Mission News - South Sudan African Mission

We request prayers for the success of peace in our country. Our people are suffering from wars, hunger and diseases. The food is scarce in the markets and everyone looks sick. We need peace for our people. We need peace so that the government is able to support the civilians with basic needs like food water and medicine. The little medicine we bring to the Malek church can only last for few months--sometime weeks–it is not enough at all for the population in Aweil.

Dr. John has been furthering his education in Lilongwe, Malawi (a country in south Africa near Mozambique and Tanzania) the past year. During his six week Christmas break from his studies Dr. John has returned to Malek. We are looking forward to his report and pictures of the Mobile Medical Clinic and the Malek Christian Hospital.

As I reflect on 2015, I am feeling beyond blessed. Even though the year has brought its share of heartache I continue to see God's faithfulness.

During 2015 I was privileged to share the Sudan African Mission with twenty two different congregations or groups plus I had the opportunity to attend two conferences. I am thankful for the hospitality and generosity of so many I have met along the way. Travelling 60,000+ airline miles and 1000s of road miles, God certainly has protected me and kept me healthy and safe.

In addition to representing SSAM, I keep up with the day to day office work for the mission which includes sending over 1500 receipts, writing, printing and getting the newsletter ready to mail and corresponding with Yournew and others. Because of 68 churches and 264 individuals, the South Sudan African Mission is able to make life changing impacts on the citizens of South Sudan!

Steve Holsinger, my son Nick, and myself were able to go to Malek, South Sudan February 14-26. The primary purpose of our trip was to encourage the Christians in the area and to attend the third graduation ceremony of the Aweil Bible College. It was very heartwarming to hear so many speak highly and affectionately of Dad and Mom. They are certainly respected by the people of South Sudan.

Sixteen men and one lady graduated from the Aweil Bible College with nearly the entire village and dozens of dignitaries attending the almost four hour ceremony. Deng Akol Ateng, County Commissioner of Aweil County South said while speaking at the graduation ceremony, "because of Paul and Marilyn Douglass and the South Sudan African Mission, 80% of South Sudan is Christian." That is quite a testimony!

While in Malek, we received word that Mom had had a massive stroke, was not doing well and probably would not live until we were able to get home. It was with great sadness we left Malek Monday morning and boarded our long flight home. During a layover in Addis Abba, Ethiopia on Tuesday afternoon February 24, we received word that Mom had passed away . It was such a long flight the rest of the way home.

The days following Mom's death I was reminded over and over again the impact Mom made on people across the nation and in South Sudan. We received 100s of sympathy cards and nearly $10,000 in memorial money which is being used to further education through the Aweil Bible College. The Sunday following Mom's memorial service in Gresham, a memorial service for Mom was held in Malek. I don't know too many who can say they had a funeral on two different continents.

In November my younger sister, Joyce, was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor and spent four weeks in the hospital. She has been transferred to a rehabilitation facility in the Denver area for radiation and chemo treatments. Please continue to keep Joyce and our family in your prayers.

I am looking forward to 2016 to see what God has in store for the South Sudan African Mission. If you would like to hear more about what God is doing in South Sudan, please contact me. I would be thrilled to come and share pictures and stories of the good things God is doing. I pray daily that God will continue to use the South Sudan African Mission in a mighty way and I will have the health and stamina in the next years to continue a legacy started by Dad and Mom when 28 years ago they answered a call from IDES (International Disaster Emergency Service) to go to Sudan to repair hospital equipment. No one could have imagined the impact SSAM would have in the intervening years.

Deng Akol Ateng, County Commission of Aweil County South congratulating one of the graduates at the Aweil Bible College graduation Frbruary 2015

WAR-LAI, SOUTH SUDAN CHURCH OF CHRIST
--Paulino Malou Bol Dear Steve, Bev and SSAM Members,

I am greeting you in the name of Lord Jesus Christ. We are busy doing our work well and successfully at the War-Lai Church of Christ. We have formed a special committee of both men and women to organize the Sunday church service. They are responsible for door to door church activities and to encourage non-believers. God has blessed our church by blessing non- believers. We pray for each unbeliever and we teach them to understand the Bible. We are making a small shelter so we can pray inside during the raining season.

I am back from my treatment after one month away. Upon my return I found that the Chelkou and Marial Baai congregations are doing well, praising, worshipping and praying to God.

I have quickly recovered from my sickness and appreciate the role played by South Sudan African Mission and South Sudan Church of Christ Aweil Mission for having facilitated my travels and follow-up my treatment. I am now healed and doing well. Praise God that I am treated as result of your commitment.

