Life for Sudan

Sudanese Lost Boys' art helps them build new lives in Nashville

2009-11-20T20:31:00.000-08:00

Sudanese Lost Boys have found many ways to express their individuality living here in the United States. One, James Makuac, found his expression in art.

Africa, Atheists and God

2009-11-20T20:27:00.000-08:00

Matthew Parris is a newspaper columnist for The Times of London and a self-described atheist. Surprisingly, though, in a December 2008 column he wrote an article titled "As an atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God." Parris admits that saying this runs counter to his beliefs, but he cannot ignore the difference that he sees in African Christians. Parris, who grew up in Africa, writes:

Before Christmas I returned, after 45 years, to the country that as a boy I knew as Nyasaland. Today it's Malawi, and The Times Christmas Appeal includes a small British charity working there…. It inspired me, renewing my flagging faith in development charities. But traveling in Malawi refreshed another belief, too—one I've been trying to banish all my life, but an observation I've been unable to avoid since my African childhood. It confounds my ideological beliefs, stubbornly refuses to fit my world view, and has embarrassed my growing belief that there is no God.
Now a confirmed atheist, I've become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects, and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people's hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good….
[When I lived in Africa] we had working for us Africans who had converted and were strong believers. The Christians were always different. Far from having cowed or confined its converts, their faith appeared to have liberated and relaxed them. There was a liveliness, a curiosity, an engagement with the world—a directness in their dealings with others—that seemed to be missing in traditional African life. They stood tall.

Matthew Parris, "As an atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God," The Times of London Online (12-27-08); Craig Brian Larson, editor, PreachingToday.com

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-20T19:34:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving seems to be one holiday that hasn’t gotten overly commercial. But if anything, it’s getting overtaken by the promotions of Christmas that now start the first of November – or earlier.

So how do you celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday? What, if anything, makes this uniquely American holiday special to you or your family?

Governmental or Private Assistance

2009-11-15T07:44:00.000-08:00

There was a time in the U.S., and most of the Western world in fact, where private organizations and institutions provided the majority of assistance to those in need in our society. In the past few decades, we have become increasingly dependant on that type of support and assistance coming from the federal and state governments. Is that healthy? Desirable? Is it just a measure of the scale of the needs present in our society today, or have private organizations let their proper roles in developing compassionate and effective solutions just slip away? What do you think?

Life for Sudan

2009-11-14T11:00:00.000-08:00

Life for Sudan was formed in 2006 to assist Sudanese refugees in the U.S. and to assist in the rebuilding of war-torn southern Sudan. We assist refugees with U.S. citizenship applications and associated fees, funding of ESL instructional classes, and with selected higher education expenses.

In southern Sudan we are helping to rebuild and equip primary schoools in the Bor area. We also offer support to Sudanese young men and women pursuing higher education in Uganda and Kenya.

Please visit us at www.lifeforsudan.org to learn more and to assist our efforts.