Before the African sun has crept over the hills to the north, the 63 Sudanese men planning to enter the army as chaplains begin running in formation.They chant prayers and sing about Jesus. The soldier at the front carries a green flag with a red cross bearing the words ‘Mountain Chaplaincy Corps’.
The chaplains run for 60 minutes, passing through the town of Nimule, then climb to the top of a hill before running back down again and returning to the camp led by Wes and Vicky Bentley. As the soldiers stream into the compound, it begins to get light — a soft pink glow appearing on the eastern horizon.
They are a familiar sight to Nimule’s residents, who have seen chaplains running and singing nearly every morning since 1999.
‘Is there any hope for me?’
When asked how Far Reaching Ministries’ (FRM) chaplaincy programme came into being, Vicky replies: ‘Wes started it in 1999. When he first came to Sudan in 1996, the second civil war was still raging. He had a background in the US Marines and, while working for another organisation, met a number of soldiers.
‘One night, a senior army officer from the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) visited us. “I need to talk to you”, he told Wes. “The Arabs from the north killed my whole family in cold blood, and now I’ve done something I can’t live with.”
‘Then he described how he found a woman who had married an Arab soldier and was pregnant with twins. The officer said that he cut open her belly, pulled out the twins, then shot her in the head and left her. “Is there any hope for me?” the man asked.
‘When my husband explained that Jesus came to forgive sinners, the officer asked Wes to share the message with his men. When Wes did so, the army leader came forward to accept Christ, followed by 300 soldiers.
‘After that, Wes came back with a fire burning in his heart. He realised the soldiers needed a pastor who would be with them on the frontline where the fighting is — but as a soldier of the Cross. That’s how it began.’
Buying an aircraft
Although road travel in South Sudan was dangerous, things came to a head when a relief agency vehicle was ambushed on its way to Uganda. The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) riddled it with bullets and set it alight. 12 people were inside. After that, the only way that Wes and Vicky could travel around was by plane.
‘Before MAF returned to South Sudan’, recalls Vicky, ‘our teachers had to fly to the nearest airstrip and then drive for nearly two hours through dangerous LRA territory to reach our compound.
‘Eventually, God told us to buy our own aircraft and, by 2006, we had raised enough money to purchase a Cessna Grand Caravan. Because MAF could now fly to Nimule and land on our airstrip, we arranged for MAF’s Uganda operation to use our new plane for flights in South Sudan and Uganda.
‘We’re happy for MAF to do so because, although we rely on the aircraft for people and supplies, we don’t need it all the time. So when we receive reports from MAF that “40 organisations” or “so many people” travelled on the Caravan, that’s cool!’
Praying with the dying
Anyone who wants to be a chaplain in the SPLA has to study full time for a year at FRM’s Bible college. The 70 or so trainees are recommended by their churches or by existing chaplains. They are taught by volunteer pastors and teachers who fly in from the USA on a regular basis. Once the chaplains graduate, they go through basic training with the SPLA and join a military unit and serve as chaplains.
Not everyone comes from a military background. Absalom attended FRM’s programme because he ‘felt compelled to’. He graduated, and then went to the frontline where, he says with a shudder, he ‘saw blood everywhere’.
‘I saw fighting’, he continues. ‘I was terrified. Everything in me wanted to turn tail and run. Then I remembered that I was a chaplain and was there because the soldiers would never get another chance. So I grabbed my Bible, crawled on my arms, and prayed with the dying to accept Christ.’
‘I wanted the boots’
According to Vicky, ‘about 20% of those who take part in FRM’s programme drop out for various reasons. Although most come from “Christian” South Sudan, about 90% of our graduates make a wholehearted commitment to Jesus during the course’.
Some, like FRM’s Assistant Pastor Michael Alahai, originally had no idea what they were getting themselves into. ‘When I came here’, Michael says with a smile, ‘I said I was born again, but I really just wanted the boots. I wanted to look smart in a uniform.’ He thought the training would only last a month or two, but during his 12 months with FRM, Michael found Christ.
‘What’s in your heart?’
James, another graduate, had a different experience. ‘When I first came here, I was really competitive. I thought it was all about the marks you got for your papers. But later I realised that what’s in your heart is more important than the scores you get. If you don’t have a life devoted to Jesus, what can you give to someone who is dying?’
For FRM’s chaplains, it’s a vital question — one that has nothing to do with wearing a smart uniform or getting good grades. For members of the SPLA, the threat of death is a daily reality.
Serving God
Wes is proud of his chaplains, and explains that, although ‘they have lived through some of the most difficult conditions in Africa, they have allowed hardship to strengthen rather than break them. God has delivered many from “the mouths of lions”, and they firmly believe it is only so they can serve him for another year’.
Along both walls of the chapel where the training takes place are photos of previous intakes with a quote from Wes: ‘Many of the chaplains you train today will sleep with the Lord by this time next year’.
Eight FRM chaplains have lost their lives. With tension between South Sudan and Sudan steadily intensifying over issues of land, oil and religion, others may yet lay down their lives for Jesus Christ.
Ready for conflict
Vicky agrees. ‘On March 14 2000’, she says, ‘we were getting ready to install the bomb shelter when we heard a plane. I turned to run, but one of the guys came from behind and slammed me to the ground. The bomb hit the ground 40 feet from me. A student was still running when it landed. He died almost instantly. It was horrible!
‘We are hoping that the shelter will no longer be needed. But with South Sudan now independent, we have to be ready every time conflict breaks out, providing moral support and presenting Jesus to those who might never see their families again.
‘This is why it’s so crucial that MAF flies in a group of pastors and teachers every two weeks to ensure our chaplains are trained and equipped. Having MAF fly them into our compound is a huge blessing. Without them, we’d be stuck.’
This article, by Gary Clayton, was first published in Flying for Life, the quarterly magazine of MAF, and is reprinted here with permission. For more info about MAF: http://www.maf-uk.org
