Last night at church I listened to a very powerful sermon on sex, it will be available here in a week. I think it’s worth a listen.
And on a similar topic, I stumbled upon this article on sexual slavery in Cambodia. It’s a fairly hard hitting read, just so I’ve warned you of that, but sometimes it’s good to hear these things to be prompted to pray and as an antidote to the kind of blindness we gain living in an Internet savvy, affluent society.
And on the topic of mission, here is the website of an organisation that I worked with in South Africa many moons ago in the year 2000. Umthombo work with street kids in Durban, traveling around the city and building relationships with the boys (sadly the girls mostly end up in brothels), seeking the best way of helping them get out of the ensnaring situation that life on the street so easily becomes. The chap on the right hand side of the header photo is Eugene Ngidi, he was a street kid himself, but was rescued out of it and now has devoted his life to serving those who were in the same situation he was. I had the massive privilege of hanging out with Eugene for two weeks, he is up there with the most compassionate, Christ-like men I have ever come across, he could be in the dictionary next to the definition of sacrificial love. Inspiring.
Umbthombo also do a lot of work campaigning for the rights of these street dwelling children, here is a quote from their website:
Umthombo aims to change the way that society perceives and treats street children, through educating society as to the realities of the street child experience and through developing and implementing informed, working strategies to address the issue in South African cities.
They work under an umbrella (ella, ella) organisation called Amos Trust, who are also pretty interesting too.
Hello.
At first, let me confess to you how I appreciate your blog which is so well-written! Thank you for your talent.
I am 26 year-old, now and almost all my life I denied my Catholic roots and own faith because I didn’t accept the lack of feedback by the Church, and its way of thinking too conservative about so many topics. Nevertheless, I have started again to pray since two or three weeks; I needed a little help to be stronger in my everyday life. What I deeply understood is that I didn’t need the support of a pope or other people from Church to think by myself and to read the Holy Bible. So, that’s the reason why I consider myself as a protestant more than a catholic!
Anyway, I mean, your article is about a current topic, street children and sex, and that’s a terrible fact to notice how the Catholic Church denies a such society disaster. I don’t really understand why the Catholic Church has so many ambiguous attitudes and words about sexuality, because the Holy Bible is maybe one of the books in which there is so many sex and violence!
Thanks for your comment Emeline, so glad to hear you are praying again, that’s great news. Keep going, keep praying and reading the Bible and keep asking God to show more of himself to you. I’ll say a prayer or two for you myself.
It’s a really moving situation, my hope is that we are challenged to pray and respond in some way to this and many other areas of injustice in our world.
Bless You
1 Peter 4
Living for God
Suffering for Being a Christian
12 – Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.
13 – But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
14 – If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
15 – If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler.
16 – However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.
17 – For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
18 – And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”[a]
19 – So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.
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A such extract is quite interesting to read and analyze because it proves that is not so easy to be a believer and to find the good way to God. I suffered a lot to find peace so God, that’s why I think suffering is also another mean to understand what could be faith.
Thank you for writing such lovely words.