"I was raped by three men and my four year old daughter by three other men. While one raped each of us the others would point their guns and hold us down with their feet. When one finished the next would start. There was no way to shout as they would have killed us. When it was over they took my little daughter away and I have not seen her since."
The words above are not there to shock you but to inform people of what is going on in some central African countries.
Following such an ordeal this women crawled through the bush for three days to find help. On reaching comparative safety, the baby she carried on her back, crushed in the assault, gave up his struggle for life.
How do you minister the love of God, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the presence of the Holy Spirit to such a traumatised woman? Yet, there are those who have gone in the Name of Jesus and the cause of Christ to seek to heal and help as much as might be possible.
Violence appears to be increasing. It is not just the reporting of it. Women are invariably on the receiving end and those in the front line say that at least one in three women have experienced a beating and has been coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime.
When in Kenya I was told that one in two women would experience and suffer abuse! I heard that directly from someone serving in the front line.
Who ministers to those who are ministering in these circumstances.
Violence takes many forms - physical, sexual, psychological, emotional and social.
Value dignity and self-worth are all attacked and undermined. Victims find it so hard to recover and they wonder if or when it might be repeated.
Rape is used as a weapon of torture along with many other barbaric acts. Will the perpetrators ever be brought to justice?
Organisations such as World Vision, Tearfund and Heal Africa deal with those who feel chewed up and spat out. Only the touch of Jesus Christ can heal such scars and wounds and pain.
The dear lady mentioned above was not only helped economically, but she went on to describe the profound ministry she received as having her brain washed. Now, that is profound!
Insight and discernment and much wisdom will be required by those who listen to and minister to those who have endured such experiences. This woman is not alone by any means.
All this suffering continues among those who have no clean water, poor sanitation, little food and few educational opportunities.
Some of these victims have recovered and when I return later this year I hope to meet those who have overcome and triumphed, with the help of Almighty God, and the team of committed counsellors.
The massive task is to prevent these atrocities from recurring and to protect those who are so vulnerable.
That is why I unashamedly ask you to consider helping one of these agencies where your giving will reach those who need it most of all.
Sandy Shaw
Sandy Shaw is Pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship, Chaplain at Inverness Prison, and Nairn Academy, and serves on The Children's Panel in Scotland, and has travelled extensively over these past years teaching, speaking, in America, Canada, South Africa, Australia, making 12 visits to Israel conducting Tours and Pilgrimages, and most recently in Uganda and Kenya, ministering at Pastors and Leaders Seminars, in the poor areas surrounding Kampala, Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu.
He broadcasts regularly on WSHO radio out of New Orleans, and writes a weekly commentary at http://www.studylight.org entitled "Word from Scotland" on various biblical themes, as well as a weekly newspaper column.
His M.A. and B.D. degrees are from The University of Edinburgh, and he continues to run and exercise regularly to maintain a level of physical fitness.
Sandy Shaw
sandyshaw63@yahoo.com
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