Audio slideshow: Across the two Sudans

On March 21, 2012August 17, 2012 By Jacob LeeIn Uncategorized

BBC has posted a great slideshow of pictures of the two Sudan’s. The people of North and South Sudan, as well as those in North Uganda and Northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, are very dear to me and R.A.U.. Please continue in your prayers that King Jesus would be worshiped and honored by these beautiful people!

Click on title below to see the slideshow:

Audio slideshow: Across the two Sudan’s

“Border clashes and rows about oil wealth cloud the relationship between South Sudan and Sudan eight months after the south seceded, with some fearing a new outbreak of open warfare.

One man with a rare insight into the two countries is photographer Tim McKulka. He spent five years traveling to every state in the united Sudan – then Africa’s biggest country – to produce a book We’ll Make Our Homes Here: Sudan at the Referendum, which will soon be available for free on iTunes.

He explains why he decided to undertake such an ambitious project.

Photography by Tim McKulka, interview by James Copnall. Slideshow production by Emma Lynch. Publication date 13 March 2012.”

—————-

*My upcoming trip has been delayed but Lord willing I will be able to leave soon. Please continue in your prayers. Thank you!

Dear Praying Friends and Family,

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth!” -Psalm 46:10.

I pray that this newsletter update finds you contemplating the greatness of God and praying that He would be exalted among the nations! May His kingdom come and His will be done here on earth as it is being done in heaven!

There have been a number of exciting developments since I have last written. I hope you will hang in there and read this rather long newsletter all the way to the end.

First, a prayer which Carol and I have been praying for 26 years was answered on February 14th. Kenny Danley proposed on Valentine’s Day to our beautiful daughter Anna. He is a godly young man and we are happy to have him in the Lee family. He did it all proper too: on the Saturday before, he asked for my permission and blessing to marry my daughter! The Danley’s and Lee’s had fun planning the surprise event in our home. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Second, R.A.U. has been given an official Land Title document from the federal government of Uganda for our 12 acres on the Ugandan/South Sudan border. We had local and state documents but greatly desired this federal documentation as well. Now, after 13 months, we have it! For those of you who have attempted to work with government bureaucracies you know that receiving this Federal Land Title is God’s grace in action. Third, by God’s grace and the generosity of God’s people, enough funds have come in for us to begin working on the walls of the R.A.U. Guesthouse. More details are below.

Kenny and Anna on their engagement night Feb 14, 2012

Thank you for prayers and support! The R.A.U. team and I believe it is time to take the next step in our building plan. As you know from previous newsletters our first goal after obtaining our 12 acres on the South Sudan/Uganda border is to build a Guesthouse. The Guesthouse is where Carol and I will reside. It will also be the R.A.U. headquarters and a place to host ministry teams. Carol and I would like to make our move there by next Fall. Please pray for Carol and I that we will stay true to our calling to live and work beside our Christian brothers and sisters in Uganda, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo as well as other regions in North Africa! African missionary and explorer David Livingston words reverberate in my heart, “If a commission by an earthly king is considered an honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?”

The foundation was completed in October ’11. Through the faithful gifts of God’s people we have about a fourth of the funds necessary to complete the Guesthouse. I say “about a fourth” because inflation is close to 30% in Uganda and over 70% in South Sudan. The dollar has also been declining in value. Last Fall we were getting 2,800 Ugandan shillings per dollar and now the exchange rate is hovering around 2,300-2,400. As near as we can figure, we have enough money now to get a good start on the exterior and interior walls or as they call it in Africa-“the super structure”. One climbs over a mountain not by leaping over it but by taking one careful step at a time. By faith we are taking this next step!

“Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God” (MissionaryWilliam Carey)

“Christ wants not nibblers of the possible, but grabbers of the impossible.” (Missionary C.T. Studd)

All the walls will be made with locally formed clay bricks. We should be able to purchase the steel and cement in Moyo for the concrete pillars and support beams. Like with the slab, we will employ locals to help with the labor. Working with 20 +- laborers each day gives many opportunities to share the love of Jesus in word and deed. We pay a fair wage and provide lunch for the workers. Lord willing, sometime in the latter part of March I am planning a trip there to help oversee the building. We would also like to see a well drilled near the Guesthouse.

