Adam’s Story
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We returned on the 6th from Sudan and I think I’m back on a normal sleep schedule. Please let me start off by saying first, “THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR PRAYER SUPPORT”!! I really must know a lot of prayer warriors because God was evident and was working throughout the week we were there and He has especially been moving in my life!
At quick glance, we shared the gospel with approximately 1,600 people (not including children at primary schools). We recorded approx. 160 profession of faith (again not including school children). We also helped establish 4 new cell group churches and helped strengthen 5 existing cell group churches.
I’m not sure if what I experienced would be considered atypical for a missions trip, but it was definitely life changing. I’ll try to give a brief summary of each day. Let me first start off by saying that I recently revealed to many of you that I had wrestled with alcohol addiction in my recent past. To many of you, that was something completely unknown. Little did I know how much God was going to use that experience on this trip!!
June 26th, 27th, 28th
-Left the states from DC to London, to Nairobi, to Entebbe. We got to the “hotel” in Entebbe (Uganda) at 2:30 am. I was up by 4:30am. There was such a delay because about half of the checked luggage didn’t make it to Entebbe. Before we left for the hotel though it was established the luggage had made it to Nairobi, so luggage would be about a day behind us.
June 29th - Monday
The group of about 30 were split up into teams of three. We were shuttled all over the Kajo Keji surrounding area to meet with various existing churches and upstarts. I headed to Kanum, a small, but spread out village which had recently acquired a new pastor, or rather a pastor-to-be in Samuel. We spent the day walking from Tukol to tukol (homes) speaking with the natives through our translator, Steve (don’t let the name fool you, he’s 100% local). We witnessed to around 20 people that day. We saw two men, Ureve and Moses come to know Jesus Christ as their lord and saviour through a profession of faith. Moses would come to be an integral part of the ministry that week as he was the local person of peace who seemed to know EVERYONE! I believe there were 5 more people who expressed a profession of faith in Christ that day. Much of our conversations were with people who might have heard the message of Christ at one point or another, but somehow there had been confusion as to what exactly is the saving grace that is given to us through Christ Jesus. That is, denomination or rituals often had convoluted the true message of a personal relationship with Christ. Clarifying this was key in our ministry.
-By this day, I had also talked with John Elmore who is working on building up a recovery program, based at the First Baptist Church of Kajo Keji. I found out there were daily meetings being held at 4pm and was invited.
(It should be noted that by the end of Monday, all the missing luggage had been delivered to camp.....except for mine. I would later find out that due to logistics involved, it just wasn’t practical to get my bag up from Entebbe to where we were at. So I spent the week without luggage, cycllng out two outfits. Although, this seemed a bit of a concern at first, I was quickly reminded of Matthew chapter 6:25-34 where teaches about worry. The strange thing was that this passage was laid heavy on my heart before we ever left on our trip. Quickly, any concerns over a lack of luggage were alleviated with the reminder that He provides us all we need....and sometimes more!!)
June 30th - Tuesday (happy anniversary mom and dad!)
My group and I returned to Kanum, but without Steve, our original translator. Instead we had Samuel and Moses for our translators. Our driver, Abraham, was also a pastor out of Moyo, Uganda. He would be heading up a discipleship meeting today with many of the people we had met with from the previous day. We continued to reach new people today. We met with many people who were either drunk or involved in a brewing operation as a means of livelihood. We were under attack spiritually by means of confusion caused by disruptions through our translators, who did not grasp everything we were saying and trying to communicate. Regardless we saw 4 more people make a profession of faith in Christ that day.
-I was able to catch the recovery group meeting in late afternoon today. Great experience and introduction into the powerful work which God is doing through so many broken people who have used alcohol as their escape or coping with so many devastating issues, from murder, genocide, poverty, sickness, etc. To see some of these people delivered from complete addiction one day (virtually passed out drunk when they were met) to be able to be up working and sober for more than one day, given their conditions is a miracle in itself.
