caring for the voiceless & forgotten - a historical example.

   I’ve started rereading a book by J.P. Moreland titled “Kingdom Triangle” and in there he has an amazing historical example of the power of The Good News when the Christian Community responds to injustice through biblical compassion.   He mentions the way the Early Church responded to paganism which was being cruel towards children, especially girls, including infanticide and the abandonment/exposure of infants.   He quotes Herbert Henson,

   “Many of the exposed children were trained for purposes of prostitution, and many perished, immersing those who exposed them in the guilt of homicide.   The compassion of Christians went forth to these abandoned little ones, doomed by the parents to vice and death.  The widows and virgins of the Church included among their regular works of piety the care of these outcast babes.  Among the first recorded charitable institutions we find mention of children’s homes or orphanages.”  (Henson, “Christian Morality”, Oxford:Clarendon, 1936).

   This shows me that James’ words to look after the orphan and the widow in their distress were being acted out in the Early Church and that compassionate actions toward the voiceless, helpless and forgotten were being taken in Jesus’ name.   These were deeds that went beyond basic charity, but rather were acts that would have meant selfless sacrifice in the caring for those who had nothing to offer in return and were actually viewed as disposable in the eyes of society at large.   The compassion of Jesus moved these early followers to stand for justice and mercy for those who could not stand for themselves, while at the same time finding themselves in the minority.   

   While I have been outside of the recent rhetoric of Glen Beck and Pat Robertson that gained a lot of publicity over comments about social justice and adoption  (and I must admit that my Ethiopian internet access is not good enough to really give them a fair listen), I do think that it is important for us as Jesus followers to remember that responding to the call to the voiceless, the innocent, the suffering, the forgotten and the abandoned comes from the very heart of God.   God revealed His heart for justice and mercy over and over again throughout the Old Testament.  Jesus revealed His heart in His words, His associations, His teachings and in His healings (physical, social, emotional, spiritual) over and over.   God speaks to us through Acts and The Letters about the place of caring for the poor and downtrodden.  The Early Church provides us with examples of how they lived this out while living in a pagan society that persecuted them.   The long line of saints over the centuries have become advocates for mercy and justice in the likes of William Wilberforce, Dorothy Day, Gladys Alyward, Terese of Liseux, Martin Luther King, Jr., George Mueller, Mother Teresa, Oscar Romero, William Booth and scores of others.  And, of course there are hundreds and thousands of unrecognized people today who labor on behalf of the voiceless, the forgotten, the downtrodden, the poor, the orphan, and the widow without any kind of hope for recognition or desire to become known.   They are people on the fringes themselves, having sacrificed greatly while trying with all that they are and all that they have to obediently follow the call that Jesus has put in them.  He put a hook in their hearts along the way and they haven’t been able to shake it.   He has given them His heart to serve those who are forgotten and overlooked in practical ways that demonstrate His hope and life...and they are going into the great unknown obediently attempting to do so.

I believe that God calls each of us to remember the forgotten, powerless and voiceless.  It would have been easy for the Early Church to turn a blind eye towards the cruelty of children and infanticide, after all they had their own problems that they were working through (including brutal persecution).   And, it is easy today for us to not see the poor and oppressed  because we’ve got our own problems, too.  However, Jesus has not forgotten them, and neither should we as His followers.    I believe that He calls us with courage and self-sacrifice to give voice to the voiceless and remember the forgotten who can give us nothing in return.  It brings to mind Jesus’ words to us in Matthew 25 “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” 

When we take His words to heart and we participate in His works of justice and mercy we see incredible things happen in us and through us as His Kingdom moves forward.  It was true in the Old Testament.  It was true as Jesus walked the earth.  It was true in the experience of the early church.  It has been true for thousands of Jesus’ followers in thousands of settings over a couple thousand years.  And, I’m convinced that its true for us today as well.  What a privilege that we get to partner with God in what He is doing as He makes His heart known!

Trip to Southern Ethiopia - Stop 1 - Wera Boya

Jerry had a great trip to Wera Boya, Ethiopia last week with a team of Vineyard folks from Ohio, Michigan and Missouri. Our primary mission there was to help build a church building and overall encouragement of a church there. What an amazing time.

Wera Boya is a 5km drive outside of the nearest town named Durame in the Southern region of Ethiopia known as the SNNPR. While it is only 5km outside of town, it took us well over an hour to get there because the rains had created quite the muddy mess for us to navigate. We made it, but it was some rough going, with a lot of pushing going on. Everytime we got stuck on the muddy road, all of the men and boys living in huts along the road ran out and helped push us out or dug channels to divert the water off of the road to make it easier to pass. It was an incredible encouragement. 

