The Absent Party, Dec 4

Who dat? Yeah it's me (again). I'm running this benefit-birthday party for the Dalits in India. You might know them as the Untouchables in India. Actually, there are also Unapproachables and Unseeables. The Unapproachables have to keep at least 33 feet away from the higher caste people; and the Unseeables may only come out at between sunset and sunrise. "Dalit" has Sanskrit and Latin origins; in Sanskrit it means 'broken, crushed, oppressed'.

Joseph D. Souza comes to speak at Marcus' church each year, and this year he told a story of how this Dalit girl needed the bathroom so bad she took the fastest route to it even though she knew that route was for higher castes - the Dalits had to take a longer path. When she came out of the bathroom, she was burnt alive.

During summer, this teenage Dalit boy got severely electrocuted accidentally. His relatives rushed him to the hospital after he got hurt. And guess what? He died right there waiting for treatment because the hospital was apparently not legislated to treat Dalits.

This party will be held in conjunction with my 21st birthday (which was earlier this month). Anyone is free to come: there'll be free food and live music. You are NOT SUPPOSED to bring any birthday presents for me. Instead, please give the money to the Dalits instead. 100% of the money will go to O.M. India via O.M. Singapore. O.M. India works directly with the Dalits in India, providing microloans (92% success rate), education, legal advocacy, and vocational training for many Dalits in India. Most importantly, they tell the Dalits about JESUS, who truly sets them free with truth. A quarter of the people in India are Dalits, and I've heard of how O.M. India staff sometimes go without food for a few days because they are underfunded (relatively, when you think of the 1600 million people who need help).

Numerous people think this is a great idea, and I only have God to thank for it. Now I'm feeling for the first time what it means to run a slightly bigger errand on behalf of Someone Else. God is letting me run his party, and there could be so many more eligible candidates for this but...he's letting me run this for his Kingdom! Of course, I want to give this party my best. It's really great to know I'm not overstressed out by God's high expectations, because I know that if he wants me to run his party, he will also provide the best. I have faith that he is.

I posted this last spring but I'll put it up here again.

Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter.
If you say, "But we knew nothing about this," does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who guards your life know it?
Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?
Proverbs 24:11-12

He will defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; he will crush the oppressor.
Psalm 52:4