We got up early to
be at the airport by 6:00 a.m. to check in for our chartered
flight to Lokichokkio. Loki has served as the hub of operation
for relief work for the people of southern Sudan for years.
Most of the Sudanese in your community will know it well. From
Loki you see transport planes with “UN” in huge
letters on the side taking off, filled with food and supplies
to be dropped to communities in need. We flew in and then out
again on a smaller plane to visit the people of the Presbyterian
Church of Sudan. We
were tired from lack of sleep, hungry from having missed breakfast,
and woozy from the bumping of the plane as it hit rising hot
air waves, but as we made our approach to Akobo, all that melted
away. Akobo is the “official” headquarters for the
Presbyterian Church of Sudan’s southern branch. The ground
is bare in this dry season, with some scattered trees. You see
the river running through this village and notice that no vegetation
grows at its edge. And then as the plane draws nearer you see
first one, then another, then many people who seem to come out
of nowhere, all moving toward the dirt runway. Visitors are
coming!
“Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, I am
there among them” (Matt. 18:20).
We had come to bring a word of hope and encouragement, a sign
of our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. And yet
we were the ones who felt encouraged as we sensed God’s
presence among them. We asked ourselves, “As we gather
together in Christ’s name, do those who visit us feel
the presence of God among us?” God has promised to be
there when we are gathered together—do others see God
through us? |
