Story number 1 for 19 May 2003

(Congo–Kinshasa)–We begin today near the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Full-scale tribal warfare broke out earlier this month, although the United Nations says a ceasefire went into effect Friday. Grace Ministries International’s Sam Vinton says the trouble is having a major impact on ministry. “It is completely making it impossible. Many of the pastors have fled into Uganda. Others have been evacuated. I think it has really disrupted the work. The theological school which is located in Bunia, there’s no way that school could be operating, and in fact, there could be very heavy damage, destruction and looting.” Vinton says people should still pray for the aftermath and the church’s response. “We are still graduating anywhere from 50 to 100 students from our Bible schools, in spite of all this trouble. Churches are continually moving forward and it’s going to be exciting when we can report some of these things when the conflict is over.”