Letter from Jon, July 2025 

 I will not fear, I will not be afraid
For my God is always by my side
In all my life, in everything I need
I know my God, He will provide
For his grace is everything I need
And his faithfulness to me is sure
And I know that when this life is over
He will take my hand and lead me home
 
 
Dear Liberty Family and Friends
 
These are the words of the song we sang together last Sunday, a paraphrase of a Rwandan hymn we heard sung many times on our visit.  The words speak of trusting in God to protect and provide even when life is very hard, as it is for the mums we met on our trip.  These women had endured incredible suffering in their lives, many with no family to turn to, many who had experienced violence, trauma and extreme poverty.  Yet when they came together to worship they did so with passion and joy, and there was such a sense of hope in their singing, their dancing and their prayers.
 
I am reminded of the woman who came to Jesus in Luke 7 whilst he was dining at the home of Simon the pharisee.  The woman stands behind Jesus weeping, wetting his feet with her tears, wiping them with her hair, kissing his feet and then pouring expensive perfume over them.  Simon is shocked that Jesus allows this woman, a sinful woman, to do this.  Doesn't he know who she is?  But Jesus is well aware of who the woman is and what Simon is thinking and asks Simon a question.  Two people were in debt to a moneylender, one owed 500 denarii and the other 50.  Neither could afford to repay and so the moneylender cancelled both debts.  Jesus asks Simon which of these people would love the moneylender more and Simon correctly replies, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven".  Jesus then makes the comparison with Simon and the woman.  The truth is that both Simon and the woman were sinners and both in need of forgiveness, but the woman's actions demonstrated a love and gratitude to Jesus born out of an understanding of her desperate need of a Saviour, of one who could rescue her.  She was extravagant in her love and generosity towards Jesus whereas Simon, a pharisee, would have already considered himself righteous.
 
In the same way I found myself humbled by the worship and adoration of these mums.  They were poor in so many ways and yet there was a richness of faith, of trust, of depending only on Jesus.  They knew what it was like to come from utter hopelessness and despair into a community of light, of hope, of love and freedom, and their gratitude was obvious.
 
I wouldn't want any of us to suffer the way these women have suffered but my prayer is that we would truly grasp the enormity of our salvation, that we have been brought from death to life, from despair to hope, and that our worship and our devotion to Jesus would increasingly reflect the joy of the good news of Jesus Christ
 
Love and blessings
 
Jon