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Are we remembering to pray for our brothers and sisters suffering for their faith?
Posted on August 23, 2011
“Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering” (Heb. 13:3).
Early last week I received a text message requesting me to call a Bishop in the Nuba Mountains that I met for the first time in 2008 while training church leaders in Kadugli, capital of Sudan’s Southern Kordofan state . I could not believe what was happening to the Bishop's family, even though for the last six weeks I have been reading about the killings of people in the Nuba Mountains by the Khartoum government. Many Christian leaders, pastors, and elders have been murdered in their homes, in the caves where they were hiding, and some in the UN-guarded camps of Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs).
Are we remembering to pray for our brothers and sisters suffering for their faith?
When the Bishop spoke against these killings, the government military raped his young daughter. They also threatened to do the same to his wife and others in his household. As I spoke to my friend, he shared that he will continue to visit and minister to the widows and orphans of those killed because they served the Christian community, including those from different denominations whose leaders were killed or are missing. But he said, “I know when I go, my wife will be the next to be raped or killed. Maybe I will be killed on the way too.” He is not concerned about his personal life or even the life of his family alone, but for the whole family of Christ in that forgotten part of the world.
In addition to his own struggles, he says that the believers who are being killed by the Khartoum soldiers and Muslim militia in the South Kordofan and Nuba Mountain region feel forgotten since the Khartoum government is not allowing the UN or any other relief organizations to assist them. He begged me to tell the Christians in the United States to not forget them during their suffering, misery and persecution.
I just got a little help from one of our partner churches and I am praying that some of our friends will do something, even if it's small. Our offices in Juba and Khartoum are in touch with some local bishops in the region from different denominations to encourage them.
We trained them for ministry.
We cannot forget them in their time of need.
They need us to show Christ’s compassion.
Would you please remember these brethren who are being mistreated and persecuted? I was unable to give my friend anything, but he was relieved that I called and that I will ask others to pray and remember them!
Thank you for your prayers for these fellow sojourners.
Celestin
Image courtesey of http://www.un.org
For more information and satletite evidence of the killings in South Kordofan, visit enoughproject.org
