Salva Kiir Mayardit: President of South Sudan 2011- present.
John Garang de Mabior: Leader of the Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA) from 1983 until death in 2005.
The Republic South Sudan:
Sudan (Ancient Ethiopia). In the very beginning, according to the Bible, God touched the heart of Africa. The second chapter of Genesis tells us that this land inhabited by Noah’s grandson and originally contained the western boundaries of Eden.
The “Ethiopia” of Bible times extended from Aswan and the Nubian Desert in the north to the region of modern-day Khartoum, Sudan, and eastward into the horn of Africa. Although the name of Cush is commonly associated with what is now modern-day Sudan, sometimes the term “Ethiopia” was used to refer to the entire area south of Egypt.
The Bible indicates that Christianity was initially received in the Land of Cush in the first century, AD. The Book of Acts describes a meeting between the apostle Philip and a royal eunuch who was returning home to Africa after a pilgrimage to the city of Jerusalem. The eunuch was reading a messianic prophecy from the book of Isaiah when Philip explained its meaning—and its fulfillment in the life of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Immediately, the eunuch stopped his chariot and asked to be baptized in a nearby body of water. This eunuch would have been headed to the capital city of the kingdom of Meroe, located on the Nile River just north of the confluence of the Blue and the White Nile, in the heart of present-day Sudan. No doubt this influential man brought the good news of the Messiah back to the courts of Queen Candace and the synagogues of the region. Initially, the message of the Messiah was taken only to Jewish groups, and they were the first Christians.
The Christian Nubian Kingdom lasted for over 800 years before the region finally fell to Islamic conquest in the 1400's. By the 1800's, Islam consolidated its power in Sudan ( ancient Ethiopia) and Egypt under the Ottoman Turks in the footsteps of the caliphates. The Islamic conquest eclipsed Sudan’s church history and accomplished a systematic eradication of Judeo- Christianity from the Nile Valley. At the dawn of the 1900s, England took over both Egypt and Sudan after the defeat of Sudan’s Mahadist Islamic Caliphate Movement and permanent reduction of the power of the Ottoman's Turks. The English presence in the Nile valley led to the restoration of the Christian church which had been lost to antiquity. Today, the church in Sudan is represented by different denominations as a result of the work of European and American missionaries who ministered between 1881 - 1964.
1956- 2005: After the departure of the British, Sudan was embroiled in two brutal wars against itself. The North declared Islamic jihad against the Christians of the South Sudan from 1956 – 1972 and from 1982- 2005. In 1972 Addis Ababa Agreement
Major General Joseph Lagu and the Sudanese president, Jaafar Muhammad an-Numeiry, signed the Addis Ababa Agreement in 1972, bringing to an end the First Sudanese Civil War -- the agreement granted Southern Sudan autonomy. Lagu rejoined the Sudanese army, as did many of his fellow rebel soldiers, with the rank of Major General and served for a further eight years. In civilian life, Joseph Lagu entered politics, and joined the High Executive Council of the Southern Sudanese Autonomous Regional Assembly in 1978. In 1982 he was given the, mostly ceremonial, position of Second Vice President of the Republic of The Sudan.
Date of birth: 21 November 1931 - Present, Momokwe, Madiland, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. The vast majority of families in South Sudan were devastated by the impact of 50 years of civil war. The Islamic government from the north succeeded in their plan to destroy South Sudan’s Christian community. Between 1983 and 2005 over two million were killed and 4.5 million more fled the region for refuge in neighboring countries due to the atrocities being perpetrated against them. The root of the displacement was based on Khartoum’s Islamic quest to Islamize South Sudan and control its natural resources.
Before the Islamic war of persecution, most South Sudanese enjoyed rural, peaceful lives in multigenerational communities. A Judeo-Christian framework for faith and life had been the pattern for many centuries. Marriage, childbearing, and work found their meaning and dignity within this context.
2011- present: By the grace and intervention of God, on July 9, 2011, South Sudan gained its independence from North Sudan! It now is lead by President Salva Kiir Mayardit (2011- present). There are officially 28 states that make up South Sudan.
When the country first gained independence, a lot of money and development was poured into the country by hundreds of international NGOs. Many organizations, like the UN, began to use South Sudan as a type of testing ground for different social engineering agendas that perpetuated the breaking down of the already broken family, church, and government in South Sudan.
In 2013, all the "aid" that was brought into the country went from a boom to a bust in 2013. On December 13, 2013, vice president Riek Machar staged a political coup d'état over being removed from his vice presidency because of corruption charges. Since then, the country has once again been ravaged by civil war and controversy. Over a million South Sudanese a have taken refuge elsewhere until the conflict ends. As of now, the talks of peace have been successful, and as of August 4,2018 a peace agreement was signed between Salva Kirr and Reik Machar, though it remains to be seen how this peace will hold up to the test. God alone knows the outcome of South Sudan as a whole, and it is our job to make sure that the gospel is preached.
As a result of the war, there are now 32 states in South Sudan in contrast to the original ten that were in place at the independence.
Our History:
William Levi was born into a 14 member family in South Sudan. Raised in a Messianic Jewish home, he was tortured for his Christian faith in the hands of Islamic jihadists at the age of 16. Sentenced to death for refusing to deny Christ, he was miraculously delivered from execution and fled the country in 1985 by way of Egypt, Turkey, and France, arriving in the United States in 1988. After earning a degree in manufacturing engineering at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, William paused in the pursuit of the American dream to consider the plight of his people. His father had been martyred in 1987, and the rest of his family had fled into Ugandan exile, where his mother died.
