Character

The way we live our lives is very important. God expects His children to live changed lives. We are called to conduct ourselves differently than the worldly people around us. It is important that we personally live lives that reflect the life of Christ. This starts in our homes in the way we treat our wives, husbands and children. If as ministers of the Gospel we live one way at home and another in public our lives are a falsehood. God wants us to live according to the teaching of scripture.

Eph 4:17-24 17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. NKJV

1. God Calls His children to live humbly and resist pride.

Mic 6:8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? NKJV

2 Ch 32:26 Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah. NKJV

2 Ch 34:27 because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and you humbled yourself before Me, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you," says the Lord. NKJV

Isa 57:15 For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:

"I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones. NKJV

Jas 4:6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." NKJV

1 Pe 5:5-7 5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. NKJV

Pr 8:13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate. NKJV

Da 5:20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. NKJV

1 Ti 3:6 not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. NKJV

1 Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — is not of the Father but is of the world. NKJV

Jer 7:8-11 8 "Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit. 9 Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know, 10 and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, 'We are delivered to do all these abominations'? 11 Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it," says the Lord. NKJV

2. God calls his children to live in sexual purity.

Lev 18:22-23 22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination. 23 Nor shall you mate with any animal, to defile yourself with it. Nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it. It is perversion. NKJV

Mt 15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. NKJV

Ac 15:20 but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood. NKJV

1 Co 6:9-10 9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. NKJV

1 Co 6:18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. NKJV

Eph 5:3-7 3 But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; 4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them. NKJV

Col 3:5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. NKJV

1 Ti 1:10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, NKJV

1 Th 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; NKJV

Heb 13:4 Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. NKJV

Jude 7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. NKJV

3. God calls His children to tell the truth at all times.

Col 3:9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, NKJV

1 Pe 3:10-11 10 For "He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit. 11 Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it. NKJV

Ps 101:7 He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence. NKJV

Prov 12:19-20 19 The truthful lip shall be established forever, But a lying tongue is but for a moment. 20 Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, But counselors of peace have joy. NKJV

Mal 1:14 "But cursed be the deceiver Who has in his flock a male, And makes a vow, But sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished—NKJV

1 Tim 1:9-11 knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust. NKJV

John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. [he]… does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father. NKJV

Ps 119:29-30 29 Remove from me the way of lying, And grant me Your law graciously. 30 I have chosen the way of truth; Your judgments I have laid before me. NKJV

Ps 119:163 I hate and abhor lying, But I love Your law. NKJV

Ps 52:3-4 3 You love evil more than good, Lying rather than speaking righteousness. Selah 4 You love all devouring words, You deceitful tongue. NKJV

Ps 120:2 Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips And from a deceitful tongue. NKJV

Lev 19:35-36 35'You shall do no injustice in judgment, in measurement of length, weight, or volume. 36 You shall have honest scales, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. NKJV

Prov 16:11 Honest weights and scales are the LORD's; All the weights in the bag are His work. NKJV

4. God calls His children to speak positively.

Eph 4:29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. NKJV

Ps 52:2 Your tongue devises destruction, Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. NKJV

Mt 12:34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. NKJV

Eph 5:3-4 3…let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; 4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. NKJV

Col 3:8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. NKJV

Col 4:5-6 5 Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. 6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. NKJV

Jas 3:2-5 2 For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. 3 Indeed, we put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. 4 Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. 5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. NKJV

Ps 37:30-31 30 The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, And his tongue talks of justice. 31The law of his God is in his heart; None of his steps shall slide. NKJV

Pr 10:31-32 31 The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, But the perverse tongue will be cut out. 32 The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, But the mouth of the wicked what is perverse. NKJV

Pr 12:13 The wicked is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, But the righteous will come through trouble. NKJV

Pr 15:2-4 2 The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness. 3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good. 4 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, But perverseness in it breaks the spirit. NKJV

Col 4:6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. NKJV

Ps 119:172 My tongue shall speak of Your word, For all Your commandments are righteousness. NKJV

Pr 10:11 The mouth of the righteous is a well of life, But violence covers the mouth of the wicked. NKJV

Ecc 10:12 The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious, But the lips of a fool shall swallow him up; NKJV

5. God calls His children to be faithful, reliable, trustworthy and dependable.

Pr 28:20 A faithful man will abound with blessings, But he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished. NKJV

Mic 7:2 The faithful man has perished from the earth, And there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; Every man hunts his brother with a net. NKJV

Mt 25:21 His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' NKJV

Lk 16:10-12 10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. 11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own? NKJV

1 Co 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. NKJV

1 Ti 1:12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, NKJV

2 Ti 2:2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. NKJV

1 Ti 1:18-19 18 This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, 19 having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, NKJV

Nu 12:7 …My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My house. NKJV

Ps 101:6-7 6 My eyes shall be on the faithful of the land, That they may dwell with me; He who walks in a perfect way, He shall serve me. 7 He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence. NKJV

