Paul Myhill's Blog

Innocence Lost

"The chain on the door is to keep the rogues out. Before I put it there, they would break in to steal from us and rape us."

Janet, a thirty two year-old mother, shared this with me matter-of-factly, accepting rape as an inevitable occurrence in the Zulu shanty town we were visiting, an area that police rarely go into. The way in which the information was conveyed was as impacting to me as the information itself. Janet wasn’t crying and crumbling over the fact she has been raped repeatedly. She simply communicated it much like we would communicate going out to the mailbox to pick up our junk solicitations and bills. Just another fact of life, another routine incident.

The rogues are youth and men, often addicted to drugs, who break into the shacks, robbing victims to feed their habits or lust. To be "real men" the witch doctors tell them they must have sex every other day. To get a high, they need funds. Both can be found in poorly-protected tin shanties occupied by widows and orphans. "If they get in, we offer ourselves so that our children aren’t raped," Janet further explained.

There is no surprise that the area we were in was the AIDS and drugs capital of South Africa. Such things go hand in hand. When tied to a tradition of outright male dominance and the cultural requirement for frequent sex, you’re left with a boiling cauldron of abuse and disease. Tin shanties are simply cages that hold prey, incubators that hold diseased victims.

Janet used to have a chair sitting on the flattened dry mud she calls her front porch. After she put the chains on the rusty front door, she discovered that she had to move the chair inside also. The rogues would use it to get up onto her roof, pry back the tin sheets and drop in through the ceiling to rape her. I heard the sounds in my head: the sound of men lumbering up the side of the shack, the sound of heavy footsteps on the tin surface overhead, the sound of crowbars dragging across the thin corrugated barrier, the sound of metal against metal and nails popping, the sound of creaking sheets bending against the will of determined predators. The sound of screaming.

Janet is HIV positive, no doubt infected by one of her attackers or perhaps the husband that left her for another woman. Her 8ft. by 8ft. shack has two decorations – a teddy bear stuffed high into a corner, and the memorial program for her mother’s funeral held by a clothes peg to a metal edge of the shanty siding. A teddy bear and a funeral program. Innocence and loss. Innocence lost.

Today is World AIDS Day. According to an AP report this morning, "South Africa has an estimated 5.5 million people living with the HIV virus — the highest total of any country in the world and more than one-sixth of the global total. About 1,000 South Africans die each day of the disease and complications like tuberculosis. Even more become infected because prevention messages haven't worked."

Please remember the infected and affected world today. Mothers like Janet.

Community Solutions (part three)

What’s more, these children aren’t even considered part of a community in many cases. The global trend in urbanization has brought millions of people into the cities from rural areas. The "it takes a village to raise a child" mentality in Africa, and other parts of the developing world, is being shattered.

What village?

Cities are now mass agglomerations of different tribal groups and village backgrounds. When the parents die, the children often don’t know where they originally came from and there’s often no extended family around to take them in.

The presenter was right about one thing, though. Institutionalization is not the answer. We abhor it at World Orphans and I abhor it personally. I told this presenter as much afterwards.

World Orphans is involved in the full spectrum of orphan rescue and care, from prevention to integration into families to transition programs for formally institutionalized children. This is all done through local indigenous churches.

So, maybe we need to clarify and equate terms. I will argue that a church-based solution is the community-based solution.

If needed, putting children into church families is synonymous with putting them into community families. It’s the same thing. The church is either the center of the village or the new "village" that can help to raise a child.

The difference is that the Church has the infrastructure, staff and compassion, to make community-based solutions a successful reality. The church is the screening and monitoring mechanism. The church is the rescue and care mechanism. The church is part of the community, fully integrated into the community. They know the families. They know the kids.

...And the church has the moral fiber and accountability structures to ensure children aren’t being taken in to be used, abused, or exploited.

To be continued...

Community Solutions (part two)

I’ve also seen plenty of cases where the placement of orphaned children into community families brought about the same scenarios of abuse and exploitation that the presenter attributed to institutions. Children being used as sex slaves. Children being used as domestic help or as wage-earners for these families.

Without the necessary screening and monitoring structures, many ‘community solutions’ are akin to the Hail Mary pass, throwing up the ball for grabs and hoping for a successful completion. To just state that community child placement is the solution, without having all the infrastructure in place to make it work, is an oversimplified picture, an erection of an obvious straw man that damages the perception and acceptance of ‘other’ orphan care scenarios.

Who is going to screen the families according to their ability and intent? Who is going to make sure that families aren’t just leaving the children to fend on the streets? Who is going to ensure that these families aren’t trafficking the children or using them for illicit purposes?

