Vox Lucens

The primary purpose of this year’s Thailand and Burma trip was to conduct a series of clinics.  The doctors and dentists provided medical services for the children in Remember’s two orphanages, and while “in the area,” provided similar services to children involved with the CDC near Phuket, Thailand, and in Burma.

Remember’s orphanages provide for approximately 85 beautiful children from around Burma.  This was my first chance to see the work firsthand, and let me tell you, these kids are impressive.  In spite of the suffering they have experienced, they exude a joy that can’t be missed, and they shared that joy with the entire team.  I’m not sure if playing games with them was more fun for us, or for them!  After four days in Burma, I don’t think any of us were ready to leave.

Over the course of three days of clinics in three different locations in two different countries, our doctors and dentists saw well more than 500 people.  The conditions they saw varied from the mundane (at least by our well-medicated standards) to the startling.  The most startling was at one of the community clinics, where parents brought a 10-month old child with a massive case of untreated hydroencephalitis.  At one month, the mother told the doctor, the child was normal - and at ten months, the child had a head larger than the rest of its body, filled with fluid building up around the brain and keeping the skull from coming together.  The pediatrician told me that he had never seen anything like it, because such a condition never goes untreated in the U.S.  The treatment is a rather simple procedure, for a hospital, but these young parents could not afford it.  Now, thanks to our doctors and some generous donors, the child will be taken care of.  Whether there will be permanent brain damage cannot be said before the treatment - you can pray for total healing.

And please continue to pray for the ongoing effect of these trips.  Because of the trip Remember took last year, doors are opening up in amazing ways.  Pray that this trip will continue to open doors, and these children and the communities will never forget the love of Christ that we went to show in every way we could.

Katie’s assigned job was playing with the kids, and boy did she make lots of friends.

Apparently, dentists are allowed to have fun.  Who knew?

Prayer time on the school bus!

It has been far too long in between missions trips for me, and it is great to be back on the ground in Thailand. Katie and I had a day in Bangkok, met up with the rest of the team, and are now down in southern Thailand for clinics and community development projects.

Chatuchak Weekend Market

Introducing Katie to Pad Thai

The Chao Phraya River at sunset

Time for a river cruise

Wat Arun

And off to work - while Katie helped the dentists, I went on a team to help upkeep the memorial for the victims of the tsunami. This is the entrance before…

…And after.

The Ban Naam Ken Tsunami Memorial

More to come! Thanks for the prayers…they are being felt in many ways as we work here and prepare to go into Burma.

The country of Burma holds the very dubious distinction of being the home of the longest running civil war in the world. The many ethnic minorities scattered throughout the country have faced the brunt of the violence from the ruling junta.

One of those ethnic minorities is the Karen, a largely Christian ethnic group which has been specially targeted because of their Christian faith. Every year, the ruling junta sends out a marauding army to the jungles of the Karen state, during a time which the Karen people simply call the “killing season.” These attacks have left behind a wake of widows and orphans with nowhere to turn but the Body of Christ.

In just a couple of weeks, Remember will be sending a team to minister to the children of martyrs in the in Burma and in neighboring Thailand, where many Karen are forced to flee. Remember has three orphanages in the region, where these children receive food, lodging, care, and instruction. A part of the care is regular trips which Remember takes to provide the children with medical care and supplies, provide building teams, and to give encouragement to the children, their caretakers, and the people traveling.

I have been to minister in this region of the world twice before, and can speak very personally about both the need of these Christians and the powerful ministry of these trips. Katie and I are delighted that we are going to get to be on this trip. My primary task will be assisting the dentists, and Katie will be working with the kids. Others will be providing medical attention, construction assistance, and more.

You can help

The very best thing you can do to help us out is to pray.  Pray that each member of the team would be prepared in heart and body to minister with great energy and wisdom on the trip.  Pray that travel details would all fall together.  Pray that God’s blessings would flow through us to these members of the Body of Christ.

