minute 4 mission: Sixty Seconds in Sudan

Do you recognize these people - Greg and Sandra Lewis. They were members of St Matt's years ago, indeed were married in the old building in Keightley Rd. They were regular members here until they went to Queensland for Greg to do his Ph. D in Ag Science. They aimed to serve the Lord in some overseas location but were held back by persistent health problems. When they finally got a clean bill of health they applied to Pioneers, the same Mission that Jeremy and Annie Chappel went with.

They visited us here at St Matt's and told us that they were going to the Sudan to engage in developmental projects with a group called Across. They have been there for about two years living in a little town close to the Ugandan border. They live very simply with a minimum of conveniences while Sandra works with local Christians to develop discipleship materials for the local churches. Greg also works with local believers to prepare radio broadcasts to encourage and teach isolated believers. They are a joyful, prayerful and very committed couple who see their whole future spent in the Sudan.

We hear a lot about Sudan in the news and realize the great suffering that the Sudanese people have endured. Many refugees from the Dafur region are flooding into the south where Sandra and Greg are. There are 2.5 million people on the move looking for peace and security. 200,000 have been killed in the last four years. The human need is heart-rending. Let us pray for Greg and Sandra and let us pray that the Sudanese Church will grow in godliness as they suffer for Jesus' sake.

Let us also pray that Australians will have compassion on the resettled refugees as they live among us in a culture so totally different from what they have known. Pray for churches like Girrawheen Baptist where about 50% of the people come from the Sudan.