Resources We Use to Empower the Suffering Sudanese Church

Recognition Certificate for CRM from FCBH

Resources We Use to Empower the Suffering Sudanese Church

The picture's bottom plate may be tough to read, but in brief it recognizes CRM for the amount of money it used to purchase solar powered MP3 players from Faith Comes by Hearing (FCBH).  That group is based in Albuquerque, NM and has been instrumental in pulling together the New Testament in digital format in over 2,000 languages.  You can check out their work at www.bible.is.  

Since 2016, we have used over $50,000 to purchase such players not only from FCBH, but also groups like Talking Bibles and Renew World Outreach.  We utilize such digital resources because the illiteracy rate among Sudanese, women in particular, is very high.  This tool also enables people who have attended one of our training conferences to at least hear all the stories of the NT once they return home.  Of course it is also used by them to share the Word with their friends and neighbors and thus stimulate evangelism and help with discipleship.  

In Touch with Charles Stanley has been a very generous partner of ours.  They have donated 1,025 players thus far, and we are hopeful we will be granted hundreds more in the future.  Their players are not only loaded with the Bible in English, but also the NT in tribal languages.  They also place 36 messages by Dr. Stanley on the internal memory.  Sudanese pastors report listening to these messages have helped them become better preachers.  Many refer to Dr. Stanley as their mentor in ministry.

We also utilize other digital resources for our partners to use in their camps.  We have given out 7 battery powered video projectors made by Anker (Nebula Capsule).  When its battery is fully charged, it can last up to 4 hours.  We load Gospel films on 16gb flash drives to be used with the projector.  The films include those produced by the Jesus Film Project, two films granted to us by the ministry of Bruce Marchiano, Acts and the Gospel of Matthew, and others.  Viewing such films helps those who are illiterate, and who have not been exposed to many movies or TV shows, to see the type of contexts in which Bible stories occurred.  We also loaded on to them the 1 hour 20 minute video of Nabeel Qureshi giving his testimony.  It is found on You Tube and is helpful to those who have left Islam.  

We have also begun to utilize the Light Stream sold by Renew World Outreach.  It is a 16gb device we can load here in the USA with films, digital Bibles and books.  It has a port for micro-SD cards and can download its contents onto one in just minutes.  The card can then be placed in a cell phone for viewing/reading/listening.  Folks can also stream its contents with their phone as it produces a signal only requiring the phone have internet capability.

We have also bought and loaded SD cards here in the USA, and carried them to the field loaded with the NT in up to 13 Sudanese languages.  These cards can also hold the same films.

Such resources are not cheap, but they are effective and only God knows how much fruit they have
produced for the Kingdom.    

Please help us purchase and provide more of these resources.  Visit www.calvaryroadministries.com and if God so leads, use the "Donate" button.  BTW, the cost of 1 MP3 player is $54, a video projector is $320, SD cards fully loaded cost $7 each and each Light Stream is $85.

David

Team Members: Takes a Special Kind of Person

Jiffy Kay and Friend

Team Members, Special People

Our mission statement is "Empowering the suffering Sudanese church with scripture resources and leadership development."

One way we accomplish fulfilling our mission is by periodically carrying out training events in venues located close to refugee camps in Uganda, or, in the case of Kenya, within the Kakuma Camp in the center we built there in 2018.  When we travel, we carry in our luggage scripture resources in digital form.  The scripture is loaded on media such as: solar powered MP3 players, micro SD cards thumb drives, Light Streams and video projectors.  

During our training events, we focus on teaching the Bible stories found on the two CRM produced story cloths.  We also offer the ladies trauma healing counseling, and instruction in how to make washable feminine products from locally available materials.  The Lord has called some very special people to be a part of our teams.  They hail from various states in the USA, as well as South Africa,  and represent a variety of educational backgrounds, life experiences and skills.  One quality which certainly is required is the faith to trust the Lord who said to his earliest disciples "Behold, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves."  

