We woke up to beautifully cool weather; we’ve been enormously blessed with great weather throughout the camps. We had the lesson on Esther; it was good to encourage the girls that God works through women as well as men, and that they, too, have a special purpose in His plans. Today was our first opportunity to break into small groups to look at scripture, share what we are learning and begin to get to know one another better. The groups went well, and we’re seeing increasing openness with the teens. The afternoon sessions of “just girls” and “just guys” have gone very well as we have explored what it means to forgive and experience reconciliation not only with God, but also with others. The questions for discussion continue to be very challenging, ranging from abuse, family violence to “normal” teen issues. We had an interesting request from the boys’ group today; they wanted the girls to write down how they want to be treated. The fact that they were asking and thinking about how a girl wants to be treated is a great encouragement in a culture that routinely devalues girls and women.
One of the things we have done regularly in camps is for each camper to make a booklet to write down special verses things they are learning, and even get “autographs” of new friends they make during camp. Irene was with us last year, and she brought her booklet from last year to camp with her this year! She has kept this simple paper book for a year now; that shows you how important things are to these young people. Something we would probably toss once we were home becomes a treasure for them.
Tonight in our chapel time, the group raised the roof as only they can with praises. Samantha, a 16 year old team member, is an accomplished singer and composer; she shared the song she wrote after viewing “The Invisible Children,” a beautiful song that depicts children who are abandoned and seeking true freedom. These kids could definitely relate to the struggles that most children in Africa face.
Please continue to pray for these young people and the mentors from Homecare; they have great challenges, but as enormous as some of them can be, they are seeing that God is greater. Pray for healing to take place this week as we continue to look at the wounds they have experienced and how they can forgive those who have hurt them.
On another note, we have not had much access to any news, so we had only sketchy reports about the conflict in Georgia, but aware that friends of ours from our church were on a mission trip at the same time that we are here. We discovered only late last night that they had had to be evacuated from the conflict zone; the last four finally got out and are on their way home; Praise the Lord!!! We are thankful for His constant protection, no matter where we are. He truly is our refuge and strength.
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So was Sarkozy's role in the so-called peace negotiations a disastrous failure? So reports the New York Times. "It soon became clear that the six-point deal not only failed to slow the Russian advance, but it also allowed Russia to claim that it could push deeper into Georgia as part of so-called additional security measures it was granted in the agreement. Mr. Sarkozy, according to a senior Georgian official who witnessed the negotiations, also failed to persuade the Russians to agree to any time limit on their military action.”
“By mid-morning, European officials were warning of the risks of appeasing Russian aggression, while Georgian officials lamented the West’s weak leverage. ‘I’m talking about the impotence and inability of both Europe and the United States to be unified and to exert leverage, and to comprehend the level of the threat,’ said the senior Georgian official, who had sat in on the talks between Mr. Sarkozy and Georgia’s president, Mikheil Saakashvili. The senior Georgian official later made a copy of the deal available to The New York Times with what he said were notes marking changes the Georgians had asked for but failed to attain."
The US is sending troops to Georgia to oversee the humanitarian efforts. "The decision to send the American military, even on a humanitarian mission, deepened the United States’ commitment to Georgia and America’s allies in the former Soviet sphere, just as Russia has been determined to reassert its control in the area. On a day the White House evoked emotional memories of the cold war, a senior Pentagon official said the relief effort was intended ‘to show to Russia that we can come to the aid of a European ally, and that we can do it at will, whenever and wherever we want.’ At a minimum, American forces in Georgia will test Russia’s pledge to allow relief supplies into the country; they could also deter further Russian attacks, though at the risk of a potential military confrontation."
Is this yet another war for oil? "When the main pipeline that carries oil through Georgia was completed in 2005, it was hailed as a major success in the United States policy to diversify its energy supply. Not only did the pipeline transport oil produced in Central Asia, helping move the West away from its dependence on the Middle East, but it also accomplished another American goal: it bypassed Russia.”
“American policy makers hoped that diverting oil around Russia would keep the country from reasserting control over Central Asia and its enormous oil and gas wealth and would provide a safer alternative to Moscow’s control over export routes that it had inherited from Soviet days. The tug-of-war with Moscow was the latest version of the Great Game, the 19th-century contest for dominance in the region."
Just what did the U.S. promise Georgia? The Washington Post: "The muscular rhetoric in the United States followed complaints from Georgia's president, Mikheil Saakashvili, that the administration was not doing enough to help the small country. Saakashvili's government contributed troops to Iraq and earned support from Bush for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a proposal Russia strongly opposes.”
“Saakashvili also caused an uproar when he said that Bush's pledge of humanitarian aid meant the U.S. military would take control of ‘Georgian ports and airports.’ The Pentagon swiftly contradicted his statement, and Saakashvili did not repeat it during a subsequent television appearance. But the administration appeared to be sending mixed signals with its aid shipments, pointedly using military planes and ships and warning Russia not to block sea, air or land transport routes, while insisting it had no plans to intervene militarily."
McCain writes a Wall Street Journal op-ed -- entitled “We Are All Georgians” -- in which he advocates sending some US troops to the region. "We should work toward the establishment of an independent, international peacekeeping force in the separatist regions, and stand ready to help our Georgian partners put their country back together. This will entail reviewing anew our relations with both Georgia and Russia. As the NATO secretary general has said, Georgia remains in line for alliance membership, and I hope NATO will move ahead with a membership track for both Georgia and Ukraine.”
“At the same time, we must make clear to Russia's leaders that the benefits they enjoy from being part of the civilized world require their respect for the values, stability and peace of that world. The U.S. has cancelled a planned joint military exercise with Russia, an important step in this direction. The Georgian people have suffered before, and they suffer today. We must help them through this tragedy, and they should know that the thoughts, prayers and support of the American people are with them. This small democracy, far away from our shores, is an inspiration to all those who cherish our deepest ideals. As I told President Saakashvili on the day the cease-fire was declared, today we are all Georgians. We mustn't forget it."
McCain said in Michigan, per Reuters: "I think the events of the last few days show that there are many places in the world where we don't necessarily anticipate this kind of conflict breaking out… It does require a steady hand on the tiller and an experienced one," he said, “drawing the silent comparison between his years of foreign policy experience and the comparative youth of his 47-year-old Democratic challenger.”
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