 |
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
 |
||||||||||
|
|
|
|
 |
|||
A MISSIONARY LETTER
Dear Partners in Mission, Rieneke and I began this year with a deep breath. The calendar is already full of activities. Rieneke will conduct
a workshop in Nepal in April to create a Nepali version of women's health materials which will emphasize violence against women as a health problem. The Russian-Ukrainian language edition is progressing and will
require in-country church and government negotiations and planning as early as next month. Work with China is a full-time job in itself. Our work there progresses on several fronts and
will require another visit before the year's end. Our faithful coordinator of that program is Dr. Jia Huanguang, for whom we are having a tug of war with the University of North Carolina. They want him for
their China projects and offer much better remuneration than we can afford. Our activities in Iraq are concentrated on videos being produced by the Compassion Iraq Coalition of Christian
Denominations, Churches, and Agencies. These videos alert faith networks, as well as public television viewers, about the effects of the US Sanctions on the health of Iraqi mothers and children. We are
grateful for the opportunity to be working closely with Chaldean Christians, who represent one of the oldest denominations. We may travel as far as Jordan. We have no definite plans to revisit the war-torn
land of Iraq this year. Since air travel within Iraq is impossible, we normally would go by car to Baghdad from Amman. The University of Jordan in Amman is our partner for a revision and upgrading of the
Arabic version of our women's health curriculum. On the home front, we always enjoy visiting churches courtesy of arrangements effectively made by the RCA Speak Bureau and Mission Services
staff. Last month we enjoyed a warm welcome on a return visit to the Reformed Church Tarrytown, NY. We will soon be in Sacramento, California, followed by Detroit, Michigan, and New Jersey church
visits. Later this spring we will return to our supporting churches in Brooklyn. We are spiritually uplifted and nourished by this regular contact with those who guide and support this ministry.
We are aggressively promoting ``To Speak and Be Heard: Principles of Religious Civil Discourse," a set of guideline developed by the Park Ridge Center for the Study of Health, Faith, and Ethics in
Chicago, Illinois, for broad use in the U.S. We are deeply committed to their use not only because we were a part of the creation of these rules to allow civil discussion, but also because of our concern for
the behavior of those engaged in the debate on issues related to our mission. Friends worry about our safety while traveling overseas. I am more worried about the damage being done to the church in North
America because of the manner in which we discuss our differences. This has not always been an easy ride over the last thirty-plus years. We have longed to speak out so many
times, but have held our tongues to avoid getting bogged down in advocacy of one side or the other. Our witness is a positive ministry to women and their families in the neediest parts of the world. However
our work has been misconstrued as a source for controversy. It is a mystery to me how this issue ever evolved into something controversial. Enough of this musing. Let us hear your
thoughts! And most of all, let us all be enfolded by the love of God made known to us in Jesus Christ. This is done especially as we remember each other in prayer. I was speaking
on the phone with my sister in Indiana who is struggling with cancer. I told her that she was in my prayers. She paused and said, ``Thank you. But you know I have been praying for you every night all
these years!" How can we ever fail with that kind of support?
Faithfully,
Charles R. And Rieneke Ausherman P.S. Copies of the
Park Ridge guidelines for relious dialogue on sensitive issues are available from Charles R. Ausherman, Institute for Development Training, 212 E. Rosemary St. Chapel Hill, NC 27514. |
|||
