Wrestling with Compassion

Similar to the fears we expressed in our previous post (yes today is a two-post day!) the terrible situation that Compassion International is facing in India today is particularly heart-wrenching because these kinds of decisions by those in power cause the powerless to suffer. 

Today there are sponsors of approximately 147,000 children who have to grieve the loss of those relationships without ever having a chance of saying goodbye, never having known that their most recent letter would be their last, and not knowing the futures for sponsored children whom they have come to know and care for over years. 

The feeling of absolute powerlessness is especially paralyzing in the face of such dire situations; sponsors do not have direct lines of contact with their children, efforts at advocating for change in government policies have been exhausted both domestically and internationally, and for those who are aware of the socio-economic situation in India, slipping into extreme poverty, vulnerability to trafficking and lifetimes of debt slavery are very real possibilities.

So, though our initial response is for the Lord to intervene, as in the case of King Herod who killed the apostle James and was struck dead and eaten by worms (Acts 12:23) we have to accept that God's response might look a little different this time. 

And instead of building our stance from a single verse, we also admit that "The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord ; he turns it wherever he will." Proverbs 21:1 and He "does not wish that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." 2 Peter 3:9.

These kinds of situations encounter the age old question head on; Why do bad things happen?! 

And my response would generally be, "Beats the heck out of me!" 

But as this India child sponsor shares in his response, we have to rest in the knowledge that while people with ill intent may be in positions of power, God IS IN CONTROL! He puts up rulers and takes them down, all the evil intentions against His ways will not stand, and maybe more reassuring than all of that, He cares infinitely more about each child that is now facing such despair than we ever could. 

If these stories pluck a chord in our hearts, it tells us something significant; and it's not that we're SO great, it's that God has placed in us a heart for justice and compassion that is just a vague, cloudy representation of the purity of His justice and compassion.

So we ask that the difficulty turns us back to God and we won't rely on our own understanding to process these eternally significant circumstances with our finite minds. 

And we should also approach God with words of praise for who He is. It can be hard, and we personally have choked out the words, "God is good", through clenched teeth during hardship, but there is a time for everything and at the end of it all, God has not changed.

If anyone is interested in reading more about the plight of the poor in India, Susi is currently reading this book by Saroo Brierley, a young man who was adopted from India. It is a very true and vivid account of one child's experience.

(It should be noted that to our knowledge, this was not written by a Christian author.)

Please pray for Korea!

Some of you may have heard the news of last week's impeachment of the President of South Korea.

Understandably,  this historic action has engulfed Seoul in record protest demonstrations as the first female president has been outed over alleged corruption.

[Photo courtesy Sky News]

As the trial unfolds in South Korean courts this Spring, there will be a new president elected in May.

We have heard our friends at Korean Academy express concerns about influence from North Korea and what the future holds for their home country.

Right now massive military exercises between America and South Korea are seen as provocation by the contentious North Korea.

All of this adds up to a uncertain Spring/Summer in that region. Our adoption agency has informed us that our dossier documents have been translated and are awaiting permission to submit to the Korean Ministry.

They have issued advice as well as reassured adoptive families currently in Seoul that the region is still considered stable but to use caution while in Seoul during political protests.

Obviously,  we would like to bring our precious son home as soon as possible! It's easy to look at the current climate over there and grow anxious.  (Who are we kidding? It's easy to downright freak out at every update of new tensions over there!)

But instead of allowing fear of the unknown future to overwhelm our hearts,  we choose to trust our future - our son's future - to our Great and Awesome God!

We know He had led us to adopt from S. Korea.

We know He loves our sweet baby boy even more than we do  (and that's A LOT!!).

We know He can turn the hearts of kings and that He owns the cattle on a thousand hills!

We know He is faithful. He is a good good Father...

A close friend, and adoptive mother of 3, recently encouraged us by reminding us when God calls us to adopt, He doesn't always smooth the way the entire time.  That just allows Him room to sweep in and be the hero of our story! We give Him all the glory for the great things He has done; not anything that we have done!

We're mindful of the heroic work He's done in the past with fully devoted followers of Christ...

