Rescue In the Jungle

Many of you have heard or read about the 15 hostages in Colombia that have been recovered and freed. If not, you can read about it here. Twelve of them were Colombian, and three of them were Americans. They have been in captivity in the jungle of Colombia in something like a concentration camp environment operated by the guerrilla army in Colombia. These guerrilla armies have basically held the country under their control for 40 years. In addition to the 15 hostages recovered today, it is thought that they still have 700+ other hostages (according to CBS World News).

When Bill Clinton was in office, he executed a program to help the Colombian government, law enforcement, and armies to regain control of their country. President Bush fully supported this effort when he took over. Throughout the last 10 years or so, the American government has spent something like five to six billion dollars to help strengthen and train Colombian intelligence and military efforts.

Today's rescue was an entirely Colombian effort executed by Colombian intelligence and military forces. Apparently, the rescue went off without a hitch. Ingrid Betancourt, a French-Colombian politician, was one of the individuals rescued. Of all the hostages held in Colombia right now (including the other possible 700+), she was the highest profile. She was the person the rebel guerrillas used as leverage to get what they wanted from the government. The guerrillas have lost an important "weapon" as a result of this rescue.

When I was watching the news report, I had tears in my eyes. I was excited that these people were rescued and that they can be reunited with their families. However, there was more behind my tears. It was the fact that this was an entirely Colombian operation. The US has been supporting them with funding and training for about a decade, and now they're at a point where they have very effectively won a battle against the guerrillas. Sure, the war is still going, but this seems to be a HUGE victory on so many levels. They are becoming more self-sufficient and successful at carrying these operations out on their own.

You know that my brother (Vernon) and his wife (Amber) as well as Chet's sister (Megan) and her husband (Mike) are involved in ministry in Southern Sudan. My brother and Amber have started an organization called His Voice for Sudan, and Megan and Mike work with a church in Midland, Texas that became involved with the ministry in Sudan when my brother was on staff there.

From the beginning, my brother's heart was to help the Sudanese people to become self-sufficient. He did not want to create a situation where the Sudanese in that area become permanently dependent on American churches. Instead, his goal has been to help develop and train the people in the communities to be able to take over for themselves... to produce their own food, educate their children, sell their goods, improve their health, and most importantly, to grow to love the Lord and train their children according to His Word. They work with the Southern Sudanese church leaders to achieve their goals. Whenever they start a new ministry or community development project, they hire all indigenous people and train them. These people will then turn around and train future generations. The goal is that, eventually, these communities will be strong enough to invest their own earnings into the development of the regions around them.

When I heard the story about the rescue in Colombia tonight, I was so encouraged! I just couldn't help but think about the ministry in Sudan (and other ministries to countries in similar situations) and get excited! These "small" victories are worth it all! All the money, investment of time, danger, hardship, heartache.... Christians all over America and Europe are involved with efforts to help the people of Southern Sudan rise up from under the oppression they've suffered for so long. The HARD work is worth it! These people are worth it! Ultimately, even if their circumstances on this planet never change, it is worth it to encourage them with the Truth of the Word. Their eternity is at stake. May the Word go into all Sudan and bear fruit. May there be a turning point in Sudan that brings peace and unity between the North and the South. May the Lord use the Christians of Southern Sudan to impact and change the rest of Southern Sudan, Northern Sudan, and the world! May the people of Southern Sudan execute a great rescue operation in their own country!

If you are interested in learning more about His Voice for Sudan, please visit their website. When you visit their homepage, you'll see that you can sign up to receive e-mail updates from the ministry. These e-mail messages are very helpful and encouraging, so I highly recommend that you take advantage of this option. For an overview of the history and current state of Sudan, you may want to check out the CIA World Factbook entry on Sudan.

As a side note, my brother has been doing a series on depression on his blog. There has been some very interesting dialogue in the comment section, so check it out if you get a chance.