Beyond Life and Death

An encounter between two lives
By Tirzah

“Mom, I would like to be a real help to someone in a very special way.” Those were her last words.

In the summer of 2008, our daughter, Mei (short for Meilani), was struck by a car while jogging in Texas, ending her short life of 19 years on this earth. I know that life and death are beyond our control, but I never imagined that death could be so near and come so suddenly.

Every soul that was sent to this world with its mission is very precious, and nothing could ever take its place. Mei was a very special child. From the time she was little, she took care of her brothers and sister so well, teaching them school, playing with them; she was literally their second “mommy.” She loved them so much, and even when she was away from them, she’d often call to see how they were doing.

She read the Bible, and her love for God grew as she got older. She went through heartbreaks and battles in life, yet those seeming defeats turned into her stepping stones to understand others’ sufferings.

Mei was working as a secretary at a company for six months prior to her death. When my husband visited her boss after her passing, he told my husband how Mei had changed his life; that her love and concern for others, her cheerfulness, kindness, and humble spirit touched so many people’s lives. He said that Mei literally changed the whole company. When they heard about Mei’s death, they dedicated the whole month to honor her.

She was also working at a center for abused children at a hospital, and spent hours of her free time listening to and comforting children whose hearts were broken and hurt.

When my husband was in the States, he tried to find out who the driver involved in the accident was, but the authorities wouldn’t reveal the name. All we knew was that the driver was a young girl who had just graduated from high school and that she was a good student. After my husband came back from the States, we kept thinking about the driver. So we called the police department again and this time we got the information.

I was overwhelmed by different emotions. Frustration, anger, deep sorrow, and regret swept over me, and I was tossed by big waves of agony. The more I struggled, the deeper I went. I got so desperate that I cried out to God to help me. That’s when I saw Mei and the girl in a vision, and thought, What if the situation were reversed? What if I had been the driver? Wouldn’t I want forgiveness?

I remembered the story in the Bible where a woman who committed sin was brought before Jesus and was about to be stoned. Jesus said, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one. Then Jesus said to this woman, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and sin no more.”1

My husband and I made the decision to forgive. We wrote the young driver a letter expressing our prayers and forgiveness toward her. And when she wrote back, we were thrilled to see the Lord’s hand and a marvelous plan in the situation.

I would like to share an excerpt of her letter here.



I just want to say that I am so terribly sorry for what happened. I know that it doesn’t help all that much now but I just wanted you to know that even though I didn’t know Meilani, I’ve mourned her all the same, as if she were someone I knew. In a way I feel connected to her as if I have known her all my life. It’s silly because I don’t know anything about her, but I would like to.

You have no idea just how much your letter meant to me. I’ve been agonizing for weeks about how I should write to you and how I would begin, but never could find the courage to do it. Your letter was a blessing to me and my family. You also do not know just how happy I was to hear that you and your family believe in the Lord. I have prayed (along with my entire family) countless times for your family, that God would give you peace and that you would be believers. I can only assume that Meilani was a Christian and I am so thankful to hear about that.

I can honestly say that I’m not completely okay. I’ve not completely moved on and neither do I think that I ever will. I don’t think I want to. Her memory will forever stay with me. I would like you to know that I now can say I am a completely different person after the accident. Sometimes I get angry with God and I wonder why this had to happen. Just to teach me something? I feel angry and I sometimes feel like it was too much.

But I want you to know that her death will not be in vain. I now cherish every day that I live. I now appreciate everything that God brings into my life, be it people, circumstances, good or bad, or anything else. I want you to know that I will always keep her close to my heart and now everything that I do, I do in dedication to her. Your daughter has changed my life. And I am so sorry that it had to be in this way. Like I said before, I sometimes still wrestle with the struggle of my anger and bitterness towards God about this whole situation. It doesn’t seem fair. And I am so sorry.

I know that I could not possibly mourn and suffer as much as you and your family. I would like to get to know Meilani and your family. If you would feel comfortable talking about her or anything else. I would also like to tell you about myself, so maybe you can better understand me and just how much your daughter has made an impact on my life. But that is all up to you.

I guess I just wanted you to know that your daughter’s death was not in vain, that everything wasn’t for nothing. The whole thing has touched me in a way that you cannot imagine. And I am so sorry that it had to happen. I’m sorry if this doesn’t really make much sense. Words just seem inadequate to describe what exactly I’m feeling. I just pray that God will help you to see what it is I’m trying to say.

Again, I’m sorry. But her memory will forever live on in my heart and in that of my family’s. It has altered my view of life and made me mature in a way that will be able to bless many more people to come. Be assured that we have mourned her here as if she was someone we knew. I still cry from time to time. My prayers go out to your family. And I thank you so much for your letter. Once again, I am so very very sorry.



After I wrote back to her about Mei, she wrote:



Words cannot truly describe just how much Mei has been an inspiration in my life. I feel like I have a good testimony and now I can use this experience to maybe help someone else. I wish I didn’t. But I won’t let her death be in vain. I won’t. I want people to know just how special and how wonderful a person she was, and I promise to use my gift of song to do that. I want people to know her life and to know her love of God. Maybe that’s why all of this happened. So that we together could help bless other people’s lives and help them to come to know God. It’s funny, I still feel like I’ve known her all my life, now more so that I know more about her. But I guess it just helps to feel like Mei and I are working for God together. You’re right when you say you feel her spirit; even though I didn’t know her, it’s as if she’s with me too.

