Ashamed...slightly

I'm slightly ashamed to admit this, but I finally gave in and read Twilight...

...and I got sucked in. Majorly. I couldn't put the book down. I read the entire book in less than twenty four hours. At the end of the novel, the author did something that was completely unfair. She included the first chapter of the second book New Moon. I just had to go to the store to get the second book (too long of a waiting list at the library). And then I got sucked in again- not as much as with Twilight- but still definitely sucked in. I finished that one in less than twenty four hours too.

Honestly, the books aren't Pulitzer Prize-winning material or anything; they're just...addictive. I thought it was quite a stretch for me to even be vaguely interested in the series because the subject matter (i.e. vampires, werewolves, et cetera) is not one in which I am even remotely interested, even though I'm working my way through Dracula because it is on my list of 100 novels. I decided to read the first book simply because a few of my friends were wanting to watch the movie sometime soon, and watching a movie before I read the book...well, that's just not something I can do without feeling...guilty. Blame my mother for that one.

I'm hoping to borrow the third and final books from a friend of a friend so I can finish the whole series this week and therefore have no opportunity to get sucked in again in the future...although, apparently the author has come out with a new novel...uh oh...

Unbelievable

This has got to be the most amazing shot I have EVER seen. I literally fell off the couch while shouting "Holy freakin' crap, Denmon!" Check it out and be amazed. In the words of Phil, you might want to sit down for when your mind explodes.

Ahh, college...

All you Unionites out there will enjoy this: an infamous little video from my sophomore year. These were (and still are) some of my favorite guys in the whole world...



Thanks to Eric for posting it on YouTube for our amusement and enjoyment.

Hard to Say Goodbye

Sometimes, I get attached to my clients. Really, really attached. I know this isn't the most professional thing to admit, and I could talk your ear off about the appropriate boundaries between a social worker and her clients. I've read enough articles and written enough papers about the dangers of dual relationships for anybody. I know becoming "over involved" in your clients' lives most likely leads to burnout faster in a field where burnout is already incredibly common. I know all these things.

But I don't think that many of these so-called social work concepts are often realistic expectations for people who work with refugees. I think the complexities of dual relationships misses something that is far more important than maintaining distance. It's community. Part of our job is to help refugees become integrated into the local community, of which we are already a part. How can we completely avoid dual relationships and still successfully help our clients fully become a part of our community then? In many cases, I don't think we can. Besides their family and perhaps, if they are not the first refugees to arrive from their nation, other refugees, we are their first community once they arrive in our towns and cities. They turn to us for help, surely, but I think they also turn to us for acceptance, for the knowledge that someone will be there for them, and in many cases friendship. Many of us at Grace have developed deep friendships with several of the Burmese refugees because they attend church with us every Sunday.

This morning, Isaac, James, and I knocked on the door of one of our beautiful Burmese families at 3:30. You see, M. is moving to upstate New York; her boyfriend E. lives there with his family, and they want to get married. They have planned this move for M. for a long time, and this morning it came to fruition. I watched the tearful farewell of the entire family as M. went to each individual and spoke with them, giving them a special message and then a hug. Isaac and James are currently on their way to the airport with M. and her sister.

I will miss this young woman so much; when I think about her, I smile because of her joy. All of us at our office have at one point said something similar to, "I love talking to M. She is so sweet- she can make a bad day better like that." And it's true. She sings loudly and joyfully on Sundays; she has the biggest smile that lights up her whole face; she possesses a deep and passionate love for her family and for the Lord.

I write all these things about M. not as a client, but as a friend. She is my friend, and I will miss her greatly. But I know that if Isaac and are not blessed enough to see her another day in this life, we will see her in the next. Please continue to pray for M. and her family.

The Seamstress

This book was my latest read. I think The Seamstress originally caught my eye because of its setting of Romania, a country which I have visited before. It's the autobiography of a Romanian Jew who survived the events of the Holocaust. The book was published after her death by her daughter and a relative by marriage. Sara, or Seren as she is referred to throughout most of the memoir, was born in 1918 in the Transylvania Mountains. Briefly recounting her childhood, Seren launches into her experience of moving from a tiny mountain village to the modern city of Bucharest in order to attend gymnasium, which is the Romanian equivalent of a very academically challenging high school. As one of only two Jewish students to attend the school, Seren eventually becomes so upset at a teacher who continually discussed how "all the Jews killed Christ," that she quits the school. She quickly finds work as a seamstress apprentice, and it is at that point that her life shifts dramatically.

