I was studying one day when I heard a young woman screaming in the street, “No mama, no mama.” I went outside to see what was going on and Dave told me that our neighbor was violently whipping her daughter with an electrical cable, even in the face, while her older brother was pinning her down. Dave told the mother that she needed to stop and with much frustration, she eventually relented. She left her daughter on the ground screaming and writhing in pain. The whole neighborhood came out and stood there and watched without saying a word. Eventually everyone went about their businesses, hauling water and going to their fields, indifferent to this 12 year old girl. I went up to her and held her hand and took her to our porch until she calmed down. I prayed with her and encouraged her to confess what she had done wrong to her mother and seek to be reconciled with her. She sobbed as she told me that she was no longer welcome to live in her home. Later on, the mom told me that this girl had disrespected her older brother and that was the reason for the “correction.” She was also not happy with me for intervening and my kindness towards her daughter has led to tension in our relationship. Was I really supposed to coldly walk by a young woman who had just been publically beaten?
Motivating through Fear
But all the logic in the world does not make it less sad. All the biblical assertions of man’s depravity do not make one deaf to the drunk man screaming at his wife and kids outside of your window. Understanding that sinners sin and that without Christ we “would all be the same way” does not lessen in any way the tragedy of lives lived without hope.
So Now What?
Well written Stacey and yet so hard to read. I will be praying with you for the people all around you and for you and your family as you live and serve there. We miss you dearly but can see God at work in and through you both!
Amen. The Word of the Lord really is their only hope, just as it's our only hope for opening our blind eyes!!!
And absolutely, keep intervening. It is always right to stop abuse, a testimony to the Gospel and a picture of His propitiation (turning aside God's wrath) in a small way.
What a sad story, but so true where the depravity of sin is involved. My heart goes out to this child. I pray God will continue to bless your ministry and that this mother will see that you were only doing as God calls us all to do – to help the helpless. It is hard to understand the harsh punishment being used in the village, but no one understood how Hitler exterminated the Jews in Germany. Sin is sin in every case and in every form. Satan is a worthy adversary and only God is able to overcome and conquer. May God be with you both as you continue to walk in the path of righteousness in Cameroon.