Are they ready for heaven?

Coming from South Africa, I have grown up seeing poverty on my door step. My mother works in a rural area with children affected by HIV; there are homeless at the robots (traffic lights) begging for money to support their families; there is hurt that has built up for years due to our country’s history. There is desperation. So when I arrived in Ethiopia, although poverty is more in your face and street kids can be seen sniffing glue in broad daylight, it was not a big culture shock to see people in desperation.  In some ways I had grown so used to seeing people in need that I was no longer affected by it.

Seeing the reactions of other expats was difficult for me as I felt like I had a heart of stone and no compassion. Familiarity had bred contempt.

On Friday night I watched the movie The end of the spear.  It is a true story told from the view of Steve Saint. Steve’s father (Nate Saint) was one of five missionaries (along with Jim Elliot) who was killed at the end of the spear by the Wodani tribe in Ecuador.

Nate and the other missionaries had exchanged gifts with the natives for several months prior to flying in and meeting them in person, when they were attacked and killed. Before leaving on that day Steve asked his father “If the Wodani attack, will you defend yourself? Will you use your guns?” to which Nate responds “Son, we can’t shoot the Wodani, they are not ready for heaven, we are”.

This line really struck a nerve in me and brought me to tears. I am ready for heaven but there are so many people who are not. People who we see every day. People who are desperate but who we are so used to seeing that we no longer really see them. Are they ready for heaven?

Two years after the men were killed, the wife and sister of two of the missionaries that were murdered returned to live in the same village as the tribesmen who killed their loved ones. They continued to share the gospel.

At the end of the film, Steve returns to Ecuador with his wife. He finds out that Mincaye, one of the tribesmen who he had gotten to know well as he grew up, was actually the one who killed his father. According to the Wodani, it would have been expected that Steve avenged his father’s death by killing Mincaye. In a heart wrenching scene, we see how broken Mincaye and Steve are after Micaye admits he was the one who took Nate’s life. Steve responds that no body took his father’s life. He gave it.

It is so easy to become complacent and detached from the unreached and we can come up with a million excuses as to why it is like that. But our Father gave His life for them too. Are they ready for heaven?

 

 

 

 

CURE

While I was in Ethiopia, Naomi and I visited the CURE hospital. CURE is an international non profit organisation which functions in 26 countries. They are doing amazing work. Primarily they work with children who have conditions such as clubfoot, bow legs, cleft lips, burns and hydrocephalus. To find out more about CURE in general, you can follow this link to their webpage.

CURE Ethiopia has been going since 2008. This hospital is primarily for paediatric orthopaedics. They are also able to provide orthopaedic training to orthopaedic fellows. They have 8737 outpatients each year and perform 2650 operations.

In Ethiopia, to have a physical deformity is considered a curse; not only the child with the deformity but the entire family is often ostracised and cast out from society. There are children who come to the hospital who have never been outside their own villages and some have never left their homes. At CURE, their physical condition is assessed and they are operated on as soon as possible, which may only be a year down the line.

The wards are warm and friendly; they are airy and brightly painted and have a welcoming feel. Each child has a care giver who stays with them and the children and caregivers are given 3 meals a day. The pastoral team come and sing and do activities with the children each day. There is a wonderful feeling of joy in the wards. The new block was opened last year and it is here that children can stay for prolonged periods of time. Those who are from far away and who need physical therapy or serial plasters stay here until they are fully recovered and ready to go home. There is a garden for people to sit in, a balcony to eat on and an orthotics lab. This is where the braces, prostetics and other needed equipment is made. They are hoping to soon convert a large container to a wheelchair repair workshop.

It was a wonderful day for me and spoke to the deep places of my heart where there lurks still the desire to be a medical missionary. For me, CURE Ethiopia is an example of witnessing at its best. There is practical help, reaching out and meeting a physical need that would otherwise be unmet. The practical help is in itself life changing. BUT, it doesn’t stop there. The staff at CURE are concerned about spiritual health as well. It is a place where your all round needs are taken care of and it is done with love, compassion and kindness. What a great example to us.

Please pray for Cure Ethiopia. Thank God for the work they are able to do and the lives they have changed. Thank him for the great schools near by which allows the children of staff to get a good education. Thank him for the staff who come from all over to serve here. Thank him for the local staff and the example they are to those around them. Pray for continued favour from the government; pray for energy and passion for the staff; pray for equipment to work; pray for the pastoral team, for wisdom, courage and discernment. Pray specially for more doctors to come – they are in great need of a paediatric anesthetist. Pray that God would provide, and if you happen to know one – pass on this post to them.