Violence in South Sudan felt in U.S.

Stand Firm by Timothy Fountain http://www.sfgoodshepherd.org 

 

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I ask your prayers for the people of South Sudan, in particular the large Dinka and Nuer tribes who are the antagonists in much of the current unrest in their young nation.

Local news is covering the distress this is causing in the local South Sudanese community in Sioux Falls.

Tomorrow I am sitting down with Adol Elijah Kang, a local leader in the South Sudanese community.  A Dinka, he laments that members of his tribe and Nuer neighbors here in Sioux Falls are divided by the conflict,

“People from both tribes are hearing from home that family members have been killed.  Everyone is very angry and the tribes don’t want to be with each other right now, even in church.”

He met with Nuer people here.  He was the only Dinka in the room, and appealed to them for unity that will help build the country,

“We need to pray together and come together for our future.”

Moses Joknhial II, whose late father was an influence in inter-tribal unity in Panyang Province, posted a message on the Facebook page of Rebuilding South Sudan Through Education, which he founded and of which I am a board member,

“Please pray for peace in South Sudan. Insecurity and development don’t go together. Instability and development don’t go together. Peace and development go together, stability and development go together. We want peace in the newest nation, South Sudan.”

I can only echo his call for prayer.  Our current project trips are called off until stability is regained.  But more important than any particular project is prayer for peace and unity among the people of the country, the emergence of strong and competent national leadership, and for God to guide the nation into a blessed future.

If you have a South Sudanese presence in your community, reach out to them as a partner in prayer for peace, as requested by Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul Yak and the Episcopal Church of Sudan and South Sudan.