President of Southern Sudan came by today.

We spent most of the day at a graduation ceremony for military officers from a training school in Yei. The President of Southern Sudan, Salva Kiir, was the keynote speake,r so the security was very heavy. It was extremely surreal due to that fact.
Today was almost an out of body experience for me. The surroundings were so unfamiliar to my mind at time it seemed like a dream. Everyone in this place except us had been personally touched by decades of civil war. It was a bit haunting at first and then President Kiir began to speak about the peace that had come to Sudan. He was very honest about many problems that still exist, such as oil payments to the South from the Northern government, territorial boundary disputes, corruption in some local southern government offices, and tribal communication barriers that lead to mistrust. Though he spoke of problems you could also sense his optimism that these problems can be solved through peaceful means by engagement of arbitrators and foreign governments to lobby on behalf of fairness and equity. He spoke of the upcoming vote for autonomy for the South.
The team began to pray for these people who need God’s direction, leading, and healing for their land and their souls. Lift prayers for Sudan up to God asking Him for His perfect and loving will to be done in this land these people that long for the Lord to sing over them.