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In southern Sudan, one of the most impoverished regions in the world, you might not expect to find a lot of hope. But if you dig deep enough, it is indeed there. And MCC is working to make sure that hope continues to grow.

Steve Steiner experienced this search for hope firsthand, as he took part in an MCC learning tour to southern Sudan on September 1-7. Steiner, a retired business executive and farmer from Dalton, Ohio, joined six others on their travels in east Africa.

A member of Kidron Mennonite Church, Steiner has a long-held connection with MCC. He served in Chad (along the border with Sudan) from 1974-77. He also served with MCC in Indonesia for three months in 2005, finishing assessment from the tsunami and helping to implement the ongoing program.

On paper, the situation in southern Sudan is grim. A 22-year civil war decimated communities in the region. About two million people were killed and four million people were forced to flee their homes before a peace agreement ended the conflict in 2005.

Since then, millions of people are returning home after spending years in refugee camps or enduring the harsh realities of war. And few resources exist, such as schools or food supplies, to accommodate the rapidly growing population.

Steiner compared the situation in south Sudan to what he experienced working with tsunami recovery efforts in Indonesia. “In south Sudan everybody is traumatized to some degree or another,” he said. “Everybody had a story. Everybody lost loved ones in the war.”

The learning tour group heard story after heart-wrenching story about the atrocities suffered by the Sudanese people. Children being conscripted into the army at nine, eight, even seven years old, and being forced to torture and kill their own people. Families torn apart.

One such story came from a Sudanese man named Simon Mikanipare Agume, who managed to avoid conscription as a young man. Through a series of events, he fled across the country with a group of friends, experiencing unthinkable hardships, until he eventually arrived in Uganda as a refugee.

Agume was scheduled to help lead this learning tour in Sudan, but the night the group arrived, his neighbor’s house was robbed and two people were shot and killed. His story continues to be one of heartache and suffering, but he looks forward with hope. In a reflection he sent home with the group, he writes, “May those who read this learn from it and always thank God during hard times and happy times.”

This overwhelming spirit of faith and trust in God appeared as  a common theme. “Inevitably at the end of each of our meetings, one of us would ask ‘where do you find hope?’” said Steiner. “The answer was always ‘in our faith.’”

This strong faith flows over into the unity of the Christian churches in southern Sudan, where the churches work together cohesively to try to provide relief for their people. MCC works with a number of organizations in this region in areas like community-based trauma healing, vocational training, women’s development programs and conflict transformation.

“I know Mennonites aren’t supposed to be proud, but I am so proud of MCC and the work they are doing in southern Sudan,” Steiner said. “Through the thick and thin, MCC is working with the different organizations helping people to get their lives back together. It is so encouraging to see them working, even when the thread of hope is so thin and so fragile. We were there and we are there.”

Reflecting back on what he saw and experienced, Steiner was struck by how thankful people were for the group coming to hear their stories. They did not ask anything of the tour participants, other than to bring back their stories to the United States and Canada.

“Over the course of the time while visiting south Sudan, I moved from hope to hopelessness and back,” said Steiner. “To my amazement, the hope in south Sudan rests in the strength of the people’s faith in Jesus and the on-going support of the church.”

Steiner is available to speak in congregations and small group settings about Sudan. Contact the Great Lakes office for more information.

MCC is currently in the middle of a 10-year, multimillion-dollar campaign to help people in southern Sudan recover. The campaign, “Coming Home: Sudan,” is focused on building schools, supporting education, assisting farmers and promoting peace in southern Sudan. Visit mcc.org/sudancominghome