It’s a dusty, jaw-rattling, two-hour drive over rough Ugandan roads to get to the Kiryandongo Refugee Camp in northern Uganda. SAMS Missionary Cathy Clevenger and her team make the drive once or twice a month to minister to groups of refugees living there, but wisely, not during the weekly food distribution. The camp is a city in its own right. A sprawling sea of homes spread out for miles, which include schools, churches, make-shift shops, U.N. health clinics, and the requisite food distribution points. It’s comprised of nearly 100,000 people, who represent just a portion of the fallout in terms of the real human cost caused by the carnage of civil war and continuing tribal conflict in South Sudan and Sudan.
One of the stark realities, besides the sheer size of the humanitarian dilemma here, is the excruciating trauma. “The majority of the population in the camp is women and children” says Cathy. “Most of the Sudanese men have either been killed or remained behind in their tribal areas to fight. The stories are real, yet always heartbreaking. So much violence, displacement, killing, and loss of loved ones has taken place.”
It could be overwhelming to confront such a human tragedy, but Cathy’s well-trained team faces it head-on in the hope and the power of the Gospel. Cathy draws on decades of experience treating trauma as a licensed social worker in the U.S. before the Lord called her to East Africa. In her current role as Counseling Coordinator for the Diocese of Masindi-Kitara, Cathy had been treating Ugandan teenagers at a local remand home for incarcerated young boys awaiting court dates. Cathy still carries out that important work, while ministering to the burgeoning refugee population and their dilemma that God had placed in front of her in late 2023.
With the scale of suffering that exists at the Kiryandongo Camp, one question arises: How can this many people possibly be treated who have experienced such terrible things? Much of the answer lies in the power of the Gospel, not only to open up people to understand their own response to trauma and begin to heal, but then to also trust that those same people will take what they’ve learned to others. It’s a replicative model of treatment that by God’s grace makes use of Scripture, small groups and guided teaching.
Cathy and her team typically speak to an assembled group from churches within the camp about trauma and teach them what trauma looks like, what the responses to it typically are, and why people respond the way they do. They use the story of Elijah and the dramatic showdown on Mount Carmel where Elijah successfully demonstrates the power of God over Baal, which prompts Queen Jezebel to threaten to kill him, creating intense fear and a desperate flight for his life (one of the four main responses to trauma). God intervenes with the appearance of an angel who provides for him. Elijah reaches Horeb where he encounters the still small voice of God which reassures him of his purpose and gives him new instructions.
Not only does the story reveal the vulnerability of God’s own prophet, but it shows the reality of living as a Christian; that strong belief can be severely tested by acute suffering, and that turning to God for renewal again and again is vital, especially in times of crisis. The teaching is designed to show camp participants how they can also use this teaching with others within the camp. This ‘teaching plus training’ approach is designed so that the refugees can use it within their own churches inside the camp as they recognize those who have symptoms of trauma. After the group teaching, small group work is done where one-on-one therapy is held.
Cathy says, “We offer hope and we see real deliverance from the loss of it. We don’t have food, or clothes, or other assistance to give them. We offer something far better. We offer them Jesus, his healing, and his transforming love. The Gospel promise of real and lasting restoration through healing is at work here among a people who have lost everything.”
This past winter, Church of the Ascension in Pittsburgh, PA, welcomed Daniel and Rebekah Behrens to their congregation to serve as Missionaries in Residence to local immigrant and refugee communities. Even though they themselves recently arrived, the Behrens are already busy welcoming immigrants and also their own third daughter, Mary, at the end of June!
Daniel recently wrote an article for Ascension’s newsletter about the Gomez family, a Christian Cuban family he is helping settle into Pittsburgh, and how God worked through the Gomezes in their difficult journey. Daniel also shares about opportunities for parishioners to participate in ministry to refugees from Afghanistan and Ukraine. You may read the article by clicking the button below and scrolling to page six. How may God be calling your church to send missionaries and share the hope of Christ cross-culturally?
We have moved to snowy Pittsburgh! We miss the warmth and big sky and food of the Rio Grande Valley, but our time here so far has been filled with many good things. Our main focus in these first months of transition is seeking financial partners and looking for a house to rent, but in this update I wanted to introduce you to one of our new neighbors who makes me excited about our mission, which is to partner with the local church in Pittsburgh to extend Christ’s love and truth to recent immigrants.
“Amina” is a young woman from Afghanistan who arrived in Pittsburgh a few weeks ago. She was halfway through her university studies in psychology and sign-language when she had to flee the resurgence of the Taliban. Her new landlord knew about the English classes at Church of the Ascension, the church with whom we are partnering in Pittsburgh, and she arranged for Amina to begin weekly tutoring.
Before our first meeting, I nervously wondered what she would be like, picturing a fierce yet tragic, robed figure, maybe like the iconic “Afghan Girl” cover photo from National Geographic. In reality, Amina was wearing a soccer hoodie with a puffy winter coat and snow hat. She had a big smile, a nervous laugh, and came across as a friendly, slightly shy, slightly sleepy college student.
Not surprisingly, I have heard that one of the hardest things for Afghan refugees is being separated from family. Amina is no different, leaving behind her whole family – her mom, four older siblings, five nieces, and five nephews.
My mental image of an Afghan refugee: The famous “Afghan Girl” from National Geographic in 1985
After one of our first meetings, a woman from the church met Amina and walked with her around the church building. In the sanctuary, Amina saw the mural behind the altar depicting the Ascension and asked, “Is that Jesus?”
I feel incredibly privileged to spend time with Amina each week, to help her improve her English, and to be one of the first Christians she gets to meet in her new neighborhood.
Some of the Christ-centered artwork which visitors see inside Church of the Ascension in Pittsburgh
I pray that as she adjusts to this new place, that she will come to recognize the risen Christ in the kindness of people around her. Your partnership is touching the lives of those like Amina who are far from home. Thank you for being a part of this ministry!
We have been officially commissioned as missionaries serving refugees and other recent immigrants in Pittsburgh alongside Church of the Ascension!
Almighty God, through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, you revealed the way of eternal life to every race and nation: Pour out this gift anew, that by the preaching of the Gospel your salvation may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
A Prayer for World Mission Sunday from the 2019 Book of Common Prayer, p. 604.
Cathy and her team typically speak to an assembled group from churches within the camp about trauma and teach them what trauma looks like, what the responses to it typically are, and why people respond the way they do. They use the story of Elijah and the dramatic showdown on Mount Carmel where Elijah successfully demonstrates the power of God over Baal, which prompts Queen Jezebel to threaten to kill him, creating intense fear and a desperate flight for his life (one of the four main responses to trauma). God intervenes with the appearance of an angel who provides for him. Elijah reaches Horeb where he encounters the still small voice of God which reassures him of his purpose and gives him new instructions.
