Keep on Praying for Sudan!

Thank you for your prayers for the Sudanese refugees in South Sudan! SIM sent an assessment team last week and they have learned a lot about the situation. The last we heard, 13,000 refugees from Blue Nile State had been registered and the UNHCR is anticipating thousands more before the end of the year. The World Food Program and UNHCR have been able to bring in food for 8,000 refugees but clearly not enough for everyone. The photo pictures a large crowd waiting for their relief food supplies. Please keep praying that the Lord will supply all of their needs. We've heard an encouraging report that people from the local M. tribe have been visiting the refugees (largely from the U. tribe) and sharing food with them. These tribes have historically not been friends with each other so this is exciting.

Our director and team are still unsure of ongoing security in this area and how soon the missionaries will be able to return. They are looking at the possibility of moving our secondary school to this location temporarily, although there are a lot of complex logistics involved. Please continue to pray for wisdom. We also have another special prayer request: Our assessment team has sent letters to the southern army and local government authorities in Blue Nile State, requesting that the secondary school students be allowed to transport school resources and materials as well as more valuable belongings of ours, such as solar equipment, to the mission compound in D. near where the refugees are. So far they have been denied permission. We also now know that our house as well as other buildings have been looted and items stolen. Please ask the Lord for favor with influential army and government officials so that school and personal missionary property can be retrieved.

As far as our personal requests and news, on Dec. 13th it will be 6 months that we've been waiting for Amy's green card. The website says "6 months average" for this type of application so we continue to pray that the application will be processed and approved soon. As you can imagine with all the turmoil and upheaval in our part of Sudan, we are unsure exactly where we will be located when we return. There are several options, depending on what happens with the secondary school, and we'll try to keep you posted as we learn more. Please pray for the Lord's leading, for the ability to "let go" of the things we've lost and keep going, and for provision of housing. Thank you--be encouraged that the Lord is at work!

My Two Sudan "Worlds" Meet

In April 2008, I had the privilege of witnessing the return of hundreds of Sudanese refugees from Ethiopia to a UNHCR welcome camp a short distance from our compound. Thousands returned during that dry season and each week a joyful throng of hundreds would line up in the hot sun to register as they arrived, accompanied by large blue trucks filled with mountains of their belongings. (see photos)

Sadly, we are hearing that a very different crowd has gathered on that same dusty, hot plain during the past few weeks. The conflict in Blue Nile State is pushing thousands of refugees across the border into Southern Sudan, seeking safety and relief aid. There are only 3 borehole wells in the vicinity and women are waiting 4-5 hours for a chance to fill up their water containers. Food supplies have run out and the refugees are waiting desperately for further relief to arrive. People are already malnourished following their long treks through the bush without adequate food. As you can imagine, hygiene conditions are very poor with the limited water supply and no latrines, putting everyone at high risk of disease outbreaks.

Praise the Lord that the UNHCR is responding to these needs by setting up a new refugee camp in the area and that other relief organizations are coming in to help with acute medical care. Please pray for them, that they'll be able to set up their services quickly and especially that food aid would arrive very soon. Pray for the 5 Sudanese community health workers at SIM's primary health care unit, that are hard at work trying to treat people's illnesses in the midst of a huge influx of patients.

Our missionaries there had to evacuate a few days ago but security has been stable and SIM will be sending in a team this week to assess the situation and see how our missionaries can help. We have a unique partnership with the local Church and a message of hope in Christ that so many need to hear in their suffering. We know that in this sea of refugees there are many believers in Christ and even church leaders that have been forced from their villages by the bombings. Please pray that believers from the different tribes would unite to encourage and help one another and to reach out to others with the love of Christ. Please pray that the Lord would give our team wisdom to know how to respond, alongside the Church and the other organizations involved.

Our God is sovereign and firmly in control of all these circumstances! He is good and loving and has a plan to redeem people to Himself. Ask Him to show His love to people in their pain and to draw many to Him. Ask Him for miracles that will glorify His great name among the Sudanese! Thank you for praying!

More Evacuations

Dear friends, we have another urgent prayer request for Sudan. Our neighboring base in Upper Nile State, where Amy started as a missionary nurse, is being evacuated because the conflict in Blue Nile is spilling over and possibly moving closer. One village 30 km to the north was bombed last night. A mission aircraft came to take several short-term team members out this morning and the rest are closing down the base and leaving in the next few days. Please pray for the many thousands of people affected by this conflict, for the church to be a light in the midst of this darkness, and ask the Lord to bring peace. He is all-wise, all-knowing and all-powerful, even when we don't know what to pray for! Please pray for wisdom for our SIM leadership and teammates, as they make tough decisions.

County Capital Falls to Northern Military

There is a new article from the Sudan Tribune describing the fall of our county capital to SAF (North Sudan military) forces on 03 Nov. 2011. Allegations include the use of chemical weapons by the SAF. We anticipate our village and home being captured next.

Please pray with us.

Latest in Blue Nile State

For those of you who are keeping up with the latest in Sudan, here's a new article from the Sudan Tribune. Please keep praying for our friends in Sudan! Psalm 34.

First-hand account from Sudan

We've just read a first-hand account of the day's events in Sudan, from one of our teammates. If you're interested, it's quite an amazing account of the how the Lord protected the missionaries in our area. Click on Christiane in Sudan. Please continue to pray for the Sudanese who are left behind in this peril, that the Lord will also show His mighty hand to them.

