Telling the Story

David slew Goliath!

Last Sunday we travelled back to the new church start which we had previously visited.  (See post "A Church is born in South Sudan -- July 18, 2012)

As the growing gardens continue to choke out the road, we leave the car further away. We don’t mind the trek, however, as we had plenty of little friends, who, seeing us coming from afar ran up to accompany us down the path.

 Today’s meeting was a bit unusual.   As the adults were all in their fields weeding their crops, only children were in attendance; we transformed the service into children’s Sunday school deciding that Debbie would tell the story. 

The story was David and Goliath; quite appropriate for this group.  David was a young shepherd; many of these are or will be young shepherds.  David used a sling-shot – one young boy in the front had brought his sling-shot to church.  David’s brothers went to war.  Even at their tender age, these young ones KNOW about war; some have first-hand knowledge of it. 

As the story begins, it doesn’t take long for the children to settle down; interested to see what kind of story this kawaja (white person) will tell.

Suspense builds as Debbie stands on the chair trying to help the children understand the enormity of Goliath and the smallness of David. 

As she describes the fear of the Israelites, a lady joins the group sitting down on one of the branches.  She bows her head and prays silently.  After a few minutes she interrupts the story, leads the group in a song and introduces herself as the pastor of the local Episcopal Church.   She prays and then leaves, saying she must return to continue cultivating her field. 

The interruption is strange and rude to us but we press on and Debbie seeks to regain the attention of the children. 

Excitement builds as David meets Goliath head on and swings his sling.  The boys in the back are spell bound as they listen to the story.  They know David is only a few years older than they; but he shows an incredible amount of bravery; bravery every Dinka boy wants to possess. 

Finally David propels the stone and hits Goliath and uses Goliath’s own sword to cut off his head.  God has given David the victory.  The children are elated that David has done such an incredible thing with the help of God. 

David trusted God – this was the message.  When you are faced with giants in your life – trust God.  Because God was with David – he was victorious!  If you trust Christ with your life and put your faith in Him, He will make you victorious over the giants in your life.   IT IS A GREAT STORY!

Pray that the children of South Sudan would hear and understand stories from the Bible, applying them to their lives helping them grow up with a strong faith, believing the Word of God.

Interruptions come in our lives; pray that God would help us remain focused on telling His story, no matter what may come our way.