God's Refugee: The Story of a Lost Boy Pastor

God’s Refugee spans the first thirty years of Rev. John Chol Daau’s life as a boy pastor, wandering refugee, and Anglican priest. The story begins in the rural and indigenous culture of the Jieng people in the small village of Baping. John is born into a dark spiritual world in which the ancestor gods must be appeased. Under the leadership of his uncle, and with only one copy of the New Testament, John begins a Christian movement within the village in which nearly a thousand people turn to Christ. Baping receives the message of Christ with joy, and at that tender moment, their village is invaded and destroyed. John is forced to run and hide in the wilderness and refugee camps of East Africa. As an orphan and refugee, John is denied every advantage in life, but God makes a way for him. Miraculously, he receives an education and a call to be a minister. John begins teaching the Christian faith to thousands of refugees and displaced persons from all over East Africa. Ultimately, John becomes, as his uncle prophesied at his birth, Chol Makeyn, “a true compensator for his people.” “God’s Refugee is not a work of fiction but a story of the lives of real people – South Sudanese Christians, victims of a war inflicted by the regime in Khartoum. I was there many times during that war and witnessed the indescribable suffering of the people, agonizing over the death of loved ones, enduring excruciating physical torture, and tragic displacement from their homes. But I was always profoundly humbled and inspired by the ways in which people such as Rev. John Chol Daau retained a living, radiant faith through their anguish. Theirs is a story that needs to be told as a celebration of the power of the God whom they worship and a challenge to us to be worthy of their faith.” -The Baroness (Caroline) Cox, Member of the House of Lords and CEO HART (Humanitarian Relief Trust) Published in connection with Hartline Literary Agency, serving the Christian book community. Visit us at www.hartlineliterary.com.