Pierce my heart to spread your word

A few days ago I was exposed to one of life’s cruelest realities. Trade in human beings, modern slavery, is occurring right under our noses. We walked through the streets of Sonagachi, one of the largest red light districts in South Asia. The brokenness of this place and this world truly hit me, as we walked the narrow, winding streets polluted with sin and despair. This place of human weakness and darkness was a devastating realization. I think, in that moment, I caught a glimpse, of how God must feel, when He sees His children driven by their flesh.

It’s all too common among the girls and women here that they have been sold or betrayed by close family members, including parents. Poverty and false promises of honest employment have led these innocent souls to a world they never imagined existed. We cannot begin to imagine the mixture of fear, despair, disappointment and anger these victims may feel, as they realize that they have been caught in a trafficker’s net. Their only option in life is to continue to suffer abuse at the hands of those who enter through the door or to escape through the door of death.

Regardless of the reason why this area’s girls and women are here, they deserve better. They deserve a way out. They deserve an option. They deserve freedom. Their right is affirmed in Galatians 5:1: “it was for freedom that Christ set us free”.

Now one question remains, who will go? Who will tell them about Jesus? Who will tell them about freedom in Christ?  Who will bring the Truth to these vulnerable and broken souls? This question continues to pierce every inch of my heart. All I recall, as I write, are the faces of the young girls who are forced to submit to it. The faces of these innocent souls, lined up, all dressed up in pretty dresses and with red color on their lips. I ask you all to pray for victims of human trafficking. Pray for people who are sold, used and humiliated against their own will. Pray also for the conversion of the ones behind the crime.

Human trafficking is a hidden crime and it often goes undetected by authorities. I believe a lack of public awareness, together with a lack of understanding the victims, present major barriers to combating the crime. I urge you all to stay informed about human trafficking and support organizations that help the women break the chains (like Freeset here in Calcutta).

Living Hope, with a heavy heart I come to you. Comfort all who are held in slavery. Heal the wounds of these souls. Look upon them with compassion and bless them with a renewed sense of trust in relationships of love. Only You God can take away their hurt and put them back together. Reveal to them Your Love, Mercy and Goodness. Make your purpose for each one of them clear, so that they may find Hope in You. Grace them with the power of the Holy Spirit so that they may recognize and accept their Savior. Thank You Father, that because of Jesus freedom is possible.

Most Holy Virgin, Mother of Compassion, comfort those in chains and intercede for their souls, that by your powerful intercession they may find freedom in Your Son.

Amen

Jesus in disguise

We tend to think that poverty is merely about being hungry, naked and homeless, but poverty is also to be unwanted, unloved and uncared for. The streets of Calcutta are packed with these people, unfortunate individuals, living a desperate existence. Their faces and bodies reflect hardship, neglect and sickness. Their belongings are rolled up into a pile, in the place they will be spending the night. The faces of these people are etched in my mind. Each one of them is unique in what she/he handles and represents. They are real. They are alive, some barely, but they are breathing.

You walk the streets of Calcutta hesitantly, at every turn a new harsh reality comes alive. Poverty in its rawest form is nothing to smile about, but I walk the streets of Calcutta with a smile on my face. I greet the people in the streets. Occasionally we shake hands. I see them. I hear them. I think of them before I go to sleep and they even come to me in my dreams. I wonder what these people are all about. What they dream of. What their hope in life is?

In one sense or another we are all like these people: We are poor. We all have a place deep inside ourselves, where poverty lives. A cross to carry. A place of pain and suffering, but yet also a place of hope.  I encourage you to travel to that place deep within. Feel this place, this poverty deep inside yourself and sit for a moment.

My goal with this post is to get us thinking beyond ourselves and try to stir in our hearts a deep love and passion for loving our neighbors as ourselves. We are to look at each other and see sacred beings, who are worthy of love and acceptance. Appearance can deceive. We must not let the poverty of one another blind us. We are not called to judge or disapprove. We are called to love, even those hard to love. We must look at each other with compassion and patience and remember that God is represented in each one of us. We are all created in His image, in His beauty and in His goodness. Each one of us carries His Love inside of us. We are all worthy.

Mother Teresa, when speaking of the poorest of the poor in Calcutta, said that, "Each one of them is Jesus in disguise”. We don’t have to go to Calcutta to find “Jesus in disguise” though. He is living in our own communities among the sick, the hurting, the despised, the overlooked, the lonely, the hungry, the abused, the neglected, the imprisoned and so on. Jesus could be the unfriendly man next door or the old lady driving 60 km/h on the highway. Mother Teresa saw the beauty of God in the faces of the poorest of the poor. She regarded no one as an outcaste but as a unique being of worth, created in the image of God.

Let me draw a biblical parallel to this heartfelt message of mine by referring Matthew 25:31-40: When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me”.

Let me repeat: We are all Jesus in disguise. What a revelation of truth!  Now, we must remember that when He comes to us in disguise, we will not be able to see Him. He will be masked. Our challenge is to learn to look into each other’s eyes, into the eyes of anyone in need of us, and recognize Jesus. “Love one another as I have loved you”, Jesus commands us. Eight words to summarize the Bible. The message is quite simple. Jesus wants us to love each other with a love that wishes the deepest joy for one another and that is willing to make sacrifices for each other. He wants us to bring one another before God in prayer. This message should sink completely into our hearts, minds and souls. This is the way God’s love can be spread throughout the world. The love of God can transform us, if we allow it.

Loving and serving the unloved, unwanted and the uncared for is not extra credit for followers of Jesus. It is the core of what it means to follow Him. It’s the core of what it means to love. Love is not something that needs to be earned or only felt. Love can be a decision as well. We are worthy of love by the fact of our presence, so I urge you all: choose to love! Be Love! Today, on Good Friday, we are reminded of Christ’s love for us. His willingness to die FOR US is the ultimate evidence of His love. What more can we ask for?

Let’s stand together and work together to build each other up. Let’s encourage one another and defend one another, so that the world may be filled with love, thanksgiving and goodness. Remember there is no one without fault and that appearance can deceive. Be Love!

If you spot me, smiling, in the streets one day, it’s because I just saw Jesus in disguise.

With love, Mette

Something beautiful for God

“Follow me”, a simple phrase of Jesus used in different ways throughout the Gospels. Two simple words encouraging us to conversion and inviting us to become more like Him. In other words, Jesus asks that we choose the way of the Cross, that we follow the path He has already laid out for us and prepared for us. He wants us to imitate Him. He wants us to keep our eyes on Him and stay in His presence and seek Him with all our heart, all our soul and all our strength.

I’m leaving Denmark today to go on a mission trip in Calcutta, India. My decision to travel across the world to seek God in the faces of the poorest of the poor is not an overnight decision. Many of you have asked me why I feel urged to make this trip, and there is no better explanation than the one Paul lays out in Galatians 2:20: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me”.  To make my point more clear let me quote Saint Teresa of Avila:
"Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours; yours are the eyes through which God's compassion will look upon the world; yours are the feet with which God will go about doing good; yours are the hands with which God will bless others now."

To be the “hands of Christ” means to walk by His example. It´s means to not only preach the message, but to be the message. We must reflect that Jesus Christ is living in our hearts. We live in a world of extreme suffering, a world in desperate need of compassion. We have become ignorant of the suffering of others. I am no better, but I now feel humanity to the point where I am moved to act, to sacrifice and to reach out to meet the needs of those enduring hardship. I feel moved to put my faith to use. To get out there and get my hands dirty, for God. We spend our lives running from suffering, brokenness, sickness and death, and in Gospels we find Jesus meeting it face to face. If we want to become more like Christ, we have to do the same. We have to roll our sleeves up and touch other people in their brokenness. In the 21^st century no one bothers getting their hands dirty with other people’s problems. We blame God for the poverty and suffering in this world, while asking each other why He allows so much injustice to take place. Consider this, God may be asking us the same question. Why do we allow so much poverty, suffering and injustice? Why are we not doing something about it?

It is easy to dream of making a difference from the comfort of your living room couch. It is one thing to recognize and realize what has to be done, but quite another thing to actually do it. So here I am, a few hours before departure, with a mix of emotions. I am excited that this long planned trip is about to begin, but at the same time I am also nervous about what lies ahead of me. Those of you close to me know it hasn’t been an easy decision. Following Jesus is not always easy. It takes a lot more than just willingness. The symbol of the Cross speaks to me of God’s Love for man. God’s Love for me. We too must love: until it hurts. Love is not merely to be based on feelings. Love should be an active decision, an act of will. God lives in me, and I feel called to pass that Love on. I feel called to glorify God by demonstrating His Love, by reaching out to the unreached with the message of the Cross. I’m letting go and letting God.  I’m letting God do something beautiful. I’m offering Him my hands to serve and my heart to love. I am asking Him to make me a witness to the Mercy, the Hope and the Love that He offers us though His Son Jesus Christ. We are called to be carriers of this Love. We are all called to be instruments of peace and compassion in the world. We are created to love and to be loved, and therefore I am willing to sacrifice, willing to love until it hurts. I am willing to get my hands dirty for the One, who lives in me.

This website will accompany me in my walk with Jesus in Calcutta, India. While giving friends and loved ones at home a little window into the journey, I hope, by sharing my thoughts with all of you, I will become more aware of what I am living. Some of you have encouraged me to put into words, what I am expecting and hoping for in the months to come, so here is what comes to my mind:

To experience a radically different culture | To live outside of my comfort zone | To be challenged | To go beyond myself | To see things I thought I would never see | To meet people I thought I would never meet | To worry | To cry | To be moved | To be changed | To love | To bond | To serve | To feel humbled | To experience God in a new way | To be strengthen in my walk with Him | To be held | To be broken | To be healed | To feel insecure | To work hard | To discover new things about myself | To miss everyone I love back home | To feel helpless | To feel tested | To pray a lot | To be blessed | To fall short | To laugh | To grow | To hesitate | To learn | To worship | To fear | To share.

I ask you all to keep both Camilla and I in your thoughts and prayers. If you want to know how you can pray for us, then click “pray with me” to the right.

Everyone, this is it! I love you all and I will miss you every single day!

Pursuing God,

Mette