In the twenties and thirties, waves of anti-Semitism began to make their ugly debuts in the European theatre, but nothing prepared the Jewish families for what they were about to endure at the hands of their former neighbors, friends, even family members. I won't delve further into more specifics of Seren's story because I think it's important that you read her story and the stories of others who have experienced such things.

Six million Jewish individuals died during the Holocaust. While it is important to recognize the enormity of that number, I think sometimes we get bogged down by the immensity of it that we don't truly grasp the implications. It is important to remember that each one of those six million people had a story of their own that made them unique, that set them a part from the other six million victims. It's when we see people as individuals that we more truly understand the events of history and the impact they have not just on individuals, but the on rest of the world as well.

Something New

A while back, Isaac approached me with an idea to give more to others on a consistent basis. You see, we're regular tithers, and we try to support other good causes as much as possible. Generally speaking, if there was an opportunity to give a little bit financially to an organization, an individual, or a church that we felt was doing good work, we would go ahead and give the extra 5, 10, or 20 bucks.

But we weren't real intentional about it.

We're trying to change that now. Each month, we're choosing a specific cause- whether it is an individual, a family, a church, or an organization- and we're giving a little bit to that cause, in addition to our regular tithing commitment at our church. We're also committing to pray for that particular cause throughout the month. The monetary amount we can give each month isn't a lot, but we know that prayer is powerful and our God is faithful to complete the good works He has begun.

Once we have chosen the cause for the month, I plan on writing a short post about it so that my readers can learn more about the cause which we've chosen; there will also be a permanent spot in the sidebar to the right about the Focus of the Month with a link or links to appropriate website(s).

We hope that we can establish this focus of praying and giving as a family tradition; we feel that focusing on meeting the needs of others in whatever capacity the Lord allows is an important lesson for children and adults alike. We want our children to have a firm grasp of the concept of "it is more blessed to give than to receive." See Acts 20:35.

With that preface, we've chosen our very first Focus of the Month. For security purposes, I will call this couple P and A. P and A are currently training with Wycliffe Bible Translators and are planning on moving to Central Asia sometime this fall. We met this couple before when they came to speak at Grace a while back. They recently returned to our church to be a part of our annual missions conference. I had the privilege of learning from P and A in Sunday school this week, as well as hearing P preach tonight. Isaac and I talked with both of them several times throughout the conference; their passion for the nations and for translation so that all people might have the Word of God written in their own language is completely contagious. I ask that you pray for: their diligence as they are completing linguistic training, logistics involved with them moving to Central Asia, safety in the nation to which they are going, and their work in that nation over the next several years.

P and A work with Wycliffe Bible Translators, an organization which is dedicated to making God's Word accessible to all people in their native language. Did you know that today about 200 million people do not have the Bible in their own language? The most startling thing I learned from P and A is this:

There are 6,912 spoken languages in the world today. Of those languages, only 438 have complete translations of the Bible available. One thousand one hundred and sixty-eight languages have translations of the New Testament. And 2,251 languages do not have any part of the Bible translated; one hundred ninety three million people in the world speak these 2,251 languages.

Dear ones, the harvest is plentiful. The harvest is ready.

Everything is Amazing, Nobody is Happy

Too many serious posts lately. Time to laugh- at ourselves, that is.

Light Force

A few weeks ago, I finished the book Light Force: A Stirring Account of the Church Caught in the Middle East Crossfire by Brother Andrew and Al Janssen. Many of you may be familiar with Brother Andrew and the ministry Open Doors. Brother Andrew also wrote God’s Smuggler, which is his account of ministering to others behind the Iron Curtain by smuggling bibles and other Christian literature into these countries, even when possession of such items often resulted in severe punishment, persecution, and even death. If you haven’t read God’s Smuggler, I highly recommend it. Even though the staunch Soviet bloc is no longer in existence, the book helps to highlight the needs of persecuted Christians throughout the world.

We’ve had Light Force on our shelf a long time, and I was always hesitant to delve into it, but when we were in the Middle East back in January, I decided it would be one of the first books I read when we returned to the States. Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect when I picked up this book after I returned from our vacation. One of the reviews on the back claims, “This is a book that invites applause and criticism. It will edify and offend, fostering healthy and much-needed discussion and debate in the Western Church.” This review left me more curious about the specific content contained within the pages.

