Okay, I think we're gonna go ahead and get started.
! If I can get your attention.
Thank you all for being here.
It's great to see you this morning.
As we launch into the second half of our class on
! Global missions, we decided to take a particular direction
and to
rather than talking more about theory or even talking a lot about
practice. The last class will be a little bit more about how we as the elders
think about missions at Trinity with more specificity. But we have such a rich
resource in the people that God brings to our church. And so the next couple of
weeks are going to be people in our church who are going to share some of
their perspectives. And our hope is that building on what Tom and John have done
in the last four weeks to help us become educated global Christians thinking about
the work of God around the world and what he's doing. And so today we are very excited
excited to have Kalu come and share about the part of the world that he knows well and to share about the
gospel needs, the gospel opportunities. And so we've talked some ahead. I'm just gonna let him come up and
share in just a minute. But I'm gonna pray first. So let's let's pray. Lord, we are thankful this morning for you and pray that you will bless our morning.
We thank you for our brother and sister and for their lives and for the work of
grace that you have done in them and for the things that they are able to come and share with us this morning. And Lord, we pray you will bless our time together that by your spirit, Lord, you might help us to see with a little more clarity, Lord, all that you are doing in the world, that our hearts would be more attuned to your heart for the lost and for the need of the gospel around the world.
Lord, Lord, that we would be, Lord, more filled with gratitude that you are a God who, Lord, one day will be worshipped around your throne by people from every tongue and tribe and nation in this world. And we pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.
Amen. Amen.
Nuba Mountain. There are questions that the pastor sent it to me.
Please speak up a little louder.
Thank you. There are many questions that the pastor sent it to me. I'm not going to go
into details on that, but I will summarize for some. Some I need to go into details.
I apologize for my English. You don't understand me?
We do.
You got my message, right? You understand my English?
Yes.
Great. Okay. To go back to the history for the Christianity in Sudan,
Nuba Mountain. It was three first century. And it's written in the Bible when you go to act.
You can find the point about the Christianity in Kush. And Christianity is indigenous religion
in Sudan, especially in Nuba, indigenous religion in Sudan. Nuba people, they are actually in Sudan.
Since they grow, they are Orthodox of Sudan, of the land of Sudan. Therefore, they didn't come from out. No one knows where they come from. They just find themselves there. They grow there. We came from there. And that line.
It's related to the Nile River. And since they become Christian through the first preaches, they still believe until they make, they create the kingdoms of Christian kingdoms in Nuba.
They are people. And all kingdoms are Christian. All people are Christian. There is a church called Dunggulajus. The first church there is still. It is there still now.
When Arabs come and destroy these kingdoms. They try to destroy the church. They build on the church. Instead of church, they build a mosque on it. They build. But they couldn't go inside to pray Muslims' prayer. Something scared them. They couldn't. When they go inside, they see the picture of Jesus Christ. They see cross. They see light. And they're scared. They don't.
They stay there. Until now, they stay there. Until now, church is still there in Dunggulaj. By the time when they start attacking the Nuba people, some they stay in the South Sudan, North Sudan. Some they move down to Nuba mountain right now. And they are linked together.
Those who stay in North Sudan, they become Muslim by force. They become Muslim by force. Those they go down to the South until they stay in Nuba mountain. Some they still remain as Christian.
But because of the government strategy that to Islamize and Arab people, they force a lot of them to be Muslim. There are three religions in Sudan. Major religions in Sudan. Some areas they are Muslim. Some areas they are Christian. Some areas they are non-religion.
They are called Kujur. They are African religions. We're going to talk about this later. Even the Kujur, when they come to eat, they make cross on their foot. What that means? They believe in God. But they didn't pray like us. They didn't have the Bible.
They didn't have the Bible. But they didn't have the Bible. But when they need rain to come for season, they also before they do their traditional praying, they make cross.
They call Allah. They call Allah. That means God. Before anything. They believe there is God. They believe there is God. But the way is different.
The Christian. The Christian people in Sudan. I am proud to belong to them. And they face a lot of challenge. Before there is many type of Christian like the churches.
There is a school called Sudanese Christian. There is a school called Sudanese Christian.
