“So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Isaiah 41:10
Dear friends,
When you receive this letter I will be in Madras India , or on my way their by train from Calcutta . Right now, I am preparing for travel and wondering what I might share with you this month since my journey is just about to begin. So I'm looking back over some recent journal entries and wondering if it's appropriate to share these thoughts or not. But I'll take the risk and be open with you and pray that whatever is good in my thoughts will be a blessing and challenge and whatever is not good will simply be looked over and forgotten.
I need your prayers especially this first week in February as Nina and I will be seeing first-hand some of the devastation from the natural disaster in South Asia . We may also be volunteering some time in the relief effort, until Feb 11 th when our plane takes us from Madras back to Romania . Volunteering in Madras was not part of our original plan, but since Madras was already on our itinerary, we'll be taking the opportunity to help in any way we can. Praise God with us that the children and staff of the WMF Madras children's homes were not harmed by the massive earthquake in late December. We will be visiting with them as well this week first week in February.
Thursday December 30, 2004 :
“I've been thinking about the recent tsunamis in South Asia and the world's response. From what I see on TV, there seems to be a little competition going on between European nations for “who will give the most money to these poor people.” But the need is not simply for billions of dollars. Money we have. What we need are people who are willing to give their lives to long-term recovery and development. It bothers me to see the media craze and the footage that is being shown. We are shocked, horrified, and even get up out of the recliner to dial the number on the screen and make a donation to the Red Cross emergency relief effort. And with a flick of the channel we're back to watching “ER” re-runs, more comfortable with this make-believe emergency room drama than with the real life and death crisis in Sri Lanka and Indonesia and South India .
So what is my problem? Why am I so upset by the media coverage and the world's response to the tsunamis in South Asia .
Mainly because I know that when the camera men return home and the shocking footage is no longer flashing before our eyes we will return to our busy lives and quickly forget the hundreds of thousands of lives that have been lost, the families that have been shattered by death and grief and the impending famine and disease that may lead to more loss of life.
I probably shouldn't be so hard on others, when I myself have not done anything yet in response to this natural disaster. But I at least want us to become aware of the suffering of our brothers and sisters around the world as an on-going reality that requires and on-going response, not just a one-time financial gift.
Certainly there are moments in history when a crisis demands that we all respond. This is one of them. But what about the disasters that we don't see on TV like the AIDS epidemic in South African countries or the bloody civil war in Sierra Leone or the mass murdering that happened on the killing fields in Cambodia or the persecution of the Church in China? Do these not require a response? What about the highest abortion rate in the world in Russia and Eastern Europe (Romania the highest) or the silent killing of street children in Sao Paulo, Brazil and the police violence against street children in Lima, Peru? How are we responding to these needs? Do we even know about them? And there are so many more.
I have no answers. I have no quick solutions. But I do know that as a believer and follower of Christ I am called to look out for the needs of the poor. Jesus says, “Whatever you do for the least of these, you have done for me.” And James wrote in his letter, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27 ).
The irony of the situation in South Asia and our response is that instead of asking ourselves how we can personally have compassion and share the burden of suffering with the victims of this natural disaster, we end up exploiting the poor in their suffering, rush in with video cameras and make lots of financial pledges using their misfortune as a way to show our generosity and benevolence, thus feeling better about ourselves in the process…”
So after sharing these reflections I leave you with several challenges. One is to avoid getting caught up in the media hype, but regularly seek out news that is consistent in sensitively sharing about the needs around the world. Second is to seek true compassion and avoid false generosity that makes us feel better about ourselves. This means letting the suffering of others break your heart, not just your bank account. Fourth is to seek out relationship with the poor in your city. We will never know what we can offer others unless we are in contact with people who are in need. And we will find that as we give, we receive so much more blessing in return. Third is to pray. We have no idea how much our faithful, humble prayers move in powerful ways around the world. Never forget to spend time before the Father, interceding for needs that only He can meet.
Thank you for your love. I would not be where I am today without your faithful love and support and encouragement. I feel truly privileged to be an ambassador of Christ's love to so many who need His loving touch and gentle embrace. And I look forward to sharing with you next month about my time with Nina in Nepal and India this month.
With love,
Rachel