Integral Mission in Times of Violence
From the 4th to 8th of September we held our Micah Latin America Consultation in Honduras. Statistics shared revealed the staggering level of violence around the world, but particularly in Latin America. Of the 25 countries
recording the highest levels of homicides per population, 14 of them are in Latin America, with Honduras at the top. The World Health Organisation (WHO) average is 10 homicides per 100,000 people. Honduras has reached over 75 per 100,000 people. At this level one could regard this as an epidemic. The current population in Honduras is about 8,136,000, so that means the number of homicides in 2016 will be: 6,102.
In the opening devotion on Monday a story was shared that prompts us to action:
The owner of a farm arrived back from town carrying a bright, shiny parcel. The mouse living in the house was very excited and could not wait to see what delicacy was in the box – hopefully something very tasty. As the mouse watched the owner open the box, to its surprise and shock, the contents revealed a mouse trap. The mouse rushed to tell the chicken and seek help and advice. The chicken said it was not willing to help as it did not affect him. So the mouse rushed to tell the cow. The cow, replied the same – the appearance of the mouse trap was of no consequence to it. The next day, the owner came to the mouse trap and found that a snake had been caught in it. As she tried to remove the snake, it bit her and she became very ill. The neighbours came and said they had heard that chicken soup was good when someone is sick, so they killed the chicken to make the soup. Sadly the farm
lady died. As the family and friends gathered for her funeral they decided to slaughter the cow to provide a meal for everyone attending the funeral.
As we stop to pray in solidarity with those countries experiencing violence, let’s remember that we face a spiritual battle.
1) Pray for God to intervene and stop the destructive work of Satan that holds these countries in slavery to violence.
2) Pray against the culture of violence which grows out of injustice, poverty, addictions, power abuse, greed and indifference.
3) Pray that the Church in each locality will become people of peace in their communities.
4) Pray that we as the Body of Christ, with a Ministry of Reconciliation, will stand together to address the travesty of this reality.
We dare to imagine an end to violence. We commit to pray and work together in the name of the Prince of Peace.
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