{"id":1209,"date":"2021-06-23T18:59:28","date_gmt":"2021-06-23T18:59:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/?p=1209"},"modified":"2021-10-25T15:59:45","modified_gmt":"2021-10-25T15:59:45","slug":"pastor-morris-serves-muslims-in-nuba-mountains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/pastor-morris-serves-muslims-in-nuba-mountains\/","title":{"rendered":"Sudanese Pastor in Nuba Mountains Serves Imprisoned Muslims"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The morning after Sudanese Air Force bombers struck his village in Sudan<\/a>‘s Nuba Mountains, Pastor Morris prepared to go to jail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pastor had done nothing wrong. He was going by choice, in obedience to Christ\u2019s command to \u201cLove your enemies.\u201d For him, that meant packing soap, food, clothes and shoes to give to Muslim prisoners of war who served the same government that had bombed his village the previous night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sudanese<\/a> government has reportedly dropped more than 3,700 bombs on civilian targets since April 2012 as part of its campaign against Nuba rebels. Many have questioned the pastor\u2019s actions, including his son. For him, forgiveness of these atrocities is unthinkable.<\/p>\n\n\n\r\n\t

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Request your free magazine<\/p>\r\n\t\t\tSubscribe<\/a>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n\r\n\t\n\n\n

\u201cAre not these the people who are bombing us with the airplane and killing our people?\u201d his son asked him as he packed. \u201cWhy are you taking these food items to them to survive when they are killing us?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI tell him, \u2018My son, this is because Jesus says we have to love our enemies,\u2019\u201d Morris recalled. \u201c\u2018Even if they are killing us, we have to love them. Because of that love \u2014 because of the command of Jesus \u2014 this is why I am now prepared to go and visit them.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"two<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The visits are bearing fruit. Hearts are changing. Even in jail, the prisoners are finding freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis made a big difference when we visit them,\u201d Morris said. \u201cThe prisoners ask me, \u2018Pastor, could you come again and share what you are sharing with us? Because we have never heard about these things before.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Challenging Love<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Morris attended a Muslim school for six years as a young boy, and he remembers seeing hate\u2019s influence on people\u2019s hearts even then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He and fellow students were forced to memorize long passages of the Quran, and they were beaten if they didn\u2019t recite them in proper, classical Arabic. One day, some Christian friends invited him to their church. Out of curiosity, he joined them. Morris was moved by the message of salvation and noticed a peace among the Christians that he hadn\u2019t seen among Muslims. This inspired him to follow Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After returning to school, his teachers learned of his conversion and began harassing him. Morris saw how Muslims treated people of other faiths, witnessing forced conversions brought about through bribery, fear and threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He saw something very different among Christians \u2014 love, freedom and peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe same love that I found, that I experienced and saw in the Christians, was the one that motivated me,\u201d he said. \u201cI saw that, \u2018Wow, I just have come to madrassa<\/em> [Islamic religious school] so I can learn and follow the way my father told me, but now, even if they would kick me out from madrassa, I will still be a Christian and demonstrate the love of Jesus to the others.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His Muslim friends were the next to develop hatred toward him. He was no longer one of them. Despite this, he still loved them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGod put something in my heart that said, \u2018Morris, you can go and share the gospel with these friends of Muslims who have hated you. Share the gospel with them and bring some of them to Jesus,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Loving his enemies isn\u2019t easy for Morris, especially when he sees the effects of their violence on \u201cthe least of these\u201d in his community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSometimes when you find a young one who died, the infant ones \u2014 the ones who don\u2019t have any reason to participate in this war or even know what is happening \u2014 they die and you really feel sorrow,\u201d he said. \u201cI am very troubled, actually.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To stay grounded in his faith, Morris incorporates prayer and the Scriptures into his daily life. He leans on God to get through the stress and fear that come with his ministry. This also helps him follow Christ\u2019s command to love his enemies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the morning, I will wake up and have a prayer and also read the Bible <\/a>so I can get the strength for the day,\u201d he said. \u201cI also remember some verses and get them in my mind and also pray as I live and go, because I know that there is trouble. I remember verses, remember the life of Jesus and try to hold onto Him, because without Him there is nothing you can do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Dedicated Love<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Pastor Morris is one of 30 indigenous pastors that VOM is supporting in the Nuba Mountains. Considered a pillar of his community, he knows everyone by name and cares for them individually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"seven<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

VOM, which has served in the region for more than 20 years, is the main provider of medicine to the Nuba people and assists them in a variety of other ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With VOM\u2019s help, Morris shows Christ\u2019s love to not only his community but also his enemies, just as Jesus commanded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese people have come … to do evil things to our communities,\u201d he said, \u201cbut still we say, \u2018We can gather and read to them because of the love of Jesus.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The morning after Sudanese Air Force bombers struck his village in Sudan‘s Nuba Mountains, Pastor Morris prepared to go to jail. The pastor had done nothing wrong. He was going by choice, in obedience to Christ\u2019s command to \u201cLove your enemies.\u201d For him, that meant packing soap, food, clothes and shoes to give to Muslim prisoners of war who served the same government that had bombed his village the previous night. The Sudanese government has reportedly dropped more than 3,700 bombs on civilian targets since April 2012 as part of its campaign against Nuba rebels. Many have questioned the pastor\u2019s actions, including his son. For him, forgiveness of these atrocities is unthinkable. \u201cAre not these the people who are bombing us with the airplane and killing our people?\u201d his son asked him as he packed. \u201cWhy are you taking these food items to them to survive when they are killing us?\u201d \u201cI tell him, \u2018My son, this is because Jesus says we have to love our enemies,\u2019\u201d Morris recalled. \u201c\u2018Even if they are killing us, we have to love them. Because of that love \u2014 because of the command of Jesus \u2014 this is why I am now prepared to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1214,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[53],"class_list":["post-1209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-field-stories","tag-sudan","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nSudanese Pastor in Nuba Mountains Serves Imprisoned Muslims - Stories<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The morning after Sudanese Air Force bombers struck his village in Sudan\u2019s Nuba Mountains, Pastor Morris visited imprisoned Muslims.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/pastor-morris-serves-muslims-in-nuba-mountains\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sudanese Pastor in Nuba Mountains Serves Imprisoned Muslims - 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