a flower in my lapel / a daisy in your hand

Arriving in Amsterdam, I was stuck by the biting cold wind, and soon after this, I was struck with the problems and issues I quickly begun to hear about: I heard about the red light district, the “coffee” shops, and many of the other precarious activities that take place, and I was overwhelmed, and baffled as to how I would interact with such a place. (Amsterdam really is a normal city in many ways, but being new to the city, much of what I heard was negative).

Our times in class in Amsterdam were spent learning about international relations from a Christian perspective, and we then spent some time doing a broad overview of world history since the time of Christ. The broad overview of world history was very interesting in that as you look back on the main issues, conflicts, and problems in those times, God was doing something new in the hearts of His people. Revivals were birthed, missions movements went out into new areas of the world, societies were changed – at every point where society began to seem threatened, God countered this by raising up movements that were marked by the characteristics of His heart. I love seeing how God would be working for the good of humanity on such an Epic scale.

As many of you may know, God put the idea of some people’s hearts in our school to go into the red light district of the city, and hand out flowers to the prostitutes in the area, as well as anyone else who seemed in need of appreciation. When we first began to follow through with this, most of us were a bit nervous, as we weren’t sure how the people would respond, but it is evident that your prayers covered us during the time. With the flowers, we attached short messages, which basically just said something about God’s love and value in the peoples’ lives. The girls to whom we gave flowers were very appreciative, and we never had anyone reject our offer of flowers. It was interesting the whole time we were giving out flowers, I felt a clear peace and safety over the whole situation, and I fully believe that this was God going before us at our every step.




With this, I saw something that went beyond just prostitution, and beyond just the red light district of Amsterdam. I saw an openness to appreciation and love – an openness that would surely extend to just about every situation imaginable. Prostitutes are not the only people in the world who long to know true love and appreciation; many people in the most “normal” of situations surely feel as though they are dying on the inside, because the fact that they do not know of the God that died for them to understand His love.



Point is, more flowers need to be handed out (if you desire to continue putting things in terms of flowers). Everyone in the world is in need of the realization that they are loved by the creator of the universe, and He longs to speak that to them in whatever situation they are in. Love exists even before they have turned their face to Him.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

(Romans 5:8, NKJV)

He didn’t wait until we were good enough. He died (and rose again) so that we could understand. He didn’t wait for us to come out of the “bad parts of town” to begin loving us; He went boldly into those areas, and showed us first hand the value we have in His eyes. All the while, He completely disregarded that fact that He would be associated with the sin that was all around us.







Seeing love, in a real, practical, tangible way, people have reason to change. Do we too often jump to fix their sin before they have reason to leave a life of sin? In the Bible, it seems as though people understood their own sin, but perhaps they did not have a reason to leave that sin behind until they saw that in Christ they were valued. With the issues of blatant sin, we can’t afford to just write those things as the blatant sins that they are; obviously certain activities are sinful, but what does it look like to love people in those situations in a way that will call them out of those lifestyles and into a realization of what true life can be? And just as well, the same goes for people whose sin is not blatant - everyone is in need of a similar redemption [for all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, whether we can see it with our eyes or not]. Perhaps if we began to show people the care, concern, and love of Christ in their lives, they will then have a legitimate reason to leave behind their former garments of filth in exchange for the pure white robes that God intends for them.



Walking along the canal my last night in Amsterdam, I was struck with the beauty of our God. From my time in Amsterdam I see that God is not overwhelmed with our problems and the sicknesses that plague our societies (even when they are a bright red fluorescent light that is shining in your face.) Rather, He is one who will walk within those plagues to show us all the more about His grace. Wherever I go there will be some way shape of form in which He is moving, no matter how initially overwhelmed I may feel.

…

Currently, I write to you from Paris. We have about a week to make our way down to Malaga, Spain, and so this week I will be in Paris, seeing some new sights, and working on some photography assignments. I am here with my friends Naphtalie and April, and thankfully God has blessed us with places to stay while we’re here. I'm looking forward to finding the ways that God has made Himself apparent in this place.

More Amsterdam...

(a windmill at Zaandijk)

(and finally, I wish this hawg was mine...)

hope in blood

Most of us have heard something about AIDS in Africa. There are numbers. There are percentages. There are opinions. But more than numbers and statistics, line charts and pie graphs, there are real people who are affected by a disease that is just as equally real.

