My Sudan: A love story, not an obligation

2008 – Arrival. I arrived in Sudan with a suitcase, a crucifix, and a heart full of questions. The desert wind was hot, the people were warm, and I did not know that this land would become my home for the next 15 years. I was young, a Comboni Missionary, son of St. Daniel Comboni who said “Save Africa with Africa.”

2009 – Cairo for Arabic Studies. Before I could serve, I had to learn to listen. I was sent to Cairo to learn Arabic. In the noise of the city, between grammar and tea with friends, I learned that mission begins not with speaking, but with understanding. Allah baaraka fiik [May God bless you] became more than words — it became a way of being present.

2010 – Back to Sudan: Kosti. I returned to Sudan and was assigned to the Pastoral Region of Kosti, on the banks of the White Nile. Not as a parish priest, but as Finance Administrator. For nine years. Some asked, “Father, you studied theology, why administration?” But I learned what Luke 17:10 teaches us: “We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.” My mission was not about title, but about love. Every receipt, every budget for a chapel, every sack of sorghum accounted for — it was all to keep the mission alive for my Sudanese brothers and sisters. Kosti taught me humble service.

2019 – Archdiocese of Khartoum. I was transferred to the Archdiocese of Khartoum with the same post. A bigger city, bigger challenges, same mission: to serve quietly, that others may preach loudly.

2023 – Comboni College Khartoum. And then, a new call. In 2023, I was appointed Principal of Comboni College Secondary School Section in Khartoum. From finance to formation — from counting numbers to forming young minds. I thought, “Now I will build the future of Sudan through education.”

April 15, 2023 – War broke out. Then, on April 15, 2023, war broke out. The gunfire that morning in Khartoum changed everything. Students ran. Families fled. The college we built, the mission we loved — was suddenly in the middle of a battlefield. We had to evacuate. We had to leave behind classrooms, books, dreams. But we never left the people. Even in war, mission continues — not because it is our responsibility, but because we have fallen in love with the One who called us, and with the people He gave us to serve.

From 2008 to 2023 — Sudan did not just receive me. Sudan formed me. I went to teach, but I was taught how to be a servant.

Fr. Bon Autentico Apaap Jr., MCCJ