“And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.” – Acts 5:41

I was reading Acts 5:17-41 today. That was a pretty amazing time and the apostles were filled with the Spirit of God. Gamaliel told the Sanhedrin in vs. 38 and 39 “…leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

My mind was immediately brought to our CHE work in South Sudan. In general, I feel some scepticism about the many humanitarian efforts that go on in Africa (including some in which I have been involved), and I feel that many of these efforts cause more harm than good.

Somehow though, I felt that our recent trip to Sudan was different. I felt that the Spirit of God was present in a way that was stronger than in any other activity that I have been involved in the past. These words in Acts seemed to ring true that if this work is from God, no one will be able to stop it, but if it is of human origin (perhaps like a well intended humanitarian effort on our part) then it will fail. Of course if you read on in Acts you will notice that the apostles got beaten, so everything is not always warm and fuzzy even if God’s Spirit is present.

I can’t say that I look forward to being beaten, nor do I have a desire to live in South Sudan.I love Kenya and Uganda and enjoy being there and feel comfortable. But if the Spirit of God is descending on this troubled part of the planet, it will be amazing.

So, please pray as often as you can remember for these areas in Tonj and Akot in South Sudan where we have introduced CHE. Especially pray that the Spirit of God will envelope this whole area.