Abraham's Story

There are times when you meet someone and their life story inspires you in such a way that you have to share it with all that you know. Last night at the Towlan's monthly missions chat was one of those times:

It was a normal day for six year old Abraham who was out on the plains of Sudan with the other villagers tending cattle. Unfortunately, this would not be just an ordinary day; the civil war reached Abraham's village that day and Abraham and his fellow cattle tenders, 4-13years of age, began to run. Shoeless and shirtless they ran, and ran, and ran. They spent months living in the jungle, drinking liquid mud to quench their thirst and eating leaves to satisfy their hunger. More joined their numbers and some died along the way from starvation and exhaustion. Finally, 20,000 in number, the boys reached Ethiopia, hoping to find a place of refuge and freedom. The boys were divided up into groups of 1,000 and rationed food: 4 bowls each of corn and sorghum...per camp. If you were lucky you might get 5 kernels of corn per day.
Faced with a hopeless situation, nine year old Abraham acknowledged the grim reality that his death was imminent. Yet, all hope was not lost. It was during this time through the life-giving words of a sixteen-year old evangelist that he would discover bread that would never leave him hungry. During these times when he had nothing to eat he would cling to hope-filled verses, verses that gave him comfort and renewed strength. His situation improved and the next three years Abraham and the "Lost Boys" learned English by writing with sticks on the dirt floor at school. It was their first time ever to attend school. However, a political change sent the boys fleeing at gunpoint to Kenya and another long journey on foot. At one point, the boys reached a wide river. Abraham didn't know how to swim. Once again he faced his own mortality and told his best friend, "I must stay here. I can't swim." His friend replied, "Abraham, you can't give up. Remember your faith. Remember how God has taken care of you and that He will continue to do so. Take hold of my shoulder and kick your legs." With the sound of gunfire all around, Abraham took hold of his friend's shoulder and the two crossed the river to the shores of safety. Now around 16,000 in number, many dead due to gunfire, starvation, or drowning, Abraham and the fellow boys spent the next years of their lives in Kenya. Abraham finished primary school and high school. In 2001 he came to the United States. He is currently in college with the goal of becoming a doctor, a neurologist or cardiologist he told us, and returning to Sudan.
Abraham ended by telling us this: "Our God is an amazing God. He looks after His children and keeps them safe. Don't ever forget those comforting words He's given us. And don't forget to tell others. People have a lot of questions when they're dying and they need to have those questions answered before their die. I want to be a doctor so I can answer their questions and impact other's lives by telling them what God has done for me."

You can find out more about Abraham and the Lost Boys of Sudan at www.Abrahamsdream.com (the site is scheduled to be launched within the next week).

May we never confuse inconvenience with sacrifice or suffering, unfulfilled desires with hunger, or a good example as fulfilling our command to "Go and tell all the world" and share those wonderful, comforting words of a God who looks after everyone of His children, from silly, spoiled medical students to shirtless, shoeless boys in Sudan.