By Elisabeth M. Priest

 

When God gives you a heart for a particular place and people, look at what God is already doing and find a way to partner with others in ministry. That message shines through when you talk to the Rev. Elaine Storm about the trip that she and seven other St. Philips parishioners took to southern Sudan in July 2009.

 

The team spent eight days in Wangulei, working alongside the Good Shepherd Leadership Training Center (GSLTC) to conduct classes for clergy on liturgy, sacraments, worship, leadership, and marriage. The GSLTC was developed by John Chol Daau, a priest of Bor diocese who is currently studying at Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge.

 

The short-term team from St. Philips also met up with Dr. Katie Rhodes, a graduate of Trinity and a missionary in Uganda. Dr. Rhodes worked with the team in Sudan to provide medical services for clergy attending the conference in Wangulei, and to conduct classes on basic health concepts that the pastors could take back and teach to their local communities.

 

The trip was the beginning of an ongoing partnership between St. Philip’s with the GSLTC.  One of the mission team members, Storm’s college-aged daughter Bethany, has begun the Harvest Moon Run, an annual race each autumn in Moon Township. Participants raise funds and all proceeds go to the Southern Sudan.

 

Although this was Storm’s first trip to Sudan, it was not her first trip to Africa. A 2007 trip to Kenya provided her and some fellow seminarians experience in working alongside Jon Chol Daau in the important work of training pastors and leaders. That work was already on her heart when she began to discern possible short-term mission opportunities with the people of St. Philip’s.

 

And the eight days the team was able to spend on the ground in Southern Sudan (another eight days were spent in travel) was heart-rending and eye-opening. The devastation of this war-torn region was almost unimaginable. “They have almost nothing,” Storm said. “But their love for Jesus is amazing. We heard story after story of God’s hand of protection on these people. Just to be in their presence, to listen to their stories, was such an honor.”

 

The struggle to survive and rebuild in Southern Sudan is made even more difficult by the Northern government, which uses all sorts of means – from blocking roads to high taxes to violence – to keep people oppressed and to attempt to convince the global community that the South is not ready for independence. A sobering reminder of ongoing suffering came just weeks after the team returned to the U.S., when they heard that Archdeacon Joseph Mabior Garang, a beloved Sudanese leader who had attended the Wangulei Conference, had been killed while officiating at a morning prayer service.

 

Storm hopes that other churches will consider partnering in ministry with the Good Shepherd Leadership Training Center, catching John Chol Daau’s vision for training pastors, teachers and future leaders of Sudan. If you’re interested in learning more, she encourages you to call her – or better yet, to get in touch with John and speak with him directly.  “If your church is discerning, is asking ‘who is God calling us to partner with?” I encourage you to look at this vital work.”