Ta lia tokpe Lu ro !( May God grand us Peace)

May God of all the blessings, peace, love and compassion grand us peace in the year of 2012. Let this year be the year of impact for the glory of Almighty God. Let the all nations be glad and rejoice in Him. For He rules and reigns! Happy new year to all my beloved readers you are my family and i love each one of you.

Semester is over.

This semester has been really fan! yeah it is. There are some nay things to talk about in the past semester. Meeting new friends, learning new staffs and different experiences . It is been wonderful experience and i am looking forward for the up coming semester. Like many other students, i am ready to take break and relax from all the school work.

Comfort My People.

Isaiah 40

The Greatness of God

¹ “Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God.
² “Speak kindly to Jerusalem;
And call out to her, that her warfare has ended,
That her iniquity has been removed,
That she has received of the LORD’S hand
Double for all her sins.”

³ A voice is calling,
“Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness;
Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.
⁴ “Let every valley be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill be made low;
And let the rough ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley;
⁵ Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
And all flesh will see it together;
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
⁶ A voice says, “Call out.”
Then he answered, “What shall I call out?”
All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
⁷ The grass withers, the flower fades,
When the breath of the LORD blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
⁸ The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.

⁹ Get yourself up on a high mountain,
O Zion, bearer of good news,
Lift up your voice mightily,
O Jerusalem, bearer of good news;
Lift it up, do not fear.
Say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
¹⁰ Behold, the Lord GOD will come with might,
With His arm ruling for Him.
Behold, His reward is with Him
And His recompense before Him.
¹¹ Like a shepherd He will tend His flock,
In His arm He will gather the lambs
And carry them in His bosom;
He will gently lead the nursing ewes.

¹² Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,
And marked off the heavens by the span,
And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure,
And weighed the mountains in a balance
And the hills in a pair of scales?
¹³ Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD,
Or as His counselor has informed Him?
¹⁴ With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding?
And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge
And informed Him of the way of understanding?
¹⁵ Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales;
Behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust.
¹⁶ Even Lebanon is not enough to burn,
Nor its beasts enough for a burnt offering.
¹⁷ All the nations are as nothing before Him,
They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless.

¹⁸ To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare with Him?
¹⁹ As for the idol, a craftsman casts it,
A goldsmith plates it with gold,
And a silversmith fashions chains of silver.
²⁰ He who is too impoverished for such an offering
Selects a tree that does not rot;
He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman
To prepare an idol that will not totter.

²¹ Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
²² It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
²³ He it is who reduces rulers to nothing,
Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless.
²⁴ Scarcely have they been planted,
Scarcely have they been sown,
Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,
But He merely blows on them, and they wither,
And the storm carries them away like stubble.
²⁵ “To whom then will you liken Me
That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.
²⁶ Lift up your eyes on high
And see who has created these stars,
The One who leads forth their host by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power,
Not one of them is missing.

²⁷ Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD,
And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God”?
²⁸ Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is inscrutable.
²⁹ He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who lacks might He increases power.
³⁰ Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
³¹ Yet those who wait for the LORD
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.

Missionary Impact in Moruland.

Dr. Kenneth Fraser was born at Crock Ban on the Isles of Lewis in Scotland in 1877. Fraser served as a medical doctor in the Royal Army Medical Corps. His ambition was to work overseas, and this desire became a reality when he was accepted by the Gordon Memorial Sudan Mission (GMSM) of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) of England.

After the first World War, Fraser and his wife Eileen arrived at Yilu (now Lui) in 1920. He started working among the Moru people of South Sudan. His military experience served him well in opening a hospital at Lui, which served all of Moruland--a total of 15,000 square miles.

Fraser trained young Christian converts as evangelists, teachers and medical workers, providing them with standardized medical kits and sending them out in pairs. Specific routines and procedures were established and these teams were required to send back reports to Fraser at Lui hospital at regular intervals.

Fraser also established schools and churches all over Moruland at intervals of fifteen miles along the main roads. These centers, in every part of Moruland, served as churches and schools as well as dispensaries at the same time. As dispensaries, these centers served the hospital at Lui.

An industrious and generous Christian, Fraser organized leper colonies. In addition to being a very successful surgeon, he sought to reform harmful indigenous practices and customs. All of these achievements won him a legendary status. More than any other culture in southern Sudan, Christianity deeply penetrated the Moru culture, where the people also boast a high level of education, thanks to his tireless efforts.

Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

To God be the glory for all that He has done for us and let us give thanks to Him for his love endures forever. God is good and He will be always good to us!

Several years ago my American missionaries introduced us to Thanksgiving in South Sudan. That November, we had a disciple-making conference, but on Thursday of that week we did something very different from what we normally do. We woke up early from our mud hut “tokuls” and went to collect firewood. Some of us went to get water and some remained behind to clean the compound. I will not forget that day and the excitement that all of us had.

In South Sudan our daily life is thanksgiving, we do not need to wait for November to come so that we will be thankful. The reason is simple - we are just asking God for this day and if you make it, then you will be thankful. Every morning we wake up and the first thing we do is worship and ask God for protection for the day. Indeed God protects and he cares for us every time. Seeing my American friends coming and preparing an African meal with us meant a lot to everyone in the village.

That November we collected the okra, sweet potatoes, and goat for Thanksgiving. Yeah, goat not turkey! We had goat and chicken, which made it a complete South Sudanese meal and very unique American Thanksgiving. We prepared the food all day. Those of you who have been to South Sudan know what I am talking about, you have to go and collect water from a far distance and firewood as well. Cooking is not something that African men do. We have division of labor and men are not supposed to cook (Ladies, bear with me as this is not American culture). I found myself working hard with other guys preparing food and I was excited and nervous at the same time.

We sent the invitation for Thanksgiving to the all government officials, pastors, and local leaders in the village. They began to show up at 4:00 pm for the Thanksgiving dinner and about 55 people came. Pastor Jeffery’s lead us in the thanksgiving song in moru “Aro’boya miri Lu,” meaning thank you God for all that you have given to us. After the song he prayed and the meal was shared among brothers and sisters in Christ.

This was my first picture of South Sudan/American thanksgiving in 2003. I am so thankful for my family and friends in South Sudan in this time of thanksgiving and above all I am so thankful for you all, my partners whom by the grace of God have committed to support me while in school. May the God of universe keep you and bless you in all.

Our God Reigns,

Fall.

Great is thy faithfulness!Great is thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies i see.
All i have needed thy hands hath provided;Great is thy faithfulness LORD,unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest(fall). Sun, moon and stars in their courses above join with all nature in manifold witness to thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
Thank You LORD! for all the blessings that you have poured out to your people. You alone is great and glorified because You reign!

Beth

Beth Grayson

• Dear Bullen,
  I was deeply touched by the crosses you sent to me. Reading your lovely letter to me and reading about the crosses on the tag you have attached to them made me weep for joy to know such a wonderful young man as you. You were always the most thankful, joyful and wonderful young man in the school in Mundri. I often think of how encouraged you always were even when things were bad. It is truly a spiritual gift of joy that God has given you. Some people's lives seem to resonate with one of the fruits of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22. Even though they may possess many or all of the gifts spoken of, there sometimes is one outstanding fruit in their life. You have such a joy from the Lord and you are such a THANKFUL person. I was saying to the Lord today how delighted and happy I am that He chose you to bless and bring to the U.S. to receive an education. He chose you because you are such a wonderful reflection of Him I believe. Your initial newsletter where you told about meeting me and that you would always remember my face touched me so deeply. Often when we cannot see the fruit of our work, we may feel like we did not accomplish enough for God on certain missions. When I read what you wrote about remembering my face, I was so blessed that you remembered me enough to write about it and especially that you remembered that we studied the book of Hebrews! Your correspondance has blessed me and encouraged me in the Lord. Bullen you are such an amazing young man and brightly shining light for Christ Jesus. Thank you so much for finding me here in the U.S. I will be sending you money for my crosses and also will be ordering more. I want to give them for Christmas gifts so that people in Mundri can have something to eat. God bless you Bullen.
  
  Your sister in Christ,
  
  Beth

Troy University.

This is good friend of ours Jason Jones and his family. Jason and his ministry have proved all the book i need for the college and i am so thankful for him and and his ministry.
This is my Swedish friend. She is caring their flag and very excited about South Sudan being independent nation.
Albin is my French friend very funny and social man. Every time we get together we will sure have good time.
There are some of buildings in down town Troy which i enjoyed. I hope you will love those pictures.

