Southern Sudan Update December 2006

Relief and Development for 2007 The UN is projecting that $1.6 billion will be spent in humanitarian aid and development projects for 2007 in Sudan. Almost half of that is earmarked to go to the crisis in Darfur. This represents the lion’s share of the $3.7 billion called for by the UN Secretary-General for humanitarian assistance worldwide in 2007.

Displaced People There are approximately 10,000 displaced Southern Sudanese living in a remote corner of the Central African Republic who are just now beginning to return to their homes. It is expected that once the first groups successfully resettle that most of the remaining will also quickly return home. By the time the north-south Peace Agreement was signed in 2005, many of the IDPs had been displaced for on average of 17 years, according to the International Organization for Migration. As a result, thousands of southern children living in the Khartoum area have never seen their home area in the South. This is true of thousands of children who fled.

Bird flu has arrived in Sudan. The city of Juba had all the chickens in the city killed, no humans were infected. Louise was there as all this was taking place.

Mark Warkentin is on his way home for a couple months. He will be spending a couple weeks in Brittan vacationing. Once he arrives here he will be in planning meetings, speaking in churches, visiting friends and relatives and hopefully squeezing in some more relaxation and vacation. Mark has done a great job this year!

Safe Harbor Foursquare Ministry 2006 has been a very blessed year for our work in Sudan. For the last several years we have focused our ministry mainly in one area in Kajo Keji County which is in the very southern part of the country but this year we have been able to send people to the Nuba Mountains, Terikaka and Juba. We have been training young leaders and have had over 100 attend our institute and intensives.

There are so many turning to Christ, around 18,000 last year, that our biggest challenge is discipling the converts. Our next biggest challenge is identifying and training leaders who are capable of being on a church planting team especially getting people ready to pastor the church plants. We planted 3 churches, established 2 preaching points that will soon be churches and adopted 3 churches.

We had the opportunity to plant in several other places but could not because we don’t yet have enough people to take the lead positions in the churches. Please pray that God will help us identify and train pastoral leaders. At a world AIDS day observance on Sunday December 3rd our team did a one day crusade meeting at which 2,000 people made commitments to Christ.

Appreciation Banquet On Friday February 9, 2007 at 7:00 PM, Safe Harbor Foursquare will be hosting an appreciation banquet for all who are interested in our ministry in Sudan. This is a thanks to all who have prayed and given to the Sudan ministry.

Sudan Team March 12-April 3 We will be leading a ministry team to Southern Sudan and if you are interested in going please contact Louise Short at 360.333.0371 or louise.short@africanchildrenschoir.com

Foursquare Foundation Grant We are happy that we have received another matching funds grant from Foursquare Foundation for work in Southern Sudan. This grant will enable us to do much more that would otherwise not be possible. Every dollar donated will be matched through the grant.

Southern Sudan Peace The parties of the peace talks between the Lord’s Resistance Army and the Ugandan government being held in Juba, signed an extension to their truce December 18. Hopefully this means that the LRA will remain in the agreed assembly areas and not terrorize the population of Southern Sudan. Clashes between the GOS and SPLA in some areas particularly Northern Bahr El Ghazal and Warrap States are creating instability that is keeping local people from farming which will mean food shortages for those people in the next harvest cycle.

Refugee and R & D news items based on IRIN reports