Light Force focuses on the Church in the Middle East, specifically in Lebanon, Jerusalem, and Gaza. Andrew and Janssen relate several stories from the area, including those of Messianic Jews, Palestinian Christians, and Lebanese believers. The authors focus a great deal on the often-tense relationship between Israelis and Palestinians. I learned a great deal from this book specifically about the Palestine-Israel conflict. Israel as a nation was formed in 1948 after over 50 years of efforts to create a Jewish state. World War II left thousands of surviving Jewish individuals as refugees, many of whom wanted to move to Palestine, then under British rule. Fighting between Arab and Jewish communities in Palestine began in 1947 after the UN decision to create an official Jewish state. Before May of 1948, over 150,000 Palestinians Arabs had fled to neighboring states and after years of unfair and unjust treatment, even by the Western world, the Jewish people were able to declare their independence from British rule.

Many people in the West (including most Christians) support the nation of Israel and its people without apology. While I too believe that the Jewish people are God’s chosen people and need a land that belongs to them alone, for several years I have wondered at the United States’ international policy concerning the nation of Israel. It seems to me that we support them automatically, without considering the ramifications of Israel’s policies and actions.

I wonder what the first Jewish settlers thought about the land of Israel when they arrived. It wasn't this vast land of freedom with golden plains and sparkling lakes. No, it was crowded, cramped, and already had thousands of Arab Palestinians living there. I too wonder about the Palestinians’ reactions. I imagine it would be similar to most Americans’ reactions if the UN announced they were giving the Native Americans ninety percent of their land back to them and forcing the rest of the Americans to move into the remaining ten percent of the land. This is basically what happened between the Israelis and the Palestinians if you equate the Native Americans with the Israelis and the Palestinians with Americans. It isn’t hard to imagine how tension could so easily and fully develop between these two people groups, even if they shared the same faith. Brother Andrew focuses a great deal on the relationships between Palestinian Christians and Messianic Jews- both have the same faith in Christ, and yet their culture and history influences how they celebrate and practice their faith- it is these differences in culture and their shared history of conflict that is often at the center of their disagreements today.

As I mentioned before, I sometimes question the United States’ standing policy of supporting Israel, seemingly in whatever they decide to do. I want to make it clear that I support Israel because it is a nation of God’s chosen people, a nation of people who were enslaved by several different governments, discriminated against for centuries, and slaughtered in the wake of absolute hatred during the horrific events of the Holocaust. However, I also realize they are people, and therefore not perfect; they make mistakes too. Brother Andrew states this realization eloquently:

“During my subsequent visits…opened my eyes to a whole new side of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Until then I had mostly heard only one side of the story. I admired and supported Israel because I believe they were God’s chosen people, but I had not stopped to consider that God’s chosen people were not perfect and that I could still love them while critiquing what they did.”

I think it’s easier for the West to so easily side with Israel because the people with whom Israel is fighting are Arab. If we were completely and brutally honest with ourselves, we would admit to ourselves that more often than not, we are prejudiced against Arab people. There is an association that forms in our minds; when we think about Arab people, we tend to think about Muslim individuals, and then our brains inevitably go straight to Islamic jihad and terrorism. Just like not all Christians are a part of a fanatical cult which has twisted the true beliefs of the Christian faith, neither are all Muslims involved with the Islamic jihad or Taliban which has also twisted the core beliefs of their faith. It is also important to realize that not all Arabs are Muslim, and even if they were, should it make that much of a difference?

Even though we were not visiting the specific part of the Middle East on which Light Force focuses, I could still sense that the Arab people feel that the world automatically judges them simply because they are Arab. My refugee clients who are Arab also feel the same way. After Isaac and I returned from our trip, one man from Iraq asked me, “Did you enjoy your visit?” to which I responded, “Oh yes! It was wonderful; we had a lot of fun and really enjoyed our time there.” He then hesitated and looked me straight in the eye and asked, “And how did you find the people?” I answered honestly, “Everyone was so warm and welcoming; they are the most hospitable people I have met.” My client smiled sadly and shook his head, “Yes, that is our culture. Arab people are like that. I wish everyone else understood our culture.” I could tell that, especially after having lived in the United States for several months, he could easily recognize the West’s antagonistic view towards all things Arab.

