Sudan (MNN) — Medical care is nearly impossible to find in Sudan because of a brutal civil war.
(Photo courtesy of Erik McLean/Unsplash)
Two years of conflict shuttered most hospitals and clinics. One review found that in states affected by the war, close to 70 percent of health facilities had closed or were barely functioning. Even if a clinic exists, most Sudanese cannot safely or affordably get to it.
Earlier this year, the Lord’s provision seemed like a miracle in and of itself. “God provided medications that allowed us to do what we were capable of doing, and it was just an incredible blessing,” says a Gospel worker we’ll call John*.
“We did a pop-up clinic, we identified the needs of people, and we gave them medication.”
But the blessing didn’t stop there. Sudanese church planters working alongside the medical teams shared Christ with every patient.
“The Gospel is hope. When there is an actual connection with a person to say, ‘I have hope for you today. Would you like to hear it?’ And the answer is ‘yes, please’ – in the middle of an unchanged exterior, there is an internal rest,” John says.
“The outside things that happen to a person – peace doesn’t come from there. It comes from what happens on the inside.”
Today, those patients still have peace that surpasses understanding.
“It’s hard to calculate the responses of the people that are coming to Christ, but the absolute power of the Gospel, when it’s combined with practical, compassionate service to their needs, has been a very special thing,” John says.
Find your place in the story
Now that you know, how will you respond? Start by seeking the Lord. Then, wait for His leading. “I found there needed to be a transformation in my prayer life, from taking the list of my needs to God to be part of His plan for reaching the world,” John says.
Submission also involves asking the Lord, “Will you involve me in the Great Commission?” John adds.
“There are a lot of ways of going, and first of all, it is going there with your heart. Eventually, your other parts of your life will continue… it is a wonderful beginning of a new aspect of your faith.”
Consider partnering with John’s organization to support Sudanese church planters.
*Pseudonym
Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Nappy/Unsplash.
