24th March, 2010
MICHAEL IRELAND
Assist News Service
The people of Sudan will participate in the country's first democratic elections in 24 years this April.
"In 17 years of doing relief work in Sudan, we've witnessed so much horrific violence in this nation. Yet with this historic election, Sudan sits at a crossroads and has an opportunity for long-term peace."
- Gary Lundstrom, Samaritan's Purse international vice president.
|
According to international Christian relief organisation Samaritan's Purse, it is an historic time for a nation that has endured decades of civil war, and also a time of fear and anxiety.
Free and fair elections could help lay a foundation for lasting peace, but if violence erupts, it could rekindle a civil war that has already claimed the lives of millions.
"In 17 years of doing relief work in Sudan, we've witnessed so much horrific violence in this nation. Yet with this historic election, Sudan sits at a crossroads and has an opportunity for long-term peace. We are asking every Christian to join us in prayer for the people of Sudan," said Gary Lundstrom, Samaritan's Purse international vice president.
With so much at stake, Samaritan's Purse is asking people across the U.S. and around the world to join together with churches in Sudan for a week of prayer 21st to 27th March - culminating with a Sudan Global Day of Prayer on Sunday, 28th March.
"We are praying that everything will run smoothly. We are praying for the nation of Sudan," said James, a church pastor in Sudan.
Samaritan's Purse, headed by Franklin Graham, has been deeply involved in efforts to help people in Sudan - especially in the southern part of the country where Christians suffered terrible violence and persecution during the civil war.
Since 2001, Samaritan's Purse has provided $US83.7 million in relief assistance to Sudan, ranging from building a hospital and providing clean water to rebuilding 367 churches that were destroyed during the war.
Government and church leaders in both North and South Sudan agree that prayer is a key part of maintaining peace in Sudan.
Samaritan's Purse is asking people to pray:
• That all polling places will be safe and secure
• For peaceful elections (April 11-13)
• For political stability in Sudan
• For an end to the conflict in Darfur
Samaritan's Purse is a nonprofit organisation that provides immediate, no-red-tape response to the physical and spiritual needs of individuals in crisis situations - especially in locations where few others are working. Samaritan's Purse has worked in more than 100 countries to provide aid to victims of war, disease, disaster, poverty, famine and persecution.
|
