| February - April 2018, Issue 88 |
Malakal Updates
 Agape Mission, our S. Sudan partner mission, arranged rapid discipleship training last October in Juba for Presbyterians of Juba Parish (25 leaders), for the UN Juba Camp (50 leaders), and for the Malakal UN camp (35 leaders). We support three chaplains at Malakal, and Lookout Mtn. Presbyterian Ch. supports 19 chaplains at the large UN Camp in Juba, together with Hope Emergency Secondary School personnel, representing an investment of $25,000 in 2018. Next-level discipleship trainings are planned for 2018 at all 3 locations.
At Malakal in April, 2017, church leaders beseeched us to send doctors to treat trachoma-- rampant in the camp--and which is the leading cause of irreversible blindness globally1. Children are disproportionately afflicted. As the flyer below indicates, we’re recruiting an eye care professional team to go there for 9 days. So far only one other American, an ophthalmologist, is willing to go. The Christian Eye Network has generously posted the need for eye care workers2.
 It appears that we’ll have to hire professionals from Ethiopia and perhaps Juba to go to Malakal, which is expensive. With about 30,000 in the camp, we need a large team, particularly if we can also do cataract surgery. We plan to bring hundreds of new Foster Grant reading glasses 3.
I hope to teach at Malakal, if I’m not needed to assist the eye team, and will provide teaching materials for evangelism and teaching countering cults for use at Grace Theological College in Juba, so that it can be taught without me having to be there. Please pray for a sufficiently large and capable team. Many NGO workers are at the camp, as well as UN personnel, so the risk may seem more than is actual.
- http://www.who.int/trachoma/disease/en/
- http://christianeye.net/ministry/featured-items
- Purchased through www.RestoringVision.org. Some will also be distributed at the Westside housing location.
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A French proverb: “L’homme propose, Dieu dispose.” Man proposes, God decides. We proposed a leadership transition, and I’m still at the helm, with a new Board of seven good men (the former Board retired due to term limits)--but still open to leads. Five areas were prominent in 2017: South Sudan, Westside inner city ministry, teaching (I taught about twice as much in 2017 as in 2016 in Chattanooga, Uganda and S. Sudan), African American (AFAM) missionary census research, and administration.
Ministry co-workers in S. Sudan and I oversaw the grant of $10,000 from the Maclellan Foundation, to meet spiritual needs at the UN refugee camp at Malakal, S. Sudan. We hired 3 chaplains and provided seminars to some combined churches there. RMNI provided, through your giving, $18,000 for similar ongoing work at Malakal in 2018. RMNI expended $50,234 for ministry in S. Sudan last year.
Westside Multicultural Evangelists 10.26.17
The inner city ministry is solidifying. The Westside Ministry, headed by Jeremy Faber and Dawn Coulter, is currently under the auspices of RMNI, but will soon become an independent ministry. Last year RMNI’s evangelism/discipleship work, which is a feeder to the Westside Ministry Bible study held later in the day, had 8 volunteers at various times. In 2017, we had 18 volunteers, with an average of 6 in the fall and winter months. This is probably the direct result of the prayers of 3 ladies—Lois Hurd, Michelle Bearden and Willie Mae Ferguson, who pray during the week and at a weekly conference call. Several made professions of faith, hundreds received New Testaments, and we assisted residents with emergency financial assistance and warm clothing for children at Christmas. John Disterdick began a ministry of taking family and personal phot os, and plans to assist at a boxing ring which suddenly appeared at the Westside. John is a 10-time masters-category world boxing champion and tri-athlete, who gives out scores of his earned medals to kids there. RMNI expended $19,974 for the Westside, including designated funds for the Bible study ministry.
The Af.-Am. missionary census work took substantial time, locating an another 36 missionaries in 2017, bringing the total located to about 267 located over about 4 years. There are another 2-300 agencies to contact. I hope that when completed this work will motivate the AFAM church to field more global workers.
Administration includes liaison and management of 6 African projects, handling RMNI financials, updating the website (which had 58,810 unique visitors last year), and reporting to our Board, and you, etc. I am ecstatic that 92% of income in 2017 went to program (ministry)! The “payroll” of 3% represents specially designated gifts to me. Thank you for your friendship, prayers and financial support!
Plans for 2018 include ongoing work in the same areas. Tickets are purchased for the team trip to S. Sudan. The website is scheduled for an extensive software update. As the Lord provides health and resources, we’re keeping the same course, unless “Dieu Dispose[s]” differently.
Jim Sutherland
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| We’ve been kept safe on the last 11 trips to S. Sudan. Africa affords almost unlimited opportunity to use your spiritual, natural and vocational gifts. We will put them to work. Eye care medical personnel are needed to work at Malakal to treat trachoma and cataracts. We’re also taking many reading glasses, and can use general assistance. The trip fee is $2,200. We closely monitor the security situation.
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Prayer Power
- Ellen Fox has been at Lohutok, S. Sudan for 7 straight years. Pray for blessing upon her teaching ministry and protection.
- We have, to date, a team of 5 to go to S. Sudan! Pray for others who are needed to join.
- Jim has an extremely busy schedule through mid-May. Pray against burnout .
- God provided 18 different workers at the Westside in 2017, and now average about 6-7 per week. Pray for much enduring fruit, including conversions.
- We located 36 more Af.-Am. Missionaries in 2017. Pray that we can contact the 2-300 remaining agencies.
- Pray for wisdom as we invest funds in Kingdom ministry.
- Pray for peace, security, mercy upon the people, their sustenance, and healing in S. Sudan
- Pray for the Westside Bible study leadership as they organize and reach into the community.
- Pray for Judy Sutherland as she teaches 5th grade in a classical school and at church.
- Pray that discipleship trainings will be used by God for rapid discipleship in S. Sudan refugee camps and by Presbyterians in Juba.
- Pray for 19 chaplains at the Juba UN camp and the 3 at the Malakal UN camp, to bear enduring fruit. Pray for Hope Emergency Secondary School staff and students, as they have very few teaching resources, and for their encouragement (Juba camp).
- Pray for the growth of Grace Theological College and the outreach of Agape Mission mercy ministry in Juba, and for their leaders.
- We need wisdom and love in every decision, and the power of the Spirit.
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Deficit is made up by 2016 funds. More financial disclosure is available upon request.
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The Reconciliation Report is a publication of
Reconciliation Ministries Network, Inc.
PO Box 2537 Chattanooga, TN 37409-0537
https://www.RMNi.org
Phone: 423.822.1091
Jim Sutherland, PhD, Director
Jim@RMNi.org
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