They're Yours

Earlier I blogged about Ghost day. I think I failed to really understand it then. Apparently, that was only one day out of a month of celebrating "Our kind brothers" (ghosts). That was the biggest day, where they put out the most food and go indoors early. Now it is the end of "ghost month" and the air is filled with sounds of parading and fire works. There is a big parade of religious people who walk alongside big float like vehicles which look like temples on wheels. Naomi and I went on a bike ride yesterday and ran into the tail end of this parade. There were many, many people out. Mostly men in some sort of temple uniform and there were a lot of old people standing outside their homes waving incense, burning paper money or bowing in worship to these ghosts and to their gods. It was a sobering sight, but that didn't compare with the pain of realization I experienced when I saw my third grade student out there with his mom. MY student. This dark religion, this worship of ghosts isn't just something the old people do because of tradition. It is something they believe and they drag the younger generation into it. It shouldn't happen with my students, but the reality is...this is life without Jesus. I took this picture today through my window. It was placed outside of the car repair shop I live at. It is an offering of fruit to the ghosts. on the left side of the table are stacks of paper money. They burn this money to give to the ghosts. Shortly after taking this picture I saw what was maybe the saddest thing of my life. I saw my dear mama bowing and waving incense and then my dear sweet little Abby bowing in obeisance to WHAT? Demons? ghosts? darkness? God?
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give them eternal life: and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them to me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand." John 10:17-19