Musings

     Have you ever had an experience that changed you forever? That's what happened to me while in Thailand. I went there to speak and present Stonecroft Ministries to the Asian Consultation of Project Hannah. Project Hannah (a division of Trans World Radio) was conceived in the heart of a woman named Marli Speiker who once saw a woman shrouded from head to toe in black with only a small slit for her eyes. Her heart broke for her, trapped in a culture so adverse to women. With tears pouring down her cheeks she prayed, “Lord, I don’t know what I can do, but if you can use me to set women free from their spiritual and cultural prisons, I am available.” As a result of that prayer, Project Hannah is in 109 countries, and is transforming the lives of women spiritually, physically and emotionally. It’s done first through radio broadcasts that pertain to women’s interests – how to take care of their families and themselves –and then through personal contact as women respond to the broadcasts.

     At the Consultation I met 20 young women from 10 different Asian countries. They write and/or produce scripts for Project Hannah broadcasts and then personally respond to the listeners who contact them. I was in awe as I listened to each of these incredible women report on the work they are doing and the plight of the women their broadcasts are reaching. This is just a portion of the appalling statistics regarding treatment of women in their countries:

 

  • In India, 5000 child brides are burned alive each year because their in laws do not find their dowry acceptable.         
  • In Pakistan, women are kept in houses without windows, only allowed out after dark so they won’t be seen by other men. When these women give birth they are so vitamin deficient from lack of sunlight, their hip bones separate, leaving them crippled. 
  • In Afghanistan widows and single women without families, die on the steps of hospitals because doctors refuse to treat them if they are not accompanied by a man.
  • In Viet Nam 70,000 women are forced into sex slavery and prostitution yearly.
  • In Nepal 200,000 girls are forced into the sex trade yearly.
  • In Nepal 34% of the women are forced into marriage below the age of 15.

 

·            In most of these countries it is not uncommon for men to throw battery acid in their wife’s face because she has displeased him. Many times she has their baby in her arms so the child is burned and disfigured as well. On top of all these atrocities the women are coping with aids, extreme poverty, illiteracy, and in many of the countries, terrible government oppression.  For example, when Myanmar came under military rule in 1961 soldiers searched every single home confiscating all guns, bows and arrows, swords and knives so the people cannot defend themselves. Randomly the government will shut down all transportation, power and water to keep the people tyrannized. All emails and phone conversations are monitored at all times. 

     There is a fascinating mix of technology and primitiveness in these Asian countries. Each woman arrived in Thailand with a flash drive in hand on which were elaborate Power Point presentations they’d put together. Their photography was excellent and most had the latest in cell phones. In fact, the bulk of one young woman’s ministry is done through text messaging. She receives over 700 text messages weekly after her radio show. The listeners in her country prefer to text in order to maintain anonymity and so she has to respond in kind. Can you imagine the time this takes? And the text messages come all hours of the day and night, filled with desperation – often suicidal. However, she counts it a privilege to be able to help her listeners because she once walked in their shoes, having endured years of sexual and physical abuse herself. As the mother of three small daughters she is determined to give them a better life - and through Jesus she is! Last year her husband gave his life to Jesus and is a changed man who now honors her and their daughters and even helps her with Project Hannah!

     Each of these young women personally visit the listeners who contact them and in some of the countries they walk for miles, sometimes through ankle deep mud depending on the time of the year. In Viet Nam personal visits take as much as ten days because of transportation problems. They are warmly welcomed however because their voice is familiar to their listeners. They recognize it as the voice of hope they hear on the radio, a voice that is helping them improve their lives.

     One woman from China, new to Project Hannah, said that on her first day at work she sat at her desk and looked at the huge map of her country and thought, “What do I do first?” She wants to repay what others did for her when they told her about Jesus. She began by personally contacting the 500 listeners to the broadcast in her area.

     Every woman I met is tireless in her commitment to God and Project Hannah. They are excited about God and the progress being made. Everyday they hear wonderful stories of changed lives, physical and spiritual healings, families being restored – and it spurs them on to even greater commitment but they need help in this great task.

     The last day of the Consultation, we were sitting in the conference room listening to Marli’s closing challenge. Suddenly, our attention was drawn to the window were a pigeon had become trapped in the netting covering the air conditioner. We were on the second floor and the windows did not open so there was no way to rescue the bird. We watched its struggle in helpless horror. Finally, one of the men walked over to the window and pulled the drapes closed so we could no longer see the bird. With the bird out of sight, our attention returned to Marli - and in time the plight of the bird was forgotten.

     Flying home the next day I was trying to process all I’d seen and heard. My heart and mind had been so impacted! I thought about the bird trapped and dying in the netting and how we’d pulled the drapes so we wouldn’t have to see its misery. My heart was so heavy. “God,” I prayed, “what am I supposed to do with this? I do not want to pull the drapes over all I’ve seen and heard this week.” The fact is, I don’t have to look far to find opportunity. It is right here in my home town - as it is in yours. All around us are women (and men) trapped in terrible circumstances. One in three American women endures sexual abuse in America. Physical abuse crosses all social boundaries and is far more common than you’d ever imagine. And there is the subtle but just as deadly trap so prevalent in our culture - the trap of self-destructive life choices . Everywhere we look God’s beloved creation is trapped in the netting of hopelessness and despair and the temptation is so great to just pull the drapes and continue on with our lives. But I pray, oh how I pray, I will never be comfortable with that again. God has much work to be done and we are who he has chosen to work through. Are your drapes open?

 

                                                               ******

 

On October 27, 2010 I experienced another life changing event. My granddaughter, Milo Kora Mathers was born. I could utilize every superlative in the English language and still not come close to describing my feelings about this child. I tell everyone, "Oh! She is the most beautiful baby in the world!" and then laugh so they will know I'm joking, but the truth is, I am dead serious. My first glimpse of Milo catapulted me into a level of love I never knew existed. Every thought in my mind is overshadowed by a thought of her.  I am enraptured by the sight of her, and overwhelmed with gratitude that God has let me experience this wonder. Every day now is marked with new significance because Milo is my granddaughter.

 

Another facet of this blessing is seeing my precious son as a father. I watch how he holds Milo with great tenderness, how his voice softens as he speaks to her and how he instructs me to properly wash out her bottle. I love how much a part of Milo's care he is, sitting with Lorena as she nurses Milo, changing Milo's diapers, swaddling her in a blanket. I remember as if it were yesterday doing all of this for him and I feel such completion as I participate in this blessed circle of life.

 

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