The Sudanese Church of Christian. And there is Angilikon. There is Spokal. And there are Catholic. And Orthodox. Those churches are in Nuba Mountain. But the majority are in the school.
There is a school called. There is a school called. There is a school called Kanunala. There is a school called Kanunala.
There is a school called Kanunala. There is a school called Kanunala. There is a school called Kanunala.
Kanunala. There is a school called Kanunala. There is a school called Kanunala.
divided into 10 languages. That's one of the challenges for the ministry.
It's not only English or Arabic. No, there are several Nubian languages.
I spoke different languages. There are other Christians who spoke their local language.
That means it makes a challenge for someone who wants to go there to practice them by English.
They need to have someone who knows English to translate for them.
The Bible was translated from English to local, about five languages.
Now they added another two languages. We are going good. God is working.
There is Kualib language, there is Muru language, there is Heba language, Tira,
and there is another called Shoai. Right now they are writing.
They escaped from Nuba mountain direct to Darfur to translate the New Testament to their local language.
But the Old Testament is still working on it. Some they already started on it, but they stopped because of war.
And the donation was stopped. There is no support financially to finish the translation of the Old Testament to their local language, their Nubian language.
Then the churches were there, they faced a lot of challenges. From whom? From government.
1983, after the government declared that Sudan will be Arab and Islam religion as main religion, that was a big challenge for the Christians there.
Therefore, they destroyed the churches. Some preachers from outside Sudan, they take them out, some put them in prison, they arrest others.
For the Sudanese Christian leaders. Some they killed them, they were killed, some they get out from the country. They faced a lot of challenges. It was difficult.
I was witness one of the eldest in church when they attacked the village. It was hard. They burned his house and church. He was alive inside his house. He wanted to come out.
Then they shoot him. They turned him back in the fire. And they were surrounded by the house until everything was burned. After that, they moved to the other village. It was so difficult.
This way, they scared Christianity in Sudan. To build churches in Sudan. But we believe in our heart. The church is inside us, not the building. And they don't know that.
By this way, by this way, by this way, by this way, by this way, God used the world to let the Christian move from the mountain to the world all over Sudan. All over Sudan. Even Arab, they believe in Christian. But they're not clear.
One day, we believe in Christian. One day, we believe in Christian. One day, I was in Dongola. And we have a week. Every year, we have one week. We have to go out to talk about the Christian, about the Jesus, about the Bible for everybody.
We went. We went. We knocked the door for one of the Arab houses. Then he opened the door. We said, we are Christian. We come to preach to you. Do you welcome us or not?
He said, yeah. Come in. We went inside. We get shocked. When he went inside, he bring the bag. He opened. We see the Bible.
He said, yeah. He said, yeah. He said that I'm Christian. But I will not stay. Because they're gonna kill me. We prayed. We keep it secret. Until now, Allah. They will not say that.
But why they're scared. Because they're still young in believing. They're still young in believing. They need to be strong. To be strong, they need more people to preach them. More visitors work, reading and writing. And they're listening.
In that time, there was a radio call, Radio Monte Carlo. If you hear about the French radio. It started over about 10 o'clock p.m. until 12. Most Arab in Sudan, they become Christian. They are listening to this.
Because it is in the evening. During the night. No one. Everybody sleep. But they have way to listen to God's Gospel. In Nuba Mountain, most people who are related to the city and besides the Arab, they become Muslim.
Because of harassment that happened to them. They have to be. Like the last time I told you guys that my name is Khalid.
Officially name is Khalid. But my name, real name is Khalid. Oh, Khalid. By English you say Khalid. But you say Khalid.
And they forced them to change their names. Asked to let the kids go to school. To get the papers. To get all this one.
If you are Christian, it will be difficult. It will be difficult for you to get other services. Like the hospital. Like the, to get the job. To go to the, you know, college. To go to the, you know, college. To go to the, it was difficult for them.
But we still praying. In Nuba Mountain, the situation was different. The SPLM was local. Like the, those who want to protect the land. Protect the people. Protect the culture.
They say, no, we don't want to be Arab. We don't want to be Muslim. Muslim is a religion. Some are Muslim here. They are going to be Muslim. Some Christian, they are going to be Christian.
