I can’t preach but hand me a wrench

By Tohru Inoue | Sudan and South Sudan in East Africa

Cover photo by SIM Stories East Africa.

It’s amazing where you might find God. Even in the most mundane of things. I heard this once and it made me laugh, “The geek will inherit the earth.” Sounds about right. Everything is a gadget, a collection of circuits and wires, transistors, capacitors, buttons and lights. And if anything breaks, you’ll have to turn to the geeks for help.

Most of our workers come out to South Sudan with the focus of mending broken bodies or guiding hurting hearts. Precious few have the desire to tinker, to undo with a screwdriver, to see how things work. Most do not look at a broken water pump with problem-solving excitement or at a misbehaving inverter with curious wonder. But we need someone to run cables from a generator and save the medical operation when the lights go off. We need someone to put on an old t-shirt and shuffle under the pickup truck to take a look at the axle.

There may be precious few, but there are some geeks among us, maintaining the stream of lifesaving electricity in a health facility or a pump for a community in need of water. Truly, the geeks are there applying knowledge and passion to things that save lives. I don’t know whether they’ll inherit it, but God is sure using them to take care of the world we’re in.

In a day and age where we are more and more accustomed to screens and cables or engines and cables, isn’t it something to know that, when we needed it, God equips us with tech support?

There are people to whom God whispers in odd moments of the night, “Pssst. I’ve got a job for you.”

“What? I’m no good with people! I’m only handy with a wrench.”

“Like I said, I have a job for you.”

If you have this skill set and are willing to come, perhaps you have heard that call already.

Pray for:

• Technically minded tinkerers to join the team in South Sudan.

• Tech support to hear God’s call.