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CYNTHIA'S TALE: CRISIS OF FAITH
(Extracted from a letter by Joab Othatcher - Easter, 2004)

Its important to share with you a few Easter Stories from our children and girls here at TEMAK. I called little Cynthia today while she was just preparing to leave for her Easter holiday to find out from her what Easter is all about and what meaning she attaches to Easter.

Cynthia is one of our child rape victims: at the age of 10, she was brutally raped by her father's friend a month ago. The act tore through her and she had to go for surgery, the effects of which can still be seen as Cynthia walks. Cynthia was referred to us by the Government's Department of Children for care and rehabilitation. In one month of care and counseling on a daily basis, Cynthia has shown marked improvement. She however has a long way to go in shaking off the experience of that day. Our prayer is that she will recover well enough to go back to school next term.

In her cute little smile, she turned around to answer my question and the first words that came out of her mouth were that Easter has no meaning if she is not going to come to TEMAK. Staying in their house was totally scaring as she says. The rapist was her father's best friend and Cynthia says when she sees her father, she sees the friend and imagines that he is just about to enter the house. Cynthia feels the rapist should be killed. She has no sympathy for him at all and keeps wondering why he is still alive.

With bitterness and tears in her eyes, she goes on to narrate how her sister made a comment about her being infected with HIV. She of course contracted an STD during the ordeal. "This is why I want him killed," she emphasizes.

In my mind I started imagining the agony and pain Cynthia has been going through after the rape ordeal. She has became so fearful; darkness makes her anxious and she does not sleep much. Any loud noise scares her to death and the presence of a man around her makes her very uneasy. Every door in the house must be opened when she is indoors for she fears closed doors and life to her has no meaning. Their house haunts her and she keeps asking why Dad cannot get another house.

I looked at her in the eyes and told her of the price Jesus paid on the cross this Easter for people like the rapist to have a chance to repent and change and receive forgiveness of Sins if they receive Jesus Christ. I had not finished my little sermon when she interjected sharply and said that If Jesus died for such people, then she does not want any relationship with Jesus. Every Pastoral counselor would get concerned at the mention of such words and so was I.

Help is what i needed and it comes in handy at times like this in the form of my wife Philomena. We sat under a tree in the compound to talk more to Cynthia as she opened up and told us how she is contemplating suicide and how she feels so useless in the eyes of all her friends. So painful was the conversation that we all let ourselves cry which we rarely do in such circumstances. A bright girl's life had been ruined, her goals shattered.

We prayed together, i must confess with bitter hearts, to God. I remember asking God in my prayer where he was when all this was taking place and why He couldn't stop it and that if He is the Lord of justice, then justice should be done. I felt the powerful presence of the Holy Sprit around us as we prayed and as we calmed down, we all stared at one another as if to say we need more of this. I gave a suggestion to Cynthia to join us at our house for Easter and she gladly accepted.

We had planned to have a peaceful Easter in our rural village alone as a family but God had his own Easter plans and that is to minister to this little soul. That's what we will do this Easter.

I thank God for all of you who have supported our ministry in Prayer, in Kind, Financially and through letters of encouragement. Thank you all for sharing our ministry burdens with others. It is through your prayers, giving and encouragement that God is using us. May he give you a Ministering burden this Easter.

Joab and Philomena
TEMAK Ministries
4/29/2004

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