A closer look...

I know it must feel so far away, so here are a few pictures of the children and families that you are praying for when you pray for Sudan, as well as a brief description of the conflict there.

"Since early 2003, Sudanese government forces and militia called “Janjaweed” have been engaged in an armed conflict with rebel groups called the Sudanese Liberation Army/Movement (SLA/SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). As part of its operations against the rebels, government forces waged a systematic campaign of “ethnic cleansing” against the civilian population who are members of the same ethnic groups as the rebels. Sudanese government forces and the Janjaweed militias burned and destroyed hundreds of villages, caused tens of thousands of civilian deaths, displaced millions of people, and raped and assaulted thousands of women and girls. "

"As of September 2007, approximately 2.2 million displaced people live in camps in Darfur and more than 200,000 people have fled to neighboring Chad, where they live in refugee camps. In addition to the people displaced by the conflict, at least 2 million additional people are considered “conflict-affected” by the UN and many need some form of food assistance because the conflict has damaged the local economy, markets, and trade in Darfur. "

"Today, the situation is transforming from a highly destructive armed conflict between rebels and the government into a violent scramble for power and resources involving government forces, pro-government Janjaweed militia, various rebel and former rebel factions, and bandits. Between January and July 2007, more than 200,000 people were displaced, many of them for the second or third time. " -Human Rights Watch, 18 Sept 2007

Please continue to pray for Abdul Rahman, Mohammed Almahady, and Essam Saddiq. Please pray for the men who attacked them - for their salvation. Please also see the comments & prayer requests from World Vision staff member Rose Kimeu:

"We are grateful that God has given us the opportunity to be able to show the people of Darfur the love of Christ...We ourselves are the hands and feet of Jesus. We really urge the listeners to pray for us and to pray for our staff that God would protect them, that God will enable them to show the love of Jesus through what they do.”

"In the desert, prepare the way for the LORD;
make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
And the Glory of the LORD will be revealed,
and all mankind together will see it.
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
Isaiah 40:3-5