Thank you for sharing with me some of your memories of Mei. I can’t say I fully see God’s plan for my life or why any of this had to happen. I’m sorry it did. I don’t think I ever will stop being sorry. But I want you to know just how much Mei has taught me. She has taught me to never take life for granted. It seems as if she lived her life to its fullest, and I want to do the same. She’s taught me to never put limits on love. She loved many people. I hope that I can become as loving as her. She’s taught me to always put trust in God, whether we understand Him or not. It’s not about understanding God, it’s about trusting and putting faith in Him, and day by day I’m learning to do that more and more.

That song “Praise You in this Storm” by Casting Crowns is my favorite song. It talks about praising God even when it’s storming. I’ve learned that even in the bad you have to learn to trust Him and praise Him and have faith that He will get you out. That He knows what He’s doing and where you’re going. Mei taught me to do that. I don’t know how ... but she has. When I feel like I’m mad at God or want to turn my back, I won’t be able to. It would be an insult to Mei and her life if I did. She lived her life for Him, and from now on I will too.

Thank you again for your letter about Mei. I hope to maybe hear more. Know that I continue to pray for your family. And I am so sorry. But just know that Mei’s life will be remembered and her love for God will be remembered.
Thank you and God bless your family.



We also received a letter from her mother. It was comforting and amazing.



You will never know the profound impact your letter to J. had on all of us, but most of all on J.! We all mourned Meilani’s death like she was one of our own, and our hearts went out to you, her family, but it was tearing J. apart. She had nightmares and tremendously anguished moments where she cried and cried with heart wrenching sobs. At other times she felt a connection to Meilani, almost like she had been her best friend and she had lost her.

She grieved for the life Meilani wouldn’t get to live, felt guilty that she would live on and Meilani would not. She wondered if Meilani had had a rich, full life, had she fallen in love, did she have brothers and sisters, etc. She longed to contact her family, to tell you how terribly sorry she felt. You have brought peace to her heart and comfort beyond words and so much more, when you revealed to us that she was a Christian and she’d gone to heaven to be with the Lord.

I want to tell you something that maybe will bring comfort to your hearts. Right after the accident, it was as if God sent angels all around. One lady gathered all the people she could, to form a circle around Meilani to pray for her. A boy who was a witness to the accident, and also a Christian, stayed near J. to comfort her, and a lady put her hands on J.’s head and prayed for her so powerfully that it shook me to my soul. The only way I can describe it is that God sent angels to minister to His beloved children. Meilani was not alone; she had a whole host of Christian brothers and sisters around her. How precious is our Lord!

God bless you for following your heart and making contact with J., and as her mother I thank you from the depths of my heart.

Ever since J. was very small, she has been blessed with the gift of song. There was hardly a moment she didn’t sing or hum, and as she got older she realized that this was the career she wanted to follow. She has had many successes, but our “little songbird” was silenced when she “met” Meilani. She could not bring herself to sing; she could not find joy in it anymore. As we watched her suffer and struggle, we wondered if she would abandon her song forever. One night she came in to our room and said that she would not stop singing, that she would dedicate her singing to Meilani. Now when she sings, there is a depth to her music that was not there before.

She has longed to know everything she can about Meilani, and I don’t know if it would be too painful for you to talk to her about Meilani, but if it would be something that would soothe and comfort you, she would be eager to hear it.

Thank you once again for showing God’s love to J. through the letter that you sent her, and may God richly bless and comfort you and your family.



I know now how deep the sorrow is when you lose your child, how difficult it is. But I have also experienced the comfort, peace, and inner healing that comes from forgiveness in spite of pain. Forgiveness not only pulls the one guilty out of hell and gives them hope and courage to live their life again, but it is also a lifesaver for those who are at the giving end.

Though forgiving won’t change the past, it can change the future. Just like it takes a while for a deep wound to heal, it is the same for healing of the heart. I still struggle emotionally and sometimes go under the waves of sorrow. But I believe the wounds will heal completely someday, though the scar will remain, and that with the magic potion of forgiveness, it will heal up without any infection.

Mei has left the physical plane, but she is still very much alive in the spiritual one. She has just stepped into a different dimension. She tells me that heaven is a wonderful place to be and that she is very happy. She also told me that it wasn’t an accident that she had left our side. It was not some cruel twist of fate. Many pieces of a great, beautiful, and marvelous puzzle were at play. Many pieces are unknown to us at present, but some things we will come to understand and see as time goes on. And we will know that God truly does all things well, and His ways are perfect and entire, lacking nothing.

“All things work together for good” is one of my favorite verses from the Bible.2 When we try to find some silver lining even in a bad situation, believing that God has a special plan in allowing it, then hardships and battles can turn into beautiful experiences, because we can learn and grow from them, and will be able to help others who are in a similar situation.

I clung to this promise for dear life when I lost Mei. Though I couldn’t see or find any silver lining, I trusted that God would bring something good out of it. Maybe one of the good things that came out of it was that through this incident, God has brought us and J. and her family close to each other. The more we get to know each other, the more we feel that we’ve known them for a long time. It’s funny to say this, but there is a strong bond between us.

When I go out at night and close my eyes, I feel Mei very close. And she tells me, “Mom, don’t worry! Everything is going to work out all right!” Yes, I have my angel with me. Mei is now my link to heaven.

This little seed, Mei, has fallen to the ground, and will bring forth much more fruit—in our lives, the kids’ lives, J. and her family’s lives, and in the lives of those who knew and loved Mei—because there is a God who knows, loves, cares, and who is powerfully at work within the lives of His children.

Originally published August 2009. Adapted and republished March 2014.


1 See John 8:3–11.

2 Romans 8:28.

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Frustrated With the Pace of Change, Rioters Storm Parliament Building in Libya

By David D. Kirkpatrick, NY Times, March 2, 2014

CAIRO—Dozens of armed rioters stormed into the Libyan Parliament in Tripoli on Sunday, setting fire to the grounds, looting furniture and wounding a prominent lawmaker in a spasm of anger at the clotted and chaotic transition after the ouster of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.

