The Cunningham's
May 2, 2008

Before we get to this week's Insights, we have the following prayer requests. 

1. Many of you may recall that there was to be a convention of sorts that would include all the indigenous pastors from the jungle and mountainous regions. They have finalized the arrangements but, at this time, it is too dangerous for Kevin and me to go. However, our friend Orlando, who translates for us and has translated for Steve at crusades here in Colombia, will be going. Please pray that Orlando is able to impart fresh knowledge and direction into the lives of the indigenous pastors.

2. We are currently in the process of starting a college, Instituto de Ministerio de Colombia. The initial challenge is getting the proper permits. Please pray that the prejudices against Christianity are overcome in the governmental circles where we are at their mercy for the proper papers. Our goal for starting is August.

3. There will be a team coming in July for different ministry opportunities. Pray that this city and the local church pastors and leaders are greatly impacted by the messages given from our friends. There is going to be a women's conference. Pray the hearts and lives of the women will be touched and healed by our loving Savior.

4. Christine and Nathan are traveling to the United States in May. Pray they will be able to get the visas needed in Atlanta. We have not received the papers needed from the school Nathan will be attending. Colombian culture is in no hurry to do things. We only have less than a week to get the papers. Please pray for rapid delivery of these much needed documents.

5. Total recovery from Kevin's recent illness.

6. The International conference for Perspectives on the Worldwide Christian Movement is in Dallas, TX in June. We are praying for the opportunity to send Kevin and that God continues to open doors so that we can become the coordinators for Colombia. Please pray this is a very important step for advancing the work here in Colombia to another level.

Now for some Insights...     

A VESSEL OF CHANGE

After almost two years, we have been blessed with good health and safety. Even after visiting jungle and mountain villages, the orphanage where the water we showered in was murky with mud, and eating just about anything set before us, we have been free from any other-world maladies. We were feeling invincible to those things when Kevin came back from a trip in the Pacific jungle area. He wasn't actually in the jungle, but he was in a city surrounded by it. It is a place where contaminated mosquitoes frequently infect people with diseases like dengue, yellow fever or malaria. But little did we know that there were other evil unseen enemies lurking in and on numerous other exposed places!

After three days of fever, nothing we did was helping to reduce it. We decided Kevin should see a doctor. The clinic here consists of many doctors’ offices and the hospital all in the same building. They took blood two times a day for five days looking for the obvious possibilities like malaria. They finally diagnosed a bacterial infection called Leptosirosis. It is caused by ingestion of rat urine and could be present on milk cartons, cans or bottles. It could have been in the water from the basin they used to wash their hands with on this last trip to the Pacific coast. Whatever the cause, we are thankful he is better.

Isn't it ironic how you never hear of a thing and, then, when you do, you hear a lot about it? That's what happened when Kevin was released from the hospital after six days of grueling tests and bad hospital food. The very day he came home we heard of a little girl in a neighboring community who died from Leptosirosis. We began to research more about the disease. There are several types of common and less common Leptosirosis bacteria. The problem is that it is hard to diagnose and if it isn't caught early enough, the result is aggressive meningitis, organ and kidney failure and death. (And we were concerned mostly about the guerillas when we came here!!)

When we heard of the little girl, we were deeply saddened. It is the stark reality of a poverty stricken society. We have been to more places here than even the native Colombians. We see and experience the social culture that many who are blessed with middle class living, wealth and comfort never see or even think about. Our friend, Sandra, comes to my ladies' home meeting. She said she is very embarrassed and ashamed that someone who is not even Colombian has come to help reach her country with the gospel. Until she met us, she never even gave life outside of her circle much thought. Now, she has a new burning in her spirit to seek God's purpose for her life and for her country. We have heard the same from other friends. John, a very talented guitarist who is on the worship team at one of the largest churches here, weeps as he thanks us for caring enough about his country to come and help. His worship team is using Mark Medley's (Assistant Pastor at Trinity Chapel in Knoxville) teaching, Because He is Worthy to study aobut worship.

We have recently been hearing the preaching (or is it ranting?) from a certain man in the United States who calls himself a Christian and goes by the title of Reverend. When we hear his words, we are in shock that someone representing our Loving Father is full of divisive ideas and beliefs. We are further shocked by the number of people who cheer him on and support his ideas of conspiracy and hate! Every day we see people who are truly suffering, truly ostracized, truly experiencing the prejudices of the society they live in. A

little girl died from a bacterial infection that could easily be treated if only she had the means to acquire the proper medical care. Other little girls can be seen in the dark stairways that lead up to the dark, squalid brothel where she is abused in ways we can only imagine. Families are forced off their land; most of them displaced Afro-Americans. They are left to migrate into the cities where they have nothing. They live in shanty houses and are considered the lowest of the low in a society who does not like them in their cities. There are other little indigenous people that come to the city to sell their handmade jewelry, baskets and other artifacts or to just sit on the streets and beg for pesos. A proper education or the possibility of transformation from squalid living to even lower middle class is a remote impossible dream for them. They most likely will never see a framed diploma from an institution hanging on a wall of a study or office.

One thing we heard this Reverend boast about is the millions of dollars his church had spent on helping people. For that, we applaud him. It is the responsibility of the church to help with the social needs of people. But the question is not whether this church is spending millions of dollars to help. The question is what is the heart of their motivation? Here's what Jesus said about the poor.

Mark 14:7 "For the poor you always have with you, and whenever you wish, you can do them good; but you do not always have Me."

Social injustice is not going to go away. What the church can do, however, is get about the business of God and begin to help in whatever capacity possible. The Church in the United States has the people and financial resources to make a dramatic difference in the lives of people all over the world.

It is our prayer that the hearts of true believers and followers will be pierced with the compassion of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We need a burning urgency in our spirit that will drive us to seek what the Lord would have us do to accomplish His will through tender, caring love for fellow humans. There is no room for hate and resentment of past injustices or injuries. What we do today and in the future can change the world for better social provision. The purpose of the church is to advance the Kingdom of God through the gospel. An outgrowth of advancing the Kingdom of God is a heart increased in compassion for the suffering and a spirit for justice that leads to action. The church remains God’s chosen vessel of change.