jQuery(document).ready(function() { jQuery(‘.main_ad_adzone_10_ad_0’).show(); var cur_ad = 0; var val_ads = 1 – 1;});
Author, illustrator and artist Todd Stahl wants men to rediscover their man cave.
Frustrated with the lack of devotionals for men, Stahl decided to create his own. His book, 40 Days in the Man Cave, is a collection of 40 humorous devotions based on stories from the Bible, interwoven with hard lessons Stahl has learned in his own life as husband, dad and firefighter in Leamington, Ontario.
“Men are so busy,” Stahl explains. “We fill our day up but don’t take time for devotions. Can’t we give God 10 minutes?”
The key to a healthy spiritual life for men, he says, is taking a few minutes each day to pray and read the Bible, something many men aren’t doing because many devotional books sound “flowery.” He hopes 40 Days in the Man Cave will help change that attitude.
“I personally believe that carving out just a few minutes each day with God can radically change your life. I pray that as men read this book, they see the devotions not just as another thing they have to do but that they actually ‘crave the cave’ and grow in their friendship and relationship with the Lord,” says Stahl. “I want guys to come to see Jesus as a man, just like them.”
Even Jesus needed time and space for Himself, as much as men do today, Stahl says. That’s where the importance of a man cave comes in to help refuel the modern man. Stahl asks men to think of a place where they feel they can stop and take a breather.
To make spiritual refreshment a habit, Stahl and his wife, Sherry, launched Take the 40 Day Challenge. Readers of 40 Days in the Man Cave are challenged to commit to taking a few minutes each day, for 40 days, to laugh, read and become better men, husbands, fathers and friends. When participants sign-up online, they receive short, encouraging daily e-mails and videos, inspiring participants to reach the finish line.
“I think it’s important to share because all guys want to step up and be challenged. Deep down, we want to be men of integrity…not wimps,” Stahl says. “Guys want to read about stuff they’re actually dealing with in their personal lives and if something isn’t relatable, we’ll lose interest…fast. I hope that readers of all ages feel like they’re forming a friendship with me as I describe stories of how God changed my life and my heart.”
Dear Readers:
If ChristianWeek has made a difference in your life, please take a minute and donate to help give voice to stories that inform, encourage and inspire.
Donations of $20 or more will receive a charitable receipt. Thank you, from Christianweek.
WINNIPEG, MB—Pastor Justin Bradbury articulates the reasons he and his wife, Angela, are thrilled to be in partnership with the Wesleyan Church in church planting.
They share a desire for genuine Christianity that takes seriously that call of God in both Old and New Testaments, to care for the “foreigners, widows, orphans among you” and to do it beyond just “sending a cheque to a mission agency.”
Angela’s research revealed government services for immigrants couldn’t provide the building of relational networks with Canadians. The International Friendship Centre in Winnipeg opened December 2013. Just over a year later, New Horizon Church (NHC) began worship services.
Bradbury is excited about helping Canadian-born Christians, immigrant families and international students learn together to develop real lasting relationships and friendship with Christ at the centre.
During the week, providing help with resumés, English conversation and other basic supports are the norm. Friday evening cooking sessions have proven popular, with newer Canadians, particularly the men, eager to share their traditional foods and culinary heritage. International students and immigrant families are also taught to cook Canadian foods.
Younger, enthusiastic retirees and others from the congregation are willing to jump in and help. Even if they are not sure at first how to help provide the psychological, emotional and spiritual support needed by those who have left behind all that is familiar to come to Canada, they are learning.
Christian volunteers from other churches are welcome to assist with projects. Summer plans include visiting farms and going to the beach to further enhance newcomers’ Canadian experiences.
The large number of churches in Winnipeg may lead to a perception that church planting is not needed. However, says Bradbury, “When established churches become comfortable within themselves and do not continually seek to reach non-Christians for Jesus, then church planting is all the more necessary.”
The Wesleyan Church tradition of integrating spiritual and physical ministry, without overlooking the realities of sin and broken lives, is evident at NHC. The church is optimistic about God’s grace. “There is no limit to what God can do in a person’s life,” Bradbury says.
Dear Readers:
If ChristianWeek has made a difference in your life, please take a minute and donate to help give voice to stories that inform, encourage and inspire.
