Which Carols for this Christmas?

A Letter from Hery Ramambasoa, Regional Liaison for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, based in Fiji

Fall 2021

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Dear friends,

The little boy came running up to me and grabbed my hand. When I sat down to listen to the Christmas carols of the other children in the orphanage, he came to sit with me. The supervisor told me that some children have this habit of attaching themselves to visitors, hoping for some gestures of tenderness or special attention, if only temporary. I was happy and sad at the same time. Happy to find my fatherly instincts, for a moment. Sad when the supervisor told me that Ali, 4, is not an orphan but that his mom has a mental illness and that his dad, a construction worker, cannot keep him. Fortunately, churches maintain their social works as best they can. The Christian Evangelical Church in Minahasa (GMIM), a global partner of PC(USA), manages, among others, hospitals, universities, schools and orphanages. I met Ali, in one of these orphanages in North Sulawesi. He will be there probably until he is independent. That is at least for the next 15 years! I met him a few months before the pandemic. I wonder how he has been doing since then.

Hery is visiting Nazaret Children’s Home in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Photo credit: Angie Wuysang

I now receive testimonies from few orphanages or schools with which we work in several countries in Southeast Asia. With the pandemic, the number of orphaned children of parents who died of COVID-19 have increased. Families and authorities had no other recourse than these orphanages. Some media report that children were left to themselves for several days or isolated during quarantines. The psychological consequences are countless.

A recent study done by Save The Children (SavetheChildren.org/Indonesia), revealed that 777 children died of the virus in Indonesia. Online teaching was a challenge since not every kid could afford an internet connection. On average, one computer is shared between four or five students. In big cities like Jakarta, schools have re-opened. The government asked parents and children to continue to be very cautious. On the other hand, businesses are eager to resume activities. Travel restrictions for tourists are being eased in hopes of filling the income gap that disrupted thousands of small and medium businesses which lived on this industry. The Communion of Churches in Indonesia (PGI) encourages its member churches to fully support the vaccination campaign. While Christians are a minority across the country, they are influential in some regions of Indonesia. In an exemplary position, church leaders have encouraged their members to get their jabs and not to be fooled by misleading information. The President of the Council, Pastor Gomar Gultom, called on the government to improve the information process about the virus and the vaccination campaign, especially for isolated communities in remote areas.

The problem is still far from being resolved. The impact of the crisis will be felt for many more years. In the Philippines, a UNESCO analysis reports that most schools were closed for 20 months, leaving 27 million students unattended. Please see unicef.org/rosa/situation-analysis-covid-19-and-education for more details.

Families have sent their children to get additional income by working small jobs. These children and teenagers have lost what they have learned. For many, school was the only place to get decent meals and routine healthcare.

The family service is celebrated at the Theological College in Suva, Fiji. Photo credit: Pacific Theological College.

The Church of Christ in Thailand (CCT) runs 26 private schools with more than 60,000 children but they are mostly closed now. Surges of COVID-19 are unpredictable, and contagion is very fast among students who transmit the virus to families and communities. It is not certain that all students, especially in rural and poor areas, will return to school when schools re-open. Some have enrolled in public schools because they are more affordable. Many have dropped out of the system simply because parents do not have money anymore. Throughout Asia, at the beginning of the crisis, 128 million children were already out of school. What is commendable with CCT schools is that the better-off schools regularly come to the aid of small schools in rural or isolated areas. This system would prove to be providential for this first year of crisis, but will it be able to continue for the years to come, while the pandemic has not yet stabilized?

The first Christmas, too, was an uncertain and threatening time for Joseph and Mary. For lack of suitable space, Mary gave birth to her baby in a stable, with rudimentary means. They had to flee with the newborn child across countries to avoid persecution. They certainly learnt patience and humility as they hoped for a brighter future. The visitation of Mary to Elisabeth recounted in Luke 1:39-45 and, most and foremost, the visit of the angels in Bethlehem found in Luke 2:13-14 strengthened their faith and belief.

Ali’s Children’s Shelter in North Sulawesi is called Panti Asuhan Nazaret Tomohon and refers to the place where Jesus spent his childhood. I wish I could sing Christmas Carols with the children at the shelter again. Let’s seek and relentlessly support activities by our communities of faith, near and far, where the promise of Peace is shared in words and deeds to a broken world.

Hery

Please read the following letter from Sara P. Lisherness, the interim director of World Mission:

Dear partners in God’s mission,

I don’t know about you, but daily my heart grows heavier. News about the pandemic, wars, wildfires, gun violence, racism, earthquakes and hurricanes cloud my vision. It’s hard to see hope; our world is in a fog. Yet we trust that God’s light and love transcend the brokenness of this time.

God is at work transforming the world, and you, through your prayers, partnership and encouragement, are helping us share this good news. Thank you for your faithful and gracious support of our mission personnel.

How can we see through the fog? What will the church be after the pandemic? Could it be that God is doing “a new thing” and is inviting us to perceive it? Through all the uncertainty we know that God’s steadfast love and care for all creation will prevail and that God’s Spirit is at work in each of us.

We all have an integral part to play in fulfilling God’s mission. As we seek to grow together in faithfulness there are three important steps I invite you to take in supporting our shared commitments to God’s mission:
Give – Consider making a year-end financial contribution for the sending and support of our mission personnel. Your support helps mission personnel accompany global partners as together they share the light of God’s love and justice around the world. Invite your session to include support for mission personnel in its annual budget planning.
Act – Visit The Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study to delve deeper into the work God is doing through the PC(USA) and its partners in ministry around the globe: pcusa.org/missionyearbook.
Pray – Include our mission personnel, our global partners, and our common commitments to share God’s grace, love, mercy and justice in your daily prayers.

Thank you for your faithfulness to God’s mission through the Presbyterian Church. It is my prayer that you will continue to support this work with your prayers, partnership, and financial gifts in the coming year. We hope you will join us and our partners in shining a beacon of hope throughout the world.

In the light of hope,

Sara P. Lisherness, Interim Director
World Mission
Presbyterian Mission Agency
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

To give please visit https://bit.ly/PCUSAmission

You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16