“My sorrow is beyond healing, my heart is faint within me! Behold, listen! The cry of the daughter of my people from a distant land…” Jeremiah 8:18-19 NASB
Letter written in May by Gary Kusunoki of Safe Harbor International Relief, based in Rancho Santa Margarita in Southern California:
Two weeks ago, I found myself in Darfur, just 1 kilometer from the border of Chad. I was there to see a group of 4,000 Chadian refugees that had fled the fighting in their own nation, only to wind up in an even more desperate situation in Darfur. As if things in Darfur were not bad enough, the suffering was compounded by border conflicts in Chad, which displaced their population as well.
We were brought there by the African Union Peacekeepers who found this group while they were out on patrol. The sector commander told me that they were in a desperate condition and that he already brought two groups in who did nothing to help. The people were frustrated and asked him why he had come twice and not brought them any food. I asked if we could go there and see their condition, only this time we would take about 6 metric tons (12,000 pounds) of food with us. The sector commander was extremely happy and said, “This will be good. We won’t be going empty-handed.”
When we arrived at this make-shift refugee camp, we saw a series of small shelters. The shelters were nothing more than sticks and branches laid on top of each other with bits of cardboard, paper, or plastic placed together to try and block the blistering sun.
One of the Sudanese translators that was with us remarked, “This must be their marketplace; no one could live in shelters this small.” As we got out of our vehicles, we saw not just a few, but hundreds of shelters with 4 or 5 family members stuffed inside. As we visited the huts, we saw hungry faces and the unmistakable signs of malnutrition – bloated stomachs, thin arms, and red hair that was falling out in patches. In every hut there were the hungry and the sick.
Dysentery was sweeping the camp, due to the contaminated water they were drinking. Their water came from a dry river bed where they had dug to find water. They drank and bathed in this water, as did their animals. The water was not clear and clean but more like motor oil. It struck me, “they are drinking death.” The water was poison, but there was no alternative. It was either die of thirst immediately or dehydration later. At least with the latter there is the chance that someone could help them before it is too late.
Even as I write this, I am struck by the fact that it is probably already too late for some of the sick little ones that I saw. The blessing is that in addition to the food, we were able to share the gospel with them. They had never met an American or a Christian before.
Darfur continues to sink deeper and deeper into catastrophic disaster. The political situation is stalled. While the world waits for a diplomatic solution, children continue to die. Even in the midst of this, there is hope. I spent a lot of time visiting with and ministering to the African Union (AU) troops. The African Union has split Darfur into 8 different sectors, and on this trip we touched down in six of those sectors. The African Union force in Darfur is comprised of some 28 different nations. There are approximately 7,000 military and police that are now working in Darfur. I would estimate that approximately 2,000 of them are Christians. When I was there, many asked if we would bring training to prepare them as missionaries for when they return to their home countries. What an opportunity! Not only are the AU in Darfur to bring the light and love of Christ to the people there, but there is an opportunity to send them back to their own countries as missionaries. That’s 28 different African nations! In addition to this, we witnessed a couple hundred soldiers confess Jesus as Lord and Savior, as we shared with them at their bases. We are working right now to bring on-line training and teams of teachers over to complete their request.
We continue to work with the African Union to bring desperately needed aid to the most difficult and unreached regions. On this last trip, AU helicopters and trucks took our team to various locations that had not been reached by other organizations because the areas were too dangerous to go unescorted. These are areas and people that are totally untouched with the gospel.
Please pray with us for the people of Darfur. Pray that we will be able to get the desperately needed aid to them on a more consistent basis. Pray that more of the unreached people in Darfur will not only be exposed to the gospel but come to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Matt 24:14(NASB)
In Christ’s Love,
Pastor Gary Kusunoki
It's About Giving 