Gathering of Nile River sand for the building of the R.A.U. Guesthouse walls. The foundation of the Guesthouse is in the rear of the picture.

Unloading Bricks…looking North. South Sudan hills in the background.

Unloading bricks…looking South

The start of the R.A.U. Guesthouse walls

Walls going up!

(More building pics here )

A second goal in my upcoming trip would be to obtain VAT exclusion paperwork in Kampala. Import taxes are very, very high in Uganda! This paperwork would keep us from paying excessive import taxes on anything we ship into the country for ministry purposes. This will involve seeing government officials and making our appeal to them. R.A.U. is a registered non-profit in Uganda which should be an asset in our obtaining this paperwork. Please pray that we can obtain a VAT exclusion.

Traveling downtown Kampala by motorcycle taxi (Boda-boda)

I had mentioned in earlier newsletters that we would like to purchase the 3-4 acres which are directly between the R.A.U. land and the main road. The owners have now offered to sell it but their price is too high. These acres would be very beneficial as they would give us more road access which would greatly enhance our future ministry. Please pray with us that we can purchase this land for $3,500-4,500. The owners must agree to this price and the money made available. May the Lord’s will be done!

While working we will also make use of every opportunity for ministry in Kampala and the immediate areas around the R.A.U. grounds in South Sudan and North Uganda. I especially look forward to spending some more time with Pastor Edward from First Baptist Church Kajo Kachi South Sudan and his Darfur pastoral students. These young men are preparing to go and serve in their native land of Darfur (North) Sudan as pastors. It will be an honor to spend time with them studying God’s precious Word.

Darfur Pastoral Students training in South Sudan

One of R.A.U.’s theme verses: “And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:2)

In addition I am working on the details of spending several days in Khartoum (North) Sudan seeking to bring encouragement to the believers and making some long term contacts for future ministry there. Khartoum is the capital of (North) Sudan.

Khartoum Sudan-The Blue and White Nile joining together

There are a number of strong and vibrant churches there, especially in and among the large refuge community. Over the years many people fled to Khartoum, e.g. from South Sudan, Eritrea, Chad, Darfur, and the Nuba Mountains.

Refugees

During my trip last Summer I was able to obtain a (North) Sudanese visa at the Sudan Embassy located in Kampala. Please pray that another Sudanese visa would be granted to me. I have a deep burden for our brethren there. RAU’s vision and mission is to minister in word and deed, in such places as Khartoum. We want to be an encouragement to our brothers and sisters there that they may press on with making Jesus known in a very difficult place. Our ministry with them would include teaching of the Word as well as ministering to the physical needs of the brethren with the love that has been poured into our hearts through Jesus Christ! I hope this trip will be the first of many trips to bring such encouragement to our family in Khartoum.

Khartoum Street

“Let my heart be broken with the things that break God’s heart” (Bob Pierce, World Vision Founder)

Kevin Turner, President of SWI, has spent time in Khartoum. I received excellent training at SWI’s D.A.R.T. (Disaster Assistance Response Training) Conference. Kevin has traveled extensively around the world on behalf of King Jesus and He is the dear friend and brother who led the two trips to Pakistan of which I had the privilege to be a part. Through Kevin I have received some solid contacts in Khartoum. They will be able to guide us in the best ways that you and I could be a help to our brothers and sisters there.

One of the contacts is ________. _______ grew up in a rich Muslim home in Khartoum. He was tasked by a cleric to target Christian leaders, pastors, and evangelists. He especially targeted those which had converted from Islam and who were actively serving Christ. He asked his cleric for a Bible so that he could read it and be better equipped to win people back to Islam. When reading the Bible he had many questions for the cleric which he could not answer. He began asking the “real God” to reveal Himself to him. Through various means God did reveal Himself to _______. After three years of seeking he repented and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for his salvation. I am reminded of what the great preacher D.M. Lloyd-Jones once said, “One can get soaked by staying out in a drizzle all day or in a downpour for a couple minutes …so the Holy Spirit works differently in different people (My paraphrase…see also John 3:5-8).”