When one considers the background of some team members, it would not be hard to reach the conclusion that they appear to thrive on experiences which produce a lot of adrenaline, while others are grandmothers who normally are very cautious folks.  One of the former is pictured above.  For this article I will refer to her by her nickname, Jiffy Kay.

Jiffy Kay served as a Journeyman with the IMB in South Sudan around 2008-2009.  Her parents raised her in Eastern Europe where they served as church planters, so she was a third culture kid before living in Sudan.  You many ask "why are her friend and she posing in military gear ?"  Legit question.  The easy answer is because when one lives in South Sudan, guns and soldiers are simply a daily part of one's life. So on that day, some soldiers they encountered allowed them to put on their gear and pose. I never asked her if this was her profile picture for some dating site.  Hmm. 😉

During those two years, she and her team members saw firsthand the effects produced by acts of violence.  Those effects included shattered lives, physical and psychological wounds, poverty and poor infrastructure.  Jiffy and one of her teammates introduced us to the idea of training women how to make washable feminine products 8 years before we incorporated it into our training events.

Given all the tough times we knew she and her teammates experienced during those two years, we wondered if she would agree to join one of our teams.  How pleased we were to learn she was ready to jump at the opportunity. Since January of 2017, she has made two trips with us, and most likely will remain the only team member willing to return to Kampala from Arua by public bus!

I Corinthians 12 and 14 make it clear that the Holy Spirit gives to believers varying gifts, so that the local church can respond to all sorts of needs and opportunities.  So we are thankful that our team members range from the very adventurous to the cautious but willing-to-be-challenged types.

Perhaps you would like to join us in fulfilling our mission?  There is certainly a place for you if you are willing to trust Him who also said "but be of good courage for I have overcome the world."

Check out www.calvaryroadministries.com.  And if the Lord so leads, make use of the "donate" button.

DC

True Hunger for the Word

Crossing the Nile River

Hunger for the Word

I Peter 2:2-3 says "Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation--if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good."

The state of biblical literacy in the USA is at an all time low.  Multiple researchers have queried both children and adults with Bible related questions in an attempt to discover just how bad things are.  Check out what Dr. Al Mohler said in this article to get some examples: https://albertmohler.com/2016/01/20/the-scandal-of-biblical-illiteracy-its-our-problem-4/

America certainly is not the only country where biblical illiteracy is rampant.  However, the difference between the USA and countries, say like Sudan, is that Americans have no excuse.  We own Bibles, often multiple translations, and have access to Bible book stores and every conceivable form of Bible study help.  

The above picture includes Sudanese people who traveled down to Uganda for our March training from the refugee camps in which they live.  The camps are located in the extreme NE of South Sudan.  The picture was made while they were crossing the Nile River in route to the venue.  Their journey to and from the venue involved: small planes, UN helicopter, public bus rides, motorcycle rides and yes, crossing the Nile in a dugout canoe.  

Their tribe of people historically have lived in a section of Sudan called the Southern Blue Nile.  Their people have no translation of the NT or Bible portion in their heart language.  They are what is commonly called a "scripture-less people."  So they have to learn a second language if they want to hear or read the Bible.  They, and most people of their tribe who have chosen to follow Jesus, have done so only since 2015.  However, their hunger to know and grow in Bible knowledge and application is refreshing, and yes, a challenge to those who have grown complacent.

Those who support what we do among refugees through the non-profit called Calvary Road Ministry (CRM) enabled us to send these folks back to their camps loaded with scripture resources.  Their reports make clear they are putting them to good use.  Within 5 weeks of returning home, they had shown the Jesus Film to over 1,200 people.  It is extremely encouraging to place scripture into the hands of people who are hungry to hear it and share it with others.

Want to learn more about our ministry?  Check out https://calvaryroadministries.com/  And if the Lord so leads, make use of the "Donate" button.

