Another Man's War
Page 18
Gula, northern Uganda—children on the back streets
I’ve already mentioned how we earn money providing guide services, security, and transport for American groups in Uganda and Southern Sudan. I bought a well-drilling rig for the orphanage; now we lease it out to others so they can drill their own wells. We also rent out our houses in Kampala and Gulu to travel groups, and offer extra meals, sightseeing, and other services if the guests want them.
There are other ways to stretch a Sudanese pound. I am registered as a doctor in Uganda, so I can buy our medicine there, where it’s much cheaper than in America. I bring donated drugs from the U.S. but never purchase any there for the ministry. I even buy medicine for myself in Uganda and bring it back to Central City with me because it’s so much less expensive—antibiotics, malaria medicine, everything. Malaria pills here are as much as six dollars apiece. In Uganda they’re a fraction of that.
In the Sierra desert on the way to Boma.
In the midst of all this, I’m haunted sometimes by the children I couldn’t help. The ones I got to too late or had to leave behind. Not only would I like to have places for more children in Nimule; I’d like to see a dozen more orphanages all across the country. I already have a vision for the next one, in Boma. The fighting still goes on there every day, as it once did in Southern Sudan. A lot of it is tribal, based on old feuds and old conflicts that die hard. If the bike raffle brings in the money I think and hope it will, we’ll build our second orphanage there. Soon.
Child refugees, Pabo displacement camp in northern Uganda
I can call people and bend their ear in hopes of a donation, I can talk about the children of Sudan in churches and on college campuses and on Oprah, but in the end what I’ve had to learn to do most of all is wait on the Lord. It costs twenty-five thousand dollars a month to run the orphanage in Nimule, and for that we depend on hundreds and hundreds of small, regular contributions, though it’s true that once in a while God lays fantastic surprises on us. If you’d like to give us a paper sack filled with cash, we’ll be happy to put it to good use.
A child’s toy car
The images of the children are with me all the time, burned into my brain, waiting for me every time I close my eyes. Once you see them, your heart will break, and you’ll all of a sudden want to do anything you can to help them. Since you’ll probably never get the chance to meet them yourself, I’ve done everything I can to bring the children to you by writing this book. No words can fully capture the suffering they’ve endured or express the unbridled joy they feel when they know in their hearts that Tom-Tom can never hurt them again. If I can only make you see how little it takes to transform their lives—a bed and a blanket at night, a full belly, clean clothes, and a toy or two to share—you will want to be a part of this miracle in our dusty little corner of Southern Sudan.
Children at the Pabo Refugee Camp in northern Uganda
I write with the hope that my eleventh-grade words will inspire you to give to this ministry with your money, your time, your prayers, your heart, or all of the above.
Refugee child—northern Uganda
Telling this story has been an exercise in trying to express the inexpressible. Everything is really too vast to corral and put on the page—the vastness of the African desert, of the needs of these children, of God’s boundless love for his people. I’ve done all I can do here. Now it’s up to you to say not, “What a book!” but “What an adventure of a lifetime! I want in!” So, come on in. I promise that once you feel—in the flesh or in your heart—one of these warm, tender, trusting, grubby little hands in your own, you will never let it go.
Acknowledgments
Many people helped make this book possible, and I want to thank some of them here for their extra effort and dedication. First of all is my wife, Lynn Childers, who traveled up and down some rocky roads for many years in order to help me do the Lord’s work, and who has been my faithful partner throughout this book project. Our daughter, Paige “Sam” Childers, has also been beside me as the book took shape, and has done a great job keeping our ministry on track while I’ve been in Africa or huddled up with my writing team. I’m especially grateful to the godly couple who started it all, my parents, Daisy and Paul Childers Sr., who have loved me unconditionally through good times and bad. Thanks also to my brothers, Paul Jr. and George, who shared some of these adventures with me.
Deborah Giarratana, my manager, producer, and friend, has done a miraculous job putting me in touch with the people who could help me share my story: book publishers, movie companies, television companies, and who knows what next. She never stopped believing in me or my ministry.
Special thanks to my friend Brian Moats, who has been both a wise advisor and a generous supporter of our work. He is one of thousands of people in America and around the world who have supported Angels of East Africa and continue to expand its reach and vision.
I’m grateful to the team that helped capture the story in a book: freelance writer and author John Perry, and editor Kristen Parrish and publisher Joel Miller at Thomas Nelson.
A special thank you to Kevin Evans for following me around and taking such amazingly powerful photos.
Though I mention them elsewhere, I want to again thank all the government officials and military of Uganda and Sudan, especially President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, and President Salva Kiir of Southern Sudan. These are brave, patriotic men who have devoted their lives to improving the lives of their people.
