"When you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!” Nehemiah 4:20
Dear Brother & Sister in Yeshua. I pray and hope that my raw mission report from Bethlehem Mission center in EE state, South Sudan finds you well and sound in the Lord. This is now my 23rd days here on the ground after departing from the USA on May 1st, 2022. The Lord has been faithful and merciful to me and the brethren who are hosting my mission trip here to validate the work of ONMI here on the ground.
ONMI families and staff Paying tribute to the Rousseau's family
Back in the US side, on Friday May 13th, I received some sad news from ONMI’s Chairman of the board of Elders Mr. Kevin Rousseau that he lost his mother Ruth Rupprecht and his brother Terry Rousseau on the same day back-to-back. His mother passed away after taking Covid 19 booster shot, and his brother passed away due to 3 years fighting cancer. They were both believers in Yeshua and there is no concerns where they are now, except to say death remains as an enemy: 1 Corinthians 15: 55-57 summed it well.
15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Please pray for the Rousseau’s family during this grieving and trying times. John 11; 25.
Mission progress - A lot of challenges but we shall overcome by His grace
Long last, after 10 months of hard work, with your tenacious and prayers and encouragement, we are witnessing the fruit of our collective labor of love. The Bethlehem school building construction is coming to a completion.
Of the most current progress here on the ground is our aspirations to see the completion of Bethlehem Primary School is brought to completion. This has been my earnest prayer that while on the ground, I would witness the completion of this school and be able to report appropriately to our benefactors back in the USA. To date, that aspiration has come to past.
There is a tremendous appreciation from the beneficiaries to you the benefactors for this pivotal initiative. Upon my arrival, I found that the rooms in the first floors have been completed. Blackboards were mounted on the walls of classrooms, windows and doors were fixed and classes from P1- P5 have been conducted in the news building itself. While P6-P8 are being conducted in the temporary buildings across from the Bethlehem Missions compound.
In the course of the past few weeks while on the ground, I have seen the dedication of Denis, the engineer and his team working diligently, racing against the time. They have completed mounting the ceiling board for the second floor, constructed the steps to the entrances of the school, and within 2 days , they are almost done with coving the roof of the building with dark red corrugated Iron sheets adorning the landscape of Bethlehem mission center. This place has undergone a complete transformation, exceeding our expectations. For this we are forever indebted to God on your account. However, as major aspect of the Bethlehem self-contain school building has come to a completion, we are still behind several items needed to bring to completion this school’s functionality.
The school has over 35 windows and 24 doors in need of glass screen to protect them students from Mosquitoes and harmful insects invading the classrooms and offices. We need guardrails on the upper and lower floors to keep students and teachers from accidental falling off the balcony to the ground. There are over 600 children, teachers and school administration workers here. The floors of the school and steps also need to be retrofitted with terrano materials . All these efforts including electrical system are in need of funding to power the school. Therefore, counting on your, we are requesting for your prayer support to push this initiative to the finish line. $55,000 is needed to compel this work .
I haven’t been so busy until of late because of the gravity of the work here on the ground. Every single day I have been hosting so many people and ministry partners here on the ground. Just a week ago I had two pastors from Rumbek, Lake State; Pastor John T. Makur and His associate Pastor Gabriel Mattock were here for two days for pastoral workshop with our team here in Eastern Equatoria.
Meeting the EE State Governor and Magwi County Commissioner
Then within the same weekend, I rushed to Nimule, at the border with Uganda to meet with Eastern Equatoria Governor M Hon. Louis Lobong Lojore and his State cabinet government delegation to discuss the pressing problems between pastoralists( cattle herders and cattle raiders) several people were killed in the process as a result many people living within the vicinity of the incident in Mugali were displaced by this chaotic situation. Our community remains intact. So, I basically met the governor to visit all three ONMI’s mission premises where development not desertion are taking place. He appreciate the visit and has been scheduled to pay official visit to see for himself what the Lord is doing here under ONMI’s initiative.
