Abortion

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” -Dietrich Bonhoeffer

    The year is 1933 and in Germany the Nazis have just taken power. For the next twelve years until 1945 the Nazis would kill off many Jews for the sake of purifying their race. This event was known as the Holocaust. What many Americans do not realize is that there has been a holocaust in our own country. This Holocaust has been given another name though, a name that makes less of what it truly is. It’s named abortion; a genocide that within our own country claims millions of lives a year. 
    According to the United Holocaust Memorial Museum nearly six million Jews would be murdered during the twelve-year reign of the Nazis. That comes out to five hundred thousand murders a year. This is approximately equivalent to the entire population of Abilene, times five. Now let’s take a look at our own Holocaust. According to a United States Census in 2009 there were 1,211,500 children aborted. Now I am going to try and put that in perspective. Does everyone remember where they were on 9/11/2001? Now soak in those memories for a second and try to imagine if for the last thirty-nine years the events of 9/11 happened every single day. According a CDC website article titled, “Deaths in World Trade Center Terrorist Attacks --- New York City, 2001” there were 2,726 casualties from the World Trade Center attacks.  But what we fail to realize is that on average the daily abortion rate comes out to approximately 3,319. That is nearly six hundred more deaths than that of the attack on 9/11.
    Senator Brownback in the one hundred and ninth Congress first session in 2005 covered “THE CONSEQUENCES OF ROE V. WADE AND DOE V. BOLTON.” Brownback would state that, “In the years since Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton were decided, it is estimated that around 40 million abortions have taken place in the United States.” That was seven years ago. The Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life produced a current estimate of 54,559,615. This is truly the crisis of our time.
    So what now? For our great, great grandparents it was the abolition of the slave trade, for our grandparents it was the holocaust and now for us it is the fight against abortion. Will we be like those who silently stood by in the slave markets? Or those who apathetically allowed many Jews to die mercilessly because they did not want to risk their own lives for a cause bigger than themselves. Will we go down namelessly in the books of history as the generations that stood by as one of the greatest genocides in history happened on our doorstep? This is no longer a problem that belongs to those before us, it is now our problem. We have the power to change this. God has not blessed us in order that we may hoard all His blessing for ourselves. We have been given strengths, abilities, and talents but the question is will we use them for His glory? Proverbs 31:8 says, “Speak out on behalf of the voiceless, and for the rights of all who are vulnerable.” And who is more vulnerable and voiceless than an innocent child still within the womb? So whether it is voting, joining non-profits, adoption, counseling or even entering the political battle, there are countless ways to get involved and have a voice for those who don’t. William Wilberforce, the man credited with the abolition of slavery in England, once said, “Having seen all this you can choose to look the other way, but you can never say again, ‘I did not know.’” In the time it has taken to read this an average of eleven babies have been aborted. Consider that…

The Last Year or So

Over the last year there has been much that has happened in my life, yet I am here again faced with another time ahead of me where I am Lord willing going out internationally. There have been many trials and obstacles which have stretched me and broke me in many ways, but Yahweh is faithful to that which He calls us to. The further I travel along this road the more I am coming to the realization that it, as Hudson Taylor put it,  "not " have " in your own heart and mind, however you can get it, " faith in God," but simply " hold fast, count upon His faithfulness... Not my faith but God's faithfulness..."(Chapter 19, The Faithfulness of God 1875-1876. AET-43-44) Through everything, though there has been much pain and hurt, the one thing that truly remains is His faithfulness. That has not changed for even my own faith has changed over the last year, yet His faithfulness has not. Everything thus rests on His faithfulness for often my faith can be like that of leaves in the wind being swayed in every way, yet the faithfulness of Yahweh never fails. If I could live my life by this fact and truth it would then open the freedom that flows out when one completely and wholly trusts in Yahweh. I hope and pray that the Lord will break and mold me as clay into what He wills and send me where He desires.

"However, we know that a person isn’t made righteous by the works of the Law but rather through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. We ourselves believed in Christ Jesus so that we could be made righteous by the faithfulness of Christ and not by the works of the Law—because no one will be made righteous by the works of the Law."

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I now live in my body, I live by faith, indeed, by the faithfulness of God’s Son, who loved me and gave himself for me."

Galatians 2:16,20

Village

Tonight I am going with a friend Derrick to stay the night in a village where some of his family are.

The Trap of Poverty

Part of the "Hippocratic Oath" is to "Never do harm to anyone." This is part of the Doctor's oath. From having been here for the last few weeks I have learned a lot. Part of the issue of missions in the past and present is that missionaries want a "quick fix" something that will change people to the Lord and leave all their sinful ways behind. But this is not the case. In a society where witchcraft and ancestry roots go back hundred upon hundred of years, sadly there is no quick fix. You can not go into a field and throw out seeds , then expect a plentiful harvest. But instead the seeds will be choked by weeds and destroyed from everything surrounding them. One must put his hand to the plow and work the field for months upon months. Which for us as Christians would be a lifetime. In a society held to the cultural chains and roots which have held them captive for hundreds of years, they cannot be undone in one week.... one month... one year.... sometimes not even one lifetime. For some people just within this culture it may take ten years before you truly find out their motives. This is not just ten years of being acquaintances, this is more like ten years of them being your closest friend, a disciple. For some it may even take fifteen years, then next thing you know you are robbed and betrayed by those closest to you.(Imagine how Christ felt, He even knew what was to come) These cultural ties actually play into past missionaries. When the first missionaries came some did things right, others did not. From those who did not white people soon became a crutch for locals. People to pay for school, people to give them money, people who will get them out of their poverty. Then instead of helping them, we were actually fueling what is called "The Poverty Mindset." We are still doing this today. Short term mission trips of a few weeks or even a few years begins to create this mindset. Because then all we become are the "rich, white, Americans"(Bzungu) who are here to "fix their problem". But this is not their problem, their problem is not their poverty. Their problem is in the heart and morals. In a land like this where almost any individual  could walk into the bush, gather fruit, natural plants or even pick up wood to sell in the market. They could gain enough money to go to school, to buy food etc. The issue is not poverty at all. The issue is their heart and morals, which tie into their cultural roots. Back to my first sentence, we as Christians, Missionaries etc. must not do more harm. We must not sacrifice a people to their own issues by wanting to gain the momentary satisfaction of going on a several week long mission trip. Are these wrong... no. what we must realize though, is that every choice we make has lasting effects. Some which may take years and years to undo. Now this is just what I have been learning and picking up from talking to people here, so these are just some thought and things I am processing through. So do not take them as an ultimate truth. Thanks and God Bless

Past Week

It has been a great week. I have visited two of the hospitals here in Fort Portal, were we passed out some cookies with kids in the childrens ward. We also traveled around the area with public transportation, had to go to one of the major markets to buy food and cook a meal, which was very different then cooking in the US. I am journaling in more detail so I will be able to write more and share more once I am back. Thanks to all of you for your prayers, please continue to be in prayer :)