After arriving in the village we found that the church members were already hard at work and had much more of the framing up than what we had anticipated. The women of the church greeted us with lively singing and dancing celebrating how God was lifting them out of oppression.

While there we got to experience so much! We had an amazing time loving on some of the children there. There were dozens of kids, who really just seemed to want a bit of love and touch. We also had plenty of opportunities to pray for the sick of the village. We were treated to some of the finest hospitality we have experienced here, people who have very little and who live very simple lives off of the land who were intent on feeding us huge meals everyday. It was beautiful, touching and humbling.

The people of Wera Boya are mostly subsistence farmers who grow a variety of crops, including coffee. The coffee trade provides them income for a couple of months a year when they sell the beans to the local coffee market, but within a few months they once again find themselves in the grip of poverty and exposed to the natural threats that come with subsistence farming. Despite their poverty, they are some of the most joyful people one could ever meet.

Our team got an inside look at what life is like in this village. For one, we got to be inside a hut as they prepared their meal over a charcoal fire in the center of hut and as the cow that is also housed inside the hut looked on. We got to see some of the effects of malnutrition and how simple infections and treatable diseases were bringing suffering to the children there. We also got to witness the water situation in the village. One day they brought around drinking water for the workers which had a distinctive muddy, red tint to it. As we asked around we found out that the water source was a spring that took 30 minutes round trip to walk to and which was not a clean source. A couple of members of the team made the journey with the women to get water one day - down a steep muddy trail, to a contaminated water hole - and then after filling their jugs made the back breaking journey back to the village carrying heavy jars of water. Women from the village make this journey 3 times per day to bring water back to the village that can make them sick to drink. But, when its your only water source, what else could you do? We saw first hand how a simple water well could revolutionize this village.

One day we also got to pray for an older woman (probably in her 70s) who had been blind and deaf for over 20 years. It was very clear in looking at her that she was blind and had been for some time. When we first met her she was laying in a dark corner of a hut with no way to communicate clearly with us. We took some time to pray for her and checked back in on her later in the afternoon. When we checked back in on her she told us that she could hear a bit better and that she could see light. We found this an encouragement that God was at work, so we prayed for her some more and then went home for the night. The next day we checked back in on her and she told us that she could hear better than she had for years and that she could see forms and shapes now. She still could not see clearly, but she could see. It reminded us of Jesus’ healing of the poor blind man in Mark 8 where the man saw "men walking around like trees" initially before he was fully healed by Jesus. We were encouraged and prayed some more.

I’d love to say that she was healed completely. We did not get to see it completely in our time there, at least. However, it was a huge joy when we were in the middle of a church service before we left the village and she walked into the church being led by a little boy. She sat in the back and smiled through the service and clapped to the music. However, the most encouraging thing I saw was hope that had been restored to this woman. The day before she was allowing flies to crawl all over her as we talked and prayed. She let them rest in her eyes and all over her face and eat at the sores on her legs. However, as we sat in that church service she was shooing all of the flies away as soon as they would try to land on her. To me, it was a sign that hope had returned to this beautiful daughter of God. A day before it seemed that she had given up and despair had set in, yet now a spark of hope had returned as she had experienced the Living God doing a work in her.

We closed our time there celebrating together in a time of worship in the new church that we had helped build. By Western standards it is nothing special - a shelter built of sticks and trees and tin and nails with a mud floor that will someday have mud walls. However, it is a meeting place for Jesus followers to gather and celebrate all that He is doing and has done that will assist them in being a community of hope to their village and area. Together we celebrated as newfound friends and brothers and sisters in The Lord while having many differences, also having Him in common. We had so much to celebrate - and celebrate we did - with much joy! Check out a video clip of one of the songs we did together, below...and please pray for the people of Wera Boya.

Wera Boya Worship Service from jerry shannon on Vimeo.

Time for a Hair Cut!

Well, I didn't think I'd have to do this this soon, but lately, Caia's been saying she wants here hair cut short "like Aunt Wendi's".  And today, when I went to trim her hair which was well below her waist when wet, she repeatedly asked me to cut it.  We talked about it, I couldn't believe it, we talked through it some more...reminding her that if she cut it, it was pretty permanent until it grew out, she still wanted it, Dad and Mom talked, we both grieved, Dad and Caia talked, and on and on, but her desires didn't change. So, we went for it.

the "before hair"

 I decided to measure her hair, and she did indeed have enough to donate her hair to make a wig for cancer patients just like her Aunt Dana does, so we put it in a rubber band and cut off a 10 inch pony tail!