After trusting Christ for his salvation he was disowned by his family and lost all his considerable inheritance. Since that time he has been beaten many times for his faith. Nevertheless, he presses on to know Jesus and to make him known among his fellow Sudanese. With his help I will have many opportunities to share the love of Jesus.

“He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose”

(Missionary Jim Elliot)

Gravestone in Khartoum….I look forward to meeting this precious sister in Christ!

The two other contacts are brothers. These two young men have a longstanding and dear relationship with Kevin and SWI. Here is what Kevin had to say about them to me, “… _____ and_____ are the sons of our past SWI country director in _______. I have known them since they were small boys. They have both been in Sudan as refugees for some time now and I was able to make a trip into Khartoum a few years ago and visit with them shortly after they were exiled there. _____ is currently leading a group there and his brother is the song leader. These young men are some of the dearest men I could ever introduce you to. ____ and _____ have suffered much from the situation in _____ and have also suffered much for the Word. _____ calls me his father and I believe you will understand how that phrase expresses our mutual affection. Many years ago, while living in _______, the Lord clearly spoke to me about laying on hands, particularly with _____. He is definitely called and is serving in a shepherd role. If you take the time and listen to some of his testimonies you will surely be blessed. I want to clearly articulate that _____ is a true servant and does not play any of the games that we have all experienced with some of the nationals. He is there in Khartoum and is living with his ______, ______ twin brother, who is a medical doctor and is also in exile there in Khartoum…”

It is my hope that R.A.U. can develop a long standing relationship with these brothers so that we can stand with them, the church in Khartoum, and believers throughout Sudan. What an honor it is for us to have the opportunity to strengthen and encourage our Sudanese brothers and sisters in Christ who are spreading the fame of King Jesus in their homeland!

“We are debtors to every man to give him the gospel in the same measure in which we have received it” (P.F. Bresee)

“…Repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His Name to all nations…” See:Luke 24:44-49

Below is a list of the most immediate needs/goals for your prayers (See 2 Corinthians 1:11). Please pray about partnering financially with us (See 2 Corinthians 8:1-9:15 ). R.A.U. commits to use each dollar faithfully for the Lord’s glory and the spread of His fame! I am a strong believer in the fact that where God leads He provides. Missionary Hudson Taylor put it this way, “God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply”
Pray for wisdom and protection in building the walls of the R.A.U. Guesthouse and the funds needed to complete it. With continued high inflation and the weakening of the dollar our estimate remains at $30,000.00 +-.
Pray that we can get the needed VAT paperwork in Kampala.
Pray that in the midst of work we walk faithfully through all the opens doors the Lord gives to proclaim His Word to believers and the lost.
Pray for the ministry trip to Khartoum and the needed funding for such ministry. The more we have the more we can share.
Funds for a well/water storage tanks on R.A.U.’s land: $7-10,000.00
Durable used 4 wheel drive vehicle. This vehicle is a necessity for the type of ministry in which we will be involved. We have been told the best vehicle to get is a Toyota Land Cruiser HZJ78 (See sample picture here) with a snorkel breather (for crossing streams) and a winch. We will be selling our car and truck here ($15,000+-) to help pay for this vehicle. A used Toyota Land Cruiser HZJ78 runs from $30-40,000 …ouch!
Fruit Trees (They begin to bear fruit in about six years): $5,000.00+
Moving Costs: unknown at this time. We would like to move between August and October ‘12! Pray for the sale of our properties here in Texas.

Thank You!

Checks may be written to “Lifegate Ministries-R.A.U.” and mailed to:

Jacob Lee-RAU

3063 North Highway 123 Bypass Apt. #415

Seguin, Texas 78155

When moved, Carol and I would love to host you in a short term ministry outreach! I would be honored to speak in your church about our vision if the opportunity presents itself. It is privilege to be Christ’s ambassador among the unreached and to partner with you. Thank you!

Let us spread the fame of King Jesus so that He receives His due worship and praise!

Propelled by God’s Loving and Sovereign Grace,

Jacob Lee

PS: Please take the time to watch this short YouTube clip of Leonard Ravenhill from many years ago. Leonard Ravenhill was one of my first mentors in the faith. Each time I listen to this exhortation I am greatly encouraged to press on in spreading the fame of King Jesus where He is not known. May it be an encouragement to you as well!

