Mission organisation, Pursuit 53, was started just a few years ago by Peter Swan, an American missionary who moved to South Sudan 20 years ago with his family. Peter trains evangelists in Mvolo to equip the local church to become effective missionaries in South Sudan.
Peter has flown with MAF many times and is grateful for how the partnership has enabled his ministry over the years: ‘We have long seen this impact in MAF's work from the time we first started flying with MAF twenty years ago. It is MAF's ministry that has enabled us to reach Mvolo over and over through the years, and we are so thankful for that continued impact now in facilitating indigenous missionaries moving out to other parts of South Sudan.’
Jesus taught that our mission starts in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and out to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8). That is what we are doing as Pursuit 53
Flying is crucial to Peter’s work in South Sudan, as he explains. ‘Aviation is so important in South Sudan, where the dirt roads are challenging, sometimes unsafe and potentially cut off in the rainy season. Our indigenous missionaries are moving to one area that is home to tribes with no known believers. It would take perhaps three days to reach there by road and gets cut off each year when the rains come. Instead, it is a less than three-hour flight and we can get in all year round,’ he says.
Peter is based in the community in Mvolo, where he has been discipling the first cohort of evangelists since 2019. The training he has developed is tailored to the local context where his students will be working. Peter explains how he can work with students, both men and women, with different levels of education to give them a solid foundation of Biblical knowledge.
‘We are based in Mvolo, where we focus on discipleship training for church leaders. My wife Shauna has been in discipleship training with the women, and I have been with the men. We have both oral and written tracts. Most are illiterate but some can read and write well. The oral tracts are taught in the local language while the written tracts are taught in English. There are both oral and written discipleship groups, where we teach stories from the Bible in a way that is readily reproducible. We also disciple in basic theological truths. With the written groups, we also have memory verses, Bible reading, etc.’
‘There are four parts to the first discipleship phase, which takes about 2-3 years. During that time the church leaders focus on witnessing and discipleship training, as they pass on what they have learned. This means that there are generations of disciples in the community. By the time they finish the first phase, they have each planted a church.’
It is MAF's ministry that has enabled us to reach Mvolo over and over through the years, and we are so thankful for that continued impact now in facilitating indigenous missionaries moving out to other parts of South Sudan
The South Sudanese missionaries boarding the plane at Mvolo Airstrip, include Wilson Go’di who is heading to Maridi and Samuel Sabah, Mandelina Kanisa, Suzana Ezebiya who are reaching out the communities in Yambio. Mandelina and Suzana are local language speakers who communicate with the warmth smiles.
Wilson shares that he has been studying under Peter since 2019. ‘I have been training with Peter Swan and will be a fully trained evangelist next year when I complete my diploma. Jesus taught that our mission starts in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and out to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8). That is what we are doing as Pursuit 53.
‘We started in Mvolo in 2019, now we are reaching out to Yambio and Maridi and plan to reach even up to Raja. There are some unreached people groups in that area,’ Wilson explains.
‘Today we are going to train people in Maridi inviting pastors from the local area to join us. We will continue with the teaching we started.’
A few years ago, Peter began operating his own plane under the banner of Episcopal Church of South Sudan. Today the Cessna 206 is undergoing maintenance with MAF Uganda in Kajjansi, another way that MAF can serve missionaries like Peter and his team.
‘MAF has been a tremendous blessing with our plane at Kajjansi waiting for a new engine. We are grateful beyond words for the partnership with MAF in both transporting indigenous missionaries and maintaining our aircraft. MAF's maintenance team have been a great gift to us in the work on our plane,’ Peter concludes.
