Dear Supporters of CEDAR,
Poverty and injustice often result in “hopelessness”. One common goal of our projects is to restore hope. That is why I often ask our project participants this question – “What is your dream?”
For CEDAR and our local church partners, we also need to have dreams, because without dreams ourselves, we wouldn’t be effective in helping our project participants to re-gain hope. Few weeks ago, I was in Yangon, Myanmar, for a workshop with our partners to envision the future of their ministries as well as CEDAR’s. On the second day of the workshop, I led a devotion about “dream”, and I would like to share it with you here.
The dream portrayed in Isaiah 11:6-8 is an inconceivable one. Animals that are perceived to be strong and wild (wolf, leopard, calf, lion, bear, cobra and viper) live together with the tame livestock (lamb, goat, yearling, cow and ox) in harmony. Furthermore, “a little child” is providing leadership to this community. It is a picture of peace, a dream of Shalom. In a world ruled by the law of the jungle, this is a totally unimaginable scene. … But, is it not what Jesus has all the time been advocating? A world which does not follow our values and rules, but is centered in God’s sovereignty that His power could be revealed through the weak (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Though our partners in Myanmar are involved in different types of development projects, and so, might have various visions for the future of their ministries, Isaiah 11:6-8 remains as the common dream we all have to work towards for the country, which has suffered so much in the past century. … In fact, this is not only a dream for Myanmar, but one for the globe. God’s desire for a world of Shalom has been plainly said in the first part of the Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-10).
While we are working on our vision and strategy for Myanmar, we are also in the process of publishing a picture book with transformational stories about children that have experienced war in Myanmar. It should be ready after the summer break. Please keep an eye on our website and Facebook on the release!
Thank you for your partnership in bringing Shalom to the suffering people. Your prayer and financial support will allow us to reach out to many more who have lost hope because of poverty and injustice.
You brother,
Raymond Kwong