The least and the most we can do

In May this year it will be ten years. I remember the day a colleague came back from Asmara telling us about the meeting he had with church leaders during his visit. All religious groups outside of the Orthodox Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church, Catholic Church and Islam had just been told that they needed to register with the government. It involved filling in an application form, supplying details of all members and revealing all financial info.

As a group we speculated over the implications of this move. Clouds of uncertainty seemed to be gathering on the horizon. But we did not even start to grasp what it was that lay ahead for our brothers and sisters in Eritrea. We did not have to wait long for the picture to unfold as report after report of crackdowns reached our in-boxes. While the future looked grim and uncertain, the intentions of the government were very clear. Worship services were interrupted. National service consignees belonging to “unregistered” groups had their Bibles confiscated and burnt and they were punished brutally. Those arrested were held in cramped and suffocating cells. What followed were torture, humiliation and starvation. It became the experience of many thousands of believers. We know of at least 16 who have died as a result of the conditions.

Since those early days I have had to read, digest and write countless reports on what was happening to my spiritual family in Eritrea. I have met many believers who told me hair-raising stories of suffering. The brutality of it all was hard for me to grasp.
But to a certain degree, I was perplexed even more by the response of the Christians who lived to tell me their tale. Where I expected anger, hatred and extreme criticism in response to their suffering, I most often heard love, forgiveness, grace and a desire for good to those who orchestrate such cruelty.

Recently an older man who seems to have seen it all told me his story. In a matter-of-fact manner he told me of all that has been done to him. The longer he spoke, the more despondent I got. I grew silent as he talked, struggling with a response in line with what I felt inside. He sensed that. There was a moment of silence. Then he shifted in his seat, dropped his grey head a little and said, “Anyway, we don’t pray for a replacement of our government. We pray for their salvation.”
The man then went on to list all the things we could do to help. Every point he gave, started with, “Pray for...” Like so many times in the past, it dawned on me. The least we can do to help, is the best we can do to help. Prayer is what our brothers and sisters in Eritrea crave for, ask for and thank us for most.

Prayer is what LovEritrea is all about. There is much we could ask you to do. But what we want to ask you most urgently is to join us in prayer.

Visit our website http://www.loveritrea.org/ to stay in the loop.

Follow us on twitter @LoveEritrea for updated prayer info and spread the word by “liking” us on Facebook Lov Eritrea.

You will be helping more than you realize.