A quarter of a Century in Mission – The fruits

Dear Co-laborers in the Great Commission,

Shalom! I hope this e-mail find you well in the Lord. I want to thank you specially for your continuous prayers and financial support for Operation Nehemiah Missions. In this short letter, I just want to walk you through the steps and events that the Lord has taken us through in the past three years. It is unbelievable to realize we are just seven months into 2018.

The Steady hand of the Living God

A lot has been happening this year, in the years 2017 and 2016. Beginning in January 2018, we have witnessed the Lord’s relentless hand of provision through your prayers, financial support, and encouragement to keep us pressing ahead with the Operation Nehemiah Missions’ vision to rebuild the South Sudanese family and the church from the bottom up.

Your shared initiative has expanded the Great Commission in the South Sudan

Think of what the Lord has done for his children in South Sudan through your benevolent support and prayers! What happened to South Sudan in 2011 was nothing short of the providential hand of God, an independent country, free from Islamic grip and control after 100 years of oppression.

A nation went a drift but, yet God is merciful

Yet in less than one year of her independence, South Sudan, as a sovereign nation slipped back into godlessness and moral decay. The most recent episode of South Sudan’s self-inflicted civil war has been going on since 2013. It has brought nothing but shame to her people because we have sinned against God.

Glimpses of Hope for ending the conflict in South Sudan

However, there is now some glimpse of hope about the conflict coming to an end as the leaders who have been perpetuating these atrocities against their own people are coming to their senses to stop this senseless war. I therefore ask for your prayers as the President of South Sudan, Mr. Salva Kiir and all those factional leaders who have been inflicting war on each other are about to sign a permanent peace agreement this Thursday in Khartoum to end the war.

We are looking forward to this day to see the end of the war in South Sudan. When the people finally return from exile for the fourth or the fifth time to rebuild their lives, they will find us ready, always preaching the word of God and giving an account for the reason why Operation Nehemiah Mission exists in South Sudan.

Broken free from Islamic oppression but now they need to break free from Satanic oppression

South Sudan celebrated its 7 years independence on July 9, 2018, and it is the only nation in the 21st century that the Lord had set free from the Islamic Grip of Persecution inflicted by the Khartoum Islamic regime. Now what the South Sudanese need is the freedom only found in Yeshua the Messiah who has the power to set them free from the grip of satanic bondage.

What happened to the people of South Sudan in the past 100 years reminds me of the testimony of Job. Job’s story brings comfort to those who are suffering, because it showcases God’s faithfulness and His ability to glorify Himself through times of testing. We are challenged to say along with Job, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him” (Job 13:15). Together with you, we are rebuilding and discipling a person, a family, and a nation for the glory of God during brutal persecution.

Five years of turmoil in South Sudan and yet it was a test for us to pass and we did.

The past 5 years from 2013 – 2018 have been the most challenging years for my family, Operation Nehemiah Missions, and our field staff in managing and maintaining the ministry vision through an extremely difficult and yet rewarding experience in the Lord. Overall speaking, all the success of Operation Nehemiah Mission’s activities in the South Sudan were brought to fruition in the past 14 years through adversity.

What the enemy meant for our demise, God turns it for our blessing

By the grace of God, we persevere in obedience to the word of God. As the Apostle James admonishes us to “Regard it all as joy, my brothers, when you face various kinds of temptations; for you know that the testing of your trust produces perseverance. But let perseverance do its complete work; so that you may be complete and whole, lacking in nothing. Now if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all generously and without reproach; and it will be given to him. But let him ask in trust, doubting nothing; for the doubter is like a wave in the sea being tossed and driven by the wind. James 1: 2- 6

The Battle is the Lord’s

Moses commanded Israel in Exodus 14:14 to remember and obey God; “Adonai will do battle for you. Just calm yourselves down and be still!” God did a battle for us and continues to do so. Dealing with a people and a country engulfed in a crisis of colossal magnitude and breakdown, the Lord God Almighty, with your tenacious support, kept us keen on the mission, reminding us to stay faithful and steadfast, in implementing the vision he has entrusted to us in 1993; to rebuild and restore the Biblical family and the church in South Sudan from the ashes of Islamic persecution.

It is important to know God’s will. Certainly, this was quite a walk of faith for us. Jesus said that His true followers are those who know and do the Father’s will; “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:35). In the parable of the two sons, Jesus rebukes the chief priests and elders for failing to do the will of the Father; specifically, they “did not repent and believe” (Matthew 21:32). At its most basic interpretation, the will of God is to repent of our sin and trust in Christ. If we have not taken that first step, then we have not yet accepted God’s will. Certainly, we have been refined through Operation Nehemiah Missions over the years. Central to that is repentance and obedience to His will.

