At the invitation of Bishop Macram Max Gassis, I traveled
with him on his pastoral visit to the area of the Nuba Mountains in south
Kordofan in the Sudan.  We traveled from Wilson Airport in Nairobi aboard a
chartered caravan plane for two and one-half hours to Lokichokio where we passed
through Kenya immigration and took on supplies to be delivered to the pastoral
workers in Sudan.  Later we continued our flight for three hours more passing
over the Jongolai canal project and the White Nile, finally approaching the Nuba
Mountains. The airstrip where we landed had been prepared by the Christians so
that personnel and supplies could land safely. We were met by many local
Christians and others who assisted us to carry our bags and supplies.

    From where we landed it was a 23 kilometer walk to Kauda
where the church has been given the use of a former colonial teacher’s house.
The only vehicle in the area is a Yamaha 100 which can carry only one person.
The walk entails crossing over one mountain, which at its peak, truly tests your
call to mission.  Once over the mountain we continued on to a place called Kauda. 
This area has been under the control of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA)
since April 1996.  The church is welcome and seems to have a good relationship
with the ruling administration. A large proportion of the people are still
unevangelized.  While there at the Easter vigil, several hundred people were
baptized and confirmed.  On Easter Sunday 58 couples had their marriages
blessed.