Tears well up in their eyes, as Mark and Lauren Pickens discuss the decals on the side of their Top Fuel dragster driven by Clay Millican.

Mark and Lauren Pickens are on a mission, and this one is for God and its no where close to the mission the fictional Blue Brothers were on in the movies.

The couple who reside in Memphis, Tenn., have been involved in the Hope-4-Sudan charity, supporting the children of war torn Sudan.

Mark remembers the first time Lauren traveled to Sudan and befriended the malnourished children. The first visit and an honest mistake led them to get more involved. Tears well up in their eyes, as Mark and Lauren Pickens discuss the decals on the side of their Top Fuel dragster driven by Clay Millican.

Mark and Lauren Pickens are on a mission, and this one is for God and its no where close to the mission the fictional Blue Brothers were on in the movies.

The couple who reside in Memphis, Tenn., have been involved in the Hope-4-Sudan charity, supporting the children of war torn Sudan.

Mark remembers the first time Lauren traveled to Sudan and befriended the malnourished children. The first visit and an honest mistake led them to get more involved.

“She went there and brought toys for the children,” Mark said. “I could see the look of hurt in her eyes when they took the toys and looked at her with hollow eyes. They needed food.”

Lauren said she’ll never make that mistake again.

So what is Hope-4-Sudan?

“Hope-4-Sudan is a project that is going in and building compounds and the compounds include schools and medical clinics and deep water wells for clean water and churches,” Lauren explained. “The project is partnered with people to people ministries, which is a child sponsorship, they do disaster relief, feeding programs, child sponsorship, humanitarian type things and they are partnering with us to get the children fed and clothed and educated.”

Lauren explained the Sudan inspiration came from a pastor friend from their hometown in Tennessee who shared his experience with her. That was all the inspiration she needed to make her first trip.

“Sudan had been constantly on my mind,” Lauren admitted. “I felt like God was showing me this was something I was supposed to be a part of; so, when he presented it to me I told him I wanted to be a part of it, and it's kind of gone from there.”

Once Lauren got involved, Mark needed no convincing to join her. The Pickens wanted to use their resources to help the cause.

Nothing makes an impression more than an 8,000-horsepower Top Fuel dragster.

“The project needs the publicity, we need to get it out in front of people so they can actually see it, and there is no better place to do it than the US Nationals,” Mark explained. “If you're in drag racing, it's the biggest and longest running event of the year, so this was just the perfect opportunity.”