팀 스캇(Tim Scott) 목사사진     English

비행기는 놓쳐도 침례식은

Tim은 오랜 기간동안 미국을 떠나 선교사로 활동했는데 그의 활동 기간 중 일정 기간은 재림 교회 선교사로서가 아니라 UN 임원으로써 아프리카 사람들을 돕는 일도 했었다.

팀 스캇 목사가 UN 직원으로 봉사하던 어느 날이었다. 스캇 목사는 경비행기 이외에는 접근할 길이 없는 아프리카 밀림의 부족들의 교육 지원 문제를 위해 파견되었다. 경비행기 조종사는 3일 후 같은 장소에서 다시 만날 것을 약속하고 떠났다. 전화나 다른 연락 방법이 없었기 때문에 반드시 약속된 장소에 약속된 시간에 있어야만 한다는 다짐을 하고 비행기는 떠나 갔다.

이틀 동안 일을 마치고 3일째 이른 아침, 약속된 장소로 이동하기 위해 묵고있던 부족의 마을을 떠나려는데 어떤 사람이 찾아왔다. 그 이른 아침의 손님은 묻기를, "혹시 제칠일안식일예수재림교회 목사님 아닙니까?"라고 물었다 (Tim은 신학을 전공하지 않았으나 대총회 선교부의 제안으로 목사 안수를 받았다). "그렇다"는 대답을 듣자 그 사람은 기쁨을 감추지 못하며 이렇게 말했다.
"저는 한나절 길쯤 떨어진 먼 마을에 사는 사람입니다.  저는 우연한 기회에 재림교회가 발행한 책을 읽게 되었고 우리 부족에게 그 진리를 전했습니다. 우리 부족 모두는 하나님을 믿고 안식일을 지키고 있습니다. 다만 목사님이 오시지 않아 벌써 3년 이상 침례를 기다리고 있습니다. 저를 제외한 우리 부족은 영어를 할 수 없지만 성경을 배웠고 지금은 모두 신실한 교인이 되었습니다. 목사님 꼭 오셔서 침례식을 해 주십시오"
Tim은 정해진 시간에 비행기를 타야만 했다. 혹 약속장소에 가지 않으면 사망했거나 실종한 것으로 알려질 수도 있는 일이었다.
"죄송하지만 그럴 수 없습니다. 제게는 오늘 오전에 돌아갈 약속이 이미 정해졌습니다."
그러나 그 사람은 침례를 베풀고 떠나길 계속 부탁했다. 안타깝지만 그럴수 없노라고 뿌리치며 약속장소로 향하는데 갑자기 비가 내리기 시작했다. 빗방울이 점점 커지더니 거친 비바람이 불기 시작했다.  잠시후에는 비행기가 착륙하거나 이륙할 수 없을만큼 비바람이 거세 졌다. 그 사람은 어차피 오늘은 비행기가 올 수 없으니 빨리 우리 마을로 가자고 재촉했다. '하나님의 뜻인가 보다' 하고 Tim도 포기하고 그 부족 마을을 찾아 갔다. 40명이 넘는 사람들이 Tim을 기다리고 있었다. 침례식을 마치고 밤늦게 약속장소에 가까운 마을로 왔을때 또 다른 사람이 팀을 기다리고 있었다. 그는, "재림교회 목사님이 오셨다는 소식을 들었는데 혹시 목사님이 아니신가?" 물었다. "그렇다"고 했더니 그도 역시 안식일을 지키며 하나님을 믿고 있다고 했다. 그리고 그의 부족 중에 상당수도 침례를 위해 기다리고 있던 참이었다고 했다. 팀은 그가 떠날 수 밖에 없는 상황을 설명했다. 이미 하루가 지연되었고 내일은 반드시 기다리고 있어야 한다고 이야기 했다. 그 사람도 지지 않고 팀을 설득했다. 그렇게 밤이 지나고 팀은 또 다시 비바람이 몰아치는  아침을 맞아야 했다. 두번째 침례식을 향하여 갈때는 비도 그치지 않았다. 빗속을 뚫고 밀림을 헤치며 갔을때 그는 또 다시 침례를 기다리는 20~30명의 사람들을 발견할 수 있었다. 빗속에서 감격스런 침례식을 마칠 때쯤 그에게 또다른 손님이 찾아왔다.  두 시간쯤 거리에 사는 부족에서 온 사람이었다. 그들 역시도 침례를 위해 기다리고 있었다. 빗속에서 팀은 그것이 하나님의 섭리임을 확신할 수 있게 되었다. 이제는 비행기를 핑게하지 않고 그 부족을 찾아갔다. 그리고 또 다시 30여명의 사람들이 침례를 받았다.

