Sudan (MNN) — Thousands of people are on the move in Sudan as the war between military factions enters a third week.

(Photo courtesy of unfoldingWord)

Residents in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, struggle to find food, water, fuel, and other critical supplies. Impoverished people are stuck in conflict zones because they cannot afford a car ride out of the city. See our full coverage of events in Sudan here.

“Most of the people in Sudan are on subsistence living; they live [near] the edge. If the daily [supply] flow gets interrupted, they’re very quickly in desperate need,” Arne* with unfoldingWord says.

“We are on the cusp of a humanitarian crisis. If this (constant fighting) continues, everyone believes it could be a disaster.”

With no end to the fighting in sight, people flood across the borders of neighboring countries too quickly to count. Agencies say at least 20,000 Sudanese refugees went to Chad, 10,000 to South Sudan, and 30,000 to Egypt.

There’s at least one silver lining to mass displacement. “It creates opportunities to reach these refugees, many of whom are Muslim and are experiencing the oppression of fellow Muslims,” Arne says.

“In the context of helping meet someone’s physical needs for food and safety and shelter, there’s an opportunity to present the Gospel as well.”

Pray for wisdom as believers who partner with unfoldingWord in these countries prepare to help refugees physically and spiritually. Learn why unfoldingWord partners with church-planting networks in Sudan.

“It’s a [holistic] outreach,” Arne says.

“You’re involved with meeting specific physical needs for people [and] often, there’s trauma healing involved, and then spiritual healing; so, it’s all wound together.”

This isn’t the first time Chadian believers are caring for Sudanese refugees. “There are already about 300,000 Sudanese refugees in Chad from a prior war some years ago,” Arne says.

“When the first wave of refugees came, the church networks gathered together and said, ‘How [can we] reach out to these Sudanese brothers and minister to them with the Gospel?’”

 

*Pseudonym

 

Header image is a screenshot captured from Prayercast|Sudan.