Spring 2013

NEW Dinka Book of Prayers and Hymns (thanks to you!)

When you walk through the fire

Walter Saucedo turned from crime to Christ

Sharp vision, new name

Your gifts have given Monika Ajak Manger and her son Dhalbany a new reason to sing.

Ignite

FruitThe printed draft was all that remained of my work. Once in Sydney, I had time, a secure place to work and access to a computer and quality printing. By email I continued to collect material. After sixteen years’ work the first edition of this hymn book has now been published. It includes 977 hymns, a catechism, liturgies and Bible extracts.

The period of war between Sudanese Muslims and Christians has seen a great outpouring of God’s Spirit. This book of hymns and prayers shows that God’s Word speaks to his people in all circumstances.

Please pray that it will be a blessing and encouragementto Dinka-speaking Christians in Australia, South Sudan andelsewhere. Pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to inspire men and womento burst into song as they put theirtrust in our Saviour Jesus Christ.

You have encouraged us and matched our commitment, step-by-step. Thank you for your partnership. Abraham Ayur Mayor Dit and his wife Sara pastor a Sudanese congregation based at St Alban’s Anglican Church, Belmore, Sydney.

S O U T H S U D A N

We will sing to the Lord a new songAbraham Dit has compiled a new Dinka hymn book. You can ensure that it reaches congregations in South Sudan.

My people are the Dinka pastoralists of the ancient Land of Cush. Cattle are our livelihood. Even in Australian cities and suburbs our communities nego-tiate wedding dowries in the currency of cattle. Dinka-speaking Christians transmit

their faith through liturgy and song. This is how we under-stand God with our hearts and our minds. This is how we teach our children our language and culture. For us this is both a preference and a necessity; we have a rich oral tradi-tion, and Bibles and hymn books in our language are scarce and incomplete.

While at Bible college in Khartoum in the 1990s, I began to collect songs and hymns, especially songs that appeal to young people. I used to walk instead of taking a bus to save money so that I could pay someone to type my notes into a computer.

ExileThe war between Muslims in the north and Christians in the south intensified as I completed my studies. I could neither stay in Khartoum nor return south. In 2000 like many before me I escaped to Egypt, taking with me a printout of my collection of hymns.

After almost two years in Cairo, I prepared to return to South Sudan to fight in the civil war. However, a wise man asked me a strategic question. ‘Many will fight and die in the war. But what can you do for your people outside Sudan that you cannot do at home?’ I applied to migrate to Australia.

Pastor James Mabor Lueth Aboj and his wife Monica Achol Lueth celebrate the launch of the new Dinka Book of Prayers and Hymns in Australia. Your gift today will make it available in South Sudan.

$9000will finance the publication of the new Dinka Book of Prayers and Hymns. This project is jointly funded by Dinka-speaking Christians and SparkLit.

What next?Thanks to the friends that God has given me, I finished school and trained to be a computer programmer and graphic designer. It is unbelievable that a kid from the villa could work in a comfortable office in the city doing what he loves! I love designing books that are a blessing to others. Being part of God’s plan now excites me.

I have always dreamed of travelling. Today I am in Melbourne learning English and gaining experience in book design. It is amazing to see Australian cities, beaches and wildlife. Immersing myself in another culture is yet another opportunity to grow.

To be able to serve in various aspects of my life is a great blessing. God has given me a vision to serve in my neighbourhood. Please pray that I will be able to use my love of sport to encourage and challenge young people to resist following the crowd, consider Jesus and make something of their lives.

With God nothing is impossible. Walter Saucedo is a designer with bookseller and publisher Certeza Argentina.

A R G E N T I N A

With God nothing is impossibleWalter Saucedo turned from crime to Christ.

‘If you refuse to steal then you will no longer eat in this house.’ My mother’s words filled me with pain and anger. Where had following Jesus got me? I was hungry. My mother was furious with me. My friends mocked me. I had always been the ‘little nigger’, but

now I was rejected even by my friends and family. I was born in Buenos Aires in what is known as a villa.

