Sunday, April 11, 2010

Preparations for Easter during Holy Week

Dominic writes "Easter week, that is from Monday to Sunday, we spent most of our time in Church activities. Let me brief you on the most of the areas of prayers during Easter week. The theme was "THE SUFFERING OF JESUS CHRIST ON THE HANDS OF UNGODLY ROMAN GOVERNMENT". I just translated from Juba Arabic we used. Many people especially children attended the church services throughout the week. We also spent time to pray for peace in Sudan, particularly during the time of the coming elections.

Monday, March 29: We reminded the church gathering that it was on the Monday that he cleansed the temple, driving out the money-changers and the sellers of sacrificial victims. Then Jesus didn't stay in Jerusalem because it was not safe for him to do so.

Tuesday, March 30: On that day, according to the Gospel narrative, four deputations came to Jesus. The first demended to know on what authority he acted as he did (Matt 21:23-27; Luke 20:1-8). The second sought to con him into making dangerous statements about the paying of the tribute money to Rome (Matt 22:15-21; Mark 12:13-17; Luke 20:20-26). The third was the deputation of the Sadducees who sought to entangle him in questions about the life to come (Matt 22:23-33; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-38). The fourth demanded that he should tell them which was the greatest of the commandments (Matt 22:34-40; Mark 12:28-34). In each case Jesus dealt wisely with his questioners and defeated thil intentions. It was on Thesday that Jesus also told many parables.

Wednesday March 31; We narrated the story where a woman came to a house where Jesus was sharing a meal and anointed Him with expensive perfume and the thing that made this day a bitter day was that Judas Iscariot went out and negotiated the betrayal of Jesus...

Thursday, April 01; The story was told to Christians that Jesus ate the Passover meal on Thursday night and went out into the garden where he was arrested. We were then able to count at least four times Jesus was on trial through Thursday night and into Friday morning.

Good Friday, April 02; At 9am our time, Jesus was nailed to the cross. At 12 noon darkness descended and at 3 pm Jesus committed himself into his Father's hands and died. They then had to have him off the cross and sealed in the tomb before 6pm because the Sabboth began at sunset. Some Christians at this time wept and we had to take more time for prayer than we had had planned. This was really a prayer week. I have seen that there are lots of changes in ECSS this time than the last two years.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Watch in 2010


from WORLD magazine--January 16, 2010
Hope remains tenuous for South Sudanese leaders marking the fifth anniversary in January of a Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed with leaders in the predominantly Islamic North. The 2005 CPA ended two decades of civil war waged by Muslim in the North against Southern Christians who refused to submit to Islamic law. The war left more than 2 million people dead and some 4 million Southerners displaced.
The CPA promised autonomy to the South, with guarantees that the North would share the country's vast oil wealth. Southern leaders say the Northern government has failed to abide by many of CPA's terms, and the South continues to struggle to provide basic services in its frontier towns.
Still, both sides say they are tentatively ready to proceed with nationwide elections scheduled for April. Voters will choose a president, governors of states, and members of assemblies in the North and South. Many fear the elections could be corrupted: The Northern president--Omar al-Bashir-- is a wanted war criminal who perpetuated genocide on Sudanese in the country's western region of Darfur. Despite his promises of fair elections, many believe Bashir would never allow a rival to win the presidency or threaten his National Congress Party's (NCP) power. But NCP remains unpopular with many Northerners, leaving some election observers wondering what would happen if they voted for a Southern president.
Election results are critical for another reason: They could affect a referendum scheduled for January 2011 to decide whether the South will declare its independence. And experts say the April contest will be another critical test of Bashir's willingness to abide by the agreements he signs. That may be an unlikely prospect: So far, the defiant leader hasn't shown much intention of keeping his word.
**********************************************************************
Dominic's comments----(Nov. 7, 2009)
Sudan is preparing for next year's elections. Voter registration is going on. This will be the first democratic exercise in decades. Refugees from the camps in Uganda and Kenya are returning daily to their villages and towns.

(Jan. 10, 2010) Truly it is difficult to remember dates for Sudan elections because they keep on changing from time to time. Even for us Sudanese, we doubt whether the central government in Khartoum will be serious of April's schedule. They may keep on pushing the date ahead in order for them to hang onto power. They are also preparing to make the referendum difficult for the Southern Sudanese. They anticipate that Southerners will definitely choose to have a separate state/country than to be governed by Islamic laws.