July 1st - Wednesday
Today is when things become somewhat atypical for me and my experience on this trip verses the rest of the group. Today is when I stopped going out with my group back to the village we started at. In general, teams went to the same areas all week long, to evangelize, to disciple and teach, and to lead worship services. Today, I went out with John Elmore and Rob Sherman (a non-profit professional counselor who is working with E3 across Africa). Rob just happened to be close enough to come into Kajo Keji for the week to sit in on the development of the recovery program...admist offering other valuable tidbits of insight! John, Rob, and I went out into the town of Woo Do. This is probably the closest thing to a city which we can relate too. Streets are densely populated, vendors of various merchandise and homes are scattered throughout. I do have pictures, but that is another email!!
-What I can tell you is that God started to show me the need for me to be able to testify about my experiences with addiction on this day. After I stumbled through some of my testimony, I realized that I was sharing more intimate details of my life with total strangers, most of whom were drunk as as skunk, than I have with people who I’ve known for years. The first two men we witnessed to were Jackson and Balerie. We effectively testified to God’s deliverance from alcohol for us, his comfort, his love, and that we were starting a meeting of people similar to us who had quit drinking through mutual support and deliverance through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Jackson followed us around the rest of the day and attended the meeting, professing a desire to take the first step and admit he couldn’t control his drinking and his life had become unmanageable. Balerie was finally able to make it to the group by Friday. We witnessed to others this day, but Jackson and Balerie were the ones who eventually made it to our recovery meetings.
July 2nd - Thursday
Another day out in the town of Woo Do and witnessing to the local drunks. Before the afternoon meeting, Rob held a second class on recovery and addiction - helping the recently stopped addicts understand their addiction a bit more. His class served to affirm the sentiments of a fully surrendered life to Christ, which echo so loudly in my life. After the class, I approached Rob and told him that I wanted to learn how to teach a class like that. What I didn’t realize was that a shift had been made within me and it was here, this day I clearly saw a calling to help fellow addicts and others in recovery. This day, the following passage. I Corinthians 1:26-31 would not let me go. I read this passage over and over and over again. I read it during our afternoon meeting and many times since then. It was in this passage I felt the calling to some kind of action or career change towards addiction/recovery. In this passage, I saw how God could use me, my past, and my known strengths and perceived weaknesses to directly glorify him, daily. I am still sorting out possible options, but I feel I’m being led to pursue school in this field and possibly into a stronger role with e3, helping establish recovery groups across the areas where e3 is already presently involved.
July 3rd - Friday
This was a day of celebration as the local bible school, graduated 17 men and sent them out into the world like sheep among the wolves (to paraphrase one of my favorite pastors who spoke that day). It really is testament to the work that E3 is doing long term in Sudan. When there was no such thing as a bible school when they first began, but now they have graduates with 2 years under their belt, a primary school for boys and girls, a church, a vocational school, and their even working on an internet cafe as part of their macro-economic projects which stimulate the local economy by making small business loans to budding entrepreneurs. (It should be noted that the internet is not up and running quite yet, which is to account for the minimal email updates which did manage to get out some way during the week. Come on! It’s the middle of Africa! There’s not a street light for miles! No city electricity, public water systems, etc.! But, they will get it up and running, in that I have no doubt)
-We still had our recovery meeting around 4. This was the first time I can remember feeling a bit discouraged. I’m not sure what exactly it was, but it felt like a black cloud over my head when we first started that meeting. One of the great things about the Sudanese people is that they express a common joy, that is just not seen here in the states. We sang two worship songs and by the end of them, my heart was smiling and that cloud had been lifted. That meeting had a total of 6 new people who professed a desire to stop drinking and took the first step in recovery! Joyous! Wonderful! Awesome!! The recovery group has grown to a steady 25 attendees each day already! Remember, John started this group with 2 people just a couple weeks ago. God is working!!