Less than two weeks after a vote to elect an assembly charged with writing a new constitution, the bedlam at Parliament dampened hopes of renewed momentum for the transition, or even of a break from the violence. Security guards outside the building encouraged the rioters, witnesses said, and looters running amok suspended the symbolic white chair of the parliamentary leader from a lamppost. Later, they set the chair on fire.

In Benghazi, Libya, at least three people were killed by gunshots, according to news reports, adding to an accelerating pattern of assassinations of former Qaddafi security officers and foreigners. Together, the events appeared to suggest that the newly elected constitutional assembly may face a race to finish its work before the country comes apart at the seams; it is already dogged by doubts about a turnout of less than 15 percent of the electorate and incomplete elections—disrupted by violence—that left 13 of 60 seats unfilled.

In Tripoli, the capital, the riot was kindled by impatience with the three-year-old transition.

Libya’s transitional Parliament had once pledged to disband by Feb. 7, 2014, but it expected the drafting of the constitution to have been completed by then. Now lawmakers are heatedly debating plans and schedules for some new system of early elections that might replace the legislature and government while the constitution is finished.

But outside the parliament building, continuous protests have been demanding the immediate dissolution of the chamber, even without a ready replacement.

By Saturday, protesters set up a tent blocking the entrance. In response, witnesses said, gunmen who appeared to be supporting the Parliament—possibly from rival militias—attacked the small sit-in, reportedly arresting or kidnapping activists. Some witnesses also reported gunfire.

When two protesters were returned unharmed at about 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, an angry crowd of about 75 was waiting, said Rawad Radwan, 23, a blogger who was there and filmed some of the events. As dusk settled, some fired guns in celebration, the crowd grew to a few hundred, and some of them started running for the Parliament, he said.

Witnesses said the Parliament’s security guards seemed to cheer on the protesters. “There were security guards, but they did not do anything,” Mr. Radwan said. “I heard one say, ‘Just go in—we are with you guys,’ “ he continued, suggesting that the Parliament “is not protected by the right people.”

The only resistance came from protesters intent on remaining peaceful, two witnesses said. “I saw people breaking into cars and looting stuff while other protesters were trying to prevent them from doing this, but it was really hard to stand against those thieves,” Mr. Radwan said.

News reports citing Libyan officials said that at least two lawmakers were shot as they tried to flee. One was Abdul Rahman al-Swehli of Misurata, who was said to be hospitalized but not critically injured.

Benghazi has been dealing with a low-grade guerrilla war between Islamist militants and security forces that defected from the former Qaddafi government. The security forces are now the closest thing to an army, and they have been facing a growing campaign of assassinations and bombings by Islamist militants for months.

In addition to an officer in the security forces, the victims killed on Sunday included a French citizen and an Egyptian, according to Libyan news reports.

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Interview: Karzai says 12-year Afghanistan war has left him angry at U.S. government

By Kevin Sieff, Washington Post, March 2, 2014

KABUL—Hamid Karzai was in the midst of negotiating a security agreement with the United States when he met a 4-year-old girl who had lost half her face in an American airstrike.

Five months later, the Afghan president’s eyes welled with tears as he described visiting the disfigured little girl at a hospital. He took long pauses between words. Sitting behind his desk Saturday night, the man who has projected a defiant image toward the West suddenly looked frail.

“That day, I wished she were dead, so she could be buried with her parents and brothers and sisters”—14 of whom had been killed in the attack—he said.

In an unusually emotional interview, the departing Afghan president sought to explain why he has been such a harsh critic of the 12-year-old U.S. war effort here. He said he’s deeply troubled by all the casualties he has seen, including those in U.S. military operations. He feels betrayed by what he calls an insufficient U.S. focus on targeting Taliban sanctuaries in Pakistan. And he insists that public criticism was the only way to guarantee an American response to his concerns.

To Karzai, the war was not waged with his country’s interests in mind.

“Afghans died in a war that’s not ours,’ he said in the interview, his first in two years with a U.S. newspaper.

In Karzai’s mind, al-Qaeda is “more a myth than a reality” and the majority of the United States’ prisoners here were innocent. He’s certain that the war was “for the U.S. security and for the Western interest.”

Such statements elicit scorn and shock from U.S. officials, who point out that Americans have sacrificed mightily for Afghanistan—losing more than 2,000 lives and spending more than $600 billion in the effort to defeat al-Qaeda and the Taliban and rebuild the country.

Some Americans call Karzai a delusional leader, an ally who became an adversary during the 12 years of his presidency.

In the latest blowup, he has refused for months to sign a security agreement that his government had negotiated with the United States that would permit a residual U.S. force to remain here beyond 2014. He has added several new demands in exchange for signing the deal.

But in a phone call with Karzai last week, President Obama said he will accept having the winner of Afghanistan’s April presidential elections sign the pact. Karzai indicated that he views that as a best-case scenario. He won’t have to submit to U.S. demands—such as the continuation of counter­terrorism operations—but the popular security agreement will probably still be finalized.

“It’s good for them to sign it with my successor,” the Afghan leader said.

On the security agreement, as with several other issues, Karzai’s antagonistic approach seems to have succeeded, in the sense that he has forced U.S. officials to move deadlines—and even to reshape policy.

His strong criticism of the civilian casualties caused by American attacks, for example, forced the U.S. military to revise its tactics, producing a dramatic decline in the number of noncombatants killed by American forces (although Taliban-inflicted casualties have increased).

