#hope4sudan :: an important guest post, from kim

hey there, friends!

today i need you to listen up. then i need you to share this post.

my dear friend kim is here with something that needs sharing.

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Hello Happy Days Readers! Kim here. From A Cuppa Kim. Sweet Hannah, who is one of my favorite people in the universe, no joke, and probably is one of yours too, has allowed me to drag my little soapbox over here and share with you today. I'm not particularly

fond of soapboxes, but sometimes the Lord puts one in front of you and asks you to hop up and use that voice he has given you.

So...here I am, and here's what I'm hopping over to tell you. There are some big things going on over in Africa right now.

Huge, horrible, awful things. You have probably seen this button floating around blogs, Twitter, and InstaGram.

I want to give you a little more information about what Hope4Sudan is, and what is happening.

There are men, women, and children trapped in the border region of Sudan,

inside and outside of refugee camps who are dying from starvation right now.

A few weeks ago, three men from my church traveled to South Sudan and helped grow and encourage the local church there.

Southern Sudanese Girls  Photo Credit: Jonathan Pham

And, as would be expected, their love and passion for the Sudanese grew immensely.

They were devastated to learn that about 400 miles north of where they were, Sudanese brothers and sisters were living in atrocious conditions. Due to political unrest along the border region, those who could had made it to refugee camps, and those who physically couldn't, have no sustainable source of food. And they need immediate help. This means, these people are eating bugs, dirt, and tree bark. Upon returning home, and follow through via conference calls, an idea for returning to Sudan in the "near future" became "you need to come NOW, or there may be no one left." Yes. THAT is the situation. This is a very much NOW need. These "conference call guys" are crazy passionate, and crazy connected. They have been able to connect with some other awesome passionate people and organizations and are working out the logistics and details for getting the food, and how to mobilize it. This is REAL. It is SCARY.

And it is EXCITING. We are excited to send two or three of these men over to Sudan in the next few weeks. With the resources to move that food. Curious about the food? It is probably going to be the kind of food similar to plumpy'nut a highly nutritious peanut based food that provides intense nourishment and is easily digested for those whose bodies are in true starvation mode. The Lord really does provide miracles in this day and age, and it sounds like plumpy'nut is a miracle. (It may not be this exact food type, but it will be something along these lines that will provide immediate relief from physical starvation). So, like I have said already a hundred million times in this post, the need is urgent, and it is now. While the team of "conference callers" works on the immediate response - they also are fervently seeking a LONG TERM SOLUTION. This trip will be a bit of a triage trip, but with a long term and eternal focus. More than anything these men are PASSIONATE about Jesus. Sitting in a room with a few of them, I heard flat out refusals to go without Christ being the center. SO HEAR THAT.

These people, created in the image of our beautiful God, will have their earthly needs met, all the while hearing the good news

of the Bread of Life, the One who sustains all. And THAT is why we send. Why we give. Why we pray. Why we go.

AND THAT IS WHY WE TELL. And this is a global mission, with a huge local impact.

It has been a JOY teaming with our literal local church - the people around San Mateo who are eagerly responding to this challenge

the Lord has set before us. And in addition - the response of the "local church" that is here in the blogosphere is overwhelming.

I urge you to not just pray, give, and go, but to TELL. This is an incredible opportunity to tell people

what is going on on another hemisphere - and a conversational gateway to the good news of Jesus.

If you'd like to check out a bit more of what I have written head on over here and here. Watch the video.

If you feel inclined to give directly, 

GO HERE.

If you want to support some awesome shops who are helping in fundraising efforts,

please check out Joy's Hope & Katygirl Designs - they have made some incredible Hope4Sudan printables

that you can purchase for just a few bucks.

And, if you feel inclined to tell, please, TELL. This is where a real opportunity lies.

We need to be outraged that there are people dying, when there is plenty of food to feed them.

We need to let people know about what is going on in Sudan. Even more awesome, my friend Jessica has gathered up

a bunch of friends who are crazy supportive of Hope4Sudan and has a few goodies to give away.

People need to know. Our hearts need to break for what breaks the Lord's.

I pray that for myself often. I pray that you will feel moved to respond.

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thanks so much, sweet kim!!

so. now you know. join me in asking the lord, what are we going to do now that we know?

on twitter? follow @hopeSM4sudan

and stay connected to this mission in prayer and support.