LUV Communications and Development Officer, Cassidy Winters, traveled to Hope For South Sudan, LUV’s partner along the border of Uganda, in August. Read more about the impacts your generosity makes possible in her recent reflection:
Every evening during my trip to South Sudan, I would try to process what I had experienced that day. Daily gathering of content often went from harrowing interviews to taking joyful photos, and a simple summary never seemed to suffice. But at the end of the week, as our tiny plane took flight from the airstrip, I realized the best way to summarize my experience was in a word: tension.
I felt this tension between the world outside Hope for South Sudan (HFSS) and the beauty blooming inside.
The small radio broadcasting sounds of conflict and death at a soccer game with kids cheering on the players around me. The call that there would be a raid in a village a ways off while listening to the children sing “He’s got the whole world in His hands” when getting ready for bed. Children laughing until their sides were hurting, with scars peeking out from their sleeves and pants.
Death, destruction, and conflict are knocking at the compound’s gates, yet those working decide daily to go against the culture and create an oasis of hope.
My senses were delighted by the beauty of the oasis. The lush farm provides nutrition and jobs. The church is bubbling over with songs of joy and the sound of dance. The deep belief in a transformative future is echoed in the speech of even the youngest child there.
But those who live in tension and peacefully stand against the violence that makes children vulnerable cannot do it alone.
I heard heart-wrenching stories during my time at HFSS, and they all ended with, “tell the donors I said thank you.” Your generous giving intertwines your life with the story of hope and restoration in a warzone.
Your impact is tangible. The transformation is undeniable.
And we are not done.
South Sudan is still a warzone. There are still thousands of vulnerable children and women that need your help.
As the giving season approaches, think about how you can live in your tension—the tension of asking a friend out for coffee and sharing about LUV. Or skipping one meal at a restaurant to donate $25 to feed one child for the entire month.
We have big dreams for the future and are excited to share more about what God is doing at each location — and how you can prevent human trafficking in warzones.