Hello Everyone,

Here is a special prayer request from Charlotte Sinclair Barkley to please pray for Sudanese refugees. The need is great. Please hold these special people up in prayer as often as you can. See Charlotte's suggestion in the first paragraph.

We know the Lord is faithful and that He hears the cries of His children. Please pray.

"I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." – Psalm 91:2

In His Amazing Love,

Laura G.

'THE END OF THE WORLD'? REFUGEES FLEE TERROR IN NORTH SUDAN

IN CASE YOU THINK the violence described below doesn't affect Bush Telegraph Mission, think again! It does. We are directly impacted by fleeing, traumatized, injured refugees at our mission bases in Unity State, Juba and elsewhere. Over 1,000 refugees arrive on foot in South Sudan daily from North Sudan seeking food, shelter and safety. More than 100,000 are still grouped in the North near the border, waiting to move from their fields if bombs begin to fall. I know you're busy but can you take a few minutes; print this out; and pray for one item at a time in your car when you stop at the next red light?

Photo: JANJAWEED – MUSLIM TERRORISTS FROM THE NORTH

1. PRAY for South Sudan. Last July the world celebrated the 'birth' of its newest nation – South Sudan – when it officially separated from the north. We prayed that after decades of war and bloodshed, the loss of 3-4 million lives, that people of both nations would finally know Peace. But this was not to be.

2. PRAY for Southern Kordofan & Blue Nile States. Soon after Independence, refugee camps were filled to the brim as fighting in the border states of Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile intensified displacing 1/2-million people. They arrived at refugee camps in trucks, on camels and by foot; the number increasing daily. That, in addition to the crisis in Darfur – where war broke out in 2003 and where 3.75 million still need our help – qualifies Sudan as the world's worst humanitarian crises, according to the United Nations (UN).

Photo:2_REFUGEE CAMP

3. PRAY for Refugees. Once they cross the border between North and South, refugees are stopped by the Sudd – the world's largest swamp. They have no choice but to camp in a place that cannot be reached by road from the South. Nuba Mountain refugees, for example, were on facing starvation, boiling grass in dirty water to stay alive, until Samaritan's Purse flew in tons of food and medical supplies. I've prayed with these courageous refugees who have suffered so much and ask for so little.

4. PRAY for WUNBS. The excerpt below comes from Pastor Daniel Atong's letter. He's VP of Western Upper Nile Bible School, Unity State, S. Sudan, who received a portion of our recent 40–foot Container:

Photo: 4a_MOTHER BOILING GRASS IN DIRTY WATER FOR HER FAMILY

"… I want to let you know that this food (and other supplies) has done a lot for us all. It has kept us alive since we received it and we shall still use it into [this] year 2012. After the Declaration of Independence of South Sudan last July, the Khartoum government closed its border and they would not allow goods/food to come in. There has been much [starvation] because of this unjust action. Life has been tough.

"Even when a few goods appeared, they were [too] expensive and people could not afford them. Heaven Sent Ministries food became the only food we had [to] survive on. It came at the right time, the right quantity, in the right quality, to the right people. We cannot thank you enough. We can just pray to God to bless you and keep you strong. You saved many lives. Glory be to God…."

Photo: 4b_FOOD BOXES FROM HEAVEN SENT MINISTRIES SAVED THOUSANDS OF LIVES

5. PRAY for 'Alfuj Refugee Camp'. Among the new refugees at Alfuj Refugee Camp was a 70-year-old woman, Aida, who was brought in a donkey cart. She had traveled days with 6 bullet wounds in her back. Half of one hand was missing. Most people at Alfuj suffer from respiratory disease, malaria, dysentery and malnutrition. Many refugees have walked since last September, hiding in the woods near their crops or fleeing their homes altogether. Families arrive exhausted, hungry, cold and sick – or die along the way. At Alfuj Refugee Camp mothers deliver babies under trees.

Photo: 5_REFUGEE GRANDMOTHER WOUNDED IN THE WAR

6. PRAY for 'Doctors Without Borders'. They've set up a 24-hour maternity ward at Alfuj Refugee Camp. No one there has a mosquito net; they share drinking holes with cows; women and girls wait for up to 12 hours to fill a plastic jerry-can of water. Doctors Without Borders (called Medecins Sans Frontieres in Sudan) also feed children high-nutrition biscuits. They see about 400 malnourished children a day.