“On Kony and viruses or how should we respond to “bad guys?”

On March 12, 2012March 24, 2012 By Jacob LeeIn Uncategorized2 Comments

Our “Reaching Africa’s Unreached” land is located right in the middle of Joseph Kony’s old stomping ground on the Ugandan/South Sudan border. I have personally met many who lived through his 20+years of brutality in Northern Uganda and Southern Sudan. Kony ranks right up there with Hitler and Stalin. It is now thought that he is somewhere in Northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (we minister there too) or Central Africa Republic. I do pray he is found soon and stopped.
I have mixed feelings about Invisible Children’s KONY 2012 video. I have read many stories and responses to the video. The two I have below have been the most helpful to me in understanding the context of Joseph Kony and the LRA.

The first story is by veteran African missionaries, Drs. Scott and Jenifer Myhre. Their insightful perspective reveals the wisdom of Christ.

The second story is by an actual Kony survivor. It is entitle: Kony 2012: A survivor’s perspective . This piece is very moving and shows how the love of Christ keeps one from bitterness and revenge.

May the Lord use both these stories for His glory and the strengthening of all His people so that their zeal is with knowledge (Romans 10:2)!

—-

“On Kony and viruses or how should we respond to “bad guys?” by Drs. Scott and Jenifer Myhre

A couple of days ago Scott and I watched the KONY 2012 video made by Invisible Children. I wasn’t entirely comfortable with the message and methods, but like millions of other people I shared it forward in fb as a thought-provoking piece that draws attention to African children. I only watched it once. In the last 48 hours this video has exploded across social media, and because we lived in Uganda for 17 years a few people have asked me what I think. So here goes some reflections on a sunny Friday morning in Kenya, far from those front lines (but close enough to many others that this won’t be a well-researched long-pondered post, but like all of them, simply personal immediate reflections from my heart).

First, what I LIKE about Invisible Children.

Eight million children die in the world every year. Four million of those deaths occur in Africa, invisibly to most of the rest of the world. The people with money and power and weapons and decisions are not often confronted with the most significant realities of our current time. So when talented passionate young people with resources pour their lives into making the invisible visible, that is a step towards change. We are a global community and the voices of the most vulnerable will not be heard, their faces will not be seen, unless someone with cameras and internet access and computers and the ability to write and speak in widely accessible languages, takes time and money to do so. When Jesus was walking around Palestine, he stopped to touch and listen to and heal very marginalized people, often to the dismay of his supporters.

The Lord’s Resistance Army has left a decade-long trail of abduction, murder, rape, arson, enslavement, war, and chaos in a swathe across central Africa. Read Aboke Girls (http://www.amazon.com/Girls-Children-Abducted-Northern-Uganda/dp/9970022563) for a chilling first-hand account of their tactics in raiding a girls’ secondary school and capturing 139 13-16 year old girls for sexual slavery and use as child soldiers (109 were rescued when a lone Italian nun who was one of their teachers, and a Ugandan employee, tracked the raiders on foot and asked for the girls back). Or watch “War Dance” (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=documentary+uganda+music+competition+&x=10&y=18), a well-done documentary about an LRA-affected community of children entering a music competition in Uganda. This is palpable, unadorned evil, flourishing in a vacuum of order and resources. Contrary to uninformed comments by an American political commentator recently, this is NOT a liberation movement fighting for Christian values. The beliefs and methods of the LRA are demonic.

The video interviews Luis Ocampo, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (who also has his hands full with corrupt politicians from Kenya who instigated post-election violence here a few years ago). There is a clear message that the leader of the LRA, Joseph Kony, should be brought to justice. This is a Biblical theme. Some people water down the message of Jesus. Peace and Love are strong words that can not exist in a messed-up world without Justice.

Invisible Children has brought this story to the world. And has used some of the resultant revenue for tangible good. My own daughter Julia slept in a dorm built by the Invisible Children organization at a school in Gulu when her Ugandan football team played in a national tournament there. She was the same age as most abductees. I was thankful for the solid walls and doors that kept her safe at night.

Now, what bothered me.

