Joseph does not remember the vicious fighting that raged throughout South Sudan for decades. He was just a baby when his parents fled to a camp in neighboring Uganda.

After the signing of a peace agreement a few years ago, they returned to rebuild their lives. Joseph, now 15, remembered his first impression of the village where he was born.

“All of the houses were torn apart,” he said. “My parents are Christians, but there was no place to go to church.”

Thirteen-year-old Israel had heard his parents speak of the persecution of Christians like themselves, but he too was surprised to see only rubble where the church once stood.

“My parents prayed that we would be able to come back here someday,” he said. “It made them very sad to see that we had lost our church. My mother cried, but she said God would help us.”

Samaritan’s Purse has been working to rebuild the churches that were destroyed throughout South Sudan over the past 20 years as Islamic militias sought to destroy the Christian community there.

We rebuilt the church in Joseph and Israel’s village, and the two boys immediately began attending Sunday school. On a sunny September morning they both walked to the altar of the new sanctuary to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

“The Holy Spirit moved my heart,” Joseph said. “I saw that the Lord provided this new church for us, and I knew I wanted to trust Jesus.”

Both boys said the church has given their families new hope, and they look forward to helping to rebuild their communities.

“This church makes me happy,” Israel said. “I hope to bring my own children to this place to learn about Jesus someday.”

Samaritan's Purse , Sudan , Sudan Churches Project , Building a Future in Christ