Donations of $20 or more will receive a charitable receipt. Thank you, from Christianweek.
Pat Gerbrandt is a Manitoba writer who delights to learn how God is working in and through His children, and enjoys sharing these accounts. Do you know a senior with an amazing story? Let us know! E-mail krempel@christianweek.org or call 1-800-263-6695.
I have been a pastor and an expositional Bible teacher for over 30 years. As a Bible teacher, I love the field of apologetics, or the defense of the Christian faith. How delightful it is to know that Christians can give reasonable and gentle answers that are at the same time respectful, intellectually rigorous and convincing.
When I first began to take interest in apologetics (back in the good old days), the primary questions being asked were decidedly different than the questions being asked today. In the past, the major questions included, but were not limited to, the following:
Can I trust the Bible?
Was Jesus a real historical figure, and can we prove His death and resurrection?
What about evolution and the apparent old age of the earth compared to the biblical record found in Genesis 1-2?
Today, even though these same questions are still being asked, the major focus has changed substantially. Now, major questions being asked include, but are not limited to the following:
What about the LGBTQ community and the charge that Christians are hetero-sexist?
What about religious extremism, the kind now being felt with the threat of ISIS? Is your religion open to differing views, or are you hostile to an inclusive understanding of religious differences?
What has your religion to say about environmentalism, climate change and animal rights?
On the one hand, questions will always remain questions. Sometimes they are asked as a way to justify unbelief, and sometimes they are asked by those who genuinely seek answers. But, there is a definite shift from the leading questions a generation ago that dealt with objective reality (Questions like, “can the claims of the Christian faith be objectively verified?”).
Today, the concern is with the very nature of objective truth. Anyone claiming objectivity on matters of faith and morality is considered to be the “problem.” Of course, we know that truth claims, when speaking about faith, are by their very nature, exclusive and excluding. But this view, in the minds of many, is akin to “hateful language.”
How do we respond? First, we cannot escape the reality that the Christian faith, when rightly proclaimed, does make exclusive truth claims. Consider Peter on the day of Pentecost who said, “Therefore, let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36). No matter how we try, our faith is declarative, and makes objective truth claims.
So, does this mean we get louder and more strident? I fear that this will only make us less believable. Perhaps, on the other hand, the time has come for us to learn how to make our most assertive statements in an attitude of demonstrable, sacrificial love towards those who ask. Perhaps a great opportunity lies before us, if we can but learn to demonstrate both truth and grace in the realm of apologetics.
John Neufeld is Back to the Bible Canada’s first Canadian Bible teacher in its 75-year history. Previously he served as senior pastor at Willingdon Mennonite Brethren Church in Burnaby, B.C.
Dear Readers:
If ChristianWeek has made a difference in your life, please take a minute and donate to help give voice to stories that inform, encourage and inspire.
Donations of $20 or more will receive a charitable receipt. Thank you, from Christianweek.
It is not surprising that the questions have changed given the worldview transformation from modernism to postmodernism. Modernism focuses on provable truth. Postmodernism denies the existence of absolute truth.
Jonathan Kotyk
12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
The message of the Gospel is not nice or inclusive, it is a harsh and brutal look in the mirror that is divisive and the enemy of a world that is increasingly depraved and without limits or taboos. The problem with Christianity today is that it continually seeks the approval of sinners by treating them as if they are not sinners, the result being, an impotent Church and the good news gone unheard. The more you seek appease sinners the further into darkness they fall. We as the body of Christ on earth need to take up our prophetic duty once more and start calling things what they are. Homosexuality is an abomination, transsexuals deny the word of God and seek to change what God has created. They are anti-nature, anti-creation,they are anti-Christ. The degeneracy we are witnessing today has no limits, is an abyss that swallows all goodness and leaves the world dead, inside and out. The cult of equality, tolerance, inclusiveness and the other anti-virtues must be opposed if humanity is to survive and return to God. The Word of God is a sword and it is past time we started using it as one.
A 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Nepal killed more than 5,000 people in late April. Nearly four million people have been killed in the four-year civil war in Syria and millions more displaced. At least 1,500 migrants have drowned so far this year while attempting to cross the Mediterranean in search of safety in Europe. Nine hundred of these occurred in a single incident on April 19.