The video seems to be as much about the excitement of a popular movement as it is about the reality of war in Africa. There is some way that bracelets and posters and marches and kits kind of bother me, can’t quite put my finger on it, but by simplifying the problem and making the response a feel-good we’re-cool party, something is lost. This is most grating in the sequence with the cute blonde little American boy, son of the author, pointing to the picture of Kony as the “bad guy”. With a reference to Star Wars. I give the creative team some benefit of doubt, perhaps this helps a wider audience relate to the problem. But for me it was too cutesy, to trivializing. One “bad guy” is not the root cause of the problem. Kony only continues to survive, and perhaps thrive, because the issues he feeds on are broader and deeper.

1. Africans kill each other because they believe they have to for the survival of their own children. The Acoli people felt marginalized post-Amin (who was a northerner as well) when Museveni came to power. There were many small rebel movements who did not buy into the unifying post-Amin government. This is the root of the Rwandan genocide as well. And I suspect many of us would be willing to fight against a group (another tribe, etc) if we believed it was a choice between them or our kids.

2. Adults join rebel movements when they are desperate. You don’t find the well-off taking those risks. It’s easier to believe the “other” tribe is a danger to your survival when your survival hangs by a thread. Poverty and fear are the context for the LRA, and those are complex problems that require life-long investment. Perhaps life-ending investment. Jesus defeated evil by laying down his life. Christians today can not defeat evil by pushing a share button or attending a fundraiser. Those are good things, but at some level a bigger sacrifice is required. To build schools and bring clean water, to protect the widow and orphan, to care for the environment creatively so that food and fuel are adequate to sustain life, to embody the love of Jesus in a way that the poor can hear and see and touch and be transformed. I know this sounds hard, and I don’t mean it to sound self-righteous. We struggle with this issues, with our natural tendency to walk across the road and ignore the beat-up man on the ground. I hope the excitement and awareness of this generation will propel hundreds and thousands to turn away from a life devoted to comfort and enter into the hard and dangerous work of teaching and healing and preaching. It won’t be easy, or quick. Real solutions rarely are.

3. Children join rebel movements against their will, but then they stay. Because they’ve been traumatically psychologically injured and enslaved in a way that is powerful and binding. They are targeted because this is only possible with humans who are at critical formative stages of development. Removing Kony from his position of leadership is a good thing. But there are tens of thousands of children who are now in their teens and 20’s, who need reconciliation with their communities. Who need land and jobs and homes and an alternate way of life. This requires counselors, teachers, medical people, artists, parental influences, pastors.

4. The “big man” is part of African culture in a way that Americans perhaps do not appreciate. We Americans are egalitarian. Anyone can do anything. Africans have more respect for elders, and leaders. Putting one man’s name on campaign-like posters all over the world could backfire. People could respect him as someone able to evade international capture. People could come to believe in his spiritual powers even more firmly. His status and ability to inspire fear could grow. Africans who resent western interference could actually begin to protect him.

5. The LRA is not the biggest problem that African children face. Poor care for pregnant women, unsafe deliveries. Preventable infections. Malaria. HIV-AIDS. Malnutrition. Abysmal schooling. These are killing 3,990,000 of the 4 million. Again the solutions here can not be condensed into a bright red one-word poster. But as long as this video is circulating and generating discussion, let us think about the invisible majority who are taken by the chronic background of high mortality. I watched two babies die this week directly related to the health care strike in Kenya. Corruption on the part of politicians, and self-promoting desperation on the part of health care workers. I just got off the phone following up the rape of several young girls in our community. Cover-up on the part of parents, and police. There are forces of evil at work here, bigger than Kony. Some reports say that the LRA has dwindled to about 250 combatants. Those are valuable lives that deserve justice and rescue, but let’s pour ourselves into bigger problems too.

Perhaps oversimplification is inevitable in a culture raised on the one-minute sound bite. Our attention spans are limited. Few people are probably still reading this far into this post. If you really want to get the full picture, here is a link to a blog that links further on to dozens of articles and resources: http://rachelheldevans.com/invisible-children-kony-2012-resources

My problem with the critics, too.