Mt 24:45-51 45 "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. 47 Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. 48 But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, 51 and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. NKJV

1 Co 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. NKJV

Nu 30:2 If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. NKJV

Ps 15:1-5 1 Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? 2 He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart; 3 He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend; 4 In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear the Lord; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change; 5 He who does not put out his money at usury, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved. NKJV

Mt 21:28-32 28 "But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, 'Son, go, work today in my vineyard.' 29 He answered and said, 'I will not,' but afterward he regretted it and went. 30 Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, 'I go, sir,' but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said to Him, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him. NKJV

Jos 7:11-12 11 Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff. NKJV

Mal 1:14 "But cursed be the deceiver Who has in his flock a male, And takes a vow, But sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished — …” NKJV

Tit 1:10-12 10 For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, 11 whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain. NKJV

6. God call His children to be merciful and forgiving.

Mic 6:8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? NKJV

Ps 37:23, 26 23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way. 26 He is ever merciful, and lends; NKJV

Ps 112:4 Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. NKJV

Mt 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. NKJV

Lk 6:37-38 37 "Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you." NKJV

Eph 4:31-32 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. NKJV

Col 3:12-13 12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. NKJV

1 Pe 3:8-9 8 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; 9 not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. NKJV

7. God calls His children to cease from striving and become peacemakers.

Ps 34:14 Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. NKJV

Ps 37:11 But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. NKJV

Ps 85:10 Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed. NKJV

Pr 15:18 A wrathful man stirs up strife, But he who is slow to anger allays contention. NKJV

Pr 16:28 A perverse man sows strife, And a whisperer separates the best of friends. NKJV

Pr 29:22 An angry man stirs up strife, And a furious man abounds in transgression. NKJV

Ro 1:29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, NKJV

Ro 13:13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. NKJV

1 Co 3:3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? NKJV2

Ti 2:23 But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife.

God has called us to not live as slaves to sin but as obedient servants of God. Ro 6:16-23 16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.

20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. NKJV

I want to first encourage you to live these principles in your personal life and to also preach them to Gods people.

Pastor Gary

Sudan News July 11 2007

Sudanese Refugees In Israel Israel sets policy of arresting and detaining Sudanese refugees illegally crossing the Egyptian border into Israel. The Israeli government has struggled to establish a consistent policy to deal with these refugees. Some have been released onto the streets of Israel's southern towns and cities, where volunteers from charity organizations have tried to help them. ”On 24 June several Sudanese men became the first to be detained in over a month. Several women and children were found on the streets of the southern city of Beersheba by volunteers who are dedicated to helping refugees. The women soon discovered that their husbands had been detained by the Israel Prisons Service.”

A government committee which was set up to develop a policy for dealing with these refugees has recommend that the security forces continue to be authorized to arrest all refugees immediately upon arrival. A similar policy was cancelled about one month ago, after human rights and aid groups protested against the order.

“According to the new plan, announced on 1 July, Israel will return to Egypt "infiltrators" crossing the countries' joint border. A government communiqué said they would be "quickly" deported and indicated they would not be able to make an asylum claim in Israel.”

”Sudanese citizens are arrested in Israel because they are officially considered a "security threat" since Sudan is an "enemy state". Israel so far has not made a distinction for those fleeing persecution from the government of an enemy state.”

Government Shakeup Southern Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit has just reshuffled his cabinet naming seven new ministers, five presidential advisors, and a new president and deputy of the Supreme Court.

The shakeup occurred in the following ministries: Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Minister of SPLA Affairs, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Minister of Health, Minister of Labor, Public Service and Human Resource Development, Minister of Transport and Roads, and Minister of Housing, Land and Public Utility. Among those fired was Madam Rebecca De Mabior, the widow of the late Dr. John Garang founder of the SPLA/M.

According to Uganda’s Daily Monitor, this is a move, by Salva Kiir Mayardit, is meant to curb the influence of Riek Machar the mediator of the Juba peace talks between the Ugandan government and the Lords Resistance Army and Vice President for South Sudan as well as Rebecca Nyandeng”, the wife of late SPLA leader John Garang.

Hope For The Future International continues to make an impact on the future of Southern Sudan. Thousands of students are making decisions for Christ. So far this year 9,300 people there have made decisions for Christ, through our School Assemblies, Village Outreaches, and personal evangelism with over 25,000 making this commitment sense the signing of the peace accord. Our efforts focusing on the nations only primary school, teachers training college is preparing young men and women who will be posted in schools all over the country. These young teachers will become community influencers taking the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the Nation. We also continue planting churches. Over the next 18 months church planting will be a major emphasis.

