Sudan

Sudan Report (March 2010):

Reported by Rolland Baker

I made my first and very significant visit to our base in Yei, Sudan, led by our young, energetic, anointed and very happy Michele Perry, director of Iris South Sudan. Yei is not much more than a collection of dirt roads and shacks (see photos!), and the south of Sudan is barely functional, severely diminished by many years of war, but to us it is an exciting frontier that is showing what only God can do.

In the bush near Yei, Michele and her missionary friends and national helpers have built an attractive children’s village and primary school that is our leading Iris ministry in southern Sudan so far. Through faith in God they have persevered though hardships, threats and dangers of all kinds, and now have a center full of the love and presence of God. Here, as in Mozambique, needy children have been gathered into the Father’s heart, and now are filled and thrilled with the life of God. Their brilliant smiles, laughter, worship and play are a portent of the life of heaven from a child’s point of view. We keep learning how to be as humble and believing as a child…

We held a conference for Iris pastors and leaders from around southern Sudan, and any who wanted to join us in seeking the Lord together. Their eyes were opened in a fresh way to the fire and presence of the Holy Spirit, and they widened their hearts to receive all the teaching we could bring them in a few days. Ernest, broken crying out to God on the floor was combined with an upbeat taste of the joy of the Lord. Intensity, freedom and abandonment began to replace programmed order in a way they had not seen before. Knowledge of the head became knowledge of the heart… To top it off, God multiplied food when a hundred unexpected children showed up at a lunch. Everyone had plenty, and a lot was left over!

Religious legalism, restrictive tradition and doctrinal confusion have crept into traditional churches over the years, even in the bush, and nominal Christianity is often the norm. Righteousness and the purifying fire of God must overcome corruption and profiteering in the church all over Africa. By example leaders need to resist strongly and categorically the witchcraft that is so prevalent, and even mixed deceitfully into the church. In this conference we took up the challenge to pursue the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

We are proud of our Iris family in Sudan, and will count it a privilege to encourage them all the more as we pursue revival all over Africa.

Sudan Facts

Poulation:
41 Million

Ethnic Groups:
black 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other 1%

Religions:
Sunni Muslim 70% (in north), Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum), indigenous beliefs 25%

Background:
Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics since independence from the UK in 1956. Sudan was embroiled in two prolonged civil wars during most of the remainder of the 20th century. These conflicts were rooted in northern economic, political, and social domination of largely non-Muslim, non-Arab southern Sudanese. The first civil war ended in 1972 but broke out again in 1983. The second war and famine-related effects resulted in more than four million people displaced and, according to rebel estimates, more than two million deaths over a period of two decades. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-04 with the signing of several accords. The final North/South Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in January 2005, granted the southern rebels autonomy for six years. After which, a referendum for independence is scheduled to be held. A separate conflict, which broke out in the western region of Darfur in 2003, has displaced nearly two million people and caused an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 deaths. The UN took command of the Darfur peacekeeping operation from the African Union on 31 December 2007. As of early 2009, peacekeeping troops were struggling to stabilize the situation, which has become increasingly regional in scope, and has brought instability to eastern Chad. Sudan also has faced large refugee influxes from neighboring countries, primarily Ethiopia and Chad. Armed conflict, poor transport infrastructure, and lack of government support have chronically obstructed the provision of humanitarian assistance to affected populations. (source: World Factbook - CIA)