Spotlight
Sudan: John Print E-mail
John thinks he is 5 years old. But he’s not sure.

John lives in Sudan. For many years, wars have interrupted people’s lives in southern Sudan. Many children don’t celebrate birthdays. In fact, many don’t even have homes to live in.

Some people whose homes were burned down during the war live in camps for homeless people. John lives in the “bush” (woods).

Christians found John standing beside the road that led to a camp. “Would you like us to take you to the camp?” the Christians asked John.

“No,” said John.

John told the Christians that his mother warned him not to go to a camp. The camps for homeless people in Sudan are not like camps that people visit for fun in other countries. The Sudanese camps are dirty and dangerous. People huddle together for protection. But Muslim raiders from the north still come and kidnap people from the camps. They take the people to the north and sell them as slaves to Muslim families.

“It would be better to die a Christian in the bush than to live as a Muslim in slavery,” John’s Christian mother had told him.

John has not died in the bush. But he is lonely. Sadly, his mother did not survive. Like many poor Christians in southern Sudan, John’s family had very little food. Food crops were destroyed in the war. Food sent from other countries is stolen and sold to people who have money to buy it.

John’s mother loved him very much. When she found food, she did not eat it. She gave it to John. She told him things he would need to know, like how old he was and how to stay safe after she was gone.

John obeyed his mother’s instructions. He is the only one in his family who has survived.

The Christians who found John gave him a blanket and some food, and they prayed for him. They told John they would tell others about Him so they could pray, too.

“Who will you tell?” asked John. He wanted to know the names of those who would be praying for him.

“There are too many to tell their names,” the Christians told him.

John smiled.

(Source: Make Way Partners)

Please pray for John and other Christian orphans in Sudan. Pray that those who fight against peace in southern Sudan will come to know the Prince of Peace.