Bishop Wilson Garang

Bishop Wilson Garang was one of the ‘Lost Boys’. These are the 20,000 boys who were forced to flee their homes in Sudan during the civil war in the early 1980’s--a war which saw a death toll of over 2 million. Along with the other boys, Bp. Wilson traveled thousands of miles across the border into Ethiopia before arriving at the Itang Refugee Camp where he became a Christian.

He received a call from God to return to his home area of Aweil in 1992. Christianity was still suppressed in the area, but Bp. Wilson walked from village to village preaching the Gospel, eating wild leaves to sustain himself on the journey. The next year, he received another call from God to build a church in Adoor Village. The services were held under a tree for two years until a grass thatched mud house could be built. Despite opposition from non-Christians, the church grew and thrived. Today the Diocese of Aweil has 115 churches and serves 15,000 believers.

While most of the surrounding churches in the diocese are made of mud and grass that decay after two years, the church in Aweil is constructed of concrete and sheet metal. Construction projects and education programs, including the training of clergy, are of vital importance within the mission of the diocese, and Bp. Wilson and the members of his parish continue to emphasize a strong message of evangelism to those who have yet to hear the Gospel.