Semper Paratus "Always Prepared"

Two Jacks, Stephenson and Dempsey

        

Semper Paratus  "Always Prepared"

The above Latin phrase is the motto of the US Coast Guard and also the title of its Marching song.  My stepdad, Jack Stephenson, served in the USCG during the final years of WWII. He and my mom, Mary Etta, live with us.  Because of his service, small things around the house and in his truck serve as reminders of that important and formative time in his life

 His time was spent in the Pacific.   On one occasion he was given the chance to have his photo made with another guy named Jack who might have been a little more famous than he.  Yeah, in the top photo is our Jack posing with Jack Dempsey, the boxer.  The photo below is of the front tag on Jack's truck, which Renee and I often drive on longer trips.  It has a hard cover over its bed, and I will never forget the first time I opened it and saw all the equipment the man carries in case of emergency.  I think the only things missing are what might be required in case of a nuclear strike.  Semper Paratus!  Even on America's highways, much less the mighty Pacific, the man is living the motto.

If you have known Renee and me for very long, you know that our Lord has called us to do ministry among S. Sudanese and Sudanese refugees.  Our mission statement is "Empower the suffering Sudanese church with scripture resources and leadership development."  We would like to always be prepared to walk through any and every door the Lord opens up for us to serve our brethren.  For a fact, great things have been happening Gospel-wise within the refugee camps located in Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia.  Many churches have been started, people won to faith in Christ, disciples made, leaders trained, choirs formed, growing women's ministries, Bible schools started, and lots of other Gospel work done as well.  

Now that Sudan is in the process of a regime change, a process in which well over 150 civilians have been killed, it appears more doors may be opening for us to supply scripture resources.  However, whatever route one takes to place the New Testament or full Bible into the hands of people who live in places like Darfur or the Southern Blue Nile, it is going to cost money.  

For a fact, the Dar Islam (House of Islam) is now a divided one.  The violence Islamic governments is perpetrating on its citizens is creating a vacuum in many hearts.  We would like to think it could be filled with scripture resulting in many choosing to follow Jesus.  You can help us to be "Always Prepared" by donating either by sending a check to Calvary Road Ministry, or donating online.  The online address is www.calvaryroadministries.com.  The mailing address: CRM, 4100 Fulton Rd., Corryton, TN  37721.  Together let's live and serve "Semper Paratus."

Front Tag on Jack's Truck

 

Martha's First Bible

Martha's First Bible

When our CRM teams do on-the-field training events, we always carry out scripture resources to give to church leaders.  They normally take the form of solar powered MP3 players, micro SD cards for phones, etc.  Giving away scripture and scripture resources in these forms is most helpful because those whom we train are generally illiterate.  This is especially true of Sudanese women.  However, at times a lady will attend a training who can read but does not own a Bible.

In the case of the lady pictured above, Martha (not her real name), she can read several languages, but her issue was she had never owned a Bible. Actually, in the Muslim culture in which she was raised, women are not allowed to touch the Quran or books considered holy. So she was given an English Bible by a team member.  Though raised in the Muslim faith, she came to the training very open to the Gospel.  God had in the past given her dreams which she interpreted as leading her to seek truth she did not yet understand or have access to.

When she first read from the Bible, she was with Amy, a team member.  She opened to Genesis 1 to begin reading aloud.  Not too far into the chapter, she read verses which Renee had just quoted as she told the Creation Story.   Reading the same words Renee had quoted earlier caused her to exclaim "what Renee said is true!  I can see it for myself in the Bible!"

Martha apparently stayed up late each night reading her new Bible.  This meant at times during the day, while the training was happening, she would fall asleep or be so sleepy it appeared she was not paying attention.  At first, this was taken by the teachers as a lack of interest.  However, later on in the week the truth would come out.

During the week of training, the ladies were challenged to write a song or perform a drama which went along with one of the 42 stories of the first Story Cloth.  Martha composed one after she was baptized.   She wrote it on the chalkboard located in the conference room.  She was happy to be able to sing it for the whole group.  A big indication that God was indeed had done something in her life through what she had heard and experienced during the week's training.

