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Dear All,
I and a number of others attended the New Wine North Family Conference at Newark at the end of the July. What moved me the most during my brief time there was the talk given by Baroness Caroline Cox. It was deeply disturbing to hear of the plight of persecuted and largely forgotten Christians in remote places; it was uplifting to hear her stories of answered prayer; it was humbling to hear of someone who is not young travelling to such remote places to hear people's stories first hand and to bring comfort and encouragement. Let me share some of the things I heard with you, in the hope that they might move you to pray. You can find out more from the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust website, www.hart-uk.org.
One memory I have is the smiling faces of a man and his wife, two daughters and a son from Southern Sudan. Whilst the father and son had been tending the cattle in the fields slavers had come and taken his wife and daughters away. He sold his farm and livestock, and travelled north to buy them back. He found them, but only had enough money to free his wife and younger daughter; the older one, being 11 and eligible was too expensive. She faced not only being sold but also forced to convert to Islam. It was at this time that they met Caroline, who was able to give them the money to purchase their other daughter back. There was such joy at their reunion. Christians in Southern Sudan are still in severe difficulties even though the Sudanese military have stopped attacking them. Food and medical aid are only available to them if they convert to Islam! Please pray for them in their difficult situation, and for an end to slavery. It is scandalous that there are still about 27 million slaves in the world.
I was moved to hear of Caroline's journey to visit Myanmar, Burma. She described the brutality shown by the military regime to the Chin and Karen people. In particular we saw the destruction of villages, murders and forced labour through the eyes of the children who had drawn the atrocities that they had seen perpetrated on their parents and villages. It was so moving. Please pray and support them as much as you can.
Philip Brooks
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