AFRICA/SUDAN - “What impacted me most was the zeal and the joy of the people that I met, for the faith.” Testimony from a young American on his missionary experience in Southern Sudan.

Torit (Agenzia Fides) – This January 9-23, three young men from the United States of America have been visiting the Diocese of Torit (Southern Sudan) to collaborate in parish missions and the “Bread of Life” Eucharistic Retreat for youth in the border towns of Nimule and Loa (Sudan). The missions and retreat were organized by Fr. Herald J. Brock, CFR (Franciscan Friar of the Renewal), who is serving as a missionary in the Diocese of Torit, where the Church is struggling to rebuild in the midst of extreme poverty after the devastation of more than 20 years of civil war. As Fr. Brock explains, in a note sent to Agenzia Fides, the youth missionaries arrived in Kampala (Uganda) on January 9, where they made a mini-pilgrimage to the the Shrine of the Ugandan Catholic Martyrs before continuing on their way to Sudan. There, in Sudan, in the towns of Nimule and Loa, Fr. Brock celebrated Mass and exposed the Blessed Sacrament while the Mission Team youth collaborated in leading the talks, activities, prayer, and music ministry. The town missions were widely attended. A group of 125 youth attended the Eucharistic Retreat and one night, there were 700-800 people in attendance for the showing of a movie on the Ugandan Martyrs.
One of the three young men from the Mission Team, Mario Dance, told of how the mission work had impressed him: “The part of the mission that impacted me most was the zeal and the joy of the people that I met for the faith. Most people in the USA are sorely tempted to abandon their faith when they face trials or difficulties or tragedy. Here, the people live with trials and tragedy all the time and they are more joyful and faith filled than those of us in the USA who have every material blessing. There is sadness here to be sure but it is clearly linked to their understanding of the cross and so their faith seems simpler and deeper at the same time...[The experience] has deepened my passion for missions and confirmed the call of missions on my life.” (AR) (Agenzia Fides 23/01/2010)