Sudan, Do You Care?
Weeping with those who Weep!
At a meeting of the ACF East Regional Council in Pittsburgh several years ago, the Missions Commission was mandated to begin work in Sudan. We began by seeking the Lord for guidance on how best we can reconnect with the suffering Church in Sudan. Slavery is a grave human rights violation - condemned by the United Nations and outlawed in virtually all countries worldwide. But this awful tragedy has persisted in Sudan. For almost 20 years, Sudan has been torn by civil war. More than two million people have been killed or displaced from their homes. There has been an alarming increase in reports of the taking of civilian captives, especially in the war zones of southern and central Sudan. There have also been credible reports that women and children were sold and sent to northern Sudan or abroad to work as domestic servants, agricultural laborers, or concubines. Many children in Sudan have become victims of the conflict of war. This photo was the Pulitzer price-winning photo taken in 1994 during the Sudan famine, which was exacerbated by the civil war. The picture depicts a famine stricken child crawling towards the United Nation food camp located a kilometer away. The vulture behind is waiting for the child to die so that it can feed on corpse. This picture shocked the world. No one knows what happened to the child but it was reported that the photographer committed suicide three months later due to depression.
Last summer, ACF planned a mission trip to Sudan. Our goal was to encourage the few missionaries serving in Khartoum and assure the believers that they are not alone in their struggle and suffering for the Lord. We also wanted to meet with �elders of the family� in Sudan and envision them to focus on unreached peoples. Due to the many difficulties we encountered, only one of the members made it into Sudan. The degree of suffering he saw is stunning!
While in Sudan, he met with and encouraged many believers and Christian leaders including the General Overseer of the Sudan Pentecostal Church and the Senior Pastor of the Evangelical Church (two of the nation�s fastest growing churches). He also met with students of the Sudan Theological College and leasers of FOCUS, Sudan�s University Christian Students body. His met with Barbara, a missionary from New Zealand, who runs a Boy�s Hope Center, was very much an eye opener as he witnessed Barbara�s work focuses on taking in and caring for street kids of various ages. Most of these children, though from Muslim background, have come to trust Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The transformation that takes place among the street kids in Sudan through the effort of this single woman! Through this ministry, the Lord is saving many children from becoming victims of untimely death. We find opportunities for ACF to learn from and partner with the Boys Hope Center in Khartoum, Sudan. The goal would be to extend the redeeming love of Jesus to many more boys and girls who could be raised, through proper education, to become Sudan�s future leaders. Please pray if the Lord would have you invest in the future of Sudan!
The visit gave us the opportunity to see the living conditions of Christians who are refugees in the desert, north of Khartoum. Seeing the intense suffering and deprivations of these believers, we apologized to them on behalf of ACF and believers across America for not standing with Sudanese Christians as they suffer for their faith. From Psalm 126 we encouraged them to put all their trust in the LORD who is able to bring a lasting change in their situation. Would you please stand with the suffering Church in Sudan through support and prayers! For more information on how you can help in Sudan, please turn to page 19 and 20. Ask God to show you which part of this you can help with.
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