My first day of work with the Jubilee Campaign was on Memorial Day. I was assigned to research the religious freedom of others in a communist country. The stark reality that they face every day made me so thankful to live in America, and so grateful for those who have served, fought, and died for the freedoms that we have. It was like God was saying to me, Jaclyn I’m going to have you research this on Memorial Day to remember how blessed you are to live in this country and how petty your problems are.
We are all blessed to live in a country where we are free to worship, host bible studies, and tell others about Jesus. There are people around the world who are killed daily because of their faith in Christ, and a lot of the time they are killed by their government or by angry mobs which the government does not stop or prosecute after the fact. We are all blessed and we should never forget that.
I’ve also researched some other countries during my first week that violate human rights every day. These governments have no regard for life, and it is obvious in the way they treat their citizens. The governments treat what they consider to be “lower class citizens” as slaves and animals. These people will never have the opportunity to rise above their situation like Americans do.
Although this all may seem bleak, I’ve also seen how God can bring his people together to fight for the oppressed. People who speak different languages, are twenty years or more apart in age, were born in different countries, have different political views, etc. all come together to fight for the injustice. There is not a single group of people or country that I’ve researched where someone is not fighting for the oppressed in some capacity. The reason I’m researching them is because someone cares enough to know.
God has blessed me with an amazing internship, amazing people to live with, and amazing people to work with. I’ve already learned so much, and I know I will learn much more. I cannot wait to see what else God is going to show and teach me.