China and Khartoum Exploit Southern Oil Sudan has an estimated 5 billion-barrel reservoir of oil beneath its one million-square-mile surface, almost all of it in the south. The Paris-based International Energy Agency estimates that currently Sudan averages pumping 536,000 barrels a day; others estimate it is closer to 750,000 barrels a day.

The vast majority of this oil, 64 percent, is sold to China, now the world's second-largest consumer of oil. It is believed that Sudan’s oil deal with China is worth at least $2 billion a year to the Khartoum Government. China's National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) is the majority shareholder in both of Sudan’s biggest oil consortiums.

Not only do the Chinese and northern Sudan governments make billions from Southern Sudan oil the Chinese workers in Sudan are likely to make three times the salary they would at home in China.

The local Sudanese however are not nearly as benefited by the deal with the Chinese.

Even though the Chinese are pulling billions of dollars of prophet out of Southern Sudan oil fields they are doing nothing to improve life in the region. “Locals still live in meager huts, eating peanuts with perch fished out of the contaminated Nile.” There is no electricity, no water system, no sewage, no garbage service, no health care, very few schools and very few jobs for the locals.

Sources: APA, SudanNews.net, Daily Monitor, Yahoo News, The Christian Science Monitor, IRIN
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Children's Ministry Workshop

Up until the signing of the peace accords just a little over two years ago Ministry to Children was not a priority in the minds of adult Sudanese Christians, even the leaders of the churches. They were so focused on trying to survive, living for over twenty years in continuous war left little time to think about Sunday school or developing ministry to children or teaching children to minister.

In October of 2006 we conducted an interdenominational Children’s Ministry Workshop to develop teachers, leaders and pastors to specifically minister to children. Using The Children’s Ministry Resource Bible as the main text, workshop participants are taught how to develop their teaching skills by learning to use games, visual aids, object lessons, puppets, and drama to reach children with different learning styles, as well as how teach to age appropriate lessons.

Curriculum is not available in Sudan so we teach them how to build lessons around the 104 Bible story outlines in the CMR Bible, this is a major key to developing Sunday school programs there. When trained how to use it, this Bible becomes a goldmine of resources for Children’s worker. It is probably the greatest resource developed to date for use by people ministering to children in under developed countries like Southern Sudan.

There is a series of three Children’s Ministry Workshops designed to progressively develop the teaching skills of these children’s workers. As a result of these workshops not only do the Safe Harbor churches have effective children’s ministries now, but every church in the Liwilo area also has trained workers doing children’s ministry. God is so gracious!! Thank you if you helped purchase CMR Bibles! Karen Grubs

Expectations For 2007

We are so thankful to God that He is moving powerfully in Southern Sudan. Thousands of people are turning to Christ. No doubt that the suffering that the southerners have faced has ripened their hearts to turn to Christ. Our goals for 2007 are to see the flood of salvations continue. We will continue our village crusades and school assembly evangelism. These two outreaches were the means of thousands of salvations in 2006. This year we are going to add two additional outreach approaches. Soccer outreach will be a big attraction in village life. People will always attend a "football" match, these community social events are also very healing to the war torn phyche. It is also a great entrance into the hearts of the boys and young men.

We are also planning to use HIV/Aids education as an evangelistic outreach. Unfortunately returning refugees are bringing HIV back with them. We have already gotten our Aids literature into every school in Juba. This year it is our goal to do hundreds of Aids awareness presentations to both help people avoid Aids, give hope to those who have been exposed to this deadly disease and to give the Gospel message. We are currently looking for sponsors for these new outreaches.

In 2007 we have three other major goals: We want to improve our effectiveness in discipling and assimilating converts into our churches. Second, we want to plant more churches. Third, we want to continue training young leaders. These goals fit together and compliment one another. We also want to begin to develop the property that has been given to us and drill some community wells. We will of course continue feeding the hungry, providing medicine and medical help, providing school supplies and finding ways of bringing hope and encouragement to the disenfranchised.

There are so many stories of transformed lives in Southern Sudan through the love of Jesus Christ. Last March when out team was there doing conferences a Moslem student at the Teachers College named Hagar,* from an area north of Juba, attended the Sunday morning service in the Liwolo Church. Louise was ministering and offered to pray for the sick that morning; Hagar who had been suffering from a severe headache for three days went forward for prayer. She was instantly healed. Later in the meeting Louise made a call for those who wanted to receive Christ as their Savior, Hagar responded again. In August I was back in Liwolo to teach in a leadership development intensive and Hagar and her sister were both attending the intensive. Her sister had also gotten saved. Later in October Louise had returned to Liwolo and at the Sunday morning service that day Hagar’s sister was leading the worship and Hagar was on the worship team. They are both planning to return soon to their dominantly Moslem home area, as part of a church planting team.
* For their protection we did not name the home town or give their real names.