Every story needs an inspiration. This story was inspired by the children of Sudan, especially the war orphans, who have endured so much and survived to be an inspiration to the world. God bless them. I give my life for them daily and consider it my highest honor to do so.
Most important of all, I give credit for this book and all that I do to Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. Without Him, none of what I do would be possible. With Him, nothing I do is impossible. Thank you, Jesus, for the joy of serving You.
Sam just outside of Juba in Southern Sudan
About the Author
Sam Childers is a former biker who now dedicates his life and resources to rescue children in the war zone of Sudan. Childers and his wife Lynn founded and operate Children’s Village orphanage in Nimule, Sudan, where they currently have over 300 children in their care.
For more information about what Sam is doing in Uganda and Southern Sudan and to see more photos log on to www.machinegunpreacher.org.
Sam’s daughter Paige, helping out with the Mobile Clinic. Paige now works full-time for the mission and will be starting her own mission work in Africa later this year.
From 1999 to 2002 Sam ran the Mobile Clinic. For many, this was the only medical care they received—regardless of how ill they were.
A typical gathering of villagers seeking medical treatment wait patiently in the shade.
Many of the children we rescue have nowhere else to go, since families are often hesitant to take on another mouth to feed.
Children sharing a bottle of water and a snack
Surviving in the bush often means eating whatever you can find.
Finding clean drinking water in the bush is nearly impossible. This man will drink from and bathe in this pond, just like everyone else.
Sam and his soldiers examine the massive tracks of a python that entered the village one night.
An SPLA soldier is getting sewn up after a bullet shattered his bone.
Children who are rescued often weep for days, as they remember all that they have seen … and lost.
Some of the children from Sam’s orphanage, Children’s Village
Sam with Lexson Night and Peter Atem surveying the remnants of the war in Southern Sudan.
Sam, at the River Nile, during a day of intense fighting with the LRA.
Sam with one of the 1,000-plus children that he has rescued.
Sam giving the benediction after a service at the church orphanage. Since Sam started his ministry and crusades in Sudan over
50,000 people have given their hearts to the Lord.
Rhett “Rott” Rotten signs “The African Bike” before his ride on the “Wall of Death.”
Sam with Rhett Rotten and his crew to discuss the music for the “Wall of Death” show. After the show Sam was able to minister to the crowd.
“The African Bike” is traveling across the country until June 27, 2009, visiting fairs, churches, concerts, college campuses, and other events. For a $20 donation people can purchase a raffl e ticket to win the bike at the big drawing in Johnstown, PA at Thunder in the Valley. To make a donation or get involved check out Sam’s Web site: boyerspond.com.
(Left to right.) Michelle Monaghan and Gerard Butler star as husband and wife in the inspirational true story of Sam Childers. A former drug-dealing criminal Sam (Butler) makes the life-changing decision to go to East Africa to help repair homes destroyed by civil war in Relativity Media’s release MACHINE GUN PREACHER.
Gerard Butler, “Sam,” the impassioned founder of Angels of East Africa rescue organization, brings hope, where there is none, to hundreds of children in Relativity Media’s release MACHINE GUN PREACHER.
Gerard Butler stars as “Sam Childers,” the savior of hundreds of kidnapped and orphaned children, who leads armed missions deep into East African enemy territory in Relativity Media’s release MACHINE GUN PREACHER.
Gerard Butler stars as “Sam Childers,” the impassioned hero who fi ghts to save scores of children from the brutal hands of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) in Relativity Media’s release MACHINE GUN PREACHER.
(Left to right.) Souleymane Sy Savane “Deng” and Gerard Butler “Sam” save kidnapped children in the middle of territory controlled by the brutal Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in Relativity Media’s release MACHINE GUN PREACHER.
(Left to right.) Kathy Baker, Madeline Carroll, Michelle Monaghan and Gerard Butler star as the Childers family in Relativity Media’s MACHINE GUN PREACHER. The inspirational true story of the impassioned founder of the Angels of East Africa rescue organization.
(Left to right.) Michelle Monaghan, Madeline Carroll, and Gerard Butler star as the Childers family in Relativity Media’s MACHINE GUN PREACHER. The inspirational true story of the impassioned founder of the Angels of East Africa rescue organization.
(Left to right.) Gerard Butler “Sam” and Michael Shannon “Donnie” are former criminal biker—gang best friends before Sam’s astonishing transformation to the savior of hundreds of kidnapped and orphaned children in Relativity Media’s release MACHINE GUN PREACHER.