Remembering the Forgotten
The current international news is full of stories from Darfur, a region in western Sudan where active genocide is taking place. Many aid groups serve suffering and hungry people in southern Sudan. News from Khartoum is plentiful, full of teddy bears and politics.
But the center of the country, in the border zone between north and south, the area most damaged by the civil war, has been almost universally forgotten. It is a Christian area that has been assigned to the Muslim north, an area where fundamentalist militias wreak havoc on Christian ministry, and where poverty is all but universal.
Into this place, the Nuba Mountains of the South Kordofan state, God is opening the doors for our ministry. It blows me away to even say that.
Over the past couple of days, we fellowshipped with fellow Christians in the city of Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan, and to see first-hand the needs that they have. Let me tell you, their faith is genuine, and only strengthened by the fact that they claim the name of Jesus Christ when doing so could cost them their lives. When they worship, you can feel the Spirit of God move, and worship with them in spite of the language barrier.
Thanks to the team that God is raising up, from three different organizations, it appears that all systems are a "go" to make our dreams a reality. We have met with government officials, each of which has expressed excitement about the possibility of this ministry, and church leaders who are overjoyed about our involvement. Over and over, they thank us for caring about their needs.
We are in the beginning stages of laying out a budget for the building project, and Mark has begun to design the building for them. There are lots of steps yet to complete, with input from many different sources, but your prayers, my friend, are being answered.
More to come…
