"Dear Helpers and Entire Lost Boys and Girls,"
Peace, Grace and Love of God be among you all!

I am very highly thrill and happy to hear that you are now planning, with the sincere helps from your American brothers and sisters, to have a historic Lost Boys and Girls National Reunion on August 26 - 31 in Arizona. This is a unique indication that despite your scattering over the vast nation of America, your collective plight of civil war in the Sudan and common originality has brought oneness and a sense of togetherness among you. As you come together periodically, you will sharpen each other politically, economically, religiously and socially and build concerted cohesion among yourselves and other Sudanese people therein.

Surely, your experiences and spirit of unity will overflow and help some of the American people, and you will act as salt and light among the Sudanese people when you return to Sudan after the current civil for the family reunion, reconstruction and redevelopment of our nation. As you know, our sincere hearts are always with you, for you are our collective ambassadors there over and future leaders of our nation. Thus, I will keep praying for the fruitful conduction of your national reunion conference.

As most of you fully know, I have been with you as a "Lost Bishop" and spiritual leader in SPLM/A controlled areas since the beginning of the Sudan civil war in 1983. You share some of the ugly and tragic experiences with me both in Sudan and refugee camps where we witnessed the untimely deaths of our beloved brothers and sisters, where we narrowly escaped death with our own lives, where we lived without water, food, shelter, clothing and medicines and where there is a wider educational gap. But despite such man-made upheavals, God has been with us. He uses me as your spiritual leader, and I did baptized and confirmed some of you.

As you are quite aware, the civil war in the Sudan has apparently made Southern Sudan to be in a state of no functioning government rendering social services because SPLM/A is busy fighting the war against the Khartoum government. Instead, the church is now almost the only social institution inadequately serving the spiritual and physical needs of the war-affected people in the south of the country. As a spiritual leader, I have been seeing, with deep concerns, the terrible consequences of the war in terms of human and property destruction, displacements, rampant diseases, illiteracy, cultural and moral erosions and family breakdowns, among others. I am very much worry about the needs and futurity of my people whether inside Sudan or abroad.

Based on such enormous concerns, I have been to Europe, Australia and America sharing the felt needs of our people in Sudan. Last year, I went to America with Rev. Stephen Mathiang and Rev. Peter Yuang, visiting and encouraging the Lost Boys and Girls in many States and sharing our felt needs with some interested American people. It was during this visitation that brother David Bowman and some Lost Boys and Girls invited us to go to Grand Rapids, Michigan to pray, socialize, exchange news and share some ideas with them. One of the felt needs which we shared with Dave Bowman was rampant diseases and lack of health services in Bor area. He was greatly moved when he heard the appalling health situation in Bor. After that we invited him to pay a follow-up visit to Bor to see the actual condition of the people by himself.

In fact, Dave Bowman is a real man of God and humanist; despite his poor health and advanced age, he organized some experts and God - fearing Americans, including his own son and came to Bor last January to see the general situations with their own eyes, to hear the first-hand information from the very war-affected people, to feel with their own hearts and to engage their mental intellects on the site. The whole team traveled with me and others across the county by land right from Paluer (Cuei-kher) up to Athoc area, meeting excited and suffering people to share their concerns with them. They also met with some humanitarian agencies operating in Bor to cross-check the health issues which they have just heard from the populace. Eventually, they met with some church leaders, civil and SRRC authorities, including the county SPLM Secretary, and other community leaders.

In all such meetings, the health issue was paramount and top on the list among other felt and real needs, not only in Bor but in the whole of Upper Nile where there is no single referral hospital compare to other regions in Southern Sudan. Hence, these good American citizens under the leadership of Dave Bowman were moved and inspired by the Almighty God to dream the impossible dream by promising to look for ways and means to build a hospital in Bor for the welfare of God's people and His glory and remembrance of the historic plight of the Lost Boys and Girls.

Though the team enthusiastically went back and formed Partners in Compassionate Care as their Foundation, they considered themselves inexperienced to embark on such a huge humanitarian health project. But what was God saying about His suffering Sudanese people? As you know, He always uses humble and weak people to do great and unimaginable things in His name for His people. With God there are no "White Elephant Projects), and what He starts through His servants always reach a successful conclusion. Since Dave Bowman started this health project with good faith in God, He opened another door by touching the hearts of Dr. Bert Oubre and his colleagues to sincerely join their hands together (Partners in Compassionate Care, Cutting Edge Foundation and Voice of Martyrs) for the fruitfulness of this project.

