Visit to Tonj

My last stop in south Sudan was in the village of Tonj. It is a small village about 80 miles south of Darfur and north Sudan. As we flew southwest from Malakal, the land became very green as we flew over the Sudd, which is the world’s largest swamp. As we finally crossed the Sudd, the landscape began to resemble what you would imagine the safari areas of Africa to look like- areas of grasslands with clumps of trees and forest scattered about. Everything was still very green here since it is the rainy season.

We landed on yet another dirt runway. Almost immediately a white Landcruiser drove up. It was driven by our host for the next two nights, a Dinka man named Sebat. He and his wife Suzy, a Brit, operate a well-established ministry in Tonj called In Deed and Truth Ministries. They have an incredible compound that includes a school and a medical clinic that is the only one available to 30,000 people in and around Tonj. We slept in a concrete building- I actually got to sleep in a double bed! These were truly 5-star accommodations as far as south Sudan goes and very comfortable by any standard really. It was a real blessing to get to know Sebat and Suzy and their 3 wonderful children. They have an incredible heart for the Sudanese who live in this area and have done so much already to help them. Sebat also has a school for pastors and as we discussed the possibility of the radio tower, it was clear that it would benefit greatly his efforts to train pastors in the areas around Tonj. The tower will likely be built in some empty land that is a part of his compound once the money is raised and once we have permission from the local officials.

On our second day in Tonj, Sebat drove us to a nearby village called Mapel. This area is home to a tribe called the Jur Cho, and they are renowned in south Sudan for having the most powerful witch doctors. If a Sudanese in another part of the country is having problems that the local witch doctor cannot solve, he will often travel to this area to the witch doctors of the Jur Cho. After 45 minutes of bumping along the dirt road we arrived at a newly-built church built from cinder blocks. Apparently the old church was bombed a few years back, and Samaritan’s Purse helped to build another one. We waited a few minutes for the pastor of the church to arrive and then we sat on plastic chairs under the shade of a large tree and shared with him about the possibility of the radio tower broadcasting to this remote village. He listened with great interest as Peter shared the vision with him. He then shared with us what a blessing it would be to have the Bible broadcast to the Jur people. He compared it to Jesus feeding the 5000, saying that it would allow them to use the minimal resources that they currently have to reach thousands of additional Jur people. It was an incredible time, and I was impressed with this pastor’s love for his people and with his intense desire to see them embrace the Gospel.

As we drove back to Tonj, I thought about how God used this meeting as additional confirmation for us to place a radio tower in the village of Tonj. I was really overcome with emotion as I thought about the journey that God has taken me on my life to get me to that tiny village in south Sudan. I felt an amazing sense of purpose as I considered how I could be part of bringing the Gospel to over a half a million people in and around Tonj, many of whom have never heard the message of the Gospel before. I didn’t sleep much that night- my stomach was giving me all kinds of trouble, but I also felt a huge burden to pray and to give God glory for His hand in my life and for bringing me to that moment where my role and my purpose in the expansion of His kingdom to all the tribes and nations crystallized right before my eyes.