Brothers and sisters, we are very excited for your cooperation with us for so long. Our relationship will remain strong and continue. We pray God will bless the individuals who unite their hands to encourage and support our community through medicine.

Chelkou’s congregation is doing well and my family is ok. The church members often recall you because of the gifts you gave them when you came from the USA for student's graduation.

Chelkou evangelism is in progress as the two young Timothys are doing their best in the Church. The elders ministry, youth ministry, women ministry, Sunday school ministry are in progress. Agriculture or Ox-plow program is doing well. Though there is a little drought we hope for a good harvest in the near future so that we may eradicate hunger from our families and church members since this project was intended to solve the issue of the vulnerable people in the church.

Chelkou Trinity Basic School is in progress as is children's Sunday school. I have plans to establish a profit making school in Aweil Town in the near future so that it can help with other projects in our local Church.

The goal is to establish schools in all churches so that every church should have little income. Paulino will be Director for the children's education program. In Chelkou we have 250 children and five volunteer teachers in the church who support children in teaching, sports, spiritual healing and giving themselves.

When the SSAM team was in Malek, South Sudan in February we took toothbrushes, soccer balls, bats, balls, little wooden cars, small dolls which were donated by several indiviuals and churches. Paulino was so thrilled to have a toothbrush to use so he would no longer need to use a twig. We are so blessed!

ST. PAUL'S PRIMARY AND SECONDARY MALEK-ALEL AWEIL SOUTH REPORT
--Pauline Auma, Principal of St. Paul Primary and Secondary School

(Reporting on behalf of community and school pupils and Christians in Malekalel Church of Christ Youth who participated in rebuilding the burned school).

St. Paul’s School located in Aweil South, Northern Bhar Ghazal State is changing lives of the community by giving them maximum and better education according to South Sudan Syllabus.

Our appreciation goes to the entire team that stood with us during the difficult time when the school burned, both in prayers and financial support through our spiritual leader, Yournew Wol Kuot.

The entire community gives thanks to your family and friends who contributed towards the school. The classes started and are currently going on despite the challenge of books and uniforms. Thanks once more and may God bless you as we look forward to meet and work together again.

In April 2009, I took my first trip to South Sudan which ended up being life changing. Dad (Paul Douglass) had been asking me to move to Gresham and help with the South Sudan African Mission. I had no intentions of leaving my job as an insurance agent in Rochester, MN to work for the South Sudan African Mission. Needless to say on that trip, I fell in love with the people of South Sudan. After I returned home, the needs of South Sudan continued to nag at me but I kept convincing myself I did not want to leave my family in Minnesota, my church family or my job. But the thought continued to go through my mind, "do I want to just be a good insurance agent the rest of my life or do I want to go work for a mission and make a small lasting impact to those a world away?"

Food security has been a major problem in South Sudan since the time of war. Over two million people are affected by this according to the world food program’s statistics.

Northern Bahr el Ghazal is one of the most strongly affected states by hunger since the majority are the returnees which have become IDPs (internally displaced persons) who could not afford a place for cultivation and depend on food distribution. This is caused by heavy flooding. Cultivation is very expensive for some vulnerable households who cannot afford to purchase seeds for planting and afford better tools for digging. Some of these vulnerable are war displaced who because of nsecurity cannot access the planting gardens for livestock.

Northern Bahr el Ghazal is facing a food shortage and it has became the number one worse state hit by hunger and starvation due to the ongoing wars . Most people do not have access to goods that come from as far as Kenya, Uganda (East Africa) and Khartoum. Khartoum roads are block because of the wars and eastern African goods are far away from the state. Because of the conflicts the foreign companies that are suppose to supply food to the state face insecurity and they stopped coming. Other local companies that are supposed to try their best are faced by poor road networks between states and this makes the prices shoot up to their desire local prices. Roads got damaged because of the ongoing heavy rain falls and also due to the closure of South Sudan and Sudan border.

As a factor the Church of Christ in Aweil State happened to be the place where the community runs to and asks for help. The church of Christ is improving the standards of living for most of the communities who are vulnerable and promoting economic self reliance amongst them by engaging them to become committed to God and hence work as groups in their farm to achieve some good yields.

We greatly thank SSAM for its daily support to our congregations in South Sudan in general.

The community members are joining hands to plant local crops for if they are blessed they may have a small harvest this year to help improve a few lives through the church supported farms at community level.

Thank you to those who responded to last month's appeal
to the food shortage crisis in the Aweil, South Sudan area.
To date we have received $790

The ABC training is ongoing with twenty one students attending lectures in Malek Alel ABC main campus and two teachers who daily give lectures.

