DTS outreach to the People of the Mountains

The Discipleship Training School (DTS) outreach to Issore, in the mountains of Upper Talanga (southern Sudan), brought new insight, many challenges, and a renewed heart for the Lugot…the people of the mountains.

From September to November 2009, the DTS team ministered in Issore, preaching the Word of God and demonstrating His love practically by working on a road that has been abandoned for more than forty-five years.

Beginning to clear the road -->

Right from the beginning, the local people gathered to assist with the heavy work of clearing the road. The first step was to slash the grass and bushes from Lumarti to the next village up the road called Singli. As they worked, one of the men from Singli village, called Opio, commented, “The light and life has come to Issore.”

After slashing the tall grass up to Singli village, the team went back to begin digging up the roots and clearing away the tree stumps. Now the people of Singli village are using the newly cleared road, instead of passing through the bush trails like they’ve been doing all these years.

The cleared road -->

On their first visit further up the uncleared road to Kamayokong village, the team talked to the villagers about God’s love, and the fact that He sent Jesus to reconcile us back to Himself. Before they even offered an altar call, a man named Okot Richard stood up and said, “I want to get saved now.” So the team led him through the prayer of salvation.

<-- Some children of Issore


On their second visit to Kamayokong, the team began to disciple Okot, and assured him of his salvation. They encouraged him with ways he could remain faithful in his walk with the Lord. Interestingly, Okot was the only man the team came across that had only one wife. All the others had at least 2 or 3. In addition, Okot lost one leg from the knee down when he stepped on a landmine, and now walks with an artificial leg and a cane.

While staying in Lumarti, the team held regular evening devotions attended by the villagers from Lumarti and neighboring Singli. Through these devotions, two women from Singli, called Margret and Christine, gave their lives to Christ. From Lumarti, a woman called Florence and four other youth also accepted Jesus.

Praying for a woman -->

At the moment, there is no church in Issore, and only a Catholic center in Lumarti that is not operating very effectively. In order for Okot, with his artificial leg, and the other new converts to get to church, they have to walk 3 hours to the nearest church, which is the African Inland Church (AIC) in Lobone.

While working on the road and visiting Issore, the DTS team also took time to minister in the neighboring bomas of Palwar and Lobone. Each boma in the payam has a head chief, and the head chief of all of Lobone Payam resides in Lobone village.


<-- Witchcraft is widely practiced in Issore. This is a shrine commonly seen around the area.


This head chief of the whole payam, called Justin Atto Opio, was sick and believed he had been bewitched. So he asked the pastor of the AIC church, Michael, to bring him someone to pray for him. Michael approached the DTS team and asked if they would come and pray for the chief. The team shared and prayed with the chief, and he greatly improved. The following day, the chief went to church for the first time in his life to testify about how he felt after that prayer, and he gave his life to Jesus. Being the head chief of all the Payam, Mr. Opio is a very influential man. He granted favour to the DTS team to work in any of the other bomas in Lobone Payam that they wished, and said he was happy for YWAM to be working in Issore because it was the only boma that no one else had been willing to work in. The chief said, “I promise to be with the church during whatever occasions they hold…I will attend them. I will also seek advice from the church leaders, and will help them when they need me.”


<-- Young boys of Issore



While in Lobone, the DTS team visited the hospital after they were told that children were suffering, and some even died, because there was no medicine. During that visit they met a twelve-year-old boy who was on an IV drip and whose sister had just died. They prayed for him, and many other children. The next day the team went for the burial of the boy’s sister, and to their surprise they found the boy there at the funeral. The boy testified that as soon as the team prayed for him, he was healed and then was released from the hospital. Then he gave his life to the Lord, as did his older brother who had been attending him in the hospital. Nineteen other mourners heard the story and gave their lives to Christ as well.

All of these positive responses to the Gospel message were very encouraging to the DTS team, and assured them that their efforts were not in vain.