The following are stories from a few of the families we were able to spend some time with while in Addis Ababa during the month of March. Their stories are hard, but for most of the people, they have found an enduring strength in Jesus that has brought them through the hardest of times.

orphans:antiretroviralmedication:CD4count:viralload:practicionerinitiate...
dHIVcounselingandtesting:healtheducation:stigma



Depressing? Not necessarily. It seemed to me that the hope of Christ was somehow expressing itself in the lives of each of these individuals and their families. They may continue to be infected by HIV, but for a majority of these people, the love of Christ has brought the hope of something beyond a disease.

The families we visited are part of a local church program that supports some of the poorest of the poor in Addis Ababa Ethiopia. This program cares for many families, mostly non-Christians, who would otherwise have great difficulty in acquiring their basic living necessities. These families are being given monthly support to provide for school fees, hygiene products, blankets, and some food. The church also makes a point of visiting the families in their homes and praying with them. Of these families, we spent time with some of the ones that had in some way been affected by HIV. All of these people live in very trying circumstances, but it is a comfort to know that the church is reaching out to them is practical ways.

By all means, AIDS is still an issue in our world, and it will continue to be an issue in the years to come. But beyond statistics and numbers that would seem at first glance to be disheartening, there are also stories of people who have found life in what we as humans would call impossible circumstances. This challenged my faith in that I see that I am in relationship with a God who is not challenged by the seemingly concrete things like percentages and infection rates. This God, who loves us, gives us reason to hope even when the “facts” tell us otherwise.

trusting in God to make hope

Amariche Demoshe, 36, is the single mother of seven children – six girls, and one boy. And she is infected with HIV.

Her Children:

Arsema: 18
Alem: 17
Rahel: 13
Sarah: 9
Esubalew (HIV+): 7
Yordanos: 4.5
Deborah: 6 months

Amariche was born in Addis Ababa Ethiopia, but her family immediately moved with her to the countryside in the southern part of the country. She stayed there until she was 18 years old, when she came back to Addis Ababa to attend school. She completed her schooling through grade six, and then made the decision to join the Ethiopian National Army, where she fought in Asmara Eritrea for about seven years.

Since returning from fighting in the war, Amariche was able to start a family, though her husband has since died. Amariche herself isn’t quite sure where she acquired HIV, though she believes she may have contracted it while caring for others who were infected.

(Amariche puts her antiretroviral medication back into her purse.)

Two years ago, Amariche put her faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of her sins and the hope of new life beyond the one she is living. Even beyond this hope, Amariche has experienced physical rejuvenation through Christ’s work in her life. At one point Amariche weighed only 70 pounds, and her CD4 count was only 135 (the CD4 count is basically a measurement of the cells in the blood that fight diseases and infection; anything below 200 is considered to be AIDS.) More recently, her weight has improved to a healthier amount, and her CD4 count has increased to 610. Amariche has been taking Anti-Retroviral Treatments (ART’s) that are made available to her free of cost by the Ethiopian Government, but when asked what increased her CD4 count, she said that overall, it is prayer. Amariche said through translation:

Every sickness is not a curse from God. If you believe, and pray to God, God will hear you and respond to your prayer. You have to trust in God to make hope.

Amariche and her children are currently living in a home that is smaller than most of our own bedrooms. They had no access to a home of their own, so the hospital where Amariche is being treated allowed her and her family to construct a shelter on their property. The shelter is very rugged, as it is made up of plastic tarps, rope, tin, pieces of wood, and a thin piece of cloth for a front door. They keep the family out of a majority of the elements, but the conditions certainly don’t seem adequate for one who is trying to build up a healthy immune system, especially with the often quite biting cold nights in Addis Ababa.

(Yordanos (4.5) and Rahel (13) stand in the door of their home.)

(Sarah (9) prepares a lunch for the family and their visitors.)

(Amariche and her children earn much of their living through making table and bed clothes. Even the children help to sew them.)

Amariche continues to live, conscious of her need to be sustained by her Savior, all the while seeing evidence of His working hope into her ever so difficult circumstances. He has not abandoned her. He has not left her. He rather, continues to hold Amariche and the family she supports in the center of His embrace, and in the palm of His sovereign hand.

Some Prayer Requests from Amariche:

1. Being homeless. If the hospital needs the space she has built her family’s temporary residence on, her family will be forced to live on the street. Pray for the provision of a house, and the other practical needs such as nutritional foods and school supplies.
2. Even though challenged by HIV, she says, “I should like to be in front of my God every time.” Pray that she may experience the life and continual rejuvenation that is found in the presence of God.