Peace talks have failed, and conflict is ongoing. South Sudan hopes to establish a demilitarized zone along the shared border.

With all the struggles in South Sudan with their northern neighbors, a surprising group gets caught in the middle: kids.

17% of children in South Sudan have lost at least one parent, according to UNICEF.

The general population's poverty headcount is at around 50%, and the rage of child malnutrition gets in the way of kids' education. 30% of elementary students don’t even make it to the 8th grade.

But Baptist Global Response (BGR) is doing something about it. BGR partners are providing nutritious meals for two elementary schools in South Sudan. That’s 500 kids to feed every day.

They also hope to advance the effort with vitamin supplements, de-worming twice a year, immunizations, and a clean water supply.

In all things, BGR and their partners seek to be the hands and feet of Christ to a hurting world, communicating the love of the Gospel with their aid efforts.

BGR asks in their post, “Pray for lasting peace in South Sudan so community development efforts can move forward.”

If you want to support a child’s education through BGR, click here.

The stories of the brutality against Christians, in particular, are hair raising. Voice of the Martyrs Canada just
released another report revealing that the government executed three leaders of an
underground house church and jailed 20 others with them.

North Korean police raided a house in Kuwal-dong in Pyungsung county,
Pyongan province, and arrested all 23 believers who had gathered for a
"religious function."

After killing the leaders, the authorities reportedly sent the other 20 to
prison camp No. 15 in Yodok.

Due to the xenophobia of this nation and its tendency toward isolation, news like
this takes a long time to travel to the border. This information is VOMC's most recent, although the arrests and
executions happened in mid-May. 

A group of North Korean defectors based in Seoul, calling themselves "North Korea
Intellectual Solidarity," confirms the events. AsiaNews and Release International also
confirm them, adding that the 23 Christians had reportedly come to faith after
some of them traveled to mainland China on business and came into contact with
the church there.

The government often tries to force religious prisoners to renounce their faith
by subjecting them to harsh treatment and torture. Those caught praying are also beaten and
tortured.

Watchdog groups estimate some 200,000 North Koreans, many of whom are thought
to be Christians, are suffering in detention.

Many citizens attempt to escape North Korea but are frequently caught and
re-patriated. Those who do confess faith
in Christ during the interrogation process have been known to be executed
immediately.

Please pray for believers in North Korea who follow Jesus at great risk. Pray for those in authority in this nation; ask the Lord to give them wisdom, compassion, and the light of the Gospel. There are more ways to help here.

The economy has gone into free fall
since the reforms went into place in November 2009. Carl Moeller with Open Doors
explains that the country is in chaos and panic. "People who've done everything possible for their entire lifetime
to save a meager sum of money found it devalued a thousand fold."

One thousand won would be worth only
10, and it costs a hundred times that for two kilos of rice and some water. "The food has become way too
expensive," says an Open Doors source. "You can compare the first months of
this year with the 1990s when so many people died of starvation. The situation
has improved somewhat, but horrendous things are still taking place"

This Open Doors source calls what's happening
"a terrible blow to our people. Some people had been saving up for 10 years.
And the government is letting people down… We were left to fend for ourselves."

The source goes on to say, "Of course,
the situation was bad compared to other countries. People were dying of
starvation, but many others succeeded in surviving. After the currency reform,
people started to panic. Many literally suffered from heart attacks when they
heard they had lost their savings. I heard the story of a woman who had bought
rice in China and had traded it for a lot of money in North Korea. A day later,
all that money had been reduced to mere paper. She committed suicide. Some of
my friends and acquaintances had been saving up for years. They have enormous
regrets about that now."

Worse yet, Moeller says, "Wages
are no longer being paid. How can you work without wages? What will keep you from revolt? If North
Korea goes into chaos, truly, the actions of a madman can't be
predicted." 

The government also announced in
December 2009 that people could only use U.S., European, and Chinese currencies.

Most people were surviving before,
but even that is in question now. North Korea is first on the Open Doors World
Watch List of the top 50 nations persecuting Christians, which means they are
at the bottom of the economic ladder. 

Moeller says Open Doors has been helping,
and it is keeping the spark of the Gospel bright. "We've had numerous reports that Bibles,
radios, food, clothing and shelter has literally been the difference in some
cases between a despairing and defeated and even extinct church, and a church
that's been able to survive and reach out to its neighbors."

Please pray for North Korean
Christians who are suffering not only severe persecution but also the lack of
food for their families. Pray that the
Word of God would continue to go out in the world's most restrictive
government. Pray that Christians will
be a shining light in an otherwise dark and dreary country. 

You can get involved and speak out on their behalf. Click here.

Yesterday, North Korea invalidated the 2004 accord designed
to prevent an escalation of war along the Demilitarized Zone, a 2.5-mile-wide buffer between Korea's two
opposing armies. It's the world's most
heavily-fortified border, which was created as part of the Korean War armistice
of 1953.

Accusations have flown since international investigators confirmed
a North Korean submarine torpedoed the South Korean navy corvette, the Cheonan,
killing 46 sailors.  he incident
occurred last week, in waters south of a western sea border, defended by the
South, and ignored by the North.

Making good on an earlier threat, the North Korean military is
also considering blocking communications and transportation across the land
border. 

Carl Moeller with
Open Doors observes that this could be a costly
provocation and "could certainly mean that North Korea plunges headlong into
total insanity and goes to war with the South. There would be millions of
casualties." 

Economic sanctions would also likely occur, which would
further devastate an already destitute nation. At the bottom of the social scale
are those with no voice and no standing: the Christians. They'd be easy marks with attention focused
on the potential of war.

When asked if they expected to see  a jump in oppression against believers, Moeller says it's already happening. "There's more scrutiny on the border with
China. People who are able to flee as refugees are being captured, and when
they're captured, they're turned into labor camp convicts. Secondly, the
underground networks of believers are under more pressure as a result of more
government infiltration." 

Open Doors quotes an expert on
North Korea: "Christians are the target of fierce government action, and
once caught, are not regarded as human. Last year we had evidence that some [of
those captured] were used as guinea pigs to test chemical and biological
weapons."

If EVER there was a time to lift up believers in North
Korea, it's now. Moeller says, "There's
no question about it: it's the number one prayer request of North Korean
believers. They've specifically been praying over this last year for Western
Christians to pray for revival."

North Korea was at the top, once again, of the World Watch List. It
is most noted for a ruthless suppression of religious activity, which the government recognizes
as an insurrection to the North Korean socialist principles.

To that end, pray that Christians will have opportunities to
share the love of Christ, even with those who oppress them. Pray for the salvation of Kim
Jung Il and his leadership team.