Mission to the Diocese of Aweil, South Sudan
Aweil, South Sudan:
“Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit…”
by Kyle Spradley
Our 2023 mission to South Sudan continued SOMA’s relationship with the bishop and clergy of Aweil. In 2012, SOMA was the first mission agency to send a team into the newly established Diocese of Aweil, shepherded by Bishop Abraham Yel Nhial. In 2015, another SOMA team was invited, but an airport closure prevented them from reaching Aweil. When God closed the door to a mission in Aweil, He opened a window for ministry to the Provincial seminary students in Juba. A couple serving on that 2015 mission team were Bob and Lynn Lawrence. You can read about their experience in the Spring 2016 SOMA newsletter. When building the team for this latest mission to Aweil, I invited Will Henry Lawrence, son of Bob and Lynn. When he accepted God’s call to serve, Will Henry became one of a few “second generation” missioners to serve on a SOMA team.
Bishop Abraham’s story is compelling. Known as one the “Lost Boys of Sudan” from the 1980’s, Abraham fled the civil war in Sudan surviving a harrowing journey to a refugee camp in Kenya. By virtue of a lottery, he was chosen to emigrate to the US, where he attended school and grew to adulthood. Already with a strong faith in Jesus that was nurtured and encouraged during his ordeal in the camp, Abraham sensed a call to ordained ministry during his time in the US. He attended seminary and was ordained an Anglican priest, returning to his home country to serve and was consecrated Bishop of Aweil in the Anglican Church in South Sudan.
Each evening the SOMA team met to confirm if we were on track. On the second night, we agreed that the participants needed more clarity on the Person and work of the Holy Spirit, so we sought the Lord. Psalm 32:8 says, “I will instruct you and show you the way to go; with My eye on you, I will give counsel.” Guided by the Holy Spirit, we scrapped some topics and added others for the next day’s discussion. Veteran SOMA missioner Bishop Joseph Kanuku (Kenya) gave a truly anointed 2-hour teaching on the Holy Spirit. This was the turning point for many of the clergy. Confusion turned into understanding, and uncertainty into conviction. After hearing a team member’s testimony, one participant confessed to his group during afternoon tea and was released from a lifelong struggle. As a team, we were unsure what God was doing, but as the week drew to a close, many clergy and Bible students bore witness to how Christ touched them deeply.
This mission was as much about the mission team as it was about the participants. The conference was physically tough, which translated into spiritual challenges. We landed on a Friday morning, greeted by a pleasant embrace of 65-degree weather. We were lulled into thinking that our weather apps had it all wrong. On Sunday, when the temperature shot up, a missioner came down with heat stroke. Several hours of triple digits under a tin roof are hard on the body, and we contended with it all week. One day later, we all got a stomach bug. Two days later, a team member came down with Typhoid fever. At one point, I remember thinking, “The enemy was taking us out one after the other!” However, thanks be to God, the success of a SOMA mission does not rely on the team’s physical strength, but on intercessory prayer, our faith in Christ, and obedience to the Holy Spirit. “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6b).
Team List:
Kyle Spradley, Team Leader, St. Peter & St. Paul, Arlington, TX
Bishop Joseph Kanuku, Makueni Diocese, Anglican Church of Kenya
Rev. John Munyao, Makueni Diocese, Anglican Church of Kenya
James Culp, St. Peter & St Paul, Arlington, TX
Will Henry Lawrence, St. Peter’s Cathedral, Tallahassee, FL