Senite has the most beautiful smile. Her joy as she speaks is palpable. She laughs when she talks about being put in prison with her husband. She constantly interrupts herself to give praise to God for His faithfulness. She speaks of persecution and beatings and threats as if these thing are normal, which they are in her context. Her passion to share Christ is contagious and convicting.
Pastor Silvest is an amazing Ugandan pastor who has planted nine churches (and counting) in his country. Humble. Soft-spoken. He speaks of God with a deep voice and an even deeper faith. He has been beaten several times. He has had his home robbed. His family threatened. Early in his ministry, his only means of transportation (a bicycle) was stolen so he walked from church to church to preach on Sundays.
Anarchy. Civil War. Unspeakable tragedy. Lawlessness. Suffering. Drought. Famine. Disease. Death. These are the conditions under which the Kingdom of God is growing in South Sudan. 150,000 new believers in the last ten years. 180 new church plants. 77 indigenous church planters risking their lives for the sake of the gospel. Through these incredible men and women, the Kingdom of God is growing through miracles, signs, and wonders. And I get the pleasure of spending a week with them. Like Elisha of old, I find myself wanting a double portion of their spirit.
