pre-Sudan: my heart. my petition.

Hey friends! Hope all is well in your lives. I’ve had a crazy past few months, transitioning out of college (I actually graduated!), spending a wonderful summer in Minnesota with my family and buddies, and finally trying to figure out that age old question: now what do I do with my life? I’m learning that this is a question that will never really go away. I now write to you from what once was my delightful place of study, Missoula, Montana, where I couldn’t have been more touched by God’s influence in my time at school here. Although I never thought I’d be back in Montana right now, it’s been a haven for me to hear His voice. Over the past year or so, I believe God’s been sharing with me that He has a new place and purpose in mind for my life, as much unfamiliar and wild as Missoula once was to me. This is a calling I truly feel that I cannot turn away from: Khartoum, Sudan, in Northeast Africa.

I became aware of a ministry in Sudan almost a year ago that I’ve been praying about ever since. Begun by Heidi and Rolland Baker in Mozambique over 30 years ago, Iris Ministries is a very specific Christian outreach that has a unique mentality. Taking downtrodden, wretched situations of poverty wrought by political and social corruption, the ministry seeks to embrace the diversity and vastness of the Bride of Christ, His church, by encouraging local involvement in the solutions to these problems. Orphanages are transformed into “children’s villages”, where no child is called an orphan as there are no orphans under the Fathership of Christ. Utilizing any skills the children hold-in agriculture, livestock, or other trades-as well as providing basic education, these homes help facilitate long-term resolutions to such devastating problems. Most importantly, they share the ever-abundant love of Christ to each person they encounter. More than 40,000 children (mostly boys) live unaccompanied and unprotected on the streets of Khartoum; many are from southern and central Sudan or from Darfur. Some fled alone and are orphans. Some fled with relatives that have abandoned them. Others fled from the violence or neglect from intoxicated relatives. All are in need of a love that only Christ can provide for them.

I have been a part of many short-term “mission” trips that have taught me immensely what it is to live in the culture that I do, and the beautiful brokenness that comes from serving others. However great a blessing those experiences have been, I feel there needs to be a readjustment of our mission as Christians, which should not include an attempt to blueprint our idea of church or to slap a spiritual, emotional, or physical band-aid on a situation and then return home. I believe Iris Ministry seeks deeply to learn from natives of Sudan and to help facilitate their ownership of God’s own infinite and unique beauty in a way they see fit.

All I know is this: I love Jesus Christ. I don’t deserve the life I live. I love His people. I want His people to experience the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, as I have, in a bigger way than just a hyped-up circumstance, but rather a permanent planting or renewal of His presence in their lives. As a Christ-follower I am called to a greater purpose, one that I don’t always understand, but I must follow when I feel it is the will of God. I don’t know it all, but if I have been blessed with this precious, beautiful person of Christ and my feet have been washed, shouldn’t I be down in the dirt, washing the feet of others?

Please let me know what you think about all of this—I LOVE and need prayer and am truly blessed by the thought of my broader family joining with me in this. There is immense need where I am going, and I personally am trusting that the means to get me there will be provided. Flight, Visa, food, and general expenses that the children’s home face are all things that I am worried about, as I will also be leaving at a time when those good ole’ student loans go into repayment-in November. I don’t want to give you a number that I’m asking for. I just want God to speak to each of you if He wants you to give, and for you to be open to what that might look like. The logistics of your involvement are enclosed at the bottom, if you feel lead. I truly am overwhelmed by His constant provisions for my own and others’ lives, and am simply asking you to consider being a part of that. This is not about money or me and my life—I sincerely believe it is about opening our arms to the richness of God’s interaction with His people, in order to teach us to see His face in new places, colors, and classes. Thank you for taking time out of your day to ponder and become impassioned with me.

With Love,
grace.


wanna support me? please make checks out to me, with the subject "Sudan"...then email a request for my address in the states.


also, if you're feeling ambitious, check out: www.alhayat.us/e/sudan for the northern ministry & www.iris-sudan.org for the southern one. or, for more news on Iris, go to: www.irismin.org