As we were praying that the people would see the Love of Christ in our action, some of them were in tears as they felt our genuine love to them. Those in charge of the school said in tears, “Thank you for coming to see us and offering your help. We thought no one in the world has known our suffering. Thanks for your love.”
(Missions team visiting Shan IDP camp near Thoed Thai village in 2005)
If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (James 2:15-17 ESV)
Shan-Tai prayer month 2011, day 20
Imagine coming home from a long, hard day of farm work to find your home burned to the ground. The people who did this have guns and are still lurking in the surrounding forest and hills so there is no option but to flee.
With nothing, only what you are wearing and a few scavenged items, you hide in the jungle with your terrified family. The soldiers have shot several of your neighbours, a girl has been raped and they take whatever they want, wherever they find it. It is not safe to stay.
Yet the bordering countries are not welcoming of your people. If caught there your family is likely to be separated and deported right back into the hands of the army you are now running from. So along with many others you are hiding in thick jungle, attempting to keep your family alive with what can be gleaned from the forest, sleeping under tarpaulins which are too small, constantly wet from the rains. Everyone is unwell, mosquitoes are everywhere but no nets to keep them off at night. Small children are dying of dysentery, old folks have died of exhaustion on the trail while fleeing.
The worst of it is that the world doesn’t care. You have become an IDP (internally displaced person), a statistic on a UN chart. You were invisible and unknown before this happened and have had to become even less visible now, hiding in the jungle, simply existing in misery and nobody cares. They think that democracy has come to Burma and all is now well. They do not know the truth.
If you faint in the day of adversity,
your strength is small.
Rescue those who are being taken away to death;
hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.
If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,”
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it,
and will he not repay man according to his work?
(Proverbs 24:10-12 ESV)
Pray for
- The Lord to reach those between the lines by sending the hope of the Gospel through Shan Christians (2 Corinthians 10:15-16)
- That the truth of what is happening in Shan State will be told on world news and cause outsiders to pray, give and go.
- Shan families to make the Lord their trust as they face many injustices and hardships (Psalm 40:1-4).
- For food, medical supplies and other necessities to reach those hiding in the jungle.
Other posts related to this topic:
- Day 19: Life insurance
- Day 21: How do we do church?
- Living between the lines
External Resources:
Download the Shan Prayer Guide:
30 Days of Prayer for the Shan
Image of Shan refugee camp: iStock
