Prayer for Darfur

The chapel in the lobby was opened yesterday for prayers concerning the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. Government-backed militias, know as the Janjaweek, have been engaging in campaigns to displace and wipe out entire communities of tribal farmers. Villages have been burned, women and young girls have been raped and branded, men and boys have been murdered, and food and water supply have been specifically targeted and destroyed. Tens of thousands have died while well over a million have been driven from their homes. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) estimates that 350,000 people or more could die in the coming months. Wednesday was a day of conscience effort to lift up the hatred and pain in this land.

As I lit a candle and prayed, I wondered what more could I do? Is praying really enough? Does God answer prayers through people we cannot even see or know or imagine in our mind? It is just too awesome to grasp, yet scarey at the same time. This world is really hard to live in sometimes. Sometimes it is just too hard to be a human being. Why are we so selfish to ignore the needs of others. To hurt, even murder those that get in the way of our selfish agenda? Anyway if you want to check out some sites on this tragedy go to:

www.gbgm-umc.org/umcor
www.savedarfur.org
www.nccusa.org

Or check out "Doctors without Borders."