Currently the students will have their second term final examines in mid‐August and will be conducted by:

The work of the MCH is a blessing to our community in Northern Bahr el Ghazal and South Sudan as well. They gave an appreciation to SSAM for the great support that they have been doing during the war and which continues to be increasing in efforts to date.

The churches of Christ are doing a great ministry here in Aweil and Great Upper Nile as well. We are doing the Biblical teaching to the people of South Sudan. Many people have given their lives to God because of the truth which they learned in the Bible. The church of Christ is progressing well in the entire South Sudan as a Nation.

We had many baptisms from different churches in the five counties of Northern Bahr el Ghazal State (Aweil) from between December 2014 to August 2015 as shown in the table below.

Most of the churches are constructed using local materials but some are still under tree. The communities in these areas are benefiting from the ongoing Bible studies done at different church compounds.

We thank almighty God who made it possible for us to have a Church building at Malek, this building was completed through the small funds we have been saving from our Aweil budget which come from SSAM and our congregation contributed heartily by making bricks for the building.

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Recent news articles regarding the situation in South Sudan and specifically Aweil area were quite alarming. Because of the war going on between tribes, Aweil has been cut off from the supply routes that bring the necessities of life into the region by truck from Juba and Uganda. Spring time flooding and growing season drought have left people dependent upon outside sources for food. Many people, especially women and children, are starving to death. I was hoping that the news feeds were inaccurate, so I contacted Yournew. He verified the reports. While a large portion of our mission budget is designated “food for life”, The amount is literally a “drop in a bucket”! Also, you can't eat money. The price for the food that is available has skyrocketed. How should we respond? We are calling on everyone to pray for a peace pact between the warring factions. Pray for the organizations that are trying to help by airdropping supplies. Pray for our preachers and leaders as they share the gospel within this critical context.

Pray for SSAM as we contact aid organizations to see if we can help coordinate getting food shipped into the area. Pray for Yournew as we consult with him regarding this desperate situation. We will send as much money as we can, and we’ll keep you posted about next steps.

We are doing well in the Lord and I hope that everyone in the USA is doing well in the Lord too.

I am sorry our response was delayed because of our internet--not until today have we had service so we did not see the email earlier.

You are right. Here in Aweil things are really difficult. The hunger is all over the country but for Aweil, the roads from Uganda via Juba are not accessible. No food items are coming from Khartoum, Sudan either. For many people they don't have work. For those who can afford to buy the food, prices are very high. For example, 50 kg (110 US pounds) of sorghum is at 1,200 South Sudanese Pounds (ssps) each. To convert to American dollars it is at the cost of $380 each. These are very high prices compared to what we were used to before the civil war broke out in South Sudan by itself. We are praying we will make it out of this year's crisis together.

Last year the local harvest was ruined by the heavy flood that you may have known about through our reports last year.

Earlier this quarter SSAM sent funds for "Food for Life". The funds were used to encourage poor members of our community with a chance to plant their own crops or buy food to live on when they have nowhere else to get food. The funds were only enough for 30 households and given to only the most needy in Malek and Aweil. We still have families crying of hunger which is making them more vulnerable to sickness and feeling of hopelessness.

We would be happy if SSAM would consider helping our most vulnerable families during this crisis. The funding for ABC (Aweil Bible College) is getting more complicated to us because the prices are surprisingly shooting up at a sudden rate.

We are thankful for the support our Christians in the USA and SSAM continues to give South Sudan. God bless you,
Yours sincerely,
Yournew Wol

Dr. John is continuing his studies at Central Hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi and is anxious to return to the Aweil area. Following is an excerpt from a recent note from Dr. John.

"I hope you and your family are in good health--it has been awhile since we communicated.

I am well and progressing well on academic aspects, however there is too much to do here.

I have learned through Yournew how the team is progressing in Aweil. I miss my godly family (team)

I have been taking classroom exams the last two weeks. I will begin a hospital attachment on Monday, July 27th until February next year at Central Hospital here in Lilongwe. This is probably the most time and energy demanding period of my studies.

I am praying for everyone in Aweil during this time of diseases and war and hunger.
Yours in Christ, Dr. John

At the July meeting of the SSAM board of directors, Bev Douglass Campbell was given a new title in recognition of the fine work she is doing as the main representative of South Sudan African Mission. Over the last few years, Bev has gone from being an administrative assistant to her parents to being a full-fledged missionary! Bev travels and speaks on behalf of SSAM frequently in addition to manning the office, managing the finances, publishing the monthly newsletter and maintaining contact with our partners in South Sudan. (note her travel schedule posted elsewhere in the newsletter.)

