end of year post

because that is what all good bloggers do.

um.

ooh i know! let's play a game where you tell me what happened in my life this year and i will give you points for accuracy/ability to remember. the more scandalous the better!

ready......GO!

Santa, do you know I’m in Darfur?

(a poem by Amin George Forji)

Where should I go from here?
Even in this desert wilderness,
In the middle of nowhere.
Where no green grass ever grows,
Or water flows, even during the best season.
I am still pursued
By determined evil.
Men bent on drinking the blood of my race,
To the very last.

Ever since these forces invaded our lives
I have been on the run, constantly.
Seeing each new day by a narrow escape
From the horror of a death
That has consumed millions
Of my Darfur brothers and sisters.

With every day that passes,
The clouds darken here.

Three rainy seasons back
We enjoyed our harvests
The cattle grazed in the fields
And the children danced the bambuuru dance.

Then an epidemic of the highest magnitude
Rained down on the land.
Not of nature, but of man.
These were not alien invaders,
But rather those who should protect us.

And their claws are so so sharp
That even wild vipers have fled from the land.

A heart attack killed Daddy
When he heard that Mommy and my sister
Were raped by two dozen Janjaweed.

Brother died trying to save them
And was butchered like bush meat
For daring to challenge their fun.

Grandma and Grandpa were burned alive.
Bombs fired Uncle’s hut
In the middle of the night.
Today I stand alone in the middle of nowhere.
No longer able to shed tears because
There is no more water in my dry eyes.
I am just waiting for my own turn
To drown under the sword of Janjaweed.’

I cannot even remember the seasons.

The hawks and eagles
That flew past me in the mountains yesterday
Were so surprised and full of pity
That they delayed their journey.
They put their heads together on my behalf,
Wanting to lend me their wings
So I could fly away with them
To a safer world,
But it was not possible.
However, they comforted me by telling me that it’s Christmas.
Without them I was never going to know.
That Christmas still exists.

Santa, I remember you are the Father of Christmas.
I remember Christmas is your season
And you are forever who you are.
And you are going to every child
To give them a deserving smile.
Ever since the epidemic rained down on us in Darfur
I have not heard anything from you.
Have you erased Darfur from your world map?
Do you know I am in Darfur?
Tell me at least that you got my question.

peace on earth...

"peace on earth, goodwill to man"

"hail the newborn Prince of Peace"

"sleep in heavenly peace"

"and peace to men on earth"

"peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled."


We bandy that word 'peace' around a lot at Christmas time.

i've been wondering this year about where i can find peace in Christmas, or what i can do to make peace a part of christmas.

and then i read about Darfur.


"Dafur is the gravest humanitarian disaster of the new millennium - 2 million people displaced, up to 400,000 butchered, hundreds of villages burnt to the ground, rape used as a weapon of war and intimidation, families separated, children orphaned.
The words genocide or ethnic cleansing are not officially used for fear of offending the Sudanese government but whatever you decide to call it, the western tribes of Dafur province in Sudan are being systematically displaced and murdered by Arab and African militia gangs known as the Janjawid." more info

wow. and we are over here in our safe country worrying about getting stressed buying gifts.

*

God is teaching me about peace this Christmas.

peace that isn't 'being nice to people and not arguing': i'm thinking warrior peace, the peace that needs to be fought for. peace that i need to sacrifice for.

peace like what Harry and the Order of the Phoenix fought for.

peace like what Eowyn and the Fellowship of the Ring fought for.


the peace of God's kingdom that was initiated by Jesus ("Prince of Peace") and will one day prevail everywhere.

*

i want to help spread God's peace on earth.

"TEAR Fund NZ considers this crisis so unjust and evil that we are pledging to raise $300,000 for the victims of Darfur in this year's 2007 Christmas Focus Appeal.
Working with Tearfund UK we are providing emergency supplies, food, healthcare, sanitation and clean safe water as well as establishing safe places for children. These safe places allow the children to have some semblance of childhood including play areas and children's health clubs which attract up to 69,000 children weekly. The children's activity centres aim to provide 'emotional' protection and support by bringing back some normality into children's lives. They also provide opportunities for children to express some of the trauma they have experienced." more info

peace on earth...

"We didn't come here to this camp for fun. We came here because we saw blood, real blood running, just like water in our village. It was dreadful. The Janjawid gangs killed all our men and left us helpless. We have nothing left." - a displaced woman at a secure camp.


if you were at All Saints church on Sunday night, you might remember how Manton talked about giving. he challenged us to think about not just giving to our family and friends, but to those who we have never met - and need our help desperately.

so, i would like to repeat that challenge.
maybe you would like to give to TEAR Fund for the work they are doing in Darfur (follow links above).
maybe you have something else in mind.
whatever it is, let's use this Christmas to help bring a little bit of peace to this world with all its violence.