A letter from Ingrid Reneau in Sudan
January 29, 2010
“… I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (John 10:10b)
Across has been enacting many tasks to facilitate its mission of working towards biblical transformation of Southern Sudan communities through a holistic, integrated approach. One such task is collectively redoing the website. If you’ve ever visited it, you were probably struck by its archaic structure. We will soon reveal a new face in keeping with our overall transformed initiative. Part of my role in this endeavor is writing the portion: Why it Matters? This should have been easy, I say now to myself, but instead, I got into reflecting about what is this it? The it has come to mean LIFE, and the Life more abundantly, both in a spiritual and material sense, that we have as we mature as believers, growing from an initial salvation experience to becoming disciples of the Living Lord Jesus, the Christ.& Itmatters because in our context as Christian workers in a Christian NGO, working in a nation like South Sudan where Christianity is growing, we want to see people not only coming to church; we also want to see them living as the church, testifying to the reality of Christ himself as the source of peace and prosperity, not only religiously, but socio-economically and culturally: this is the It of Life more abundantly. Thus, ITmatters because we can neither introduce nor share this Life abundantly without true partnership first with/in ourselves and the Holy Spirit, then with/in ourselves as Christian organizations and then with those with whom we seek to share the full multidimensional reality of Christianity. Ultimately, IT matters because the Life more abundantly that we share must be one we possess or are in the process of possessing; otherwise, how do we share with others what we do not possess?
For this reason, I realize I’ve been deeply blessed to have the experiences I’ve had since my last correspondence, for these experiences inform this understanding: Christ centered transformation of any life, be it Southern Sudan, American, or Belizean depends on how we survive those experiences that are destructive, heartbreaking, and traumatic but may yet be biblically transformative because through the Life-giving Spirit of Christ, as we individually and collectively respond in obedience to the Holy Scriptures, they become the means of deepening the breadth and width of our salvation into having Life more abundantly:
Ingrid Renau at a Trinity Presbytery meeting in Cola, South Carolina, making a brief presentation on Edu in South Sudan. Along with Ingrid are the Rev. Bill Anderson, the Rev. Paul Hostetter and the Rev. Orozu, PCOS Pastor from Boma, South Sudan.
My father’s “sudden” death in July 2009 from bone cancer, after he’d asked me in January 2009 not to return to Sudan, but to stay with him, for “charity began at home,” he’d said, and my soul’s inability to accept that now he had passed, he was finally at peace, despite this being ALL I have ever prayed for him, until at last I dreamt he spoke to me from heaven, telling me thus: “There is more peace where I am now than you can ever imagine;” then leaving my mom soon after his funeral, viscerally aware of her frailty during my every waking moment, to first attend a conference on Primal Religion in Peru; then my subsequent “home mission” travels for the next 2 months, visiting a few presbyteries by myself at first, and going full circle over the course of my life for the past 9 years; and then visiting many presbyteries as a part of a Peace Making team with Pastor Orozu Lokine of South Sudan, and sharing that although the Lord has granted his people peace, lasting peace in South Sudan seems illusive, even as peace in the home church seems to be eroding: such then, is the aching wonder and pain of the church in America, in South Sudan and in the world; and then my eventual return to Africa in November only to face the reality that my body had become less than its usual energetic, robust self.
Ingrid met with Trinity’s Education Committee to discuss their upcoming visit to South Sudan in February 2010.
From these experiences, I realize that IT matters more, especially if despite the tearing away of the real and symbolic representations of our physical, cultural and religious traditions, Life more abundantly still becomes the constantly liberating and empowering reality that we breathe … This, for me, is the challenge of ministry in partnership with the Holy Spirit and with members of the Body in our 21st century world of deliberate oppression of those most vulnerable in our societies, flagrant disregard for human life, gross systemic injustices and corruption, and yet the persistent beauty of this physical world we inhabit so casually with so many others, and the continually increasing, gracefully liberating truth of Immanuel …
Blessings on our creator-God and saviour, Jehovah, for your sustained prayers for me, and his children in South Sudan. Thank you for praying for a peaceful, safe and successful elections in April … and thank you for remembering Across’ staff in your prayers as we move through these turbulent months of transition in the rich grace of Christ. Amen.
In Truth,
Ingrid
The 2010 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 47