When people think of a villa they think of crime, drug addic-tion and ignorance. In order to eat, my three siblings and I had to beg, steal and scavenge bottles and scrap cardboard to sell for recycling. When you are marginalised it is difficult to live with dignity.

Another way to liveAll my friends stole, drank, smoked and took drugs. At thir-teen I was entering the same game, until I met Jesus. The easiest thing to do was give up and become just one more delinquent but God was showing me a new, completely different way to think and live. I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

My stepfather and I regularly stole to pay for our food and his drugs. When I met Jesus I told my mother that I didn’t want to steal anymore. She became very angry with me. Jesus requires us to give up our old life and start living a new life. But initially I didn’t like this new life at all.

Following Jesus is not easy but eventually I saw the blessing. People began to ask why I’d changed and I could talk about this God who is Friend, Father and Lord. Today my whole family follows Christ. We are aware that he is present in our lives and that without him our lives have no meaning.

$2400will sponsor Walter Saucedo’s professional development in Australia. This six

-month internship is jointly funded by Walter and SparkLit.

‘To be saved from a life of petty crime is miraculous. To finish school and get a job doing what I love is unbelievable. With God nothing is impossible.’ Today you can invest in Walter’s future.

mattered. What remained was his presence and the assur-ance that he loved me. Not even the flames of hell had been able to separate us. I have begun a walk of faith quite different to any I had experienced before. The relationship and closeness with God I now enjoy is something I wouldn’t surrender for anything.

Isaiah 43:2 says ‘When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.’ As my body and mind have been very much affected by the fire, this verse must refer to my spirit which grows stronger and more sure of God’s love. This is what I want to define me now. This is the treasure of the fires for me.

Are you a writer too? Entry forms for the Young Australian Christian Writer Award, Australian Christian Teen Writer Award and Australian Christian Book of the Year Award can be found at: www.SparkLit.org

You can follow the Australian Christian

Literature Awards on Facebook.

A U S T R A L I A

When you walk through the flamesAn ordeal by fire, told by Australian Christian Book of the Year author Ann Fogarty.

My whole idea of God was shat-tered the moment the fireball hit me. Nothing was as I had believed or imag-ined it to be. I felt abandoned by God. However, I began to experience God’s love in so many ways that I couldn’t deny his caring presence in my life. When someone is hurting we naturally want to fix it, or offer inspira-tion and advice. One well-intentioned friend told me ‘to turn my scars into stars’. This was the last thing I needed. I just wanted someone to accept me as I was. Having someone alongside me in my pain was deeply comforting. I was especially grateful to the people who didn’t know what to do or say. I knew that it was their love alone that had brought them to my bedside. Writing Forged with Flames was far more challenging than I had expected.

2013 Australian Christian Book of the YearForged with flames: A true story of courage and survivalAnn Fogarty and Anne Crawford Wild Dingo Press ISBN 9780987178510WildDingoPress.com.au

I had allowed Ash Wednesday and all that came after it to rule my life and define my existence. I had made suffering into an art form. It had become my identity. I was so satu-rated with painful memories that I was about to explode.

It took me a long time to let go of my stoicism and ask for help. My British stiff upper lip caused me so much extra suffering. I eventually realised that if I didn’t release myself from the trauma I wouldn’t be able to continue writing.

I found that it is the fear of fear that paralyses me. Fear itself is just another human emotion. In fact it was fear that kept me alive after I was burned. My fear of dying motivated me to keep breathing and stay alive.

Slowly I began to talk with God again. The more I poured out my questions, doubts and anxieties, the less they

Ann Fogarty with her grandchildren thirty years after the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires left her with life-threatening burns to eighty-five percent of her body. Ann brings to her writing the same humour, honesty and courage with which she suffered the pain, doubt and despair.

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T A N Z A N I A

Gifts are for sharingYour gift today will provide vital Christian texts to graduates like Olaph Joseph Mhema.

