The brothers and sisters from refugee camps in South Sudan northern Uganda give greetings. The life of a refugee is not easy. Many of us were traumatized by losing loved ones, leaving house and property behind. The permanent lack of food and diseases traumatizes even more people. Now there’s one more enemy, Covid19, which took the lives of many in refugee camps.
Frequent lockdowns due to the virus are a disaster for many families. Living in refugee camps is really hard. The family of Lemy Kosmasa left the refugee camp Bidibidi last month because of starvation and the family returned to South Sudan. This week we found out that the family was murdered in cold blood in Lainya. Another sad situation is that the majority of teenagers in refugee camps are dropping out of school due to Covid-19 and being unsupervised all day many girls between 12–14 years old eventually get pregnant. And the father’s child, who is a teenager himself, runs away from the camp to avoid responsibility.
Rose Dima and Joyce Murata invited over 200 teenagers to a conference, and we praise God that 33 of them gave their lives to Jesus. Word of God is alive and we pray that God strengthened these new believers would grow in His word.
In 2019, a youth group from the United States held a children’s camp in Zambezi in the Evangelical Church. The church is in dire need of clear water because the water the people use in this area from the nearest stream is heavily polluted by industrial waste. The contaminated water causes the population to have many diseases, such as trachoma, diarrhea, and scabies. Everyone suffers from a lack of clean water, both children and adults.
In the densely populated area of Hama – many malaria mosquitoes that hatch in muddy swamps further complicate the situation of the local population’s lives. Some can afford to buy clean water, but the majority say they can only dream of clean water. The water is not suitable for cooking. The church prays for a water well, and we ask you to support us and help raise the required amount. One Christian organization agreed to drill a well and connect to the column for $4000. Thank you for your support!
The South Sudan Baptist Union still had no single school for disciples until this moment. In 2013 the civil war began, and most believers were forced to flee to neighboring countries, including to Uganda. The Refugees camps are in primitive conditions, there is no electricity or amenities. The camps have drinking water and refugees get corn, flour, and beans to feed their families! Despite the hard living conditions in the camps over 100 churches were planted. Many of the ministers do not have an education, and we have prayed and dreamed several years of a discipleship Center. At the end of May 2021, we started building the first center discipleship in Moyo – Uganda.
Thank you for your help and participation in the evangelization of the people in South Sudan. May the Lord bless you and will reward you for your care!
In the pictures you see the distribution of food to the Palush and Melut camps in Malakal, South Sudan. The situation in the country is very difficult – hunger is everywhere. Pray for the safety of all teams and the success of the distribution, since the flood and instability in areas of the Upper Nile state there is a shortage of food. The food was given out at end of March to the Anakdiar churches in Malakal. In other areas of Malakala we try to do the same and deliver food to local churches. In all camps, people lined up to get food for their families.
Thank you for the timely help and prayers for our long-suffering
people.
South Sudan has never experienced a flood this size at the Nile River since 1956. The flood affected the entire Upper Nile and led over 270,000 people to leave the area. About 2000 believers of our associations were forced to leave their homes. Nine pastors with their families were among them. The flood-affected agricultural farms and the livestock.
As a result of the flooding and famine 11 people died. Regional pastor John Monihol called me on March 4 in the morning and told me about a serious situation in which they were on. The situation is unbearable and extremely hard. Most families are starving and many are forced to eat wild leaves in the hilly area where many people fled. Despite the difficult situation, the pastors continued to preach Gospel and give hope to the settlers in a moment of hopelessness.
Last week we baptized 13 new believers, and also teach them discipleship lessons. Our brothers in Malakal (South Sudan) are asking for prayers and financial support for the hungry and flood victims. We know what economic challenges the world faces at present, but we would like to thank you sincerely that always have supported us in a difficult situation.
Our brothers have suffered greatly from floods, they lost their property, source of income, livestock, and harvest. Due to the famine, many conflicts started over food. We ask you to support the believers in South Sudan. Thank you and thank God for your kindness!
The first lesson for 20 pastors on discipleship and counseling took place on December 15, 2020, in the city of Blantyre. They all serve diligently in Malawi and Mozambique. Eleven churches were founded in Mozambique and nine churches in Malawi. For more than two months young pastors learned to help new believers to grow in faith. Without their wives and children, they went to villages and towns to plant churches. Many of them live in poverty and only have enough for the essentials.
Since we could not meet them in person we did all the lessons online. This was our first experience with distance learning and we grateful to God that despite all the chaos in the world, the Word of God keeps spreading, people come to faith and churches are growing.
For the second year we work with them, thank you for your support. Support for one pastor and his family to us costs $100 per month. We believe that God blessed the preaching of the Gospels so that 20 churches could be planted within one year in Mozambique and Malawi.
