Moldova Taught Me the Justice of God

My friend leaned into my ear and said, "Do you see the woman standing in the back over there?" We were standing in the tiny village of Suhat, Moldova, surrounded by kids nervously waiting for some new shoes, a bit of soap. I glanced over and instantly knew who he was referring to and why. I had not seen a shiner like that since I had jumped from a chair and elbowed my eight-year-old brother straight in the eye (he deserved it). The woman's lip was busted up too. "It looks really fresh" my friend said. "I'm sure her husband did it."

I am not one usually to wish vengeance upon strangers. That day I did. I quickly thought about ways my friends and I could dispatch the a-hole who thought it a good idea to make a punching bag out of his wife. He was probably drunk when he did it, and probably drunk because he was desperately sad, not being able to provide much for his kids and all. That didn't much matter to me as she tried her best to hide her face from those around her. When I had come up with a relatively good plan to make the guy pay, my eyes were drawn to the other moms. How many of these moms had taken the back of a calloused hand for no good reason or gotten kicked in the kidneys to protect their kids? My plan was not encompassing enough. How would I take all the husbands out? I quickly envisioned myself Rambo with a large, menacing weapon and bulging, sweating muscles. It would take a lot more than I realized.

Suhat is a town long since forgotten, not on any map that I saw. The nearest village shares none of its resources they get from the government and their mayor consistently denies Suhat's existence. Food is so scarce there that meals are far from daily. The kids are dressed up in anything and everything to keep warm. One young girl I saw (an orphan) was dressed in a Playboy t-shirt. Though the rain, snow and brutally muddy roads would come soon, most of the people there would have only sandals to keep the cold from their feet. My plan was worthless. These people would get no justice that day or any day. I was far too small to do anything useful.

And so I must believe that God will have the final say. He must be just. If he is not, then there is no God or, worse, he is not much of a God at all. The scriptures affirm, though, that he is righteous--he must right all the wrongs. "Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord,'" (Romans 12:19). Though he has shown mercy for a time, his patience will not endure forever. Jesus Christ himself will soon return with a tattoo emblazoned on his leg and a sword tearing out from his mouth (Revelation 19:11-16). He's not coming to make nice.

Suhat exposed me for who I really am: A flaccid sinner clinging desperately to a righteous savior. I am worthless to provide justice. But it is he who hands out soap and it is he who will dispense furious fists.

Moldova Made Me Weak

Thanks to all who prayed for me and our church's team while we were away in Moldova. We are back safe, but not sound. God answered my prayer, that I would be made weak by what I saw and experienced. Moldova is beautiful, the people are engaging and kind, the country seems to be growing. Nevertheless, those who live there are, as one person said to me, "in hell." I learned a lot about myself, poverty, the gospel and God on my trip and am grateful for it. I will try and write about my experiences over the next few months.

For your information, our main task in Moldova was to work with an organization called Little Samaritan Mission (LSM), distributing backpacks full of supplies and clothes for kids in the outlying villages of Moldova. And when I say "villages," I mean your prototypical 18/19th century village. For the most part, the villages we visited had little access to the main city of Chisinau, or anything else for that matter. Depressed by stagnant communist rule, a slowing economy, and few natural resources, Moldova is very poor. Many of the villages have no running water or indoor plumbing, limited quantities of food and only basic access to electricity. The backpacks we delivered were literally the only "gifts" these children would receive all year. LSM enlists the support of individuals and churches in the states to fill these backpacks for a project they call Face of a Child.

And so we traversed across the country in a van, sometimes four hours away, delivering bag after bag to smile after smile. "These are gifts not from us but from God" LSM would say to the kids, as they eagerly awaited their overweighted present. I pray they understand that.

Moldova is a crumbling, sad, desperate place. But it is real, and it didn't change much on account of my arrival, and definitely not on my departure. Kids there are still going hungry, wives are still getting beat up by their depressed, drunken husbands, and 16 year old girls too old to stay at the orphanage any longer are forced into a tumultuous world that has very little to offer them except more poverty and, possibly, brazen, profligate danger. No, I didn't change Moldova much at all. And yet, God is still working. He is working despite and through Moldovan corruption and American laziness and droughts and floods and persecution and inert Orthodox faith and me.

