One of the participants works in a war-torn region of Sudan. Most of the six million people from the region have either been internally displaced, fled to other countries or died. Joy (name changed) has been there for six years and is now the medical co-ordinator of a primary health care programme. Five clinics provide outpatient care, mother and child health services and health education in rural areas and camps for internally displaced people. It’s a tough place. She told me ‘One of the camps near us, already full with 50,000 internally displaced people, was swamped by the arrival of a further 40,000 a few months ago. Can you imagine? People wait for days to get a jerry can of water. Three of our clinics have been looted, leaving our local village health staff sitting under the tree telling stories of bombs and fear. We have built new clinics but it often feels like one step forward, two steps back.’
Sharing Jesus
So what’s the most important thing to do in a place like this? Joy says ‘Drink tea! That is how you get to talk with people, hear their stories, make friends. It’s my heart to share Jesus in this remote area where very few people have had the chance to hear the gospel.Some years ago, when I was working in a nutrition programme in another region, I heard my translator telling the mother of a sick child “the elephant god is angry with you. You need to go and sacrifice a bull to make him better.” This was not what I had said!! I felt God telling me that day that I should be somewhere long term, learn the language of the people and understand their culture and beliefs.
So Joy spent eighteen months learning the local language before going out there six years ago. A long journey! ‘I don’t do enough tea-drinking as work is so busy and there are so many more needs than I can meet. But I have made good friends and I can share stories about Jesus with them. There are some local believers but it’s not easy for them. People in Sudan need our prayers – and they need lots more Christians who will go to bring healthcare, to share their lives… and drink tea!