The Missional Side of the Story
Last week, nine European missionaries to Yemen were abducted and possibly killed. There are a lot of angles to this story.
It appears that the abductor was released from Guantanamo Bay in 2007. Interesting as Obama is in the middle of plans to close down the center and release the prisoners or move them elsewhere. Apparently, Yemen is currently in negotiations to get 100 prisoners returned to them.
The angle most European news agencies take is that the hostages got what they deserved. No one should proselytize Muslims. The problem is these medical workers did not proselytize. They are relief workers running a Hospital, and have been doing so for decades. They are Christian idealists. They run humanitarian ministries simply out of love for the people. That is a sharp contrast to the Governmental humanitarian work that the German government does in Yemen, which has been described as humanitarian tourism, where tax money is spent to send people for short term trips to exotic locals.
The third angle, presented by media in Yemen itself, is that all nine workers are already dead. The government is simply saying they are not until some time has gone by so that the bad news can be announced after interest has waned. Three of the hostages are confirmed dead, two German nurses and a South Korean. The remaining hostages, a British Citizen and German couple: Johannes and Sabine and their three small children, are hopefully still alive.
Either way that risk is a part of what Missional life is all about: living in such a way as to show the love of God to those around you may not be proselytizing, but it actually has a greater impact. And in many parts of the world, that is a dangerous thing to do.
It appears that the abductor was released from Guantanamo Bay in 2007. Interesting as Obama is in the middle of plans to close down the center and release the prisoners or move them elsewhere. Apparently, Yemen is currently in negotiations to get 100 prisoners returned to them.
The angle most European news agencies take is that the hostages got what they deserved. No one should proselytize Muslims. The problem is these medical workers did not proselytize. They are relief workers running a Hospital, and have been doing so for decades. They are Christian idealists. They run humanitarian ministries simply out of love for the people. That is a sharp contrast to the Governmental humanitarian work that the German government does in Yemen, which has been described as humanitarian tourism, where tax money is spent to send people for short term trips to exotic locals.
The third angle, presented by media in Yemen itself, is that all nine workers are already dead. The government is simply saying they are not until some time has gone by so that the bad news can be announced after interest has waned. Three of the hostages are confirmed dead, two German nurses and a South Korean. The remaining hostages, a British Citizen and German couple: Johannes and Sabine and their three small children, are hopefully still alive.
Either way that risk is a part of what Missional life is all about: living in such a way as to show the love of God to those around you may not be proselytizing, but it actually has a greater impact. And in many parts of the world, that is a dangerous thing to do.
Thank you for posting that. Praise God that He's given us something to love more than our own lives -- Himself!
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard this. I always hate hearing this kind of news.
ReplyDelete