To simply say that children are ‘in families’ or that ‘community families’ should simply absorb them is to be ignorant of or to ignore the cultural issues and fallen human nature that serve to enslave or neglect these children.

If I were to tell you that we need to solve our impending Social Security crunch by having more people paying in and less people drawing out, you’d tell me that was pretty darn obvious, right? The reality is that the numbers don’t add up and there are many other factors involved that make that suggestion an absurd one.

Likewise, to say that we simply need to see these millions of orphans placed in community families is unrealistic and unattainable. It is devoid of the cultural taboo issues concerning adoption or foster care in many countries. It is devoid of the limited capacity considerations of many countries that already have families caring for multiple children in addition to their own. And it is devoid of the understanding of sinful human nature to use others to forward your own objectives and desires.

To be continued...

Community Solutions (part one)

One presenter at the last Global Summit on AIDS and the Church offered slides that stated:

"90% of orphans in Africa are already living in families"

"It is a myth that there are not enough families for these children."

This particular presenter then launched an attack on group residential care models, not differentiating between family-style homes (our model) and institutions, and summarized that we simply need family and community-based solutions. (Duh!)

Well...

Fragmented facts and overgeneralizations can be a dangerous thing, especially when over a hundred million lives (and eternities) are at stake.

The capacity and placement numbers are exceptionally deceptive. A surviving parent is often extremely sick and dying themselves, is impoverished as the principal wage earner has died, has been disenfranchised and kicked out on the streets, or is working multiple jobs to survive. Many turn to drugs and prostitution.

The children aren’t in school. They aren’t receiving love and attention. They are on the streets.

Where no parents survive, extended and community families often become the next alternative. However, many of these families are ill-equipped to take in additional mouths to feed. The children, although officially listed in statistics as "being in a family," are in reality left to their own devices.

They effectively went from being orphaned, to being abandoned and ignored.

The evidence is everywhere, in the form of millions of children (supposedly in families) that are living, bleeding and dying on the streets.

To be continued...

All is Not What it Seems

There is nearly unanimous agreement that China’s opening ceremony for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games was a masterpiece. However, as we’ve learned over the past few days, all is not what it seems.

Stories hit the media earlier this week that part of the fireworks display was faked - a computer-generated animation prepared months ago and fed out by Beijing Olympic Broadcasting, the entity that controls and provides the primary video feeds of all Olympics events to other broadcasters.

Now, today, it has come to light that the precious little girl who sang "Ode to the Motherland" during the opening ceremony was, in fact, lip-synching to another child's voice.

The musical director for the event, Chen Qigang, admitted that, "After several tests, we decided to put Lin Miaoke on the live picture, while using Yang Peiyi's voice. The reason for this is that we must put our country's interest first. The girl appearing on the picture must be flawless in terms of her facial expression and the great feeling she can give to people."

The New York Times reported, "Under pressure from the highest levels of the ruling Communist Party to find the perfect face and voice, the ceremony’s production team concluded the only solution was to use two girls instead of one. Miaoke, a third grader, was judged cute and appealing but "not suitable" as a singer. Another girl, Yang Peiyi, 7, was judged the best singer but not as cute. So when Miaoke opened her mouth to sing, the voice that was actually heard was a recording of Peiyi."

My heart crumbles for little Peiyi who lost her opportunity to sing, in person, for a billion people because the country that devalues girls so much deemed her as not cute enough.

Near the end of the opening ceremony, we saw thousands of pictures of little children held up by the performers. The images were also repeated on the fringe screens that wrap the whole stadium – a plethora of bright, smiling children.

Too bad that China’s one child policy, the desire for perfection, the devaluation of the female child, and the preference for a "lucky" male heir, means that thousands (by some estimates, millions) of children - mainly little girls like Miaoke and Peiyi - are presently languishing in Chinese orphanages.

Look past the façade, folks. I’m a father with a Chinese daughter. I used to work with and in Chinese orphanages. I’ve seen the reality of bleak holding cells filled with the children that the Chinese government now wants you to believe are cherished and valued.

The dying rooms still exist. Abandonment occurs in record numbers as precious little infants and pig-tailed girls are discarded, victims of a system that places very little value on human life.

The Sum of the Parts

...In part, a portal that whisks you to exotic worlds and immerses you into the real cultures behind the curtains – the byways of life and the gritty existence of people struggling to survive against pitiful odds. Along the journey, children are found left in the wake, abandoned and orphaned by powers and principalities that seek to destroy them, to destroy communities and nations.

