Indeed one day I needed a pair of shoes to wear during the holidays, And yes, I was confused between paying the debts of my food and paying for my father’s treatment, but at the end, I discovered an awesome inner power, the power which could overcome the magic and the fable, and spread good and peace, so I had to exploit it.
A Real Christian:
My name is “Joseph Makar Qordon Maniel Kir”, I was born in 1960, from a Christian family. I was baptized in 1967, but I was never a real Christian. Afterwards, I left my family, I went to study in “Al-Abyad” and then after the holiday I went to the “Kenana” region.
In “Kenana” there was a priest called “Peter Manjog”, who preached from the Gospel of Matthew 5: 13-17, about salt and light. He said that: “many people call themselves Christians, when in fact, they are neither salt nor light and they have nothing to do with the Lord Jesus Christ; they have never served him, but they only serve the world and their own lusts.”
His words deeply touched my heart, so I asked the Lord Jesus Christ to be the Personal Savior for my life, and I prayed saying: “If you really want me to serve you in this country, allow me to find a job opportunity in Kenana”. Amazingly, my wish was fulfilled and I was hired in Kenana as Machinery Technician in a factory.
Job Challenges:
In this period, I had already experienced Christ as a Savior; I used to share every detail in my life with Him. I remember, one day, while I was daily paid, I didn’t have a shoe to wear during the holidays, so I thought in my heart, that I should not spend the salary and I should work an overtime to buy myself a shoe; and indeed ; everyone went home and I remained in the church alone, painting it. In the morning, I went to work, and I met a white man called” Jack”, he had a pair of shoes in his hands, size 12, and he told me:”I’m waiting for the missionary Joseph to take the pair of shoes from me, and give it to any needy in the church”. So, as soon as I arrived, he handed me over the pair of shoes.
In the evening, I went to the Church Council, and told them: I received that shoe this morning, in order to give it to a needy. So, the council discussed it with each other, and searched for someone who could be in need, but they didn’t find any, so eventually they said: “That missionary is in need too” and they gave it to me, it was my exact size. I recognized then that the Lord has heard my prayers, and that He can always fulfill my needs all the time.
On another occasion, I remember working in a factory, where I ate with a loan, and I paid for my food at the end of the month, but when it was time to pay the monthly debt, my father suddenly fell ill, and I was confused do I repay the debt? Or do I treat my father?
At last, I decided to pay back the debt, and I prayed: “Lord, please make me find the money and I will pay the debt immediately”, and I went to the market and paid my debt without meeting my father. Then I came home and told my father. “What you have done is the best thing, because paying back your debt is part of the treatment, and when we repay debt, God will fulfill our needs.”
A few months later, I was at home with some family members, when Joseph Menbong came to me, after he was fired from work at Kenana Sugar Factory, and he told me: “Joseph, I have been dismissed from work, my children are about to die, and I heard of a magician who could turn pennies into gold, and he also has a miraculous power to heal.”
“I don’t believe in such things”, I replied. And I asked him;” What do you want to do?”
“Give me some money, and I’ll take it to the magician, so you will have nothing to do with that.” he suggested. But still I refused. For a week we talked over and over about it, finally, I said to myself: “If that man died without helping him, I will blame myself for not helping”. So, I gave him eighty pounds, “I do not want any profit, but if you want to give it to the magician, this is your business.”I said.
Then, I accompanied Joseph to the magician’s place, and when I arrived I asked the magician: “Are you the one who knows how to turn the pennies into gold?” .
He said, “Yes,” and I said to him: “I don’t believe in this, but here are eighty pounds to do whatever Joseph wants, then give me back my money”.
Disabling Magic:
When the magician received the money, his magical powers stopped completely, and money wasn’t multiplied as he claimed, even when he went to the market, and replaced it with others, he still failed, so the magician felt that he was disabled because of me, and he thought of killing me. So he invited me to go to him at a late hour, and I found him putting the knife in front of him, and he muttered with comic words, saying that he could pull the power of the whole world. I said to him sarcastically: “Do what you want, but you cannot turn the eighty pounds that belong to me.”
After some time, I went to the police station and filed a report against that magician, but as soon as he learnt that the policemen are asking about him, the imposter fled, leaving his women and all the magic tools behind him; he was expelled from our area once and for all.
Great Power:
This incident, made me learn that God’s power is above all, above Satan and magic. I also realized that God wants me to use His power for the good and welfare of people, and to spread His service.
On 25/3/1983, I founded the first church, this church spread to 18 centers; thirteen of them speak Dinka, three speak Shilk, and two of them speak Nuer, all of which served only our Lord, and gained many souls.
The Church made me a theologian after ten years, so I left my job in Kenana, and I joined the study of theology. I was ordained as a priest on 14/8/1994. I became a minister of one of the churches of the Presbyterian Church in Southern Sudan. I will serve God until the end of my life, the service that I was specially invited to.