In recognition of her growth, accomplishment and excellent work, Bev was given the title, “Director of Communication”. The SSAM board of directors is grateful to Bev for her skill and hard work and we are proud of her accomplishments on behalf of the Sudanese. If you would like Bev to come and speak on behalf of the South Sudan African Missions, please contact the office at 503.729.4631.

In our last newsletter I shared the acronym RAISE, (Relationship, Accountability, Indigenously Sustainable, and Equitable). When I shared the acronym and the philosophy it expresses with the leaders in Aweil, I felt almost cruel. “How do you tell people who have next to nothing, that they need to contribute more and take more responsibility for changing their situation?” “How do you teach people who earn so little, and have so little, that they need to give 10% or more to the Lord and His work?” I did it because it is biblical and right. I am so glad that I did!

I shared with the Aweil leaders how the new church in Pagak (In Jonglei state) had built a new church building with no money from their U.S. partners. I asked an elder in Pagak how they had done this in an extremely poor refugee camp and he responded, “First you build God’s house, then you build your own.” Since we left Aweil, the church in Malek has been busy! You can see for yourself the work they have done using local labor, local money and local materials to build a much needed new church building in Malek. Other villages are following suit.

Chilcot village where Paulino preaches has enough hand-made bricks to build a new building there as well. Our friends in South Sudan are managing a budget, planning for the future and giving sacrificially in response to our input. It is humbling to witness the word of God at work in the heart of good, godly leaders. We are partnering together to build God’s household of faith in South Sudan. Thank you for your praying and giving that has made it possible.

I am glad to inform you that all our churches in Aweil are growing and we are busy teaching in our local churches. We have started rebuilding the Malek church because the old one which had been built with grass and local materials only lasted twelve years. The reason we want to rebuild it, it is because the grass and supporting poles are starting to fall apart and it is not useable in the rainy season. We talked it over with you during your visit to Malek of our plans to enlarge the church building.
Yournew Wol

Dear Bev and Steve, and other SSAM Board members,
Malek Christians and the community are very happy to pass this email and warm greetings to all, the SSAM board and to all fellow Christians and donors in USA.
Our network is very unreliable at times and we would like to update you on more activities that are going on with the church and Aweil mission ministries, but we sometimes don't succeed in doing so.

Malek Church:
The Christians in Malek have been so concerned about their church at Malek. Since we established the church compound, ABC and MCH clinic in Malek the church which was built with local materials (grass thatched and mud made walls and local timber poles) has been deterioting. The anthill has been cracking our fence and church down and is consuming a lot of resources in a short period.

We have come up with a plan to rebuild the church with a roof and brick. The Christians in Malek are so busy with the Lord’s work. They are putting the iron sheet on as the roof and bringing up the wall with the burned (red) bricks that was locally made by the Christians themselves.

St. Paul Primary school reconstruction:
Since the funds were an urgent request due to the untimely burning of the church supported village school in Malek, we have tried our level best to improvise. With plans made prior to the funds that were received from IDES we came up also with a plan to make simple classrooms with iron sheets roofs and bamboo sticks.

The new structures looks simply amazing. The children are already found playing their football around the school compound and sometimes they are singing the songs of praise unto Almighty God for immediate blessings that led to seeing their school being returned to normal in few months after being burned by the wildfire.

As soon as the structure is completed, we will compile for and IDES the expenditures of the funds sent to Aweil mission for the rebuilding of St. Paul Community Primary School.

We may not be able to express how glad we are about the funds we received from IDES, but to say thank you. The funds have raised the mercy and the name of our risen Lord so highly in Malek Village.

We will update you soon after completion of School and church reconstruction projects.

Attached herein are the photos for both church and St. Paul Primary School structures.

We are thankful for the support that SSAM is capable offering to South Sudanese evangelist and our medical team in Aweil and those in upper Nile states. God bless you all.
Faithfully in Christ’s Service, Yournew.

It is unusual for SSAM to combine our monthly newsletters but because of travel schedules and time constraints, we have done so for May and June.

How do you achieve a balance between responding to pressing human need and being aggressive in planting churches and preaching the gospel in a nation devastated by war and wracked by poverty? Other than the oil industry, there is no viable economy. There are encouraging signs in farming, but progress is slow.

On our recent trip we taught the Sudanese evangelists an acronym that describes the approach SSAM wants to take in the ministry in South Sudan. The word is RAISE.