NTC 973. Fm Press Corp interviewing Governor Louis Lojore siting to my left
From left to right Magwi county Commissioner, EE State Minister of agriculture, myself, Governor Louis Lojore and EE state Information minister
Madi Buurulo Translation team
The the following days we had 3 Pastors and One Bishop from Madi Burulo Translation team from Juba who came down for a three-day workshop to review the translation of the entire New Testament to Madi Burulo to full what is spoken of according to scriptures: Mark 16:15 “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” Luke 24:47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. The team headed by Bishop Nicholao Vuni, the chairman of the translation team, Pastor Simon Koribe , Pastor Henry Juma and Evangelist James Tambura and Elder Jino Longa covered broad range of issues. This language is at the verge of going extinct. It has been 1 Year already since ONMI with you support has been sponsoring this translation initiative. Our next move on this initiative is to accelerate the frequency and the speed of translation. We hope to see by God grace, this project will be completed by the end of 2022. We also covered the vision and a plan to mobilize South Sudanese Pastoral delegation to visit and take pilgrim visit to Israel for the first time since South Sudan became independent in 2011.
Of the current, as part of discipleship and pastoral calling and Congregation planting we are conducting pastoral training which entails: Growing to Maturity Primer An ideal biblically based guide for training and discipleship of both young people and adults in the knowledge of our Messiah.
On Sunday, we conducted an outreach to the military barrack of Nyongwa for confident building between the military families and the civilians to dwell in unity. I delivered a message from the book of John 17 where Yeshua prayed for the believers, past, present, and future to come to God, to be forgiven of their sins and have Eternal Life only to be found in Yeshua and they should strive to love one another and remain main as One as God the father, but South and the Holy Spirit are also One.
We proceeded on dedicating 5 children from 5 parents and ask the parents and community of believers to support the parents in their desire to raise the children with the word and fear of God in their hearts.
Discipleship and staff meeting
Agricultural initiative has been our major thrust in 2022 where over 100 acres of land have been prepared at the Beth Israel farmland of Akko Mountains plateau. Lack of Rain fall has been our major point of concern lately, but the rain began to come down again. But the pressing needs are all listed down right here $11,250: - 250kg of bean marrow bean one, new need more corn seeds 70 Kg, Banana 2,145- passion fruits – one tin. Papaya – 5 tin, Watermelons 2 Kg, beet roots – 10 tins. Orange 600 seedlings - $1000- Tomato hydrides 10 packages- . Cabbage – 10 packages- Onion hybrids – 2kg . Long eggplant hybrid- 4 tins for. Sukuma- wiki – 1 tin - . Cassava stock – 50 bags for 20 acres - . groundnut Serena 4 – 100 kg . Legumes – 50 Kg, guava grafted – 120 seedlings for 3 acres, Millet – 40 Kg. Dry season irrigation machine . Macozed – 10 package . Dufaga 10 package - . Winner 72 10 package - . Minter – 10 package. Oxel 10 tins - . Lava – 10 Package . Ant killer -10 tins - . Rocket – 10 tins - . Striker – 10 tins - . Dudu cyber 10 tin - $100. Carbofurans – 10 tins -. Fertilizer ken – 100 kg -. Urea – 20 litters - . NPK 100 KG - 50 KG . DI grow green – 10 litters, Di grow red – 10 litters . Super grow – 10 litter – . pick axe - quantity - 40 for . Hoes quantity 40 for $180. Panga machetes quantity - 40 for $. Axes quantity 40 f0r .
Utility vehicles and farm tractor accessories; Mechanical toolbox- 3 , Garden gumboot – 50 for, Overall - 50 quantities -
Raincoat – 50 quantities -, Fuel – quantities 24 barrels - Total $4850
Weeding Machine - 1, Leto Brush cutter 1- Hammer - 10, grass cutter 1, Sledge Hammer - 10. Total cost - $1000
Medical needs have been so a pressing problem lately with so many people suffering from Malaria. Thank you for prayers. Many of the children are recovering from malaria we got some medicine to treat them and also in part we want to thank you for your prayers. Total $4500