His demands that the United States hand over the Bagram prison were eventually met, allowing Karzai last month to release dozens of high-profile detainees despite U.S. protests. Those experiences reaffirmed his conviction that public criticism of the United States is often his most effective diplomatic tool.

“I had no other weapon to resort to, no other means to resort to, but to speak publicly and get attention that way. In other words, I was forced to yell,” he said.

Karzai reiterated that he will not manipulate the April 5 presidential election. He has told his older brother to withdraw his candidacy to avoid the perception of interference. Qayum Karzai has refused, but he acknowledges what most Afghans believe:

“Without the president’s support, it will be impossible to win,” Qayum said.

Every day, candidates and elders plead for Hamid Karzai’s backing, pouring into his office and calling his aides as the election nears. Although his influence on the U.S. war effort is waning, he has never been more relevant, or at least more talked about, in Afghan political circles.

“People do come to me, a lot of people, every day rather. Groups of people, individuals—they ask me” for support, Karzai said.

Now that he has decided to leave office, he is reckoning with the same question that many Americans are asking: Was the war worth it?

“I am of two hearts here. When I see good, I am in approval. When I see the losses of Afghan people, our children, maimed and killed, I’m in disapproval,” he said, speaking in English. “Maybe I can give you an answer of yes or no two, three or five years from now, when my emotions have subsided. Right now, I’m full of emotions.”

Karzai is at his most emotional—and most hostile—when civilian casualties occur. Even his critics don’t doubt the sincerity of his feelings, although they might disagree with his conclusions.

He said Afghanistan’s “common cause” with the United States dissipated because of such casualties. He has also said that U.S. forces should have done more to target Taliban sanctuaries in Pakistan, rather than conduct operations in Afghan villages.

Karzai denied that he’s more vocal about U.S.-inflicted civilian casualties than those caused by the Taliban. But he has done little to dispel that characterization.

During a visit to the White House in 2010, he carried a photo of what he described as a family whose members were “just gazing with fright and fear” during a U.S.-led night operation. He showed it to Obama.

“I said, ‘President, this is what I’m trying to end, the intimidation of Afghan families at night, in the name of fighting the Taliban.’?”

Asked about Obama’s response, Karzai shrugged, indicating it was unsatisfactory. Then he said: “So we are really an angry people.”

One criticism of Karzai is that his anger has interfered with his ability to govern a country whose institutions have grown exponentially since he took office. Thanks primarily to the U.S. effort, Afghanistan now has a large security force and bureaucracy.

As U.S. funding tapers off, Karzai’s successor will have to keep those institutions alive on a much slimmer budget.

“Foreign assistance brought an expensive way of life to Afghanistan,” Karzai said. “This way of life is not sustainable. Afghanistan has to live by its means.”

Specifically, that means a smaller army built based on “efficiency and affordability,” Karzai said.

But without foreign funding, it’s unclear whether Afghanistan could afford an army that could keep the Taliban at bay. Maintaining Afghan forces at their current size will cost about $4 billion per year. In 2013, the Afghan government collected only $1.7 billion in revenue.

After leaving office, Karzai won’t go far: The government has built him a house a few miles from the presidential palace.

But before he steps down, Karzai has a few more messages to convey to his American partners. As he escorted two Washington Post journalists out of his office Saturday evening, he said: “To the American people, give them my best wishes and my gratitude. To the U.S. government, give them my anger, my extreme anger.”

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Despite its problems, Ukraine is a prize for Russia, Europe

By Will Englund, Washington Post, March 2, 2014

KIEV, Ukraine—Ukraine is in agony. In its 22 years of sovereignty, it has never had political leadership that could foster a national feeling among all Ukrainians. The previous, pro-Russian government was reviled by those who saw it as little more than an organized criminal gang. The new, pro-European government, propelled into power by the demonstrations in Kiev’s central square, has given those Ukrainians who opposed the protests very little reason to have confidence in it. The new government’s swift downgrading of the status of the Russian language made it appear to many that this was just another case of one clan taking power from another—and probably getting ready to snatch the spoils.

Ukraine spent 2013 dealing with the need to resolve a choice of its own making: whether to lean toward Europe or Russia. Both Europe and Russia showed keen interest in the outcome, and each tried to gain the upper hand. The result is today’s crisis.

But, given Kiev’s evident dysfunction, why were outsiders so interested in Ukraine?

Russia
* President Vladimir Putin wanted Ukraine to be part of his new Eurasian Economic Union, based in Moscow. If Kiev signed on with the European Union, thus reducing trade barriers to Europe, it would have scotched Putin’s plan.

* Part of the ideology behind the Eurasian union is that Russia and its neighbors have a different value system than the West. Putin has been pushing that idea hard. It contains a thinly veiled ethnic appeal, to fellow eastern Slavs. If Ukraine joined Europe, and prospered while abiding by European values, that would contradict Russia’s contentions.

* Russia feared that if Ukraine and the EU reduced trade barriers, European companies would use Ukraine as a conduit for flooding the Russian market. (Russian tariffs for Ukraine are lower than they are for Europe)

* Integration with Europe might be a prelude to integration with NATO, which Putin would see as a disaster. Russia bases its Black Sea fleet in Crimea; it would be unthinkable to maintain that base if Ukraine joins NATO.

* Much of the natural gas that Russia sells to Europe flows across Ukraine, and Russia’s state-owned Gazprom would very much like to gain control of Ukraine’s pipeline system.

* Putin was not a fan of ousted president Viktor Yanukovych, and he apparently decided that the way to handle him was to smother him in the Kremlin’s embrace.

* Standing up for ethnic Russians abroad—millions live in Ukraine—is good politics at home.

The downside: Russian dominance of Ukraine would force Moscow to deal with extremely strong anti-Russian feeling among a significant part of the population.