Last May these men and women of God from the USA paid a second visit to Bor to make further consultations, not only with relevant authorities in Bor but with other vital people, especially the Commissioner of Health and his deputy. After their visitation, they returned to the States to do some additional documentation and begin the project rolling. Also here in the field we are earnestly praying to God and ready to play our part for the success of the project.

In relation to the site of the project, the community leaders, including the county SPLM Secretary selected Werkok as a midway center between Gok and Athoc areas for easy access from both sides of the county to the proposed hospital. The county is also planning now to survey Werkok as its headquarters, and thus, they love to have it there to render health services to the urban population. Of course, those who know Bor County are well aware that Werkok is the central location between Gok and Athoc. We also believe that this health project in Bor, given the centrality of Bor in Southern Sudan, will benefit people from Upper Nile, Bahr El Ghazal and Equatoria Regions. I believe that God surely blessed my visit to the USA with this health project through Dave Bowman, Dr. Bert Obure and their colleagues and other individual and collective donors for the general welfare of the Sudanese people.

However, I learnt with deep sorry that some of you have missed the forest for just mere trees by questioning the site of this health project instead of thanking these men and women of God and jubilating over what Almighty God is doing for His suffering people. How many health facilities does our devastated Southern Sudan want? To me, it needs even more than its counties, for one single hospital, no matter how good and well equipped it might be, is just like a single stone dropped into an ocean. I strongly believe that our brothers and sisters from other counties and/or regions will not envy what God has given to His suffering people in Bor through these men and women of God.

As a spiritual leader and elder, I honestly inform you that disunity and tribalism among our poor people in Southern Sudan has far negative repocursion in our area, but it favors those in Northern Sudan. Regrettably, it is even a contributing factor to the current civil war in the Sudan which has led to tragic destruction of human and property and huge displacements of innocent people. Thus, I am not in favor of what will divide you and our people here back home. God took you there as our collective ambassadors and future leaders; we should be happy to hear good news, cohesive ideas and nationalist spirit from you not quarreling over minute issues related to specific tribes, clans, counties, or regions because, to me, your role is at national level, for you know what some of us don't know.

Of course, Lost Boys and Girls come from all over Southern Sudan, Southern Blue Nile and Nuba Mountains irrespective of their numerous numbers in some place like Bor, and hence all these places deserve memorial institutions (hospitals, schools, places, churches, etc.) in the name of the Lost Boys and Girls. Also health services are desperately needed all over Southern Sudan, and, therefore, why should it be a big concern if God has put this health facility in Bor for the general good of the war-affected Sudanese people? I am afraid, if we start grumbling and disputing over the location of this health project, we will discourage God; we will discourage our American and other friends, and we discourage ourselves and end up not serving our people responsibly irrespective of our places of birth or origin. My role as a God's servant is across political, ethnic and geographical boundaries, and hence I have been serving His people, as most of you know, not only in Bor but in Upper Nile, Bahr El Ghazal and Equatoria.

In conclusion, as your spiritual leader and elder, I solemly beg and advise you to relent your viewpoint in relation to the site of the proposed Lost Boys and Girls Hospital, unite your opinions, strengths and resources and stand behind Dave Bowman and Dr. Bert Obure with their colleagues to make this health project a success for the welfare of the Southern Sudanese peopel and God's glory. We here at home will join our hands with you for the common good of our people. With such unified spirit, we will build more than one social institution in the name of our Lost Boys and Girls and heroic martyrs all over Southern Sudan. Actually, the bones and blood of our beloved martyrs in the South of the country, Nuba Mountains and Southern Blue Nile know no ethnic, political, religious, economic and geographical boundaries.

May Grace, Peace, Unity and Love of God be among you all; may He bless your forthcoming conference, and may its results bring harmy and cohesion among you for the betterment of the entire Sudanese people and God's glory.

Yours Truly Father in Christ,

The Rt. Rev. Nathaniel Garang Anyieth
Bishop, Episcopal Church of the Sudan, Diocese of Bor
Southern Sudan.

By Father Bishop Nathaniel Garang