DownshoreDrift

"Blessed are the peacemakers . . . "

Christianity Today has an article about the human disaster happening in the Congo right now. Here's an excerpt:

Unless God says otherwise, this former Belgian colony in central Africa, the combined size of Alaska and Texas, is not the place to be.

The statistics are depressing. The country's 62 million people live with an infant mortality rate that is ten times higher than that of the U.S. Nearly 50 percent of the population is under age 16, and few will celebrate a 50th birthday. Ten years of war exacerbates the brevity of life. More than 3.9 million have died since 1996, when perpetual fighting first broke out. The conflict has drawn in 16 military and rebel forces from seven nations in central Africa. The largest UN peacekeeping force in the world (19,800 "blue helmets") is stationed in DRC. Fighting persists despite the 2003 peace accords and withdrawal of foreign troops.

"We live in fear," confesses Bayoba Biguge, a church leader in Bukavu, an eastern border city of 1 million. Rebel groups fight each other and the government over territory and the mining of diamonds, gold, and coltan (vital for manufacturing electronics). Illegal trade makes the conflict highly profitable. Coltan has sold for as much as $400 per kilogram.

Please be praying for peace and for the Christians in the Congo who are suffering under horrible conditions but are still trying to be faithful. Pray that God would put a stop to the violence and that light would shine in,  what Joseph Conrad called, "the Heart of Darkness."  May our hearts be moved to prayer and action.  May we not sit back and bicker and live our silly little lives while we do not even pray for those who are suffering so and entering an eternity of darkness.