As I reflected on what I would write for this article, my mind kept returning to the Southern Sudanese proverb:
“After every long night, there is a new dawn.”
This proverb has guided so many of the journeys undertaken by the group known as the Lost Boys of Sudan and once again illuminates truth in a most touching story — about a Lost Boy from Sudan, a group of missionaries from around the world, and a Bible in the dialect of the Dinka people of South Sudan.
Alephonsion Deng, a former Lost Boy from Sudan who co-authored They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky, made the long, arduous journey from Southern Sudan to Kakuma Refugee Camp — a journey that spanned 14 years. Alephonsion is a man who lived through a long night.
However, this story is not about that long night, though his journey and the story of the Lost Boys of Sudan are ones I recommend everyone hear. This is a story of the new dawn — and it unfolded just before Holy Week 2015 and throughout the Easter season. This is my witness to hope, evidence of the new dawn, Christ’s coming in all His glory.
On March 28, 2015, Alephonsion Deng sent me an email which read:
“I was meditating on the Lord at this wee hour, and praying since we are in Lent and Good Friday is approaching soon. I want ‘the Dinka Rek Bible.’ I write to you to ask for help because you were the first person that the Lord brought to mind. Please ask around in your diocese; perhaps the Lord will help us.”
I decided to contact the San Diego Office for the Missions — and so the story begins.
Within a couple of days, during Holy Week, I received an email from Father Joe Miller, SVD, director of the Office for the Missions, offering to help. On March 31, Father Joe sent an explanation of my unique request to a wide array of his contacts. The divine wheels were in motion.
In just over one week, on April 8, I learned from Father Joe that the Dinka Bible was on its way to San Diego. Father Joe had contacted Father John Kirby, a Divine Word Missionary in Los Angeles, who then reached out to Father Francis Naduviledathu, a Divine Word Missionary living in Lainya, South Sudan. Father Francis purchased the Dinka Bible and arranged for its travel to the U.S.
The very next day, on April 9, Alephonsion contacted me again with another special request — this time for his brother, Peter.
“The Lord has touched him, and his life is changed so greatly by the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ. He is a fervent believer. His name is Peter Yier. If there is a way to deliver a Bible to him, that would be very fantastic.”
So again, I reached out to Father Joe — our missionary angel — who then informed me of the extraordinary circumstances that led to the acquisition of the Bible in Juba and its delivery to San Diego.
It just so happened that Father Francis was in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, on April 7, saying farewell to a fellow missionary relocating to the Congo. It also just so happened that Father Francis had been contacted by Father John Kirby the week prior regarding the Dinka Bible. Father John had met Father Francis years earlier in Ghana, before his transfer to South Sudan.
And it just so happened that the Pauline Sisters had a bookstore in Juba, where Father Francis was able to purchase a Dinka Bible. Father Francis’s confrere, who was departing for the Congo, agreed to hand-carry the Bible out of South Sudan (which has no postal service) and post it in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, while visiting the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit.
Father Joe then asked Father Francis if it would be possible to acquire another Bible and deliver it to Alephonsion’s brother, who lived in Juba. Father Francis explained that the journey from Lainya to Juba is over 100 kilometers — a three-to-four-hour trip made only when “absolutely necessary.” So Father Joe suggested that we leave it in the hands of the Spirit, but that we had every reason to hope for a second Easter miracle.
And Father Joe was right. On April 30, we learned that Alephonsion’s brother Peter had indeed received a Dinka Bible.
On May 6, Alephonsion, family friends, and I were blessed to celebrate the arrival of the Bible with Father Joe and the Missions Office staff over lunch. We were brought together by a special young man and his request for a Dinka Bible — and along the way, touched by the light of Christ that shines through after every long night, ushering in the new dawn.
Alephonsion shared stories of joy and faith as we all listened, laughed, smiled, and rejoiced — for truly, Christ was present in all His glory that day.
It was a wonderful gift to take part in the adventure of the Dinka Bible and inspiring to witness the tireless work of missionaries around the world, dedicated to spreading Christ’s light even in the most difficult of circumstances.
May God continue to bless all of His missionaries around the world — and especially those who helped bring the Dinka Bible to San Diego.