문명이 단절된 곳에서, 영어를 공부한 두세 사람들과 그들에게 전달된 성경과 작은 책자들을 통해 세 부족이 안식일을 지키며 하나님을 섬기고 있는 것이다. 그러나 그 부족 사람들의 증언은 거기서 그치지 않았다. 곳곳에 안식일을 지키며 자기들처럼 목사님을 기다리는 아프리카 사람들이 있다는 것이다.

팀은 약속 후 3일째 되는 날 아침에야 경비행기를 만날 수 있었지만 그 3일이 그의 삶속에 지울 수 없는 하나님의 섭리를 경험하는 시간들이었다고 고백했다.

팀 스캇 목사 부부(사진 중앙)
 

왼쪽부터 팀 스캇 목사 내외, UN 지뢰제거 반장, 두 명의 이름 모를 외국인 선교사, 이용민 전도사 

Could you let me know the whole story, if it were written or introduced in English? If not, could you kindly let know when and where it took place?

Thank you.

Kwon JohngHaeng, Director
Foreign Mission Dept. of Korean Union Conf. of SDA

Unfortunately, I haven't published that story, but of course I am willing to share it with you.  I do have a journal somewhere in my belongings (probably stored in the USA) that I should refer to in order to get the details correctly, but I will relate the events for you as I can recall them now.

I was the ADRA Education Director in South Sudan from 1995-1999.  As that allowed me to go into the war zone of the south as an aid worker, the Middle East Union of SDA also appointed me as the church leader for this attached area. (In 1999 it became the South Sudan Field or Mission.)  It was probably in 1997 that I conducted a training program for ADRA and the UN for untrained teachers in Mankien, Sudan and upon completion with my Nuer tribesman associate we flew to Nhaldio.  This is a village on the east side of the Nile River in the Upper Nile District.  Moses Lam and I visited with the local elder, a lady named Elizabeth, who was leading out in the SDA church with about 15 young people attending.  We decided to visit another lay leader to the south and hopefully would be able to conduct a baptism there.  Two of the young people from Nhaldio accompanied us on our walk to this other location because they had not yet been baptized and could join in the service.  Another young man was sent ahead the evening we arrived to inform the lay leader we were coming and to communicate with a larger group still further south so they could join with us. 

The next morning at 10 a.m. we started walking to the south.  After three hours--wading through streams that were mid-thigh deep and in the hot sun, we stopped in a village to rest in the hot part of the day.  This is sub-saharan Africa.  There are scattered thorn trees, a few scrubby bushes, and grass.  It is not the jungle area of the far south of Sudan which is next to the country of Zaire.  It is near the Sudd, the worlds largest inland swamp.  This, from the air, looks like grass, but when the sun reflects off the land, you can tell that the grass is growing out of the water--hiding it from your eyes. 

After two hours of rest, we continued walking.  An hour later we came to a house where the young man whom we sent ahead lived.  We discovered he had returned to Nhaldio to seek help with his sister who had been bitten by a snake and thus didn't go on to deliver our message to the other layman.  We walked 3 more hours until we reached the layman's home.  He had not received the message so he was surprised as we came into his compound in the early evening.  I had some old Signs of the Times and Insight Magazines that I gave to the boys who accompanied us and the family and they eagerly began reading (they read aloud since they did not have a strong grasp of English).

