A Dying Generation
Hello friends. We have moved & I think I'm beginning to get back into the swing of things again. Yesterday I received an e-mail from my friend & former pastor Robert Brown. You can check out my previously posted blog "Steppin' Out" to get a reference for what he is doing. The following is from his e-mail. Read it with your heart wide open.
"I'm writing this Monday at about noon our time. I didn't have time to journal during the weekend (by the time we returned to the house, I exhausted and crashed). It was quite a weekend. We began at about 6:45 am Sat. heading to a funeral. This funeral lasted 4 hours. We went to the house and had a little service. Then we went to the church for about a 2 hour service. Then we went to the cemetery where we beheld scenes that were surreal. Dave, Sarah, and I were overwhelmed with what we witnessed. I have no idea how many burials were taking place, but it was at least 10 to 15. I'd guess that they must have buried a minimum of 50 people that day. Sounds of singing and great rejoicing were intermingled with wailing and gnashing of teeth."
"As I stood high upon this hill and watched, I saw thousands of people (three?, five?, who knows?) coming to bury their loved ones. By the time we left, there was no room to park! Cars and vehicles were lined up bumper to bumper for as far as our eyes could see. And this goes on day after day after day after ... Our hearts were broken, but most of the natives sat stoically ... for they are numb. The pain of what HIV/AIDS is doing has overwhelmed them. A generation is gone and going fast."
"I began to weep inside and ask the Lord whose heart is also broken: O God, what am I to do? How can I make a differnce? I'm just one little voice crying in the wilderness. But cry I must! I shall never cease to cry out in behalf of these beautiful people, these ailing grandmothers taking care of so many children, and most of all the throng of children who have no one to care for them, no one to rock them to sleep at night, no one to give them a name, a home, and a hope ... that things will be OK."
"I know a little about history and I don't know of anything like this scourge in the history of humanity. And I also know one thing for sure: That Jesus is right here! He came near to touch the lepers of His day. I believe that He wants to use me (YOU!) to reach out and touch these modern day "lepers" afflicted by HIV/AIDS or it's consequences. Sunday was an incredible reminder of the hope of the world: The local church! We spent the whole morning at two services, one at Titus's church and the other at one of the eight or so local missions the church has started. It's hard to believe the joy these people have unless you see & experience it for yourself. They have almost nothing ... except JESUS! I am so sad as I think about how we are so abundantly blessed back home, but it's never enough. We always want more. More money, bigger and better cars and houses and ... we're never satisfied. We have no idea how to sing & dance with the joy I witnessed yesterday. O God, teach us to be content with YOU."
"I got to preach briefly in the large service and then again at the mission. Pray for me as I preach at the church this Sunday. I want to encourage these brothers and sisters to fight the good fight. They have such loving and Godly hearts, but they are so overwhelmed. They need us to come alongside them as their partners. That is exactly what I want to invest the rest of my days doing. I need hundreds of Churches to join me in coming alongside the churches here at ground zero. I can't think of anything else or any other place that so desperately needs our help. I hope and am praying that many of you will come and experience it all for yourself some time soon. But, until then: I hope that you will invite me to come and share the story with you, your small group, your church leaders, or, best of all, your whole church. I have already received some invitations, but I have a calendar still pretty wide open for the fall and all of the spring. Let me know when would be the best time to come and share with you. I can tell that many of you are praying for me, Titus, and the gang. We have a special sense of God's anointing. There is no way that all that is happening is accidental. It is God! And I am so excited and privileged to be a part of it. From the bottom of my heart, I appreciate your partnership in the work of the Gospel here in South Africa!"
If anyone out there is as moved as I am & wants to do something about it, please contact FBC and let them know you want to support Robert & his work in Africa. Someone will be able to help you do just that.