Urgent Prayer for Blue Nile State

...from our field director, about our home area

Update:
-A.I.M Caravan flight evacuated 7 people from our county capital.

-Just afterward, 5 bombs were dropped on eastern side of town.

-The Caravan picked our teammate from "Y" village, where we live.

-A UN helicopter landed at "D" village and is in consult with team/pilots.

-Then, bombs were dropped on "Y". All are ok. Not sure where bombs fell.

-If all clear that plan is to evacuate remaining teammates and five teachers from "Y".

Please pray the following:
-Protect the people and church in Blue Nile state
-Pray for secondary school students. Some young had declared before that if an invasion of Blue Nile State happened, they would take up arms and fight.
-Give pilots and AIM staff good judgment
-Ask for heavenly soldiers around planes and airstrips
-That our people will get out safely

More South Sudan photos!

Different people keep sending me new links to South Sudan stuff and I just had to share this one. It's another beautiful set photos of different areas of South Sudan, leading up to Independence Day. None of the photos are from anywhere near our area, but still look so familiar, especially the market and patients waiting to be seen at a clinic. I'm bad at finding good photo opportunities in Sudan so I'm thrilled to share these with you! Enjoy!

The Birth of a Nation

South Sudan has declared Independence today! Here's a link to a beautiful set of photos from BBC Africa which captures some of the day's highlights from Juba, the capital of South Sudan. Enjoy! Here's another link to an article from an author who contemplates South Sudan's journey using the analogy of birth. I thought you might find it interesting too. Please continue to pray for the people of Sudan and now, South Sudan.

Current News from Sudan North-South Border Areas

Thank you for continuing to pray for Sudan in these critical days, ahead of South Sudan's upcoming independence day on July 9. Here are 2 new articles, from Sudan Tribune and BBC Africa that shed light on the current security/political situation in our area of Sudan. Please keep on praying! Thank you!

Baptisms in South Sudan

Let me direct your attention to an article about the recent baptism of G. believers in our village in Sudan. There's a little slideshow of pictures there as well. God is building His church!

From the Sudan Tribune...

Here's a great article on the current political and economic situation in Sudan.

On the Road

One of the most rewarding and enjoyable things we do while at home in the USA is to travel and report about the Lord's work in Sudan. We have that joy in the upcoming weekend at Faith Bible Church. In preparation for our presentation there, we're going to add parts of our testimony below.
Nate:
I was born and raised in western NY as part of a Christian family. I knew about the Lord at an early age as a result of good Sunday School teachers and godly parents. When I was 5 years old, I decided to follow Jesus with the limited understanding I had of what that meant. As I grew older, I also grew in the knowledge of my salvation. My first exposure to missions work was in our church youth group under the leadership of a great youth pastor. We went to Mexico to build houses for poor families and I felt the first tug at my heart toward international ministry.

I got my first job when I was around 12 years old as the batboy for the Expos baseball club, a minor league affiliate of the old Montreal Expos. There were also odd jobs as a landscaper and house painter through which I was able to save enough money to pay for college. After graduating high school with the desire to be a pastor, I went to M.B.I. for 4 years. It was during that time that I worked in a Sudanese refugee camp in Ethiopia and felt a final and indelible call to missions.
In 2003, I joined SIM USA as a single missionary and raised support to serve in Sudan. Three years later, I arrived in Africa and my life would be forever changed.
Amy:
I was born in Western Canada, in a small town with a big Bible College. My dad was on staff there and then became a student at the Bible College, as my parents sensed God calling them into cross-cultural mission work. When I was 3 years old, they joined a Canadian mission organization that ministers to First Nations and Inuit people across northern Canada. At age 7, my parents moved our family to a small Inuit village in the Arctic and by age 10 I was speaking 3 languages pretty well--English at home, French at primary school, and Inuktitut with all my friends. I learned how to enjoy playing outside at -40 C and how to throat sing with elderly Inuit ladies. Through my 9 years in this village and during my travels throughout the North with my parents, the Lord gave me a love for cross-cultural ministry.

When I was 12 years old, I began to learn about Africa and was completely intrigued by all things African. During my teen years, I became very interested in health care and wanted to become a nurse. I'll fast forward a bit now to age 20. I applied for a children's nursing program in London, England and was accepted in the fall of 2000. During my nursing studies, I went on 2 short-term mission trips to Sierra Leone, West Africa to work with orphans. It was there that my love for Africa and African people was cemented and the Lord imprinted war-torn areas on my heart.

By 2006, I was finished all the extra training I wanted to do in London and had 2 and a half years of experience under my belt as a registered children's nurse in an emergency department. I couldn't wait to get back to Africa! I returned to Canada for a while and applied to go to Sudan with SIM Canada as a long-term missionary nurse. The Lord provided my financial support through many wonderful people and I arrived in Africa on July 1st 2007, almost 4 years ago now. The Lord has made many surprising changes in my life since then!

Church Under Shade Tree

I've always loved this photo... scenic mountain, huge baobab tree... plus, how many goats attend your services?

Sunset in Sudan

Our location is roughly eight degrees north of the equator. The sun rises around 6:30am each day and sets around 7:30pm regardless of seasons. It feels strange to put our daughter to bed with the sun still shining!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Our Sudanese students bid us farewell at the airstrip... and no, it wasn't exactly a "jet plane", but a Cessna Caravan (see link below).

http://www.cessna.com/caravan.html

African Food

With much faster internet here in the US, we can finally put some photos on here again!