And such trips are far from cheap.  In addition to praying, you could certainly help us out by donating towards our expenses!  If you are so led, you can donate via PayPal to gabe AT gabewaddell DOT com, or you can make a tax deductible donation (to our expenses, or Remember’s ongoing work) via Remember’s donation page. If you would like the donation to go to our expenses, please put “Waddell Trip” in the comments box. Your help is greatly appreciated!

Stay tuned for updates.

A friend of mine, a Sudanese pastor, writes:

I write to inform you, friends and partners, that a fight between SPLA and government Army has erupted since last Sunday, and as a result of air bombardment, shelling and looting the town now is in ruin. Civilians are evacuated to a place outside the town, but even there they are not safe and we are informed that some people were picked by armed people and killed. Most of the houses are demolished and looted and many civilian are killed. All churches are either burned or looted… The situation is escalating.

The situation in Nuba Mountains is beyond imagination, almost all the buildings in the town were destroyed, and all the churches in the town in Kadugli are either burned or looted.  My house was looted, and all my belonging were taken away… fortunately enough I was [not in town when the fighting started]. Continue to pray with us for the humanitarin needs of the civilians who are now in the open without basic human necessities.

I have been to the village of Kadugli twice, and the thought of this destruction and death is horrifying.  It is not the first time my heart has broken for this violence-strangled country (see here, here, and here), but the recent vote for separation has left the country in political turmoil the likes of which has not been seen since the CPA was signed in 2005.  The church continues to bear the brunt of the attack, and the Body of Christ continues to suffer, and I continue to ask you to join me in prayer.

***UPDATE***

The good folks over at ASSIST News picked up this story - article here.

***UPDATE 2***

Compass Direct News has an update today (6/17/11) with more background information on the situation in South Kordofan: Sudanese Military, Militias Kill Christians in South Kordofan.

If any of you follow me on Twitter, you know that I immerse myself in news about the persecuted church on a regular basis.  Every story is heartbreaking, but absolutely worth knowing about.  We take too much for granted, and I, at least, need the reminder of what “real life” is for so many in the Body of Christ - and the reminder to pray for them.

In the midst of all of these stories, though, from all over the world, there are sometimes stories that grab me and won’t let go.  One of those hit this morning.

If you follow persecution news at all, you have heard of Asia Bibi, a woman in Pakistan who has been convicted of “blasphemy” under Pakistan’s oppressive law, and sentenced to death.  Her story has gotten worldwide attention.  One of the men often mentioned in the stories surrounding Asia Bibi is a man named Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Minorities.  He was the only Christian in the Pakistani Cabinet.

The reason this man stood out to me was his faithfulness in the midst of incredible pressure.  I frankly can’t imagine a job more delicate, more dangerous, and with more potential for just caving to pressure instead of standing for justice.  Asia Bibi was a poor farm girl; surely, there were more important things for Mr. Bhatti to do than defend her, right?  But no, as a Christian, and as a politician with an eye on justice, he stood firm in his defense of her - even when his enemies not only threatened to destroy his career and his position in the government, but also threatened his life.

And today, those enemies made good on their threats, ambushing Mr. Bhatti’s car and riddling him with bullet holes.

It is heartrending to receive this news, but is unfortunately not unexpected.  The last time I was with Shabaz in 2010, I asked him about his security and if the Islamists were closing in.  He had lived under the cloud of this eventuality for many years and he knew he was on borrowed time….He courageously defended the rights of persecuted Christians in Pakistan despite living under the constant threat of death. - ICC’s Jeff King

I hope I will never forget this example, even from a man I never met.  He did not seek security in obscurity, or safety in compromise.  He was neither corrupted by power or cowed by persecution.  He stood up, and stood out, for justice, even when he expected that it would kill him.

*** UPDATE ***

HotAir has a great write up, with video, of the life and death of this amazing man.  Read it.

November 14 was this year’s International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, and while I was in Charleston praying with the folks at Remember, Ambassador Baptist here in Fresno prayed too.  (It is a fantastic thing to be praying with believers worldwide on such a day!)

The good folks at Ambassador asked me to help put together a video calling the church to prayer.  We shot some interview footage, and they put together this spot.

The IDOP may be over (until next year), but the need remains - keep praying for suffering believers worldwide.