Elders of Issore -->

“We survived just by God’s grace,” said Mario, the team leader. “There was no hospital, no clinic. One student got sick with malaria, so we just started treating him with quinine without even testing him, and thanks be to God, he got better. Another time, baby Nicole got seriously sick with a high fever, but we had no treatment for a baby, so we just gave her paracetamol and prayed for her. Thankfully, she also got better. Another student dislocated his ankle playing football, but again, we just prayed and he got better. It was all simply God’s grace.”


Spiritually the team also battled. “People came to attend devotions,” said Mario, “and they would act as if they were gaining something. But then they would go back to the community and resume drinking again.” This discouraged the team, but they would remind themselves that they were breaking new ground, and it would take time for the Word of God to take root and go deep.


<-- A man with his wife and child in their home


There are many questions about the future. The big question asked by both the villagers and the DTS team was, “What next?” The villagers want YWAM to train up some of their people so they can go back and act as spiritual leaders in the villages. Some of the YWAMers have the heart to keep working in Issore, and are committed to a long-term vision there.

YWAM Arua is still praying about the next step, and considering sending the January GO Camp outreach to Lobone for the two weeks of that outreach. There are still plans for continuing the work on the road, but there is a big need to repair a bridge to connect Singli with vehicles. At the moment, the road is only passable on foot.

In spite of all the challenges, the team was very positive about their outreach experience. Mario concluded, “The outreach went to the right place because the people of Issore were left alone and no one was thinking about them, but now the DTS was able to reach them and share the Word of God with them. The Light has come to Issore through the outreach.”

The tragic reality of the Lugot of Sudan

High in the mountains of southern Sudan, among lush forests and fertile soil, live a group of people descending from the Acholi tribe known as the Lugot...People of the Mountain.

At the end of February, a team of YWAMers from the Arua and Yei bases journeyed to the Lugot villages to visit these people we have been praying for. What they saw broke their hearts.






In the foothills of Upper Talanga, there are 7 villages that make up Isore Pyam. The total population is approximately 4,700 people, but there’s not one pit latrine to be found. Nor are there any shops, clinics, or hospitals. The nearest place to buy salt is a 12-hour mountainous walk away.



















"This is a people group on the verge of extinction," Bosco reported. "They are merely survivors. There are no pit latrines, and the place is hilly, so all the feces gets washed down into the rivers...the same water that they cook with, drink, and occasionally bathe in."









Our team drove as far as they could to a place called Lobone, and then shouldered their bags for the 5 hour hike to Isore Pyam. There are no roads to the villages, no NGO work or development of any kind, not even a church presence. In Lobone, a couple of pastors joined our team for the trip to Isore...it was their first time to ever reach the place. Most people just don't bother...it's too far and too isolated.

Our team crossed rivers on precarious bridges (above),

and climbed up steep hills (left) ,

and more steep hills (below).

A few dedicated teachers run one school outside under a tree, which serves all 7 villages. They teach students from P1-P4 all together...about 40 kids in total. Many others can't come because it's just too far away from their homes.











The students do their best to learn in this makeshift classroom










The Lugot men spend most of their time hunting for bush meat. If they have a very successful hunting trip, any excess meat can be carried to Agoro in northern Uganda and sold. The proceeds then go to buy salt, sugar, etc. Again, Agoro is a 12-hour walk over hilly terrain! Not something you do very often.










A successful day for this hunter.















Our team was astonished at how fertile the land was, but the Lugot were growing very few crops.















A healthy bunch of bananas

"Look at what we are eating," this woman said to Bosco.
"Wild greens from the swamp."

A close up of the wild greens














The Lugot people have no tools for digging and no seeds for sowing...the few crops they grow are sorghum and cassava (used for brewing the local beer), maize and bananas. The rest of their diet consists of bush meat...


Paul (red shirt) studies his piece of bush meat

and honey.

Pastor Sam shares a bowl of honey still on the comb









Here the team shares a plate of cassava bread and greens...




















Pastor Sam prays for the lady who cooked the meal...