...In part, an exposition of the Biblical mandates of caution, judgment, justice, care and blessing regarding the "least of these." An intimate look at God’s truth and what it means for us today in the midst of millions upon millions of children that simply desire to be loved.

...In part, an acknowledgement and exploration of the mega-issues of our time and how they are all interrelated, interconnected – and addressed – through the rescue and care of parentless and discarded children. In short, a unified view of the greatest outreach opportunity of our time, an approach to shatter vicious cycles that ensnare humanity and to mobilize masses to attack the core issue of spiritual separation.

...In part, a plea to realize and engage the amazing front-line force that God has placed and mobilized for the most significant global task before us. A rebuke and encouragement to put aside personal motivations and to instead join the bride in all her radiance - to support her, cherish her and strengthen her – by "letting the little children come" to her.

...In part, a synergistic, synchronized framework of action to help bodies of believers - both near and far - to reach out in an organized holistic approach that will change the very course of history...by changing the children’s lives that will immediately and ultimately impact it.

...In part, a consideration that the One who became incarnate in poverty, thrust out immediately as a refugee, and adopted in love and obedience, would use such as these for the completion of the wondrous commission we have been given.

...In part, a treatise that puts forth the absurd idea that we, in affluence, need those, in physical and spiritual depravity, for our own sanctification...that the orphan, widow and stranger are indeed precious gifts to us.

The sum of the parts?

A literary adventure that I’m presently embarking on: a book that reflects upon my exposure to over two-hundred care contexts for the fatherless in over sixty developing-world nations; a book that draws upon lessons learned in leading a ministry that has helped to provide five hundred homes to orphaned and abandoned children; a book of transparent admission of the many mistakes along the way; a book to inform, engage and mobilize for the most powerful world evangelization and church growth strategy of our generation.

Stay tuned!

National Day of Prayer...for families

I am truly blessed to work with the most amazing staff at World Orphans. I’m biased, of course, but I can’t think of any finer group of individuals to serve with. Jodi Vinson, wife of our Executive Vice President, Mike Vinson, is currently organizing a huge benefit concert this fall to raise awareness for the orphan, while also celebrating World Orphans’ 15th anniversary as a ministry. Jodi is also a prayer warrior who spearheaded the development of an interactive prayer room at the World Orphans offices outside of Colorado Springs. She has helped set up similar prayer rooms in various locations, including Jerusalem.

Today, my intention was to offer up a prayer on this blog, to commemorate the day’s Presidential designation as the "National Day of Prayer." However, after having just heard Jodi’s prayer for families on the steps of the administrative building in Castle Rock, CO, I’m compelled to share it with you also. It so moved my heart that there is nothing I can write that would serve God better this day.

I ask that you join me in lifting up this prayer again, to our Triune God who cherishes families...and loves the children who still seek one.

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Father God, Creator of all things,

From the beginning of time you created us as men and women to unite and create families. You created marriage and you alone can sustain it.

Reclaim and breathe fresh life into those families that have given up. You are the God of redemption and reconciliation.

Lord Jesus, seek and save that which is lost. Your enemy is prowling around, seeking to destroy your children, our marriages and our families. Lord, hear and act on behalf of your people.

Cause us to honor you by being in the world, but not of the world. Let us be different and so hold unswervingly to the faith we have. May we rest in your promises, Holy Father. For you alone are sovereign, faithful and true.

Lord Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, our hope is in you. Holy Spirit, renew our minds through the power of God's word, for your word is truth. Help us to recognize the enemy's schemes so we will not fall prey to them, but fight this spiritual battle with the spiritual weapons of prayer and the reading of your word. Transform us into righteous men and women whose prayers are powerful and effective.

Bind up the broken families. Surround them with people to encourage them and help them. Pour your grace upon single parents to rely on the power of God to show them how to bring up their children in the training and instruction of the Lord. Jesus, cause them to take your yoke upon them, as your burden is light. May they find rest and refuge in you alone. Please supply their every need. Through every hardship may your Spirit bring tangible consolation to them so that they will know they are not alone, for you will never leave us or forsake us.

Turn the hearts of our husbands back to God. May they love the Lord our God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength, and love their wives as they love themselves, giving themselves up for her as Christ loved the church. Make them wise and benevolent leaders of their families.

As fathers, tell your children of the Lord's faithfulness. Lord, make them examples of Christ's love and mercy. Cause each man to be lavish in his demonstration of love toward his family.

Fill each wife with the desire to honor and respect her husband in love and selflessness. Open our eyes to the pressures that daily fall on them. Give us grateful hearts as women who live wisely and make the most of every opportunity to edify one another.

As mothers, let us love and instruct our children, relying on God for His perfect provision for their every need.

