June 2006

Dear friends,

Warm greetings to you from southern Sudan, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Firstly, I want to thank God for his goodness and mercy towards me, how He has kept my feet from falling and for his hand of grace upon my life. Secondly I want to start by saying thank you very much to you all for your prayers and your support, this truly as been a great blessing to me.

These few months have been tough with many challenges on the field. Two weeks ago, sadly my aunty passed away in Mundri. Further afield in southern Sudan, the Ugandan based insurgents of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) have posed a serious threat to the comprehensive Peace Agreement. In recent times, LRA attacks inside southern Sudan have become more frequent and daring. For example on 9th March, they attacked and burned a truck of an indigenous organization based in Mundri. The truck was traveling from Yei to Mundri. One person was killed on the spot and several others were injured. Shortly afterward on 18th March, the LRA infiltrated Yambio town at midnight, killing two people and abducting several others. They attacked and looted the compound of the Roman Catholic Bishop and got away with the VHF radio and other valuables.

Ephesians 4:23-24 "be made new in the attitude of your minds and to put on the new self created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness".

God has been showing me that although there are oppositions and times of challenges we are not to forget what He as done in us. He created us to be a new creature and He has put his power and his spirit in us and when we renew our minds to his word than we can truly be transformed and change our society.

It has been over ten years since I lived in southern Sudan my own country and a lot has changed. I feel like I am still in the learning stages with the local people and the ministry. However, thanks be to God that he gives us more grace and always leads us into victory. My main ministry has been broken into two areas: teaching preaching and the sports ministry. Last month I started teaching and preaching in the Yei Vocational Training centre that has around 98 students and as a result, 18 became born again. We are currently going into schools daily and teaching. In addition, we have lead many to Christ. There are eight churches Across work with now and we have been conducting seminars to the youth leaders in these churches and it truly as been a blessing.

In the area of sports, there is a great need in Yei. Most of the youth are idle – they are not going to school or working because the war has finished. In the local churches, 90 percent of the congregations are youth so I feel as though I am at the right place at the right time. In just one month; we have managed to start four football teams; for ages 6 to 30. I am very excited about the football team because this is just one of the great tools for building bridges for the Gospel of Christ to spread, and I am sure many will come to know Christ this way. However, this can only be achieved through the ‘new man’ on the inside of us with the resurrection power of Christ.

In conclusion, I feel as though everything is going well but I am still in learning stages both spiritually, physically and culturally. However, I thank God for what He has done so far.

Prayer Requests:

• Thank God for safety and good health
• Pray for continual spiritual encourager and support
• Pray for the sports ministry to be established and to grow
• Pray for financial support for the ministry itself so we can buy the necessary equipment
• Give thanks to God for what he as done so far.
• Pray for the nation of Southern Sudan

Yours in Christ

Emmanuel Sharland