He didn't look the slightest embarrassed as he walked into the Foreign Ministry in Nairobi, carrying a wooden cross in his hand. Tall and black, a Dinka by tribe, the bishop sat in the office of the Foreign Minister and held a cross in his hand throughout the meeting.

This was no superstitious act. Nor was it done for effect. It was a simple sign of the faith which lay behind everything he did. A leader in a suffering church amongst a suffering people, in a country which has suffered from civil war and famine for so long, he remained strong and faithful and never lost hope.

He had far too much experience of the sinfulness and unreliability of human beings to place trust in the promises of the political leaders and military commanders of his country. Promises had been made and broken with distressing frequency.

He had come with the rest of us to ask the assistance of a political leader in bringing peace to his country and to his people. Such help was desperately needed.

But his confidence lay in his belief and trust that in the midst of all the suffering God is with them. He has never nor will ever forsake them.

For Christians in Sudan there is little energy for a discussion as to the reason for evil and suffering in the world. They are simply the realities of daily life. Instead there is a faith that on the cross God in Jesus enters into human suffering and takes upon himself the pain inflicted by sinfulness and evil.

For the bishop, to hold his cross is to declare his belief that whatever life may bring the loving God is with us. It is to say that he does not look for salvation from human beings, but from the God who shares human suffering and death on the cross and who brings new life out of darkness in raising Jesus from the dead - a faith worth living for.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.