Some are not believers. They are going to be like them. No one will touch them. No one will force them to catch them. They fight with the government. Till now, they are still fighting.
Those areas that were ruled by the SPLM. They are strong. Life in Christian. People are strong. One thing that makes us look different than other nations in Sudan.
I think that is, I think, religion is called, religion will not affect our relationship. We live together in peace. It is only people in Sudan, if you are Christian, you are Muslim, you are non-religion, you can live in one house. No problem. Not at all.
When I was in Cairo, I met the ambassador of the United States and he was asking me
how Christians live in New Bermuda, how they live with other people. I said they live in
peace, we eat in one dish. Here everybody has his own dish. But there, no. You are
Muslim, when the mother of the house cooks the food, we put it on one table, we pray. If she is a Christian,
she prays before to bring food out, before to cook. She did it always at home. Before she
cooks, she has to pray to bless, then she cooks. After that, we thank God for that. Then,
another thing that will happen, people gathering together and they eat without any problem.
Muslim eat, Christian eat, non-Muslim eat. When time comes to everybody, on Sunday, we go to church.
They go to the mosque on Friday. Then, they know what we are doing. Sometime on Christmas, they come to
support us. They sing all God's preachers that we have. They know the Bible. By this way, some
of the religion turn into Christian. They believe in Christian. This culture, the way that we are living in
culture, it makes a strong relationship, and it will be easy to transfer from Muslim to Christian. Because
they know they have knowledge. And they know that they are living in a peaceful place. No one attacking
others. It's different than other people. Like when you go to Arab or you go to Darfurian before, when someone
says that I am Christian, first, they are going to call the government. This guy, he turned back from
Muslim. What happened? They are going to arrest him. They are going to put him in jail. Sometimes
they kill him. Sometimes they keep them forever. And because they say that he brings something that is
not related to our culture. It's others. But we know. We know. As Nuba, you are Muslim. Be Muslim. Respect
yourself. We are Christian. We stay in Christian. Don't try to force anybody to turn to change his religion. By this
way, we build a lot of churches in Nuba Mountain. And a lot of people become Christian. And the population, they say that
Christian in Christianity in Sudan, they are less. I have doubt of that. Because they didn't count the
people in a good way. To say that there is this number of Christian and this number of Muslim in Sudan.
They count their number, they put their number as very big. To show to the world that Sudan is Muslim. But really, they
they didn't count the other Christians. That's why people say that, no, Christianity in Sudan was less. It's only like that. It's small. But no.
Many cities, many villages in Nuba Mountain, covered by Christians. Thank God. And praise God. Hallelujah for that. No one knows that. Even government cannot go there to see who they are. Because they are scared. No one is scared by themselves. Because they believe if they go there, they are going to be Christian. The way the life was presented.
And how Christians are living. The way that they are living. The way that they treat the people strange. It was amazing. That's why they know that if you go there, you are going to be Christian. Some will go there. How we can support the Christianity in Nuba Mountain?
A special question about the non-Nubian pastor or church leaders. How you are going to support the church leaders. How you are going to support the church leaders. How you are going to support the church leaders.
the Nuba Mountain? How you are going to support the Nuba Mountain?
A special question about the non-Nubian pastor or church leaders. How you are going to support the Christianity in Sudan? You can travel to go there. It's okay. By the Nuba Mountain it's okay. But to go to Khartoum or Port Sudan right now will be challenging and difficult.
And what do you want to do there? They know already. They know already. Christian. Yeah. We can support them. We can preach them. But we will not bring them to the church leaders.
New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things. New things
there are people like brothers in faith in Jesus Christ that support them.
Government will not allow the foreigner pastors to go there, but people go through the organizations.
They will not go to say that I'm going to, I have Bible, I want to give you Bible.
Government will not allow that. But God give us mind, give us another way to preach, to let the people know that.
Guess what, if someone was sick and it would be difficult to find treatment or to find medicine
and organize, give them medicine free, what do they think about?
Who is this guy? Where did they come from? They are Christian.
The way that we are living, it let the people, it teaches people how Christian is.
This is the way only we can pass our message, we can preach other people that are not Christian to be Christian.
But to go direct, you cannot find a way. And other organizations, they took different ways like education, support education.