It’s always easy to find something to criticize when 32 million people jump on a bandwagon. I won’t say much here, but there is one issue I can’t ignore. Many of the critical comments imply that the UPDF, the Ugandan army, is just as bad the LRA. Having been personally rescued from rebels by the UPDF, I have to say this is not a fair comparison. They have done some bad things, as has the American military. But as African armies go, I would rather meet the UPDF in a remote jungle than any other I can think of. Ugandan political decisions have taken a bad turn in the last couple of years in suppressing dissent. And whenever you have young men with guns some bad things will happen. But the UPDF is a force of stability, working in harsh conditions, with minimal resources. They are in no way comparable to the LRA which only exists to prey upon innocent civilians. That said, supporting the UPDF has little impact on Kony now. They must stay vigilant, but in reality Kony has fled far from even the border of Uganda for many years now. It is really an African Union issue.

Here is the link to Invisible Children’s response to the critics: http://www.invisiblechildren.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/critiques.html

Parting comments.

My hour to post is almost up. So I want to end with two bigger picture comments about viruses and Kony. First, while the video has gone “viral”, one could say that Kony himself is like a virus. A harmful, infective particle that has to commandeer the resources of healthy cells to exist and propagate. But as Solzhenitsyn wrote, the line between good and evil runs through every human heart. Kony’s heart, and mine. Do I believe this man is redeemable? Am I? Well, is there any evil too great for God to forgive? Kony is a human being, not a virus. As are his victims. We can learn from our brothers and sisters in Rwanda and South Africa, and from those who are attempting peace and reconciliation in Northern Uganda, and South Sudan. Africans lead the world in forgiveness. The success of rebuilding Rwanda came from a military intervention to stop the genocide and establish safety (a local military, after the failure of the international peacekeepers). Then a public, organized, system of trial for bringing the leaders to justice. And then a community-level system for re-assimilating the perpetrators, for telling the truth, for acts of forgiveness. Africans know how to do this in ways that are amazing and humbling, and we shouldn’t get in the way.

Second, Jesus and politics do mix, just not in the way most think. Jesus was a politically challenging figure. It is good for Christians to think about and involve themselves in issues like war and international courts and school buildings and media. But we shouldn’t confuse our American ideals with Christian truths. Sometimes they are parallel, but often they are not. Even as Jesus lived on earth, much of what he said was politically shocking and confusing to his followers and detractors alike. Here is the reading from NT Wright today, in Lent for Everyone (Friday, week 2):

But what is the real battle? For Jesus, it wasn’t the battle they all expected him to fight — with the occupying Roman troops, or with Herod and his supporters, or perhaps even with the Sadducees and their would-be aristocratic clique in charge of Jerusalem and the Temple. Jesus’ followers probably thought he would fight one or all of them. Having watched as he did many other remarkable things, it was quite easy for them to believe that he could fight a supernatural battle against these natural enemies. Jesus himself spoke, later on, of being able to call several legions of angels to his help. But on that occasion he refused; because that was the wrong sort of battle to be fighting. In fact, as gradually becomes clear, the real battle is against violence itself, against the normal human wickedness that shows itself in the desire for brute force to win the day. If you fight fire with fire, fire still wins. And Jesus has come to win the victory over fire itself, over the rule of the bullies and the power-brokers, in favour of the poor, the meek, the mourners, the pure in heart. It is precisely because Jesus is right in the middle of the real battle that it is vital not to confuse it with other battles. The real battle, then, is against the real enemy, who is not the flesh-and-blood enemy of foreign soldiers, or even renegade Israelites. (When the Romans crushed the Jewish rebellion in ad 66—70, more Jews were killed by other Jews, in bitter factional fighting, than were killed by the Romans themselves — and they killed quite a lot.) The real enemy is the power of darkness, the insidious, sub-personal force of death, deceit and destruction that goes in scripture by the name of ‘the Satan’, which means ‘the accuser’. It goes by other names, too; a familiar one was ‘Beelzebub’, which means literally ‘Lord of the flies’.

Let us follow in His steps, into harm’s way, to spotlight injustice, to walk alongside the suffering, to lend whatever gifts God has blessed us with to bless others. And let us remember that our real enemy is not Kony, but the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms, the forces that will only be overcome by prayer and service, by the blood of Jesus and the living word and testimony of His followers who do not love their lives unto death (Rev. 12:11).

——–

This second story is by an actual Kony survivor. It is entitle: