There'll Be Peace In the Valley
Asalaamu-a-lekum,
Peace be with you.
This is a traditional Islamic greeting. Every time you greet someone, instead of "Hello" you say "Peace be with you" and they reply "With you be peace." Beggars, when they come up to my open air cab say "Peace be with you" before asking for alms. When entering a room of people one should say "Peace be with you."
I walked by a beggar in Bali a while ago - She was an old woman lifting her hands to me as she sat on the sidewalk. I smiled at her, shook my head, mumbled "Maph korun" ("please forgive me" in Bangla) and reflexively raised my right hand to my forehead in a perpendicular salute. The old lady grinned and waited for the next person to cross her strip of concrete.
I laughed at myself. That lady could not have possibly understood me. But she had understood the hands. "Prayer hands" I commented to my colleague walking beside me. "Peace hands," she responded. To greet someone by blessing them with peace Muslims in Bangladesh raise their right hand at right angles to their forehead, Hindus raise both hands, palms together, to their chests or to their heads for extra emphasis. Peace hands can be found in many countries in Asia, from India to Thailand and through Indonesia, just to mention a few. We all want peace.
It's hard not to be cynical about peace. Every day for the last month when I open the newspapers I read about suicide bombers in the courthouses, or the capturing of explosives outside of a school building. Before this spate of bombings, there were border disputes with India, in which every several days another man got killed. If it's not border disputes the newspaper carries horrific stories of child abuse, or of domestic violence. I know the same is true every time you check the news.
When I talk to the slum dwellers I work with they too wish for peace. Their neighborhoods are fractured groups of uprooted people. Their teenage girls can't go out on the street for fear of harassment by gangs of young men. Sounds of domestic violence intrude into their small rooms. There are many weeks when I can not go to the slums, in fear of being caught between the two warring political parties. Peace is nowhere to be found. Desperately we continue greeting each other with "peace be with you."
Now it's Christmas and Christians the whole world over are singing "Peace on earth, goodwill to men." Is it arrogant to think we have the answer to peace? Everyone, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and Christian is looking for it, but the world continues its cycles of violence.
The Committee works a lot on peace. In the slums where I work with the office the first thing we do is form neighborhood groups. These groups of twenty are motivated to transform their lives, but to start that process they must decide to trust each other. They save money together, starting with a few cents a week. Slowly as their group savings grows so do new friendships and a sense of community. That is the first step to peace.
On the day the groups meets to contribute their savings they get a lesson. They learn how Values like honesty and love can bring harmony to their lives. They learn about conflict management, problem solving, and addressing domestic violence. As they use these lessons they witness change in their community.
Their group learns about democratic process and elects a leader. These leaders get leadership training from the Office, so that they can lead their groups, and lead community action initiatives. The leadership rotates every year, so soon every group has several trained leaders. All the neighborhood groups send a representative to the Peoples Intuition who coordinates community improvement throughout the whole slum. The leaders go on to use their experience in areas out side of thier groups. There are Office trained leaders on the school-boards, neighborhood committees and in local governance. Slowly they act to stop the harassment of their daughters and encourage working children to attend school.
After 10 years of work in Dhaka, the Office will graduate it's first slum in 2007. The groups in Begunbari slum will continue to work to change their lives and communities. They will keep saving money to improve their situation, and will continue to look after the children who are malnourished. The Begunbari groups see signs of new peace in their community. Within their groups and in their neighborhoods there is time tested trust. Building relationships and following values benefits them as much as their new businesses. It is a slow process, but seeing the result is exciting and life changing.
The office and the Begunbari Peoples Institution feel that the local leadership is strong enough to continue in this task without the daily assistance of our staff. Thus Begunbari field will graduate, freeing the office staff in Begunbari to begin working in a new area.
Please pray for Begunbari slum leaders as they continue in their good work. Pray for our staff as they begin work in the new slum. Pray for wisdom as they encourage people to join together. It is challenging to keep group unity, build trust and seek peace.
"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you; I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (John 14:27) At Christmas we celebrate the coming of the Prince of Peace. It is with confidence, not arrogance, that we can bring Jesus' peace.
Thank you for partnering with me as we bring this message,
Walekum-asalaam.
Peace be with you.
This is a traditional Islamic greeting. Every time you greet someone, instead of "Hello" you say "Peace be with you" and they reply "With you be peace." Beggars, when they come up to my open air cab say "Peace be with you" before asking for alms. When entering a room of people one should say "Peace be with you."
I walked by a beggar in Bali a while ago - She was an old woman lifting her hands to me as she sat on the sidewalk. I smiled at her, shook my head, mumbled "Maph korun" ("please forgive me" in Bangla) and reflexively raised my right hand to my forehead in a perpendicular salute. The old lady grinned and waited for the next person to cross her strip of concrete.
I laughed at myself. That lady could not have possibly understood me. But she had understood the hands. "Prayer hands" I commented to my colleague walking beside me. "Peace hands," she responded. To greet someone by blessing them with peace Muslims in Bangladesh raise their right hand at right angles to their forehead, Hindus raise both hands, palms together, to their chests or to their heads for extra emphasis. Peace hands can be found in many countries in Asia, from India to Thailand and through Indonesia, just to mention a few. We all want peace.
It's hard not to be cynical about peace. Every day for the last month when I open the newspapers I read about suicide bombers in the courthouses, or the capturing of explosives outside of a school building. Before this spate of bombings, there were border disputes with India, in which every several days another man got killed. If it's not border disputes the newspaper carries horrific stories of child abuse, or of domestic violence. I know the same is true every time you check the news.
When I talk to the slum dwellers I work with they too wish for peace. Their neighborhoods are fractured groups of uprooted people. Their teenage girls can't go out on the street for fear of harassment by gangs of young men. Sounds of domestic violence intrude into their small rooms. There are many weeks when I can not go to the slums, in fear of being caught between the two warring political parties. Peace is nowhere to be found. Desperately we continue greeting each other with "peace be with you."
Now it's Christmas and Christians the whole world over are singing "Peace on earth, goodwill to men." Is it arrogant to think we have the answer to peace? Everyone, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and Christian is looking for it, but the world continues its cycles of violence.
The Committee works a lot on peace. In the slums where I work with the office the first thing we do is form neighborhood groups. These groups of twenty are motivated to transform their lives, but to start that process they must decide to trust each other. They save money together, starting with a few cents a week. Slowly as their group savings grows so do new friendships and a sense of community. That is the first step to peace.
On the day the groups meets to contribute their savings they get a lesson. They learn how Values like honesty and love can bring harmony to their lives. They learn about conflict management, problem solving, and addressing domestic violence. As they use these lessons they witness change in their community.
Their group learns about democratic process and elects a leader. These leaders get leadership training from the Office, so that they can lead their groups, and lead community action initiatives. The leadership rotates every year, so soon every group has several trained leaders. All the neighborhood groups send a representative to the Peoples Intuition who coordinates community improvement throughout the whole slum. The leaders go on to use their experience in areas out side of thier groups. There are Office trained leaders on the school-boards, neighborhood committees and in local governance. Slowly they act to stop the harassment of their daughters and encourage working children to attend school.
After 10 years of work in Dhaka, the Office will graduate it's first slum in 2007. The groups in Begunbari slum will continue to work to change their lives and communities. They will keep saving money to improve their situation, and will continue to look after the children who are malnourished. The Begunbari groups see signs of new peace in their community. Within their groups and in their neighborhoods there is time tested trust. Building relationships and following values benefits them as much as their new businesses. It is a slow process, but seeing the result is exciting and life changing.
The office and the Begunbari Peoples Institution feel that the local leadership is strong enough to continue in this task without the daily assistance of our staff. Thus Begunbari field will graduate, freeing the office staff in Begunbari to begin working in a new area.
Please pray for Begunbari slum leaders as they continue in their good work. Pray for our staff as they begin work in the new slum. Pray for wisdom as they encourage people to join together. It is challenging to keep group unity, build trust and seek peace.
"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you; I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (John 14:27) At Christmas we celebrate the coming of the Prince of Peace. It is with confidence, not arrogance, that we can bring Jesus' peace.
Thank you for partnering with me as we bring this message,
Walekum-asalaam.
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