A letter from Jacob and Aliamma George on home assignment from South Sudan
June 2013
1 Thessalonians 1:3: We remember before our God and father, your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Greetings to all of you in the name of Jesus Christ!
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Sunday School children and teachers with Aliamma at First Presbyterian Church, Irwin, Pa.
We are happy that God gave us the chance to come home to Houston and see our family members, friends, prayer partners, and supporters. We want to share with you what God has been doing in our ministry recently. We completed our first term, teaching at Giffen Institute of Theology, encouraging existing congregations, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ through discipleship, seeking reconciliation amidst the cultures of violence, visiting prisons, schools, markets, etc., along with visiting homes for Community Health Evangelism. The first batch of students graduated after three years of studies and went back to their villages, spreading the knowledge they received. Many good changes have come into practice, such as the use of trashcans, use of spoons or ladles instead of bare hands in serving eatables in the coffee shops— after we discussed the dangers to some ladies in Mary’s roadside store.
We have been able to share Christ while at home to those we met in different places. We would like to start out by telling you a story of a mother and son we met at the airport when coming back home. The mother was around 35 years old and her son appeared to be around 8 years old. As we waited for the next plane, we talked about many things and reached the topic of Jesus. She said, “I do not need him; I can take care of my son without anybody’s help. His dad left us four years ago and we are all right.” When Aliamma explained the real need of Jesus to live a peaceful and fruitful life on this earth, she listened and was open to hear what we had to say. After some time, she agreed to accept Jesus Christ as her personal Savior. She said she used to go to church as a young girl and decided to start going back to church. She also agreed that it would be good for her son. “Sunday school also should help him,” she said. We thank God for this opportunity to spread His gospel to this woman and her son.
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Pastors Rev .Wakeman and Rev. Durika with Jacob and Aliamma discussing about the worship service, First Presbyterian Church, Irwin, Pa.
During our time here we have had a wonderful time visiting different congregations and sharing about our ministry. The response from those we met was amazing. In one of the churches we visited in Houston, three young children dedicated their lives to missions and were willing to consider coming to South Sudan. In Pittsburgh we also met some youngsters who showed interest in coming to Sudan sometime in their future. God brought many new supporters to us who wanted to get our newsletter and support us in the future. It is wonderful to know that U.S. congregations are supporting and praying for South Sudan, and it was touching to see the prayer cards of PC(USA) missionaries to South Sudan in homes and churches we visited. Now we understand why some people from our South Sudanese congregations say, “The PC(USA) is our mother; they [Presbyterians] brought Jesus to us 100 years ago.”
Churches and Institutions visited so far in the U.S. are shown below. More congregations are in the list for the coming months.
1. St. Thomas Church of South India of Houston, Texas
2. St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church of Houston, Texas
3. Union Christian Fellowship of Houston, Texas
4. Presbytery of New Covenant, Houston, Texas
5. Schreiner University (Presbyterian College) Kerrville, Texas
6. First Presbyterian Church of Kerrville, Texas
7. Faith Presbyterian Church (Shenango), Pittsburgh, Pa.
8. Third Presbyterian Church, New Castle, Pa.
9. Mission students at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
10. Presbyterian Women’s group lunch at Grace Community Presbyterian Church in Pennsylvania
11. Maplewood United Presbyterian Church, Pa.
12. Redstone Presbytery Mission Committee and staff members
13. Westminster Presbyterian Church, Greensburg, Pa.
14. Living Waters Christian Church, Missouri City, Texas
15. Church of South India in Houston, Texas
We want to remind and invite you to attend the World Mission Conference at Big Tent. Information and registration can be found at pcusa.org/impact. The Sharing Conference is August 1-8, 2013, when 50 mission co-workers will be meeting in Louisville, Kentucky. Please pray that it will be a blessing.
Please consider prayerfully how God can use you in our ministry to bring positive changes to South Sudan. Starting this term, we and our partners in World Mission are inviting people into our ministry by asking for financial support. Presbyterian World Mission has set a goal that within the next five years all mission co-workers will have designated financial support for their work. Please pray with us to reach this goal, and please be in prayer about how you may be able to support us. We appreciate all your prayers, love and support.
Blessings,
Aliamma and Jacob George
The 2013 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 103
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