The “R” is for relationship. The love between our leadership team in South Sudan, the Douglass family, the board of directors and you, our donors, gives the ministry great strength.

“A” is for accountability. Paul and Bev have worked hard to teach and require accountability for every dollar donated to SSAM. In a cash economy receipts often are not provided, but our men have been insisting on it.

The “I” and the “S” stand of indigenously sustainable. This stirred up a lot of discussion, but the men are confident that they can teach their congregations to take more financial ownership of the ministry. It is obvious to everyone that there is a great dependency that we cannot allow to grow. The first step toward an indigenously sustainable mission is the leadership team on the field embracing the idea and setting achievable goals. Our South Sudanese friends have done just that!

The “E” is equitable. Often on the mission field those who speak English well have an inequitable amount of influence and authority. It takes concerted effort on the part of both American and South Sudanese leaders to keep things balanced.

One reason we traveled for many hours over rough roads to visit every church location on our 2013 visit was to emphasize our concern for, and partnership with, each church, every evangelist and all of the elders in each village. We are making progress! Thank you for sharing with us in the process of helping to RAISE up leaders and churches in South Sudan.

Receive my warm greetings in Jesus Christ‘s name. I hope you are fine all over there.

Dear All, the church at Makuac Amiir has been busy with its normal activities such as; Bible study, Sunday services, Evangelism and Sunday school. Meanwhile, we have newly baptized (41) people in the last three months.

Thanksgiving, we thank SSAM for their generous support, both financial, materials, prayers, and medicines which we received through mobile clinic vehicle. May God bless our USA donors, SSAM Board and Christians who work day and night to raise funds for our SSCOC (South Sudanese Church of Christ) Mission programs.

I am glad to have this opportunity to report to you the work of the church ministry in the five counties of Aweil and how my treatment went in Khartoum.

I spent twenty one days outside Aweil, the ministry continued well with lots of teaching by the evangelists in their local villages.

My treatment went very well. After doing all the predictive test values, the doctor came up with different diagnoses which includes (1) High blood pressure, (2) Suggestive Enteric Fever (Typhoid Fever) and (3) High Cholesterol Level. Thanks be to God that I have been improving thereafter. There is not as much pain in my left arm like before. I hope after I complete the medicines that I was given I will be better than this.

I have no words that best express how grateful I am to Sister Bev and to SSAM board of directors for the quickest response possible that resulted into prompt arrest of my illness in Khartoum. Without medical funds raised by SSAM I would have not gotten help as quick as this from any other source. You have been standing with me during the good and worst times in my life. Thank you!

Christians across our churches are calling me and saying a lot of praises to SSAM for finding funds for medical aid to Yournew (to me). Malek Church members are overwhelmed of my return well and strong to resumed serving the church. Thank you!

After receiving the email from Bev that IDES was able to grant us the funds for the school which was burned down by a wildfire, I informed the community and the Christians that they can now prepare themselves with local resources and manpower so that when the funds reach our account in Aweil we could immediately begin construction on the school.

Meanwhile the caretakers of those poor children were left without a single classroom – it is God answering their prayers through Church of Christ in Malek, SSAM and IDES in USA. They are and will be celebrating when the Malek Christians present to them the materials they need for rebuilding their school back to a better classroom for the children. I have no words to express what myself and my fellow congregational members have in our heart to thank IDES for the funds for St. Paul Primary School.

Thanks to IDES again for this important input to our community and our Christian members in the village of Malek.

$9,500 from IDES has been sent to Yournew to be used to rebuild the village school.

For two weeks I have been suffering from difficulties with my left hand and it continues to grow worse each day. I cannot move it well or hold something with it. I have tried our local clinics thinking it will get better but it continues to grow worse every day. I am kindly asking you to help me with some funds which will enable me to go for better tests and determine the cause of the pain. This is the same hand which I had a problem with and had operated on three years ago.

The estimated cost for the treatment is 6500 US dollars. I will need to go to Nairobi for my treatment and to see the doctor there since that is where my surgery was done before.

Thank you for the outpouring of sympathy to our family with the loss of Marilyn Douglass. We received over 100 cards from all over the United States affirming the fact that Marilyn had an huge impact on lives both here and in South Sudan. To date $3,565 has been given in Marilyn's memory to be used to further the education of young women at the Aweil Bible College in the village of Malek, South Sudan.

Greetings to you all. It has been sad news to hear of the loss of our founder mother Marilyn. I met our mama Marilyn in Nairobi capital city of Kenya, when I had been chosen from my congregation in Kakuma refugee camp to go and study in Nairobi at the Great Commission School.