In February, Gracia Burnham spoke at Grace one evening. Burnham, a former missionary in the Philippines, made headlines when she and her husband were kidnapped by Islamic militants while they were celebrating their wedding anniversary at a local resort in the summer of 2001. They were held hostage for more than a year, and her husband Martin was killed during the rescue attempt by the Philippine Army. Gracia was also wounded in the thigh during their escape, and she has since written two books and completed numerous speaking engagements. While she spoke about her experience, one thing truly stood out to me. She commented that for several months, she was naturally very bitter toward her kidnappers, but that eventually both she and Martin began to pray for the group of militants. As they continually prayed for their kidnappers, Gracia and Martin felt peace, and they also found more opportunities to speak with the men in the group about their lives and their faith. She said at one point, "Maybe...maybe it's our job to love these people- to love Muslims. Not to judge them because of what we think they believe, but to truly love them with the love of God so that they may see it, so that they may see the hope of the Lord Jesus Christ."

Brother Andrew stated something similar while speaking to a group of Messianic Jews living in Palestine:

“Christ said to go and make disciples of all nations. Did that include Palestinians or not? Did that include Arabs or Muslims? How could we ignore more than one billion people whom God says He loves?”

Indeed, how could we ignore them?

Do justice...

Last Saturday night, a few staff members from our office (and a few of our spouses) took several of our Burmese refugees to the movie Burma VJ, which was playing at the True/False Festival. The movie itself was interesting, focusing on the video journalists who work in Burma, forced to hide their cameras and other equipment for their safety. They then try to smuggle the images which they captured out of their country via the Internet or satellite; different news companies such as CNN and the BBC are then able to broadcast images from Burma that they otherwise would not have been able to obtain, as journalists are not usually allowed into the nation.

Burma, also known as Myanmar, has been governed by an often brutal military junta since 1962 when a general led a coup that overthrew U Unu, the first prime minister of Burma. The military generals maintains strict control of the nation and of its people. The population is diverse in terms of ethnicities, and tension still arises between different people groups. The country's people are heavily influenced by Buddhism, but not all Burmese people are necessarily Buddhist. For instance, our office is currently resettling a large number of individuals from the Chin ethnic group, and we are beginning to resettle individuals from the Karen ethnic group, as well as a few individuals from the Burman tribe. The vast majority of our Chin refugees are Christian; Isaac actually teaches a Sunday school class for them at Grace. There are, however, a few Chin individuals and families that are Buddhist. So far, I've noticed that the Karen individuals are mostly Catholic, and the Burman individuals are mostly Buddhist.

The military junta claims to operate by Buddhist philosophies, but I tend not to believe that they truly live by the Buddhist ethic of non-violence, especially after what happened during the protests of the summer of 2007. Several hundred monks across the nation were protesting the government iron-hand rule, demonstrating their support for the Burmese people. At one point, the military actually began shooting at the monks and then ransacked a monastery, kidnapping many monks and nuns who were never seen again. In the movie Burma VJ, one video journalist is somehow able to capture the searing image of a dead monk who washed ashore on one of the rivers. His body is face down, but you can clearly see the blood and bruises covering his head, back, and legs. Furthermore, the denial by the government of Burma for offered foreign aid after Cyclone Nargis (a category 4 cyclone) hit the country in May 2008 led to international outrage. The official death count by the Burmese government was grossly underestimated, most likely to avoid negative political ramifications. All these things being mentioned, the country of Burma is a nation that struggles with human rights issues; simply ask anyone of our Burmese refugees and you can hear stories of threatened violence, unfair jail sentences, and even torture conducted by the government.

One of the local churches in town, The Crossing, was the main sponsor of the True Life fund, which is a part of the True/False Film Festival every year; one movie is chosen, and a specific cause is supported through the fund. This year, Burma VJ was the film chosen to benefit from the True Life Fund; money raised and donated through this method will go to the video journalists in Burma so that they can purchase better and smaller equipment, which will be easier to hide from officials.