The European Union
* Poland was the most enthusiastic proponent of the Ukraine trade deal. Polish leaders believed that it would lead to having a competently managed, largely democratic, non-corrupt nation as a neighbor. And that, they thought, would be better for Poland than the Ukraine that currently exists.

* Many in Europe—and in the United States—saw Ukraine as a nation not yet fully formed, and worried that without assistance toward becoming one it could turn into a flash point of East-West tension. (They were right.)

* The EU has launched a legal case to force Gazprom to divest itself of pipelines feeding Europe. Allowing Gazprom to assume control of Ukraine’s pipeline system would be a step backward.

* European leaders were also not fans of Yanukovych, and they decided that the way to handle him was to smother him in their embrace.

* European leaders are not fond of Putin. Denying him control of Ukraine might take him down a peg or two.

The downside: Owning Ukraine’s myriad problems.

So what’s their prize?
* For Russia: Putin offered Ukraine a $15 billion bailout in the fall. He had committed $3 billion by the time Yanukovych’s government came undone. That’s a write-off, but Russia gets to keep the other $12 billion.

* For Ukraine: The country is appealing to the EU and the International Monetary Fund for short-term and long-term loans. They will most likely be forthcoming, and for far more than $15 billion.

* For Ukraine: The Ukrainian people will have to bear the austerity that comes with the international assistance.

* For the West: They will be blamed for the austerity.

* For Russia: It may decide to keep control of Crimea. It will gain Russia plenty of enmity in Ukraine—and elsewhere.

The really big downside: All bets are off if the Crimea crisis leads to war.

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Putin speaks out about Ukraine! Full Interview

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Deploying military force is last resort. Putin

s last resort, but we reserve right
Published time: March 04, 2014 10:49
Edited time: March 04, 2014 18:08Get short URL




Russian President Vladimir Putin (RIA Novosti / Alexey Nokolskiy)



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Russia will not go to war with the people of Ukraine, but will use its troops to protect citizens, if radicals with clout in Kiev now try to use violence against Ukrainian civilians, particularly ethnic Russians, Putin told the media.

Putin, who was given a mandate by the Russian senate to use military force to protect civilians in Ukraine, said there is no need for such an action yet.

Putin cited the actions of radical activists in Ukraine, including the chaining of a governor to a stage as public humiliation and the killing of a technician during an opposition siege of the Party of Regions HQ, as justification for Russia to be concerned for the lives and well-being of people in eastern and southern Ukraine.

Incidents like those are why Russia reserves the option of troop deployment on the table.

“If we see this lawlessness starting in eastern regions, if the people ask us for help – in addition to a plea from a legitimate president, which we already have – then we reserve the right to use all the means we possess to protect those citizens. And we consider it quite legitimate,” he said.

Russia is not planning to go to war with the Ukrainian people, Putin stressed, when a journalist asked if he was afraid of war. But Russian troops would prevent any attempts to target Ukrainian civilians, should they be deployed.

“We are not going to a war against the Ukrainian people,” he said. “I want you to understand it unambiguously. If we do take a decision, it would only be to protect Ukrainian citizens. Let anybody in the military dare, and they’d be shooting their own people, who would stand up in front of us. Shoot at women and children. I’d like to see anyone try and order such a thing in Ukraine.”

Putin dismissed the notion that the uniformed armed people without insignia who are currently present in Crimea are Russian soldiers. He said they are members of the Crimean self-defense forces and that they are no better equipped and trained than some radical fighters who took part in the ousting of Yanukovich.

He assured that the surprise military drills in Russia’s west which ended on Tuesday had nothing to do with the Ukrainian situation.




An attack of marines supported by combat vehicles during an exercise held by the Baltic Fleet coastal defense troops at the Pavenkovo training ground in the Kaliningrad region, March 2, 2014. (RIA Novosti / Igor Zarembo)


Sanction threats are counterproductive

Asked about criticism of Russia over its stance on Ukraine, Putin dismissed the accusations that Russia is acting illegitimately. He stated that even if Russia does use force in Ukraine, it would not violate international law.

At the same time he accused the United States and its allies of having no regard to legitimacy when they use military force in pursuit of their own national interests.

“When I ask them ‘Do you believe you do everything legitimately,’ they say ‘Yes.’ And I have to remind them about the US actions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, where they acted either without any UN Security Council mandate or through perverting a mandate, as was the case in Libya,” Putin said.

“Our partners, especially in the United States, always clearly formulate for themselves their geopolitical and national interests, pursue them relentlessly and then drag the rest of the world in, using the principle ‘You are either with us or against us.' And harass those who refuse to be dragged in,” he added.

As for the sanctions Russia faces over Ukraine, Putin said those threatening them should think of the consequences to themselves if they follow that path. In an interconnected world a country may hurt another country if it wishes, but it would be damaged too.

Threats are counterproductive in this situation, Putin warned. He added that if G8 members choose not to go to Sochi for a planned G8 summit, that would be up to them.
Putin sympathies with Maidan protesters, rejects coup

Putin stressed that the Ukrainian people had a legitimate reason to protest against Yanukovich’s power, considering the overwhelming corruption and other faults of his presidency.

But he objected to the illegitimate way his ouster took place, because it undermined the political stability in the country.

“I strictly object to this form [of transition of power] in Ukraine, and anywhere in the post-Soviet space. This does not help nurturing a culture of law. If someone is allowed to act this way, then everyone is allowed to. And this means chaos. That’s the worst thing that can happen to a country with an unstable economy and an unestablished political system,” Putin explained.



He said that while he personally was not fond of months-long streets protests as a means to pressure the government, he sympathized with the Maidan demonstration members, who were genuinely outraged with the situation in Ukraine.

