Heartbreak in Africa

Tom & Terri with Trey

It's not okay with me that people here have insufficient strength to even register their heartbreak with their government. Recently, a significant number of people asked -- yes, asked -- their government if they might stage a short march to the presidential palace to protest the state-sanctioned killing of innocents in border areas. The government said "No, thanks," and the people shamefacedly called off their march and went home. Unlike other areas of the world you've seen on the news -- with citizens flooding various city squares by the thousands -- the many would be protesters here barely have enough to eat and live. With no food reserves in the homes of extended families, to protest is literally to risk the starvation of one's children, not simply harm to oneself. This is not okay.

We continue to hope that our work in translating the Bible will serve to form a critical mass of people who have the personal salvation and inner resources (faith) to trust in the God of the Incredible. (These people are called Believers, and more of them are coming into being every week.) In our experience, it is the real, flesh-and-blood Messiah, Who feeds thousands with a few loaves and fishes, that gives individuals the hope they need to stand for human dignity in the face of threats. It is the Lord of David Who enables a young person to stand against an stubborn Goliath; the God of Gideon Who empowers the humble against the mighty and well-armed. It's not okay with me to see any people held down and struggling to get up, struggling to live as full human beings in God's world. But I guess it would REALLY be not okay with me to give up helping them, and just shamefacedly go home. I pray that God would inspire others to join with us. "The harvest is ripe, but the laborers are few."

Tom serves in North Africa