They teach them how to read, how to write. Even they didn't talk about the Bible, just read and write.
When they read and write, when they know, they turn. They know the truth by themselves.
That would be strong belief because if someone discover something by himself, you cannot turn, you cannot change it.
That was the way that many Arabs become Christian, by this way. They discover by themselves. After they hear, after they touch the surface that they give it, physical surface.
One of the experienced elders from Miseria, this tribe called Miseria, he went to the Kauda, the capital of Nuba Mountain right now.
He was, he has issues with his eyes. He went to Khartoum, he didn't find the medicine. He went to other areas he didn't find.
Then he heard someone say that there is a doctor in Nuba Mountain, you can go there.
He was scared, how I can go there because it's covered by the SPLA and it's covered by, they call them rebels. How I can go there?
They say no, they are no rebels. They are local government. You go there, they can let you go inside and meet the doctor and see what is going on.
He went there. After he met the doctor, they give him treatment and he took money they went to pay. They say no, keep your money with you.
And he become good, health. What he decided, he said I will not go back. I will stay here, bring my family here.
He turned, become Christian. No one asked him to become Christian. But the way that the people are treated people.
It is not only free, but the service that was given through the hand of the Christian people there.
He felt peace and he agreed to be Christian.
We here, we thank God some people that stayed there, some people get out from Nuba Mountain or from Sudan.
I believe in God's willing that he allowed me to go out to help others there. There is many of us around the world. Some are in Australia, in Europe, and we are many in the USA and some in Canada. We are working like that to help the people there.
And I appreciate that service. I was at the support that I got last couple of from the church, from other members from church that do a lot of amazing work in Nuba Mountain.
I prepared the presentation, but I didn't finish it. That's why I didn't bring it. I am asking if there is another chance. I can bring the, what you guys gave it to me last year or during this year.
And what we did it. We are going to give you feedback about your support. And that that well done job was done there and the people will be happy. And they are still asking.
And we are here today. And to say that, yes, Nuba Mountain is a good time to go there to let the people know their Christianity through organization, through supporting.
And if you find time you want to visit, it is beautiful. That theatre people, they want to see the land, they want to see the mountain, they want to see different animal. It's beautiful, amazing.
And you can find the chance to go there also. We just, maybe we need recommendation that this, we know him, he will go there. They will open the way for you to go there.
Ask to see the land. And then come and talk by yourself. Until now, I think that I talk too much. If you have any questions, any? Yes.
Do you have an organization that you're working through? Do you have a nonprofit NGO, some people call it, that's allowing you to send aid to the New Bionist?
Yes. Thank God. And I, at the end, the final God helped me to create the organization. Here I registered to the government in Connecticut. And now we are working on finalizing the, we already send it through that organization. I believe there is a business card here. If you want.
You can take it. You can take it. Shukri, can you just pass this? It is up to me and other members. Through this, we know how to help the people in Sudan and in Newa Mountain especially. Thank you for question.
Yes.
Yes. I'm good?
No, I just wanted to say, when we went to your house to eat on a Sunday afternoon and we're all enjoying the food that you invited from church and whatever, and then slowly other people were coming in and joining us, sitting down with us, Muslims, whatever.
I didn't know. And they were telling your stories too. And it was just like you said, just everybody's joining together. And it was, I never experienced that.
Yes.
Yes, it happened. You know, we are only two family here, Nubian. We are only two family Christians here. But the rest, we are 11. Nubian Sudanese in Connecticut. The most are Muslim. But when the time comes for the Christmas, all they come to my house and we pray together. If there is any occasion, we meet together. And they know everything. But
Islam is like the social religion. Social religion. You will be ashamed to say to him that I'm Christian because he is Muslim. But in their inside, they know they are not right. They are not right. But because the social religion, they still keep like that. No one would change. And we are fine. We are fine. We are fine.
We cook. We eat. We eat. We sleep. We chat. And our kids praying together. We live in peace. At the end, God knows when the time comes for them to be Christian. He knows. We don't know. We do our job. And he has a way to do his job.
Are you able to travel back yourself? Or is it difficult? Right now, there is two issues. First, Trump. Because we don't have citizenship. And the declaration comes that if you went out with the green card, you will not come back. So we keep ourselves.
