Good News ~ Bad News

The bad news first.  The International Criminal Court brought charges against the President of Sudan last Wednesday on counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.  On the same day a dozen aid and relief organizations working in Darfur were expelled from Sudan.  This will leave over a million people in a very precarious situation.  Life saving services such as provision of food, water, and medical care will vanish and lives will hang in the balance.  It is still to be seen if the Sudanese government's response to the ICC's charges will affect security and ministry in South Sudan.  Please join me in praying for an invasion in Sudan - an invasion of God's angels to keep watch over His children.  To feed them, ensure that they have enough water, and that they stay healthy and safe from those who intend to cause harm.  Let's pray for a miracle!  Let's pray for all Sudanese and aid and missionary workers - that they will be safe and that peace will prevail.  Let's pray for the President of Sudan and the country's leaders.  

Andrae Crouch's song, "Jesus is the Answer," keeps coming to mind as I think of the Sudanese in these these trying times.  Let's pray that the 250,000 Bibles that were distributed last year will point people to Jesus. 

Now, the good news.  I had a good doctor's appointment yesterday and am scheduled to have surgery for my herniated disk this Friday at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia.  My Doctor predicts a quick recovery which I will spend in Cape May, NJ with my sister, Linda.  Thank you for your prayers for my healing, for the medical team at Pennsylvania Hospital, and for an incident free recovery.    

As I walked the halls of the hospital waiting for my pre-surgery testing I learned a lot about health care in the US in a photo exhibit hung along the corridors.  Pennsylvania Hospital is our Nation's first hospital started in 1751 by Benjamin Franklin and Dr. Thomas Bond.  I know I'd rather be dressed in nursing whites and standing by a hospital bed rather than lying in the bed but I'm thankful for the miracle of, and access to, modern medicine.  Considering the loss of such basic livelihood necessities by so many Sudanese this past week I don't take this for granted.  

Giving thanks to Jesus for He is good, His love endures forever!  (paraphrase Psalm 107:1)