ELI Expands its Ministry into Sudan

Late in 2005, ELI expanded its ministry to Southern Sudan. From our ministry website, here's why and how:

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
Psalm 27: 13 and 14

These are powerful words written by David during times of war and turmoil. They breathe hope and forecast a future of goodness when we wait, take heart, and move with a peace and courage that He provides to His people.

War has become a way of life for the people of Southern Sudan. Many have been wandering from one place to another for years – looking for a place of peace and longing to come home. The signing of the transitional constitution has opened up a new chapter in the life of Sudan and Christian nationals are holding prayer meetings of praise in refugee camps, Kenya, and wherever they may be found. Many are now making plans to go “home.”

God has opened up and confirmed opportunities for ELI to move as well. With God’s help and your prayers and support we are launching our work and ministry in Southern Sudan. We have seen the hand of God connecting pieces and people in miraculous ways and believe that this opportunity to enter and minister in the Bor region is crucial to the children, orphans, and people God is leading us to serve and empower. Various religious groups are very eager to evangelize all of Southern Sudan and are moving money in that direction to build schools, Mosques, and food programs in order to capture the attention and affections of the people. In January of 2005, a peace agreement was signed that put in motion a six year political transition period. This time is pivotal for the nation as various groups work diligently to move the hearts and minds of the people in their direction. Pray for and partner with us as we follow God’s lead to reach the lost and empower the poor during this crucial time of transition.

We already have much to thank God for and even more to pray about. There are several strategic developments that God is leading us to accomplish.

1. We will address the challenge of health, hunger, and poverty.
21 years of war in Sudan has left this area with few resources and fewer effective Christian leaders. People are cultivating their land using sticks because hoes and other farming implements are so scarce. Ideas or inspiration for lifting lives out of the poverty that is choking the physical and spiritual lives of the people have faded with time and could soon die completely. Empowering Lives Sudan will this year respond to the urgent need for spiritual and physical empowerment. Songs and words of hope are returning slowly but words must be demonstrated in action for people to again trust that the future can be different than the past.

The abject poverty and lack of food or sound agricultural practices are some of the reasons we will be initiating our efforts in Southern Sudan by establishing a Christian demonstration farm and Training Center. Ideas for primary health care (AIDS prevention), business, agriculture, and animal raising can make all the difference for the people yet to acquire such skills.

We aim to bring some of the best, appropriate ideas and technologies to the rural areas in order to bring food security and economic progress to the lives of suffering Christians and villagers in the country. There will be some need for relief efforts in the area but our main aim will be to move people towards self sustainability and food security.

One religious leader, Rev. Janda, wrote in the Sudan Mirror that within a few days of their return to the Sudan, it will be inevitable for the people to rely on handouts: “We must take deliberate steps to wean ourselves away from the slavery of food hand outs. That is not going to be easy, but it must be done. Each family must impose some discipline to stay clear of the tendency to live perpetually on relief food.”

Moving people’s hands, hearts, and minds to effective methods of sustainable agriculture and animal husbandry is possible. Our success and experience in other African countries as well as the Sudan leadership we have been working with for over a year now has confirmed that we are on the right track, moving in the right direction to empower the needy.


2. We will participate in God’s care for the environment.
Addressing the environmental needs of the area is a priority. Establishing a reforestation movement to provide for the cooking and construction needs is vital as more Sudanese return home and the population increases. Appropriate trees for providing food, fuel, and building materials will be the first seedlings in the tree nursery; ready for planting when the anticipated rainy season begins January 2006.


3. We will address the Spiritual needs of the people.
Woven into all sessions, whether dealing with agriculture or spiritual trainings, will be the message of Christ and His desires and dreams for our lives and futures. This Training Center will become the hub for our evangelistic efforts, training Christians in spiritual growth and economic/farming endeavors. The center will host church leadership training sessions and Skills-For-Life Seminars for church members and others in the surrounding villages who seek to grow spiritually and gain ideas to break the cycle of poverty.

We pray that our sound relationships with the local leaders, churches, and officials will lead to a multiplication of healthy churches, Christian leaders, and outreach ministries. The center will emphasize the Gospel message and integrate spiritual encouragement and discipleship with ideas to help break the cycle of poverty. We have targeted to have our first Christian leadership trainings take place as soon as November 2005.


4. We will work to rise up and empower national leadership.
It is amazing to see the Sudanese leadership being brought to us for this ministry movement into the Sudan. The lead director is a Sudanese who comes from a family line of village chiefs. His older step brother is the chief of the area where ELS will locate and where his family has enthusiastically welcomed him. The village where our efforts will be based is located in Southern Sudan near Bor, on the Upper Nile River.

Empowering Lives Sudan is now registered with the government and is positioned to begin carrying out our ministry objectives as soon as funding is available. A Sudanese Christian learned of the ministry of Empowering Lives Sudan and has donated 50 acres of land for cause. In June of 2005 we fenced a portion of the land and constructed the first structure for phase one. Construction of the necessary buildings for the demonstration farm will continue through 2005.


5. We will build hope for orphans and vulnerable children.
As our staff surveyed the possibilities for ministry early this year the needs of thousands of vulnerable children cried out for attention and resolution. Children live by the hundreds in “cattle camps” where they survive in a parentless environment by drinking the milk and or blood from grazing cows. These children, many whom are orphans, move from one day to the next with only the day’s survival in mind. They have no hope for education of any kind and no role models other than older siblings, many of whom were abducted by soldier groups, given guns, and forced into a battle they still do not understand. There is no parental supervision or love. There is never adequate food. Even the children who are not in the cattle camps live without adequate nutrition, drink contaminated water, and, because the schools were closed or destroyed over the past 21 years, have had no opportunity to learn.

One candle makes the darkness flee. Though we may not be able to change the whole world, we can change the whole world for one child… and then another! That is our aim in establishing a Christian School by January 2006. The school will be established primarily with the orphan in mind but will also educate other vulnerable children that are within walking distance from the surrounding village. We aim to share God’s love, educate, feed, and train these children in all of the Skills for Life ideas available at the neighboring ELS Training Center. The children who come from the village will be encouraged to establish the same vegetable gardens at their homes. Relationships with the parents and community will be encouraged through the children as we promote ideas for water purification, nutrition, sanitation, and spiritual growth.

Phase Two will begin by adding a boarding facility and staff to the school, providing love, hope, and an education for the many orphans in the area. Some will come from cattle camps or homes where the child is unloved or slowly dying due to negligence. If funding is available, the construction of the school will begin in October of 2005. The Christian Primary School will be placed next to the demonstration farm and will be our strong arm for caring for orphans in the school as well as establishing a support program for hundreds of other children and/or guardians of orphans in the region. Future plans will include a Teachers Training College and Secondary School.

6. We will invite and involve people from across the world to invest in this important mission.
We care deeply about the spiritual growth and expansion of the Christian Church in Southern Sudan. The abject poverty that surrounds the people, including Christians, maintains a chokehold on their ability to meet the daily necessities of the family, and limits the ability to support the pastor or church outreach programs. God desires that we speak about His love for the world and to show that love in action (1 John 3:16-18). Hosea 4:6 says “My people perish for lack of knowledge.” People in the Bor (Kolmarek) area are perishing yet there is great hope and opportunity!

These are exciting, in fact pivotal days. We are dedicated to working diligently alongside the people as soon as possible in order to achieve measurable results that will impact the greatest number. We invite your prayers, personal and church involvement, and investments in this country and ministry as we seek to empower the lives of the lost and needy for the glory of God and the building of His Kingdom.


Together we can make a world of difference!