But at the same time he warned that what happens in Ukraine now may be a replacement of one group of crooks with another, citing the appointments of certain wealthy businessmen with questionable reputations.

Asked about the presence of snipers during the violent confrontation in Kiev last month, Putin said he was not aware of any order from the Yanukovich government to use firearms against the protesters. He alleged that the shooters could have been provocateurs from one of the opposition forces. He added that what he was sure of is the fact that police officers were shot at with lethal arms during the confrontation.

Yanukovich is certainly powerless in Ukraine, but legally speaking he is the legitimate president of the country, Putin said. The way the new authorities in Kiev replaced him did not enhance their credibility.



Asked if he felt for Yanukovich, Putin said “Oh, no. I have absolutely different feelings.” But he declined to publicly explain what those were. He also refrained from commenting on what mistakes he saw in Yanukovich’s actions, explaining that it would not be proper for him to do so.

At the same time Putin does not see any political future for Yanukovich, which he told the ousted Ukrainian president himself. He added that Russia allowed him to come to its territory for humanitarian reasons, because if he remained in Ukraine he could have been summarily executed.




Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych arrives for his press-conference in southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, on February 28, 2014. (AFP Photo / Andrey Kronberg)


Equal participation in Ukraine's future for all Ukrainians

The Russian government is currently engaging with the self-proclaimed govern of Ukraine with the goal of preserving economic ties between the two countries. However, any normal relations would only be possible after Ukraine has fully legitimate branches of government, Putin said. He considers that he has no counterpart in Kiev now, so he personally has no partner to communicate with.

The Russian president stressed that Russia wants to see equal participation of all citizens of Ukraine in defining the future of the country. The resistance to the authorities in Kiev, which is evident currently in the eastern and southern Ukraine, shows clearly that currently Kiev does not have a nationwide mandate to govern the country.

“Frankly, they should adopt a new constitution through a referendum so that all citizens of Ukraine feel engagement in that process, have an input on the formation of the new principles of how their nation should function,” Putin suggested. “That’s certainly not for us, but for the Ukrainians and the Ukrainian authorities to decide this way or another. I believe after legitimate government is formed, after a new president elected, after a new parliament is elected, they should return to this.”

Russia will be watching the planned presidential election in Ukraine, Putin said. If it is conducted in an atmosphere of terror, Russia will consider it unfair and will not recognize its results, he warned.

Putin commented on the issue of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, which Russia committed to preserve. He said that Western powers reject Russia’s assessment of the events in Ukraine as a coup and insist on calling it a revolution.

Some Russian experts, Putin warned that if Ukraine had undergone a revolution, then the nation that came out of it is not the same that it was before, similarly to how Russia transformed after the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917.

If this is the case, Moscow may consider itself no longer bound by any treaties it has with Ukraine, Putin warned.

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Ultra-Orthodox Jews Stage Mass Protest Against Israeli Draft Law

Reuters, March 2, 2014

JERUSALEM—Hundreds of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews held a mass prayer in Jerusalem on Sunday in protest at a bill that would cut their community’s military exemptions and end a tradition upheld since Israel’s foundation.

Ultra-Orthodox leaders had called on their men, women and children to attend the protest against new legislation ending the wholesale army exemptions granted to seminary students, which is expected to pass in the coming weeks,

The issue is at the heart of an emotional national debate. Most Israeli Jewish men and women are called up for military service when they turn 18, but most ultra-Orthodox Jews, or “Haredim”, a Hebrew term meaning ‘those who tremble before God’, are excused from army service.

Police said hundreds of thousands took part in the prayer. Israeli media estimated that between 250,000 to 400,000 attended.

The ultra-Orthodox demonstration paralyzed parts of Jerusalem, blocked the main entrance to the city and halted public transport as the streets around swelled with streams of men in black hats and coats, the traditional Haredi garb.

Rabbis wailed prayers over loudspeakers as the standing crowds swayed back and forth, repeating a plea to God to stop the law from being passed.

Haredim say the study of holy scriptures is a foundation of Jewish life, that scholars have a right to devote themselves full time to the tradition, and that army service would deny them fulfillment of that religious edict.

Seventeen-year-old Israel, a seminary student who came to Israel from the United States, said his community would not give in. “There are so many of us that they cannot fight us. We are not worried. We do not want to fight them, but we are not going to do what they tell us to do,” he said.

Haredim make up about 10 percent of Israel’s 8 million people. They are a fast-growing and relatively poor social group. Most Haredi men are unemployed and live off state benefits, donations and their wives’ often low wages.

The ultra-Orthodox community is resented by many Israelis who accuse the Haredim of burdening the economy and sponging off the state while avoiding the duties that bind others.

Changing the so-called secular-religious status quo in Israel has carried significant political risk in the past for its coalition governments, which have often relied on the support of ultra-Orthodox partners.

But now, for the first time in a decade, Israel’s cabinet has no ultra-Orthodox members and main coalition partners have pressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to enact reforms under a slogan of “sharing the burden”, so an ultra-Orthodox backlash poses little danger of destabilizing the government.

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One Hour a Day Keeps the Pink Slip Away

The Simple Dollar, 28 Feb 2014

Prior to 2008 (when I made the decision to write for a living so that I could have a much more flexible schedule for my family), I held a job in a research lab where I was involved with the processing and sharing of large quantities of scientific data. This required both computer programming skills and scientific skills—not only did I have to know how to manipulate the data, I had to know why I was manipulating it and what answers people would seek.

I was reasonably successful in that position. My exit from this job was entirely of my own choosing. I’m pretty sure I would still be at that job (or a very similar job) if I didn’t make a personal choice to change direction.

