Saimme Bezuneshilta huolellisen raportin sekä työsuunnitelman. Kuten tulet huomaamaan, tämä nainen on ottanut tehtävänsä tosissaan ja panostaa toimintaansa paljon. Olen todella iloinen siitä, että saimme juuri hänet tähän tehtävään!
Itselleni oli pienoinen järkytys lukea, että Etiopiassa on paljon kristittyjä yhteisöjä jotka silpovat tyttöjä Raamatun ja kristinuskon Jumalan nimissä. Onkin hienoa, että Bezunesh on koulutettu teologi ja osaa perustella heille asiansa Raamattuun vedoten. Tämän työsuunnitelman perusteella on myös helppo nähdä, että kulttuurista asennemuutosta ei tehdä noin vain. Toivomme Bezuneshin työlle kaikkea hyvää!
I will bring a very good work report again in
Kambata area. I visited different churches for three days from August
23-25/2012. I think you wait the report of Bale area but I can not to
go there because the condition does not allow me now. I will
try to go there another time. Here is the report of Kambata area, a
work report in good way. I decided to add a short general background
of Kambata people because it is important to know where it is found
in Ethiopia and to introduce where the harmful traditional female
genital mutilation (FGM) was started and experienced.
The people of kambata are living in the South
Nation, on the tip of rift valley around mount Ambaricho between the
two rivers Bilate River in the east and Omo River in the western
southwest Ethiopia. Its capital town Durame is 352km far from Addis
Ababa towards the south and 125km from Awassa towards the west. The
people are living in six Woredas of Kambata Tembaro Zone.
Female Genital Mutilation is long aged harmful practice throughout
the history of the people at the area. The traditional circumcision
of Kambata shares similarity with the neighboring peoples of Hadiya,
Halaba, Silte, Tembaro and Wolayta. In Kambata the christian
community has been practicing female genital mutilation (FGM) for
many years as biblical based practice.
After this short background I want to show what I
done this time:
Title:
Christian Freedom
(Galatians 5:1-15)
"For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."
Under the main topic there are three subtitles which are:
A) Christian freedom from eternal death
B) Christian freedom from the bondage of unbiblical
Law
C) Christian freedom from the bondage of
circumcision
Based on this text I taught different women groups
in different churches in Kambata area. They are in number above 50
women. My focus is on Christian freedom from the bondage of
circumcision and especially I told strongly about female genital
mutilation of harmful practice in connecting with Paul’s teaching
to Galatian christians.
For example the slavery of Israelites under the
bondage of Egyptian is not the Israelites need. Like this female
genital mutilation is a kind of a cultural slavery which hurts the
body of the person. This may contribute to the spiritual part somehow. According to our Bible teaching circumcision is unnecessary
even for male for his salvation or sanctification. We can’t afford
spiritual quality by being circumcised. Female genital mutilation is
something which is developed within the human history but not from
the biblical point of view.
So that, we should follow what we learn from the
word of God and we must stand to stop this harmful traditional
practice and to save many women from this bondage.
After this I interviewed some educated and uneducated women
about FGM and they told me that they have lost many women through this
harmful practice: -When they gave birth they lost their life. So, this
experience must be erased from the life of women as what we now understand the reality of FGM from the word of God. As I understood
from this response, they are very interested to learn, to stop and to
become free from this harmful practice.
Therefore, for the farther time my work
proposal is as the following:
1. What are the challenges of women in Kambata
society among Christian community? To find and to search the response
for this question and to teach, it needs more than three months, but
I will try to conclude within 3 months.
2. One of the challenges is female genital
mutilation and how it affects women lives. Also it needs 1-2 month
work.
3. The Historical Background of FGM. It takes 1-4
weeks to teach.
4. Harmful Effects of FGM, it needs 1-2 months to
teach them.
4.1 Immediate
Complication
4.2 Long-Term
complication
5 Biblical and Theological Reasons against FGM,
to teach about it needs three months.
5.1 Biblical Reasons against
FGM
5.1.1
Circumcision in the Old Testament
5.1.2
Circumcision in the New Testament
5.2 Theological Reasons against FGM, also it is
1-3 months teaching
5.2.1 The Significance of Circumcision in Judaism
5.2.1.1 Ritual Significance
5.2.1.2 Metaphorical
5.2.1.3 Ethical
6 How the church against FGM from the lives of
women, again I need 3 months to teach within this topic.
I will continue my work according to this proposal
for future times. If you have any comment on my future proposal you
can comment and tell what you expect from my every three months work
report.
May God bless you and all of those who support me
financially and by giving different suggestions about what I do in my
area and out of Kambata area.
.
