The Last Leg
Marathon Mission Part 2

Dear Friends and Family

The long and bumpy road across Africa had finally brought us to Kenya. As we prepared for our flights going into Sudan, I fell sick again with malaria. This is now the seventh time that I've gotten it. I must say that I was blessed to have gotten it while in the city of Nairobi, rather than in the bush. It's always more pleasant to have comfortable beds, running water, and flushing toilets when sick.

My co-worker, Lawren, was blessed not to have gotten it. This makes me think that I may have picked it up, when he wasn't present a week or so prior. This was while I was busy visiting a friend's farm in the bush and I got the vehicle stuck in a swamp. After laboring for 5 hours, some of the Zambians and I finally got it out with the help of a tractor. By the time we recovered the vehicle, it was midnight, and the mosquitoes had eaten me alive.

My malaria wasn't the real cause of our delay into Sudan. We were delayed primarily because we were expecting some Bibles that were due to arrive a month prior. These particular Bibles were ordered 7 months before. Delays like this are common in Africa. This is due to the lack of infrastructure and corrupt bureaucracy that one must go through to organize these things.

Another complication was the weather. Sudan had a major dust storm called a harmiton. This heavily reduced visibility and caused the planes going into Sudan to be grounded for a couple of days. This then created a ripple effect in the scheduling, resulting in yet another delay. Although we often face these kinds of delays and obstacles, God is always faithful to provide for every need. Soon we were well on our way into Sudan once again.

When we arrived, we offloaded the literature and began a teacher-training workshop. There were 15 teachers from various primary schools in the county. In addition to their training, each of them received a box of textbooks and stationery to be used in the schools. We also had the
privilege of delivering a large amount of theological books to be used in the new Holy Trinity College that the church has begun running. With this, we also delivered 680 copies of the new Biblical Principles for Africa.

After an exciting week of teaching, we were off to catch a flight from there to the Nuba Mountains in central Sudan. We had only one problem though. We didn't have any transport to the airstrip the morning the plane was to arrive. When that morning came we inquired from the different NGO's to find out if anyone could help us. It seemed that everyone's vehicle had broken down at the time so we couldn't get much help. One NGO did give us a lift, but just shortly after we left, the vehicle stopped. The driver said that he couldn't go any further because the vehicle was broken. Time was short and there was nothing that we could do. I felt pretty helpless at this point, but clearly God was in control. It seems that the vehicle just happened to stop just outside the commissioner's house, and he came out to meet us. When we explained the situation to him he told us that he would give us a lift himself. I was quite surprised to have such an offer from such a dignitary. The commissioner is in charge of the whole county and is formerly a high-ranking military officer. As we drove along the way in a vehicle that sounded like it was going to fall apart, he shared with us some of his experiences. Apparently, back in the early nineties, when he was in the Sudan Army, the commissioner actually stayed in the camp of Osama Bin Ladin. Only back then, he said that he only knew him as a businessman, so he didn't think much of it.

Once we arrived at the airstrip, we offloaded over 1400 Bibles, along with numerous tracts from the plane. As soon as that was done, we were on our way to the Nuba Mountains. Getting the flight to the Nuba was also quite a struggle, but by God's grace we continued our journey successfully.

Upon arriving in the Nuba Mountains, it was clear that there have many positive changes taking place there. Since the cease-fire, a number of Non Government Organizations (NGO's) have come there meeting some of the people's needs. Some of this includes removing land mines, digging wells, and setting up clinics in various areas. I believe much of this is a result of the many prayers on behalf of the long suffering Nuba people.

We were blessed to train 6 evangelists on the use of the Gospel Recordings tape Kits. These very practical tools have been greatly used to evangelize many people far and wide. It is estimated that for every 5 players, there are approximately 100 presentations done every month. The presentations could range from being one tape played for one person up to 9 tapes being played for many people. We also were blessed to hear of the extensive use of the two God’s Story VCD players that we've entrusted to evangelists there as well. These two VCD’s had shown Gospel films to over 500 families in the previous 6 months.

Saturday is market day, so we thought it would be a great opportunity to distribute Gospel tracts in the market place. There are many Muslims that come there to trade. Lawren and I had over 1000 tracts, which were distributed in minutes. As soon as we handed out the first few, we were stampeded by a huge crowd all wanting one for themselves. We couldn't hand them out fast enough.

The next day, we were each invited to preach at different churches in the area. So dressed in a tie and jacket, my translator and I began our walk to the church. I didn't know how far we were going, but we wound up walking about three and a half miles to get there. After a three-hour service, we were given some food and then we began our walk back. It was about a 110 F outside and wearing a tie and jacket didn't make things cooler. This is what a typical Sunday is like in the Nuba.

Our exit flight from the Nuba brought in over 1500 copies of the Moro New Testament. This is a highly coveted item there, as few people have them. With these Bibles we also had stocks of some basic food items and blankets to meet some of the physical needs of the Nuba Christians as well. Our flight back to Nairobi was a pleasant one. From there we began our long journey back to South Africa.

Thank you for all of your prayers and support given during this time.

Pro Rege,

Timothy Keller

"Who can speak of the mighty deeds
of the Lord, or who can show forth
His praise?" Psalm 106:2