GODLESS

By Kari Costanza, July 2009

Ethiopia

Shimelis Hapte, 43, has seen persecution and has lived to tell about it, but the memories make him cry. He knew as a child that he wanted to serve the Lord. In 1984, the Holy Spirit came upon him while he was in prayer. “I was born again at that time,” he says. “I was very happy.” But that happiness was not to last.

“Starting from 1984,” he says, “the government was opposing Christian life. They tried to destroy it. They took everything—our Bibles, musical instruments, our spiritual books. They took it by force and put Christians in prison.

“I hid to worship. If two people together were reading a Bible, they were arrested and sent to prison. We hid ourselves and joined with underground churches. Especially at night.”

In 1990, Shimelis was caught worshipping. He was imprisoned. “They ordered us to take off our shoes. They tied us together with rope. Our feet were scraped and bleeding. They took us to the police. First they asked about Christianity. They asked us to deny Jesus Christ. None of us did. We passed by the police. They beat us with sticks, one by one. It was painful.”

Shimelis and 15 others were held in a 2-by-2 meter (6.5-by-6.5 foot) room. “People slept on top of people. We were interlocked. After one week we went to the big prison. It was like a concentration camp. Worms entered our skin. Flies got into our legs. And there were lice. One night we counted the number of lice on me—there were 78. In the morning, the lice marched away like marching ants. People died from disease. They cooked our food in rusted metal dishes. Our hands were covered in rashes.” The prisoners included Shimelis’ future wife, Atakilt. Her face still bears the scars of persecution. Her right eye droops where she was beaten during those terrible times.

REFLECTION:

This week we will put away our resources and freedom to worship publicly as we experience what it’s like to be “godless” with the persecuted church.

SUGGESTIONS FOR THIS WEEK’S EXPERIENCE:

• Hide or put away all signs and symbols of religion in your room, including your Bible
• Hand copy a page of the Bible and use only this page as your Scripture for the entire week
• Don’t attend any religious services or meetings for the week

As always, you can adjust these experiences or come up with your own. Commit to one, remembering that we are trying to step into what it would feel like to be unable to have access to spiritual resources (in Shimelis’ case, it was lack of the resource of freedom to be a Christian and worship).

Also, listen and ask God to speak to you in new ways this week as you leave behind some of the normal means through which you might hear Him. Consider how believers all over the world have a life-changing relationship with Christ even though they may not have Bibles, worship bands, and public meetings. Ask God to challenge and grow your knowledge of Him and faith in Him as He does theirs.

--Written by Sarah Brubaker

Father's Love Letter

You may not know me, but I know everything about you. Psalm 139:1
For you were made in my image. Genesis 1:27
I knew you even before you were conceived. Jeremiah 1:4-5
I chose you when I planned creation. Ephesians 1:11-12
I knit you together in your mother's womb. Psalm 139:13
You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14
And I brought you forth on the day you were born. Psalm 71:6
I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live. Acts 17:26
In me you live and move and have your being. Acts 17:28
For you are my offspring. Acts 17:28
You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book. Psalm 139:15-16
I know when you sit down and when you rise up. Psalm 139:2
I am familiar with all your ways. Psalm 139:3
Even the very hairs on your head are numbered. Matthew 10:29-31
I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me. John 8:41-44
I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love. 1 John 4:16
And it is my desire to lavish my love on you. 1 John 3:1
Simply because you are my child and I am your Father. 1 John 3:1
I offer you more than your earthly father ever could. Matthew 7:11
For I am the perfect father. Matthew 5:48
Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand. James 1:17
For I am your provider and I meet all your needs. Matthew 6:31-33
My plan for your future has always been filled with hope. Jeremiah 29:11
Because I love you with an everlasting love. Jeremiah 31:3
My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore. Psalms 139:17-18
And I rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17
I will never stop doing good to you. Jeremiah 32:40
For you are my treasured possession. Exodus 19:5
I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul. Jeremiah 32:41
And I want to show you great and marvelous things. Jeremiah 33:3
If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me. Deuteronomy 4:29
Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4
For it is I who gave you those desires. Philippians 2:13
I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine. Ephesians 3:20
For I am your greatest encourager. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you. Psalm 34:18
As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart. Isaiah 40:11
One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes. Revelation 21:3-4
And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth. Revelation 21:3-4
I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus. John 17:23
For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed. John 17:26
He is the exact representation of my being. Hebrews 1:3
He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you. Romans 8:31
And to tell you that I am not counting your sins. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you. 1 John 4:10
I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love. Romans 8:31-32
If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me. 1 John 2:23
And nothing will ever separate you from my love again. Romans 8:38-39

Love, The Father

Careless

Careless: By Vichheka Sok, June 2010

Cambodia

Sokha is ten-years-old and is a single daughter from a poor family. Her father died from AIDS when she was three years old. Her father passed HIV to her mother, Bopha, a thirty-five-year-old farmer. Sokha suffered disdain for years from other children in the village, her schoolmates as well as her neighbors. “My mother lives with HIV and everyone hates me, and I didn’t have any friends to play with because they were scared of HIV and AIDS,” cried Sokha. “My mother lives with HIV, I love her so much.”