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

2,000 Respond on World AIDS Day

2,000 Respond To Gospel At World AIDS Day Observance. In the recent World AIDS day in Wudu Southern Sudan the Kajo Keji County government observance saw a crowd of several thousand in attendance. We were able to provide the sound and video equipment for the day’s activities. The French NGO Sans Frontiers showed a video and put on an educational presentation about AIDS. Because of the persecution and isolation of the war years AIDS has not made the same devastating impact in Southern Sudan as in other East African countries. Now, everyone is concerned that this will rapidly change. Last year we distributed 20,000 pieces of AIDS awareness literature and we would like to double that this year. When the County’s activities were completed our team held a crusade meeting at which 2,000 peopled responded to the Gospel message and made decisions for Christ. This is the biggest one day response to the Gospel that we have seen in our eight years of working in Southern Sudan. In November 2,500 responded to the gospel through the efforts of our evangelism teams. This seems to be a time that God is moving so powerfully turning hearts to Himself that the most important thing we can do is not obstruct what He is doing. We just sent a church planting team to a predominately Moslem area north of Juba. The community there is very open to the message of Christ. In 2007 it is our prayer that we will make significant inroads among the Moslems. We now have teams in two different Moslem areas. Please join us in daily prayer for Moslem conversions in Southern SudanGary Short

Amazing Results

More than 17,400 people in Southern Sudan have made commitments to Christ through our ministry this last year. One of the most effective evangelism efforts we have employed this year is our village and marketplace crusade and film ministry. Our teams do open Air Crusades with The Jesus Film and The Passion of Christ, in villages and markets. Our teams have conducted well over 100 film showings in the last year. When a crusade team goes to a village or market they start the meeting each afternoon at about 4:30 we started the crusade with worship, testimonies, exhortations, singing and then just before it starts getting dark someone preaches a short salvation message and gives an altar call, people are asked to raise their hands and then to come forward, they are taken to a prearranged place where someone talks with and prays with each individual.

While this first stage of the meeting is taking place the crowd is building, people are walking by and coming and going. The kids are squeezing into the front as tightly as they can. If we didn’t put up barriers they would back us right out of the stage area. There are no chairs so people are mostly standing; some are perched on different objects of opportunity around the area. After the people respond to that altar call we do more singing with the main crowd and maybe do one more testimony.

Then the second phase of the meeting starts just as it is getting dark. We show a film usually the Jesus Film the first night and then The Passion of The Christ the second. We may repeat the Jesus Film the third night and then we show various other films. The Jesus Film is usually in the language of the people. When we show other films which are not in the local language one of the crusade team members narrates it. Before the film ends we stop it and make a second altar call for the evening. Those who respond are taken out, are led in a sinner’s prayer and given a couple pieces of literature.

One piece of literature has the gospel message on one side and an AIDS awareness message on the other side, the second piece is a discipleship tract that talks about salvation, water baptism, Holy Spirit baptism, the Bible, church attendance, and prayer. All those who respond to the altar call are also invited to a Next Day Discipleship School which will be held the following morning. (Back at the crusade.) While this is going on the crowd is shown the rest of the film and at the end they are asked to come back the next night. An invitation is also given to anyone in the crowd who just gave their heart to the Lord and for any believers who want the training to come to the Next Day Discipleship School.

Another effective evangelism effort has been school outreaches. We have targeted primary or elementary schools that have students as old as mid and late teens, secondary schools which have students from their teens to mid twenties, and the colleges which have people from their twenties to forties. The churches are also becoming a place of evangelistic ministry. One exciting development is individuals leading others to Christ.

One of the more unusual outreaches came when one of our leaders had the opportunity to evangelize the military. He was asked to preach to 2500 soldiers for ½ hour each morning for two months as they stood on parade. Every soldier (all 2,500) received our brochure with the Jesus loves you salvation message and an Aids prevention teaching. He was able to lead 280 to faith in Christ as their personal Savior. He also visited the disabled military hospital regularly. These men are often very despondent, bitter and angry; 60 out of 162 came to know the Lord as Savior. Some healings were also reported. He has been asked to work with other soldiers as well.

We use every chance we have to invite people to receive Christ. Even at our leadership conferences we had several people make commitments to Christ. You might wonder why unsaved people would be at a Christian leadership training event. It is simple, in many of these villages we have the most interesting thing going on, and also sometimes unsaved students go to meetings just to hang out with their friends. Therefore at the Christian women’s events, seminars, church services etc, we give people the opportunity to receive Christ.

God has greatly blessed our efforts to win people to Christ this year. We are expecting that in the coming year we will have even more opportunity to reach out to the people of Southern Sudan with the Gospel. We want to thank all of you who have helped us reach so many souls. It would not have happened without your financial support.

