MUP News December 2011

UPG Focus: Horn of Africa-Bringing Hope to the Beja

Their crown of fuzzy hair. Their love for music, sometimes written about their livestock. Their passion for coffee. Their sword wielding dances. Their long history. There are many facts that stand out about one of Sudan’s oldest people groups, the Beja. Perhaps, the most significant fact, however, is that they are almost totally unreached by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Beja are one of many people groups in Sudan, a northeastern, predominantly Sunni Muslim country in Africa. It is part of an African region known for its unrest and political upheaval. Sudan has been at war or engaged in military conflict for decades. During those years, it is estimated that millions have died and even more displaced because of the war, leaving the country ravaged and neighboring countries in conflict. Sudan is so unstable that it has been nearly impossible to even get humanitarian aid to those in need. This has made life very difficult for the Sudanese, with over 40% of the country living below the poverty line and at high risk of disease due to the water and sanitation problems. Another major problem in Sudan is human trafficking with many men, women and children being subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking.

Within the nation of Sudan are various people groups. The Beja are one of thelarger people groups, with over 1.5 million people living in Northeast Sudan. The Beja have a rich history, residing in Sudan since the days of the Egyptian pharaohs, over 4000 years. For the most part they live a nomadic life style that hasn’t changed much in the last 1,500 years. They are mostly goat and camel herders, moving with their herds and living in tents made from woven palm matting. Some are farmers, and live in small houses with mud walls. Some have even migrated to towns and cities. Their diet consists mostly of dairy and grains, although the Beja traditionally are passionate about coffee, often spending significant money for the drink they call jabana. They are also lovers of music, known to play on guitar like instruments called rababa. The Beja are often characterized by their tiffas, or crowns of fuzzy hair fluffed on top of their heads. They are divided into 5 distinct clans, and then into even smaller groups of families. They are governed primarily by Beja law, which emphasizes hospitality and covers compensation for kinds of offenses.

Although according to history, many Beja had at least partially accepted Christianity by 500 A.D., by 640 A.D. they accepted the faith of the invading Arabs, Islam. Their religious practices and beliefs are best described however as folk Islam, with their beliefs interwoven with superstitions and their adherence to regular Islam practices, sporadic. They are highly afraid of jinn, which are bad spirits that they believe cause everything from sickness to accidents, and are in charge of keeping peace between individuals. The Beja are almost 100% unreached by the Gospel, as the Bible and other Christian resources have not been translated into the Beja language, Bedawiyet. This coupled with the problems in their homeland of Sudan, and their general lack of friendliness toward foreigners has impeded evangelism with the Beja.

This month as we focus on the Beja people of Sudan, there are many needs to remember. First pray for the safety and stability of the Beja and all the people of Sudan, as they face continued unrest and danger. Pray for peace for their country and for all of northern Africa. Pray for those affected by various kinds of human trafficking and for the Sudanese government to become proactive in stopping this serious problem. Most of all, pray for the light of Jesus Christ to penetrate the spiritual darkness of the Beja people as well as the whole country of Sudan. Pray for those translating evangelical materials. Pray that God will call Godly, courageous men and women to brave difficult conditions to share Jesus with the Beja. Pray also for the open hearts of the Beja to the hope of Jesus Christ, and to the peace that is only available through Him.

Global Impact Award Banquet

MUP's Global Impact Award Banquet will be held Janaury 19, 7pm-9pm at the Marriott Hotel in Legacy Park, Plano, TX. This event will honor Dr. Virginia Connally, the first female physician in Abilene, TX, and a long time supporter of mission efforts locally and globally, whose generosity in supporting training events has led directly to new congregations among unevangelized people groups in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Cost is $60 per seat. Please contact Sarah at sch@prontopost.org for reservation information.

The Indispensible Key to the Unfinished Task
by Liz Adleta, Global Prayer Strategist

Two thousand years since Jesus came, one in four still have little access to the good news of the gospel! Grouped in ethno-linguistic people groups, we refer to these as least-reached people groups. Prayer is one way to change this neglected segment. We know that Jesus said the harvest fields were already white for harvest; the problem was the laborers were few. His solution? Ask the Lord of the Harvest to thrust forth workers. [Luke 10:2].

Prayer removes hindrances to the Gospel and prepares the hearts of unbelievers to hear and respond. The Word tells us that Satan has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the Gospel apart from the revelation of the Holy Spirit. As we pray, the Holy Spirit moves to warm the hearts of those to whom we speak, preparing the way for them.

Prayer releases resources for the task. An old saying goes, “what is God’s will is God’s bill.” God has promised to meet all our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Surely as we trust in Him and work to accomplish His purposes in the earth, we will surely find Him graciously providing all that is necessary to do just that.

Prayer releases spiritual power to fulfill the call of God. Jesus specifically instructed His disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on High. The Holy Spirit comes to give us power to BE His witnesses to the ends of the earth. He anoints us with the supernatural ability to know what to do and how to get there as He directs us.

Prayer exercises divine authority to change situations and people. Whatever the challenge that stands in the way of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, nothing is any match for His authority and power when we pray in His will. Jesus assured His disciples that all authority in heaven and on earth was His. The basis of His command to go into all the earth to preach the Gospel, baptize, and make disciples was predicated on this authority and its delegation to His disciples. We also know from Scripture that Jesus holds the keys of David to open the door that no man can shut and to shut the door that no man can open. Matthew 18 also tells us that what we bind in heaven will be bound on earth and what we loose in heaven will be loosed on earth. As we pray, situations and people are changed by His power.

We see in Ephesians 6 that we are clothed in heavenly armor for the battle and prayer IS that battle and prayer maintains the victory. [Ephesians 6]

One of the ways we as an organizational family can link to a massive web of international prayer coverage is through partnering with Ethne’s Harvest-Linked Prayer Strategy Initiative (HeLPS). Joshua Project, Global Prayer Digest, Etnopedia, International Orality Network (ION), PrayerCentral and PrayerGuard are just a few of the global networks and ministries that work together to help several million believers around the world pray in agreement for the unreached peoples of every region of the world systematically as field workers stretch the envelope and reach out to the same groups as the prayer is lifted up. We have already been seeing fruit coming from this partnership.

In 2009, one of our teams in SE Asia with Ethne through MUP’s Global Prayer Strategist, Liz Adleta, and Global Prayer Digest to feature that month’s issue on this unreached people group. Within a few months, new groups had new believers and new fellowships that have continued to multiply.

In 2010, another team in SE Asia partnered again in producing an issue on the 53 unreached people groups of this particular region. A man from one of those unreached people groups put his faith in Christ. He shared with his family and friends who shared with their family and friends and so on. Today nearly 500 believers meet in home churches, and these churches have produced to the fourth generation. Again, within months, groups which had never before had believers or fellowships were seeing new life in the spirit. Work there continues to expand.

Just a few weeks ago, we got word of fresh breakthroughs in yet another country in the region following a 2011 issue of Global Prayer Digest which the associated MUP team had helped to produce.

Let’s not stop there! By linking massive global prayer efforts to specific field outreaches, we are seeing unprecedented breakthroughs. Join our organizational family in plowing the ground among least-reached peoples through agreement in believing prayer.

For more information on MUP, please visit www.mup.org.