Did some ministry in the prison this week. Went with
my good friends Gordon and Bee to Banlung prison and pulled some teeth. Seeing
the prison after about a year, I was shocked. It is severely overcrowded and
prisoners are just sitting around. Really a sombre place to do ministry, but
God ask us to help those in prison. Till recently I really had a problem
helping people in prison but got convicted in my heart that they also need
help. Most of the people in prison were hurt, one time or another in their
lives and in a moment of rage, stupidity or just plain stubbornness, they land
in jail. My heart was crying for all the young boys and girls in there for drug
related as well as murder. Hearing from a young boy not older than Gideon, that
will stay for the rest of his life in prison, makes me want to cry.
Prisons here are totally overcrowded and they move
prisoners around provinces to accommodate them. Basic things you can get in
there if you have money otherwise you are just over to the mercy of others. If
you have more money, that can buy you a better cell, but still you will be
30-40 people in one cell. “Cambodia's already swollen prison population
leapt by more than 20 percent last year, according to the Ministry of
Interior’s annual report, which acknowledged the influx has caused “serious
challenges” with overcrowding, and revealed one-third of inmates are in
pre-trial detention. “
After the horrible killing of children in Florida, a
good friend that work with problem kids, wrote this piece. I know it’s maybe controversial,
but it makes you think. It makes us look with new eyes to media and Tv and gadgets,
all things our children love so much. We need to pray more for our children.
I’ll not offer Nikolas Cruz sympathy as sympathy
is condescending and superficial. I will offer empathy, as it costs more, hurts
more and demands more to feel someone’s sorrow than to just feel sorry for
them.
I grieve for the lives lost and families
shattered, but having worked with this profile, these boys are all time bombs.
And there are tens of thousands of them out there. They’re full of raging
hormones, high on testosterone, unsure of the future and have little hope for a
happy life. They’ve played thousands of hours of violent video games where killing
earns points.
Their diet is riddled with chemicals,
sugar and cheap preservatives. Movies and music impact them with themes of
violence, vengeance and empty machismo. Their perception of girls is formed
from endless hours of easily accessed hard-core pornography. Schools are
baffled as to how to deal with them, as expulsion is their only answer.
I’ve worked for 34 years with these
young victims of our perverse and narcissistic culture, and though guns are
assuredly a part of the scenario, restricting guns will do NOTHING to prevent
these bombs from going off.
Yes, I am MAD.
I’m sick of the inability of our leaders
to point the finger at the REAL culprits: Our tattered morality, absent
fathers, rampant pornography, neutered law enforcement, broke mental health
programs, and freedom run amok are the problems that need solutions. But
there’s no courage to deal with these things as the culture promotes much of
what is destroying our boys. And enriches itself. While our churches feign away
from what’s unpopular and tell the people only what their itching ears want to
hear.
We are no longer creating men in
America. We are watching as boys become legal adults, but will forever be BOYS.
They know nothing of hard work, sacrifice, delayed gratification or COMMITMENT.
Where was the strong Alpha male who would mentor young Nikolas? Where was he to gain a clear picture of
manhood? Please people....It’s not about the tool he used. He had studied bomb
making. He was primed to kill. Taught from a young age. Abandoned and scorned.
Tutored in rage, violence and hopelessness....and we’re focused on the tool he
chose??
I choose to empathize. Yes, I’ll go
there.
When a nation chooses to celebrate that
which is perverse, entertain themselves with bloodshed, turn a blind eye to the
commercialization of sex, devalue human life and reject the Creator, we should
not be shocked by a school shooting.
Heck, I’m surprised it doesn’t happen
every day.
Some news from Jacob and Carmen. Continue to pray
for them as they do the transition back into the States again. “Today we are
in Dallas, Texas. Getting here was a bit of an ordeal. The only way we could
bring our dog, Nala, who is an 8 month old, 100 pound, South African Boerboel,
with us was to take KLM airlines. To save $1,000 on tickets, Jacob took three
of the kids and most of the luggage on Qatar airlines the day before. Each of
us embarked on our 35+ hour trips which involved customs, 7 total security
checks, very little sleep, and 50% total time of fussy children.”
Some personal news: My truck is in for major repairs
but they are almost done. Pray that they do a good job with it and that I will
not have any problems. Mechanics here are not the best and quality work is far
and between. I will travel again later this week to Kampong Tom to go and see
how they progress with cutting the wood for our little church/school. Praise
god for a huge donation to buy some wood. We still are short a bit so if you
feel like giving towards a small school/church, please consider it prayerfully.
God is faithful and providing for us and I am amazed everyday how we can help
people. I am always looking for better ways to help as I believe that we need
to use all our contacts around us. If we help each other, we can work faster
and more efficient.
The Sovereign Lord has filled me with his Spirit. He
has chosen me and sent me To bring good news to the poor, To heal the
broken-hearted, To announce release to captives And freedom to those in prison.
Isaiah 61:1 GNT
Blessings for this week.
Love
Rossouw-clan
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