May the people of Tocuz, Suhat, Zu Zu Leniei and every in between be given shelter, water, food and the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

The Poorest Country in Europe

Moldova. That's where I'm headed tomorrow night with a team from my church. Mainly we will be involved with distribution of food and supplies throughout the country, but we'll also be spending time at a few orphanages, including two days at the orphanage our church supports in Tocuz.

I am really excited for the opportunity and hope God splits my heart open. I heard John Piper say recently that America is the "Disneyworld of the universe." May Moldova awaken me to true reality. May God use this experience to force my face into the dirt, to help me realize my worth compared to his, to make me humble enough to love his people with abounded affection and passion.

Blogging will obviously be put on hold until I return. Your prayers for my team and our families at home are much appreciated.

Is the Task of Missions Forgotten? I Pray Not

Every Person Should Go On a Short-Term Mission Trip

Chinese Underground Church Principles

Posted by Doug Groothuis from a sermon by Brother Yun:

1. Always pray.
2. Always be ready to witness for Jesus.
3. Always be ready to suffer for Jesus.
4. Always be ready to die for Jesus.
5. Always be ready to escape from prison for Jesus.

Granted, we Americans are not under immediate threat of losing our lives. But perhaps we should all think that way. Christians in persecuted countries tend not to worry about details or get bogged down in issues us Americans tend to get bogged down in. They have laser like focus. Simply, it is all about Jesus.

Clinton Will Work Actively to Halt Human Trafficking

Let's hope she holds to this:

I want to pledge to you that as Secretary of State, I view these issues (human trafficking) as central to our foreign policy. Not as adjunct or auxiliary, or in any way lesser than all of the other issues we have to confront. I too have followed the stories that are exemplified by the pictures that you held up. I mean, it is heartbreaking beyond words that, you know, young girls are attacked on their way to school by Taliban sympathizers and members who do not want young women to be educated. It’s not complicated! They want to maintain an attitude that keeps women — as I said in my testimony — unhealthy, unfed, uneducated and this is something that results all too often in violence against these young women, both within their families and from the outside.

This is not culture. This is not custom. This is criminal. And it will be my hope to persuade more government — as I have attempted to do since I spoke at Beijing on these issues, you know, 13 and some years ago — that we cannot have a free, prosperous, peaceful, progressive world if women are treated in such a discriminatory and violent way. I’ve also read closely Nick Kristof’s articles, in the last months and especially the last weeks, the young women that he has both rescued from prostitution, and met, who have been enslaved and abused, tortured in every way– physically, emotionally, morally– and I take very seriously the function of the State department to lead our government through the Office on Human Trafficking, to do all that we can to end this modern form of slavery. We have sex slavery, we have wage slavery, and it is primarily a slavery of girls and women. So I look also forward, Senator (Barbara Boxer), to reviewing your legislation and working with you as a continuing partnership on behalf of these issues we care so much about.

So we’re going to have a very active office on trafficking, we’re going to be speaking out consistently and strongly against discrimination and oppression of women, and slavery in particular. Because I think that is not only in keeping with American values, as we all recognize, but American national security interests as well.

HT: GP

Flying Gospels to North Korea

Ok, I have at least one post today that isn't about Roe v. Wade. From CT, so cool:

Christian activists in South Korea sent hundreds of thousands of gospel tracts over North Korea's closed border in November using helium-filled balloons. Equipped with a time-release mechanism, each balloon carried 10,000 leaflets that tell the story of a 1907 Christian revival in Pyongyang, and compare Kim Jong-Il to Nebuchadnezzar. The effort is part of a resurgence of balloon launches, used for decades by political and religious groups to send propaganda past the North's information blackout. Such launches worsened relations between North and South in 2008. In response, North Korea's government further restricted travel and communication between the two countries.

Though it could have a negative effect on relations between the two countries, it seems that the risk is worth it.

St. Sara and IJM

A friend pointed out this article to me on Sara Groves and her work with and impact on International Justice Mission and the fight to end human trafficking. It reads:

So what in the world compels this Minnesota wife and mother of three to write such powerful words? What motivates her to make such music?

