As time moves me closer to d-day, July 17th, the developments in the trip’s progress are coming quicker and quicker. In the last few weeks, so much has happened and I have learned so much.
I received the Bible stories that I must learn before the trip. Many of you may not be familiar with Chronological Bible Storying…which is the main method of delivering the Bible in countries such as Sudan. Basically, it breaks the Bible down into the main stories-Creation through Revelation-that are to be told orally. In Sudan (and many other un- and underdeveloped countries), the literacy rate is less than 1%. This means that even those who have access to a printed Bible likely cannot read it; therefore, telling the stories orally is crucial to passing the Bible along to them. Especially in the Dinka and Nuer tribes of Southern Sudan, the societies are very communal and nearly everything revolves around song and stories. This makes oral Bible storying exceptionally successful. As in, if they hear the story twice, they can recite it back to you flawlessly. Amazing, huh?
Anyway, in case you are interested, each team member must learn one Spiritual Track story and 3 End Times Track stories. We will be delivering these stories to the students of the Nasir Bible School and they will learn them in preparation for their final exams. These amazing soon-to-be Sudanese pastors will have learned 118 Bible stories at the time of exams and graduation. They will then disperse into the communities of Southern Sudan and spread the Word of God to hungry Sudanese souls.
My stories are as follows:
Paul’s Letters to Timothy (1 and 2 Timothy)
The Letter to the Church in Ephesus (Revelation 2:1-7)
The Scroll and the Lamb (Revelation 5)
The Fall of Babylon (Revelation 18)
If interested, please look them up. It will certainly be a challenge to learn them, but it will be fun to deliver such an important message to people of God.