M o n t r e a l 2 0 0 6

A present from my friend Gen, who’s friends with the Dallaires, and went to get a copy of Romeo Dallaire's book signed for me!!! (Merci beaucoup, Gen!!) Shake Hands with the Devil is a Lieutenant General’s account of the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 as the Force Commander of the United Nations troops, and how the international community (ie, developed countries with lots of resources like us) failed Rwanda – looked away and failed to intervene and save 800,000 Rwandan citizens caught in the middle of ethnic conflict. I’ve only read the preface and the first chapter but it’s definitely a powerful and important story.

In the preface, Romeo Dallaire explains the title of his book “After one of my many presentations following my return from Rwanda, a Canadian Forces padre asked me how, after all I had seen and experienced, I could still believe in God. I answered that I know there is a God because in Rwanda I shook hands with the devil. I have seen him, I have smelled him and I have touched him. I know the devil exists, and therefore I know there is a God.” Scary but true… I didn’t come to know God through knowing the devil… but I know that the devil exists because I know God. For our struggle is not against the flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and agianst the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12. As hatred and war rage on in Lebanon, as people are persecuted and killed for things like ethnicity and religion, as troubles whether we see them or not run deep in every nation… put on the armor of God (see the rest of Ephesians 6) and pray... pray not only for those being persecuted… pray against the devil and pray for spiritual healing in this world.

Closer to home of our failure in development (of course not just our failure, but it’s undeniable that we play a hugely important role) I received an email today from my friend Atuu in Tanzania who is the director of a refugee camp in Kigoma, Tanzania. He’d set up a pen-pal program at the camp for the children, for Christians from developed countries to write to children at the camp, and I’d started writing to a beautiful little girl named Eliza last year. The email I received today was to let me know that Eliza had passed away as a result of malaria. I don’t know whether to cry in grief, shout in anger or what…. Things like this do NOT need to be happening in the 21st century world of advanced medicine and technology… and yet they still do, and people and governments still turn a blind eye. Pray for Eliza’s family – mom and dad and two little brothers, pray for the Lufugu Refugee Camp and the children and families there, pray for ourselves that we would understand and be turned towards the things that break God’s heart too, pray for the leaders of the world that they would make choices of wisdom and compassion.

Also as another note, if anyone would like to participate in the pen-pal program in Tanzania, the children really do love it and it’s really a touching opportunity to share and experience God’s love in another part of the world. Let me know if you’re interested and I’ll put you in touch with Atuu. And if anyone is interested in sponsoring a child in a developing nation with a monthly donation of just $30-$40 that ensures their access to necessities like education and healthcare (you can also write to them personally!), check out the great programs offered by organizations like World Vision (www.worldvision.ca) or Compassion International (www.compassion.org).