I do remember many scriptural advises that Mama Marilyn gave us. Mama Marilyn has been a caring and loving mother to the people of South Sudan. She will be in our memory forever for the good things that she did for our great nation of South Sudan.

It was 17th Feb. 2015, when Peter (Gadet) and I received Steve, Bev and Nick at the airport in Juba and we took them to where they could wait until the next morning for the flight to Aweil for the graduation ceremony.

My visit to Malek Village and the congregation was my second visit since 2009, when South Sudan African Mission board of directors came and opened the Malek Christian Hospital. It was my privilege to go and meet my colleagues who had studied with me and the Aweil Bible College graduates.

We shared a lot of experiences and our challenges in spreading the gospel in South Sudan. On Saturday in our meeting with Steve, Bev, Nick, Steve gave us a special message and used the word RAISE. Relationship, Accountability, Indigenous, Sustainability, Equitable. I think this word RAISE will keep us going and we will remember in our history

Bev spoke to the graduates and those in attendance at the Aweil Bible College Graduation.

"On behalf of my father and mother, Paul and Marilyn Douglass, the South Sudan African Mission Board of Directors, churches and the many Christians in America, I extend our warmest greetings, prayers, love, God's blessings and congratulations to the Aweil Bible College 2015 graduates.

I first visited your village of Malek in 2009 and fell in love with your people and country. I now represent the South Sudan African Mission to the churches and people of America. I travel many miles each year telling of the mission and the good things God is doing in South Sudan.

It is because of the contributions of the churches and Christians in America, we are able to send funds to South Sudan.

It is my pleasure to have my son, Nick with us on our trip. He was just three years old when his Grandpa Paul first came to Sudan so he has heard most of his life about the South Sudan African Mission. Now he is able to visit your country and meet those he has heard so much about.

Thank you for your hospitality by making our team feel welcome and a part of you. Although our skin may be a different color, we consider it an honor to be here and accepted as a part of Malek, South Sudan. You are our Brothers and Sisters. We love you and we will continue to pray for you every day. God Bless each of you."

From Nick....
On February 14th I set out on an adventure with my mom and Steve. I have been on multiple trips to Mexico, Dominican Republic, and Costa Rica. None of those trips could prepare me for the culture shock of South Sudan.

I have been listening to my grandpa tell of his trips and his time in Sudan for the majority of my life. When I stepped off the plane in Aweil I immediately recognized Yournew. During the next five days I would meet more people than I can ever remember. Luckily I have hundreds of pictures I can look back at and remember the people and the trip.

Co-Founder of South Sudan African Mission, Marilyn Douglass passes away
February 24, 2015

The following was written by Yournew and read at Marilyn's Celebration of Life.

I know that Marilyn was as well loved and respected in the United States as here in South Sudan. It will take time; days, weeks, months and years for me and my people in South Sudan to accept her passing. It will be hard to say bye to Mama Marilyn. I hope that father Paul will get stronger to stand this loss with us all.

Marilyn was a loving mother not only to me but to my people. She did a great job for the people of South Sudan. She has shown us love and how to love. She has shown us how to bring even our own relatives who haven’t heard of Christ before to Christ. Her work with father Paul brings us closer to Jesus Christ. We are bringing Christ's news right now which without Marilyn's efforts together with father Paul we would have never returned to the villages we abandoned during war time.

I will miss mother Marilyn but I will never forget her in my heart. Paul and Marilyn brought me out of oppression in Khartoum, sent me to Zimbabwe Christian College whereby I was able to interpret the Bible to my people which without Paul and Marilyn I would have not been where I am today as well as my people. Many didn't make it back to Malek village and through the church and Marilyn and Paul I was able to return to my homeland with ease.

I will not be able to count all the clothes she made to clothe the poor, orphans and elderly nor the counseling she gave me to commit myself to serving my people through the word of God. Marilyn is godly and God's chosen woman for me and to the people of South Sudan.

No phrases of words are fit to praise Paul and Marilyn and their support to me and the people of South Sudan as a whole. Since 1988 until this day in 2015, their commitment to finish and support what they started has made a difference in our community. The team that Marilyn and Paul raised has reached places no one has preached before. Marilyn is a godly mother to me and to the people of South Sudan.

Marilyn may have gone and left Paul too soon but she will forever live in our hearts.

We are praying for Paul, Bev and Marilyn’s grand children that they take heart and complete for Marilyn whatever she might have left behind to be accomplished.