May our children be obedient and so honor their parents. Help us to be effective parents, influencing our children to honor and obey the Lord their God. Fill them with a knowledge of your word and will.

For the families who build their foundation on Christ, make Christ visible through us in how we love one another, care for one another, bear each other’s burdens, and share with anyone in need.

For the families who do not yet know Christ, may the light of the Gospel shine into their hearts. Draw them into the faith community and give them a hunger for your word.

For children without families, please provide families to come forward to adopt them and show the love of Christ. Since we have been adopted in love into the family of God, may we also be the example, as dearly loved children of God, to live a life worthy of the calling we have received.

For it is only by the Grace of God that our nation and families stand. Our nation will only be as strong as the families that inhabit it. Help us, Father, to stand firm.

May we all have the love of the Father,

the obedience of the Son,

and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,

in the midst of every family and every relationship.

I ask all this in the powerful name above all names,

Jesus Christ,

AMEN

Naomi Keilana Myhill

A belated Easter gift...

Naomi Keilana Myhill

Naomi – Hebrew for "pleasant" and "delightful"
Keilana – Hawaiian for "adored"

Monday, March 24, 2:30 AM
7 lbs. 13 ounces; 20 inches

   

Thank you for your prayers!!

World Orphans Relief (Kenya - part two)

Here’s just a few of the children at the Huruma displacement camp...

CAROLINE - 14 YEARS OLD

Caroline’s single mother arranged for her and her siblings to go up country to visit their grandmother. When the children returned they found a pile of ashes at the spot where their shanty used to be. They eventually managed to find their mother at Huruma.

MARGARET - 12 YEARS OLD

Both of Margaret’s parents are dead. She was staying with her grandmother when men broke into their shanty in the middle of the night. They were ordered to flee for their lives. After it was looted, their home was totally demolished. "It’s cold in the tents at night," Margaret says while explaining that she doesn’t even have a blanket to keep her warm.

NIXON - 14 YEARS OLD

Nixon is an orphan who was living with his grandmother in Mathare Valley. After the disputed elections, a mob shouting war chants came rampaging into his slum neighborhood. When Nixon and his grandmother heard their neighbors being attacked and screaming for help, they fled their home.

KEVIN - 13 YEARS OLD

Kevin’s father abandoned him and his siblings after their mother died. He was living with his grandmother when the violence erupted. They escaped as their neighborhood was being attacked. At a distance Kevin and his grandmother watched as their possessions were stolen and home was burned to the ground.

Please pray for these, and the hundreds of other vulnerable children and orphans at Huruma.

World Orphans Relief (Kenya - part one)

The recent unrest in Kenya has all but left the front pages of the world’s newspapers. Yet thousands of people are now living in displacement camps, robbed of possessions and hope. In these tented cities, orphans of the present and future are living in sub-human conditions.

World Orphans acknowledges that, as a mission, we are just as responsible for helping to prevent the orphaning and abandonment event as we are in responding to it. As such, we have mobilized our in-country staff resources and relationships to reach out to these refugee communities where families, widows and children have been propelled into highly-vulnerable situations.

As always, we work by empowering and resourcing indigenous churches for the task. Our East Africa regional representative, Lameck Mbai, has targeted a specific camp and has enlisted three local churches to be the mechanisms of care reaching into the temporary alleyways of traumatized peoples huddled there.

The Huruma camp has an estimated population of 608 people. Slightly over 100 of them are men. The rest are women and children who are now unable to work or attend school. They have been summarily stripped of current provision and future potential. Gone are their homes. Gone are their belongings. Gone are their dreams for normalcy.

The inhabitants of Huruma are spread between 69 tents forged by canvas, cloth and plastic. Some of the tents have as many as 20 people stacked into them. Others have as few as four, presumably due to family size and the stigma of HIV/AIDS.

Lameck tells us that the food rations are pitifully meager. A typical tent of 10 to 15 people will receive about 4 1/2 lbs. of corn flour, 16 oz. of cooking oil and a half head of cabbage in total. This paltry allotment is expected to shared between the occupants over a two-day period. Furthermore, Lameck just reported that these famished people have also been without clean water for four days.

(IMAGES: Huruma Displacement Camp. Photos by Lameck Mbai)

Such conditions drive kids to the streets. There, they fall under the ills of criminal activities or, even worse, are preyed upon by others.

Lameck is coordinating the distribution of life-saving supplies tomorrow (Saturday) to help alleviate this situation and to bring exposure to our partner churches. We would greatly appreciate your prayers for a successful distribution of resources and further opportunities for ministry.

To be continued...