Sudan Mission Trip Report

Below is a report from the Creggar family who visited Southern Sudan at the end of December. Please continue to pray for the people of Sudan and the Creggars' return trip in 2013.

After multiple flights to get to Juba (the capital) we met Riny Tong, the oldest son of the chief and my interpreter for the last 6 years in Egypt.

After a few days and battling airline schedules, we were able to arrive in Wau, Southern Sudan and then get a car to travel the 126 miles to Ayeit. (This took us 6 hours as the roads are very difficult to travel on.)

Ayeit Village rests approximately 30 miles from the Northern Border of Sudan. Southern Sudan is predominantly Christian (with a Catholic influence). The church closest to the village is a Catholic church lead by an Egyptian priest. There were no Bibles anywhere from Turalei to Ayeit.

We brought 25 soccer balls that were inscribed with the plan of salvation, the ten commandments and other scripture which we read to those who spoke English. We also insisted that the younger boys do the same, sharing what the balls said with others in their native Dinka language. We also brought 20 bags of clothing for the men, women and children who had none. Lastly, we brought enough food to feed the community for at least 6 months and left them with enough money to sustain them for another 6 months after that.

After meeting with the chief in the village of Ayeit, he granted us full permission to build a church, school, clinic and do whatever else we felt was necessary in that area. We also met the Commissioner in Turalei who seems very open to “build up” that area. He was very welcoming and did not hinder our travel there with the exception of traveling at night for our safety.

They lack food, shelter, clothing, and worst of all a church or pastor. They are in desperate need of the hope in Jesus Christ and what the Holy Spirit can bring to them each day. This area is consistently threatened by the Nuer tribe of the east (as they continue to steal their cattle and kill anyone who gets in their way) as well as the Muslim regime in the North.

Their agriculture consists of tobacco which they sell to the market for money to buy meat. When we asked them why are they not growing things they could eat and feed their families with, their reply was “Show us how!” They lack the agricultural skills it takes to grow food, even with the river very near for watering.

We plan to return to the village in November of 2013. We are working on plans to build a church (with a pastor already in mind that is in the area!), help with agriculture and bring Bibles!

Sudan Report

Below is an exciting report from Safaa Fahmi, missionary to Egypt:

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Greetings and love in His loving Name.

I returned yesterday from Sudan, it was a great trip and I can easily see God’s hands dividing the water before us “to make for Himself an everlasting Name”.

The Sudanese students who studied with us in “HIU in Egypt” asked several times to extend our work to reach Sudan, but we could not do that for two reasons. (1) lack of money for plane tickets. (2) Our schedules were tight. For more than a year I was praying for Sudan asking God to open the door … and … He finally did.

The trip to Sudan in Numbers:

* Two weeks of extensive teaching. (Six subjects, 2 counseling, 2 N.T., 2 O.T.)

* No. of students: 48 , 80% of them are ministers and evangelists. 45 men and 3 women.

Next time there will be more than 100 because we will choose a better timing (this time it was in the midst of the midyear exams).

* 10 are studying for the MA level and 38 are studying for the BA level.

* The students represent 7 denominational churches.

* 3 of the students are the presidents of their denominations. We are expecting 5 more presidents of their denominations in the next conference. They already enrolled but they could not come, some because of war in their areas and the rest because different reasons.

* 15 students came from Sudan Church of Christ which is completely different from our churches, they are a blend of the Episcopal and the Presbyterian beliefs and system.

* The Students came from Khartoum in the North, Nubba mountains in the mid-west, Cordovan in the South-west and from Southern Sudan.

(Above - the 3 female students)

* Egypt is about 100 years more advanced than Sudan , although the bed was not comfortable and the rest room and the shower were very primitive and need God’s grace and peace inside for one to be able to use them , yet we enjoyed very much working with them there, they are hungry and thirsty for learning God’s Word.

I send my special thanks and my continuousprayers to the donors who helped in making this trip a success (persons and churches).

The Story of

Gabriel Coko Toto

I was in Sudan this week to start the first Bible College for our Restoration Movement in Sudan. School will be similar to the summer and winter courses in our colleges is the States. The staff will be going to Sudan for two weeks, every five days a professor will teach one course 6 lectures a day from 8am-9pm. This will take place twice a year until they finish their BA or MA degree.

Gabriel is one of our students who came from the Nubba Mountains area. He is a convert from Islam since 1984 and he became an evangelist 1986. In 1989 he was found by the Sudanese authorities, they arrested him accusing him of terrorism. They tortured him for days with electricity shocks, burnt his back and his thighs with very hot iron and hard beat him until bleeding to deny his Christian faith but he refused. They crucified him on a military tank in the burning sun heat of Sudan (110-115F). He was dehydrating but still insisting on his faith so they covered his hands except one finger with plastic bags and put his hands in boiling oil until everything melted, the plastic bags, his flesh and even his bones except the finger which was kept to remind him of all what he went through because of his faith ..…

He was hospitalized for nine months for fear of infection, then he was rescued by the members of his church. He was not afraid after passing through all this to go

back to evangelize and tell people about Christ “if we live we live to the Lord and if we die we die to the Lord…whether we live or die we are the Lord's.”

Gabriel lost nine fingers but he has now nine children. He is 49 and when I asked him about the story of his hands, he laughed and said, "I replaced every finger I lost with a child that will be a soldier in God’s Army."