As we witness all of these tragedies, it’s difficult not to feel utterly powerless. As I write this, I can feel my eyes welling up as I think of all of the people suffering right now in unimaginable ways. It never seems to stop.
So what can we do? Pray for peace? Send our thoughts their way and hope that everything will be okay? Even for a person of faith like myself, it somehow doesn’t seem like enough.
But we can use our faith to guide our action. These individuals are in urgent need of basic supplies—blankets, tents, sleeping bags, water purifiers, medication—the kinds of things we take for granted because they’re so readily available to us, yet will be crucial for the people struggling to rebuild their lives. To provide these supplies, more than anything else, organizations on the ground need money.
The M-word. It seems like someone is always asking us to open our wallets and throw money at these problems when it doesn’t seem to make any difference. It won’t change the images on our TV screens. There will still be millions of people suffering. There will always be another crisis. It’s easy to feel that it’s not worth the effort because anything we contribute will just be a drop in the bucket. What impact could it really have?
Yet we give because God calls us to be generous. We give because we recognize that ultimately, our brothers and sisters need it more than we ever could. We give because we recognize the inherent humanity of every single individual in every single photo of destitution we see. We give because we refuse to close our eyes to the suffering around us and to dismiss it as insurmountable.
In recognizing that we need to go beyond prayer, we are not dismissing our faith but rather, fulfilling it. God does not call us to stand idly by, but to take concrete action to restore the human dignity of our brothers and sisters. From our positions, the best way to do this is to contribute openly and freely to the humanitarian organizations working in these regions. Most importantly, “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).
Someone once said to me that we will never be able to alleviate the suffering of every person in the world. But if we are able to touch even one life, that is enough. And that is certainly worth the effort.
Kathryn Teeluck is a policy intern for Citizens for Public Justice.
Dear Readers:
If ChristianWeek has made a difference in your life, please take a minute and donate to help give voice to stories that inform, encourage and inspire.
Donations of $20 or more will receive a charitable receipt. Thank you, from Christianweek.
Church closure trends have reached alarming levels, with some denominations having to close churches by the week according to recent reports. In a report prepared for the Anglican Diocese of British Columbia in 2010, The status quo is not an option, Anglican bishops were told nationally between 1961 and 2001 the church lost 53 per cent of its membership.
In a 2010 article by the London Free Press, Predeceased by their churches, John Miner finds church closings are also hitting Christians across Southwestern Ontario. “The United Church, Canada’s largest Protestant denomination is now closing about one church a week. In the past decade, it has shut more than 400 churches,” he says.
Yet, several churches continue to thrive thanks to partnerships with larger congregations.
“This has been going on for quite a while in the United States, but it’s somewhat new in Canada,” says Ezra Okoti, Mission Campus pastor at Northview Community Church in Abbotsford, B.C. “Sometimes the congregation is getting older or they can no longer support a pastor, but they love the church and they want to continue to meet in their community. So they approach a bigger church and ask them to turn their church into a [satellite] campus.”
Northview just finished “replanting” its first church campus in February. Last summer, the church was approached with the idea by a congregation in Mission, B.C. It was struggling with leadership challenges and an unfinished building project members could no longer afford.
“The church is situated in a new housing development, so there are opportunities to reach all these new families, but we didn’t want to appear like a big church trying to take over little churches,” Okoti explains. “So our elders spoke to the people about what it would look like and told them we would need a very clear invitation to come. Their congregation deliberated prayerfully and voted more than 94 per cent in favour.”
As they prayed about how to most effectively replant the church campus, Northview sought advice from Calgary’s Centre Street Church, which has replanted three campuses across their city.
“Our first campus [replant] was seven years ago,” says Kent Priebe, Centre Street Church’s executive pastor. “Our purpose in doing this is to help us accomplish our mission to introduce people to Jesus and help them become fully devoted followers. A driving qualifier is if we have people from Centre Street living in that area of the city, who are committed to meeting and reaching out to the community in that location.”
Priebe says the biggest challenge as the churches amalgamate is for all the campuses to be unified and maintain their identity as one church family. In order to guard that unity, the campuses all share the same board, budget and vision. Most Sundays, they also hear the same message broadcast through a video connection.