Sudanese Culture Hard on Women

Marriage, Culture and the Biblical Way

Our position on the treatment of women, marriage and family life must first and foremost be based on the teachings of Scripture. The Bible makes it clear that God views men and women as equals. Paul made this perfectly clear by his statement, “For you are all [men and women] sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:26-29 NKJV). Although we value culture; when cultural practices demean women we must graciously but firmly stand for the abandonment of those cultural practices. We also must give people a replacement for the thing we are asking them to turn from.

Husband and Wife---The Most Important Relationship

We believe that the husband/wife relationship is the primary family unit and that it must be put before parent/child and other extended family connections. Moses dealt with this in Genesis 2:24 when he said, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Once a young man and woman are married their marriage must have priority over the husband’s relationship with his parents and the wife’s relationship with her parents. In cultures where extended families live in close proximity the relationship of the newly married should be respected as primary. Even though they may live in the same compound with parents and older brothers and sisters, they must leave their family in the sense that they put their relationship with their spouse above any other family relationship. Marriage is extremely important---It is the earliest social structure that God gave to humanity. The relationship of husband and wife takes precedence over that of parent and child. Once a woman or man marries the parents or brothers have no right to interfere in that new family unless at her request they are helping her to escape from an abusive situation. They definitely have no right to take the wife away because of lack of payment of dowry---instead they should forgive the dowry or reduce it to something that is manageable by the son-in-law.

When a man marries he should leave his parents home and create his own family so parents can’t interfere with his marriage. Parents should not have an expectation of their sons to marry a woman to be a servant to the parent’s family.

Polygamy Demeans Women

Wherever there is polygamy women are looked upon as property. Polygamy didn’t get started until six generations after the fall which is an indication that it is an evil that took some time to arise in society. “Then Lamech took for himself two wives: the name of one was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah” (Gen 4:19). The foundation for polygamy is the belief in the superiority of men over women, the greed that believes that men have the right to fulfillment and pleasure that women do not; no matter the negative impact on the family. “For the wicked boasts of his heart's desire; He blesses the greedy and renounces the LORD” (Ps 10:3). The family can never be what it was meant to be in a polygamous system. “He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house” (Prov 15:27). Look at the huge problems in the polygamous household of King David.

Wherever men take multiple wives women are looked at as the property of the husband and as sexual objects for his pleasure with little regard to theirs. Christian women should refuse to be in a polygamous marriage. This generation of women must resist being treated as property.

Marriage of One Man to One Woman is Biblical

Paul wrote (1 Cor 7:2-3), “Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.” This scripture makes two clear points. God’s intention is for a man to have only one wife “His own wife” not his own “wives” which Paul would have said if he were condoning polygamy. This verse gives the exact same restrictions for women, God’s marriage requirements are the same for men and women---one spouse. Again in Ephesians 5:23 Paul exhorts husbands to “love his own wife”, singular. Even though the Old Testament allowed polygamy because of the hardness of men’s hearts, the prophets knew that it was wrong and that men were to be committed to the wife of their youth, not wives. The Prophet Malachi was telling them why God doesn’t regard their offering (Mal 2:14) “Yet you say, "For what reason?" Because the LORD has been witness Between you and the wife of your youth, With whom you have dealt treacherously; Yet she is your companion And your wife by covenant.” God’s plan has always been for one man to be married to one woman just as with Adam and Eve.

Jesus said that in marriage, two become one. “'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh' 6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate" (Matt 19:5-6). Polygamy separates the one flesh of a man and a woman. Every where in the New Testament where Jesus or one of the Apostles is teaching on marriage they always refer to a one man one woman relationship.

This brings up the question of what do you do when a polygamous man gets saved and comes into the church. In this situation there is no place in the New Testament that requires a man to put away any of his wives. Paul taught concerning the social issues of his time; being married to an unbeliever, being a slave, or about being circumcised or uncircumcised; “Brethren, let each one remain with God in that state in which he was called” (1 Cor 7:24). In other words did you become a Christian when one of these issues existed in your life? Don’t feel like you have to change those things. As a matter of fact biblical teaching on divorce and caring for ones family would demonstrate that the polygamous man who becomes a Christian has a serious responsibility to the family that he comes to the Lord with.

Paul also makes it unmistakably clear that a polygamist can not hold a leadership position in the church. “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife” (1 Tim 3:2). “...appoint elders in every city as I commanded you---if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife” (Titus 1:5-6), “Let deacons be the husbands of one wife” (1 Tim 3:12). This is a strong statement that it was time for this woman demeaning practice of polygamy to stop and that the church was to send no mixed signals by having leaders who gave the wrong example.