The layman had been sick for a month, so he hadn't been doing much teaching.  The next morning we went to a fording place in a nearby river and I conducted the baptism for the two who had come with me and one more young man who had been prepared by the layman.  I was disappointed to have come that long distance and so few were involved.  The other village where there were supposed to be at least 50 people prepared was a half day's walk away, so I would have had to stay at least two days in order to wait for them to come.  I was hoping to fly out of Nhaldio in two days so after the baptism, we began our walk back.

The next day was Sabbath, so we met with the small group in Nhaldio, but that afternoon we planned to walk to the north to visit another layman and his group.  Someone had gone to tell him I was there and coming to conduct a baptism.  We only walked about 3 hours to reach this location.  The difference was we had to go through three rivers, the first was knee deep, the second, waist deep and the last one was the worst.  I was carrying my Bible, Camera, and a change of clothes in a small bag.  Going through this last river, the water in the center was up to my neck.  I had to hold the bag on top of my head.  The bottom of the river was slippery-muddy as well as having the roots of the water hyacinths.  It wasn't easy to keep my balance and move forward.  Of course, when you are in that situation, that's the most advantagous time for the mosquitoes to start attacking, too.  You can''t swat at them and walk and keep from falling.  It wasn't much fun!

The small church was just a few hundred yards beyond this last fording place in the river but when we got there, it was empty.  We sat down inside to rest, but wondered where the people were.  One of those accompanying me went on to the elder's house and in about 10 minutes he came back.  He said everyone was waiting for me--but at the next river where we would conduct the baptism.  We hurried on and I was priviledged to baptise 23 souls after a brief time of questioning and prayer together.  The sun was setting when the elder said there were two more ladies who had been sent for that we needed to wait a little longer.  It had been a difficult walk in the daylight and now I knew we'd have to walk in the dark back to Nhaldio, but shortly the two ladies arrived and joined the new members after their baptism in a dedicatory prayer. 

The journey back was relatively uneventful.  Moses led the way, and after an hour of walking we saw a light ahead of us.  This was a lightbulb on a pole that an Italian NGO in Nhaldio had put up to act as a beacon for the medical clinic in this village.  We headed for that light for another two and a half hours before reaching it.  The land is extremely flat, only a few trees, but the parable of the light on a hill came to my mind when I saw that one small light in the dark land of Sudan. 

I fell asleep quickly, once we reached Nhaldio and our compound.  But, about 3 a.m. I heard the sound of rain, and it got louder and harder and continued the rest of the night.  As the daylight came, the rain continued, and I knew that the plane would not be able to land on the dirt (now mud) airstrip since when we came the plane was barely able to land and take off around the mud puddles.  That next morning someone came to my tent just after daylignt.  They told us there were some more people who had come for baptism since they had heard we were there.  I put on my still wet clothes from the night before and we went to the river near Nhaldio that was knee deep, but found a deeper place and baptised about 11 more who had come from the northeast.  One was a teacher who had been in an ADRA training the year before and proudly said, "Now when I share Jesus and the people ask if I have been baptized into the SDA church I can tell them, 'YES!'"  His parents and two sisters also had come to be baptized as well.  It was still raining during this baptism, but shortly after we returned to the tent, it stopped.

Then, in the evening another group arrived.  I again put on the wet clothes and went back to the river for another baptism of about 9 people.  The next day another group came and so I baptized some more.  Moses was making a list so I could fill out and send baptismal certificates, and during this time, there were a total of 75 people who were able to join the SDA church through baptism.  When I left in 1999, I had heard from another Nuer that there were baptismal classes in remote areas with 300 and 500 people who had been waiting for a pastor to come for up to 3 years!  Prayers are still needed for those waiting to join the church in the Upper Nile of southern Sudan.

Tim Scott,

Education Director,

Cambodia SDA Mission