“Unity is a big deal to us. We celebrate each others’ victories and pray for each other. We feel like we can do more together than we can apart. Knowing we are part of the same mission is encouraging and it enhances us because we feel like a large, extended family.”
Each of the replanted campuses have grown significantly, both because of Centre Street members making a campus church their home, but also because of the greater impact in the community.
“As the campuses are revitalized, they feel stronger and more capable of impacting the people around them. Our greatest joy is that by moving from one location to many, people have more opportunities to worship together in their neighbourhoods, they are more accessible in their neighbourhoods, and through the worship services, more small groups are started, bringing the gospel to homes across our city.”
Dear Readers:
If ChristianWeek has made a difference in your life, please take a minute and donate to help give voice to stories that inform, encourage and inspire.
Donations of $20 or more will receive a charitable receipt. Thank you, from Christianweek.
WINNIPEG, MB—Staff at Canadian LifeLight Ministries are hopeful that a new Bible for First Nations will strike a chord with aboriginal communities.
“We saw a need and we’re trying to fill it,” says LifeLight project facilitator Ken McGhie.
After four years of planning, LifeLight has printed 30,000 of the First Nations LifeLight New Testaments to be distributed to more than 600 aboriginal communities in Canada.
The New Testament features testimonies individuals such as well-known Christian hip-hop artist Fresh I.E, who shares of his story of overcoming a life of crime and substance abuse through God’s love, as well as respected former Cree chief Kenny Blacksmith who shares how finding God helped him overcome a life of sin.
“It’s important to see people finding hope in God,” says McGhie.
The release of the new edition is timely, says McGhie, as Winnipeg was recently named the most racist city in Canada by Maclean’s magazine and is in need of healing and hope.
“What can we do but share the good news of salvation,” McGhie says. “As Christian people it should compel us to plant a seed.”
The Bibles are already having an impact.
McGhie tells the story of a native woman in Alberta who clutched him by the hand saying, “Please do what you can to get this Bible out to my people.”
“It’s the greatest gift to humanity, God’s Word,” McGhie says. He encourages people to prayerfully consider partnering with LifeLight to have more Bibles printed. A donation of $250 provides a case of 50 Bibles. Visit thelifelight.com for more information.
Dear Readers:
If ChristianWeek has made a difference in your life, please take a minute and donate to help give voice to stories that inform, encourage and inspire.
Donations of $20 or more will receive a charitable receipt. Thank you, from Christianweek.
Miraculous healing renews senior’s passion for service
“I heard myself saying, ‘Lord, I do believe!’”
By Pat Gerbrandt ChristianWeek Columnist | May 28, 2015
WINKLER, MB—Anne Goertzen believes in miracles. She’s proof, she says, that they exist, after a night-time vision led to her overnight healing from a painful and debilitating condition.
Several years ago Anne found herself in a difficult place. Her young granddaughter died from cancer, followed by Anne’s sister just one month later. Then Anne herself had surgery due to breast cancer in addition to dealing with thunderclap headaches.
There seemed to be no effective treatment, and the combination of stresses wore Anne down. She made her way to Eden Mental Health Centre, and even though the shock treatments may have affected her memory a little, she is grateful. “Staff there got me better again!” she says.
She was able to enjoy her retirement, volunteering at Salem Personal Care Home, where she had worked as an activities director for 18 years.
However, the pain eventually returned, and Anne’s fibromyalgia intensified so that she could no longer walk without support. She had to quit her volunteer work in 2008.
In 2009 her husband John discovered he had bone cancer. The couple marveled that they would benefit from a palliative care program Anne had begun at the local hospital and led for five years.
John had been praying for Anne’s healing, and with his own health failing, insisted she move so yard work would not be necessary. She agreed, and began to search for suitable housing, but waiting lists were long. Anne was still living in the couples’ home when John passed away in February 2010, after spending seven and a half months in hospital.
Then, just a few months later, the miracle happened.
One night in June, Anne was startled by a vision of her husband, standing on incredibly green grass. She heard him asking God to heal her. The response was unmistakable, “Ask if she believes. Tell her to read 2 Corinthians.”
“I heard myself saying, ‘Lord, I do believe.’ As I picked up my Bible, it fell open to 2 Corinthians,” says Anne. “I paged further and read a verse I had underlined, ‘My grace is sufficient for you.’