Cohabitation Without Marriage is Unacceptable

There is a problem in Southern Sudan---no one is having weddings. This appears to be because of two reasons:

The first reason is that the bride’s parents are demanding such high dowries that most young people can’t get married because it is impossible for the young man to raise a large dowry and parents are so greedy that they will happily “sell” their daughter to an older man who can pay a high dowry. This shows that they have little regard for or love of their daughters. It is time for church leaders, community elders and godly parents to stand up and put a stop to these practices. If these groups are not willing to bring about changes in the dowry system then the government needs to step into the situation and pass laws to protect young women. In order to avoid the problem of large dowries young people are just beginning to cohabit instead of having Godly Christian marriages. The Scripture is clear that fornication is not the way Christian couples should begin a relationship. “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness” (Gal 5:19). ”But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints” (Eph 5:2-3)

The problem of young people living together and having indiscriminate sexual relationships will not end until we deal with the more longstanding issue of how marriages take place. As long as we put the young people in this impossible situation the weaker ones will tend to fall into the snare of the enemy. However this snare is one that has been built by the culture and the practices of the parents and the weakness of the church. Our own practices have brought these conditions about and only after we make dramatic changes will our young people be free.

The second reason is that the church has been too weak to standup against ungodly cultural practices.[1] This happens because culture is exalted above God’s Word. When the old ways go against Christian principles then the churches need to stand up against those old ways. We need pastors who have the courage to stand up and demand that parents allow young people who profess love for one another the freedom to marry each other. Pastors who have turned a blind eye to this problem need to immediately make a fresh commitment to stand up for the truth by, 1. Teaching on the subject. 2. Getting involved enough with their young adults to know who wants to marry who and helping them approach their families. To begin to publicly demand an end of secret cohabitation and require public marriages in the church.

Dowries Contribute to Abuse of Females

The problem with dowry based marriage: Girls as young as 10 years old are forced into marriage. The Center for Disease Control reports, “Child marriage is a human rights violation that prevents girls from obtaining an education, enjoying optimal health, bonding with others their own age, maturing, and ultimately choosing their own life partners. Child marriage is driven by poverty and has many effects on girls' health: increased risk for sexually transmitted diseases, cervical cancer, malaria, death during childbirth, and obstetric fistulas. Girls' offspring are at increased risk for premature birth and death as neonates, infants, or children.”[2]

Men who pay a substantial dowry for a bride tend to see them as property. When a man sees his bride as property, he is more likely to perpetrate domestic violence. When the bride’s parents have an expectation of a large dowry, they also see the bride as their property and are emboldened to interfere in the marriage when the groom fails to make good on the demanded dowry. This is why families are known to steal wives away. They are also likely to turn a blind eye to abuse when their son-in-law has paid a large dowry that could be demanded back if the bride stands up for her human rights. When the man’s family helps pay a large dowry they also see the bride as their property. Young wives can often be more accurately described as family slaves than cherished and loved brides. Common chores that young brides are expected to perform for her husband’s family: cooking, cleaning, gathering firewood, washing, fetching water from the distant borehole, gardening and babysitting the family’s young children. Young people are forced to marry out of duty to family, financial considerations and family greed instead of love, attraction and calling.

When Christian people condone or participate in practices such as extravagant bride dowries they fit the description that Jesus gave of the Pharisees. “But the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness”” (Luke 11:38-39). Christian parents should only expect a token dowry for their daughters. Any thing more is making your daughter property and is greed. The dowry system needs to be limited to a token thing that honors the culture but does not keep people who want to marry each from doing so because of the greed of the bride’s parents.

Young people with the advice of godly parents and church leaders should be allowed to choose their own husband or wife based on love, attraction, calling and compatibility. “This is what the LORD commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, 'Let them marry whom they think best, but they may marry only within the family of their father's tribe.'” (Num 36:6). Even though young people should be allowed to choose their own marriage partner, the person they choose must be a born again believer. “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?” (2 Cor 6:14). The primary reason that parents control who their daughters marry is because of the dowry system. Young people who have the opportunity to marry whom they wish should listen carefully to the advice of Godly parents.

It is not our desire to eliminate the cultural practice of bride dowries it is our contention however that dowries should be turned in to a token or symbolic practice that celebrates the old ways but does not put a burden on young men and women who want to marry one another. The current practice of materialistic greed based dowries make the bride property, not a human being with equal rights and therefore must be ended.

We also understand that the extended family is very important in most African cultures. This is something that the western world has lost and that we can learn about from our African friends. The extended family must be operated according to Bible principles including the priority of the marriage relationship between a man and a woman.

Sudanese Culture Has Long Held Girls Back

The problem of the maltreatment of girls is highlighted in the “lost boys” situation. BBC East Africa correspondent Isabel Matheson in a June 7 2002 article talks about the “Lost Girls of Sudan” and said the reason the girls were treated so differently from the boys, who were given the great opportunity of going abroad for education is; “They [the girls] can be sold off for a good bride-price. When international attention focused on the lost boys, the Sudanese community kept the girls away from the limelight. Sudanese leader, Gideon Kenyi, says, "The issue of dowries had become a priority to the people who are owning the girls. They see the girls as a way of generating wealth, by marrying them or by giving them to someone rich." This dramatically demonstrates the disparity between young men and women in Sudan.

