Story number 1 for 16 Jun 2003

(Congo–Kinshasa)–We begin today in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the situation in the eastern part of the country remains volatile. Thousands have fled the fighting, even as peacekeeping troops entered the fray. Grace Ministries’ Sam Vinton says many Christian workers were forced to use emergency plans. “This time, because this is tribal warfare, in the northeast of Congo, especially, this has resulted in many not only missionaries, (but also) national pastors, being evacuated. I think there are organizations from east Africa have flown in there and evacuated quite a number of people. Then, many have fled across the border into Uganda. So naturally, this is really very disruptive.” Vinton says that’s especially true because the theological seminary is in Bunia, the heart of the conflict. He urges prayer. “We just have to continue to pray that the Lord will intervene and spare the Christians and bring this to some kind of an end so that people can live in peace, and that the Gospel can go forward and produce the results in the lives of people who need the Lord at this time, especially when they’ve lost everything.”