Hope in Christ in a World of Problems

By Julie Stiegemeyer

Dried termites for lunch. Peanut butter soup for dinner. Monkeys climbing in the backyard trees.

Sound strange? Well, much of life in Sudan seems strange and very foreign to us. Our appearance is different, we eat differently, we speak different languages. And yet, we share much that is alike. As fellow believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, we are one with our African brothers and sisters in forgiveness and hope in our Savior.

Hope amid chaos

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sudan (ELCS) has witnessed explosive growth from the swamps of southern Sudan to the deserts of the north. In just six years, 31 congregations have been planted with over 6,000 souls baptized. Ten other congregations have sprung up among Sudanese refugees in the neighboring countries of Uganda and Kenya.

The challenges warring against the church are strong. Political chaos, witchcraft, pagan religions, poverty, and oppression are everywhere. The Rev. Mbugo Andrew Elisa must face countless problems as the only Lutheran pastor in Sudan. Yet God gives hope to the Sudanese—youth and adults alike—as many of them are flocking to local mission starts in this vast, diverse country.

Young people and kpakarakpakara pai

As the civil war in Sudan rages into its nineteenth year, Sudanese young people who have grown up knowing little else but war, are finding refuge in the ELCS. Teenage girls, imprisoned by the haunting memories of soldiers’ brutality; young men disillusioned and confused by the chaos of their homeland. Youth of all backgrounds and experiences are finding forgiveness, meaning and hope in God through the Lutheran presence in Sudan.

The situation among Sudanese youth is truly a kpakarakpakara pai—a difficult problem (Zande language). Many are frustrated with the chaos of their homeland and often turn to drugs. All they have known is strife and warfare, so they are often hopeless and confused. Why get an education if an older brother is educated yet remains jobless? Why study when it’s so easy to take up arms and fight? Young women who have been abused in the war feel helpless, lost, and sometimes turn to prostitution or alcohol.

Illiteracy is another problem that must be overcome to reach Sudanese youth. About 90 percent of the population living in cities is able to read, but only about 60 percent of those who live in outlying villages can. Sometimes in a congregation of 400 members, only one person is literate.

And yet, hope—maabangirise in Zande—is what these young people are finding in Jesus.These young Christians, rescued by the Holy Spirit, are redeemed and forgiven, finding meaning and identity in God. They mirror the Apostle Peter’s words, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).

Confession, forgiveness and reconciliation

These young believers often have serious sins on their own consciences. Pastor Elisa hears the confession of these troubled teens, but often must intercede to help bring harmony to a situation where the sin was previously committed.

For example, one young man confessed the sin of murder before Pastor Elisa. He had heard God’s Word and knew that he was wrong to have killed his neighbor. However, before Pastor Elisa baptized the young man, he went to the family of the deceased and reconciled the murderer and the family members. Repentance was followed by forgiveness and reconciliation. The young man would then have little possibility of further problems associated with his past sin.

Reaching out

Once these young believers are part of Christ’s church, some go on for special instruction to study God’s Word and the teachings of the church. They study the Catechism and Christian doctrine; learn about the Sacraments, as well as the history of the Reformation. After they are well educated in the Scriptures and in the teachings of the Church, following three months of study and instruction, they are ready to join special committees to help the weak members of the Lutheran congregations.

The young believers participate in three committees. The Prayer Committee visits people in their homes to call on God in prayer. The Visiting Committee visits those who are too sick or feeble to attend the worship services. And the Inactive Committee visits those who have strayed from the church. Young Lutherans in Sudan evangelize eagerly; they are thankful for their own redemption and work hard that others too may share the blessings of God’s mercy.

The Sudanese Lutheran youth rest securely in the hope of eternal life because of the love that God has shown to them in Christ. Their concerns are not self-centered, but God-centered. They want to be church workers, to study theology, to reach out to the lost in Sudan.

But there are few resources available to them. They do not have proper schools. Pastor Elisa is their only pastor, and he must work with many congregations. The single Lutheran seminary in Sudan is small and is staffed only by theologians from other countries. And yet, while these young Lutherans have so little, they also possess tremendous hope.

Walking together with Sudanese Christians

Pastor Elisa has traveled extensively, not only over his vast country feeding the sheep of his flock, but he has also traveled worldwide, gathering support for the young Lutheran church in Sudan. He has observed Christians around the world.

When asked how American Christians compare to those in Sudan, he said unhesitatingly, “Sudanese Christians depend entirely on God. We do not rely on technology, or science, or knowledge. We know we cannot survive without God.”

So how can we help? What can we do to assist these young believers who struggle so desperately and yet have such great hope? Pastor Elisa encourages young American Christians to set an example. The U.S. already leads the world in economic resources, in business, and in the entertainment industry. World Christians also follow our lead.

Pastor Elisa once visited an American congregation and was surprised to observe that the Apostle’s Creed had been changed in their contemporary service. What Christians have confessed for centuries, one congregation had decided to alter.

When we change the church’s teachings, as casually as we would our computer software, and when we alter the Creeds of the church, we do not help the young people in Sudan. Instead, we distract them from the pure Word of God, from the hope they find in Jesus Christ.

“Take care,” Rev. Elisa says. “What you do in your churches here influences the whole world. So, confess the Creed as it is. Confess God’s Word as it is. Preserve God’s Word in your churches. Live God’s Word in your lives.”

Julie Stiegemeyer is a freelance writer in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.