Dear Friends and Family,
As the autumn days grow shorter I have begun noticing the increasing darkness.
The darkness of a horrendous accident that will affect a teenage boy for the rest of his life. The darkness of the death of the mother of four children. The darkness of an adolescent girl lost in a storm of drugs and loneliness and abuse.
The darkness of depression, of illusion, of unawareness.
“And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness” (Genesis 1:3-4, NIV).
In yoga and in spiritual direction I have learned the importance of awareness. Of paying attention to the things in my body that don’t feel good and of surrounding them with love[1]. Of listening. Of imagining Jesus shining healing light onto my wounds.
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned” (Isaiah 9:2, NIV).
Regardless of whether I am feeling bombarded by the injustices encountered by the children who come to our program or by my own false emotional programming[2], I am often tempted simply to flounder in a black sea of despair.
But:
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5, NIV).
Really?
Then:
“You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14, NIV).
If our identity is light, then what are we to do when we encounter injustice or depression or illusion? How does light lead us to acts of love, compassion and gratitude?
How does a good God who created light and who is light and who says that we, too, are light care for us when we are walking in darkness? In my own midnight strolls through the slums of inner violence, how do I glimpse the light dawning on the horizon?
Yet again:
“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8, NIV).
If light is who we are, and if light is who God is, then there is a call to action. A call to live as children of light. In the midst of unanswered questions and the darkness that, especially on cold autumn mornings, seems to overcome the light, we must wake up.
To hope in the midst of despair. To joy in the midst of depression. To relationship in the midst of loneliness. To gratitude in the midst of terrible loss. While never repressing or ignoring the things that are hard, we are aware of them. We embrace them. We surround them with love.
And we sit openly with our questions.
“All of life is really about readying, attuning, awakening. Note how many of Jesus’ parables and teachings are about being ready and awake. The easiest substitute, of course, is religion. It substitutes answers and too-easy certitude about past and future for simple present awareness…. All you can do is stay on the journey, listen to its lessons, both agony and ecstasy, and ask for that most rare and crucial of gifts: true openness, which Jesus called trust or faith” (Richard Rohr, From Wild Man to Wise Man, p. 35-36).
So we sit with our questions and, aroused from slumber, are led into an open, aware, awakened faith.
“Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Ephesians 5:14, NRSV).
With love,
John & Rachel
A few updates:
- Congratulations to our co-workers Vitalie and Rahela on their November 2 wedding!
- As a staff, we are doing monthly trainings on our methodology of working with children. In addition, we are doing a monthly book study of How to Talk So Kids Can Learn at Home and in School by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish. These are tools that are helping us learn more effective methods of communication and positive discipline that help foster the inner transformation we hope to see in the kids who come to our program.
- We continue to pray about finding a stable place to run our after-school program. Whether we find a way to begin renting part of the building we are currently using or move to another place, our desire is to have the stability of a location where children and their families can continue attending our activities. Please pray with us.
- We mentioned in last month’s letter that we funded this summer’s fundraising trip in the States entirely through our personal support account while all of the money that we raised went to directly support the ministry of Word Made Flesh Moldova (after-school program expenses, local staff salaries, etc.). As such, our support account is in the negative, and we need your help to recover. Would you consider making a one-time gift this month to help us finish the year in the black?