Radical Womanhood

AH-dees AH-ba-ba

When we landed Friday night in Addis Ababa, we had narrowly missed being caught in a civil war. Our flight had landed earlier that afternoon for a refueling stop in Khartoum, Sudan. I had hoped to get off the plane and take a picture of my feet on Sudanese soil, for I figured I would never get a chance to go back. Instead, we were warned to stay in our seats and not take any photographs.

The next day, Darfur rebels attacked Khartoum and the airport (and air traffic control) were closed, taken over by the Sudanese military. Suddenly the airspace over this vast nation was also unavailable to passing commercial flights. We knew nothing of this until we received an email from Doug Hayes, executive director of Covenant Mercies, who was flying to Addis to meet us for a video interview. His plane had been held in Amman, Jordan, until further notice.

Ignorant of this problem, we found that our first reaction to Addis upon arrival was dizziness and confusion. Addis Ababa sits at about 8000 feet--high enough to notice the thin air when you land or try to move quickly. Thus, the dizziness. The confusion came about when the Ethiopian Customs agents politely refused entry to our video cameras. We needed to obtain a special permit from the Ministry of Information to bring in our gear and there would be a small fee. Of course, this office wouldn't be open until Monday, so without our cameras, we enjoyed a restful weekend. All the needed paperwork was processed smoothly on Monday morning, however. By Tuesday, we had everyone and everything we needed to proceed with our filming.

We spent Tuesday with Doug and Aman, a pastor at our church here in Addis, Covenant Life Church. Aman coordinates the child sponsorship program that the church runs in conjunction with Covenant Mercies. We visited a poor neighborhood composed mostly of Muslim Somali refugees, where more than a dozen children are currently sponsored. (The older girl in the picture at left is one of the children in Covenant Mercies' program.) I think we met nearly every person in the neighborhood--our cameras always draw a curious crowd here. In general, people are very respectful. It's polite to acknowledge everyone you meet with a small bow. Close male friends will bump chests three times and close female or male-female friends or family will air kiss each other three times in a left-right-left pattern.

I have so many other observations about Addis (I believe the correct pronounciation is what's shown in the title), but the photos are taking a long time to upload, so I'll call it quits for now. Lord willing, more photos will be added in the near future.

Photos: Khartoum as seen from the airplane; a view of Addis taken from the Ministry of Information; a family of a child sponsored by Covenant Mercies (mother, toddler, sponsored child, and grandmother).

A Walk to Beautiful

What a wonderful convergence. I've been reading a book that was lent to me titled, The Hospital by the River, by Dr. Catherine Hamlin, while I've been in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Tonight, May 13, PBS is airing an award-winning documentary on NOVA called, A Walk to Beautiful, which is about the work done by the doctor in this book. I've set my DVR and look forward to watching it when I get back. The story is set in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, which is why I'm eager to see it. Here are some details about the film from a press release:

The film tells the personal stories of rural women who make their way to Addis Ababa, seeking treatment for obstetric fistula, a life-shattering complication of childbirth that was once common in the pre-industrial United States but that is now relegated to the poorest regions of the world. In Ethiopia alone, there are an estimated 100,000 women suffering from untreated fistulas. Shot in a starkly beautiful landscape, the film juxtaposes the isolated lives of village women who are outcasts because of their medical condition, with the faraway hospital that offers a miracle after a long and arduous trek--a "walk to beautiful."

Women with small pelvises, whether due to malnutrition, overwork, or because they married too young, are most at risk, since there is often not room for the baby to emerge during birth. The result can be an obstructed labor that may last up to 10 days, a stillborn baby, and a trauma-induced hole, or fistula, in the vaginal wall that produces chronic incontinence. The women profiled in A Walk to Beautiful are treated as virtual lepers in their villages, where they are shunned by family and made to live alone. One woman admits to contemplating suicide.

Through chance they learn that there are other women who share their affliction, and that the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital exists to help them, if they can manage to walk for hours to the nearest road, find public transport to the capital, and then search out the hospital in a strange and forbidding city. Once there, they enter a haven that they never imagined, surrounded by women like themselves and a medical staff of Western and African doctors who treat them like human beings, not outcasts.

Dr. Hamlin is a Christian from Australia who came here with her husband. He died in 1993, but she remains in Addis to serve these women.

"My husband and I came to Ethiopia in 1959," she says. "The previous gynecologist that we replaced said to my husband, 'The fistula patients will break your hearts.'"

I hope I will be able to visit this hospital during my trip. But if not, I am eager to finish the book and watch the documentary when I get home. I pray that it is a good witness and an encouragement to those who watch it. You can read more about this documentary and see images from the area on the NOVA website.

Ministering in the Land of the Reformation

We've just concluded our last day in Germany. Today we went from the city of Hamburgers to the city of Frankfurters. I kid you not. We saw the signs and we laughed. (We are rather easily amused. And speaking of amused, check out this rollerskate of a car. It is the perfect urban vehicle. Why parallel park when you can perpendicular park?!)

I really like Hamburg. It wasn't anything like I expected. When I arrived, I read it was the Venice of Germany--and with the port, lakes, and canal system, I can understand why. There is a lot of waterfront acreage there! Hamburg is in the top ten of my favorite cities. (It might rank higher if I spoke German, but that's my issue and not Hamburg's.) God gave us glorious weather. Everyone kept saying it's not like Germany. We were quite grateful.

Our host, Wolfgang Wegert, was excellent company, as well. He must be an incredibly busy senior pastor, but he was so genial--it seemed like he had all the time in the world for us. One night he took us out for a steak dinner and the waitress stopped him to say hi. We later found out it was because of his TV show. His Sunday sermons from the Arche church are seen throughout Germany and into other parts of Europe, reaching somewhere between 50,000 to 100,000 people each week. He gave us an incredible interview in English, so I can only imagine how powerful he is while preaching in German.

This weekend, Arche church is hosting a Bible exposition, the largest of its kind in Europe. I was able to see a bit of it while it was being set up. Incredible! I saw one of the original clay jars that held the Dead Sea Scrolls and a Bible from the early 1500s, from the time of Martin Luther. I wish I could have seen the rest of the displays.

Tonight we flew into Frankfurt, in order to connect here and fly out to Addis Ababa in the morning. We saw a little bit of the historic town center tonight and the commercial district on the way into town.

During dinner, we had a serious conversation about what we were learning during our personal devotions and other small group-style spiritual fellowship. Our earnest conversation caught the attention of four businessmen at the next table. One was an evolutionary biologist from the U.K. and a huge Richard Dawkins fan. His other colleagues were from the Netherlands, Poland, and Scotland. They were stunned to hear young men so passionate about God and the Bible and couldn't help but interrupt us to talk about it. The biologist was alternately intrigued and irritated. He couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that we actually believed in God. But he was not the least bit rude. In fact, we were honored by his persistent interest in us. The guys did a great job of presenting the gospel and drawing attention to God's Word. We left that restaurant rejoicing in the opportunity God gave us, and eager to pray for these men. It was, however, a sober reminder of how much of a culture gap exists in Europe when Bible-believing Christians are such a novelty.

(Photos: On location in Hamburg; a popular urban car in Hamburg; Wolfgang Wegert with one of the Dead Sea Scroll containers; a Bible dating from the early 1500s.)

The Hope of Resurrection In the Midst of Persecution

Happy Easter to you all! I pray your celebration of our Lord's resurrection was blessed one.

This morning, we heard from C.J. Mahaney preaching on preparing for death based on the hope of resurrection. His sermon text was 1 Corinthians 15:17. Here it is in context:

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. (1 Cor. 15:12-19)

If Christ has not been raised, then indeed our faith is in vain. That can be a crushing thought to many believers, but I can imagine no group with more to lose if that be true (praise God it is not!) than those who are persecuted or imprisoned for their faith.

These brothers and sisters need our support. Did you know that you can minister to many who are imprisoned for their faith? Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) maintains a website with some details on these prisoners, and information about how to write to them and how to contact their governments to appeal for their release. By becoming an advocate for an imprisoned Christian, you may have a profound impact. And VOM makes it so easy to do, that it's almost scandalous not to invest 15 minutes or so to pray and write letters on a prisoner's behalf. Here's what VOM says about being an advocate:

By becoming an ‘advocate’ you are entering into the vital and important ministry of intercession and solidarity with those who suffer for their faith in Christ.  As an advocate for our brothers and sisters in chains you will be encouraging them when you write to them in prison and supporting them when you write to officials on their behalf.

Your involvement testifies of the love and unity found among followers of Jesus Christ throughout the world. It is a witness to both your imprisoned family and to the authorities you write to or who may censor letters intended for the prisoner.

Your involvement is evidence to our persecuted family that they are not forgotten.  Often the oppressors try to brainwash these Christians into believing that they are forgotten, that they are not loved and that no one knows about them. Through this isolation and loneliness the devil can prey upon their faith. When a prisoner learns others are protesting on their behalf or when they receive your letter, they know that someone cares.

You involvement can result in better treatment for a prisoner. The authorities in many nations are very sensitive about their image abroad. When they realize that outsiders are monitoring a prisoner’s situation, conditions may be improved.

For this we have a scriptural mandate. Read and pray through the following verses, which will help you understand the role you are undertaking. This is no doubt front line spiritual warfare and you will also need to pray through all your thinking and letter writing.

Hebrews 13:3, Matthew 25: 34-40, Matthew 5:10, 1 Peter 3: 13-17, 1 Peter 4:12-14.

Tonight, I wrote an email to the Chinese ambassador on behalf of a 42-year-old woman who has been under arrest since July, 2007. I also wrote a letter directly to her in Chinese. VOM has an innovative system in which you can pick out phrases in English that are already composed in Chinese. Then you compose your letter, print it out, and send it to her. VOM has also wisely provided a number of guidelines for these letters, which I would suggest that you read first--including what to write to government officials and how to write to prisoners.

Please ... take a moment to make an appeal on behalf of one of the 18 prisoners currently listed on VOM's site. Then remind these prisoners of the resurrection hope that we have and encourage them to run the race with perseverance for the sake of God's glory. Let them know they are not forgotten for their courage and conviction.

Modern Abolition

One thing that fascinates me in my book research is how 19th-century women linked the cause of abolition to the issue of women's influence and role. Both first-wave feminists and those who promoted what's been called "the cult of domesticity" or "Republican motherhood" (meaning, of the new republic, not a political party) fought to end the slave trade. No matter how they defined a woman's role, they agreed that you couldn't examine the role of women without linking it to freedom for all human beings.

Since I'm traveling today, I asked my friend, Janice Lam, for an update on what she is doing in the area of human trafficking. Janice lives in London with her husband, Phil, and their young son. She works part-time as a lawyer for a non-governmental organization that is working to end human trafficking. She and Phil see this as part of their ministry as a family because they share a passion for international development and serving the Lord abroad.  "As parents now, we think a lot more about what it means for us to point our son to Christ and to be godly examples for him," she says. "I often remind myself that this role and legacy that we pass on to him is more important than any human rights work I do."

Janice is pictured at left in a moment of levity, at the Jane Austen house in Bath (U.K.). But her work and witness are a bit more serious. Here is her report:

When I first met Sarah, I wouldn’t have guessed that she had been a victim of human trafficking.  She was bubbly and polite.  A red Santa stocking cap was perched playfully on her head.  The conference room in the downtown Chicago high-rise where we met must have felt light years away from the small hut in Manila where she grew up.  Sarah had been trafficked from the Philippines to the United States by a wealthy family with the promise of a legitimate job that would enable her to send money back to her impoverished family.  Instead, she was ruthlessly exploited and abused as the family’s domestic worker, forced to work 16- to 18-hour days for as little as $100 a month.  The family she worked for took great pains to keep Sarah isolated and friendless, although an occasional phone call to her family every couple of years was permitted.  Sarah managed to endure and survive these conditions for nearly two decades before finally escaping with the help of a family acquaintance who called law enforcement authorities.

Human trafficking is not a new phenomenon.  Two hundred years ago, it was known as the Transatlantic Slave Trade, during which an estimated 3 million people from the African continent were transported from their homeland, sold as chattel and enslaved for the purposes of forced labor in the New World.  Today, human trafficking is defined as the movement of people through force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of forced labor, sexual exploitation, servitude or slavery-like practices.  In other words, people are sold as commodities and exploited for profit.

Estimates as to the number of persons trafficked globally range from 4 million to 27 million.  The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates there are 12.3 million people in forced labor, bonded labor, forced child labor, and sexual servitude at any given time.  The U.S. government has estimated that approximately 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders, a number which does not include millions trafficked within their own countries.  The overwhelming majority of victims are women and girls and approximately half of them are minors. 

Human trafficking is a lucrative business.  A number of factors contribute to its growth, including discrimination against women; desperate economic circumstances caused by widespread poverty, political instability or war; corruption and complicity on the part of government officials and law enforcement personnel; a lack of information about the realities and dangers of trafficking; and insufficient punishment for traffickers.  The problem of trafficking is also compounded by government policies: many governments, for example, treat trafficked persons as illegal aliens, criminals, or both, exposing them to further abuse such as the possibility of being re-trafficked.  The government may deport a trafficked person rather than assist her if her presence in the country is unauthorized.

I became a lawyer because that is how God called me to serve Him.  Working to combat human trafficking is something that I’m passionate about, but it’s not without its challenges.  Anti-Christian sentiment is not uncommon.  Fresh out of law school, I took a job at a private law firm with a robust pro bono program that enabled me to represent Sarah in a civil lawsuit.  Since recently moving to London for my husband’s job, I started working for a non-governmental organization (NGO) conducting research on UK legislation and its impact on trafficking victims.  I have yet to encounter another Christian in my new office environment.  At times it can feel lonely being the sole Christian in a liberal place.  But the disparaging comments about the “religious right” or “those Bible bashers” don’t offend me anymore.  I’ve actually come to expect them.  These comments have provided at least one opportunity to engage a colleague and explain that the reason I care about this issue is precisely because I am one of those born-again Christians who believes in the dignity and value of a human life. 

The far greater challenge is reminding myself that the Lord is sovereign and in control.  That He hears the desperate cries of the wounded.  Scripture is filled with reminders of God’s heart for the poor and oppressed and His command to come alongside the weak and vulnerable.  (Psalm 82, James 1:27).  If my heart aches for Sarah’s sufferings, how much more is God grieved by these injustices? 

Still, sometimes, I feel hardened to the facts of the trafficking cases that I encounter.  Sometimes I tend to view human trafficking solely as an academic issue about which I conduct research.  Perhaps that is part of the subconscious coping mechanism I have developed over time.  Indeed, it is tempting to believe that the problem of human trafficking is insurmountable.  The numbers are staggering.  The British government has estimated that 4,000 women and children are trafficked into prostitution alone in the UK at any one time.  That’s thousands of shattered lives.  Even once a trafficked person is rescued from her situation, there is no promise of a happy ending.  Some are failed by the criminal justice system—traffickers walk free due to lack of sufficient evidence or witnesses unwilling to testify against them.  The trafficking victims themselves may be deported due to their immigration status, left without physical, emotional or psychological help or any financial compensation.  Worse yet, some may even be re-trafficked soon after they return home.  Governments may be painfully slow in developing and implementing anti-trafficking legislation and bringing traffickers to justice.  Corrupt immigration officials continue to look the other way each time they’re presented with falsified visas or passports for another woman about to leave the country and enter hell on earth. 

Sarah is one of the lucky ones.  Her traffickers were convicted and imprisoned.   The court ordered them to pay her years of withheld wages that they owed her, and that money is slowly starting to come in.  Sarah was issued a special three-year visa, known as a T visa, which allows her to remain in the country and apply for legal permanent residence status at the end of the three-year period.  Sarah works in retail now and enjoys going to parks and spending time with her boyfriend.  The scars are still visible—the lingering distrust in her eyes, the hesitation in her walk, the anger, frustration and tears in her voice as she tries to make sense of her betrayal at the hands of people she trusted.  The road to recovery is a long one.  Some days are better than others.    

I do not give up hope because of the promise that we have in our Heavenly Father through His Son Jesus Christ whose death and resurrection freed us from the bondage of sin.  It is the Lord who, through His righteous judgment, will deliver final justice where our earthly systems cannot.  He commands us not to take revenge but to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:19-21). 

One day God’s people shall dwell with Him in the new Jerusalem.  “He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”  (Revelations 21:4).  On this side of Heaven, we may never see an end to human suffering.  But it is the hope that we have in Christ and the promise of His kingdom to come that keeps me going until the day we are with Him in the new city. 

Standing Against Sexual Slavery

(Helpful disclaimer: This blog post is not suitable for younger eyes ...)

Just as I was getting ready to post the next in the series about a godly woman's outreach to the poor and needy, I heard the ding of my inbox. When I checked it, I saw that Boundless was running an article on exactly the same topic I was writing about. So today's post is extra-long, but very important to read.

Of the many issues that draw the attention of Christians, human trafficking should rank at the top of the list because these are creatures made in the image of God. It's my view, however, that sex trafficking should be a particular concern to Christian women; in fact, in terms of outreach to the poor and needy, it could be the issue of our generation. In light of the overwhelming proliferation of pornography, we have to stand up to voracious commercial interests and oppose this evil in the name of Jesus Christ. In my book research I've learned there was an extremely short window of time in the early '80s when Christians and feminists were aligned against pornography. But that changed in the 1990s with the rise of both the Internet and the raunch culture among the next generation of feminists. Now we have a commercial sex trade that is preying on younger and younger children in desperately poor nations (as well as in this nation).

In the Boundless article, Sexual Slavery: Shattering the Sacred, Lindy Morgan writes this horrifying account:

I wonder then, what will become of the man who came to that market-side cafe, in the smothering heat of South East Asia and purchased the innocence of a child along with his pancakes. The memory still minces my heart, even though a year's time now stands between me and that moment. I saw the Cambodian girl tucked against the wall, her shoulders curled over herself, her small frame swallowed in the shadow of the foreigner sitting beside her. I watched while the bearded giant negotiated with a Cambodian man across the table over the terms of her "service."

As I sat three tables away, an involuntary witness to his crime, questions formed a full-speed collision in my head. How old was she? Could I talk to her? Could I stop this "transaction?" How could this Cambodian man bring her here and betray her into the hands of such a person? I only had time to snap a picture with shaky hands before they were gone, the Cambodian man one way, the American and his new entertainment, clutching only one small bag of possessions, gone the other. "Be careful friend," I shouted after her, my attempt at Khmer causing her to throw a look my way. A look that said, "I know this is wrong, but I have no choice...."

There would be no breakfast eaten that day. I felt as cold and rubbery as the pile of eggs staring back from my plate. Later I would talk with the cafe's Cambodian owner and explain who could be contacted in such an event. She told me with lost resignation that this happens all the time.

Lord, have mercy, Lord have mercy. This cry became a daily SOS to heaven during the 12 months my heart was parceled out into the lives of young Cambodian girls. I lived and worked for a year in their country of temples, palm trees and red fluorescent lights that screamed the message each night, "Lives destroyed here."

Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, is home to over 300 brothels. The girls inside, as young as age 4, are from Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia. They have been tricked, purchased, often drugged, transported across national borders and are now held emotionally and physically captive to the demands of those who would profit monetarily from their destruction. People from in town and from every "civilized" country know this forgotten land to be one of cheap and abundant perversion with "no consequences." Though deepest in Cambodia and the surrounding nations, this disease is worldwide, with over one million children currently in the snare of sex trafficking and exploitation. "If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness" (Matt. 6:23).

This past October, a friend of mine went to Phnom Penh to learn what various Christian organizations are doing to combat sex trafficking. Kate McNeill went with a group of 10 women from Frontline, the young adult ministry of McLean Bible Church in Virginia, to spend a week helping these Cambodian-based ministries in the areas of prevention, intervention and after-care services for rescued sex workers. This is what she wrote after her trip:

Eighty percent of the girls born into these populations are trafficked.  They are poor and easily coerced, taken, or sold into slavery.  On one of our outreaches, we walked through this slum to gather the children for the afternoon lesson.  I had never seen poverty like this.  There was trash everywhere and people just sitting with it.  I looked in several doorways to see one small room, one bed and at least five people.  I was overtaken by the poverty and the dirtiness of the environment.  I kept praying, “Lord, please help me to not view this as an experience but to truly understand that this is how people live.  People you love dearly and who I am called to love, too.”  Shortly after praying this a little girl came running up beside me and grabbed my hand.  We held hands the rest of the way through the slum and smiled at one another.  One small girl broke that barrier for me to love.  To view these people and this environment with the heart and love of God impacted me greatly.

One day we visited a former brothel.  It was so horrifying.  It looked like a kennel.  It was all concrete, the rooms were small, drab, and dark.  To me, it wasn't fit for an animal.  We walked through this brothel and prayed for the girls that used to be enslaved there.  We also prayed for the building because it is being renovated into a Christian community center. A former U.S. pastor working in Cambodia to restore young girls that have been trafficked has rented this building and is renovating it. He and his wife are turning it into a community center where children in this neighborhood can come to learn English and the Bible. To see the darkness of this former brothel/prison that these young girls were kept in and then to see the light of the aftercare centers where they now reside today is more evidence of God’s faithfulness. What Satan meant for evil, God will use for good!  While we were there tons of neighborhood kids came running down to visit with us.  They practiced their ABC's and we sang a song together.  It was such a gift to see so much light and life in a formerly dark place.

We also visited two after-care centers where the girls are taken after being rescued from the brothels.  We played games, painted pictures, painted nails, and played outside.  The thing that struck me the most is that these are just girls.  Prior to going to Cambodia, my mind wanted to reason in some way that they would be different than girls here and that somehow that would make it easier to understand their situation.  But when given paint and paper, they drew flowers and butterflies; when given a ball, they played soccer and monkey in the middle; when given a swing set, they swung; a seesaw, they seesawed.  They laughed and had so much fun!  To me, this was evidence that our God is who He says He is--that He is able “to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.”  Many have placed their faith in Him since coming to these centers.  It was such a gift to spend the day with them.

Please continue to pray for the girls enslaved to the sex trade in Cambodia and worldwide.  It is real.  And these girls are just that, girls.  To see them through the doorways of the brothels, and to interact with them in the aftercare centers, has given me faces and names instead of just numbers and statistics.  These girls have been violated in one of the worst ways possible over and over again, and they desperately need our prayers for rescue and restoration.

There are many organizations involved in combating sex trafficking, from the International Justice Mission to YWAM to Shared Hope International, and many more. Personally, I support Shared Hope International [NOTE: the website is down temporarily], but I encourage you to pray and follow God's leading as to what you can do. The point is that a problem this large needs both logistical and financial support, as well as the prayers of those who know the real battle is "against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness" (Ephesians 6:12).

(Photos: Kate, in orange, with her team; a brothel.)

 

Helping Hands in Kiburara, Uganda

The Practical Issues for Godly Women series continues the Proverbs 31:20 theme with this mission trip report. I offer it to encourage more people to consider the rewards of short-term mission trips and volunteer vacations. It's one thing to send money. It's another thing to go, to uproot your life for a period, and to make a dignified, personal connection with those who fall into the category of poor and needy.

Earlier this month, my church sent a team of single adults on a short-term mission trip to Kiburara Gospel Centre in a remote section of Uganda. They went to help Pastor Moses and his church with a number of outreach events. The area is quite isolated, at least a ten-hour drive from the nearest city. Disease is rampant due to contaminated drinking water and HIV/AIDS. Despite these conditions, Pastor Moses began his church about ten years ago in this small village of 600 people and he has taught his people to know and deeply love God. What follows is a moving report from my friend, Aida Alam. She went on this trip with her fiancé, Michael (the one plugged by my pastors for his creative engagement proposal). I appreciated the fact that in a short engagement season, Michael and Aida kept their commitment to this trip. There's nothing like going on a mission trip a month before your wedding to keep the right perspective and kill any "Bridezilla" tendencies! Here's what she wrote:

I want to share a few highlights from the trip you and ask you to continue praying for this country that has left a lasting impression on my spirit and has broken my heart with the suffering and evil that is manifested there.  Even now as I write in the comfortable and sterile suburbs of D.C., my heart is literally choked up with images of what we have all seen as a team.  Pictures of the children in the rags that we would see them in almost every day, rags that were probably the best pieces of clothing that they owned.  Boys wearing girls' clothing because that was all they had.  Children carrying heavy plastic containers of disease, malaria-ridden water on their heads, then drinking from that water because they would get so thirsty on the way home.  A society devastated by disease and death.

We reached Uganda after an extended 8 to 10 hour flight to London, a few hours of layover in London, another 8 to 10 hour flight to Entebbe, Uganda, followed by a 10 to 12 hour bus ride to a remote village in Western Uganda called Kiburara.  After we arrived, I finally understood how remote it was and why I could never find it on Google maps.  We reached Kiburara about 11 p.m. Uganda time and the people of the church there, Kiburara Gospel Centre, as well as a ton of children, sat in the darkness to greet our bus. The immediate love that God gave to all of us for these people was overwhelming.

The next morning, we worshiped with the church and we were introduced to the congregation there.  We were moved by the palpable joy and gladness of the believers there who were living in utter poverty.  I don't know if suffering was all they knew, but what I could tell immediately was that nothing, NOTHING, these believers faced (HIV, starvation, disease, etc.) compared with the joy of knowing Christ and knowing the gospel.  I think one of the moments that left me utterly undone was when they had an  offering and people in the congregation lined up to give. The joy in their faces was so apparent, even as they gave out of nothing. I saw a lady give two pears, which were probably among the few things she had to eat during that week.

We spent the next day getting to know some of the people in the church and even participated in the baptisms with them. Then we went to a prison and shared the gospel with the inmates.  It was a such a powerful moment to see these men, whose clothing was less than rags--if you can imagine that--and who were in despair and hopelessness, raise their hands to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. 

The next few days we spent serving in the youth camp, where we participated in HIV/AIDs training with the kids.  By this time it was obvious that the excess number of children was because most of the adults had probably died from HIV/AIDS-related infections. It broke my heart when the program director told the children (and these are literally children, ages five and up) that they should not have sex for a soda or a piece of cake. That is right: for a soda. (If you could glimpse the poverty that these children live in, you would understand the tremendous luxury of soda when you haven't eaten for weeks). They have a huge campaign right now against what they call "sugar mammies" and "sugar daddies," those who offer kids gifts to have sex with them. More than half of the village we were in had HIV, as well as the church.  After going there, now I understand why their poverty drives girls and women to prostitute themselves for food and gifts. The Ugandans are such beautiful people and it just completely breaks my heart to see the faces of innocent children who suffer the consequences of promiscuity and sin. The youth camp was a highlight for me, especially when the women on our team were able to talk to the girls at the camp about sexual purity and how accountability with other believers and Scripture memory can help.

The camps would take place in the morning, then we would have open air evangelistic crusades in the villages until about 7 p.m.  I shared my testimony on the last night of the crusade, after wrestling with much fear of man about public speaking.  But once I got up there I was overwhelmed with wanting to give them the greatest treasure I had received, the free gift of salvation that Christ offers.  It was so moving because that last day about 25 kids (mostly boys) came forward to accept Christ.  I am praying that God would bear much fruit in their lives!

I hope you will join me in praying that the seeds that were planted there would bear much fruit, not only in Western Uganda but the continent of Africa.  Pray with me that God would protect the children and that He would continue to strengthen the believers and that every soul in that village would come to know Christ.  And please continue to thank God for allowing us to share in his sufferings for the good of the gospel.  At times I was almost in despair at how the Enemy has assaulted this continent. But I am ever grateful for the day when His kingdom will come and put an end to all suffering.

This past Sunday, the Uganda team gave a report to my church. My pastors are currently praying about the logistics for building an uncontaminated well in Kiburara for our brothers and sisters there. I am trusting that God will guide us favorably in this endeavor and that we will have the joy of providing clean water for that town as an ongoing and practical demonstration of the love of Christ.

(Except for the top photo of Aida, the remaining photos were all taken by Chavia Groveman. Her beautiful collection from the trip is archived on her website. She's selling these photos to help defray the cost of her mission trip.)

Gifts for Needy Children

I've finished my Christmas shopping and Amazon has informed me that all my gifts have been delivered. Online shopping is truly a gift from God for the frazzled multitasker!

In between ordering gifts, I've been coordinating the communication between my county's social workers and the members of my church who signed up to sponsor more than 200 foster children for Christmas gifts this year. In fact, Covenant Life's reputation spread to the neighboring county and they contacted the local office here asking if we could do the same for their children. So we are actually providing gifts for foster children in two counties and through our own prison ministry program. I am always amazed at the reliability of my church members--they sign up, they follow through, and they are faithful to provide Christmas cheer to needy children in a generous and timely way!

The family I am sponsoring is a single mother with two children of her own who recently took in her niece through the foster care system. At the same time, she went to work and found her company's door locked in a sudden bankruptcy. So she is really financially stretched this year and having a hard time finding a new job. All she wanted was something for her girls to open on Christmas morning, but I realized her need was greater than what I could supply alone. So I contacted some of my colleagues and my caregroup members and asked if they wanted to go in with me to provide financial help for this family. I have been overwhelmed by their generous response. I can't wait to bring the gifts next week and watch this woman's face as she sees the love of Christ demonstrated through His people!

If you are looking for a way to provide a Christmas blessing to a needy child, I'd like to recommend Covenant Mercies. Though it's unfortunate that many charitable organizations are in the news these days for their lavish spending and high administrative costs, Covenant Mercies maintains an impressively low 1.7% administrative overhead cost for their monthly orphan sponsorship program. Covenant Mercies began with an orphans program in Nagongera, Uganda, expanding last year into Ndola, Zambia, and is now preparing for new 2008 programs in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Kiburara, Uganda. In the original program in Nagongera, executive director Doug Hayes writes about a new initiative, separate from the orphan sponsorship program, to build a new school in the community:

In the long run, perhaps the most important form of care we provide for our children is in the category of education. In all the countries where Covenant Mercies is working, the sad reality is that most orphaned children – without assistance from the outside – would likely drop out of school by the sixth grade due to their inability to pay school fees. Your sponsorship is critical not only as a provision of necessary funds for school tuition, educational supplies, etc., but even more significantly as a restoration of hope for a brighter future. Our children know that they were vulnerable to a life of merely scraping out a subsistence. Your generosity provides them with hope by keeping them in school.

We have learned, however, that keeping our kids in school is not the equivalent of providing them with a quality education. Especially in the rural areas where many children live but few parents pay taxes, students are crowded into schools that are ill-equipped to provide the educational resources and staff needed for such numbers. In Nagongera, our primary area of operation in Uganda, it is not unusual for elementary school children to share a classroom with over 100 other students. This same classroom is typically led by a single teacher, and equipped with only a few desks and textbooks. Frequently, teachers take their students outside under a shade tree rather than attempting to squeeze them into a room that was made for far fewer. Hardly sufficient to facilitate learning on even the best of days, these outdoor classrooms are often dispersed by uncooperative weather. Simply put, our children are indeed staying in school, but their presence in the classroom amounts to an added weight on a system that is already overburdened and unable to deliver quality education.

For this and other compelling reasons, Covenant Mercies has decided to build a school for the children in our eastern Ugandan (Nagongera) program. On the 50+ acres where our orphans’ homes are located, we have set aside a piece of land for this project, with plans to break ground on construction in 2008. The school will be phased in over a four-year period, with space for 560 students anticipated by 2012. In close proximity to our water tower, the school will enjoy the benefits of sanitary cooking facilities and flushing toilets, yet will be set far enough away from our homes to provide appropriate privacy for the families living there. In total, we expect the school project to cost approximately $150,000, including a lab of low-energy computers powered by the same solar panels that run our water system.

You can read about the work with HIV/AIDs programs, Ethiopian slum children, Somalian refugees, and more on the Covenant Mercies website, where you can also make a donation online.

God with Us

Got this touching video e-card from World Vision yesterday. I really liked the message and the videography. Because it is about a little boy in Uganda, I find it especially meaningful for two reasons: 1) I sponsor a little girl through World Vision in Uganda; and 2) I contributed funds so that two of my friends can serve on a short-term mission trip from my church to Uganda next month. (I really wanted to go, but knew I couldn't with a book deadline swinging over my head.)

Even if you don't have any connections to Uganda yourself, it's worth it to view this video and be reminded of the ways God proves His love and presence to us. I also hope it will help you remember the true reason for this mass commercial holiday that is upon us! Here is how World Vision describes the video:

The great news of Christmas is that God is with us! For one little boy and his brother living alone in Africa, the reassurance of God's presence came at a time when all hope seemed lost.

Set in the wilds of Uganda, this two-minute e-card is inspired by a true story of survival, courage, and the difference a gift can make. We hope this story reminds you that the greatest blessings in our lives — no matter the size — often come when least expected.

Learning to Say 'I Love You'

The National Chauvinistic Husbands Association began with only four members. Now this Japanese group has more than 4,300 members. Despite its odd name, this group exists for one reason: to teach Japanese men how to be good husbands. Long used to working all day, drinking all night with other "salarymen," and barely speaking to their own wives, these men are not learning to be chauvinists (as Americans understand the word) but to be much better husbands.

Magazine publisher Shuichi Amano, 55, is the founder of this group. He says the Japanese word translated as "chauvinist" is kanpaku, which originally meant to be a top assistant to the emperor. Amano was nearly divorced by his wife eight years ago, until he learned to listen and talk to the wife he had virtually ignored for two decades. Now he is teaching other men the same values, according to an article in The Washington Post titled "Learn to be Nice to Your Wife, or Pay the Price."

Marriage in Japan is going through an increasingly rough patch. As in the United States and most wealthy industrialized countries, the age of first marriage is being pushed back in Japan. Between 1962 and 2006, the average age at which a woman married for the first time slid from 24 to 28.

But for well-educated (and presumably well-informed) young women in Japan, marriage is fast becoming a sociological rarity. In 1980, about three-quarters of Japan's college-educated women were married by age 29. Now, seven out of 10 are single at that age. In the past 20 years, the percentage of women in this elite demographic category who do not want to marry at all has almost doubled -- to about 29 percent.

This wariness is a rational response to the isolation and drudgery of being a wife in Japan, according to Hiromi Ikeuchi, a family counselor with the Tokyo Family Laboratory. "I don't think it is the fault of men," she said. "It is the corporate culture that expects men to work late."

Japan's divorce rate had been rising steadily for decades. Then, in 2003, the law was passed granting a divorcing wife the right to as much as half of her husband's pension. But the pension provision did not go into effect until this April.

"Hundreds of thousands of women were waiting," said Ikeuchi, who added that since April about 95 percent of divorce applications have come from women who apparently were done waiting. "Unfortunately, I think the divorce rate is going to go up."

She said the situation is particularly worrisome for married men nearing retirement -- men who are soon to return full time to the bosom of families they have financially supported but emotionally ignored.

"This husband who comes back is an alien," Ikeuchi said. "For a wife to accept this alien is going to be very, very difficult."

While many experts agree that there is a marriage crisis brewing in Japanese, the response of men has been tepid.

As interesting as this article is, I thought the 5-minute mini-documentary (embedded below) that accompanied the online piece was more revealing of the marital tensions. As I watched it, I thought how easy it is for anyone, in any culture, to treat marriage as a financial or emotional transaction built upon the timeless question, "What's in it for me?"

As one woman I recently interviewed for my book said, "I don't know how anyone stays married who doesn't know Christ." Apart from understanding our sinful motivations and cravings of the heart, apart from receiving and extending the grace of God, and apart from living for the glory of Christ, it would be easy to view marriage through the classic advice columnist question: "Am I better off with or without him?"

Fortunately, Scripture gives us a different paradigm for marriage, one that repeatedly challenges men to love their wives--and not merely to preserve a pension.