"The least of these...."

The following is taken from an email sent by a missionary to some fellow DRC adoptive parents-to-be earlier this month. Check out their website & blog at www.preparingaplace.com. It is concerning the the Pygmy people of the Congo. Being at the bottom of the list in the 2nd poorest country in the world is a tough place to be, but these are God's children as we all are and He loves us all the same.

“The least of these My brethren…The least of these My brethren… The least of these My brethren.
I believe the least of these My brethren is an unborn Pygmy girl in the Efe tribe of the Ituri Forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  I do not know her name yet.  According to my research, she has a one in three chance of surviving to five.  She will be pregnant by eight (yes, eight) years old.  If she does not die in childbirth (less than a 1 in 16 chance), she may live between 16 and 24 years (average life expectancy).  In her life she will be subject to rape, murder and cannibalism from rebel armies; HIV and other diseases, malnutrition, parasites.  She will probably grow to only about 4’6”; become a slave or underpaid worker to the surrounding taller people groups; never receive an education; never have an ID (not officially exist); and, never hear the gospel.
Except for the height of this as yet unborn Pygmy girl, can I make a difference?  Can I go there and change what would be her life. Yes.  I leave on Monday (Feb 14).
Why am I drawn to this particular, as yet unborn and unnamed child in this particular tribe? Because, the Lord has called me to the “LEAST of these My brethren” and “further north” and to go “lower still”.  He tells me this over and over and over.  It keeps me focused.
I know of no other people so low.  According to the Pygmy Fund, ‘The Ituri Forest Efé pygmies occupy less than 1% of the land preserved for African wildlife. Their numbers have been reduced over the past 75 years from 35,000 to about 3,000 individuals. ”. “Pygmies are the most ancient surviving human race”.  Over a century ago, there were millions. They are subjected to enslavement and endangered by the destruction of the pristine Congo forest on which their lives depend”. “To this day, there are places where entire pygmy families are naked because they have no clothing”.  Jean Francois Mombia said, “Hunting has become almost impossible, because the animals have become rare, having fled the noise of machinery used by the loggers,” and “Pygmy hunters are often forced to walk for a week before finding game, while their families starve.”
John the Baptist said, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”
And James said, “Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead”.  James 2:15-17
“Jean-Pierre Lola Kisanga, governor of Orientale Province, said “…only two out of 1,000 pygmies had access to education”. Marc Mali, of the Pelican Centre NGO, said, “Girls and women are often raped or used as sexual slaves, and they do not resist for fear of being killed,” Sinafasi Makelo, a representative of Mbuti pygmies, told the UN’s Indigenous People’s Forum that during the Congo Civil War, his people were hunted down and eaten as though they were game animals. In neighboring North Kivu province there has been cannibalism by a group known as Les Effaceurs (“the erasers”) who wanted to clear the land of people to open it up for mineral exploitation. Both sides of the war regarded them as “subhuman” and some say their flesh can confer magical powers.  In the Republic of Congo, where Pygmies make up 5 to 10% of the population, many Pygmies live as slaves to Bantu masters.
That is why I want to go to help an unborn Pygmy girl in the Efe tribe of the Ituri Forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo.   If you pray and support me, I can do more.  Either way, I am leaving on Monday, February 14, 2011.”

The missionary serves with Iris Ministries in Africa. Please keep him in your prayers as he reaches out to these hurting people. Thank you Adam & Jen for allowing me to share this and God bless you on your journey.