Sokha could not stop her tears while telling her story. She continued with loud sobs, “I remember that my mother was really skinny with itchiness covering all of her body as well as her head. She looked dirty. I really pitied her and I love her so much. I always pray for her to get better soon. She couldn’t move her body, and she seemed to have no energy. She couldn’t go to the toilet herself, my grandmother and I always had to help her to move to anywhere. And every day, I cleaned her body with a wet towel because she couldn’t take a bath by herself.”

Sokha always walked to school and her school is far from home. She walked alone without any friend to walk with and or talk to. “I was really depressed and angry with other children who said to me, ‘Your mother lives with HIV and AIDS,’” said Sokha. “I didn’t want to go to school, and I really wanted to fight those who used those words of contempt to call to me. Yet, I could only cry and deeply pity my mother.”

In 2008, Sokha went to get a blood test to make sure that her mother didn’t transmit HIV to her. Luckily, Sokha tested negative for HIV. She is safe, which makes her mother happy. Her mother has hopes for Sokha’s long future.

REFLECTION:
Life is very lonely for Sokha, who faces ridicule and isolation due to the stigma of AIDS. Sokha lost her father due to the disease and must care for her own mother in her illness; who is there to care for Sokha? Through no fault of her own, Sokha faces much of the hardships of her life alone.

It might seem hard to imagine if you’ve grown up with one or two (or more) caring family members, but many children in today’s world lack that guidance and care. This week, we will be taking time to experience and understand that reality.

Christine's Story Revisited

Remember the story about little 6 month old Christine who suffers from bouts of malaria? (below, under Helpless) Well, if you read it, here’s more of her story. Christine lives in Uganda. Her mother, Rebecca, walks for miles to receive medicine for her baby when she has the money. Often upon arriving the health clinic has run out of the help she needs.
In Uganda, malaria is the major killer of children, causing about 70,000 to 110,000 deaths annually. (Ministry of Health website) It goes on to say that without treatment a child may die within 24 hours. Going untreated, the child can have stunted growth (as in Christine’s case), get brain damage from cerebral malaria or pass away. Without the full dose, the patient can become resistant to treatment.
Insecticide treated mosquito bed nets play an important role in preventing malaria. World Vision has distributed nets to each of their sponsored children. Other organizations do the same. Unfortunately, Rebecca’s children aren’t sponsored by WV, though they do use an old mosquito net.
Pray for those around the world who are facing “helpless” situations like Rebecca. Ask God to reveal the role you can play in helping in some way. Find an organization, such as World Vision, that helps to alleviate poverty, and see how you can get involved.
(www.worldvision.org)

Remember, World Malaria Day is April 25--the goal is to end malaria deaths by 2015. (www.actstoendmalaria.org)

Who Will Love Them For Him?

I don't know if you're familiar with J.J. Heller's music or not, but she has a peaceful, sweet voice. Two of her songs can be found on my playlist to the right. Since starting this Relentless Acts of Justice journey, as well as other issues that have been on my mind, one of her songs really opened up some emotions-- "What Love Really Means". You may want to take a listen. As I've thought of the poor, needy, oppressed, and destitute during the past two weeks, I've also thought about the conditions that some of our brothers and sisters live in. The first verse of this song fits so well and then I just penned another verse of my own that asks "who will love them for Him"?

"What Love Really Means" by J.J. Heller
He cries in the corner where nobody sees.
He's the kid with the story no one would believe.
He prays every night "Dear God won't you please...
Could you send someone here who will love me?"

Who will love me for me?
Not for what I have done or what I will become.
Who will love me for me?
'Cause nobody has shown me what love
What love really means.

(My addition)
She's a woman who's scorned
by those all around.
She feels of no worth
And poverty abounds.
Her children are sick and no food to provide.
She must choose to provide before somebody dies.

Who will love them for Him?
Not for where they were born
But from the love that's within.
Who will love them for Him?
Reach deep down inside and see what you find...
Will you love them for Him?

TB Elimination: Together We Can!

World TB Day is March 24, an event that commemorates the date in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced his discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that causes tuberculosis. 1/3 of the world’s population is infected with TB. It is the leading killer of people who are HIV infected.

Tuberculosis, being airborne, is a highly contagious and easily transmittable disease that is treatable and curable, but only for those who know they have it. Each year 9.4 million new cases of active TB are diagnosed and 1.7 million TB related deaths are reported globally; annually. Every day 4500 people die from tuberculosis. TB is among the 3 greatest causes of death among women aged 15-44.
Numbers are high in India and China and the disease mainly affects 20-40 year olds.

(information from World Health Organization, medindia.net)

World Water Day

Water is one of the world’s most precious natural resources. However, 80 countries regularly experience serious water shortages. Children’s tiny bodies are particularly dependent on clean water and susceptible to water related diseases and parasites.

Every 21 seconds, a child dies from a water-related illness.
More than 2.7 billion people have inadequate or nonexistent access to proper sanitation.
When a community gains access to clean water, its child mortality rate drops by half.

Every day, nearly 4,000 children die as a result of drinking unsafe water.
Every 22 seconds a child perishes from waterborne diseases such as typhoid, cholera, and dysentery.
Six million people are blind as a result of contaminated water and bacteria.

To give water is to give life.
Clean water can cut a community’s child mortality rate in half.
It means food for families whose crops are failing due to drought.
It saves livestock.
It gives parents a powerful way to improve the health, hygiene, and well-being of their children.

(Information taken from World Vision's site.)