July 4th - Saturday through July 6th - this started our trip back home. We drove back to Moyo, chartered a flight to Entebbe, and stayed in the “old hotel” again. The hotel took a different light the second time around. Although a far cry from our american standards, the second time around, the cold showers didn’t seem quite so cold and the porcelain toilets were a true luxury by this point in the week. Ask anyone who spent a week at our home base in Kajo Keji and they’ll tell you that you take things like hot water and porcelain toilets a little less for granted.
July 6th - after a very long couple of days, I get on my last flight home. From DC to KC. I throw on my headphones and take a 30 minute nap after taking off. Eventually, I rouse and take out my bible. I’m lead to the book of Ecclesiastes. Before I get to start reading though, I find myself in a conversation with the woman sitting next to me, Yena. I briefly share my testimony and how the Lord was working in Sudan this past week. Yena shares with me a history of drug and alchohol addiction. A life of pain and suffering, quieted by the tranquility of chemicals. She continues to share with me a story that seems so impossible to believe, but I have first hand experience of her struggles...and redemption. Yena was delivered from her addicitions - wholly by the saving power of prayer of others in a church out east. After that addiction and symptoms were taken from her, eventually those doubts and misunderstanding with which we struggle, were removed by the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yena, is a living testament to the power of the blood of Christ. She is an amazing woman, walking by faith. Sharing the good news across the world in areas where she might not always be welcomed, but she is being used. We had the opportunity to celebrate in the joy of our saviour and the peace which he can only provide. I have no doubt that Yena and I’s paths were intended to cross that day. She served to remind me that God had been pointing at addiction and recovery all week and had been tugging on my heart to embrace my own experiences in my life as a means to glorify Him! The lord also used her to remind me of a life which is led by faith. To act and obey at the slightest prompting from our Lord, that is the life I want to lead. He has spent the last 12 years of my life, showing me time and time again His provisions, His mercy, His faithfulness, His love, His grace, and that His plans are ALWAYS better than my own.
I would be remiss to overlook the close friendships I formed with Sarah and Brooke over the last week. God’s love and profound insight brought us all together for some apparent reasons and many more which I’m sure have yet to be revealed. I love you both and He is working in all of our lives. Thank you for the many conversations and insights. My life is better having met you.
Well, if you’ve made it this far into this letter, congratulations! This is much longer than originally intended, so I hope if you didn’t have the time to read it all the way through, you’re able to find the time to eventually share in the joy of last week. For those of you who might be interested, my next project will be to give a detailed account of my testimony. I’m still discovering that voice to share my story. It’s challenging to share around those who might not be able to directly relate or might be quick to judge. I was fortunate enough to learn this week that although people may judge, there very well could be people who can relate in some way and it gives me the opportunity to glorify God and share the story of Jesus and his saving grace. Titus 3:3-7
Please continue to pray for the Sudanese people and the long term implementation of the churches, pastors, schools, and business which are living testimonies to the amazing power and grace of our Holy God!
For me, please continue prayer support in regards to which direction God would have me go relative to career. I feel like I’m being called to a ministry which involves addiction/recovery, but that might mean more direct and longer missions or it might mean school to pursue a counseling degree. Just pray for discernment to hear his voice and the faith to act on it. If I know myself, satan will try to use money or lack of a higher paying salary as a deterrent to pursue such a change. Pray that any thought about income will not be a factor in making this decision to serve God. Pray for God’s will to be done in my life (all of our lives, really) but that I continue to surrender all of myself, every day, in an effort to walk within His kingdom here on earth.
I love you all and can’t wait to get the pictures up and posted somewhere. I’ll let you know and thanks again for all of the prayer support and the financial support! The trip was made possible by you.
Next time I’ll write more, I was just crunched for time tonight!
Adam
PS - anyone familiar with the book of Ecclesiastes? Chapters 2 through 7 talk about meaning in work and life. Strange that’s the place I was lead to in my bible on Monday. Coincidence? I think not!
Posted by on 07/15 at 07:20 AM