 Sudan's Civil War
The momentum now seems to be with the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), against the Rapid-response Security Forces (RSF). However, in western Sudan, including Darfur, the RSF plans to create its own government, partitioning the nation https://bbc.com/news/articles/c0rzw8wqn8vo . This is precisely where charges of genocide have been leveled against the Arab Janjaweed/RSF against black Africans. Elsewhere, the two armies continue to shell each other and destroy infrastructure. The oil flow from S. Sudan through Sudan has not yet resumed, marking one year. Since that oil represented 90% of S. Sudan government income, many civil servants haven’t been paid for about that long. Hunger is widespread in Juba.
2024 Ministry Report
 SOUTH SUDAN
S. Sudan Relief Funding
Donors provided $75,580 in support of Juba-area ministry in 2024. Through Agape Mission, $5,925 paid for corn flower, beans and oil, distributed to over 70 Juba Parish church leaders, and 120 widows. Due to the dire situation, $7,700 in direct financial support was provided to Juba Presbytery leaders, Agape Mission and Grace Theological College (GTC) Staff. Another $4,000 was distributed to Buluk Eye Clinic government workers. Two local Presbyterian Church in America congregations and an individual provided $15,000 for emergency food relief, soon to provide more food. A local pastor shares the Great News with food recipients. Another $6,000 in food relief is expected by March or April. Donations for food accepted.
An especially generous donor provided $46,000 to lay the foundation of GTC’s new campus building. Others provided $9,300 to complete construction of Agape Christian Nursery and Primary School.
 Micro-economic development
Jeff George, a professional painter, traveled to Juba, Feb. 12-21, to train 10 painters. He is confident that all 10 can now go into the business, after 2 hours of training and several days of supervised painting. Buildings painted include Agape Christian Primary school, Grace Theological College, and Lologo Presbyterian church’s interior. We’re developing a business plan to possibly start a painting company. $4,171 was sent in preparation of Jeff’s ministry.
MONGOLIA
$5,382 was provided to Tsendee toward purchase of an off-road vehicle. She is a missionary to remote Mongolian herder families, and plants churches in a country with perhaps a 2% Christian population.
WESTSIDE MINISTRY
Since November, donors and RMNI volunteers distributed 201 food Boxes of Blessing, 50 smoked turkeys for Thanksgiving and over 50 smoked hams at Christmas. We partner with the College Hill Court Resident Association, currently distributing $150 in food cards each week. Over the past 12 months we averaged about $450 in rent assistance each month. In 2024 $16,524 was spent on Westside ministry. There were 57 ministry occasions in 2024 averaging about 5 volunteers each. We are working more closely with the local Resident Association and a new Westside social worker, a former resident who we’ve sometimes worked with since 2013.
WEBSTATS
www.RMNI.org experienced a 129% increase in unique visitors (74,916); a 71% increase in the number of visits (117,360), and a 42% decrease in bandwidth downloads. Walt Robertson continues to provide his remarkable webmaster skills, gratis. Thanks, Walt!
AFAM MISSIONARY MOBILIZATION
Our research journal article detailing African American overseas missionaries received 2,565 hits in 2024 African-American-Missionaries-Serving-Overseas.pdf.
Missionary Ellen Fox, who spent 13 years in a very remote S. Sudanese village (without returning to the US), and another year recuperating in Uganda, returned home last September and spoke in about a dozen AFAM churches. One of them started a missions committee due to her influence. She plans to return to serve in Uganda shortly. RMNI provided $2,000 in support of her speaking tour, via a grant.
2025 MINISTRY PLANS
- We plan to sponsor a ministry trip to Juba later in 2025. We welcome doctors, ophthalmologists, dentists, teachers, trauma workers, evangelists, Bible college teachers and other specialists. We continue to raise funds for food in Juba and for ministry staff needs.
- We plan weekly inner-city ministry in the Westside area of Chattanooga.
- We plan to get Redeemer FM radio station on the air in Juba.
- We continue to add resources to www.RMNI.org
USA—$37 Trillion in Debt
The Trump tsunami hit Washington. The As of Feb. 17, 2025, the House GOP proposes to cut taxes by around 4.5 trillion, cut government spending by around 2 trillion, then increase the federal budget deficit by an estimated 4.5 trillion dollars through 2034. (www.wsj.com/opinion/house-republicans-budget-resolution-tax-reform-mike-johnson-john-thune-reconciliation-9f6f97b8?page=1)
So despite huge proposed federal government spending cuts, and additional Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) savings, the net result is a request to increase deficit spending, with the hope that a vague macroeconomic stimulus through tax cuts and less government regulation, etc. will mitigate the definite deficit increase.
No one knows how all this will fall out. President Trump said on Feb. 26 that his goal was to balance the budget “maybe by next year or the year after” www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-to-cabinet-youre-out-if-youre-unhappy-with-musk-c648eee0?page=1 . The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that the interest on the national debt will increase by 700 billion dollars by 2034 (www.crfb.org)., up from the current roughly 1.13 trillion dollars (www.gao.gov/products/gao-25-107138). Up to the election, most politicians were silent about the deficit, now perhaps most talk about it. But this radical redirection doesn’t seem to result in sufficient resolve or planning to seriously tackle it.
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