They Walked Across Africa
By Ron Barnes
A few years ago, some may recall a trip that resulted in my arrest and the arrest of our country director. Lost in the details of that story was the amazing gathering of many nations, fleeing the danger of their own homeland. As we sat in our detention center, each of the leaders of the various churches within the immigration camp (in an unnamed country) shared their stories.
They spoke of famine, ethnic cleansing, religious persecution, and government and political coups. Inevitably the dangers became so significant they had to leave their homes. Many have lived in these camps for decades with no plans in sight for a return.
They came from Burundi, Sudan, South Sudan, Rwanda, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, and Chad. Some had come to Christ in their homeland, others within the camp as the other tribes evangelized them. The churches, divided primarily by language group, worked together with scarce resources and planned together on how to reach the nearly 100,000 immigrants from within the confines… and safety of the camp.
They aren’t allowed to work officially, but many find things to make or run simple businesses to barter for food and services. There are few possessions in these homes, the few they have are especially prized. I walked into home after home on a previous trip to see bamboo and dung homes, with but a few scarce household items, displaying SLM certificates on the wall and courses kept protected in plastic. They wanted to keep them clean, so they can reuse them over and over with as many of their children as the courses will last. The courses are used both for evangelism and discipleship, and for teaching curriculum so they can learn to read in the absence of textbooks.
As you read over the list of countries mentioned previously, there isn’t a single one where they actually have SLM missionaries or a Branch of any sort. Yet, here are hundreds of people who have come to Christ using the courses. If you have followed Source of Light through the years, you know that it is fairly typical that someone visits a neighboring country and comes into contact with our ministry, or one of our missionaries intentionally exposes a neighboring country to our ministry and resources. But here, in this camp filled with immigrants from around northern Africa, these pastors are training and making plans for the day they can return to their home country, intent on bringing the Gospel, and opening a Branch of Source of Light when they arrive.
“Pastor Isaac” has lived in this camp for 25 years. Likely he will never be able to return to his homeland, Sudan. His home is gone, his village destroyed, and the only family he has are the ones who survived the attack on his village and made the long trek with him many years ago. Despite the hardest and poorest of conditions, he spends his days evangelizing the new arrivals, then discipling and training those who have come to Christ in order that one day these immigrants will return to their homeland well trained.
One of these men shared with me that God used the most horrific of experiences in his homeland so that he might come to this camp, meet Pastor Isaac, receive Christ, and get training and preparation to return to his home in South Sudan. He said he had never heard the Gospel, never even met a Christian, though he had heard much about them. He hopes to return to his homeland bringing the Good News and a proper testimony of who Jesus is through his own life. He also hopes to be SLM’s first missionary to South Sudan and it’s my hope God grants his request!