 

 

After that, we started the work of "just trying to make it straight".  A Mom with no training and a dull pair of hair scissors is not a recipe for a good drastic change like this!  She wanted it quite short, but I told her I wasn't too sure that my skills (or lack there of) could produce what she wanted, so we might have to go a bit longer with the hope that it might be a bit more forgiving of my "skills".  We probably took off another 2-3 inches just making it straight(er).  But in the end, it worked out ok, and she was really pleased (although it wasn't "as short as she had wanted").  Dad and I grieved the long hair, and think she looks pretty cute with her new cut.

 

My Sweet Caia

The Newest Shannon!!!

Last night, Tigist came home and asked us if she could bring an abandoned puppy home. The kids have been longing for a pet, but it’s not a bridge we thought we’d have to cross today! Jerry went out with Tigist (in the dark) to look at the pup (and took the 3 oldest kids with him...that was the beginning of the end!). He was so adorable! Soon, I was summoned to come see. Hanna and I went to meet the little pup. Hanna is TERRIFIED of all living creatures, and freaked out over the dog. We had a bit of a crowd around us and the dog, so it was a bit difficult to discuss our decision. Finally, a young man there who had been looking after the pup said he’d keep it until the next day so we could decide. So, home we all trooped.

What a long, agonizing night and next morning for 3 kids!!! But after some research and the “pros and cons” list, Jerry walked up to see if the pup was still there. I heard him come back into the gate met by the joyous shrieks of 3 little kids….and the terrified shrieks of the littlest one.

So, we are now the proud owners of a tiny little pup (probably 4-6 weeks old)! (Oh my, what have we done?) The kids are thrilled…some even to tears of joy. Then, of course, there was the great naming process. I’ll spare you the details, but without further adieu, let me introduce you to the newest Shannon:

MOSES

(The kids thought it was a good name since baby Moses was left without a mother and found by the wayside, just like this puppy.  Jerry wanted to name him "Martin Woofer", because Micah used to talk about "Ma-in Woo-fu" after he heard me read a story to Joshua in kindergarten about Martin Luther.  Jerry was quickly shot down.)

 

Hanna is slowly getting over her terror, and has even touched the dog and let him on her lap once. She flips between being in love and being petrified, but we’re making headway!

Quote from Micah: “I can’t stop saying I can’t believe it. I can’t stop saying that I love him. It’s almost like a miracle!”

Would you pay $12 for a cup of coffee

The NY Post just reported on Cafe Grumpy which is serving Ethiopian coffee for $12/cup.  Now, it sounds delicious, but $12/cup...really?  They say that a lot of the cost comes from expensive processing and the coffee is a  rare coffee called Nekisse from Neji Ethiopia.   But, I do wonder how much they paid the farmer for the coffee.  Maybe they paid them very fairly!

Even though it is rare, lets keep in mind that most coffee here is hand-picked (one thing they make mention of as making it more expensive), and is grown on small farms where it is harvested by families.  Some is sun dried, but others are not.   Much of it is grown interspersed with fruit trees and other bushes which help to give the coffee distinctive notes and flavors.  Much of what they are talking about with this coffee is true of most Ethiopian coffee, except that it may have distinct flavors, these coffee cherries never touch the ground and there is a more extensive brewing system they use.  But, I still wonder, what did the farmer get paid here?

Now, if a farmer is selling his coffee to a cooperative which is fair trade, he may be getting $1.41 per pound.  This means he makes less than $290/year off of his 5 acre farm growing coffee. Growing coffee probably makes up about 70% of his total income for his entire family. If we take a pretty conservative estimate, we could assume that you get maybe 20 (6oz) cups of dark coffee from 1lb of green beans.  Its not hard to see an inequity here, even when the farmers are getting a "fair" price that makes life more sustainable.

This news has been spread all across Ethiopia blogs and news outlets and continues to lead to the view that Americans can afford anything and have a limitless supply of cash to spend on frivolous things.  Afterall, if the typical Macchiato here in Ethiopia costs less than 30 cents, what would you think about rich Americans who are willing to drop $12 on a cup of coffee that originated in your homeland.   Now, I know it is NYC, yet its hard for someone to understand that!

A few weeks ago, an Ethiopian guy said to me, "I've heard in America that people will spend 40ETB for a cup of coffee ($3 US) which sounded unbelievable to this guy who makes less than 800 ETB ($60 US) per month.  He said, "Wow, Americans are so rich."  Now, imagine explaining to him a $12 US cup of coffee!