Christians are mourning in joy that Marilyn has gone to the Almighty God that she has been serving throughout each single day and night that she spent on earth.

Even on her sick bed Marilyn sent Bev, her son Nick and Steve to reach down to us in Malek to let go to harvest the servants of our Lord Jesus Christ. What touched my heart is her passing while her grandson Nick and daughter Bev were on their mission back to the states.

Mama Marilyn, you will always live in us and always be remembered, may Almighty God rest your soul in peace.

I may not be at the ceremonial services but I am sharing with you in spirit. All our Christian leaders will be attending with the congregation in Malek to have a funeral for mother Marilyn and for the blessings to the Godly family she left behind with us.

The graduation ceremony at Aweil Bible College is a tribute to the in-country leadership team of South Sudan African Mission. In addition to the responsibility our preachers have for their home churches and the evangelists who work with them, they take turns teaching ABC courses under the direction of ABC principal Angelo Atak. This class marked the reinstatement of the Bible college after some local flooding followed by the collapse of the student dormitory. This year marked another milestone: our first woman- Regina- graduated. These young graduates will be serving in their home areas doing evangelism as well as opening schools in the villages as a means of blessing the community and earning a living. It was very encouraging to see the graduates in their brilliant blue gowns marching in while singing in unison, “I have decided to follow Jesus…no turning back, no turning back!” Pray for these fine young people as they begin their ministries.

By the time most read this newsletter, Steve Holsinger, Bev Campbell and Nick Campbell will be traveling to South Sudan for the graduation of the Aweil Bible College. The 2015 graduating class consists of seventeen students.

Please pray for the team as they travel. The peace negotiations will be on going while they are in the country and they could be put into compromised situations. With that being said, we are confident God is going before us on this trip and every detail of the trip will go on flawlessly as planned.

January 14, Marilyn Douglass suffered a massive heart attack which resulted in two stents put in her heart. After 12 days in the hospital she was released to a rehab facility in Gresham, OR and her hope is that she will be able to return to their home. If you would like to send a card of encouragement, please do so to PO Box 2432, Gresham OR 97030.

Greetings, I therefore hope that you are doing well in the Lord, I reached the location called Ayolo camp on the border of Uganda. It is six hours from Juba, the capital city to Ayolo camp.

I wanted to send my appreciation and give thanks to almighty God and Sudan African Mission for granting me this opportunity to reach those who have been crying and seeking for the word of God.

The people have committed themselves to build church of Christ at the refugee camp.

Every Sunday they meet for prayer under a tree with a total number of 537 people which I saw during my December 2014 visit.

I had the opportunity to go to Anchorage, AK and visit with the Christians at Faith Christian Community, January 10-13. Faith Christian is home to a Nuer Sudanese Congregation which is a part of Faith's congregation. Because of work conflicts, one group meets on Saturday afternoon and another one on Sunday afternoon with approximately 50-75 at each service.

I was humbled as I listened to the congregation sing with such conviction "Blessed Assurance" and "Trust and Obey" out of the Nuer hymn books in their native Nuer language. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!" If you haven't sang these songs in awhile find a hymn book and read the words to these hymns! "Trust and obey for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey." The South Sudanese have been through so much but they know that blessed assurance comes by trusting and obeying.

In my presentation is a picture of tukals. 83% of the rural population of South Sudan live in tukals but they also informed me that most of them had been born in one..

Spending the weekend with the Christians in Anchorage was definitely a highlight and one I will not soon forget.

January, 2015 Update

SSAM TEAM TO GO TO SOUTH SUDAN IN FEBRUARY

Steve Holsinger, Bev Campbell and Bev's son, Nick will be traveling to South Sudan February 14-26. While there they will attend the third Aweil Bible College graduation of seventeen students. The graduation is an important event for the Aweil Bible College and the village of Malek with government officials and community leaders invited. This will be an opportunity to affirm to South Sudan that South Sudan African Mission is concerned for their country and their well being.

Please pray for the SSAM team as they go into a county of unrest. There is currently a travel advisory for anyone going into Juba which means we must be aware of our surroundings, maintain a high level of vigilance and take appropriate steps to enhance personal security.

Luggage is very limited but if you wish to send a note to one of the graduates or to one of the evangelists, we will make room in our luggage for them. We do not have the names of the graduates but several of you support one of the evangelists and this would be a good opportunity for you to communicate with them. If you, your church, your Sunday School class or family would care to send a card or note please send it to SSAM, PO Box 187, Gresham, OR 97030. Please do not enclose any money. Correspondence must be received prior to February 4th.