So we keep ourselves here. And another issue for me, I was leader there. They will not allow me to go to Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. They will not allow me. I am forbidden to enter there.
But I am forbidden to enter there. But I can go to Nuba Mountain through South Sudan. Through South Sudan, I can reach Nuba Mountain. And this is one of the ways that I am going to do it after I get the proper paper from the USA government. And I need you guys to pray for me and for my family. It is difficult, really.
So, when I am going to go to the United States. When I decided to come to the USA, it was in 1998. That was the first decision that I made. And I said to myself, after I get the rest, I get out from there. I said, I will not live here. I got to get out from Sudan.
I got to get out from there. I came here after 23 years. I still believe I can go. All 20 years I was working on that. They will go say that, Khartoum, there is time. That's your time. And you go. That's why I am here.
And also, the rest of the time I will go back. Because I want to go back to build a church to help education there, to help people. I am working a lot about that. And she also has initiative about feeding the kids in Nuba Mountain. And we put everything on that organization. And we are working on that.
Thank you for the question. Yes.
As a leader, what were the ministries that you were doing? Teaching or pastoring?
Both. The time for teaching people who don't know how to read and write. And the time for the preaching. Every time we have program in church. We make conference. The Christian conference.
EOS program. But by Arabic here is difficult a little bit before English. So we are still learning. And the time will come that I will also preach here if they allow us. And this is the way that we are leading. And I work with the church as general secretary of church. And many things that I did. I was in choir team.
And my voice changed now. It is not like that. Yeah. Yeah.
So what language were you teaching and preaching most?
I mostly teach Arabic. Nubian I know how to talk. But I don't know how to write. Because when I grew up, the word started from Nubuanta. We went to the north. There is no one there to teach us to write and read. But I can read. But the Bible from Nubian language. But I cannot write.
Difficult. Very difficult. Very difficult for me. So what language did your mother teach you? Nubian. Kualib language. Kualib. We are Kualibian. And there is Toru. There is Tira. There is Muru. There is
.
about 100 tribes. All that different languages. But we, the collective all languages to make
about 10 languages, take a group. Then our main group is Kualib group. This Kualib group
including Moru, Tira, Hibana, Shwaya. Yeah, those groups are. Together they speak both, all
them, they speak the language, they understand each other, but not all things. Some areas
they don't. They have all their languages. Yes?
Kualib, did you tell me once that, I think it was with the fall of Gangla when the Muslims
invaded, that scattered the Nuba people, the Sudanese people in Africa? And did you, could
you tell me that there are people down in Rwanda or by the Great Lakes that speak a similar
language? Yeah. And then people think that actually those were Nuba Christians who might
be way down in South Central Africa? Yes. Nubian, when we say Nubian nation, Nuba
people, they are not only people in the Sudan. When the Arab start, it's called what, enter
in Sudan, they came from Egypt. The Muslim leaders, it's called Futhat Islamiyya. But it's not
but it's not for the Islamic attack, Islamic attack. They conquered Egypt and they tried to go to
South Egypt. When to go to South Egypt, first, they meet the Nubian kingdoms, Nubian people
there. They start war with them. They come to agreement that they stop the war because they
couldn't conquer the Nubian people. They come to the agreement. They leave the military strategy.
They come to political strategy. You see, people are smart. But we, they allowed our grand
grand person, they allowed them to live with them. Some, they know those people will not live with them.
They get back from the back, South. Some, they went to Kenya. Some, they go to West, West Africa.
They go to Rwanda, and they come to Rwanda, and they come to tell them that they are now in Ghana. Some
that are in Ghana right now. They call the name Kalu, like my name. And they, they, they, they, they,
they, they, same traditional that we have. Like they make, it's, I'm sorry to say that, I don't know, they, they make tattoos.
Tattoos, we have the tattoos also in Nubian mountain, but it's different. They make a H here, or sometime I have here.
And the Kiki is supposed to have, but the Kiki grow in North. They don't, he doesn't have. They, they, they make this tattoo to,
uh, tell the people that linked to each other. But time to time, they lost their language. This is a problem. Time to time, they lost language.
