Parents the world over are concerned about meeting the needs of their children for love, shelter, food, clothing, and education. Whether in a church school in western North Carolina or under a tree in a refugee camp in western Ethiopia, preschools are helping to meet some of these basic needs.
Read MoreJohn Jock Gatwech, Education Coordinator for the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan (PCOSS), is assigned to the refugee camps in Ethiopia. John Jock recently wrote: “Today, the trauma healing group training is kicking off at Tierkidi camp in Palang parish.” This is one of the refugee camps in western Ethiopia, made up primarily of South Sudanese refugees that have escaped the civil war in their own country at great personal loss.
The training begins with a crucial question, pertinent to us all. “When we are suffering, what do we need to remember about God’s character?”
Read MoreDear 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.
Read MoreDear friends,
Praise God!
Our order of 5,000 Bibles in the Nuer language which were printed in South Korea and delivered to Gambella, Ethiopia has now been distributed to South Sudanese refugees throughout the region. You may recall that an appeal was made in 2019 and 2020 to raise funds for this project as a priority of the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan, an Outreach Foundation Partner. Despite the challenges of the Coronavirus pandemic, $35,000 was raised from faithful supporters on 3 continents to procure and ship the 5,000 Bibles in the Nuer Language for distribution among the 400,000+ refugees in camps in Ethiopia. And the Bible Society of Ethiopia gave a gift of an additional 600 Bibles. There were delays in the shipping process and travel that heightened the anticipation and excitement around the delivery. During my visit in June, I had the joy of celebrating the delivery in Presbyterian congregations in three refugee camps. The Christians were so thankful to all who gave to this project. This Nuer Bible appeal, together with an earlier distribution of 7,500 Nuer Bibles in 2017, is a blessing to so many. They are eager to receive more Bibles for new believers and The Outreach Foundation will maintain the account for contributions. The cost of one Bible (for orders of 5,000 or more), and distribution is approximately $7.50.
Read MoreDear friends,
It is September, and I have been back from my trip to Kenya/Ethiopia/South Sudan since the middle of July! In that time, we have welcomed two new grandchildren and navigated through six family members getting the Coronavirus. Nancy was with them, to help out, and experienced a breakthrough COVID infection herself. She stayed in Illinois under quarantine. All are now out of quarantine, recovering and we are so thankful for God’s mercy. NOW, I am able to tell you about the trip, which you made possible through your prayers and support!
As you know, we were all concerned about the risks of travel this summer, but the Lord confirmed the “rightness” of the trip and the timing, over and over again. Yes, it was tricky and stressful, trying to time COVID tests (and their results) to meet various border crossing requirements. But, even so, I was able to navigate through (sometimes at the 11th hour, or through the grace of an airport manager) and keep to the closely timed schedule. Truly amazing!
Read MoreDear friends and supporters,
One of the great things about reading Scripture is that you may have read a passage many times before, but in reading it again, there is a word or a phrase or a thought that takes on new meaning. Just this week, I was reading Zephaniah 3:17, “The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”
For some reason, these words jumped off the page at me. The knowledge that He is present with us, He is “mighty to save,” that he delights and quiets and rejoices over us, is really overwhelming. Unconditional love. No strings attached. How can our response be anything but obedience and love for Him by loving others? These thoughts made me so appreciative of The Outreach Foundation, a vehicle for that obedience and love for others, and for you, our friends and supporters. Thank you for letting me be a part of this good and godly work with you.
Our partners in Africa continue to be faithful in their efforts to feed, clothe and disciple their congregants, and others in their spheres of influence, even with the challenges of pandemic restrictions.
Read MoreDear friends and supporters,
John Jock Gatwech is the coordinator for education in the South Sudanese refugee camps in western Ethiopia. Using public transport and the bicycle provided by Outreach, he supervises 20 preschools in the six camps in the Gambella region. Four of the camps are within about 30 miles of Gambella Town. The other two are about 70 miles in the opposite direction! During his monthly visits, he supervises teachers, encourages students, and assists the trauma healing groups (established and supported by The Outreach Foundation since 2017). John has also helped establish 43 centers for adult learning in the camps – teaching basic literacy and the Bible.
Read MoreIn October I had the privilege of delivering the World Communion Sunday message at my ‘home church’ North Avenue Presbyterian Church in Atlanta. It provided a great opportunity to share about Outreach’s ministry with refugees from South Sudan. I also joined Nancy Fox, Juan Sarmiento and Jeff Ritchie at the Connecting Mission Leaders Conference in Minneapolis. The conference was hosted by The Outreach Foundation and Frontier Fellowship and was an occasion for networking with mission leaders and sister organizations. I traveled to Kenya and Ethiopia during November. It was exciting to collect the initial printing of 200 trauma healing books printed in the Nuer language. I carried 50 with me to Gambella, Ethiopia, to distribute among those trained and actively involved in trauma healing
Read MoreDear friends,
Elizabeth and Hawida are two of my heroes, whose lives have deeply inspired mine this past year and whose stories it is my privilege to share. Elizabeth fled the ravages of the civil war in South Sudan with 30+ children in her care and managed to bring them to safety across the border in Kenya. She is currently raising 10 of the children and has shared the care of the others with a group of foster widows. Her Presbyterian congregation has stepped up to help the widows with moral support and encouragement and by sharing their food rations. Sewing machines and training to help sustain the widows’ foster-care program have been provided by generous donors through The Outreach Foundation.
