The Rev. Zachariah Jok Char is no stranger to the strife in his home country, Sudan—in fact, he’s spoken eloquently about his ordeal (and we covered some of that, here).
Now, however, he fears that his year-old son (whom he’s never met) may have to go through it as well. Char’s wife, Tanya, and their son are still in Kenya, caught up in bureaucratic red tape that prevents them from immigrating to the United States. And last week, she was attacked by nomadic gang members in a Kenyan refugee camp:
They spared her life but stole money, clothes and documents she needs to emigrate from Kenya and join her husband in America.
Tabitha suffered injuries to her arms and back and was hospitalized for about a day. Their son was not hurt.
Sitting outside the Kuyper library, Char found it hard to concentrate.
“I’m thinking a lot about what happened to my family, and I’m really worried about my son,” said Char, 25, pastor of Sudanese Grace Episcopal Church in East Grand Rapids. “He’s really scared at the sound of guns, which is the same thing that happened to me when I was 5 years old when the war broke out in Sudan.”
Read more about how Grace is trying to help the young priest here.