But when they talk, they were similar to us. Like the water, camel, this, they are, they still have this, uh, tongue. Thank you. Yeah.
So are you saying, you're talking about the history, late to some of the early 700s?
Yeah, it's long, long history back.
Way back, yeah.
I'm, I'm, I'm lazy to read. I, I, I, I try to go back, far away to see, but the problem is, our history, we didn't write it by ourselves.
Some people, they write about us. If one writes about you, will not know everything about you. Just, he wrote from his side.
Not from your side. What is written about, written about the, uh, about Nuba mountain is written by their side and their vision.
But in our vision, we don't have that right, because they destroy everything what we have. All kingdoms being destroyed.
But it could, it could be, that your people, when they were scattered, from Africa, that they did bring Christianity with them to these, to these other places in Africa.
But we don't know, we don't know for sure, but it's possible.
Uh, what, you're right. One thing that, the first Christian in, uh, in, uh, in South, in North Africa, it wasn't only in Egypt first.
I don't know if in the Bible when they say that the Phillips was, uh, uh, baptism, the, the, one of the conduct, uh, ministers.
Ethiopian.
There was, was, Sudan was named that time, Nubian was named that time, Ethiopia.
All land was called Ethiopia. And it is actually Sudan. It's actually Sudan. Yeah.
That's why, after that, they, uh, go back. If you compare between, uh, Dungula, I just, uh, church, uh, and Ethiopian, you see Dungula used was first.
Then it would go down through Ethiopia, right now to the, uh, uh, South African, until they reach in the West Africa.
Yes.
Can someone with a United States passport enter South Sudan?
Yeah.
Okay. So if you were to get a U.S. passport, you can...
Yeah, you can enter. But, uh, Sudanese, South Sudanese, they have not the right to come right now, because of the Iran bomb.
Uh, they have not. But you can go. You can go. In South Sudanese, Tudusa, uh, many ministry, you know, there is organization called Samaritan.
Samaritan's Purse. Samaritan's Purse. Samaritan's Purse is an American organization.
Those organizations are working in Nubo Mountain, they rebuilding the churches. They're building the churches. How they get there?
No question. They get there through there. South Sudan, they get there through the different way that to help the people.
Hemantarian doesn't have blocks. No one will block the Hemantarian if we want to help.
Those, they know the way that how they can reach the people that are in need. The first aid, the special first aid, they know how they can reach there.
And, uh, there is, uh, it's called, uh, the cross, Red Cross organization also. From America, from Europe, from the United Nations. They know how to reach the Unwalled Food Program. Also, they reach people there.
And, uh, through this, someone can go. If you volunteer to help, you can go there.
I'm good?
Yeah.
Kelly, we just want to say thank you so much for your presentation. Just a couple of observations. One, uh, building on what Tom did in history, if you didn't hear that class, go back and listen to it.
Because we in America often think, oh, there are these places that don't have the gospel, right? The gospel has been around the world in many, there are places that have not heard the gospel.
And there are certainly cultures that still need the gospel. But the global church and God has been at work in ways that I think we are often unaware of.
So we want to raise our awareness of, of all of this to think about and to see the glory of what God is doing. And then always to ask ourselves a question. How do we, what's our part? How do we do it? Right?
As we listen to this brother and share about his people, we see, okay, the church has been there. They have Bible translations in many languages. This is encouraging.
But they also face severe pressure and severe persecution for Christianity in certain ways. And so we want to think about how do we be brothers and sisters to them? The way that the Asian churches had a collection for the church in Jerusalem in the first century.
How do we think about loving and being a part of the global church work, right? And that the Great Commission is, is a part of this, uh, this greater work that God is doing. Um, and, uh, and finally, just to see that
we have the opportunity here in New Haven, Kowloon and Gigi are two of 11 families. That means there are nine families that those people need Jesus.
And how do we, and how do we love them? And how do we come alongside them and, and learn how to do hospitality in a way that would, would love them and connect with them.
And, uh, hopefully through, uh, through both our, our actions and our words, love, uh, love them here. So those are just a few brief observations based on your presentation for us as a class. Um, thank you again so much for presenting.
I'm actually going to, uh, turn this off now because