MINISTERING TO CHILDREN

Karen Grubbs

Be prepared to change your plans and trust God would be the theme for this time of ministry in Sudan. When our original plan to go to Yei Sudan was cancelled, those who were to go to Liwolo, Sudan with me were unable to leave at the newly scheduled time. On Friday the choices given were leave on Sunday by myself or wait in Kampala until the following Friday to leave with the rest of the team. It was clear to me that I needed to go. I flew to Moyo, Uganda airport (better know as a gravel strip) to meet Justin and Nataul, just one problem I had no idea what either one of them looked like; at least I knew what the truck they were driving looked like. After a two and half hour drive (or should I say amusement ride) to Liwolo on a dirt, pot holed, rut filled road, God blessed me with a nice refreshing rain upon my arrival in Liwolo.


With a week by myself to minister to students with just my interpreters, we set the plan for which schools I was going to minister at; of course flexibility would be the key word for the week. Rain, no vehicle, members of the national parliament visiting, all made unscheduled adjustments to the plan.

Students wanted to hear God’s word, and were very responsive to accepting Jesus as their personal Savior. A sign of change in Sudan, the teachers and older students were responding to the gospel too. A teacher named Knight and a few of the students from the Ministry Institute had a desire to learn how minister to children and students in a greater way. They wanted to know how to teach the children to worship and pray and they also wanted to know how to lead them into the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. During this two weeks I did not just focus on the primary schools; I also visited two of the local secondary schools and the teacher training college. Students in the primary schools range in age from 6 to 19. Many students were not able to receive an education during the war, consequently primary school students are often much older than we are accustomed to, which makes many of the secondary students in their twenty’s. Because of the conditions of the last twenty years many of the older students have developed very hard hearts and have been slow in responding to the gospel in years past. But this year we saw a great change; they were responding to the invitation to receive Christ. In all, I was able to lead 1117 students and 9 teachers in making commitments to Christ.

There are always special memories and stories to share about each trip, and this one is no different. One primary school I visited the first week was totally non responsive to the Gospel, to me nothing in the four years since my first visit to this school had changed accept the location. The people of the area were moving back to their home from deep in the bush, but the school still has no building; classes take place under the trees. I saw no supplies, not even a blackboard. Unlike the other schools I visited I saw no smiles on the children’s faces, they just stared at me. When I asked questions no one would answer. I ask if anyone knew a song I had taught before, no responded, but when I started to sing it for them, slowly I heard quite voices singing the song. And when I gave an invitation for salvation no one moved, they just looked at me. My heart sank, thinking God what is wrong here. After a few days I felt God telling me to go back to that school, so I did. The second time what I found was a completely different school, children smiling, laughing and running. The response was totally different, children answering questions, wanting to help me. This time when I asked who wanted to be born again the whole school responded and 3 of the 4 teachers. Thank God that I listened to His urging to go back there.

The words, “oh it’s near” will never mean the same thing to me again. I should have known, it wasn’t near at all. I had been to this school before and knew exactly where it was in the bush, but my interrupter and the education director for Liwolo kept telling me it had moved closer to the road. When I asked, “How much closer”? the response would be much, much closer only 25 minutes. I knew that before the village moved the drive was about 50 minutes. So I figured no problem. They were right, it is much closer, the problem is, it is way off the road and deep, deep into the bush. We bumped along the road for about 40 minutes when suddenly my interpreter tells the driver to turn. I was thinking turn where, the only thing I could see was maybe a 6 inch path. I even asked are you sure? “Yes, yes, it is here”, I asked again, “how far”, “it’s close” was the reply. But we kept going, and going and nothing was around but trees. The driver had to negotiate trees, stumps, large rock and who knows what else. At one point my interpreter got out of the car and cleared the path as we drove. And I kept asking “how far”? Its close was the answer. After 50 minutes on the path we came to a stop or should I say the vehicle could go no further, two large stumps blocked the path completely and could not be driven around. At this point I was told if I was going any further I was walking, so I got out of the vehicle with Knight and started to walk (it was only a 110 degrees). As soon as I started down the path the entire school came running towards me singing, “we welcome you” and waving tree branches. I was so blessed, the whole adventure was well worth it and proof to me that there are times you should not give up. The entire school responded to the gospel and asked Jesus to be their savior. All three of the teachers also responded. And my driver Abraham managed to clear the stumps and the road and brought the vehicle in the rest of the way to the school.

