By Mike Schrage
The sun rose on the dusty plain next to the mighty Nile River. The sound of bleating goats, mixed with cries of hungry children, filled the smoky air this morning. Would today bring hope? Would today usher in peace””or would it be another day of rebel activity, speeding army trucks, gunfire, and bombing? Would it be another day of fear for a child stepping on a land mine, a husband standing before the barrel of an AK 47, or a young girl getting raped””just because they are Christians?
In another place, a Sudanese mother prepares to give birth to a child. Will this birth happen inside her home country or will the child be born in a border-based IDP (internally displaced person) camp or worse yet, in a crowded refugee camp in northern Kenya or Uganda?
Whether they are Dinka or Madhi, Acholi or Nubian, life for a generation of people in southern Sudan today has been tough, unfair, and restless.
The Context
On January 1, 1956, Sudan received her independence from Britain. Since that time, civil war has marred her history. Arabic-speaking Muslim adherents in the north have tried several times to wrest control of the country from fellow Sudanese in the south who are predominantly Christian and of black-African descent.
Peace accords have been signed and broken numerous times. And while the world went about its business, Satan quietly took 2 million souls in the past 20 years. It”s like a “desert tsunami” claiming 100,000 lives a year for two entire decades!
But a new day and a new peace accord offers hope for peace in Sudan. The church in Sudan has existed and even grown in the midst of this harsh adversity. She has some warts and battle scars, but she is alive because she is a survivor by God”s grace. She has held on by a thread of truth””the truth of the gospel that Jesus rose from the dead. Now in this new era, Sudan has the hope to also rise again!
The Command
In Zechariah 1:3, God”s prophet says to the people of Israel, “”˜Return to me,” declares the Lord Almighty, “˜and I will return to you.”” Southern Sudan is trying to obey. The prophet Zechariah offered these words of warning to the nations surrounding Israel, “This is what the Lord Almighty says: “˜I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, but I am very angry with the nations that feel secure”” (Zechariah 1:14, 15). Could this scenario fit the U.S. today? Will God be angry with us who are so secure if we do not help our brothers and sisters in Sudan know Christ?
In Zechariah 6, the prophet offers another picture. It is a messianic motif calling Christ a “branch.” Christ is pictured ruling on his throne as priest, and the priestly outcome is “harmony between the two.”
The Call
Could the winds of unity among branches of the Restoration Movement in America today be sweeping in a new day of revival for such a time as this? Does God want all his people””regardless of worship perspective””living secure lives in three-bedroom homes in the suburbs of America to begin to pray and fast and give and go “in harmony” like never before?
Since 9/11, America has learned more about Islam. Could the Lord be calling his church in America to stand with the persecuted Sudanese church that has seen the effects and suffered the consequences of animosity produced by Islam?
In serving next door in Kenya for 20 years, I have become acquainted with the suffering and upheaval of the people of Sudan. I”ve met missionaries who were asked to leave. After recent visits to Sudan, it is clear peace is being established and now is the time to reenter that war-torn, impoverished nation.
The international prayer movement sweeping the globe is a new style of army. “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4).
Could the Holy Spirit be moving in the hearts of hundreds of young people in our churches, state college campuses, and Bible college classrooms today so that they may be called and trained to go and partner with others to take the gospel to Sudan in new and innovative ways?
The adolescent church in countries like Uganda, Kenya, and Nigeria are becoming mission-sending countries. Might they become yolk-fellows in the gospel with the church in America to work as a team in Sudan? Could the American church supply Christian workers with tools of biblical education, technology, and financial assistance for such a time as this?
The Citizen
Zechariah Manyok Biar is one of our Sudanese brothers. Missionary to Uganda Shawn Tyler describes Zechariah”s courage and character.*
According to Shawn, Zechariah was born into the Dinka tribe (the largest tribe in Sudan with more than 7 million people) in Juba, Sudan, in 1974. Because of the war, Zechariah only made it to the fourth grade.
At 14, Zechariah joined the SPLA (Sudanese People”s Liberation Army) in the south. While serving in the army, Zechariah learned English (to go along with his Dinka and Arabic languages) during medical courses and theological training. Zechariah, who suffered the loss of one eye while still a child, served as a chaplain and soldier until 1999.
Zechariah concedes that things were going very badly for the SPLA from 1983 until 1994, but a turning point came in the battle of Kafwita.
The SPLA had mustered together several armored personnel carriers and a single ancient tank, which they mobilized to capture the town of Kafwita. As the SPLA approached town, heavy artillery fire took out most of the personnel carriers. The advancement stalled completely when the tank broke down. Under heavy fire and loss, the SPLA soldiers lost heart and fled the battle””except for one lone soldier who refused to surrender the tank to the enemy.
The oft-repeated account of the battle relates how this soldier hunkered down by the tank and held off the GOS (Government of Sudan) troops for two hours. When SPLA soldiers saw his bravery, they returned to the battle with renewed vigor. They captured Kafwita and took the offensive against the GOS. Everyone living in southern Sudan points to the battle of Kafwita as the turning point in the fight.
This lone soldier has become a living hero in southern Sudan. He is widely known and respected, a one-eyed chaplain with a humble smile and demeanor.
Zechariah doesn”t talk about the battle, but he speaks more passionately about Christ and his fellow Christians” struggle for freedom!
The Conclusion
Sudan is calling, and we need to listen. She needs our prayers and our workers. She needs education and development, missionaries, gracious givers, Bible teachers, and educators. She needs love, compassion, and assistance. She needs Jesus, and she needs him now!
I have seen the displaced, the disenfranchised, the hungry and hopeless in Sudan, and I cannot forget them.
I have spoken to maimed soldiers, orphaned children, and mourning widows, and I know they need God”s good news. I have heard stories of bravery, atrocity, and suicide, each one inspiring questions that I cannot answer.
But I can imagine what might happen if Christians in America would focus for the next four years on prayerfully and actively rebuilding the country of Sudan. Think of the possibilities for God”s workers sent to build, pray, teach, fast, educate, and work with other African Christian workers in a partnership effort for the betterment and salvation of the people of Sudan.
Why an army? Why Sudan? Why now? The Sudanese of southern Sudan will tell you. “We have suffered under oppression for decades. We understand the dangers of Islam. We also know Arabic and know the mind of our neighbors to the north. Teach us and train us so that we can go to Juba, Khartoum, Cairo, and the Middle East with the good news of Jesus Christ.”
White-skinned, English-speaking Americans are not welcome in most of the 28 Arabic-speaking nations in North Africa and the Middle East. But the war has caused a diaspora among the peoples of Sudan, and today there are Sudanese sweeping streets in Egypt, driving vehicles for government officials in Iraq, and working in hotels in Libya.
They know the language and culture, but most importantly, they know the cost of discipleship when it comes to risking it all for the sake of Jesus Christ. That is why Sudan today must rise because there is a dying world at her doorstep.
“”˜Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord Almighty”” (Zechariah 4:6). The Lord we serve is mighty. May we claim his power for Sudan! May God help us to be passionate about him and compassionate toward the struggling world that Zechariah Manyok Biar lives in today.
Rise, Sudan, your day has come””will we help her?
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*To read Shawn”s full account, go to www.mbalemissionteam.org/Sudan%20 letters.htm.
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Mike Schrage is director for sub-Sahara Africa with Good News Productions, International, Joplin, Missouri.
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