Our Son In Sudan
From the Archives: Winter 2012
By Fran Boyette, Watauga County
“I am reminded of the scripture from Proverbs 22:6, where it reads, ‘Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.’
I have three children. My oldest son, Ryan lives and serves the Lord in the Nuba Mountains of central Sudan. This area is a conflict zone with overwhelming needs and huge injustices. Just last week the Northern government of Sudan waged an attack on Ryan’s home and attempted to silence him and Jazira, his wife. They sent an attack jet over their house and dropped six bombs on their property, attempting to kill them. Thank God the bombs missed their home, and they are safe today.
Ryan has been in Sudan for nine years; most of that time with Samaritan’s Purse (SP), an international Christian relief and development organization based here in Boone. A short time ago, when the war broke out and things got really dangerous, SP pulled out of the country. Ryan, however, resigned from his job and decided to stay in-country and continue helping the local people. When he and Jazira were married, over three thousand Nubians attended their wedding. The church in Sudan is under severe persecution, but it is flourishing. Although Ryan had gone on short-term missions trips overseas in high school, neither he nor his father and I anticipated that Ryan would someday be dealing with these kinds of situations in serving the Lord.
My husband, Glenn, also worked with Samaritan’s Purse, and has just recently retired. He has served as an International Security Officer with SP, helping to keep the missionaries safe. So, here he is with his son not in a safe place. That can make it really hard for Glenn at times. It is hard for both Glenn and myself to be in this situation, but God gives our whole family peace on a daily basis in the matter.
Trusting The Lord With Our Children
Referring back to the Proverbs 22 verse, when we raise up our children to love and follow the Lord, we never know what that will look like when they grow up – what the Lord has in store. I have to question the Lord, and also examine myself, about what it means to have my child serve him in unexpected and radical ways as he learns to hear and follow the Lord for himself.
Would I prefer that my son not follow God and have him in the USA, closer to home, safe and secure and in a more comfortable setting? Or, can I really trust God, and give him my son afresh every day and truly trust that Ryan is pursuing God’s “highest and best” plan for him, even if it puts his life in danger? The more time I spend in the Word of God, and the more time I spend in prayer, the more I am convinced that Ryan is doing just what he is supposed to be doing, where he is supposed to be doing it. Ryan has God’s heart for the Nuba people, his extended family are now the Nuba, and his wife’s family are amazing followers of Jesus Christ. It makes a parent proud to know that our son is willing to put his life at risk to serve God.
“The Open Door” and Baby Eben
I am fairly new to the High Country, having moved here from Florida. When we moved here, I didn’t know what I wanted to do for work in the area and just prayed for an open door. That is where the store’s name –“The Open Door”- came from. Ryan contacted me and suggested I open a shop and sell items to help the people of Africa, and that’s what The Open Door does from its storefront on Boone’s West King Street.
Ryan and Jazira just gave birth to their first child, Eben Ryan Boyette! Born October 3, little Eben is healthy and strong, and the family is fine. “Eben” is a biblical Hebrew name that means something akin to “God’s Rock”. Jazira’s mother delivered the baby at their home in the Nuba Mountains of central Sudan. We’ve spoken with Ryan and Jazira, and I cannot wait to hold my little grandson. Though I yearn to see Ryan, Jazira, and little Eben, Jesus always gives me peace and faith and strength to walk through this season of life. God knows what he is doing, and I can trust him for that.”