The first week God used me to plant seeds in the teacher’s training college and the two secondary schools, as I shared God’s word, I could see they were listening very intently to what I had to say. When I asked who wanted accepted Jesus as their Savior there was dead silent, no body moved, you could see the conviction on everyone’s face. A few did accept Jesus as savior. The seed God had me plant there was watered during the following week at the crusade and conference they all attended. After all the team had left Mark Warkentin reported to us over half the students and staff of the college are now professing to be born again along with many students in the secondary schools.

The second week with the rest of the team all in Sudan, we moved to Keji Kejo for two nights of crusades. We had worship, testimonies, and showed the Jesus Film and the Passion. The response was amazing. There were at least a couple thousand people each night. So many adults and children responded. We were able to get the names of about 150 adults. Because of the response, it was decided to start a church there. The first Sunday 27 people came, the next 35. I just heard that last Sunday there were fiftysome adults and about 36 kids at that church.

The rest of the second week we returned to Liwolo to lead a Pastors and Leadership conference at which 500 attended. What a sight all these pastors and leaders in the bush under the trees, they came from all over Southern Sudan to hear God’s word and be encouraged. In the evenings we had crusades and another 100 people responded. On Saturday we held the first ever Women’s conference. Close to 500 women came for the day.

On Saturday a woman at the conference came up to me and ask to speak to me in private, at first I did not recognize her. Then I then I realize she had been my interpreter two years earlier, there was a great change in her face and body language. She shared with me that at the time she had been interpreting for me she was not a Christian, but at the end of that week I had given her a Bible, she sat down and read about Jesus right away. She accepted Jesus as her Savior. She said, after all it was easy to pray and ask Jesus into her life, she had done it many times that week interpreting for me. Now the story does not end there, she then married a Christian man, who is a pastor and she ministering alongside of him. She told me her life is completely changed. We don’t always know where the seeds are going we are planting. I and the whole team had assumed she was a Christian. I gave her the Bible as a token of gratitude for all her hard work when I saw she did not have one. It was not a big deal that she did not have one, many pastors don’t even have one, little did I know how God was going to use it.

God moved in so many ways those two weeks it is hard to share it all, but I want to share one last one with you. Earlier I mentioned a teacher named Knight. Knight is one of the most educated people in the Liwolo area, she teaches in one of the local primary schools, and leads the devotions in the school and truly during this last trip asked more than anyone for information on how to minister to the children more effectively. She wanted to be equipped to teach the children how to receive from God more fully. Knight has interrupted for me several times over the last few years and I consider her a friend. I was totally surprise when Louise told me what happen after I left Sudan Saturday afternoon. At the women’s conference Knight interpreted for us, so she and the other ladies who helped with the conference had tea with Louise and the rest of the team after the conference as a thank you to them As they talked, Knight shared she felt she could not be a Christian because of unforgiveness in her heart. You see when she was young she was forced to marry a man she did not love and had a daughter with him. He left her and when her daughter was three, the little girl was poisoned. Knight took her daughter to the doctor and was told there was nothing they could do. A relative that helped her take the child to the doctor and bury her when she died, later confessed to Knight she was the one who poisoned her daughter. Knight said she never has been able to forgive her. The ladies prayed for Knight, she forgave the relative who poisoned her daughter and accepted Jesus as her Savior. The reports from Mark are she is so on fire for God.

Lastly I want thank every one of you who helped me financially or who prayed for me, you truly made a difference. I had total peace about going to Sudan by myself, and God moved miraculously in every area of ministry. Thank you so much!