Tragedy Like Tidal Waves

I was getting my nails done this afternoon when news of the bombing in Boston broke. Like many nail salons, the person filing and painting is Asian. As we listened to the news report, I said, "I cannot imagine living in a place where violence like this is commonplace." She agreed and then began to tell me about where she is from - Cambodia. The country is run by a dictator who oppresses the people. He takes foreign aid and never gives it to his people. He takes what he wants, including women, by force. Those who disagree often end up "missing." Those who escape do what they can to help their family. Those who talk too much or post negative things to social media sites while in other countries have bounties placed on their heads. When visiting heads of state come the homeless are rounded up and dropped in the woods. Some never make it back to the city.

As if all this isn't horrific enough, human trafficking is rampant. Poor families sell their daughters into prostitution so they can get money to eat. Others are just stolen and trafficked. The worst story I was told today was of a brothel that specialized in girls as young as five years old. The brothel was finally raided and the little girls still alive were rescued by an international organization. The owners of the brothel were Americans. American men who brought their money, paid the government to look the other way, and exploited little girls. Of course there are plenty of Cambodian men who do the same.

We've all heard these stories on the Internet, at a conference, or some other medium. Those cause me to feel sad. There is something quite different when you hear it from a person who saw it. Who lived there. It's gut wrenching.

I left the salon and cried in my car. People setting off bombs in Boston. People trafficking children in Cambodia. People believing that there is no hope and committing suicide. I don't understand how people can conclude that no evil exists. I look around at this brokenness and wonder when Jesus will come back and make all things new.

And that really is the only thing that will solve these problems. Jesus in lives now and Jesus coming back. He really is the only hope. Maranatha - come Lord Jesus!!