The End Goal

We have been asked a lot lately what we will be doing in South Sudan. Our responses are practically on autopilot at this point.

"I will be training teachers, Will is going to be doing community development through agriculture and possibly teaching at the local seminary." 

That's the truth. That is what we will be doing on a regular basis. However, this is the vehicle, not the final destination. 

The end goal of why we are going is to build relationships with people in Mundri so that, through the unending love of Christ, lives can be changed and hearts can be mended. 

Yes, we are grateful that we have skills that God has equipped us with to be able to share with the people in Mundri, but God is the one who will do anything of lasting value. We will teach, do agriculture, etc. and we will do these things to the best of our ability and work very hard at those things. However, if these things are where all of our efforts go, we are missing the point. The point is that God has the power to transform lives. God has the power to bring healing to hearts that have been in the midst of war for well over 20 years. He has the strength to breathe renewed hope and peace into hurting and broken hearts. We go and teach, do agriculture, etc. so that God can use the relationships we form through these activities to further His kingdom. We want the people we will be working with to learn what we are teaching and grow in knowledge and skills, but more than that, we want them to know that God loves them and that they are desired by the King.

One of my students from Nigeria,
Happy, with a Bible that she was
giddy over receiving.

Some of my favorite moments in Nigeria came when we could start to see fruit of the heart change in the people we were working with and when we could see their love for the Lord grow. Yes, I loved hearing my students' English improve and math skills increase, but more than that, it brings me so much more joy to see them praying out loud and worshipping God with song and dance.

Our hope for ministry in South Sudan is that we can use our giftings well and bring change through our skills, but more than that, we hope that the relationships we are able to build through our "jobs" will lead to Christ transforming lives and the South Sudenese people having a greater understanding of His love for them.