Along the way, I had a handful of wonderful mentors. One was a jovial older gentleman who loved to close his office door near the end of the day, open his window, and enjoy his pipe. Another was a quiet but incredibly thoughtful man from Germany, one of those people who might only say two or three things during a long meeting but each of those things would be insightful and thoughtful. Yet another was an incredibly friendly staff member who enabled my first big career opportunity.

All of them suggested one key thing that I should do during my professional career that would not only secure my job, but would secure almost every job I might want to get. It’s something really simple, too.

They told me to spend at least one hour a day focusing on learning something new related to my job. If I could possibly carve out an hour during a workday, I should spend that hour actively learning a new skill or studying a relevant topic. They also recommended trying to apply those skills to my own side projects that might bear fruit for something relevant to my job.

I really took that idea to heart. During the course of my career, I taught myself several programming languages and worked on several small projects on my own, including writing some great AJAX software near the end of my time there. I extensively studied genetics and read a small mountain of scientific papers. I learned the deep inner workings of several different database systems, even though my job didn’t involve database management. I studied a bunch of techniques for managing different data types and experimented with them, eventually implementing some of those ideas in my main work.

I spent at least an hour per day doing this whenever I possibly could (there were crunch times where that didn’t work, of course).

In the short term, this approach really wasn’t helpful. I would often have this long list of things that I needed to get done and by spending an hour or two learning something new, I wasn’t getting anything checked off of that list.

Over time, though, it became more and more and more useful. I found that by teaching myself different approaches and studying new ideas, I understood the tasks that I was responsible for on a much deeper level. Rather than just applying the same old techniques to a given task, I’d understand it differently from a scientific perspective or I’d know a new algorithm that I could apply to the problem.

I was able to solve these problems faster… but I was also able to solve them better. This made me drastically more efficient at work and people noticed. There were actually jokes about how I would have a “rough” implementation of a solution to a problem in place by the end of a conference call, simply because I had a lot of tools at my disposal. I had invested the time to learn new tools and new information and that learning consistently paid off.

This made me more valuable in the workplace. It also helped me to build a resume, as I was able to contribute and even take the lead on projects that I wouldn’t have been able to contribute to when I first started. I received raises, professional recognition, and other little perks as a result.

The key to this, without a doubt, was to simply spend an hour each day learning new skills and knowledge related to my job. It did not help me in the short term. It was purely a long term investment, but after a year or two, I saw that investment paying off almost every single day.

It doesn’t matter what your job is. There are always things to learn. There are always skills to build. There are always efficiencies you can improve. If you do it consistently, it will be noticed, and when it comes time to ask for a raise or take on a professional change, those efforts will reward you greatly.

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Não Desanime

Uma compilação

Sejam fortes e corajosos, todos vocês que esperam no Senhor!—Salmo 31:24[1] NVI

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Mantenha os olhos fixos no Céu, na meta, e a vitória no coração. ...Quando o Diabo o tenta a desanimar e desistir, lute! Não lhe dê ouvidos, muito menos se renda. Comece a fazer algo positivo; diga palavras animadoras e de encorajamento.

Quando se sente oprimido ou tem sentimento de culpa, não fique parado, tome uma atitude! Cante, grite, louve o Senhor, cite versículos! Revide o golpe do Diabo! Repreenda-o com a Palavra! Foi o que Jesus fez quando o Diabo o tentou e mentiu para ele no deserto. Ele apenas citou versículos: “Está escrito.”[2] O Diabo bem sabe que é um mentiroso; ele é o pai da mentira,[3] e não resiste à Palavra. “Resisti ao Diabo e ele fugirá de vós.”[4] Ele vai encolher o rabo e bater em retirada.

Vista o capacete da salvação e a couraça da justiça, protegendo-se com o escudo da fé para resistir a todos os dardos inflamados do Maligno; revista-se com a verdade, calce o Evangelho da paz e use a espada do Espírito, que é a Palavra de Deus, e acerte o Diabo no coração.[5] Afugente-o! Avise-o que não tem nada a ver com ele e ele não tem nada a ver com você!

Depois mantenha-se ocupado trabalhando, falando de Jesus e da salvação. Seja positivo. Ajude alguém. Fique tão ocupado com os problemas dos outros que não consiga pensar em si mesmo. Fique tão ocupado ajudando outros a serem felizes que não consiga evitar sentir-se feliz.

Fale de Jesus. Fale da Palavra de Deus. Fale sobre as necessidades das pessoas. Fale de coisas boas e positivas. “Tudo o que é verdadeiro, tudo o que é honesto, tudo o que é justo e puro, tudo o que é amável, se há alguma virtude e algum louvor, nisso pensai.”[6] “Não fale mal de ninguém”—nem de si mesmo.[7]

Guarde a fé. Mantenha os olhos em Jesus. Fique ocupado ajudando alguém que precisa e esqueça de si mesmo. Logicamente você é uma bagunça. Todos nós somos. Quando começamos a olhar para nós mesmos, realmente ficamos desanimados.

Vamos seguir adiante com Deus! Ele é o único que pode ajudá-lo a chegar lá, e o fará se lhe der uma chance. Agarre-se à Palavra e deixe o Senhor agarrar-se a você. Deixe ir e deixe Deus fazer! Existe uma antiga canção que diz: “Ele vai me segurar!” Eu não consigo me firmar sozinho. Só Deus pode ajudar-me. Ele é a minha única esperança.

