It was super hard; there were too many appliers, and only a few were admitted, although I had no power or authority, yet I had what was more important; The loving and mighty God, who protects me and lifts me from the most difficult persecution I have ever seen.
Simple Start:
My name is Faiz Samuel Marco, I was born in 1960 in Juba, but I grew up in the town of Kabuita, where I started my school years there, but we were always moving from one place to another, because of my father’s work, until we settled in Juba.
I grew up as a sportsman. In youth, I played football mainly. I was a member of the Kontor Kantag team, which played in the major league.
During the time of the Government of the Sudan in the south, we, as young men, looked forward to becoming army and police officers, so after completing my high school, I came to join the Military Faculty, which was very difficult for southerners.
At that time, around 6,000 young people from all over Sudan registered in the college, but we were informed that the required number of students is 410 only!! This means that more than five thousand students will be out of competition. So, many public figures came, to serve as a medium to facilitate the entry of some students to the college.
As for me, I only put my hope in the Lord, I had no one to facilitate things for me, in addition to being from the south, but I believed that the Lord could do anything, so I applied for college.
Hard Times:
After applying for the military college, two-year examinations were carried out in the Department of Medical Weapons, and it happened that, before the specialist approached, he saw me from a distance and didn’t come near me, but he said:” Go”, then he said:” Keep reading ads in daily newspapers, to see if your name has been included in those who have passed the tests. If you do not find your name, it means that your application has been rejected! ”
Fulfilling the dream:
After a very long time, my name appeared in the final results of the students who were admitted in the military college. On February 12, 1988, I joined the batch 39, and I experienced God’s support to the weak people, like me.
The training at college gave us a hard time; there was a plan to dismiss us from college under any excuse, but as southern students, we were able to bear all the difficulties and abuses, because we had a goal that we wanted to achieve.
I was graduated from college in 1990, and thus achieved my wish to the Lord to be an officer in the army, and this was a new phase in my life; it changed my life, from a civilian life to a military one, with all its system and discipline.
Unfair order:
One day, I was in the Karmak area. I noticed that some soldiers were sent to bring firewood and straw from the emptiness. I asked them, “What will you build with all this wood and straw?”
“We will build a mosque for prayer”, they replied.
“Nice”, I said. Then I asked: “Is there any Christians, other than me?”
“There are between ten and fifteen Christian soldiers”, they answered.
“Great … tomorrow we will go and bring firewood and straw to build a church for us” I replied.
So I went to the commander of the area, and he said to me: “What do you want to do?”
“O Commander, we want to build a church for us.” I answered him.
So he gave me an order, to return to Damazin again!!
God’s Protection:
Those days, we were not strong in faith, but I knew that I was from a Christian family, and according to my understanding at that time, I wanted to defend the doctrine that I belonged to.
They tried, by all means, to “filter” the Christian soldiers, and of course I was one of them, whether through poisoning or anything else, but all attempts failed to force us withdraw.
I told myself and my brothers that, as Christ paid dearly and was crucified to pay for our sins, as Christians, we must pay the price of our subordination to Him”
I thank God that I didn’t kill anyone, and despite all the challenges, I decided not to budge away from my faith; ; I am a Christian, and as long as God is with me, and He is the one who put me in this place, he will take care of any difficulties that face me.
The Start of Service:
When I was in Damazin, I saw a vision. In which someone said to me, “Where are you going to go with these shiny things (meaning the military rank medals)?” He repeated the question twice, and when I woke up, I shared with my wife what had happened. I knew that God was calling for me to serve him.
I knew that I was a difficult person, and that I was the last person who could serve God, but I remembered then what my mother once said to me. She gave me the money I collected for the church and said to me: “One day you will ask people to donate to the church” , And when I remembered this, tears flooded.
After that, I decided to study theology at Bishop Quinn College, for two and a half years, and then my life changed for the better;I began to sympathize with the suffering of people, and I advised people to avoid evil and do good. I thank God that the power of the Lord worked in me, and today I am a priest and I serve in the Church, and I learnt that, it is the Lord who protects me, not anything or anyone else.