After the movie, a representative from The Crossing spoke for a few minutes. He didn't preach; he simply got up and said that, as Christians we serve a just God who cares about the world. Because He is just, we should care about the injustices in the world and do what we can to correct those injustices, and that's why the church decided to support this cause. I agree with what he says completely. Sometimes it is hard for those of us who live in the Western world to think about such things because it makes us uncomfortable, which is not what we are used to feeling. I know that our economy is not in the best shape right now, but from a global perspective, we are still among the richest individuals in the entire world, and we are used to being comfortable. Houses, apartments, cars, air conditioning and heat, even food to eat on a regular basis- these are things that we take for granted; they are not guaranteed in other parts of the world.

I recently finished An Ordinary Man by Paul Rusesabagina, the man who inspired the film Hotel Rwanda. The autobiography itself was very good; Rusesabagina briefly related his childhood and adult life leading up to the events of the genocide in April 1994.

Not only does Rusesabagina relate the events, but he truly does an excellent job of explaining his views behind things; he discussed Rwandan history, the effects which European colonialism had on the tiny country, the interplay between Rwanda and its neighbor Burundi. I learned so much from this book, not just in terms of what happened inside the doors of the Mille Collines while over 800,000 individuals, including men, women, and children, were being hacked to death by their neighbors and former friends in just 100 days while the world stood by and did nothing.

There is a line from the movie Hotel Rwanda that continues to haunt me. An American cameraman just captured footage of bodies strewn along the roads as more individuals continued to kill others by chopping them with machetes over and over again. Don Cheadle plays Paul Rusesabagina in the film, and he says to the cameraman: "I am glad that you have shot this footage and that the world will see it. It is the only way we have a chance that people might intervene." The cameraman looks down at the ground, raises his head to Rusesabagina and asks, "And if no one intervenes? Is it still a good thing to show?" A look of incredulity sweeps over Rusesabagina's face. "How can they not intervene when they witness such atrocities?" he asks. Again, the cameraman looks at the ground and replies, "I think if people see this footage, they'll say 'Oh my God, that's horrible,' and then go on eating their dinners."

I'd like to include an excerpt from this book which demonstrates our tendency to watch these horrors unfold and still remain silent:

"UN member states signed a treaty in 1948 threatening criminal penalties for the leaders for any regime found to have conducted an extermination campaign against a particular religious or social group. But the United States dragged its feet, fearing the encroachment of a world government telling it how to act. It was not until 1986 that the U.S. Senate finally ratified the agreement. By then genocides had been carried out in Cambodia, in Nigeria, in Pakistan, in Burundi, and in many other places on the globe. But this is characteristic. As Harvard University scholar Samantha Power has pointed out, the world's foremost superpower, America, has almost never acted to stop a race of people from being exterminated, even when confronted with overwhelming evidence."

Power has written a book on the West's failure to act in the face of genocide and other human rights situations. I would like to read A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide sometime this year. I've read other books detailing the Rwandan genocide from various accounts and perspectives, including Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda and We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will be Killed with Our Families. After every book I read, I am still shocked at what the world allowed to happen in Rwanda, in Bosnia, in Cambodia, and continues to allow to happen to Sudan, among other places. I know that I am also responsible for this, as I too have watched the news at night, saw atrocities being committed in a city or country far away from me and thought, "Oh my God that is horrible." Then I went on eating my dinner.

I think we all realize that policies are shaped, things get done, and goals are accomplished when individuals join together and act. We can't leave change up to others; we have to be the instruments. So what will we do? Will we go on eating our dinner or will we allow ourselves to become uncomfortable so that we can do justice here and around the world?

My friend Jessica posted a video on her blog back in January. Please watch it, and become uncomfortable. Because I think when we become uncomfortable, that's when we decide to take action, and that's when we can truly change the lives of others and hopefully, the world.

Shameless Plug(s)

I am working on a much more serious post, but for now I have a few shameless plugs:

1. Refugee Services is having a fundraiser at Shakespeare's Pizza (both locations) this Thursday, March 5th. If you bring in the flyer, Shakespeare's will donate 15% of your total purchase (eat in, carry out, frozen pizza, gift cards, delivery, even T-shirts!) to RIS. Helping refugees by eating pizza- how easy is that?!?

2. Refugee Services is also having a fundraiser through The Pampered Chef the entire month of April. You buy awesome kitchen tools and gadgets, refugees benefit. Again, how easy is that?!?

Contact me if you want the Shakespeare's flyer or more info on The Pampered Chef fundraiser...come on, you know you want to...