God, You Are Able to Cross Us.
God, You Are Able to Cross Us.
by Global Partner, Silas
As unrest in Sudan continues, our global partners wrestle with the decision to evacuate from their locations or remain. With the fighting intensifying, Silas finally made the decision to leave Khartoum. Here is a short summary of his journey.
The ministry of CTM has been growing very fast in these past few months. So many from a Muslim faith background have been accepting the Lord Jesus daily. Due to some unrest in the ministry center we were in, we shifted to begin some new work in Khartoum. Since moving, we have established seven preaching points, or house churches, that are growing and learning the Word of God.
We had been planning for and started implementing several activities. These included training and developing missionary leaders for three unreached people groups as well as planting new churches in different parts of the capital city of Khartoum. All these plans were on a successful trajectory.
Then on April 15, the lives of so many in Sudan turned upside down. So many lives were lost in just a few short hours. Blasts boomed like the thunder of a rainstorm. Helicopters, jet fighters, and artilleries were bombing everywhere. Young and old all over the country panicked.
That same day, Pastor Paul was planning to come to Khartoum for a conference. He called me to say that he will be arriving at 2:00 pm.
“Silas, is the situation all right?” I remember him asking.
“Khartoum is on fire!” I told him. “There might not be a way to come.”
Soon, Paul called me to say that fighting also began in Al Fashir. A few minutes later, my sister called me to say that the bombs were raining down everywhere in their area. A bomb fell onto our neighbor's house killing two inside. As she was still talking, a bomb fell on her house while my two nephews were in bed sleeping. Both were wounded and the house caught on fire, but they were not too seriously injured. With nowhere to stay, they decided to run away and leave the area. Bombs continued to hit the area.
The war began to cover all regions of Sudan. Meanwhile, in Khartoum, the war intensified. There were thousands of fatalities. Bodies lay everywhere. Hospital beds were full. I was left wondering what was going to happen next. In the evening, the power went out and the water was cut off. The temperature was so hot. I thought there was no way out. Roads and airports were all closed. I thought I should run through to South Sudan but staying seemed safer than risking a journey on the road. I decided to wait. I waited for another 10 days to see if it might be a bit better. The situation worsened.
An American friend, Lori, called me to say that there were people going with Red Cross to South Sudan that could carry me along with them. With no guarantee of safety, they were unwilling to take me.
I told Lori that there is a way to Wadi Halfa on the border of Egypt. I could go through Wadi Halfa and up to Egypt. She said that there was an American family she knew in Khartoum who also wanted to go with me. They were willing to pay for my ticket if we traveled together. We arranged to go to the bus station at 3 am under the cover of night. It was dangerous to move at night, but we feared moving around during the daytime even more. We made it to the station and purchased the tickets to Wadi Halfa. I paused at the lake and recorded a prayer to God. With Egypt behind me, looking back to Sudan, I prayed:
We had been planning for and started implementing several activities. These included training and developing missionary leaders for three unreached people groups as well as planting new churches in different parts of the capital city of Khartoum. All these plans were on a successful trajectory.
Then on April 15, the lives of so many in Sudan turned upside down. So many lives were lost in just a few short hours. Blasts boomed like the thunder of a rainstorm. Helicopters, jet fighters, and artilleries were bombing everywhere. Young and old all over the country panicked.
That same day, Pastor Paul was planning to come to Khartoum for a conference. He called me to say that he will be arriving at 2:00 pm.
“Silas, is the situation all right?” I remember him asking.
“Khartoum is on fire!” I told him. “There might not be a way to come.”
Soon, Paul called me to say that fighting also began in Al Fashir. A few minutes later, my sister called me to say that the bombs were raining down everywhere in their area. A bomb fell onto our neighbor's house killing two inside. As she was still talking, a bomb fell on her house while my two nephews were in bed sleeping. Both were wounded and the house caught on fire, but they were not too seriously injured. With nowhere to stay, they decided to run away and leave the area. Bombs continued to hit the area.
The war began to cover all regions of Sudan. Meanwhile, in Khartoum, the war intensified. There were thousands of fatalities. Bodies lay everywhere. Hospital beds were full. I was left wondering what was going to happen next. In the evening, the power went out and the water was cut off. The temperature was so hot. I thought there was no way out. Roads and airports were all closed. I thought I should run through to South Sudan but staying seemed safer than risking a journey on the road. I decided to wait. I waited for another 10 days to see if it might be a bit better. The situation worsened.
An American friend, Lori, called me to say that there were people going with Red Cross to South Sudan that could carry me along with them. With no guarantee of safety, they were unwilling to take me.
I told Lori that there is a way to Wadi Halfa on the border of Egypt. I could go through Wadi Halfa and up to Egypt. She said that there was an American family she knew in Khartoum who also wanted to go with me. They were willing to pay for my ticket if we traveled together. We arranged to go to the bus station at 3 am under the cover of night. It was dangerous to move at night, but we feared moving around during the daytime even more. We made it to the station and purchased the tickets to Wadi Halfa. I paused at the lake and recorded a prayer to God. With Egypt behind me, looking back to Sudan, I prayed:
Father, I want to give you special thanks for this morning. We are so thankful that Lord we are here today. This is the Egyptian border. We are crossing the Nile to Aswan and I am so thankful that Lord Jesus Christ you have been able to bring me up to this point. I thank you so much because you are my God, and you are able to cross us. God as we cross, please help us to cross this route and be with us, Lord, as we cross. And we thank you because you are so good, God. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
I journeyed up to Cairo. With the help of a travel agent, I was able to secure a visa to Uganda. Uganda requires an online visa, and I had no credit card to process the form. After days of travel, I finally made it to Uganda to be with my family on Tuesday.
But my mind is linked back to our brothers and sisters whom we left back in that situation. I was fortunate to be able to evacuate. Today, some are calling asking for me to send them airtime (pre-paid cell phone minutes) because they are in places where airtime is finished. So many people are struggling under similar conditions. Food scarcity is a big issue.
But my mind is linked back to our brothers and sisters whom we left back in that situation. I was fortunate to be able to evacuate. Today, some are calling asking for me to send them airtime (pre-paid cell phone minutes) because they are in places where airtime is finished. So many people are struggling under similar conditions. Food scarcity is a big issue.
Silas records a video prayer log as he was leaving Sudan, waiting to cross into Egypt
Join us in praying for the following requests from Silas. Post a comment below after you have prayed.
Please pray for God's protection and provision for our brothers and sisters.
Pray for Christians in this community. They are experiencing two sides of suffering. They are being persecuted within their Muslim communities and the unrest is affecting everybody.
Pray for God's grace and mercy to fall in the hearts of both sides engaging in this war.
Pray for Christians in this community. They are experiencing two sides of suffering. They are being persecuted within their Muslim communities and the unrest is affecting everybody.
Pray for God's grace and mercy to fall in the hearts of both sides engaging in this war.
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Praying!
Praying for safety, provision, and for the gospel to spread in the midst of this.
Praying!!!