Last week was one of those weeks that people, wherever they were, stayed glued to news updates on televisions and iPhones. The homemade bombs set off at the Boston Marathon by brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev brought to the attention of US citizens the security realities experienced by so many people around the world.

Record flooding in Grand Rapids reminded residents of their vulnerability to changing weather patterns and the devastation that disaster victims face. With these headlines grabbing people’s attention, news of the earthquake in Sichuan, China, received little notice among all of the other more local priorities. Our Security Monitoring Team continues to monitor security in Nigeria where close to 200 people have been killed in intense fighting between the military and Islamist extremists in the northeastern fishing community of Baga on Lake Chad.

It is easy to become overwhelmed isn’t it? These are the international and national headlines. What about all the needs that we are aware of in our more limited circles of family, church, and community. I find that I need to stop regularly and re-center my focus and my thoughts. This is not only to reengage in hope, but also to allow the pain to touch my soul so that I respond with the compassion of who I am in Christ–and not out of programmatic duty. Reverend Roberto Miranda, speaking at a memorial service in Boston in honor of the victims of the bombing, spoke prophetically. He said, “The dilemma of evil is that as it carries out its dark and sinister work, it always ends up strengthening good.” What a great truth.
"Be still, and know that I am God"
                  ~Psalm 46:10
 
It reminds me of the words Psalm 46. “God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.… Be still, and know that I am God…. I will be exalted in all the earth.”
 
The same week these stories were making headlines, Ida joined about 500 members of the CRC for three days of prayer in California. The stories of God’s faithfulness in the midst of pain touched our hearts. Stories of how a pastor who was suffering from Parkinson’s disease moved to a smaller but aging church only to receive a medical cure for himself—and a partnership with an Asian church that totally revived its ministry. They credit prayer for the change. In another instance, a pastor shared the devastation of losing his family in a terrible accident. He told how God led him through and out of that valley, supported by the prayers of many people. 
 
For us at World Renew, we see constant answers to prayer. Our staff newsletters are filled with them.
 
Here are a few quotes:
  • “Many families attested that for the first time they have food in the home all year ‘round, even in the acute “silent period” that typically occurs in the three months leading up to the next harvest season.”
  • “But, now I know that the true God created the world and that He made us—rich and poor—the same. If people come to my house, I share food with them.”
  • “During a recent program evaluation, we learned that many people in the district have heard the broadcasts and increased their understanding of agriculture, land rights, and food security practices.”
  • From Mali, after the Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb were defeated by the French: “Within a week, the Al Qaeda fighters who had not been killed retreated from Diabaly and people were able to return to their homes. And the rice crop was not affected, and the farmers were back working in their fields.”

Keep praying for our work and our teams!

Andrew Ryskamp

Co-Director
World Renew