Pedal-preachers: Wheels in the ministry keep on turning for Sudanese pastors, Bible workers

February 20, 2008 Khartoum, Sudan…MEU News/ANN Staff

Visiting church members and preaching sermons might mean a quick drive across town for some ministers, but for Seventh-day Adventist pastors in Northern Sudan, ministry can involve days of trekking through desolate countryside.

For 26 of the region's pastors and Bible workers, the job just got a little easier. Each received a bicycle or money to purchase one during a February 3 donation ceremony at regional church headquarters in Khartoum, the country's capital.

Faster transportation is expected to lead to a more connected Adventist community in the region, says retired English pastor Patrick Boyle, who organized the project. Boyle earlier noted the need for transportation during an outreach effort in Khartoum.

“The bicycles will help [the pastors and Bible workers] to be more effective in their work, and will … improve their lifestyle,” said Miroslav Didara, leader of the Adventist Church in Northern Sudan.

In a similar project, Boyle raised money to purchase five water purifiers for Sudanese pastors living in regions where water is often polluted and always scarce — stony deserts with few oases cover much of Northern Sudan.

Each portable filter will help halt the spread of waterborne diseases by providing pure drinking water for one family for at least 10 years.

At the donation ceremony, Didara expressed the church's gratitude for the donated bicycles and water filters, adding that 15 additional filters are needed to fully equip church workers in the region.

More than 13,000 Adventists worship in Sudan. The church was established in the country of some 40 million in 1974.