Our C&MA DNA shows a willingness to be vulnerability to Violence. Part of living among the poor is the exposure one has to crime. At prayer meeting a few weeks ago, with just a small group in attendance, two shared that their motorbikes had been stolen, and one arrived home from work to find his house empty, the entire contents gone. We take extra precautions in walking down a street and stay alert to our surroundings. We listen to the advice of our church leaders and government officials so we do not purposely enter a red zone, or an area where protests and demonstrations are planned, but we hear of and sometimes actually see, violent things around us. Recently, when visiting in a neighborhood, we heard lots of commotion outside. The woman quickly locked things up and we began to pray. The troublemakers left and a short while later I was able to leave safely. At the local prison, where we work with juveniles, we are locked in a room with a couple dozen violent criminals, who could take down our small band of women in a moment with no guard knowing the better. The cost of bringing the Gospel to the last to be reached areas involves a willingness to live with the constant threat of violence. It requires a faith in the Lord Jesus who said, "Go into all the world and remember that I am with you always”. Surrendering to the call of God includes a willingness to be vulnerable. In Burkina Faso, this is now including a vulnerability to violence. It is what the poor around us face and as we live and work among them, we will face this as well. We know that the Lord Jesus has been given all authority and is able to keep us from the cup of violence, but we also understand that as disciples of Christ, we too may face what many others of His followers have faced in taking the Gospel to the poor. His will must be done and He is not willing that any should perish, including those who are poor and exposed to violence.
With women guards at the prison IMG_0499.jpg 56.47KB 0 downloads