A quarter of a Century in the Mission, what are the The fruits?

Now, 25 years have passed, we have seen what the Lord has done and continues to do! Together with your help, the lives of South Sudanese have been truly transformed for the Lord. Time would fail me if I were to mention all the blessings and the changes God has brought in the lives of South Sudanese.

Church planting: I’m very thankful and grateful to the Lord to report to you the impact of the family centered gospel discipleship initiative which we have been conducting since 2004 to serve as a base for raising up godly leaders in the church to plant new churches in the steps of the first century church as outlined in Titus 1, 1 Timothy 3, 1 Peter 5, Acts 1:8, John 21: 15-17. In just 12 years, this effort has produced 9 pastors.

Biblical Family Restoration: Tens and hundreds of godly families have been established, tens of thousands of souls have been saved and discipled in Yeshua.

NTC 97.3 FM:

The Nehemiah Trumpet Call 97.3 FM has been instrumental to bringing the Gospel live over the airwaves of South Sudan and northern Uganda. This Gospel radio has been indispensable in bringing dependable news to the community. Church leaders, government officials, and medical facilities depend on it.

Food: Meeting the physical needs of the people was also a challenge. Food security is one of the major problem we must address as 90 % of food is imported from Uganda. Depending on UN ready made food has created the mind set of relief dependence among the people. We encourage people to work with their own hand and make use of the land God has given them in their own country.

Water:

Clean water supply for the community is another challenge as there is no permanent sources of clean water for people to drink, so in the past 7 years were drilled several deep wells for people to drink, supplying the entire village with clean water.

Medical care:

Seeing the health need of people suffering from tropical diseases, we established Nehemiah Field Clinic to provide medical care and services to people living in the remote villages where the nearest medical facility is at least 40 miles away.

Fleeing the region into exile for the fourth time

In 2016, we witnessed the exodus of millions of South Sudan deserting the country, running for their lives into exile. The situation was unfolding and worsening so fast; seeing entire villages evacuated, my family, our missionaries and ground staff were on our knees praying to God for intervention. We had no choice but stay put. The church can’t run. We must be there on the ground to keep maintaining our presence to minister to the remnants who have not deserted the country.

After having done all, here we stand, we are not going down to you, so that the work stops!

While this was going on, we had to deal with conflicting and competing interests which the enemy was trying to use to throw us into panic and confusion so that the work would stop. There were the Sanballats, Geshems, and Tobiahs among us. They were urging us to come down to them, playing all kinds of tricks so that we were distracted. But Like Nehemiah, we said, we are not coming down. “Why should we go down to you so that the work stops?” Nehemiah 6.

The Trial – that build character and a hope that does not disappoint

Like in the days of Apostle Paul, we had pressure from within and from without. The goal of this trial was meant for us to give up Operation Nehemiah Missions in South Sudan and call it over. We were hard pressed from all sides. Like Paul, we encountered peril everywhere; “In journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fasting often, in cold and nakedness –” 2 Corinthians 11; 23-28. My family and I and some of our field staff went through these trials and yet the Lord protected and delivered us from all of them.

Unless the Lord builds the House, they that labor, labor in vain

In the past three years, the crisis in the South Sudan took a toll on the entire community in the region where Operation Nehemiah is operating as people deserted their precious homes, fields, country, and headed off into exile. Pageri county went from such a thriving community reestablished in from 2007-2016 as they returned from exile to rebuild their country, to a ghost region. Looters, thugs, natural disasters, fire and the likes gripped the region.

House on the rock can not be destroyed even but the storm.

Yet on the other hand, this this was nothing short of a trial and a test for us who have put our faith in Him like Job. It was so easy to get bitter, angry and discourage when you see evil at work and it seems he is succeeding in his schemes. We had not recourse. There is no plan B for us. We had to pass the test by completely surrendering and persevering through trials. God’s hand is upon my family, staff, the remnants and mission properties. It was God alone who preserved us from these calamities. Today, by the grace of God, everything that the Lord entrusted to Operation Nehemiah Missions and to our care remained intact. In fact, Operation Nehemiah Missions has grown and expanded its foundation in reaching out to the remnants who are left in the country more than when the people had not fled into exile.

All in all, I want to thank you all for your perseverance in standing with us and our ministry during repeated mayhem. Now, my family and I are preparing to go return to South Sudan from September 9th to October 6th. Our main goal of returning to South Sudan is to manage and oversee the ongoing work on the ground. We have a new church plant to dedicate in Pageri. We also want to conduct pastoral training workshops, family discipleship, agricultural development, water improvement, and medical care.

We need your help to make this mission trip successful: Overall Budget - $45,000 Thank you so much.

The Goal : July - September 10.