I was a child of war. Born in a land without books and writing, a land where history was carried on your mother’s tongue and in the songs of your village, a land swallowed up by war even as I uttered my first cry. And so, even the date of my birth was lost when my world was lost to me.
Me and the lost boy Lino Kaman (left)
Soldiers came in on their horses with their guns, burning down the village, killing the men and raping the woman. I heard cries for help and I started running as fast as I could, hiding in the bushes. My family was killed. I was alone and scared. It was raining day in and day out, and I was never dry, at night I would sleep cold and at day I needed to walk bear foot over mountains and trough swamps with snakes and spiders. At night lions attacked us, malaria made us feel sick, we had no food and no clean water, everyday I was hungry and thirsty.
We reached Ethiopia, there was a refugee camp, but after awhile we were too many and they said we should leave: trough the river where crocodiles looked at us with hungry eyes. Many of us couldn’t even swim. Again we started walking day in and night out and in the end we got to Kenya, where there was a camp for us. There, many of my friends died; but by Gods grace I’m still alive!
This is the story of many young men and woman in Sudan. For some it was even worse when the SPLA made them soldiers at a very young age, when they had to kill people with guns that are bigger than they are. Today most of the survivors are hoping to return to their birth place.
Boys around this age ran away from their villages and were used as child soldiers if the SPLA picked them up (left).
Sudan greeted us with a hot, humid temperature and bright white smiles. “Khowatcha, khowatcha” (whiteman) the children’s choir sang. As we drove up to the place where we would stay the only thing I saw was mud huts and nothing that we are used to. It scared me, but this is where they live, this is where they sleep and eat and bath and learn and laugh. As you know I have been to many other African countries and Sudan is definitely the one that is the most primitive. There is nothing, everything that looked like civilization was destroyed by the war.
Today they want to start learning, they want education and they want to start building up their country. They don’t want to be the slaves any more; they want to be the leaders. They are asking for our help, everywhere we went, they were not asking for food or for money, they wanted knowledge.
The airstrip in the Nuba Mountains. One can only get here by flying or walking (and I'm not a lost boy!) (right)
The people opened up their homes and their hearts to us; they were so friendly and full of life! They rely on what the Lord has done for them and they show it. To them the biggest gift is life, because in Sudan, still today, you can be killed any minute, and they know where they are going if they die. This is all they can hold on to, because they know that in an instant they can loose everything again and again and again.
Please pray to the Lord to build up this country, that there will not be war ever again, that all the children, boys and girls, will get an education.
All the glory to Jesus Christ, we witnessed many healings, listened to powerful testimonies and experienced the Lord’s love for these people.
Thank you for everything that each one of you did for our team while we were away!!
LOVE
Tinet