“Lord, is this what you want me to believe?” Anne prayed. “I do believe.”
Anne maintains she was not dreaming; the details were too clear. The next morning, she was in her kitchen before she realized she had not taken the walker she had relied upon for four years. She walked down the hall to the bedroom and found it where she had parked it the night before. Later that Sunday morning, as she walked into church, Anne was able to tell many astounded people of God’s gift to her.
She no longer needs her pain medication. The walker remains in storage, and although Anne occasionally uses a cane, her strength and her abilities are greatly improved.
Anne kept the promise she made John. Five years after his death, a condo she liked became available. She was ready to move. Her son put up a sign advertising the side-by-side, and within two hours, it was sold. That was another indication to her of God’s leading. “I have enjoyed myself here from day one!” she says.
Anne took on leadership of the residents’ social committee after she moved into the condo, where she also participates in exercise classes and a weekly Bible study. Twice a week she works at the Winkler MCC Thrift Shop, located just across the street from her condo. A heart attack in September 2013 slowed her down only a little.
Now 85, Anne also enjoys her weekly care group homework, and keeps busy knitting and crocheting. She continues to keep as active as possible. Her greatest delight, she says, is to speak of God’s goodness, which she does at any opportunity.
Pat Gerbrandt is grateful for opportunities to share accounts of God’s work in and through His people.
Dear Readers:
If ChristianWeek has made a difference in your life, please take a minute and donate to help give voice to stories that inform, encourage and inspire.
Donations of $20 or more will receive a charitable receipt. Thank you, from Christianweek.
Pat Gerbrandt is a Manitoba writer who delights to learn how God is working in and through His children, and enjoys sharing these accounts. Do you know a senior with an amazing story? Let us know! E-mail krempel@christianweek.org or call 1-800-263-6695.
WINNIPEG, MB—A treasure-trove of Bibles from the late 1800s has found a home with Give the Word ministries. The rapidly-growing organization founded last year by Ryan Rempel provides free Bibles to anyone who needs them.
However, it was Rempel himself who recently received Bibles containing a wealth of history.
“A guy calls us out of the blue and says, ‘I saw your article in ChristianWeek and had a nudge to give you a call, can I come down and see you?’” Rempel explains.
The donor arrived with two boxes full of Bibles that date back 100 years or more. The oldest was printed in 1895, others ranging up until 1943. Many are bound in cracked leather; some have pages badly yellowed, but for the most part they are in great condition after decades of careful use.
“These are Bibles people had been using to grow their faith over the years,” Rempel says.
The 87-year-old man had been collecting Bibles for some time, Rempel says. After reading about Give the Word, he felt he should donate his collection.
“I was in a bit of shock,” Rempel says.
He began opening up the Bibles and reading the notes people had written in the margins over 118 years ago. Writing about their faith journeys, their thoughts, prayers, celebrations, marriages, births, Rempel says he was deeply moved.
“It’s evident that these Bibles were changing lives in the 1800s just like they are today,” he says, adding he was especially struck by the verses the former owners highlighted, like Romans 12:21, “Do no be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
It is proof that, “the Bible is timeless and alive,” Rempel says.
Instead of giving the older Bibles away, Rempel hopes to set up a display, showing how Bibles have changed through the decades up until the present, including the outreach Bibles Give the Word distributes today.
The gift is an encouragement, Rempel says, and spurs him and his small staff to continue to provide free Bibles for ministry and for those with a vision for outreach. He says they continue to receive calls from across the country, from ministers who can’t afford to buy Bibles, but need them.
“Lots of organizations say they do lots of outreach and struggle to buy Bibles,” Rempel says. “They can only afford 20, but could easily use 50. They say, ‘Now we have a place to get them.’”
The sheer amount of testimonies Rempel is hearing is proof the Bibles are being put to good use. He has visited more than 50 churches in the last year, challenging those in attendance to grab a free Bible on their way out and have it on hand to give away when they see someone who could use it.
“the Bible is timeless and alive,”
“They give the Bible away and have this amazing experience, and then they want to do it again,” Rempel says. “It’s really cool to see the tangible fruit coming from this ministry.”
The ministry has grown alongside Rempel’s vision, though he says now it’s a matter of finding the funding to match it. They hope to order 20,000 Bibles and are in the process of raising $63,000.