And what a privilege it was to meet Hawida during a November visit, a 20-year old young woman who fled fighting in the Nuba Mountains and walked for many days before reaching safety in Kakuma camp in northern Kenya. She was raised in the Muslim faith and is not of the predominant Nuer tribe. She was lonely and hopeless and isolated. She longed for hope and a sense of belonging. Last June she was chosen to take part in an Outreach Foundation facilitated trauma healing training and found faith, hope and a sense of belonging in the Christian “tribe” that gathered around her. She is redeemed, and God has a future and a hope for her!
Read MoreImagine going into a grocery store and not knowing how to read. Think of the extra time it would take to navigate the aisles looking for what you need. Or imagine attending worship and being unable to read the Bible or the hymnbook or the words on a screen. Imagine not being able to text! More than 75% of the 2.3 million refugees from South Sudan are women and children. Most have never been to school.
Now imagine fleeing from your home, fleeing for your life, responsible for your children and maybe several others with no parents. Imagine walking for days and weeks until finally reaching a border crossing into “safety.” There you are handed forms to fill out for registering as an asylum seeker or refugee and for food vouchers. What does it all mean? Being unable to read is embarrassing, frustrating and isolating, and it makes you vulnerable!
Read MoreGreetings in Christ Jesus, peace to you all. In reflecting over this past year with The Outreach Foundation, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the privilege of working with such wonderful, committed colleagues and international church partners. It has been a year of challenges and victories, healing and encouragement. All praise is due to our wonderful Heavenly Father, from Whom all good things come.
I recently reflected on PEACE. What does it mean in the context where I serve? In and around South Sudan there is violence and conflict. Where can one find peace?
In John’s gospel when comforting his disciples (14:27), Jesus says, “... my peace I give you… Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” And again, following his resurrection when Jesus appears to his disciples, he comforts them saying, “Peace be with you!” All refugees have been traumatized, and their hearts have been wounded by their experiences. In order that Peace can be restored in their souls, the heart wounds must be healed, and forgiveness given and accepted.
Read MoreDear friends,
Greetings in the name of our wonderful savior, Jesus Christ!
In June I was back in Gambella, western Ethiopia, helping to facilitate two trainings in trauma healing with South Sudanese refugees. One of the pleasures of my work is being able to return to places I have been, to renew friendships and to encourage and share life with those living in the camps. I enjoy being in Gambella, seeing changes there and meeting many inspiring people. In the first training we used the newly developed audio trauma healing lessons that had been recorded in the Nuer language by a Sudanese American congregation in Tennessee. Over 80% of the more than 400,000 refugees are women and children. And many of them are unable to read the printed trauma healing material. Now they can listen to the lessons, share their own stories, and discuss with the trained facilitators in small groups.
Read MoreGreetings from the New Wilmington Missions Conference in Pennsylvania
The theme of the conference this year is, “Love your neighbor.” It has been a busy three days with inspiring presentations on the mission work with refugees and neighbors in many countries. I have participated in the South Sudan mission network meeting, The Outreach Foundation display at the mission fair, and daily teaching of high school groups. It has been a privilege to be here and meet and make friends.
Read MoreDear friends,
2017 has been a year full of new experiences, blessings and lessons learned. I am thankful that during the challenging times, both personally and for those around me, God has been calling us to trust in him. I am reminded by Isaiah 58:11: “The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”
The newest country in the world, South Sudan, is at the top of the Most Fragile States list. More than two million South Sudanese are living as refugees. They are part of my concern and my ministry as Africa Mission Specialist with The Outreach Foundation.
During my visit with South Sudanese refugees in June, church leaders stated that healing trauma wounds and memories was a priority for all refugees, adults and children. We then began planning to conduct a training of local facilitators to work with children from each of the six camps for South Sudanese refugees in the Gambella region of Ethiopia.
Read MoreDear friends,
It is a joy to write you in my new role as an Outreach Foundation mission staff member. As you might know, Outreach’s part in Kingdom work has involved ministry with vulnerable children and families. After decades of Public Health work in Africa with HIV, AIDS, and Ebola affected groups, I have developed a passion for trauma healing. With the assistance of The Outreach Foundation, I have been trained as a Children’s Trauma Healing Master Facilitator and will now help prepare African partners to work with traumatized children. As part of an Outreach team, I recently visited with South Sudanese refugees from four camps in western Ethiopia. The number of refugees was astounding; their stories were shocking. They had ongoing traumatic stress. Many of the refugees were members of the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan. The UN reported recently that more than 10,000 unaccompanied minors were among the 380,000 South Sudanese refugees and asylum seekers in the camps in western Ethiopia. Thousands more are fleeing to neighboring countries each month from an ongoing civil war and famine. Based on the current trajectory of displacement, conflict and man-made famine, roughly half of South Sudan’s population will be at risk of starvation or will have fled the country by the end of 2017 – that is more than three million human beings severely traumatized!
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