For Groves, it's a combination of her faith, the Spirit's leading, and hearing the stories of those who've gone before—those who are fighting injustice and those who have been victims.

Among her early influences was U2's Bono, who told Christianity Today in 2003 "celebrity is currency, and we want to spend it this way"—for the cause of social justice and compassion around the world.

Groves, who was just becoming a bit of a "celebrity" herself in Christian music, was struck by Bono's quote and wondered how she was spending her own "currency." She was already good at making music, but was it enough? Could it translate into ministering to widows and orphans and a broken world?

"I've struggled with that question," Groves says. "I used to think, I have to do something different. I can't just write songs anymore. I have to get my nursing degree or become a lawyer—something to make a difference."

A friend told Groves, "I can't believe you're even asking that question. You write music. That's what you do, and that's what you do well." He urged Groves to write songs that "tell these stories of redemption"—to tell the world what she's seen and heard. Not only about the ugliness, but about the beauty that comes through the work of ministries like IJM and Food for the Hungry, organizations Groves supports regularly.

I am enthralled by Groves not only because she can write music better than most. I am amazed at her because she writes out of the goodness of her heart. She is intensely humble and sacrificial. That's why I call her St. Sara. Read the whole article.

Pray/Give for the People of the Congo

From CT today:

Earlier today, an e-mail from National Association of Evangelicals president Leith Anderson called our attention to renewed conflict and an exacerbated humanitarian crisis in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire).

The situation there “in dire need of our attention,” wrote Anderson. “Violence has forced more than 250,000 to flee their homes in the last two months alone.” In the past decade, approximately 5 million have died as a result of the violence.

Similar appeals have appeared from a variety of NGOs, including Mercy Corps and the International Rescue Committee.

Anderson’s message focused on the resources provided by World Relief (a subsidiary of the National Association of Evangelicals and—full disclosure—the employer of Barbara Galli, wife of CT Senior Managing Editor Mark Galli). World Relief has posted a video appeal from Lynn Hybels, advocate for global engagement at Willow Creek Community Church, South Barrington, Illinois.

Anderson is urging evangelical churches to show Hybels’s passionate video over the next few weeks and to encourage their members to respond to the crisis in the DRC.

Below is a picture of two children in the middle of the crisis. From the AP:

Protegee, carrying her sibling on her back, cries as she looks for her parents through the village of Kiwanja, north of Goma, eastern Congo on Thursday Nov. 6. A fragile cease-fire in Congo appeared to be unraveling Thursday as the U.N. said battles between warlord Laurent Nkunda’s rebels and the army spread to another town in the volatile country’s east.

Living Missionally in the Suburbs

Ed Stetzer was asked, "How can we live more missionally in suburbia (any practical suggestions)?" He responded,

First, I think churches in the suburbs need to reconsider and discover again the nature of the biblical gospel. To many, the suburbs mean success. I live in such a place — people move to my area because it is where the other successful people are moving. It is no closer to downtown that 5 other suburbs I could list, but it is the go-to place on the north side of Nashville. Thus, it attracts people who value success. Obviously, a biblical gospel calls us to weakness and not strength. In the midst of the celebration of riches and opulence around us, we hold up a gospel of self-denial, poverty of spirit, and forgiveness of sin.

Second, we want to be counter cultural and push for community. Much of the suburban situation is built around keeping you away from people. I can have my dry cleaning picked up, my groceries delivered, and my lawn mowed every week — and I never have to leave my house. (I have neighbors that I never see unless I intentionally see them.)

But, for us, we see that the church and its believers are sent on a mission. So, my family can be stalkers. We being cookies to all the new neighbors (our neighborhood is new). We invite people over for barbecues. We blow off dangerous amounts of fireworks and invite everyone over. If the suburbs push against community, we push for it.

Children are also a great point of connection. We built the swing set in our yard that their kids want to play on. We have a zip line they can swing down and break their legs. We have the tire swing in our yard (and, it is quite a tire-swing if I do say so myself). So, if you are looking for the kids, they are at my house– and the parents follow.

Missional Living

Benched from Brandon McCormick on Vimeo.

Water