90 Days for Noelle - Day 30

I wonder what the Garden of Eden really looked like? We know that Adam and Eve had the perfect life in the garden. It was the perfect place. All the food they wanted to eat, probably at any time. I'm sure they never worried about being too hot or too cold. Basically, they were rich beyond measure. We look down on them because they messed up so bad. I mean really, is it that hard to follow the rules? They had it made. Maybe that was part of their problem. They had it too easy. Now let's fast forward......The Garden of Eden is long gone. There is sin rampant in this world. This is the world today. If you were to sit back and look at it, what country would look most like Eden? Warm homes, soft beds, 24 hour fast food on every corner. Sound familiar? The U.S. may be as close to Eden as anywhere on Earth and those living in it still cannot follow God's simple rules. Maybe its because we also have it too easy. We see massive revivals breakout all over the world in countries that are so poor, why not here? They rely on God because He is all they have. While we have been lulled to sleep in thinking we don't need God because we have so much. When this world is over, and we are face to face with God, whose shoes would you rather be in? I know this may sound a little harsh and I don't want it to come across preachy or self righteous, but I just want it to get you to think. Think about what you have and what you have been blessed with. We have to remember that everything that we "have" has been given to us by God and we have been asked to be good stewards with it. I guess this is a subject I have been hung up on lately, but as I think about my daughter, and possibly her living conditions....it hurts. It's these reasons we pray for her daily and ask that you do also. These reasons are also why I bring up these questions and leave you with this one. Are we using all that we have been given in the ways God really wants us to?

Psalm 85:6-7

⁶ Will you not revive us again,
   that your people may rejoice in you?
⁷ Show us your unfailing love, LORD,
   and grant us your salvation. 

Dear Lord, I pray for revival in our nation. That we may seek You and be the people that You would have us to be. Thank You for the many blessings You have given us. We pray that we become the stewards You would have us to be to end hunger and poverty in this world. So that we may change the lives of the "Noelle's" all over the world. We love You Father and thank You for all You have given us. Amen.

90 Days for Noelle - Day 26

I have been networking with other families currently adopting or that have adopted from the DRC lately. A lot of them have blogs as well. The new blog I was reading this morning had the following video posted on it. (thanks, Jolene)  I should probably give a warning that some of the images in the slide show are hard to see, BUT I AM NOT GOING TO. These images are real and this is the world that we live in RIGHT NOW. But I will say this, WARNING!! If you watch these slides, listen to the words of this song, and have read/are reading 'Crazy Love', and fully commit to Christ, this could completely change your life as you know it. For our post today, I want this video to say it all.

 

 

Matthew 18:14

 ¹⁴"So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.

Heavenly Father, Let us respond to the call You specifically gave to us in Your word, to take care of the widows and orphans. Let us be moved with compassion to do something extraordinary for Your glory. We pray that You be with the children of the DRC and all of Africa, including our Noelle. We love You, Father. Amen

90 Days for Noelle - Day 25

I am currently reading the book 'Wild at Heart' by John Eldridge. I have had this book for sometime but have never finished it. In the book, Eldridge writes about how man was created in the wilderness, not in the garden. I am an outdoors kind of guy myself, so its easy for me to relate to stuff like hiking, canoeing, and camping in wilderness areas. My mind wanders off to the DRC. I think about the vast jungle and the great Congo River. I would love to see the natural beauty of that country. From there, I think about not only the natural beauty in the Congo but also its natural resources. God has blessed the DRC with an abundance of natural resources, but sadly because of so much of man's greed and corruption, they have never been able to tap into these resources. In an article on ForbesCustom.com by Paul Trustfull, he write "The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a vast country with high agricultural potential. It is rich in natural resources, with an estimated $24 trillion worth of untapped deposits of raw mineral ores, including the world’s largest reserves of cobalt and significant quantities of the world’s diamonds, gold and copper. For many years, the DRC has suffered from extreme poverty pitted against extreme wealth." The DRC is currently the second poorest country on Earth. It saddens me to think how many lives in the DRC could be so different if not for the sins of man and it is the children who suffer the most.

Proverbs 10:2,3

 ² Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting value,
   but righteousness delivers from death.
 ³ The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry,
   but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.

God, we thank you for having a place to live where we don't worry about our next meal or have a constant threat of random violence. We pray for the country of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We pray for peace in that country and a spiritual revival to sweep their land. That they cry out to You and wisely use what You have provided for them. So they may prosper for the sake of their innocent children. We pray that every orphanage in the DRC is emptied as a result of Your blessings. In Your name we pray. Amen