"Pros and Cons"

So as I close out another day here in Juba, I'm reminded that every situation, and place in life has pros and cons. Did I have dinner on the infamous Nile River again tonight? Yes. And the shower that I use is fed water directly from the Nile. How many people can say that? So along with the hardships that I see, and the unfortunate stories I hear, there are these "pros" that make it all an experience. I assessed my first church here in Juba today and as I expected, the stories here are much different than any I've heard so far. As we settled in at the meeting, the members were very welcoming of us, because as far as they are concerned, we equal help. After brief introductions and such I began my assessment. We were reminded of how the civil war here in Sudan came to be, which is common knowledge to us now, and the ball was rolling. So instead of telling you the story that I heard today, let's make you the victim, and tell the story from your point of view.

Your church was started in the prominent city of your country and quickly the congregation out numbered the building. Soon you were meeting on Sunday mornings, and the majority of the congregation was outside the building, because they couldn't fit inside. This wasn't a bad problem to have. Except not too long after that, war came to your prominent city. Many of you fled away from the city to seek protection, while some of you remained. After all, home is home no matter what is going on there, right? So one day, this church that you are so proud of, and have seen God change life after life in is caught in the crossfire of the war. A propelled missile hits the building setting it on fire. So pause. This would be the last straw for some of us, because the things that happened up until this time were enough to push you over the edge.

Before the war even started, you were truly persecuted for your beliefs. You couldn't keep a job because of your religion. If you didn't denounce your beliefs and follow a different way, you couldn't even be in the military. Also, people of a different faith than you would go to your schools and bribe your kids with candy, sweets, and food like you couldn't afford, to get them to change their religious beliefs. But when you, or your children were fighting in the war, this same group of people would cry out to Jesus when being attacked. Upon being asked, "Why do you cry out to Jesus, you aren't Christian?" They would reply, "When you say his name, the bullets don't strike you." So from these types of experiences, the ones that mattered, people came to see the power of the God we serve. I use these examples and write in this manner to try and remain a bit politically correct. I don't want to seem like I'm "bashing," because that's not what I'm trying to do at all. I just realize how blessed I am to be free to worship who I want without my survival depending on it. How much easier is it to claim to be Christian when there's no consequences for being a believer. It would seem so much harder to remain a follower of Christ if that meant I might not be able to get food to eat. And every day I take that for granted. But not everyone does.

Some people have been truly persecuted for their beliefs. He said, "The world will hate you, because it hated me first." He knew what he was talking about, and it has proven to be true. So as I experience small amounts of sickness, or miss my friends and family, or even wish I had American food, it's not a drop in the bucket to how bad the "cons" of living in South Sudan has been for so many people. Everyone says "We're so proud of you," or "You're making such a sacrifice to be there." It's not a sacrifice at all. To hear these stories and see firsthand where God has been performing absolute miracles the past 21 years is the biggest "pro" you could ask for. It doesn't get any better than this. So if there's doubt in your mind about the God we serve, there is a way to fix that. Find where he's working and join in. You could never imagine how true the verse is that says, "When I am weak, he is strong." The world knocked South Sudan on it's back, lives were lost, horrible atrocities took place, but God was glorified even more because of it. And his people are more than happy to testify to that.