Going Alone, but Not Alone
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” —Matthew 28:18
These words are the bookends of Jesus’s absolute authority to send people on mission and his promise to be with them always—until he comes again and says the mission is finished. I would like to give testimony to God’s grace in sending me and being with me in my latest trip to South Sudan.
Sending
From previous blogs, you know that my wife and I received a call to GO and serve with the Cush4Christ (C4C) team in South Sudan for about two years. We were eager to serve God in this place. God’s providential circumstances changed that to an exploratory visit of three months in 2019. When my wife’s cancer treatment again postponed that long-term call to GO, I thought to myself, “Well that’s it, we are not going back.”
We continued to serve God’s global kingdom work stateside, leading monthly prayer groups for missions. When the pandemic hit, we joined a daily group prayer for our civil leaders, our congregation, and missions. Later, I received another call from RPGM inviting me to be a board member and was appointed as the chairman for the South Sudan committee. God was not through with me; instead, he called me to be a sender. This year I went back to South Sudan with two other board members to visit for two weeks with the purpose of encouraging and supporting the C4C team.
Not Alone
At the time of this board visit, the South Sudan government required a negative COVID-19 test 72 hours before entering their country. Consequently, I got a quick-turnaround Rapid Antigen test that came out negative. While tending to last minute packing details, I was concerned that I should have gotten a PCR test and trust the Lord to get results back in time. At the airport check in, sure enough, they rejected my negative RA test and insisted I needed the PCR test. I went back home feeling like a miserable failure. I was to meet the other two board members in Chicago that day. For me, it was mission over, and I had two full bags with things for the team that would not get there.
However, the Lord was not done. He heard my cry for help. So, after I texted my fellow board members in Chicago to notify them of my failure to be able to get on the plane, I received good news that I could get a PCR test with results that same day and reschedule my flights for the next day! The downside was that I would have to travel alone. I would soon discover the glorious truth that I would not travel alone. With God, one is never alone. He was not through with me; he gave me a second chance to glorify him.
The flight the next day was long (17 hours in air and 12 hours on ground), but safe and smooth. Zach Smith arranged for me to have a driver from the Transit Hotel near the Juba airport pick me up. The driver was waiting for me and had another man help me get both of my bags processed, out to his van, and then hauled up two stories to my room. God was actively working to help me.
Since I arrived a day late, I missed the charter flight with my two fellow board members taking us to an airport close to the Cush4Christ compound. Instead, I stayed at the hotel in Juba two nights before boarding a commercial airline to Aweil. The ticket was paid for by C4C and delivered to the hotel for me to pick up in time for my flight. The same driver took me to the Juba airport at 5:30 am. He stayed with me in line outside until an airport worker—Zach’s friend William—met us.
I followed William with my luggage through the initial screening process. He took a copy of my passport and tickets to check in my two suitcases that were a little over the 20KG weight limit each. When I saw William later, I reimbursed him for the overage charge plus some for his service. He led me to another room to wait before boarding so I didn’t have to stand in line. When he returned, I went though yet another scan then headed out to the tarmac to board the Kush Airline twin turboprop commuter plane.
Before I boarded, William introduced me to Franco, a good Christian friend of his who is also known by the C4C team. Franco “just so happened” to be flying to Aweil on the same plane. God provided a traveling companion for me, too! When we arrived in Aweil, Zach was delayed and not there to pick me up. Franco took me over to a shade tree where refreshments were sold and treated me to tea and conversation until Zach arrived. Again I was not alone. I praise the Lord for the gracious and loving ways he provides. He sends people and is with those he sends. On this trip, he provided for me in visible and tangible ways.
Serving the Lord on mission in other lands can be lonely at times. That is why it is important for C4C to be allied with other mission organizations. They help C4C with transportation, drilling wells, providing lunches for school children, medical evacuation air service, construction and repair, and other necessities in harsh environments like the South Sudan bush. When someone like me messes up in getting there; or if there is a medical emergency; or any number of needs in the community, God has his people there to help.
However, we need more laborers to share in helping people in spiritual need of the gospel and of physical needs that go along with it. If the Lord is calling you to be one of those laborers, know that he will be with you always, whether you are the one in need or you are sent to meet the needs of others.
Dean F is husband of Pam, father of four children, and grandfather of seven grandchildren. He is a ruling elder at Second Reformed Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis, IN, and recently joined the RPGM board.