GO! | All We Need Is More Faith
GO! | ALL WE NEED IS MORE FAITH
September 28, 2021
By Scott Nordstrom
Through the years I have developed a friendship with Bishop Garang of Christ Mission to the World (CMW), that has grown over time. I was first in contact with Bishop Garang in 2012 and we then began working together in South Sudan to feed orphaned children in 2016.
He has stayed in my home on several occasions, and we traveled together to South Sudan in 2019. I was also blessed to spend some time with him last month in Nairobi.
What I can tell you about Bishop Garang is that he has a heart for his people. We also don’t agree on every course of action to serve children in South Sudan, so there is much give and take in our relationship. As you might imagine the need is overwhelming in South Sudan, and he is sensitive to our limited resources as I have told him ‘no’ far many more times than agreeing to a new project or program.
Today, there are 3,162 vulnerable children that are fed with the help of CMW and Kids for the Kingdom at three village schools. One of the struggles is that these feeding centers have grown dramatically since December 2018 when we fed just 300 children. Well, conditions are worsening in South Sudan with floods, supply-chain disruptions, and spiking prices.
Bishop Garang informed me that he’s instructed the teams on the ground to cap the number of children that we serve due to resource constraints. The challenge with this is that children are hungry, food insecure, and many are malnourished.
Now, admittedly, I am conflicted. I realize that the number of children that we serve in 2021 has more than doubled from 2020. In my humanity, it is easy to become comfortable with what we are already doing or maybe settle. Frankly, the aid that we are providing to so many children in South Sudan is already a stretch.
As Bishop Garang shared with me yesterday, I explained that it only makes sense to quantify the needs that are going unmet in the field at this time. By faith, God may want to use us to provide aid to more children. How can we not?
Today the situation in South Sudan has worsened. While the military conflict has subsided for the most part, other variables have wreaked havoc on the people -especially the children in the country. Outlets for help are limited and the workers are few.
The scriptures show me that God will ask us to do things than seem impossible to us. Absent of divine intervention, the vision for what He might ask of us simply cannot be accomplished. I believe that is where are in our movement of faith today. You can see miracles scattered throughout our history -so this is nothing new. Our work is not something that has come to past based on the effort of a few good people. No, God has orchestrated methods and provisions beyond our capacity or intellect to provide a blessing to His children. He has simply invited us to be involved. You see, when the impossible is achieved the only explanation can be the provision of God, and in this process, we provide a powerful witness to His reality, presence, goodness, and guidance.
I cannot say what the future will bring, and do not know how many children that are within our reach still need aid in South Sudan, but I do know that God has prepared us for a time such as this.
As I was getting to know Bishop Garang in my home four or so years ago, I was quickly overwhelmed with the needs in South Sudan and Garang’s vision to help his people. I thought that feeding 300 orphaned children at the time was something -if not already enough. As he shared, I tempered his expectations of our small outfit, but explained that we wanted God to use us in whatever capacity that He sees fit.
I am sure that day that I shared with him all of the challenges, limitations, and the small scale of our ministry. I wanted him to be aware that our ability to help was limited, and at the conclusion of our time he provided me with an interesting observation. He said, “You know Scott I know what your problem is, you just don’t have enough faith.”
We still remind each other of this to this day.
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In the first eight months of this year we have provided an estimated 377,500 meals impacting 3,162 children. The scale of this initiative has grown by 2.2x when compared to 2020 when we served an estimated 135,180 meals to 1,552 vulnerable children. We have served an estimated 1.4 million meals to vulnerable children in South Sudan since 2016, serving alongside our partner Christ Mission to the World (CMW).
In cooperation with multiple partners (Kids for the Kingdom & Christ Mission to the World), we have invested in these school sites with additional infrastructure over the last 6-months by investing $126,200 during this time for water, kitchens, storerooms, and latrines. We are thankful for these partners that make this work possible. Working together more children will receive meals, with larger portions, and the Kingdom of God will continue to advance in South Sudan!
You may send support or other correspondence to Global Orphan Relief, 16352 Prairie Farm Cir, Parker, CO 80134 or you may give also give electronically to support the feeding of vulnerable children at 2021 South Sudan Nutrition.
Movement of FAITH | Voice of HOPE | Act of LOVE