Seminary Didn't Prepare me For This!

Today in Bangui the thing I most dreaded has begun. What was I most afraid of about coming to this place? Namely, how I was going to be able to process in my western thinking, which translates to; 'if I see someone suffering, I strive to bring assistance and make it all better." Here, the perplexity of the overwhelming vastness of needs, and seemingly hopelessness that is written across so many faces of the people here is a challenge bigger than what I bargained for. Nothing I've ever experienced, in life or in school, could possibly prepare me for what I am experiencing here.

This is life in Bangui. I know I've talked about it already, but now that I'm fully awake and I've been asking the Lord to give me His eyes for the things I'm seeing and it's an aching pain. At the moment I'm struggling with typing because the tears that are welling in my eyes make it difficult to see the keys. With each drive down a main street there are hundreds of people hoping to sell the smallest thing, a loaf of bread, a few pieces of firewood, anything to make some money for the needs that they have.

We turn down a side street and we come across a child, maybe four, maybe six selling cigarettes by the road while his mother tends to the many children that scatter about outside of her home. We pass a truck overloaded with men and wood who have returned from the rain forest where harvesting of lumber is taking place regularly and I realize how wrong this is but how do you say that to someone who simply wants to provide for his family? These are the extremely difficult questions that shout at me as we drive through the streets. It seems that this entire culture is on a downward spiral that could one day perhaps just cease to exist.

This country called the CAR is too far inland for any real commerce, transportation of any goods is a challenge, and besides, remember earlier I told you there is only one plane a week that comes here? Now I know why.

It's interesting as I watch our team struggle within themselves about what they are seeing. There is nervous laughter as we are driving through the streets, talk of things we miss about home, and a general sense of "what can we possibly do?"

But now we've turned into the ICDI Orphan Care Center and we are greeted by swarms of children so happy that guests from America have arrived. Humbled doesn't even get to close to what you feel as we poured out of our vehicle and children lined up in droves to shake our hands, greet us and welcome us here. Soon the playing begins, and I'm sitting and watching the children. It's free time and there are so many children running to and fro, laughing, playing, interacting with our team like we've all grown up together. It's an incredible sight.

You have to wonder, where do all these children come from anyway? Earlier today I had a chance to interact with one of the ICDI leaders and ask some questions about the culture and more specifically, the children. Some of the things he told me left me stunned.

He spoke of a study that was done by the French equivalent of our own CDC (Center for Disease Control) in 1988 whereas four hundred prostitutes were tested for HIV and 40% of those tested, tested positive. Just two years later, in 1990 four hundred prostitutes in the city of Bangui were tested and at this point 80% were now infected. Add on seven more years to that statistic and perhaps we're getting close to our answer about where all the children have come from.

So what can we possibly do? Did I mention that I'm at the ICDI Orphan Care Center today and clearly, as I witness and watch all that transpires around me it becomes evident that any hope for this country lies in the hands of the children, and those who teach them. Here at the Orphan Care Center there is a weekly program that we are helping to do today that involves singing, Bible lessons, games and before the children leave each and every one has a belly full of food that sends them home with a really good feeling. Perhaps in some small way we are experiencing what Jesus felt when He feed those who were in need.

Topping the list of ministry paradigms here in Bangui is the "True Love Waits" and "True Love Stays" programs, and they are starting them now. "True Love Waits" teaches children and young people to choose abstinence, to wait for sexual activity until they are married and then once married the "True Love Stays" program teaches men and women about remaining faithful to the person that they have married, all wrapped in strong Scriptural teaching and recognizing that it takes more than just a strong will to follow this plan, it takes Jesus Christ living inside of you. I guess you've got to start someplace and being a youth pastor at heart, I'm all for doing it beginning with the children.

"Oh, come on RAD, aren't you perhaps exaggerating just a bit?" "No, not really." Another staggering statistic the ICDI leader shared with me was tied to the "True Love Waits" curriculum. Let me explain. As part of the program, before they begin teaching about abstinence they do a survey with the group they are speaking to and one of the latest groups to be targeted with "True Love Waits" principles is none other than the village of Pama, the very place our church is beginning a partnership with through this trip. We leave for Pama on Monday.
Here are the results of their survey to see for yourself.

Question #1: Asked of the girls participating, "At what age do girls begin sexual activity?" The answer, 9 years old.
Question #2: Asked of the boys participating, "At what age do boys begin sexual activity?" The answer, 11 years old.
Question #3: Asked again of the girls, "How many sexual partners do you have in a month?" The answer, 2-3
Question #4: Asked of the boys, "How many sexual partners do you have in a month?" The answer, 1-2, which seems a bit suspect according to local leaders.
And the final question, asked of both groups, "At what age do you get married?" The answer? For girls it's 16 and for the boys age 20.

I'm not all that great at math but that translates somewhere to about 238 partners for girls and about 216 for boys. That's what people of faith are up against in a battle for this land. No doubt it's a battle, but thankfully it's not a battle without hope.

So my prayer request for today? Pretty simple. Pray for those who teach and live "True Love Waits" amongst many who are without hope. Pray that the African people will be enlightened to the truth that AIDS is not "something that America made up to steal our fun" a quote given to me today. And pray that in big or small ways our team will be able to be a blessing and encouragement to all those that we are meeting. It is a beautiful feeling to know that even though the odds seem overwhelming, we serve a God who is all about overwhelming the odds. Thank-you Jesus, Thank-you Lord.

As far as the team goes, I think spirits are running high, we had a great time of teaching last night about angels, we were full on singing when the entire city experienced a black-out and so we just kept right on singing. It was really pretty cool.

Our work projects for today included digging a drainage ditch to help keep water from collecting in places it shouldn't, serving the medical needs of children here in the clinic at the Orphan Care Center and then participating in the afternoon orphan programs at two different locations. We were almost able to finish a special project we had been working on, putting a basketball court in for the Orphan Care Center, but as the last welds were being layed, the power once again ceased and so the project came to a stop.

Tomorrow will be our first morning in church which we are all looking forward to. By the way, thanks for the comments/posts that many of you have left, I have shared them with our team around our evening dinner hour and just to hear that people at home are praying and missing us means a whole heck of a lot.

Thanks for reading and as you can see from the picture, I've got more than a few blog writing admirers, RAD.

Blogger's Note: This message was received Saturday night and posted sometime after 11:30 p.m. RAD sent the following note:

"Ivanildo. I sent you a couple of extra pictures this time as soon we won't be able to get any off to you. The SAT phone is still not working and I'm a bit panicked as we leave on Monday, no phone, no blog. We are trying to get it working. If you read the blog you can most likely figure out where the pictures I sent you fit in. Thanks for keeping a voice for us back in the states, RAD." Notice that though the team is not able to access the Internet, I collect all the comments and send them to Africa in the form of an e-mail. So, if you were wondering whether they are reading your comments, the answer is: YES! So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and post your comments!

If you are wondering what the sign in front of the orphan center says, here it goes: to the left are the words of James 1:27. The big yellow and red letters in the center say "Mercy Center," then it contains the names of the partnering organizations: Vision Trust, ICDI, and World Food Organization. On the bottom it says "assistance to orphans." Pastor Ivanildo Trindade.