Freedom to Worship in America Not Taken For Granted by Sudanese Christian Refugees
"Here I have the freedom to pray to my God 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There is nothing like that in Sudan."
(Gallatin, TN)—Bol Lam Puk, a native of the Sudan who has lived in Tennessee for thirteen years, never takes for granted the privilege of attending church every Sunday and worshipping God as often as he wants. In Sudan he would have been sorely persecuted for his faith.
"There was no freedom to worship your God as you wished," Puk said of Sudan. "Here I have the freedom to pray to my God 24 hours a day, seven days a week."
According to a report in The Tennessean, the Old Hickory Presbyterian Church—the church Puk attended before he and fellow refugees were able to purchase their own building to worship in—changed his life. Rev. Dr. E. B. Newsom is their pastor.
"Fifteen [Sudanese] originally came to Nashville and wanted to worship in their own language in their own way," said Newsom.
Newsom was quoted as saying giving back to the community is important to the Sudanese, because the people of Middle Tennessee have given so much to them and they want others to realize how blessed they are to have the freedom to worship.
"There is nothing like that in Sudan," Puk said.