In the midst of mourning and praying, God directed William to the book of Nehemiah as a blueprint to emulate. Nehemiah was a man of vision, and the plight of the persecuted church in Sudan was similar to what Israel had suffered under the Babylonian oppression. "You have seen the distress we are in; Jerusalem lies in destruction, its gates are burned with fire, we are reproached by our enemies. Let us arise and build. So they put their hands to this good work." Nehemiah 2:18
In June of 1993, William relinquished his engineering career to establish Operation Nehemiah Missions as a voice for the voiceless South Sudanese who were suffering at the hands of the Northern Islamic Regime.
Operation Nehemiah partnered with Messianic Congregations and Evangelical Churches all across America to launch relief operations in both the war-ravaged South Sudan and burgeoning refugee camps scattered throughout Northern Uganda, shipping millions of dollars worth of bibles, medicine, food, and other supplies for distribution in the camps. In November 1997, William testified before the Specter- Wolfe Senate Committee on the atrocities in Sudan and participated in U.S. policy changes for implementation of the Sudan Peace Act, raising awareness throughout America through speaking engagements and dozens of articles in newspapers and journals across the country.
Our mission in the Ugandan refugee camps in Uganda 1993-2003: By the year 2000, it was becoming apparent that Operation Nehemiah could not exist solely as a Christian humanitarian organization, only meeting the physical needs of the Sudanese refugees, for “Man does not live on bread alone but on every word which proceeds from the mouth of God” . Matthew 4: 4. From that point on we focused our efforts on the spiritual restoration of the Biblical family and Church in South Sudan, transitioning from relief to development in 2004, one year before the signing of the peace agreement. This vision restructuring led to the establishment of the Nile Beth Israel Messianic Congregation in July of 2000.
January 2004: We moved ONMI Headquarters from Uganda to the South Sudan. The compelling force behind our work is promoting the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which brings people to repentance and eternal salvation. This serves as the criteria for the success of any of our efforts. We believe that the Bible is the only infallible Word of God and accept its teachings as our sole authority in all matters of faith and life.
We are primarily an indigenous mission. 98% of our staff are South Sudanese Christian nationals. Our team has a burning desire to take an active role in the rebuilding of their nation and to establish a “City on a Hill” in the New Sudan. William and his wife Hannah travel to the Field annually with their six homeschooled children to equip and empower the indigenous Christians.
Our ministry headquarters is located in the village of Borongole, in Magwi County, Eastern Equatoria State, in the midst of thousands of former refugees who have returned home. Here we endeavor to implement our mission through indigenous church planting, Pastoral training, medical relief clinics, gospel radio broadcasting, solar powered well drilling, agricultural development, micro business start-up, and polytechnic training.
2004- present: William's eight siblings have all repatriated to South Sudan after 23 years in Ugandan exile. A pioneering exploration in 2004 led us to take up the vision of their late father Ajjugo Levi, once again turning their wilderness home into a radiant Messianic /Christian community. Now after 13 years, the Beth Israel on the Nile Messianic Congregation has become a thriving congregation under the shepherding of Pastor Michael Levi, Pastor Peter Dominic, and several elders.
Bondage to alcohol, polygamy, prostitution, Islam, and witchcraft abounds throughout the community, placing the Church in a spiritually strategic location. Since planting the Beth Israel on the Nile 13 years ago, William's role has been developing the local church leadership, strengthening the families, and raising up godly men for leadership in the homes and the community. His focus has been on guiding the local church leaders in their doctrinal positions, helping them keep out worldly influences from the UN agenda and misguided teachers who promote heresies and creating a sustainable living, health care, and the Nehemiah Gospel radio station.
In April 2013, over 700 believers gathered from all across South Sudan at the Nile Beth Israel Messianic Congregation in Borongole to witness William's ordination as the overseer of the Congregation. Many elderly pastors who ministered faithfully through over 50 years of war and brutal persecution. There was great rejoicing in the providence of God as testimonies of deliverance, preservation, and those in attendance recounted multi-generational faithfulness. The occasion also brought together families who had been separated by the conflict for decades. It was a day of dedicating our families after almost 40 years in captivity.
Although The political conflict has officially ended, the country is now facing a different kind of warfare: A battle for the hearts and minds of the next generation. South Sudan stands on the fault line between the rising Islamic Caliphate and the interior of Africa. She also teeters on the edge of the UN driven new world order, which is systematically destroying the very fabric of Judeo- Christian Civilization: the family and the church. These institutions are our foundation, the fulcrum of everything else we hope to gain. South Sudan's government must now decide either to lead its people in fear of God or to destroy itself from within. It is our fervent prayer that the people of South Sudan will honor God by dedicating their families and nation to Him. Please stand with us as we labor to rebuild the wall, one family, one church, and one village at a time.
Twenty- five years ago, the ministry of Operation Nehemiah was established to both alleviate the plight of Christians sufferings Islamic persecution, and to educate the Body of Yeshua in the USA of the false teachings and tactics of Islam. Today, our mission remains the same, with a sense of urgency as never before. By supporting Operation Nehemiah work in South Sudan, you are playing a critical role in rolling back the encroachment of Islam into the interior of Africa and beyond.
"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."
The video below underscores what is written here: