mbmission.org
Fall 2016
THE UPHILL CALL OF CHRIST
Witness Fall 2016
Contents Editorial: The Uphill Call of Christ............................2 Always Smiling..........................................................4 Good Shepherd, Great Physician.............................6
THE UPHILL CALL OF CHRIST
Randy Friesen, General Director
Eight in the Bathtub..................................................8 The Sound of Peace in Burundi..............................10 Never Before...........................................................12 Watching.................................................................14
Contact 1.888.866.6267 For other contact information, see mbmission.org For comments & questions, email news@mbmission.org
Staff Editor-in-Chief......................................Randy Friesen Managing Editor............................... Mark JH Klassen Layout & Design.................................. Darcy Scholes Illustration & Design............................. Colton Floris Media Team Lead.................................Larry Neufeld Circulation & Administration.................Ann Zauner
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I recently received a phone call from a dad who was struggling with the cost of sending his young daughter on a short-term mission trip to Central Asia. Our waiver form was explicit in outlining the potential risks to participants given recent bombings and kidnappings in the region. He told me that his daughter had already served on many mission assignments around the world and he was sure that she was called to go on this one – but at what cost? I appreciated his question but, having walked through this surrender process myself with my own children, I asked him, “Is martyrdom still an acceptable outcome in mission?”
“Is martyrdom still an acceptable outcome in mission?”
We talked about the message of the Gospel and Christ’s call to surrender everything and follow him. Then we prayed together and he released his daughter to the Lord for his purposes. On page five, you can read about one life that was transformed through this short-term mission assignment in Central Asia. That ongoing fruit has come at a cost. It always does. Since that conversation, I have been reflecting on these words from the Book of Isaiah: “Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord.... He will teach us his ways….’ They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore” (2:3-4). We are called up to the mountain of the Lord. The gravitational pull of sin is always down, whether it is connected to self-interest or national interests. Jesus calls us upward and invites us into learning his ways and modeling his peace for the world. Instead of pulling other cultures down, we are called up to the peaceful ways of God. This summer, I had the privilege of following my son Josh up a few mountains. I wish I could say it’s getting easier, but fighting gravity – and an aging body – requires training and lots of determination. It’s the same with learning God’s ways and walking in his paths – it is definitely not the path of least resistance. In a world where conflict is growing and so many lives are being destroyed, God invites us up to see the world from his perspective. Most people don’t know the way to the mountain of the Lord; they don’t know God’s ways. They need to be led by others; they need to see demonstrations of God’s forgiveness, mercy and love from those who know him.
In the summer, some or our staff joined an event in Turkey where young people were gathered from Syria, Turkey, Iraq, and North America. Most of the participants were Muslims, but the group of seventy-five came from very different backgrounds and situations and they spent a week together, sharing hotel rooms and meals; they also shared their stories, their dreams and their pain. On a day themed around reconciliation, a young Syrian refugee shared his anger at feeling rejected by Turks. But he also shared how the new friendships he had formed at the event had changed his perception of them. He apologized for his former prejudice and asked for their forgiveness. When he did that, two young Turkish men got up and embraced him with tears.
He apologized for his former prejudice and asked for their forgiveness. In turn, others in the crowd began to share their stories and move toward peace and reconciliation. A number of participants asked for Bibles, wanting to know more about this way of love and forgiveness. I don’t believe there has been an opportunity like this in our lifetime when Muslims are as open to the love of Christ. This love is willing to pay any price. If the current level of conflict and instability in the world are the new normal, then the costly love of Christ is the only response! I just visited a new refugee welcome centre near Vancouver where I spent some time with the staff and volunteers. I watched as Syrian refugees and commited Christ followers from area churches together received orientation for their volunteer responsibilities. English teaching, employment assistance, computer skills, and even trauma counseling support are available in an environment where the love of Christ is lived. Our new neighbors have experiences and stories which remind us that we all suffer and we all need each other. In the Book of Revelation, John is writing from exile on the island of Patmos (not far from where many refugees are being routed today) and he points to his experience of suffering as normal: “I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus” (1:9). We are John’s companions in the suffering, kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Christ. Is this true of our own experience?
Young people experience love and forgiveness When we pray for God’s kingdom to come and his will to be done, are we okay with the fellowship of sufferings and the patient endurance that prayer requires? The advance of Christ’s kingdom in this world and in our lives is costly. It’s uphill. For John, it meant exile on an island. For us, it might mean releasing our children to costly mission assignments, repenting of sin to a spouse or employer, or loving our refugee neighbors even more than our own lives. Will we embrace the kingdom and its cost? In this issue of Witness we’re exploring the joy, fruit and cost of living on mission with Jesus in the midst of all the turmoil and complexity of our world. Thank you for joining us on this mission!
PRAY
Join us in November as we...
PRAY FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH See our website for resources: mbmission.org/pray4globalchurch
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Her name means, the one who is always smiling. She rolled over on her cot and looked at me with huge eyes. I repeated my simple question, “What do you think about Jesus? Who do you think he is?” We were alone in our room and I felt that the Spirit was prompting me to ask. “I saw Jesus,” she replied. “Six years ago, he was in my dream.” Now it was my eyes that grew in size as I sat up on my bed. As far as I knew, my roommate for this week-long camp in Central Asia was a Muslim. She had grown up in a closed country and her entire family, she had explained, was practicing this religion. “What do you mean?” I asked.
“Jesus is inviting you to follow him,” I said. “He wants you to be his daughter.” “I know!” she erupted. I asked her if she wanted to respond to this invitation, to surrender to the One who had always loved her. I had barely gotten the words out of my mouth when she bounced off her bed and sat down beside me. “Yes!” she said, “I love Jesus and I want to be a Christian. I love him!” After we prayed together, she hugged me. “I am a Christian!” she exclaimed, as though she could barely believe the words. Tears were pouring down both of our faces. Then she turned to me abruptly and said, “I’m scared. I’m scared to tell my family, scared of what might happen.”
“Ten years ago, I read the Bible.” Although she told me that she enjoyed the words she read, she had put them aside. They only began to mean something to her later – four years later – when a visitor interrupted her dreams. “I saw him while I was sleeping,” she began. “In my dream, I suddenly found myself in a big green field with green trees all around me. A man dressed in a white robe was standing there. He had this thing on his forehead like a crown with prickles – I had read about that in the Bible, so I knew it was him.” As she continued, I had goosebumps on my arms. “It was Jesus,” she said. “He didn’t speak to me, but he looked at me. Actually, he looked into me.” She smiled, placing her hand on her heart. “He gestured to me before he disappeared into the sky.” I was speechless. “I went to the leader of the mosque,” she said, “to ask him about my dream. He got angry with me and refused to answer my questions. It hurt me. Afterward, I found it hard to read the Qur’an. Every time I tried, I would get headaches. I tried to pray like my family wanted me to, but I hated it.” Then she turned to me and whispered, “I don’t think I can be a Muslim.” As she paused to reflect on what she had just shared with me, I asked her if she knew why Jesus had come to her in a dream. Did she know how much he loved her and wanted relationship with her? She listened as I walked her through the Gospel story, starting with creation. Tears streamed down her face as I explained the message I had heard so many times. For her, it was the very first time.
We asked God for his peace, and her countenance changed. She was already experiencing the comfort of the Holy Spirit in her life. When our group gathered together the next morning to say our goodbyes, others noticed something new and different about my friend. She was smiling as usual, but there was a deeper joy evident in her that was completely new. It was difficult to say goodbye to this dear friend and new sister in Christ. I wanted to stay with her, to sit longer on our cots in that hotel room. I wanted to pray longer with her about her fears, her family, her situation. But I couldn’t. As I boarded the bus, I waved a final goodbye. I felt torn. I left her with a Bible and with the confidence that the same One who had been pursuing her for many years would continue to walk with her on the difficult road ahead. We will stay connected. I will do my best to help her find believers who speak her language and can come alongside her. I believe in the local church and I trust the Spirit to guide her. Four days after I said goodbye to my dear sister, I received a text message from her. She wanted to tell me that she had just finished reading through the Gospel of John. She sent photos of herself with her new Bible. I could see her smiling. Always smiling. By a worker in a restricted area
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GOOD SHEPHERD GREAT PHYSICIAN In an email, Karen Hubert-Sanchez, long-term worker in Thailand, pleaded with her prayer supporters: “Would you commit to pray and fast with us for the life of our friend, Aram? She is having surgery on her liver, and the doctors are saying that she may not survive due to the high risk of hemorrhaging.” Karen was asking for a miracle. But it wouldn’t have been the first miracle in the life of Aram, this young single mother. Last year, Aram was looking for someone to help her and her seven-year-old son. She not only needed a place to live, she needed a place to get healthy. Aram was suffering from a variety of health problems. She was also pregnant again. As Aram searched online for a place that would take her in, she came across a website with the contact information for the Abundant Life Home (ALH) and Pi Ganiga, the housemother. She immediately called Pi Ganiga and quickly began to get the help that she was looking for. “The miraculous thing is,” said Karen, founder and director of ALH in Chonburi, “we don’t have a website! We have no idea how Aram found us online.” Karen had searched the Internet for any sign of a website that listed her orphanage, but she found nothing. “We like to joke now that an angel put up a website just for that day so Aram could get into contact with us. God is a good shepherd who loves to do miracles so the lost can be found!”
This led to years of destructive patterns of addiction and struggling to survive in whatever way she could.
Aram certainly felt lost. In 2014, when the tsunami hit Phuket, Thailand, both of her parents drowned as she hung onto a coconut tree to save her own life. That tragedy left her in turmoil, and very alone. In her vulnerable state, Aram was taken advantage of by others and suffered horrible abuse. That led to years of destructive patterns of addiction and struggling to survive in whatever way she could. Finally, in desperation, Aram looked for help online and miraculously found ALH. Shortly after arriving at ALH in December 2015, Aram came to faith in Christ. She became involved at the Ang Sila Church and began to grow and heal. As the love of God flooded her heart, she forgave those who had taken advantage of her since she was a child.
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But Aram’s struggles weren’t over. Months later, in June 2016, Aram was diagnosed with Hepatitis B and told that she would need surgery on her liver. Then, shortly after, she experienced another tragedy – the death of her newborn baby daughter. “She never gave up,” Karen said. “Even as she faced the surgery, she talked about someday becoming a house mom at ALH and serving the Lord with all of her heart.” Karen and the others at ALH and Ang Sila Church kept praying for Aram, and they kept believing that God would heal her. At times, they saw glimpses. On one occasion, they watched as her bright yellow eyes – the damaging effect of Hepatitis – regained their natural colour as they prayed. In another email to friends and supporters, Karen broke out into earnest intercession on behalf of Aram: “Father, we take authority over all of the schemes of the enemy to bring disease and death to Aram’s body. We praise you that her soul is alive and free to worship you! We declare your healing over all illness in Aram’s body, for we know that by your stripes she is healed. Thank you for how your blood is able to cover and protect her from all harm and injury. Be glorified and lifted up as you restore Aram to full health. Give her many more years to raise her children and to serve you in Thailand so that your Good News would continue to go out to the lost and hurting. We ask for a miracle, to make your name known here so that many will come to faith in Christ. You will prevail, O Lord, for there is none like you in the heavens above or in the earth below. In the name of Jesus, amen.” The very next week, as the doctors prepared for the surgery, they did a scope on the liver and found cancer: three tumorous cysts entrenched into Aram’s liver, tangled deep into the tissue. The surgeons emphasized that the surgery would be complicated and Aram’s chance of survival would be slim. As the day of the surgery came, the doctors decided to delay it because Aram’s blood was not clotting. They collected six extra bags of blood in anticipation of the re-scheduled surgery on Monday. Karen and the others kept praying. But then, as the doctor did another scope on Monday, he could not believe what he saw. He was confused and decided to delay the surgery again until Wednesday. On Wednesday, after another scope, the doctor confirmed that the tumors were gone and there was no longer any trace of cancer in Aram’s liver. “It is impossible,” the doctor said simply.
Aram and her son find help at the Abundant Life Home Karen replied, “With God, all things are possible! He is the Good Shepherd and the Great Physician!” Almost immediately, Karen was updating friends and supporters who had joined her in praying for Aram. “I wish you could have been here to experience the joy and spontaneous praise that broke out everywhere as the story about Aram got out. Aram herself was jumping! She couldn’t stop testifying to anyone that would listen that she was healed by God and would now be around to raise her son! She told us that she now wants to go to Bible School – for at least ten years! She wants to serve God and become a house mom at ALH. She wants it all – all that Jesus has for her!” By Mark JH Klassen
PRAY Please continue to pray for Aram. Karen recently reported that doctors have detected cancer in Aram’s gall bladder. However, Karen and the others at ALH and Ang Sila Church are full of faith and believing that God can bring complete healing to Aram’s body.
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I wish you could have been there. Forty people packed into our living room, and eight courageous young believers ready to take the step of baptism. You need to understand how brave these young people are. They are all from Buddhist families, from communities where no one else believes in Jesus. They are the first among their own people. There are no examples for them to follow, no mature leaders to guide them, no fellowships to attend. But still they choose Jesus. In the crowded apartment, the young believers were asked a question: “Are you willing to suffer for Jesus, and even die for your faith in him?” Their response was determined and decisive: “Yes!” Then, one by one, they were baptized in our bathtub. These believers understand the cost. They have been taught from the very beginning of their faith journey that there will be difficulties and opposition. They are told that they will likely face the strong disapproval of their families. They might lose their friends. The monks in their communities will undoubtedly argue with them and try to convince them to abandon their beliefs. They may be forced out of their villages. They may be beaten. However, these new believers are also taught that Jesus is worth it; he is worth the sacrifice. And they are quickly learning this as they experience God’s love and power in personal ways. Several have experienced physical healing after receiving prayer. Some have had dreams that remind them of God’s presence with them. They are keeping in close touch with one another for mutual encouragement. And all of them are reading their Bibles in small groups and learning by retelling and discussing the portions that they are reading. Please pray for these eight young people. Pray that they would keep learning from the Scripture. Pray that they would learn to depend on God and keep in step with the Spirit. Pray for their conversations and behavior with family members, that their relationships would be strengthened despite the tension. Pray that the transforming power of Jesus would be displayed in their lives through healing, dreams and power over evil spirits. By a worker in Asia
EIGHT IN THE BATHTUB
THE SOUND OF PEACE IN BURUNDI “We are treated like pigs,” Jean Marie says of his people group, the Batwa in Burundi. “Often I feel like I don’t even exist in the eyes of others, like I’m not even human.” The Batwa, also known traditionally as pygmies, are the most marginalized people in Burundi. Small in stature, they have also suffered greatly as the result of tribal conflicts and extreme poverty. In a nation that has been called the hungriest in the world, the Batwa are the hungriest of the hungry. As with other countries in the Great Lakes Region of Central Africa, Burundi has become very densely populated, making it very difficult for the Batwa to maintain their traditional lifestyle of hunting and gathering. They have literally been pushed into the jungles and left without a place to call their own. Recent political protests in Burundi have only escalated the overall tension in the nation. The current security situation has deteriorated to the point that many – an estimated 300,000 – have fled the country, adding to the global refugee crisis. For those who have remained in Burundi, there is deep uncertainty about the potential for peace and prosperity within their borders. Many people are losing hope, and patience. But not Jean Marie. Far away from the centers of conflict, the life of one Batwa man has been transformed in a way that, if given the chance, may give hope to the rest of the nation. Peace may yet be possible in Burundi. A short time ago, Jean Marie was living in poverty with his wife and four children. “My life was becoming worse day by day and I was watching my children starve.” In addition to the physical realities of being marginalized, Jean Marie’s people were suffering both socially and spiritually. “There was no one who cared about us, no one who advocated for us. In my heart, I thought that God had forgotten us, the Batwa people.” “Then I heard a voice saying, ‘No, wait. God will come to visit you.’” God did come to visit Jean Marie through a local ministry called Harvest for Christ. Soon after he heard the voice, he met Venuste, one of the workers with Harvest, who began helping the Batwa community in a variety of practical ways, including primary health care and education. Through Harvest for Christ, Jean Marie got a job as the night guard at the medical clinic. It was not only the beginning of meaningful work; it was the beginning of a deep friendship. Venuste taught Jean Marie to read and write, as well as helped him build a new house. “When I see my family now,” said Jean Marie, “they are happy, they are blossoming.” 10 | witness
Jean Marie’s life and community have been transformed However, Jean Marie’s transformation did not stop there. His new friend, Venuste, began to teach him the Word of God and his heart began to change. By the time Jean Marie decided to follow Jesus and get baptized, his wife was also ready to take this step of faith along with his mother and father as well. A whole community was being transformed. Since arriving in 2014, the MB Mission team in Burundi has focused their energy on investing in a partnership with Harvest for Christ, especially in their work among the Batwa. Team leaders, Doug and Deanna Hiebert, have had a strong relationship with Harvest for many years, especially with its founder, Onesphore (see Doug’s article in Witness Spring 2014 to read about their journey back to Africa: mbmission.org/returnto-africa). The Hiebert’s teammates, Tyler and Cheryl Schulz, have also devoted much of their resources during their first term in Africa to support the ministry among the Batwa. “God has truly been at work in the Batwa community,” Cheryl recently shared. “He is reconciling people to himself, and people to one another. Our Harvest partners have acted out their love in daily routines that are proving more meaningful than we can imagine. Now we see people from different tribes eating together, children playing together, and now singing together.” Jean Marie himself is singing. He is a gifted musician and has composed numerous songs based on verses from the Bible. Recently, he gathered some likeminded
people together to start a singing group. “It’s a group that comes from those that were baptized together,” Jean Marie explains. “We are from all three ethnic groups: Hutus, Tutsis and us Batwa.” Their voices, together, make the sound of peace. Keeping in mind a painful history and current conflicts, the transformation that is being experienced in Jean Marie’s life, and in his family and community, is truly amazing. It is a glimpse of hope for the nation of Burundi. By Mark JH Klassen
VIDEO
Get a glimpse into the life of the Batwa in Burundi and watch Jean Marie’s story of transformation from poverty and hopelessness to dignity and purpose. mbmission.org/not-forgotten
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NEVER BEFORE “I had never before met anyone like them,” Yaar said about a group of fourteen people from Kansas who were visiting Paris and staying at the hotel where he worked. “I used to watch them through the glass walls of the meeting room at the hotel during their devotions and prayer.” As an employee of the hotel, Yaar was used to meeting people from all over the world, usually in Paris on business. But these people were different. “It was like watching a real-life American television show,” he said. “I was fascinated.” The group was actually a short-term mission team from First MB Church in Wichita. They were only in Paris for two weeks, but Yaar took every opportunity to interact with them at the hotel. He enjoyed his conversations with them, especially with one of the team members, John. The two men quickly formed an authentic friendship. They talked honestly about their lives in a way that was different for Yaar. When the group left and returned to Kansas, Yaar’s life returned to normal. He missed John and the rest of the group, but he had other friends in the city. He wasn’t looking for a new community, at least not then. However, it wasn’t long before Yaar’s world started to crumble. He broke up with his boyfriend of three years and subsequently began to lose all of his friends who were connected to his ex. He tried desperately to make it on his own, but he quickly found himself lonely and depressed. Yaar loved his family, but most of them lived far away in Morocco. Although they knew about his homosexuality, they did not speak about it to others because of the strong social stigma. In Morocco, homosexuality was condemned and any public display of it could result in imprisonment. There was no tolerance in that society for the way of life that Yaar had chosen. Of course, France was different, and Yaar was thankful for how it afforded him the freedom to be who he was without the threat of violence or imprisonment. However, his own sister, who was his only sibling in Paris, had virtually cut off ties with him. Although she would speak with him occasionally on the phone, she would not welcome his physical presence. Yaar still enjoyed trips home to visit family in Morocco, but he didn’t feel totally free there. As relationships became more and more difficult for Yaar, there was a period of about seven months when he was disconnected from everyone – everyone except John. The two men communicated regularly back and forth by email and social
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media. “He was the only person I could talk to through that time,” Yaar said. “He was my only friend.” During that time, Yaar also shared more with John about his faith and how he had come to reject the god of Islam. Yaar was still searching for God, albeit a god that was different from the one represented in the Quran. After months of isolation, Yaar finally took John’s encouragement and counsel and he made contact with the small group of believers from a house church in Paris who had hosted John’s team earlier in the year. Although Yaar had never met any of these people, he was willing to reach out to them and arrange a visit. The first gathering Yaar attended with the people from the house church was an International Meal, which happened to be a regular celebration of the cultural and ethnic diversity in their neighborhood. Yaar was amazed. “I had never seen anything like this in France. People who open their home to friends, even strangers! People from fourteen different countries to share a meal together!” Yaar was touched by the hospitality and warmth of the gathering, so much so that he made a commitment to participate in any future events that they hosted. Since then, Yaar has attended numerous shared meals, picnics, game nights, movies and English classes. When he recently returned from a trip to Morocco, he brought gifts back for
everyone in the group, including Moroccan snacks that his mother had made. The group was happy to hear that Yaar had told his mother in Morocco all about them. He even said, “When my mother comes to Paris, she’s kicking all of you out of your kitchens so she can prepare meals for you!” Yaar opened his heart to the group just as they had opened their hearts to him. There was a mutual exchange of love, affection and kindness, and it opened a door to sharing with Yaar the life and love of Jesus and the message of the Gospel. Recently, another church team from Kansas visited Paris. Only one person from the earlier team – a man named Travis – was on the new team. But Travis was eager to take the time to meet with Yaar and with one of the members of the house church. Over lunch, the three men reminisced and expressed gratitude for their friendship. Yaar shared openly about his journey through depression and the important role that John and the church had played to help him through. By Mark JH Klassen
GO
God used John from Kansas to impact Yaar in Paris. It’s a great example of the potential long-term impact of short-term teams. To explore how you can get involved in a short-term mission assignment, go to mbmission.org
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WATCHING They were watching. From the sides, from the back, near the triple-locked gates, hugging the walls where barbed wire jabbed the inaccessible blue of a midday sky, mocking their lack of freedom. Watching us. It was unnerving, knowing that our every word, movement and facial expression was being scrutinized by the wary eyes of these young offenders. We had spent the first two days trying to get to know them through simple games –difficult to do under the stern and suspicious gaze of armed guards. On the third day we had been allowed to divide into small groups to share our mutual stories, and it was then that we began to understand the depth of brokenness contained within the walls of this high-security juvenile prison in Colima, Mexico. It was now day four. Would they let us pray for them? Pastor Carlos they knew; we were the strangers that came but once a year. “They trust you, at least,” I commented under my breath.
“Yo primero! Me first!” The boys, released to approach us, suddenly swarmed our prayer stations. The silent watching, as it turned out, had been but thinly-disguised anxiety. Would we have time to talk to them all one by one? We would try. The stories they told were painfully similar. Fatherless, abandoned, rejected, abused, adrift in the deep and abject despair of poverty, and longing for a sense of significance, many of these vulnerable young men had been targeted by gangs when they were still only boys of eight or nine years of age. In the villages bordering the state of Michoacan, such boys are always being watched. Watched by those who see their potential usefulness as scouts, drug mules, dealers and - should they rise high enough in the ranks assassins. Gangs are always watching for strays, watching for an opportune moment to befriend hungry children and seduce them with oily smiles, easy money and the false euphoria of drugs and alcohol. Then they gradually expose the children to increasing levels of violence until, one day, their innocence forever stripped away, they go through a rite of passage and make their first kill, while the gang leaders watch.
“I prepare them to die well.”
Carlos nodded, looking at the boys. “Every Friday I come here, I teach them. Some, they become believers, and so I disciple them.” He paused, and turned to face me. “I prepare them to die well.” That is what discipleship looks like here. The gangs are always near, always watching. When the young prisoners are released, gang members are the first to meet them outside the prison walls, using threats and bribes to lure them back into service. Should they refuse, they face torture and death; if they are lucky, it will be a single bullet to the temple.
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The pastor looked grim as he explained this to me. He had already lost two recently-released young men to such deaths. He hopes that they died well, trusting in the Saviour to whom they had entrusted their souls while in prison. I listen, but this is beyond my comprehension.
“They always watch,” one young man named Manuel told us, “to be sure that we do it.” It’s kill or be killed. At seventeen, Manuel was halfway through a seven-year sentence for multiple homicides.
Then there was Fernando, who had learned to cook crystal meth by age twelve. And Luis, who had been given a gun and been sent to a local elementary school to target the children of rival gangs; his shots went wild and the deaths were far more than he had planned. He had felt nervous, he said, because he knew that his boss, his jefe, was watching from across the street, ready with a machete in case he tried to run away. The images that filled our minds as he spoke were intolerable. “I ran away when I was nine,” Joselito told us. “They beat me, beat my sisters; I was too small. I could do nothing.” Running into the countryside, he had survived by picking fruit and begging for food. For over a year he then worked in the sugar cane fields, but it was too much for his scrawny, malnourished body, and in the end he reluctantly made his way back home. When he came to his house, he heard his sisters screaming. They were being abused by his aunt, just as he had been since the age of three.
Will you keep watch with us? Pray that God, who sees all, will watch over these young men and women as well as the leadership of Pan de Vida, who themselves may become targeted by local drug dealers and gangs for their efforts to truly set prisoners free. Watch and pray, as Jesus asked of his disciples in Gethsemane. May those in prison feel God’s gaze upon them, watching them with love according to the promise in the Psalms, “I, the Lord will keep you from all harm; I will watch over your life; will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore” (Psalm 121:7-8). By Nikki White Nikki and a team from North Langley Community Church (BC) are part of an ongoing initiative with the Pan de Vida church in Colima, Mexico. To explore similar opportunities with other MB churches in Latin America, please contact our Regional Team Leader, Vic Wiens, vicw@mbmission.org
“I went crazy,” he said. “My aunt, she hits them.” Joselito stopped, struggling to speak. “I could not think. I just,” he continued hoarsely, his voice cracking, “I just want to stop her. I do not think to kill. I was only eleven years old!” Joselito was fighting back the tears, knowing that we and the other boys nearby were watching him. But we were not the only ones. Suddenly a hand was thrust into the midst of our circle, a crumpled wad of clean toilet paper gruffly offered. It was one of the guards, himself fighting to maintain control of his emotions. Although the guards would all have known the specific nature of the infractions for which each prisoner had been remanded, few had heard the details of their lives. “God loves you,” we told him with aching hearts. “He brought you here Pastor Carlos disciples former gang members at a juvenile prison to be rescued, to meet him.” Over the next few minutes we led Joselito in a prayer of repentance and petition, and rejoiced quietly as he began the transformative process of turning his life To learn about our new Partnership Postures Workshop over to Jesus. There were four others that afternoon who and about other global partnership opportunities, also exposed their pain, receiving a gift of unfathomable please contact your local Mission Mobilizer. grace and pardon through faith in Jesus. To view a short video introduction to the Workshop, While we watched. go to mbmission.org/partnership
PARTNER
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WHERE ARE YOU gOING WItH GOD? God is inviting you to step out in faith and go to new places with him. Some of those places might be exotic destinations around the globe, but many more will be unexplored places of the heart.
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