Cheerfully searching for the path to resist evil, cancer, bombs . . .

Are we all reeling from the whiplashing events and press releases of the week, and wondering how to respond when God's name is invoked? Trying to sort out how to live with wars and graduations, cancer and connections, faith and politics.( Skip to end for photos if you prefer).

Bombs tempt us to think we can get things done more effectively by force than by negotiation. In a world that is full of greed and hate and obfuscation, I am not one who believes that it is never necessary for a policeman to forcefully stop a school shooter, or for an army to protect a village from cross-border rebels. Limits to self-promotion enable us to live together, to share resources, to trust community. A disciplined, regulated security force answerable to the voters and upholding the rule of law is still needed in our world,  And yet. We are fallible humans. I don't know if the net effect of our country's actions this week were good (more security for more marginalized people) or bad (failed attempt to disrupt nuclear war and successful stoking of fear and hate). I don't know if our actions were driven by concern for others or by self-aggrandizement. Time may tell, or more likely the net effect remains hazy, murky, arguable indefinitely. We do our best and we don't always get things right.

California protector from dangerous edges

But as a person who has lived on another continent for half my life now, I can see that power is rarely the best or most lasting way to forge peaceful relationships. And as a professional Christian in some sense, we in mission must NOT cloak our-country-first agendas with religious justification. So, just a reality check:

• God does not love America more than Iran, God does not choose sides in our sibling squabbles. For God so loved the WORLD (not just one part) that God paid the entire cost of peace by personal sacrifice not crushing dissent. 
• God chose the small whispering voice, not a rock-splitting wind or earth-moving quake or landscape scorching fire (all three sound like bombs) to reveal his presence to Elijah (1 Kings 19). God seems to work a long, slow, subtle change from hearts outward, not a fast blaze of punishing destruction.
• Jesus refused to make Israel a Middle East powerhouse, refused to fill the Messiah role of calling down heavenly armies to set things right. It's unfathomable that "Christian" faith could be now a reason to justify any one country in the region wiping out all others. The most largest injustice, loss of life, starvation, suffering being perpetuated in Jesus' homeland right now is in Gaza. Can we show love there?
• We all have to live lives of mercy and truth in a world full of danger and sorrow, but also full of beauty and grace.  Absolutely we should do our best to bring our values into every aspect of our life, working and voting too. But God doesn't want forced relationship. Our job is to live authentically in ways that reflect "do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with your God" that makes God's loving community real,  and attracts others to join. Not to think we can expand it by military might.
• Resist evil, do good. That's in the Bible, that's how we love our neighbor as ourselves.

The upheaval of the world finds us in our upheaval of life. We don't say personally that cancer is its own form of life, and quietly watch as we let it choke out all the rest of life in the body. We resist. Good news today that the 4 moths of medicine and initial 6 weeks of radiation therapy have successfully plummeted the cancer marker (PSA) in the blood down to undetectable. The cancer is still there, but being restrained, going dormant. Scott still pays the cost as we are now 2 days in to another 6 week course of daily sessions with the external beam radiation machine that targets the metastases in nodes further up his spine.  We were invaded, we are responding forcefully, careful though to limit the collateral damage, and paying the cost of discomfort and weariness and loss of much that we held as meaningful and dear.

That seems to me to be a picture of life in a broken world. Not ignoring evil or letting it choke out all that is good. But paying the price to resist, to limit, to distinguish life from death, good from bad. Knowing that we will most likely never completely be rid of all the cancer but, with the support of our community both medical and spiritual and biological . . . "cheerfully we refuse". 

Dr. Ssesanga served with us in Bundibugyo many years ago. When a brand new strain of ebola mysteriously broke out in our district in 2007, there were 4 doctors who examined patients and tried to keep running the system until help arrived (us and 2 Ugandans). Dr. Jonah died. Dr. Ssesanga was infected, locked himself in his house, and only opened for Scott to check on him. Scott and I were spared. Dr. Ssesanga went on to serve nearly 20 years in Uganda and died yesterday. He was a man who resisted evil and helped many.

Yesterday Scott started round 2 of radiation, and this friend Ian from round 1 took it upon himself to drive nearly an hour and show up to surprise and encourage us. The bonds of suffering are real.

In the weeks between round 1 and 2, we reconnected with some family and friends

Kacie and Winnie Forrest in Ventura, CA, with Scott's mom

Mike's parents and Scott's mom, mission is a whole-family center of gravity.

My mom and Chuck Meyer, her best friend's surviving husband who drove from Maine to visit us all, and has been a life-long prayerful support. My mom is finally recovering from a months-long ulcer and scaring misery and able to be in West Virginia for the summer!

On our CA trip we saw close-to-kids, two of the three Tabb girls that grew up in Bundibugyo with us. Laura is now a nurse . . .

As are Sarah and her husband Kevin. All three fit the theme of refusing evil and choosing life.

The main draw of the westward trip was to take Ruth, Scott's mom, to her grandson (our nephew) Karsten's graduation from UC Santa Barbara. 

Family photos by the lagoon and the tower, palms and sunshine, proud faces and full hearts.

Channel island light house built in 1932 like Ruth . . a symbol like the raptor at the top, using truth and sometimes some force to protect us all from danger

Scott taking care of all of us before heading back to radiation this week. We are thankful that the terrible timing of cancer has allowed us to be present with our moms to a greater extent, and we thank all who pray for them.