7. PRAY for the children. They suffer the most. They're scared. They're helpless. Many arrive so malnourished that they need special therapeutic feeding at the clinics. Hundreds of children arrive alone. They don't know if their parents are dead or alive. One 11-year old girl, Hayit, who is caring for her 9-year old brother, Malika, said, "When the soldiers came, they started burning everything. We held hands together and ran. We traveled for days to reach this place."

Photo:7_THE FACE OF MALNUTRITION

There is no other medical mission or health care workers at Alfuj so it's been overwhelming for Doctors Without Borders (or Medecins Sans Frontieres) who can't help everyone. Last month, December 2011, the UN airlifted relief supplies from neighboring Kenya: plastic sheets (for waterproof shelter), sleeping mats, blankets, mosquito nets, buckets, jerry cans and kitchen sets. But few supplies reach Alfuj where access is difficult due to bad roads. South Sudan may be independent, but they're not free from crisis. A typical camp needs about 12 tons of food daily – that goes up each week as hundreds more arrive.

8. PRAY for Jonglei State, South Sudan. Fresh fighting in Pibor County left villages burnt to the ground. Thousands fled their homes with no supplies or food. They are hungry, without access to clean water and on foot. Critical relief supplies were scheduled to be flown in but the area is inaccessible by road. The operation was temporarily suspended due to a high security level. When our medical team and I served in Jonglei State in 2009, the road was open two weeks of the year; the Security Level was '4' (the highest).

Photo: 8_REMOTE AIRSTRIP. TRANSPORT IS CHALLENGING

Jonglei State's leaders are taking steps to respond to emergency health, food, safe water and shelter but the logistics are enormous and not enough air transport. Jonglei State has seen the deadliest violence with attacks between the Nuer and Murle tribes over cows. One attack leads to a counter-attack so it never ends. Last year over 1,100 people were killed and 63,000 displaced, to become 'internal refugees'.

9. PRAY for Khartoum, North Sudan. Arab Muslim Social Welfare Minister Amira al-Fadel Mohamed said, "Foreigners are not allowed to distribute aid to South Kordofan and Blue Nile states in South Sudan…." The UN says hundreds of thousands have become internally displaced since fighting began in June 2011 after Independence Day in July. Refugees fled to Ethiopia and South Sudan and the mass exodus continues today. There are food shortages and malnutrition. But the Khartoum Government continues to bar UN and foreign mission workers from these two war zones. Also South Kordofan's governor, Ahmad Harun, is wanted by the Hague-based International Criminal Court for war crimes against humanity committed in Darfur.

Photo: 9_WOMEN & CHILDREN REFUGEES SUFFER THE MOST

10. PRAY FOR CHRISTIANS & PASTORS IN NORTH SUDAN. In 2011 there were approximately 2 million Christians living in North Sudan. Then, shortly before Independence in July, many escaped south in anticipation of the border closing. Today, NSKG (Northern Sudan Khartoum Government) wants to document all churches in the north. Pastors could be arrested for preaching in their own pulpits, if North Sudan has its way. They now want church leaders to register with the government. Obviously, the next step is: 'Now we need to know all the members of your church.' Under Sharia Law, Gospel work is against the law. Registered churches will be first on the enforcement list. Is religious freedom on the way out in North Sudan? For missionaries and volunteers from outside to go into Northern Sudan is going to be extremely dangerous. Pray that the churches who are already there will be courageous and not intimidated.

Photo: 10_ THE 'END OF THE WORLD' OR A 'NEW BEGINNING IN CHRIST'?

CONCLUSION. This is dangerous work and an enormous undertaking to meet the needs of tens of thousands of refugees. Please join us in praying that God will make a way for Bush Telegraph Mission to continue providing our brothers with physical help (through our clinics and containers of special food) and eternal hope through Jesus Christ (through our churches and trained pastors). We're thankful the Lord has given us, through YOU and YOU and YOU, the opportunity to serve the Least, the Last and the Lost – that fleeing refugees have NOT reached the 'end of the world' – but a 'new beginning' to reach Heaven one day.

In His Service,

Charlotte Sinclair Barkley