Hillary Mayell writing for National Geographic News February 12, 2002 stated, “There is nothing in the Koran, the book of basic Islamic teachings, that permits or sanctions honor killings. However, the view of women as property with no rights of their own is deeply rooted in Islamic culture, Tahira Shahid Khan, a professor specializing in women's issues at the Aga Khan University in Pakistan, wrote in Chained to Custom, a review of honor killings published in 1999. "Women are considered the property of the males in their family irrespective of their class, ethnic, or religious group. The owner of the property has the right to decide its fate. The concept of ownership has turned women into a commodity which can be exchanged, bought and sold.""

The fact that so many fewer girls have attended school in Sudan than boys is another indicator that women are held back. The good news is this is beginning to change but this situation is like a farmer finding a small rock sticking up in the middle of his garden, right where he wants to plow. As he begins to dig at it he realizes that it is actually a huge bolder with one tiny corner sticking up. If he is a lazy farmer he just might decide that it is too much work to dig up the rock and becomes content to plow around it. The industrious farmer, however, keeps digging and prodding and pushing, he calls his neighbor for help and they finally get the bolder out. To their surprise the bolder had capped off a spring that has enough water to water the gardens of all the farms around. This describes what is happening now in Southern Sudan. Will we free the women and drink from their spring or will we keep plowing around the issue and leave another generation of girls to suffer.

Other Contributors To Female Abuse

Cultural traditions in Southern Sudan have long held women in subjugation to men. These traditions are keeping the people of Southern Sudan trapped in a culture that not only demeans women but keeps the family from being the societal backbone that it was meant to be. In many communities it is widely acceptable for women to be beaten and abused by their husbands, without the man feeling personal shame or the ire of the community. This is because women are not considered worthy of the rights that assure human dignity. The Bible teaches something quite different. “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion…” (Gen 1:27-28 NKJV). “Husbands, likewise, dwell with them [your wife] with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered" (1 Peter 3:7 NKJV). The problem becomes an unending cycle, the son grows up seeing his father treat his mother like property and when he grows up and takes a wife he treats her the way his father modeled a husband deals with a wife. In turn his son is learning from him how to treat a woman.

When women are looked on as property rather than the joint heirs with their husbands that God declares them to be the following abuses are bound to happen: The practice of Female circumcision which mutilates female genitalia to keep the wife from sexual pleasure and it is thought to keep her from straying from her husband’s bed. The practice of a man’s brothers or near relative inheriting their wife upon their premature death---although originally this practice may have been a means of social security for the women and her children but in reality especially in modern times this makes the woman property with no right to exercise her own will. Using daughters as a means of wealth building through premature marriage for large dowries holds girls back from development. The practice of communities, government, family or churches that accept and or tolerate domestic violence in the form of sexual, physical, and mental abuse as well as treating the bride as a slave must come to an end. Church and governmental institutions must not enable gender discrimination within the judicial, social and religious systems.

Pastors It’s Time To Make A Stand

The pastors must also make a stand against the ungodly extravagant weddings like those that have risen up in neighboring Uganda. This kind of greed and pride on the part of the bride will also create bondage. Psalm 119:36 says, “Incline my heart to Your testimonies, And not to covetousness.” In these weddings people go in debt, beg and borrow just so they can have a more elaborate and ostentatious wedding than their friends. They pay more for the rental of their wedding day limousine than for the monthly rental of their house. The motivation for these extravagant weddings is greed, pride jealousy and the competitive desire to out do friends and enemies. People have forgotten that weddings/marriage is a spiritual event binding men and women together in a lifetime bond of love and partnership. Weddings should focus on worship, gospel preaching and the spiritual union not on how many dresses the bride can wear on her wedding day, or how elaborate a reception they have. This has also arisen because of the weakness of pastors who are afraid to stand up for what is right. If these practices cross the border into Southern Sudan it will again create the condition of couples living together without marriage---this time it will be because they can’t afford the wedding.

Pastors need to immediately begin teaching and making public stands on the following:

1. Dowries should be tokens that young people can afford.
2. Parents need to set aside and repent from greed that demands a large dowry.
3. Cohabitation living together and having sex together before a public church wedding has taken place is unacceptable.
4. Parents should be forbidden to “sell” their daughters to older men with large dowries just to satisfy their own greed for material things.
5. Women and girls should not be forced to marry but should be allowed to marry whom they want as long as it is to a believer.
6. No believer should marry an unbeliever.
7. It is important that the concepts of “leaving and cleaving” and that wives are not to be obtained to be servants for the husband’s family are followed. 8. Women are not property to be bought but equals who should be treated as partners in marriage who are to be loved cherished and honored by the husband.
9. Parents should not interfere in the marriages of their children but should respect, encourage, and love their child’s spouse as if they were their own child.
10. Pastors must teach on courtship, marriage, children, and various other family issues.
11. Pastors must have the courage to make strong stands on these issues but they must start by teaching and preaching on these subjects and living a good example.

