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| Crowd gathers at the Juba for Jesus Closing Rally. |
After another busy and sweltering morning in churches, we headed over to the “Nyokuron Cultural Centre” for the Closing Rally. The heat in the sun was oppressive, and again, attendance was slow initially. However, as the afternoon wore on, people gathered in thick crowds in the small pockets of shade available. The choirs and Foxfire evangelists were again the stars of the show, getting enthusiasts to their feet as they tried to imitate the dance moves. Although the Vice President wasn’t able to attend due to other commitments, the Religious Advisor to the President, and Minister of Roads and Transport attended as special guests, in amongst a number of other politicians. They were clearly very excited to be there – one of them ran up the walkway to the podium, and then down again to his seat!
Both emphasized the need for the church to lead the way in Southern Sudan, and exhorted the church to pray that their leaders be given the fear of God which is the beginning of wisdom. Their enthusiasm pushed the program over time, as did frequent power cuts, but the majority of the crowd was committed to seeing the end of the program. Stephen Lungu ended up preaching in the dark, challenging his listeners to examine whether they were only going as far as the church, rather than going all the way to the cross where they would find freedom and forgiveness. Over 100 adults responded to the message, gathering up on the stage where we could actually partially see them!
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| Hon Julius Moilinga MP, Master of Ceremonies for Closing Rally |
At dinner, Peter, the co-ordinator of our team of drivers, shared with us a vision he’d had that day. The vision was of an ambassador arriving in Southern Sudan in a helicopter. The helicopter rescued him and others, and took them to safety. After some thought, he realised that the vision was about the “Juba for Jesus” mission. The ambassador represented the evangelists who were “ambassadors for Christ,” and the helicopter represented the Lord who was lifting the people of Sudan to safety. Peter is a believer, and he sensed the Lord telling him that this mission had a significant role in bringing true peace to the people of Southern Sudan, and knew he had to go along to the Closing Rally, even though he wasn’t feeling well. He was so convinced that he also persuaded friends to come with him, although they were also not feeling well. They all came along, and we saw them dancing in the crowd. Some testified later that their sickness had left them, and although we haven’t had a chance to talk further with them yet, we sense that this event has been instrumental in many of them coming to faith in Christ.
It had been a long day, and I was keen to get this report written before bed. However as I was gathering my thoughts, I heard clapping from the dining room. I wandered back in to find that the indomitable Foxfires had cleared away the centre tables, and were energetically performing a dance to the hotel staff and handful of remaining guests at almost 10pm!
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| A member of the Foxfires group shares his testimony with hotel staff. |
We know that although the hotel staff has observed us “warts and all” over the past few weeks, they have also experienced the love of Christ in us. A number of them softly told me today how much they will miss us when we go, and one who was able joined us at the Closing Rally. One of the Foxfires shared with them how the Lord rescued him after growing up in a broken family and a gangster lifestyle, and invited them to approach us if they wanted to accept the Lord into their lives as well.
Thank you so much again for standing with us this week. We are very aware that our prayer supporters around the world have vitally contributed to this mission.
- Vanessa Khlentzos
(Pan African Communications,
African Enterprise)
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