Frontline Newsletter: Saving Lives in Sudan

Every day Christians are dying in Sudan: from bombs, bullets and landmines, from lack of medical treatment, in the man-made famine, because of the scorched earth campaign, at the hands of the National Islamic Front government.

The vast scope of the tragedy in Sudan is overwhelming. The oldest community of Christians in Africa is suffering the worst persecution in the world today, in the longest war of the century, in the largest country in Africa. With so many people in such desperate need – how can one possibly help?

One person at a time.

It is true that we cannot help everybody. But we must not allow that to prevent us from helping as many as we can. And when we step out in obedience to God’s Word to love our neighbours in need, it is wonderful to see how God can even use us, in spite of our inadequacies, to save lives and transform communities.

The Devil’s Seed

Over the past 5 years that we have been working extensively in Sudan we have often witnessed and reported on the scorched earth campaign and the devastating impact of landmines in Southern Sudan and the Nuba Mountains. Regularly the local people have pleaded with us to bring them metal detectors to find the mines that terrorise their communities.

The forces of the NIF government have planted anti-personnel landmines on foot paths between villages, around wells and amongst crops in the Nuba Mountains. Women and children collecting water, gathering wood for a fire or harvesting crops have often been the victims of these tools of terror. Landmines have been called the devil’s seed and in Sudan they continue to reap a harvest of death. These simple production-line booby traps can lie in wait for years before claiming their unsuspecting victim. They are easily hidden and forgotten.

The anti-personnel landmines are instruments of terror. Their intention is not to kill as much as to maim – to shock and traumatise, demoralise and devastate – not only the unfortunate person who steps on the bomb, but also the family, those who have to care for the victim and the community as a whole.

The explosion comes so suddenly. The injury is inflicted with no warning. The consequences are so devastating and the amputees who survive are reminded of it every day. They will never forget the dull dust- raising thud, the shock . . . and then the excruciating pain.

The social disruption and economic hardship caused by even one landmine explosion is severe. Who wants to collect water, gather wood, harvest crops or travel to the next village when every step could be their last? So when Sudanese community leaders again requested our help we gave it serious thought and prayer.

We realised that some would try to misrepresent our actions. We were already the targets of widespread slander campaigns (apparently initiated by the government of Sudan) accusing us of gun running! Obviously, when Princess Diana sponsored de-mining in Angola it was hailed as a humanitarian project. However, if missionaries do the same in Sudan it will probably be misrepresented as “offensive military action”! Yet when we responded to God’s call to missions we laid our reputations on the altar as well. All that really matters is what God thinks.

We determined to help the Christian communities detect and destroy the landmines that were crippling them. Now we had to do a lot of research. De-mining is complicated, expensive and dangerous. However, it soon became evident that God was guiding and blessing our efforts as He opened doors, led us to key contacts and wonderfully provided the resources, equipment and people needed.

Steve and Emile also completed First Aid courses in Cape Town. This medical training and the presence of a nurse and
midwife, Iris, on the team proved to be a great benefit in the Nuba Mountains.

Marshes and Medicine

The National Islamic Front government has declared Jihad (Holy War) on the Nuba people. The Nubans are descendants of the oldest community of Christians in Africa (tracing their ancestry back to Acts 8 and the Treasurer of Queen Candace). Hundreds of Nubans have been crucified. Thousands have been enslaved. Nearly a million are incarcerated in concentration camps where they are being forcibly Islamised. About 300 000 Nubans hold out in their mountainous sanctuaries, defending the precipitous slopes against the Arab invaders.

