These Videos are great for more than JUST understanding the breastfeeding vs formula war in the Philippines (see previous post for story)
They show footage of Quezon City which is an area VERY similar to Baseco, although I think Baseco is more depressed……great footage walking around the streets and talking to mothers…..so similar to what I have experienced!
[youtube=
[youtube=
[youtube=
[youtube=
[youtube=
Three weeks ago I held a fat and chubby one month old baby in my arms………she was beautiful,the baby seemed quiet and content, the mother said she was sick with asthma. We all prayed for her and told her to go for her checkup as she had not as yet…the baby was born at home in the slums with no qualified midwife, no proper medical care and no after baby care…..
The NEXT day this sweet baby was dead
Words are not sufficient,
The tide of helplessness is shocking, what really am I doing to bring change to this community…..is it lasting?
Not that I am despairing NO not all
BUT you have to evaluate and examine what you do and if it really matters!!
Long term change, not a short term fix!
I walked past a shelter a week ago, there were men and women doing a feeding program (a bowl of porridge I think), now in itself that is ok, but I question the LONG TERM profit of such practices……..a full belly for a day yes BUT tomorrow hungry again!
Better to give a man a fishing rod and teaching him how to fish than giving a fish, well that is what I think anyway!
Pedicabs provide income on a long term, the families involved here in the program live better and have a more positive outlook on life (Christian or non), they are changed and they are lifted higher……self esteem and will to live improve. To me the contrast between a bowl of porridge and a pedicab is obvious!!
Think about where your money and time and money are spent, look and examine the spiritual and long term impact, you do not have to be in a developing country to make an impact, just question longevity and impact!!
There are some things just too real and precious that you keep close to your heart, and words are just NOT enough…
But…… you can have a peep!
There are times when God is so big and real and PART of being together, there is a God moment and you KNOW He answers, and the answer is
YES and AMEN
From left to right) Martha (her family was sepearted during the war, she is now reunited with then and her daughter she has NEVER known was only a baby when they were lost, Kou has a husband still in a refugee camp has basically adopted a whole NEW family, Rebecca and Ruth (seated) arrived in Australia with nothing but family and aging parents, they are both now working AND driving, when we knew them we drove them around everywhere!!! Mathapaleo has lost her mum and is now living in Australia with her Aunt and family......they are making anew life after ALL of that destruction. Why is it that we with all of our advantages struggle with the basics?
These African woman have seen more trauma and destruction, death and deliverance than I have ever seen…..ever.
I am awed when I see the resilience of humanity and the faith these women have, they have lost husbands, children, parents and more
One man I know saw his mother and sister raped in front of him, how can an individual endure so much and still remain sane!
With God all things are possible
27 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”
I have spent literally hours with these woman praying and interceeding that God would intervene and bring justice in their lives, that families would be reunited and lives restored. These women are now living in the reality of God answering their prayers. Children are now reunited with their Mamas and husbands now home with their wives.
This is no reflection on my big spiritual finesse I can assure you, I was as desperate as they were…I just put myself in their position and felt the pain they were feeling and prayed. I was a mother I understood at least a mother’s and father’s passion…..the desperation, the loss, the ferocity of a she wolf cornered. In this I could agree.
NOW
I see victory NOT defeat in these woman’s eyes, and I just thank Jesus for the power of agreement
Matthew 18:19 (New Living Translation)
19 “I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.
THIS VERSE ADDS ANOTHER SLANT
John 8:17 (New Living Translation)
17 Your own law says that if two people agree about something, their witness is accepted as fact.[a]
I am so glad to be ALIVE to agree and SEE
Cath
As humans there is an innate desire for justice
We see children abused, or neglected, we see defenceless animals hurt or tormented, we see children starving or enslaved, there is generally a heart response that cries out for justice to be done!!
When we are wronged, dealt with unfairly, hurt or abused we desire JUSTICE to be metered out to our abusers or violators. There is something that cries out for FAIRNESS!! The scales need to swing back into balance or equilibrium.
I think that it works the same way in families……there are some parents who abuse their authority and violate children, they abuse, torment, intimidate, worse still they murder and rape. There are some parents who are good, they reason, they communicate and try to understand their kids but in response to this ” just” behaviour sometimes children “violate” parents, they disobey, they cheek, they argue and undermine authority. Worse still they systematically erode discipline and rebel against parental guidance and turn away from them, this is so HARD for a parent who is literally “Busting their guts” to do the right thing by their kids……
I believe at these times, and in varying degrees, that a parent’s innate sense of JUSTICE is violated. There is “something” that requires the balance to be rectified. This is when I believe God allows controlled discipline and even a sense of righteous/controlled anger to be administered to bring those scales of justice back to an equal status. The world has in many ways STRIPPED the parent his or her rights to administer justice in the family.
Without justice being met I think parents suffer from incredible frustration and anger, that ends in a debilitating sense of hopelessness that eventually erodes our relationships with our kids, anger, violence, resentment and unresolved issues bubble and boil until God forbid a parent snaps, and real damage is done physically or emotionally.
Parents and children need to feel right and balanced..Justice needs to honoured in all relationships, I believe that we are made in God’s image He is JUST, things that are wrong in God’s agenda must be made right also.
Thankfully He has a deep sense of justice, it was to forfill this sense of justice that Jesus came a died in place of us. Justice is met as Jesus embraced the cross and died, as we embrace the cross we too are justified by the grace found in God and revealed in Jesus….Hallelujah!
Thank God for justice it is normal and right, thank God for the balance of justice in the family and the ability to discipline and administer justice in love, thanks be to God that as Christians we are allowed to “vent” our justice and righteous anger bringing back balance and fairness in our homes!
Thank God for justice and discipline
Cathy
Recent Comments