I don’t know if this has something
to do with having many male teammates and having just watched Batman Begins or if this is something
God is wanting me to focus on (perhaps both), but I have recently been struck
by Romans 12:21 when Paul says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil
with good.” I’ve been dwelling on
the reality of both good and evil in the world and questioning my role in that
duality.
Having just returned from a
rejuvenating retreat in Kampala, I thought I’d enter Mundri Town ready to dig
deep into the mire of broken systems, sin, sickness, and poverty. Unfortunately, I had forgotten just how
deep these pits are, and how much I hate to get my fingers dirty. Early our first morning back, our team
was called to drive a laboring woman to the clinic. The baby ended up dying and the woman was driven to the
hospital to receive further care. Sadly,
this is a way of life in S. Sudan.
I can’t tell you how many nights I’ve stayed awake listening to the
monotonous beating of a funeral drum at a nearby compound. It quickly becomes background noise,
like chirping crickets or scraping tree branches along the roof of my tukul.
My sense of futility here in S.
Sudan has been stronger than ever, and I don’t know if it will ever completely
dissipate. However, I have found
hope in God’s word, as it exhorts me to continually show love, despite all
circumstances, in the pursuit of all that is good. Romans 12 reads,
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is
good… be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in
need. Practice hospitality…
Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
I have seen so much love since I’ve
returned to Mundri. Our neighbors
greet us with open arms and invite us into their homes for a meal. The teachers at Kotobi smile from ear
to ear and joke with us like we are old friends. My friends in town sit beside me, wanting to hear EVERYTHING
about my time in Kampala. People
are still offering puppies to Gaby and Liana, who lost their dog over a month
ago. The people in Mundri know
pain. They know sadness and
destruction and still choose love
everyday. They trust that the Lord
will bring them out of the mire and they keep on moving. Maybe that is how evil is defeated—simply
by clinging to Good in the face of evil.
The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of
darkness and put on the armor of light.
-Romans 13:12