Syrian nightmare continues; believers deliver respite

(Photo courtesy Baptist Global Response)

Syria (BGR/MNN) ― Syria's government forces spent much of Thursday in a violent confrontation with rebels in parts of the capital city.

Pro- and anti-Assad gunmen, fueled by tensions in neighboring Syria, were also fighting over the border in Lebanon's city of Tripoli, nullifying a truce less than 24 hours old.

At the same time, the U.S. and Turkey held an "operational planning" meeting aimed at ending  Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's embattled regime.

In the 18-months since the first rebellion during the "Arab Spring," the United Nations estimates 2.5 million people are in need of humanitarian aid. The flow of refugees to neighboring countries continues its steady growth, although there are many thousands still trapped within Syria. Civilian deaths, according to observer reports topped 21,000 earlier this month. That number has climbed higher over the last two weeks.

Despite the growing desperation, there are some who bring hope and light with the gentle knock at the door. Baptist Global Responsesays there's a Syrian Christian couple living in a neighboring country who is delivering food and other basic necessities to internal refugees.

These Christians are going into Sunni Muslims neighborhoods near one of the Syrian cities hit hard by shelling and army-rebel combat. The nearby area, populated primarily by Syrian Christians, has been spared the worst of the violence.

"I don't know that there's any 'safe zone' in Syria, but because this area is largely Christian, it hasn't been a target of a lot of the fighting," a Christian worker says. "A lot of refugees who didn't leave the country went to this area and sought refuge. There's a great opportunity there. We're in the very beginning stages of that project.The severity of the need is greater inside the country than what we're seeing [among refugees leaving the country]."

Confused and frightened, thousands of Syrians are looking for something to cling to. They are disillusioned by the war around them and respond to Truth that appears on their doorstep in the form of physical aid, the compassion of Christ, and ultimately, the Word of God.

"In the midst of all the violence, you see these bright spots and know He really is at work and drawing the hearts of people to Himself," the aid worker says. Pray for as these workers share the hope of Christ.

Samaritan's Purse Refugee Camp bombed

Yida Refugee Camp bombing
(Photos courtesy Samaritan's Purse)

Sudan (MNN) ― The United States condemned Thursday's bombardment of a refugee camp by the Sudanese armed forces of the southern town of Yida.

Ken Isaacs, Samaritan's Purse Vice President of Programs and government Relations, spoke to MNN from the camp via satellite phone. "The World Food Program landed a helicopter with 12 tons of food in it. When the helicopter took off after it was off-loaded, a bomber came over and dropped four bombs on the refugee camp."

Over 23,000 people are living in the camp in the northernmost part of Unity State, after being displaced by fighting across the border in the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan State. A team from Franklin Graham's Samaritan's Purse ministry works there distributing food and other supplies. Samaritan's Purse staff was present along with a handful of UN workers and journalists when the bombing run started.

Four bombs were dropped. One bomb hit the marketplace, and two others fell on the fringe of the camp. Isaacs says, "The fourth one actually fell in the middle of the camp, in a schoolyard that had nearly 300 children in it. It was a miracle that the bomb didn't go off. It hit a big tree limb, probably 10-inches around. It took the tree limb out, and the bomb sat there in the ground halfway through the wall of the grass hut classroom."

All of Samaritan's Purse staff have been accounted for and are safe. There is a report that 12 people died in the attack, but they have not been able to confirm the casualties among the refugees. However, blame for it is landing at the feet of Sudan's Khartoum government. Isaacs explains, "The government of Sudan is the only one with high altitude aircraft like that in this part of the world. It has been a pattern of the government of Sudan, throughout the war with South Sudan, to bomb areas during food distributions."

The violence has been rising steadily and may point to a possible border attack from Sudan. "This has all just started in the last four days, so there's clearly a pattern starting. There is speculation that it's going to get worse." Samaritan's Purse President Franklin Graham, who visited the camp six days before the bombing, called for the world to take action in the immediate aftermath of the most recent attack.

    

The refugees are stranded in a swampy area in Unity State near the border between South Sudan and Sudan. The camp has been accessible only by plane because the rainy season washed out the roads, making fleeing a moot point.

The largely-Christian South Sudan became independent from the Islamic northern part of the country four months ago. However, as to the question of persecution, Isaacs doesn't think the root issue is religicide. It's more likely motivated by the loss of oil to South Sudan. That doesn't mean there aren't religious overtones. "Clearly, the government of Sudan uses religion to brutalize people and to motivate their fighters to launch attacks."

Where does the Gospel come into play in a scenario like this? As Samaritan's Purse teams work in crisis areas of the world, people often ask, "Why did you come?" The answer is always the same: "We have come to help you in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ."

While Samaritan's Purse's ministry is all about Jesus--first, last, and always, Isaacs says, "Pray for Samaritan's Purse staff. We're the only organization that's working here now. All of the UN people pulled out; the other agencies pulled out. Ten of our staff are still here."