While a daunting figure, Rempel looks to God to provide. In the end, Rempel says, it’s not really about him. Instead he can only do his job and let God worry about the big stuff.
“This is God’s ministry, why am I worrying?” he says.
To learn more visit givetheword.ca.
Dear Readers:
If ChristianWeek has made a difference in your life, please take a minute and donate to help give voice to stories that inform, encourage and inspire.
Donations of $20 or more will receive a charitable receipt. Thank you, from Christianweek.
jQuery(document).ready(function() { jQuery(‘.main_ad_adzone_10_ad_0’).show(); var cur_ad = 0; var val_ads = 1 – 1;});
A new phenomenon is taking place; grandparents are returning to Christian summer camps alongside their grandkids.
Andrew Douglas, director of Circle Square Ranch in Arden, Ontario, says grandparents are more frequently choosing to give the Christian summer camp experience as a gift to their grandchildren.
“Grandparents are seeing the value of summer camp, the value of adventure and seeing their grandkids meet Jesus,” Douglas says. “They know amazing things can happen at camp, it’s a time of spiritual growth.”
Ontario resident Phyllis Switzer says sending her grandkids to camp is a powerful way to positively impact their young lives. Rather than buy her grandchildren electronics and toys, Switzer buys flashlights and sleeping bags and helps pay camp fees.
“It helps them get excited for camp,” she says, adding she also challenges her grandchildren to help raise money for their week at camp. Something as simple as putting up old toys for sale at a garage sale allows them to take ownership of their summer camp time.
“It’s investing your time and money in things with eternal value,” Switzer says, adding while it’s not inexpensive, in the end camp is worth it when considering the spiritual and relational return on investment.
When grandparents help send kids to camp, it also blesses parents.
“They’re helping with the cost of raising kids,” Douglas says, as costs for parents sending multiple children to camp can quickly add up. Parents are also grateful for the week to focus on one another.
“This is a way for grandparents to invest in the couple’s lives,” Douglas says. “That time is gold when you have young kids.”
“We’re seeing grandparents bring the whole grandkid clan to camp,” Douglas says.
Grandparents are also joining their grandkids at family camps, giving them a chance to spend time together, without the hosting duties like cleaning and cooking. Opportunities for spiritual conversations abound during the week, which is filled with chapel and devotion times. There are also fun activities such as swimming, wall climbing and riding horses.
“Grandkids leave transformed,” Douglas says.
“This is our legacy,” Switzer says. “Leaving a heritage of Christian camp.”
Talking with other directors from across the country, Douglas says it seems to be a relatively new trend, as other directors see more grandparents volunteering at camp as well.
“Grandparents want to plug into a ministry, some are volunteering during the week their grandkids are at camp,” Douglas explains. Staying in a nice cabin, flexible hours and volunteering with activities like arts and crafts are all draws.
“It’s good for a camp to have multi-generational volunteers,” Douglas says. “We have lots of young staff, but then you have a grandparent who can offer wisdom and mentorship… it’s a very healthy way to run a Christian community.”
Grandparents themselves also leave energized after a week full of laughter and rowdy worship.
“They see God move, they see kids fall in love with Jesus, you rediscover God,” he says. “We’re seeing this happening and want to encourage more grandparents to get involved.”
Dear Readers:
If ChristianWeek has made a difference in your life, please take a minute and donate to help give voice to stories that inform, encourage and inspire.
Donations of $20 or more will receive a charitable receipt. Thank you, from Christianweek.
Partners Relief and Development continue to advocate for the Rohingya as their plight, adrift on the Andaman sea, reaches mainstream media.
Rohingya are a persecuted Muslim minority living in Burma. Denied citizenship by the Burmese government, an estimated 25,000 have taken to smugglers to escape the systemic violence and persecution. However from January to March this year the refugees found themselves trapped and dying on their vessels as Indonesia and Malaysia turned the Rohingya away, towing them back out to sea.
Partners recently welcomed the news that Indonesia and Malaysia have allowed Rohingya refugees adrift at sea to land, reversing the policy of turning away boats carrying thousands fleeing from Burma (Myanmar).
