November 2017

To "accompany" is to journey alongside , and that's exactly what three representatives from our synod did throughout their time in South Sudan earlier this month!

Rev. Pete Reuss (Office of the Bishop), Rev. Chad Johnson (Our Savior's Lutheran Church, Austin), and Rev. Jason Bryan-Wegner (Zumbro Lutheran Church, Rochester) first spent time in the Gambella region of Ethiopia traveling with Rev. Wal Reat who serves as an ELCA missionary there. Then they journeyed to the capital of South Sudan which is the city of Juba. In Juba they attended the dedication of Reconciliation Lutheran Church, Community Center, and Primary Health Clinic.

Read their individual highlights from the experience below, and please consider making a financial gift to support the ministry happening in South Sudan by clicking here .
Reflections from Rev. Pete Reuss
One trip. Two destinations. Two vastly different experiences.

Our travels initially took us to visit Rev. Wal Reat in Gambella, Ethiopia. Gambella sits close to the border of South Sudan, and refugees have flocked not only to the refugee camps in the state of Gambella, but also to the town of Gambella. We spent three days with the people of Gambella, joining them in worship, song, dance, walking around the community, and food (LOTS of meat!). We didn’t come to ‘fix’ anything. We came to accompany our brothers and sisters in faith as the first ELCA visitors, hearing people’s stories and encouraging their ministry. We focused on relationship.

We then journeyed to Juba, South Sudan to attend the dedication of Reconciliation Lutheran Church, Community Center, and Clinic. We joined some major hoopla, with upwards of 5000 people attending the dedication, including dignitaries from the ELCA and significant government officials. The location serves as a beacon of hope in the midst of a community struggling to survive. We celebrated the ways God will use the location to care for God’s people.

Accompaniment. Celebration. God worked through it all.
Reflections from Rev. Chad Johnson
Charis – the Greek word for gratitude and beauty. That is what I saw during my time with our ministry partners in Africa. Rev. Wal Reat, the missionary pastor of the ELCA, serving among the Nuer refugees in South Sudan, is a living saint. With very little in resources, he has started twenty six churches in just two years. We witnessed over 3,900 Nuer refugees assembled for a seven-hour worship experience. Gathered in a rolling hillside on the edges of Gambella, it was a vision of God ordained beauty. 

Our Anyuak brothers and sisters in Gambella assembled for a three-day conference event. Sitting under tarps and trees we worshipped and praised God. Powerful preaching, teaching, praying, singing, and dancing marked our time together. Hearts were filled with thanks and praise for our partnership in the Gospel. God is stirring and creating something that will bring new life to the world! We have much work to do and God will lead the way.

The dedication of the Lutheran Center in Juba is a sign of new life and new hope in a war torn land. Just two years ago the ground was dedicated for this center. Now a worship center, education center, and medical center stand in that space. As we worshipped and prayed in that space, tears of joy streamed down many faces. The name of the church is Reconciliation Lutheran Church. There is much to be reconciled and the hearts, minds, and souls of those in that place are beginning that process of restored relationship. May the good works begun amongst us continue on throughout the generations. All thanks and praise be to God!
Reflections from Rev. Jason Bryan-Wegner
For all intents and purposes, South Sudan is an idea not yet realized. Sixty-four tribes of people live in this area. The borders of the country are relics of colonialism, which took into no account how boundaries would unite or divide people. It is one of the sins of Europe and America that impacts people to the fifth and sixth generation. Tribal violence has dominated the narrative of this country. Much of the fighting is happening between Dinka and Nuer. The sins of the past continue to breed sin in the present. From a distance the situation seems hopeless.

But today, some of those sins of division are being healed. Hope is finding daylight. While in South Sudan, I watched Rev. Wal Reat, a Nuer, walk down the street holding hands with Rev. Mawien Arik, a Dinka. (In east Africa, it is very common for men to walk together holding hands.) Mawien walked Wal to a small shop just down the road from the new Lutheran Center. The woman who runs the shop is also Nuer and is from Rev. Reat's home village. It may seem like a very small gesture, but when you consider that people in each of their tribes have been killing each other for the last three years, it feels like a pretty big bridge was being built. Relationships are forming like this throughout this new Lutheran church in South Sudan.

The name of the church is Reconciliation Lutheran Church. Their key goal is to bring peace between peoples and tribes, bring hope through education and medical care. Little by little, hope is showing up and peace is being found. It will take tremendous courage to bring tribes together to worship and serve alongside one another. It has been and will continue to be messy. But that’s the way God works, in our messes and our struggles. That’s the way that sin is healed, and divisions mended – through digging in deep and trusting that God is already there. God is definitely up to some amazing things here in Juba. And it’s because faithful, messy people have been willing to jump into the mess and find holiness in it all.
Make a Gift
Please consider making a financial contribution to support the important ongoing work that is happening in South Sudan. Do so by clicking here and selecting the "LT: Global Partners" fund.

Thank you for your generosity!