Sudan (MNN) — Famine haunts millions in Sudan as rebel forces prepare to move on the last capital in Darfur that’s not under their control.
There is so little food in parts of Sudan that people are taking extreme measures to survive. In one refugee camp, they eat dirt; in another, leaves.
John*, an unfoldingWord partner, says militants routinely rob the aid trucks carrying life-saving supplies to millions in need. Furthermore, sexual predators take advantage of the war by seeking vulnerable victims among the displaced.
“There’s persecution on several levels, whether it’s ethnic-, gender-based, or religious-based. Under the guise of Islam, they say they are doing a good thing; they are removing the influence of infidels from the culture,” John says.
“So much evil happens in the world under the guise of a religion.”
War erupted in Sudan a year ago between the Islamist Sudanese army and the rebel group RSF, creating the world’s largest displacement crisis.
God’s Word holds a glimmer of hope for Sudan’s minority Christians. “I was reading 2 Timothy 1 this morning; it says, ‘But God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind,’” John says.
“Those three things threaten almost every other major religion in the world.”
(Graphic courtesy of unfoldingWord)
With help from unfoldingWord, Sudanese Christians are translating Scripture into minority languages. More about that here. The goal is to make God’s Word accessible in Sudan’s minority languages and fuel church-planting efforts among unreached people groups or UPGs.
In several refugee camps, believers introduce hurting people to the Prince of Peace.
“It’s not therapy, but it is identifying what trauma looks like, allowing the person to tell their story, validate that story, and then give them God’s truth – He can release you from the spirit of fear; He can replace bitterness that will grip your life forever with love,” John says.
Bible studies and discipleship begin among formerly unreached people groups as individuals meet the Messiah and accept Him as Lord and Savior. Pray this Gospel growth continues in Sudanese refugee camps.
Consider partnering with unfoldingWord and John’s organization here. Equipping the Sudanese Arabic church network through John’s organization will create great capacity for Bible translation, enabling 131 people groups in Sudan to have God’s Word in their heart language.
*Pseudonym
Header and story images courtesy of unfoldingWord.
