May 2024 Newsletter
United in Service!
Tonj is in the heart of South Sudan, and 25 years ago we established a work of God in this town. The goal was to build a platform where teams could serve the Lord without worrying about safety, shelter, transport, food, and water.
We’re excited to share that the Beard family has finally made their move to Tonj and will serve In Deed and Truth as long-term missionaries. They will work with the pastor’s sponsorship and church planting program. Ben will also mentor our Senior medical team and help with the administration of the hospital. Our goal is to put a church plant and pastor in every village that has CHE. We are currently in 80 CHE villages and have 35 church plants. We can’t wait to see this program expand.
Alongside them, we also welcome Michael Herzinger who will serve as a project manager for the construction of the new ward. He will also train to be a future Tonj Bible Institute (TBI) teacher. He will serve TBI and CC Tonj and also support our Senior Pastor, Mabior.
They recently arrived in the field with four IDAT board members, plus a small team from Suzy’s sending church, Horizon in Rancho Santa Fe who came to witness the growth of our ministry over the past 5 years. We also welcomed three visitors from African Mission Healthcare who have faithfully partnered with our hospital providing scholarships and medicine. And Ps. Ed, the leader of Suzy’s first trip in 1999.
Pastor’s Graduation!
After two years of intensive training, perseverance, and God’s overflowing grace, 16 South Sudanese pastors graduated from the Tonj Bible Institute (TBI) in front of a jubilant crowd of over 2,500 people.
In a partnership with Intensive Care Ministries Africa (ICM) and In Deed and Truth Ministries, the degree from ICM in pastoral ministry included over 1,100 hours of class time and preparation of over 50 sermons. The intensive program included five, 11-day,12-hour-per-day modules which required students to eat and sleep at the institute facilities (recently built by IDAT). This first graduating class of TBI will begin to meet the exploding demand for shepherds for the 35 local church plants and as more villages around Tonj beg for their own churches. God miraculously orchestrated the bringing together of IDAT and ICM as the answer to many years of prayer and labor.
“LORD my God, you have done many things —your wondrous works and your plans for us; none can compare with you. If I were to report and speak of them, they are more than can be told.”
Psalm 40:5
Celebrating 25 Years!
In Deed and Truth Ministries marked a significant milestone on the same day as the pastor’s graduation – 25 years of dedicated service to the people of Tonj, South Sudan, and the town came out to celebrate with us.
To commemorate this achievement, a feast of three bulls was prepared to feed over 2,000 guests. As well as the board members from the USA, we also had representatives from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Australia and UK, as well as local leaders.
The evening was filled with joyful spirit-filled singing and dancing as well as lots of speeches that shared the history of how IDAT has impacted South Sudan. Over these years, hundreds of thousands have been physically and spiritually healed, pastors have been trained, 80 CHE villages have been formed, 35 churches have been planted, and countless have come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. My team and I were thanked and recognized for these heavenly accomplishments. We are praising the Lord for all He has done in 25 years.