Pray for him and his nine children. (Above - Gabriel & Safaa)

Every time I go to Sudan or work with Sudanese, and I see their misery and their spiritual and physical hunger comparing to the blessings I am blessed with from God, I feel a big responsibility towards them and I understand the meaning of Paul’s words …"the necessity is laid upon me, yes, woe is me if I don’t preach the Gospel."

May God Bless you all

The Needs are Real!

Missy Creggar and team just got back from a mission trip to Egypt. It was anything but ordinary! They spent lots of time loving on children – including having a music- and balloon-filled festival. They sailed down the Nile River on a wooden boat. It was, overall, a wonderful time of personal growth and bonding as a team. Below is a day-by-day account of the trip by Missy.

Day 1: Sunday brought us lots of rest! We slept and ate most of the day. We practiced our lessons for the kids and rehearsed a puppet show. That evening we were sent to Safaa and Mona's church. It was all in Arabic, and the kids didn't fall asleep as it was an hour and half long! We went home and ate hot dogs for dinner. Everyone is doing very well!

Day 2: We all went to the first festival with over 500 Sudanese children! They sang songs for us! Renee and I did our Zacchaeus skit and Stephen held our tree! Needless to say with interpretation in between Stephen and I couldn't feel our arms after we were done. The kids loved it. We also did David and Goliath using a Sudanese boy as David and Stephen as Goliath and they all cheered when he was defeated. We ended with a big song with two sides competing as to who could be the loudest, singing “Praise Ye the Lord!” What a great day!

Day 3: Day of play! Got up and ready by 8, but did not leave until after 9. We toured the great Pyramids of Giza. Visited the Sphinx and everyone got pictures. The newbies road the camels and all said it was fun. We had lunch at Pizza Hut in front of the Sphinx! We ended our day in the famous Cairo museum. Tomorrow will begin five straight days of work beginning with another Sudanese church, then on to the boys’ orphanage. Can't wait for tomorrow!

Day 4: This very long day started at the Sudanese church with over 500 very loud kids! They sang for us, showed us tribal dancing and even a skit! We shared a dance led by Niki and a story by Stephen and Miranda. Madi and Missy led the music. After that, we came back to pack sandwiches for the boys’ orphanage, and then rode an hour and a half to see them. We found that many of them were not there due to the holiday, so the boys played soccer with the ones who were left. They were very excited to see us again! We are all very tired and have another very long day tomorrow. Debbie has lost her voice but feels okay. Everyone else is doing great. Eating the food, joining in clean up and helping out whenever needed.

Day 5: Happy thanksgiving from Egypt! We ate camel this morning in our eggs.
The rookies said it was a good experience. We proceeded to the first Egyptian church that had about 200 kids and they loved our stories and songs. They started to play musical chairs and Stephen felt the need to join in. He won, too! The second Egyptian church had about 300 kids and a program for us to watch. Afterward, we taught them a new song. Miranda led the team with singing and the story of Jericho. We are all doing very well!

Day 6: Today we are hitting a brick wall. We did not get up until 9 or so and did not leave for the Egyptian church until 1 pm. We arrived at the church and watched Safaa's praise team from his first church do the program. We did not understand anything. We even watched Veggie Tales in Arabic! We ended the day with Kentucky Fried Chicken (NOT as good as ours!). We are longing for the Sudanese, but it doesn't look like we'll see the kids from last year. Niki and Miranda led devotion and they were awesome! We are truly missing home!

A glimpse of the providence of God

One of our missionaries in the Arab World shared an inspiring story related to Bibles that Tomoka Christian donated. Our missionary’s account is here:

I was speaking at a lecture recently in Alexandria, Egypt. During one of the breaks, a Sudanese man came up and introduced himself. He expressed appreciation for the work of Christian Arabic Services, which I lead and which Tomoka Christian supports, then proceeded to share a story with me that is so unusual that it could only be the result of God’s hand.

The Sudanese man told me an unbelievable story that happened to the Bibles which Tomoka Christian donated and shipped to Sudan. The man chosen to deliver the books, Mongo, is a Sudanese evangelist trained by Christian Arabic Services years before. He planned to take them to the Nuba Mountain region and use them to begin mission work in that area of few Christians. But on one leg of the trip, which was by boat, he suddenly realized that two of the 13 boxes he was certain he had left with was missing or had been taken. The boxes held about 250 Bibles!

Mongo kept on with the boxes he still had, well aware that the area he was headed was full of extremists who had slaughtered (together with the government troops) thousands of Christians in the last 40 years. After a short visit with family living nearby, Mongo headed to the area where he had a vision and a plan to evangelize and start a church. Upon arrival, he stopped by to visit the Sultan of the area (like a president for the tribe) just for acquaintance — though he was strongly warned by friends not to go because the Sultan was very prejudiced.

Surprisingly, after a few minutes of getting acquainted, Mongo found a few of the missing Bibles in the Sultan’s office! He deduced from the number of questions the Sultan was asking him about Christianity that he had been reading the Bible, at least for a few weeks, and that he knew about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

To Mongo’s astonishment, the Sultan allowed him to evangelize in his area and allowed him also to start a church in the Nuba Mountain region — where there are no churches of any denomination at all!

Please pray for Mongo’s safety, because since that report no word has been received from him. Prayers also are needed for mission work in Sudan and the Arab World.