The Bible Calls Men to Honor Their Wife

Once a man and woman are married the man should not think that he owns his wife, he should realize that he is called to love her, cherish her, honor her, protect her, make her sexually happy and provide for her material needs. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself” (Eph 5:33a). Men need to understand that God has given women the same need for and right to emotional and sexual fulfillment as the husband. “Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband” (1 Cor. 7:3). It is crucial for men to understand that if they do not treat their wives right by respecting them and trying to make them happy that they will reap the result of a tumultuous home and the withholding of Gods blessings. “Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways. 2 When you eat the labor of your hands, You shall be happy, and it shall be well with you. 3 Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine In the very heart of your house, Your children like olive plants All around your table” (Ps 128:1-3). “Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered” (1 Peter 3:7). This says love your wife the way you love yourself---would you want your wife to have 2, or 3, or 4 men with whom she has sex? It is impossible to love your wife as yourself and have multiple wives and to treat her as a slave and let her do all the hard work. Married women have the same right as men for emotional and sexual satisfaction from their mate. Men, blessing in your home depends on your walk with God. Your prayers will be hindered if you treat your wife poorly.

No wonder so many men struggle with spiritual dullness and a lack of energy for the things of God. Many times it starts right in the home because the home is a primary place that determines if God can pour out the spiritual blessing He desires to give each Christian man. Men we are the ones who must stand up for women and girls, protecting them and making a way, removing the barriers that society has put on them and giving them the opportunity to be the women God has called them to be.

© 2006 Gary L. Short

[1] The same problem exists in arenas like, making sacrifices to demons yet being a church member. Praying to the god of the land and yet being a member of the church. Pastors are afraid of the community elders and because of this the people are living mixed lives that nullify their Christianity.[2] CDC---Health Consequences of Child Marriage in Africa Volume 12, Number 11–November 2006

Update October 06

Returning home. David Gressly UN humanitarian coordinator living in Juba recently said, "The story of southern Sudan now is of people going home."

According to Gressly the big issue now is supporting those returning from outside the country as well as the IDPs (internally displaced persons).The UN is reporting staggering numbers of “up to four million IDPs and 500,000 refugees returning home annually.” Even though “humanitarian activities in Sudan have picked up, especially in southern Sudan” the obstacles remaining are many. However Southern Sudan’s daunting problems have been overshadowed because “international and media attention has shifted to yet another volatile area of the vast country - the Darfur region.”

What people have quickly forgotten is that for over 20 years Southern Sudan suffered the same crimes against humanity that are now happening in Darfur in northwestern Sudan. It is impossible for the South to recover from this kind of total devastation in just two short years of peace. Southern Sudan still needs the focus of the world.

Gressly reports “Sudan has the largest IDP population in the world, this creates enormous challenges for humanitarian actors in providing basic services such as food, shelter, healthcare and education to the IDPs, returnees and host communities.”"Those coming are returning to areas with no services, by and large," he said. "If we were to provide the appropriate level of support for water, for example, even if we defined it as one borehole for 500 people, which is not a good standard, we would need about 20,000 boreholes to be built in southern Sudan." We at Safe Harbor are hoping to drill at least one borehole this year but at $10,000 per well this is a challenging task for us. The UN reminds us that the “most pressing needs of the returnees and IDPs are food, shelter, water, healthcare and education.” These people also have huge emotional and spiritual needs which we are attempting to address.

Oil troubles. On the economical/political front tensions are rising over profit sharing of oil revenues. According to Sudan News Net the South Sudan Defense Front (SSDF), has threatened to attack SPLA positions because they claim that the oil money is being mishandled and that their people are not getting a fair share of the benefits. Sudan is now the third largest oil producing nation in Africa, yet the South is still totally impoverished.

De-mining efforts continue. According to UN rep Gressly, "January to March is hot, with temperatures ranging from 45-50 degrees. We are hoping, during this time, to de-mine roads. We have funding through the mission and donors to survey and clear nearly 12,000 km of roads." Just remember that these “Roads” would hardly qualify as off road trails to us.

Louise Short and Karen Grubbs are currently in Sudan. Louise is in Juba in meetings with Manase Lamole and others. Karen is in Liwolo participating as an instructor in a Children’s ministry workers intensive. This has been a tremendously blessed year for our efforts in Sudan. There have been thousands of conversions, we are working hard to disciple them. We have a solid core young leaders that we are raising up. We have planted churches. We have done lots of mentoring and training. We have served thousands of meals. All of this is because of the Great mercy and grace of God and because it is his time to move in Southern Sudan. Please keep praying for us.
Gary Short
Sources: IRIN, Sudannews.net