"I'm writing this Monday at about noon our time. I didn't have time to journal during the weekend (by the time we returned to the house, I exhausted and crashed). It was quite a weekend. We began at about 6:45 am Sat. heading to a funeral. This funeral lasted 4 hours. We went to the house and had a little service. Then we went to the church for about a 2 hour service. Then we went to the cemetery where we beheld scenes that were surreal. Dave, Sarah, and I were overwhelmed with what we witnessed. I have no idea how many burials were taking place, but it was at least 10 to 15. I'd guess that they must have buried a minimum of 50 people that day. Sounds of singing and great rejoicing were intermingled with wailing and gnashing of teeth."
"As I stood high upon this hill and watched, I saw thousands of people (three?, five?, who knows?) coming to bury their loved ones. By the time we left, there was no room to park! Cars and vehicles were lined up bumper to bumper for as far as our eyes could see. And this goes on day after day after day after ... Our hearts were broken, but most of the natives sat stoically ... for they are numb. The pain of what HIV/AIDS is doing has overwhelmed them. A generation is gone and going fast."
"I began to weep inside and ask the Lord whose heart is also broken: O God, what am I to do? How can I make a differnce? I'm just one little voice crying in the wilderness. But cry I must! I shall never cease to cry out in behalf of these beautiful people, these ailing grandmothers taking care of so many children, and most of all the throng of children who have no one to care for them, no one to rock them to sleep at night, no one to give them a name, a home, and a hope ... that things will be OK."
"I know a little about history and I don't know of anything like this scourge in the history of humanity. And I also know one thing for sure: That Jesus is right here! He came near to touch the lepers of His day. I believe that He wants to use me (YOU!) to reach out and touch these modern day "lepers" afflicted by HIV/AIDS or it's consequences. Sunday was an incredible reminder of the hope of the world: The local church! We spent the whole morning at two services, one at Titus's church and the other at one of the eight or so local missions the church has started. It's hard to believe the joy these people have unless you see & experience it for yourself. They have almost nothing ... except JESUS! I am so sad as I think about how we are so abundantly blessed back home, but it's never enough. We always want more. More money, bigger and better cars and houses and ... we're never satisfied. We have no idea how to sing & dance with the joy I witnessed yesterday. O God, teach us to be content with YOU."
"I got to preach briefly in the large service and then again at the mission. Pray for me as I preach at the church this Sunday. I want to encourage these brothers and sisters to fight the good fight. They have such loving and Godly hearts, but they are so overwhelmed. They need us to come alongside them as their partners. That is exactly what I want to invest the rest of my days doing. I need hundreds of Churches to join me in coming alongside the churches here at ground zero. I can't think of anything else or any other place that so desperately needs our help. I hope and am praying that many of you will come and experience it all for yourself some time soon. But, until then: I hope that you will invite me to come and share the story with you, your small group, your church leaders, or, best of all, your whole church. I have already received some invitations, but I have a calendar still pretty wide open for the fall and all of the spring. Let me know when would be the best time to come and share with you. I can tell that many of you are praying for me, Titus, and the gang. We have a special sense of God's anointing. There is no way that all that is happening is accidental. It is God! And I am so excited and privileged to be a part of it. From the bottom of my heart, I appreciate your partnership in the work of the Gospel here in South Africa!"
If anyone out there is as moved as I am & wants to do something about it, please contact FBC and let them know you want to support Robert & his work in Africa. Someone will be able to help you do just that.
posted by Me at 8:47 AM
3 Comments:
It's hard for me to read Robert's daily emails because my heart breaks when I think about so much DEATH, but it leads me to fervently pray for God to pour out His grace on Robert, which is his only hope for being able to endure seeing so much suffering. I actually feel closer to Robert now than I did when he was here!
It occurred to me last week that I can easily take out $20 of my grocery money every week and put it in the offering plate earmarked for Africa. If everybody did that, it would really add up...
What about creative arts doing something like NOW as a benefit for Robert? I have a gazillion details floating in my mind about something like that, but simply put...what about it?
I think Michelle has a good idea.
Wow, I knew I was going to miss Robert but didn't know how much I already did until I read his words. Thank you, Mark, for sharing this with us.
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