Rebuilding Hope in South Sudan - September 2021 Update
Dear friends,
Many members of the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan (PCoSS), a partner of The Outreach Foundation, remain displaced as a result of the civil conflict which erupted in their homeland in 2013. Some are in camps for displaced people within the country, but many are in refugee camps in Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, and Uganda. You can imagine the despair and feelings of hopelessness many have experienced. On the premise that we “boast in the hope of the glory of God through faith in Jesus Christ” (Romans 5), The Outreach Foundation has tried to help rebuild hope among our brothers and sisters in Ethiopia, Kenya, and South Sudan. They asked us to provide assistance in four priority areas: preschool education, trauma healing training, providing Bibles in the Nuer language, and scholarships for training leaders. The Presbyterian church has inspirationally and exponentially grown in the camps – in numbers and in faith, hope, and love for their neighbors. Congregations have become critical safety nets and “front-line responders” to hunger and ill health for many refugees. Providing scripture-based trauma healing training has been effective in relieving memories of the past and rebuilding hope for the future.
Until 2020, members of the American-Sudanese diaspora traveled with The Outreach Foundation each year to visit preschools and Presbyterian congregations and participate in trauma healing training. Despite COVID, we returned this year and had the privilege of revisiting the refugee camps in Gambella, Ethiopia in June and July. We were welcomed and serenaded by scores of preschool children, happily learning. We visited trauma healing groups and were so encouraged by the progress toward forgiveness and healing being made in those many, ongoing small groups.
We also traveled up the Sobat river, into South Sudan, to visit the Nasir mission station. Before the 2013 conflict, The Outreach Foundation was helping to build a large church in Nasir. Unfortunately, construction stopped because of the war. Under a recent cease-fire agreement, there is interest in completing the construction and rebuilding hope for many Christians in that area. PCoSS partner John Jock Gatwech wrote, “Praise the Lord for His great mercy and Grace. Today on the 2nd of July 2021, we visited the Nasir church building. The walls of the new church building are stable and safe. May God continue to bring peace to South Sudanese and the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan, so that the church may return to her position of love and unity and together we can rebuild hope and trust. Let us pray to God to heal our hearts and minds to reconcile with one another and forgive one another and rebuild our lives and homeland. May God continue to bless our beloved partners from The Outreach Foundation and the South Sudanese Presbyterian diaspora believers. Stay blessed.”
Throughout our travels, we had the deep joy of having hundreds of Nuer Bibles (donated by you) available to distribute to our fellow Christians, eager for access to God’s Word in their own language.
“Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise. God reigns over the nations … he is greatly exalted.” Psalm 47: 6-9
Please continue to pray for peace in South Sudan, and the faith and resilience of the people.
Blessings,
Frank Dimmock, Africa Partnership Liaison
Read more about Rebuilding Hope in South Sudan HERE.
THE NEED
The Outreach Foundation is seeking gifts up to $10,000 to address needs requested by the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan including Bibles in the Nuer language, hymnals, education, trauma healing, leadership development, Nasir church construction, and emergency relief. You may make a gift HERE or by sending a check to our office.