Reverend Andrew and Mrs Joanne Quill joined MAF’s Western Equatoria Shuttle flight to safely return to Ibba, where they are involved with several exciting church projects.
Without MAF, we wouldn’t be able to be here. Ibba is very safe. Between Ibba and Juba is not safe,”
Today, the Quills are returning to Ibba after a few days in the capital to renew paperwork. “It would be a 12-hour journey by road, and it’s not safe,” Joanne adds.
“Our flight with MAF was excellent as always! I got to sit up front enjoying the view,” Andrew says as he shares more about the ministry that led them to leave their rural parish and adult children behind in the UK.
“We’ve been working in Ibba for just over a year, doing holistic discipleship. We’re helping people to understand more about God, but also helping them to be healthy and understand things like malaria,” he says.
The couple have been putting their skills in pastoring, counselling, architecture, and healthcare to good use in this remote, rural community where they serve with the Episcopal Church of South Sudan.
In support of their ministry, MAF flights have delivered everything from screwdrivers, seeds, and medication to groceries and even a fridge.
Andrew was able to admire the progress of a building project as pilot Jonathon Pound brought the plane in to land.
“I trained as an architect before I joined the ministry. It was interesting. Just near the airstrip, there’s a church building that I designed being built.”
Joanne’s skills as a counsellor have opened doors to help people struggling with trauma, an all-too-common issue in conflict-affected South Sudan.
“We’ve been helping with trauma healing, which we’ve started here and had translated into Zande—the six core lessons, which is great,” she says.
With few resources available to local churches, the couple are translating some tried and tested materials that will help people understand the Bible and grow in their faith.
“Today we’ve brought back the Zande New Testament in audio format so we can start to produce things that people can play on the radio. That was through the help of the Bible Society in South Sudan,” Andrew says.
“Over 90% of women over 30 are illiterate. There is very little literature in Zande, so we’re helping the people in Ibba to produce things in their own language.”
Their next project is already in motion. “We’ve adapted the Alpha Course into Zande,” adds Andrew. “We’re more than halfway through training the pastors to lead the course in the rural churches in the Diocese of Ibba.
“During the last week of August, we’ll bring the youth leaders from each parish to train them also in using the Alpha Course.”
The course will teach the basics of the Christian faith through a series of talks and discussions, helping people to grapple with the challenges in their lives.
At the airstrip, Andrew pauses to pray for pilot Jono, a precious point of connection between missionaries serving in very different ways so the gospel can continue to be shared in South Sudan.
“MAF enables us to get where the Lord wants us to be and do ministry,” says Andrew.
“For those who are supporting MAF: continue supporting them, because without MAF, we wouldn’t be able to be here—and help people who have so little. South Sudan is the poorest country in the world.”
STORY & PHOTOS / JENNY DAVIES