While the pressure from the international community as a result of the mainstream coverage is helping, Greg Toews, National Director of Partners Relief and Development Canada, says the root of the problem remains.
“This is good news for the people abroad the boats that made it to safety,” Toews says. “The better news would be if Myanmar allowed them to return to their homes and to live in peace in their own country.”
Toews explains the situation with the Rohingya goes back to decades of injustice.
“It’s been a desperate situation for a long time,” Toews says.
Despite being culturally diverse, the Rohingya have long stood out in Burma for their dark skin, their own language and their Muslim faith. The Rohingya have long been oppressed, but their worst blow came in 1982 when the Burmese government stripped the Rohingya of citizenship.
Rohingya family in their makeshift housing in an IDP camp – Sittwe. Photo courtesy Partners Relief and Development.
“You become very vulnerable to exploitation,” Toews says, without being recognized as legal citizens in your own country.
Tension mounted in 2012 when race riots broke out leading to ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya, many who were kicked out of their villages.
“They became refugees in their own country,” Toews explains. As many as 140,000 were forced to live in internally displaced persons camps.
“The situation in Burma is so desperate they are fleeing,” Toews says, adding because they don’t have citizenship, it’s impossible to know how many Rohingya have fled.
“It’s a stateless and desperate population,” Toews says. “The perfect recipe for trafficking.”
The Rohingya hoped to reach Malaysia with the hopes of a better life, paying traffickers hundreds of dollars to get them and their families out of the country.
However, very few actually reach their destination, Toews explains, as the traffickers turn around and bring refugees to their own camps, some in southern Thailand where the Rohingya are kept, starved beaten and raped while they extort their relatives to pay on threats of killing their captives. Others are sold into labour or the sex trade.
The type of boats the Rohingya travelled on. Photo courtesy Partners Relief and Development.
The situation was brought to the world stage after thousands of people were stuck on boats unable to land.
Partners founder and CEO, Steve Gumaer, is currently with some of the Rohingyas who survived a perilous boat trip.
“They knew the risk. They have heard from survivors that they may be one of those who die at sea, in the extortion camps in the jungles of Thailand, or elsewhere along the way,” Gumaer says in a release. “And still, they take that risk. The alternative in their mind is annihilation. They will cease to exist as a people. Death is a daily story in their communities. Many academics are coming out and calling this what I believe it is. That is genocide.”
Indonesia and Malaysia have said they will provide temporary shelter for up to 7,000 people for up to a year. The international community is expected to help with repatriation and resettlements.
“This is a good temporary solution, and it is better than dying at sea,” says Steve Gumaer. “However, it is not addressing the root cause of the problem which is the way the Myanmar government chooses to treat this vulnerable people group.”
Gumaer hopes a recent regional summit bringing together key stakeholders (governments of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar along with UN agencies) will be a catalyst for change. However, for the crisis truly to end, Gumaer says the Myanmar government must acknowledge the Rohingya people as an ethnic people group with similar rights as the rest of the nation’s people groups.
While it is a horrifying situation, Toews says Partners continues to do everything they can to bring these injustices to light, as they provide necessities like food and water to the refugees.
“We are there to show God’s love,” Toews says.
Rohingya children. Photo courtesy Partners Relief and Development.
He encourages Canadian Christians to pray for the Rohingya and to pray that God changes the hearts of the Myanmar government.
“Unless that changes, the cycle will continue,” he says.
Canadians are also able to give to Partners and other NGOs working in the region.
“It’s very costly to feed and do human rights reporting,” Toews says. And while the situation can be daunting, he adds hope remains.
“We are making a huge difference in the lives of these people,” Toews says, adding they’ve assisted more than 250,000 peopled affected by the unrest in Burma through Partners programs in 2014 alone. They’ve treated thousands in Partners clinics, and are seeing a reduction in malaria in the areas they work.
Finally, Canadians can also write to their local and federal politicians, urging the Canadian government to speak up for the Rohingya and call for change in the Myanmar government.
To learn more about Partners work with the Rohingya visit partnersworld.ca.
Dear Readers:
If ChristianWeek has made a difference in your life, please take a minute and donate to help give voice to stories that inform, encourage and inspire.
Donations of $20 or more will receive a charitable receipt. Thank you, from Christianweek.
Donations of $20 or more will receive a charitable receipt.