A life saved: This very sick child was brought to Iris on the brink of death. By God's grace, Iris was able to provide this child with the necessary treatment

To reach this island of Christianity in a sea of Islam, our team had to fly several hours behind enemy lines, in a “no-fly” zone. Then there were many hours of walking up and down the Nuba Mountains. The Frontline team delivered over a thousand Bibles (mostly in Arabic), Christian books and thousands of Gospel booklets from World Missionary Press, as well as several medical kits. Unseasonal rainfall complicated the landing and travel by foot. Our team regularly had to wade through marshes. The team leader (who suffered yet another bout with malaria on this outreach), Steve, reported: Our team managed to screen the Jesus film, in Arabic, almost every night, walking for hours to show the film in different villages. Some of these film outreaches had to be screened inside the church buildings because of the rain. The people heard that we were “doctors”, so from the second day people brought us their sick and wounded. One very sick child was carried from over 2½ hours away. The child had not eaten anything for over 4 days and was close to death.

Iris gave this child the treatment and medicine necessary and, in answer to our fervent prayers, after the 3rd day, the child steadily recovered. Our compound soon became the local clinic as the sick and wounded were carried in from far and wide.

Those who came for medical care also had the opportunity to see and hear the Gospel and Bible stories as our Gospel Recordings audio visual presentations were continually being used in the compound. One man came to us and requested that we pray for his child that was sick. He said that his home was far away and that he didn’t expect us to go there but he only requested that we pray for his daughter.

Through film evangelism, Gospel Recordings audio visual presentations and preaching, the Frontline team were able to reach and teach thousands of Nubans with the life changing Word of God.

One village that we visited was attacked by Arab militias just 2 days after we had left there. The Nubans chased the Arabs for 5 hours until the leader of the pursuit was shot. Even with 2 bullets through his right shoulder he walked 7 hours to reach us, requesting medical attention. By God’s grace, the bullets had not hit any major organs (the bullets just missed his lungs), arteries or bones and we were able to stop the bleeding, patch him up and prevent infection adequately. He recovered remark-ably well. Destroying Landmines Mines are the tools of cowards and in Southern Sudan and the Nuba, the NIF plants these instruments of terror around wells and amongst crops where the victims are often the women and children who collect the wood and water and harvest the crops. As I was researching and organising the necessary equipment, God led Paul, an experienced de-mining engineer, to offer his services. Christian friends in America and Germany sponsored the purchase of the de-mining equipment.

Emile and Paul were able to train 12 Nuban men in the use of the de-mining equipment and how to locate and to destroy the landmines. The men were eager to learn and most became very competent in mine clearance by the end of the course. After several practical exercises on de-activated mines, Emile led the men on a long hike to a real mined area for a live exercise. This was the real thing – carried out within sight of the enemy garrison that had sown these mines. The exercise was successfully carried out and our team was able to entrust the expensive equipment into the hands of these dedicated volunteers – confident that they would save many lives.

Ministry and Marriage

While Emile and Paul were training the men to clear their areas of the scourge of landmines. Steve was training two of our Nuban evangelists, Cornelius and Moses, to operate the Jesus film. When our team left, these two dedicated men were able to continue the film evangelism programme in areas we have not yet been able to reach.

Our German nurse and midwife, Iris, maintained a balanced programme of treating the sick and wounded, and ministry to the women and children. She also taught Southern Sudanese mothers on midwifery and introduced an antenatal care programme at the hospital in Moruland.

Steve was so impressed with how well Iris handled the long strenuous hikes, through sweltering heat, wading through marshes, despite hunger, thirst and intense danger that, after the mission was completed, he travelled to Germany and requested her parents permission to marry her!

And so for the 7th time we celebrated a Frontline Fellowship wedding and we have sent them off to Sudan again. (Perhaps you regard Sudan as an unusual honeymoon destination? Well, missionaries are unusual people!)

Please pray for Steve and Iris in Sudan and for myself as I go to join them. And please continue to pray for the precious Sudanese Christians we have trained – the pastors, teachers, evangelists, nurses and de-mining engineers – that God may
graciously use them daily to save many lives and to fulfill the Great Commission in Sudan – to the glory of God.

“I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them.” Isaiah 42:16

Dr Peter Hammond

Related Resources:-
Terrorism and Persecution (video)
Sudan, the Hidden Holocaust (video)
Faith under Fire in Sudan (book)