Providing for The Poor Wanderer

Refugee camps in Mozambique are
 overflowing with those fleeing from
 Somalia and Ethiopia. More aid is
 needed. (Photo courtesy of Food for
 the Hungry)

Mozambique (MNN) ― The crisis in refugee camps continues to grow as more and more Somali and Ethiopian refugees flee across northern Mozambique borders. Drought, war and persecution particularly have Somali and Ethiopian Christians running for their lives to safety.

The boats arriving on the shores of Mozambique are full of refugees who often come with nothing but the clothes on their backs. So far, the number of refugees needing humanitarian aid is estimated at 600 with the number still climbing.

Food for the Hungry (FH) has stepped up to help these refugees in Mozambique. FH is working with the Mozambique government and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Together, they are building an overflow refugee camp in the coastal town of Palma by setting up a kitchen station and clearing land.

This overflow camp is desperately needed since The Maratane Refugee Camp in Nampula already holds twice its normal amount. It went from 5,500 long-term refugees back in 2010, to over 10,000 today with the influx of asylum-seekers. So far, an additional 1,000 have been moved to the camp being constructed in Palma.

Refugees from Ethiopia and Somalia first started arriving in 2010 by boat, but the number of arrivals was not overwhelming. As long as the number of arrivals was around the number of departures, the camps could handle it.

But starting in 2011 when the worst drought in 60 years struck, that coupled with war and persecution led to a major movement of refugees fleeing Somalia and Ethiopia. To exert more control over the situation, the Mozambique government added restrictions on the movements of refugees outside the camps.

So far, Palma is still a temporary camp for overflow refugees. It is not ideal as the camp is near mosquito-infested swamps and lacks sanitary water. Food for the Hungry and the UNHCR are appealing for more aid including food, water, tents and sanitation.

Food for the Hungry exists to end physical and spiritual hungers in some of the most impoverished and critical areas of the world. The refugee camps in Mozambique easily fit the bill.

This pairing of humanitarian aid with evangelism encourages Christian refugees who have left everything they own. And it opens doors to minister the Gospel to the hurting and lost. Here is where the Christian community can step up and join the mission.

Please pray for refugees in the camps of Mozambique, that they would receive the aid they need and be able to work toward a better life. Pray also for perseverance for the church both in dangerous areas of persecution and in places of asylum. If you would like to have a hand in helping refugees both physically and spiritually, you can donate here.

Isaiah 58:6-7 says, “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?”

The Dangerous 'Road to Somalia'

Persecution in Somalia increases,
 and Christian refugees fleeing to
 Kenya are looking for hope.

Somalia (MNN) ― The brutality of the persecution Somali Christians are facing has many fleeing across the border into Kenya. But even leaving the country does not always stop the Al-Shabaab, a radical Muslim group that is hunting down Christians in Somalia. The #1 country on the failed state list, in the throes of civil war, drought, famine, piracy; all these make living in Somalia very dangerous. A Christian in Somalia? Even more so.

In the midst of it all, Somali Christians are not alone. God is using Global Advance and Kenyan Christians to reach out to Somalis in their time of need. At the Global Advance Frontline Shepherds Conference in Kenya, God stirred the hearts of the Christian leaders in Kenya for their Somali brothers and sisters they see fleeing into their country and even those still in Somalia.

Jonathon Shibley with Global Advance says, "They've called their project ‘Road to Somalia.' They're targeting refugees that have come across the border into Kenya, and they are working with people who are living there in these [refugee] camps. They are discipling future leaders that are going to go back into Somalia with the vision to begin to plant churches and indigenous mission works throughout Somalia."

It is a huge risk they are taking. The name for the Frontline Shepherds Conference takes on a whole new meaning as these Christians--both Kenyan and Somali--will literally be in the "frontlines" of danger and persecution. But the call to minister and evangelize for the name of Christ is stronger.

"There's always a risk to taking the Gospel," admits Shibley, "especially in areas like this, and there's really no way to get around it. We need grace and wisdom on how to help them."

Global Advance has been conducting Frontline Shepherds Conferences since 1990 all over the world. It is shocking that only 8% of the 2 million pastors in developing nations have formal ministry training. As Global Advance seeks to equip the other 92%, those leaders armed with training in ministry can be more effective with preaching the Gospel.

According to the UN Refugee Agency, Kenyan refugee camps this year are receiving nearly 10,000 Somali refugees a month. This number is nearly twice the amount of Somali refugees per month in 2010. Political and religious persecution has increased. Somalis both in and out of the country are desperate for hope, and Kenyans are eager to share the hope we have in Christ. But it can't stop at the refugee camps. These efforts, while dangerous, must extend into Somalia.

The cultural and societal challenges in Somalia make the need for effective Christian leaders great. Kenyans hope that by working with native Somali Christians in Road to Somalia,' "these Somali Christians will be able to go back across the frontlines into their country and reach others with the Gospel.

Shibley asks of believers, "Pray that God will soften the hardened ground that's out there and that God will put Somalia on the hearts of many believers that are in east Africa. He has positioned millions of believers throughout east Africa, and there needs to be more indigenous efforts to reach Somalia."