Impact for glory of God.

Praise the Lord for His greatness and unending love, which covers the whole earth. The heaven declares His glory and the creation proclaim His greatness and let the redeemed of the lord rejoice for the Lord God is our God His kingdom will never end. Praise Him!!!

These first 8 weeks at Troy University have been an adjustment and an adventure. I find myself in a new city at a new college, meeting new friends from over 60 different countries, learning new professors and taking harder classes, new church family, as well as being very busy studying. I always want to go to bed around 9:00 pm. In my country, you better do all you need to be done before sun set ;once sun is gone it is gone till next day. There is no electricity and there is no TV to watch. There is no games to play all night like others are doing in other countries. Due to that I always go to sleep early. But finding myself being up late has been a great joy for me because I am not playing games on computer but studying. These studies is not just to pass these classes for myself but for the glory of God and for the people around the world who have no access to an education. I have been able to meet and share Jesus with many international students who do not know Him some might have hard about Christ. For those of you know I love to talk! Always on my break fact or dinner table there has to be some one I am talking with. Those are the times of sharing the word of God. I am always blessed in village, jungle, town and in City not forgetting I am also blessed in my hard times and good times. God is always good and forever He will be.

I continually considered what legacy will followers of Christ will make in this world so that the Name of God will be glorified? I often ask my self with his question and today it is my joy to share with you. May be you are also asking those questions. Jesus took fishermen who only knew fishing, how to use their boat, make their nets and all of their life is fishing. But Jesus called them and taught them instead to be fishers of men. Today their story has made a great impact on the whole word. Cathedrals were build and named after them, Seminaries, colleges, small and major cities were named after these fisher men(not exulting and glorifying them but in honor of Christ). These guys stories challenged all of us. They have nothing at hand but the word of God and trusting in God daily.

These folks (disciples) did not keep quite ;because of their unrest work it produce great fruit for the Kingdom of God and today we have the gospel. Hudson Tyler great man of God; whose heart is to see the lost coming to Christ. This man have laid his life for gospel and went to share gospel in China. He is the one of most outstanding missionaries and very successful. The Missionary work that he had done there have produced great fruit. Not forgetting David Livingstone great man of God when to East Africa and shared Christ with Africans and today he has live unremarkable legacy. Because of his obedience to Christ has made great impact. Beloved, to mention but few. When you look at those mentioned men of God. They are the poorest people in our time. No cell phones, computers internet, social Medea (twitter, Facebook…) BUT they have live legacy. What about us today? We are the most richest and have all the resource. Is there any way that we can make an outstanding impact with all we have? When is the wright time for us to make impact? Beloved I live that for you to answer for yourself.

God is at work and it is unstoppable business. I am asking you to pray and ask God to give each of us a passion for hurting world in our community and enter world.

Because Our God reigns!

Education is Big Deal!

After 2 years of trusting God to complete the work that He started in me my cry was heard American missionaries came and questioned "why are you here at this church?...You should be in school. I explained to them that there was no school here and in order to complete my school, I would have to travel to another country. These missionaries from Alabama wanted to help me go to school and promised to return to the America and see what they could do. In 2003, through these missionaries, God would provide a way for me to travel to a neighboring country, Uganda, where I would attend and complete my high school.

This adventure to Uganda was not without many trials, but God has been so faithful in providing my every need. God has used many people to show His glory and He has taught me to walk by faith, not by sight.

Most people in South Sudan will never have the experience of attending college, but I know in my heart that God had different plans for me. In January 2008, I was given the opportunity to apply for a student visa to travel to the United States. After eight long months of waiting and trusting, God saw fit for the Embassy to grant me my student visa. I could see my dream coming true I was headed to the United States to attend college.

I have now been in the United States attending college for two years. This experience has exceeded all of my expectations. It is my desire to remain in the United States in order to complete a bachelors degree in Business, but this can no longer happen without the assistance of friends like you.

Many years ago God placed a desire in my heart to earn a college degree so that I could return to my country as an honest, Christian businessman and help provide employment and HOPE for my people. Beloved, God is at work and he will not let us down and I know this for sure. I have no reason to be here and to go to school in this semester if you are not there. Your prayers and financial support is the reason I am at Troy University and I know together we are going to see what God has for His glory.

Our God reigns.

-Bullen Timo-