I tried many paths to happiness before I finally put my trust in Jesus. Now my life is full of joy, peace and purpose.

I have been given the gift of music. I have mastered several instruments and I love to conduct choirs.

For almost ten years I taught in adult education, music and singing, coordinated youth training programs, and managed a project caring for orphans and the elderly.

One day I was asked to teach the organ at a local Anglican Church. I loved the sermons I heard there and the lay participation in the worship. I eventually enrolled at St Mark’s Theological College, Dar es Salaam, to study for a diploma of theology. I now dream of becoming an Anglican priest and a theological lecturer. CMS Australia is sponsoring me to enter the degree level program at St Mark’s in the next intake.

Together with my fellow students, I eagerly looked forward to our graduation day at St Mark’s knowing that we would each receive a gift of the Africa Bible Commentary from SparkLit. Such books are very expensive for us here, but they are so valuable for our preaching. Please pray that we will be equipped to teach, serve and encourage our congregations with grace and love.

On your behalf Australian missionary John Morshead presents an Africa Bible Commentary to Olaph Joseph Mhema. Olaph has completed a three-year diploma of theology at St Mark’s Theological College in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

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SparkLitPO Box 198, Forest Hill, Victoria 3131, Australia. Telephone 1300 13 7725 | admin@SparkLit.org | www.SparkLit.org ARBN 119 800 645. Formerly the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge Australia and the Australian Christian Literature Society. Igniting Christian Writing

$30will provide a theological graduate or pastor with a copy of the Africa Bible Commentary.

I G N I T E S P R I N G 2 0 1 3

Where the gospel is preached, you can fan the flames of faith

In the port of London, 227 years ago, a small group of Christians stowed books aboard a ship bound for an unknown continent. The books competed for space with tools, provisions and livestock and were accompanied by soldiers, sailors and 700 convicts. A gift from the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, Australia’s first library arrived at Port Jackson aboard the HMS Sirius, flag-ship of the First Fleet. The vision that sent 4000 Christian

books and tracts (including 100 Bibles, 400 New Testaments, 500 Psalters, 400 children’s readers and 100 spelling books) to the other side of the world as a foundation for the new colony is a vision I cherish. This initiative was as audacious as it was optimistic.

Wherever the gospel is preached, literature will be needed. Today, as in 1786, this need is only met with the support of generous and imaginative people like you.

In Australia we now pursue this mandate as SparkLit. Together we can advance God’s kingdom by empowering Christian writers, publishers and distributors. As you read these words your gifts are making Christian books available to those who need them most. Through SparkLit, you can equip a publishing professional in Latin America, nurture an emerging publisher in Asia and provide vital theological references to a pastor in East Africa.

Bold vision. New name. SparkLit.Thank you for helping us fan the flames of faith.

Michael Collie National Director michael.collie@SparkLit.org

SparkLit National Director Michael Collie with Dinka hymn book editor Abraham Dit.

You can fan the flames of faith today. SparkLit relies on the prayers and donations of passionate Christians like you.• 1 You can enable students and pastors by providing theological texts and refer-ence works where commitment is strong but support and resources are scarce.

$30 will provide a theological graduate or pastor with a copy of the Africa Bible Commentary.

$38 will subsidise the purchase of a $50, eight-volume book package by a pastor in rural Cambodia.

$60 will enable a Kenyan pastor to train by providing a ten-volume African Leader ship manual.• 2 You can nurture emerging publishers

by providing funds, expertise and encour-agement where life-changing Christian writing is needed most.

$9000 will finance the publication of Abraham Dit’s new Dinka Book of Prayers and Hymns.• 3 You can equip publishing profes-

sionals by investing in the training and development of promising Christian writers, editors and designers.

$2400 will sponsor Walter Saucedo’s six-month intern-ship in Australia.

Donating = loving. To financially support the work of SparkLit and its partners in difficult places, grab your credit card and visit www.SparkLit.org or use the form overleaf.

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