Noah,  Abraham, Joseph, Moses,  Joshua, David,  Esther,  Ruth,  Christ's mother Mary, Martin Luther, Saint Patrick, David Brainerd, CT Studd, Corrie ten Boom, Elisabeth Elliot, Kimberly Smith Highland, Katie Davis, Sean Litton and countless others in our rich Christian heritage who simply trusted God with everything they had, and with every part of their being. They believed in the One who called them, following even when the path looked the darkest and then watched with awe and wonder as God swept in and was the hero of their stories.

Will you please pray for us? Will you stand with us during what may be uncertain days ahead on the journey of our adoption?

We are confident that He who had begun this work in our family will be faithful to complete it! (Philippians 1:6)

Please join us in praying specifically:

That our hearts and minds would be at peace in Christ (Phil. 4:7)

For our precious son and his foster family; that they would remain safe and in good health.

That the powers of darkness from North Korea and the deception in the current political situation in South Korea would not disrupt adoptions or cause country/program closures.

For our dossier paperwork to be swiftly moved through the Korean Ministry.

That our court date would be decided soon and that travel plans will soon be in motion.

Thank you for your financial and prayerful support! We are overwhelmed by His goodness and the faithful kindness and thoughtfulness of our family and friends!!

2017 Global Prayer Gathering recap

We will be posting video from the International Justice Mission 2017 Global Prayer Gathering when they become available, but wanted to give a brief update from our trip to DC last weekend!

It was an amazing blessing to be able to fellowship with two-thousand-plus friends "who love Jesus and love justice".

IJM founder and CEO, Gary Haugen, called us into a time of praise and worship, and an understanding of Who God is; because "before we can enter into prayers for violence against others,  we need to be anchored in something that is true and unchanging. "

Scripture focus for this year's global prayer gathering was from Psalm 68:1

"May God arise, may his enemies be scattered; may his foes flee before him. "

Haugen reminded us that the Psalms are full of God's heart for justice... they were written by a man who was engulfed in a world of violence!

Does God care about the violence and abuse in our world?

Do our prayers to him really matter?

Of course,  the answer is a thundering "Yes!"

He does care specifically about violence against the poor.  He is moved by their cries.  He gets up.

"For the Lord is righteous,  he loves justice; upright men will see his face. " 

-Psalm 11:7

"Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy,  I will now arise," says the Lord. "I will protect them from those who malign them."

-Psalm 12:5

The Washington Monument was visible on our Uber drive to stay with friends who live near D.C. We enjoyed a delicious dinner with their family and caught up on what God has been doing in our lives since last year's visit! It's so encouraging to spend time with this inspiring couple. We always leave feeling challenged and uplifted to serve God heartily right where we are!

One of the encouraging things that happened this past year was the passage of the End Modern Slavery Initiative. Human trafficking is a 150-billion dollar industry with customers primarily in the United States and Europe. This is a grievous sin that Christians cannot ignore.

 It was also good to hear about more involvement from the current Administration in cracking down on human trafficking in the United States. Some of the most difficult prayer sessions to attend were the ones where we heard updates from IJM field staff working directly to combat cyber trafficking of children... to think of how it grieves God's heart to see the innocence and human lives so wounded by these atrocities.

Gary Haugen attended one of the prayer sessions with us! We consider Gary to be the William Wilberforce of our time! It was a privilege to have the opportunity to thank him for allowing the Lord to lead IJM around-the-world to free those who are opposed. The answered prayers and transformed lives we heard about in these prayer sessions were both heartening and staggering.  

The heavy burden of injustice around the world can be hard to bear, especially when you hear so much of it in one weekend: but these difficult moments of intensive prayer were broken up with praise and worship and Scripture reading to remind us of who God is!! He's our strong warrior who gets up and defends those who cannot defend themselves!

"You are awesome,  O God, in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to the people.  Praise be to God!" 

- Psalm 68:35

"Praise be to the Lord,  to God our Saviour, who daily bears our burdens."

- Psalm 68:19

"You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know."

- William Wilberforce

Proverbs 24:11-12

"Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to die; save them as they stagger to their death. Don’t excuse yourself by saying, “Look, we didn’t know.”

For God understands all hearts, and he sees you. He who guards your soul knows you knew. He will repay all people as their actions deserve."