, the gospel, the Good News and (as I would say with many others) the only hope for humanity would touch the hearts of many more Lopit. May God transform these communities and may they find the one true God!
Tragedy ...
It was a night like any other. Just as I wanted to go to bed, I head a gunshot. Nothing unusual really, because gunshots are common for celebrations and mourning. But somehow it felt different that night. And it was ... The next morning, I heard the sad news. A man had shot his sister at the dinner table, because she had teased him a little. She was only in her 20s and leaves behind two beautiful little girls. It might have been the hardest funeral I’ve ever been to. To see the little girls and knowing that they just lost their beloved mother ... May you pray for this family, especially for the two little girls. Pray that God’s comfort would be so evident and real, that they would be surrounded and loved by many friends and that they would get to know our only Hope, our Fortress and our Savior Jesus Christ!
What’s next?
As I mentioned in my last update, my main focus is now on media. I’m busy planning and filming for two videos, which also allows me to travel a lot. Next week I will be in Torit (town) for a few days and in May, I get to go to Laarim for a week, the other people group we are working among. We are also hoping to have our local church leaders write down a few selected bible stories in Lopit and get them recorded. I will be helping with that as well. But really, time is running and in just another 9 weeks, I will have to say goodbye to South Sudan and Africa for at least a couple of years.
I’m so blessed by all your guys’ support, prayers and encouragements. God bless you guys,