Martha and her Song

Before requesting to be baptized, she relayed to team members that God had given her a dream the night before.  In the dream she was trying to wash her hair, but no matter how much she scrubbed, she could not cleanse her hair.  Then she saw that someone was trying to hand her something, something precious which, if she could obtain it, would enable her to become clean.  Upon awaking, she realized that "something precious" was the Bible, the Word of God.

On the fourth day of our training event, five MBBs were baptized and Martha was one of them.  Receiving baptism is a very big deal for folks coming out of Islam, a step not taken lightly.

Please join us in praying she will keep singing her song, and come to compose many more.  Pray she will be a faithful steward of the teaching she received by sharing the Bible stories with other women.  Pray she will stand strong in spite of the persecution bound to come her way.

June 4, 2019

The Journey Continues

I started this "Hiking to Help Refugees" blog using Google's "Blogger" app back in early 2017 just before my nephew, Adam, and I started our AT hike.  I used it all the way through the end of that year, but then discontinued its use.  I did so because that venture ended with us surpassing our goal of raising $100K for our ministry among South Sudanese and Sudanese refugees.  So the next stage involved staying busy putting that money to use. 

So I started relying solely on the newsletter I send out from my Hotmail account, and periodically sending the same messages out through my Mail Chimp account.

However, I have come to miss having a forum for writing down thoughts or sharing news which pertain to our ongoing ministry among refugees via the non-profit called Calvary Road Ministry (CRM).  So I am going to resurrect this blog and start writing.  If you so desire please feel free to once again join me in this God-appointed journey; a journey which like a long Appalachian Trail hike, has presented us with: unexpected events, twists and turns, the opportunity to meet some wonderful people, and a lot of satisfaction mingled with real pain.

Several recent things have happened which would fall within the "unexpected" category.  As has been announced already by the President of CRM, Alan McAlister, I was asked by him and its board to become its next president.  Renee and I have accepted this as the Lord's will for us, and I will assume that position in October of this year.  The second unexpected event took place in March of this year.  That was having the opportunity to do an on-the-field training event for followers of Jesus known as MBBs, Muslim Background Believers.

This particular community all originally hail from the southern sections of Sudan, but now live in refugee camps located either in northern Uganda or the NE of South Sudan. They all represent scripture-less people groups.  That is to say, a translation of the NT has not been completed in their language. So when we provide them with electronic media loaded with scripture, we utilize the language of Sudanese Arabic. They represent the new wonderful people we have met on our journey.  However, hanging out with these folks is sure to expose you to some serious pain, as you hear their individual stories of horrors experienced at the hands of Khartoum sponsored militias.

This training ended on March 30.  Not long afterwards, the military of Sudan staged a coup and placed their long standing president in detention.  This happened because many citizens of Sudan took to the streets starting in January, calling for regime change.  Until just the last few days, it appeared that the Transition Military Council (TMC) and civilian representatives were working on a plan that offered hope for real change. However, the latest reporting on the BBC, coupled with reports direct from the streets of Khartoum, paint a different picture.  Twists and turns.

During the brief hopeful period, we enabled a leader of this MBB community to travel to his home area.  He is staying where his parents now live; in a town located near a large IDP camp.  He has found the people of his home area, who are probably %99 Muslim, to be very open to the Good News.  He took one of the MP3 players we gave him and his own dad has been listening to the NT.  His dad has even taken it into the IDP camp and enabled men of his age to hear about Jesus.  Now they all want either a printed Bible or an MP3 player for themselves.  The bottom line is our brother has discovered his people are more open than ever to learn more about Him who is "The Truth."

Pray for this brother's protection.  Pray also for those of us who want to place more scripture in his hands while he is living back home.  The journey that undertaking will require will be far more dangerous than any thru hike of the AT!

Please note that in the sidebar of each post you will see the option "Follow by Email."  If you submit your email address I think each new post should result in your receiving notification in your inbox.  If you desire to follow us closely in our journey submit yours.

DC