Graduation class of 2009 ABC
Graduating class of 2009. Graduates are in the blue gown and the teachers are in red.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2015
--Yournew

May Almighty God bless you all in USA.

The work of Christ is progressing well here in Aweil. Aweil Mission is encouraging expanding. More new churches are ascending from far villages.

Because of flood and bad roads we have difficulties collecting reports. Attached here are few of the reports that we were able to reach from our evangelists from various churches in Aweil area.

The intake of ABC (Aweil Bible College) for 2015-2017 will start in January 2015. We have written to our local churches to send the new students. ABC has been acknowledged at state level. There are seventeen (16 boys and 1 girl) in the graduating class. Our next classes will start one week after the graduation.

We are praying that Bev will be able to send us the funds early because the hunger is striking our state of Aweil and things are difficult with our evangelists. This is a national crisis since there was a bad harvest last season and the war had an effect on some of the states in the country. We so grateful for all the help you are offering to people of South Sudan.

Over $100,000 was sent to Yournew Jan. 7, 2015 to distribute per their four month budget

GIVING STATEMENTS

If you have donated to SSAM in 2014, look for your giving statement to be in the mail by the middle of January. On behalf of the entire SSAM team, we continually thank God for your contributions.

LUKA'S EYE SURGERY SUCCESSFUL

I send the greeting of myself, my family and the church congregation.

Because of my eye treatment I am thankful to SSAM. My family, friends and the church members are all happy and thankful for what the mission has done for me to make a priority for my eye treatment.

The Church is functioning well. Priorities are evangelism. We baptized seven. The Sunday School children are continuing to learn.

WHERE WILL SSAM BE?

January 25 - 6 p.m. Turner, OR Christian Church
We have several other locations scheduled for later in the year and if you are interested in SSAM coming to give an updated presentation, please contact us. After our trip we will have new pictures and information to share.

PRAYERS & PRAISES

SSAM team while in South Sudan February 14-26. Pray especially for their health and for safety while traveling to and from South Sudan and while in the country. The team flies to Dubai, UAE, on to Addis Ababa Ethiopia and Juba, South Sudan before arriving in Aweil. We will then drive to Malek for the graduation festivities.

Churches of South Sudan and their evangelists.

Leaders of South Sudan. Solution to the on going conflict.

Paul Douglass will celebrate his 88th birthday on January 22nd. Send him a card if you wish. PO Box 2432, Gresham, OR 97030

MATUIC CHURCH OF CHRIST
--Daniel Deng

Receive my greeting with hope that you are doing well as I am doing here.

Church activities: Matuic Church of Christ is always busy with church activities. All the ministries are doing their work. We have Bible study groups which meet two days a week in order to prepare them for baptism. Women groups also go door to door to pray for the families, peace in South Sudan, the sick and the needy. Youth are also busy making bricks for the church construction and building the office. They are working very hard to replace the benches for sitting in the church because some of the seats are getting old.

Matuic Church of Christ

REPORT FROM MALUALBALI, AWANGTHOU AND
MANGAR-TONG-ADHAR CHURCH OF CHRIST
--Ezra Lual Wieu

Greetings from the three church congregations. We praise God for giving us brothers and sisters who have committed themselves to support us in the mission. May God bless and keep them safe.

Last week I prayed with the congregation at the newly founded church of Mangartong-Adhar Church of Christ. I preached the Good News and the congregation was very grateful and received the Biblical message. They were very encouraged in the Lord and gained spiritual growth. They extend their greeting to the brothers and sisters in the USA.

I recently was at Awangthou Church of Christ and after the service we discussed Bible schools, Sunday classes, preparation of Lord's Supper, arranging contributions, Sunday services and house to house visitations.

I praise God for my new motorbike. It will ease my transportation from ABC (Aweil Bible College) and the three churches because they are a far distance apart. It is a great achievement for my field work. Since I received the motorbike, I was able to meet every congregation any time as needed.

It has been SSAM's policy to not furnish motorbikes for the evangelists because of the added expense. Ezra's US sponsor contributed additional funds for the motorbike which enables him considerably with visiting churches and continuing his work with the Aweil Bible College

MALEK CHRISTIAN HOSPITAL

Malek Christian Hospital continues to see hundreds of patents for the usual illnesses; malaria, dysentery, pneumonia and pre and post natal care. Education regarding good sanitary practices continues to be a high priority, as most of the disease experienced is preventable. Dr. John Kuat is in Malawi for some specialized training sponsored by the South Sudanese government. The mobile medical clinic continues to serve remote villages, staffed by people Dr. John has trained.