Background:
Young Sudanese graduates from the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary (ATBS) in Lebanon, which educates its students in Christian worshipping and missionary work are interviewed. They want to serve their own churches back in Sudan as missionaries and talk about their path to Christianity, their commitment in Christian organizations, and their aspirations to become a missionary. These interviews were made upon the request of Open Doors, a Dutch non-denominational mission supporting persecuted Christians.
For more information, please refer to the tape: Sudanese Student at the ABTS on Christians in Morocco / Zuzana Skalova on the Conservation of Coptic Icons Project:
http://www.arabwestreport.info/en/sudanese-student-abts-christians-moroc...
Side A:
Joseph (his second name is not given), a third year student from Sudan, explains in a private interview why he joined Arab Baptist Theological Seminary (ATBS) in Lebanon. He originally comes from Southern Sudan and in 1987 moved to Khartoum. In 1988, he had a salvific experience at a conference of Operation Mobilization (OM), a Christian organization. After a prayer, he was sure he needed to get theological training to be able to serve the Lord better. He got his practical training from OM. He aims to serve full-time, and originally planned to go to Kenya due to his OM work, but someone from OM told him it would be better for him going to Lebanon instead, studying and working there at the same time. After three years of studying, he says he got all that he wanted and now feels more equipped than before. He feels he has something to give.
Although his study finishes in two weeks, he will return to Sudan only in December so he will have time to make sure the Druzes he got to know through his work at LIFE Lebanon are taken care of. Then he would return to Sudan because he wanted to continue his OM ministry at the Episcopal Church of Sudan. Before his study, he was the church’s youth leader in the Diocese of Khartoum.
Back in Sudan, he wants to do leadership training with young people in leadership.
He speaks about the difficulties in Sudan due to large refugee camps, but says he wants to take the challenge along with OM and the Episcopal Church. Both institutions organize meetings in the camps (three of them near Khartoum), for singing, helping and just being there for them. He says many have fears of getting arrested. There are frequent threats against them, many get arrested, tortured, or killed. But he feels encouraged and senses this is a part that they must pass through.
In some interview sequences, other (unnamed) ATBS students tell their stories respectively. Someone tells his family story in which his brother, being the only Christian in a Muslim family, ultimately turned all of them Christian too. Someone has the vision of going back to Sudan to the Nuba mountains, predominantly Muslim, to serve there and spread Christianity. Especially the areas al-Daqīq and Abū Hāshim witness many conversions to Christianity at the moment, actually being mainly pro-Sunni.
The Sudanese Government is tough on missionaries. Someone was supported by a Swiss organization (name unknown) on his way to ABTS. Another one who is involved in the Christian organization Operation Mercy reports on questionings by the police because they were moving from place to place. Because he had these experiences, he is not afraid anymore in his future missionary. Another one, who was influenced by Reverend Joseph Taban, states he wants to reopen the door for those who come to Jesus and thus, missed their work and family. He says these people can become guides for others on their path.
Side B:
A person from Khartoum speaks about his missionary plans for North Sudan. Many Sudanese want to leave the country forever due to lack of jobs and general perspectives. Their aim is to send money from abroad to their resident Sudanese families. He knows many who went to Egypt or Syria. He wants to explore ways to build up a Sudanese perspective for these people because his heart tells him to strengthen the Baptist Church of Sudan.
He came to Jesus Christ through Pastor Alfred William in 1984 who preached to him and fellow Christian students. Step by step, he realized God wanted him as a missionary. While he is from Catholic background, his wife who also met Jesus is Coptic. He is not supported in his study by his home church and thus is borrowing money from others to care for his wife and baby. He is wondering why, although he is Christian, God makes him lack a substantive financial basis. Yet he believes God will give step by step. After his studies end in two years, he wants to return to Sudan. He also encourages his fellow Sudanese students in Lebanon to return and serve Jesus in Sudan. Original Sudanese suit best for this work because they are the ones who understand the Sudanese culture and people.
One night, God told him Sudan is in his heart and said who can serve Jesus if not Sudanese. God said nothing is impossible. In the same night, he dreamed of a cross of Jesus that goes from heaven to ground. He is not afraid of getting arrested and beaten by the Sudanese police. He experienced questioning by the police before without consequences. There are not many problems in this concern at the moment. Support for the student servants is needed, including for him. He spends all day serving to be able to eat, thus he will not return to Sudan wealthy.
Another person tells of his path to Christianity. During 1994, he was visiting Lebanon for three weeks for training in evangelism, He did not hear anything about the Bible or Christ until 1989. He had many questions since at that time was a practicing Muslim. That year, he met a French-Moroccan person in Morocco. At their second meeting, they talked for seven hours about everything in the Bible and various other religious questions. Some passages in the Bible touched him, then, feeling helpless, he accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior. The next one and a half years he spent studying the bible, hiding it from his suspicious family. His life changed upside down. Qurʾān did not answer his questions anymore. The French-Moroccan person later introduced him to an American missionary who then discipled him for a while. In 1992, he was baptized. During 1994, he was visiting Lebanon for three weeks for training in evangelism and there decided to enroll at ABTS. He wants to go back to Morocco to serve because there are not enough native servants. Yet, he will need a job besides being a servant. To some extent he is afraid of the Moroccan government, but knowing there are more Christian converts he just should be careful of not being foolish.