...and Bosco washes it down with the only available water for drinking...taken from the polluted river. (Yes, they all took various medicines for deworming and other diseases when they got back!!!)



"One of the big problems in that place is that everyone drinks the local beer and smokes marijuana. In the evenings we heard some co-wives fighting and screaming, but nobody comes to help them. No one cares...it's just normal."

Historically, the Lugot have been victims of circumstance. Some years back, the notorious Ugandan rebel group...the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA)...hid in the hills of Upper Talanga and terrorized the Lugot people. The Ugandan army and the southern Sudan army teamed up to flush out the LRA from that area, and the Lugot were caught in the crossfire. They were blamed for aiding and supporting the LRA, even though the LRA were in fact killing the Lugot. When the LRA attacked the Langi tribe in southern Sudan, the Langis retaliated against the Lugot. The Lugot people had nowhere to turn, with enemies on every side. It’s not surprising they turned to drugs and alcohol...their lives looked hopeless to them.


This hopelessness pervades the area...it's as if the Lugot people have resigned themselves to their fate. Our team members found this little boy sitting off by himself, looking miserable, and they asked him what was wrong. He just pointed to his belly with a haunted look in his eyes, and our YWAMers couldn't stop their tears. "He looked so sick, without any hope in his eyes," said Paul. "Even his parents seemed to have no hope of seeing life in him. He had isolated himself away from the other kids, like he was just waiting to die. It was horrible."






Witchcraft and animism are practiced in Isore, and our team came across several altars used by the local 'priests' (ie. witchdoctors).






This is the house of a known witch doctor...notice the small stone altar to the left of the door




A close up of the stone altar











A hilltop altar used by the witchdoctors for sacrifices












In spite of all the hardships and challenges, the Lugot people were very welcoming and hospitable. Our team sensed openness and a desire for change in the place. They held several meetings and explained to the Lugot that we had heard about them, had been praying for them, and wanted to visit them so we could learn first-hand about their situation and pray with greater understanding.








In typical African fashion, the men sit together on one side of the clearing (above), and the women and children sit on the other (right).











The Lugot women and children












We didn't promise roads or schools or clinics, but wanted to make the initial contact with the Lugot and let them know they are not forgotten. One Lugot man said, "If you come to help us build a road, we are ready to join hands with you. Even if it means cutting the stones or the logs, we are ready for it."

Our YWAM team is still seeking God about the next step, but in the meantime, please pray with us for the Lugot people...

• For their health and safety.
• For that little sick boy, and the children in general.
• That God will make a way to bring His people into that place and transform the hearts and lives of the Lugot.
• That a physical road will be built to help the people of Isore access the simple staples of live easier, like salt and sugar.
• That they will come to know Jesus, and become the salt themselves.
• For wisdom for our team as we seek the Lord.
  

Thank you, and God bless.

GO Camp is coming...

Happy New Year 2009!!

Sorry for the long delay since our last post. We're planning to revamp our blog and get more regular with our postings...so watch this space!

At the moment, we're gearing up for our annual GO Camp...Global Opportunities. This is a 1-week missions camp followed by a 2-week outreach aimed at 18-25 year-olds who have a heart for God and want to learn more about missions. We introduce topics common to our Discipleship Training Schools, like Hearing the Voice of God, the Father Heart of God, Evangelism, and Missions, to name a few.

It's an action-packed week filled with teachings, dramas, intercession, team building activities, campfires, etc.

Last year our team went to Sudan for their outreach and helped a local village church make bricks for a new church building. Not only were they doing something meaningful and appreciated by the local community, but they got to play in the mud!!

This year our outreach will be to northern Uganda to a place called Pader where a current YWAM ministry is working with the internally displaced people (IDPs). The area has long suffered under the brutal terror of the Lord's Resistance Army, and many people have lived in these IDP camps for years. The area is now peaceful, but the trauma lingers on in the hearts of many. We are thankful for the opportunity to minister love and hope to these people who have suffered so much.

We'll keep you posted on how it all goes!

Let's Go!!