“Àquele que é poderoso para impedi-los de cair e para apresentá-los diante da sua glória sem mácula e com grande alegria, ao único Deus, nosso Salvador” entregue seus caminhos, sua vida, mente, seus pensamentos e o seu tempo.[8] “Porque sei em quem tenho crido e estou bem certo de que ele é poderoso para guardar o meu depósito até aquele dia.”[9] Só o Senhor pode fazê-lo. Dê-Lhe uma chance. Mantenha os olhos em Jesus. Vamos falar de Jesus! Vamos falar de amor, do amor do Senhor.—David Brandt Berg[10]

*

Adquira o hábito de procurar o positivo na situação, e então manter os olhos nele, em vez de olhar para o lado sombrio.

Não sucumba ao desencorajamento, por mais que reprimido ou incomodado que se sinta. A pessoa desencorajada fica indefesa. Não consegue resistir aos ataques do inimigo sozinha nessa condição, nem prevalecer na intercessão por outros.

Busque as promessas de Deus e diga em voz alta: "Esta promessa é para mim." Se ainda sentir alguma dúvida ou desencorajamento, abra o coração para Deus e peça-Lhe para repreender o adversário que o incomoda sem misericórdia.

Assim que der as costas para todo sinal de desconfiança e desencorajamento, o bem-aventurado Espírito Santo vivificará a sua fé e soprará a força Divina na sua alma. Ah se os olhos conseguissem ver toda a força e poder que lhe são concedidos quando se afasta das hostes das trevas e olha para Deus, sem dar a mínima para as tentativas do seu inimigo de angustiar, deprimir e desencorajar!

Todas as maravilhosas virtudes de Deus estão a favor daquele que crê e que, em nome de Jesus, com uma fé simples e confiança infantil submete-se a Ele e nEle busca auxílio e orientação.—Mrs. Charles E. Cowman[11]

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“Embora os montes sejam sacudidos e as colinas sejam removidas, ainda assim a minha fidelidade para com você não será abalada, nem a minha aliança de paz será removida", diz o Senhor, que tem compaixão de você.—Isaias 54:10[12] NVI

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Será que você não sabe?
Nunca ouviu falar?
O Senhor é o Deus eterno, o Criador de toda a terra.
Ele não se cansa nem fica exausto, sua sabedoria é insondável.
Ele fortalece ao cansado e dá grande vigor ao que está sem forças.
Até os jovens se cansam e ficam exaustos, e os moços tropeçam e caem;
mas aqueles que esperam no Senhor renovam as suas forças. Voam bem alto como águias; correm e não ficam exaustos, andam e não se cansam.—Isaias 40:28–31[13] NVI

*

O Senhor firma os passos de um homem, quando a conduta deste o agrada;
ainda que tropece, não cairá, pois o Senhor o toma pela mão.—Salmo 37:23–24[14]NVI

Publicado no Âncora em setembro 2013. Tradução Hebe Rondon Flandoli.


[1] NIV.

[2] Mateus 4:3–10.

[3] João 8:44.

[4] Tiago 4:7.

[5] Efésios 6:10–17.

[6] Filipenses 4:8.

[7] Tito 3:2.

[8] Judas 24–25.

[9] 2 Timóteo 1:12.

[10] Greater Victories (Aurora Production, 2002).

[11] Mananciais no Deserto

[12] NVI.

[13] NIV.

[14] NIV.

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Living Without Worry

A compilation
Audio length: 9:40
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Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?—Matthew 6:271

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Do you cross rivers before you come to them, dread troubles that never come, expect evil from the Lord instead of good? In other words, is your soul full of unnecessary care? For that is what the word “careful” means—unnecessary care.

“Do not worry” is a plain and simple command, but it is such a difficult one to follow. M. D. Babcock has given a few beneficial suggestions for the person who feels defeated because of the common ailment of worry. “The anxious Christian hurts more than himself; he hurts the faith of those who know him and the good name of his Lord who has promised to supply all his needs.” There is nothing which we cannot pray about. Go deeper into the text: “But in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known unto God.” What we can take to God we can trust to God. What we put our fidelity into, He will perfect by His faithfulness. While we work for the best, He works the best for us. We may not succeed as we hoped; we may have discipline we little expected, but the Father knows what His child needs. What God has for us to do we can do, or to bear we can bear. Is there not enough in His ocean to fill our pitcher? With the needs of every day will come His promised supply—“My grace is sufficient for thee.”

Do not forget the words further on in the text: “with thanksgiving.” Be on the lookout for mercies. Blessings brighten when we count them. Out of the determination of the heart the eyes see. If you want to be gloomy, there's gloom enough to keep you glum; if you want to be glad, there's gleam enough to keep you glad. Better lose count in enumerating your blessings than lose your blessings in telling your troubles.

Unbraid the verse into three cords and bind yourself to God with them in trustful, prayerful, thankful bonds—anxious for nothing, prayerful for everything, thankful for anything—“and the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”—Thoughts for Every-Day Living2

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God does not open paths for us in advance of our coming. He does not promise help before help is needed. He does not remove obstacles out of our way before we reach them. Yet when we are on the edge of our need, God's hand is stretched out. Many people forget this, and are forever worrying about difficulties which they foresee in the future. They expect that God is going to make the way plain and open before them, miles and miles ahead; whereas He has promised to do it only step by step as they may need. You must get to the waters and into their floods before you can claim the promise. Many people dread death, and lament that they have not “dying grace.” Of course, they will not have dying grace when they are in good health, in the midst of life's duties, with death far in advance. Why should they have it then? Grace for duty is what they need then, living grace; then dying grace when they come to die.—J. R. Miller

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Do not begin to be anxious.3

Not a few Christians live in a state of unbroken anxiety, and others fret and fume terribly. To be perfectly at peace amid the hurly-burly of daily life is a secret worth knowing. What is the use of worrying? It never made anybody strong, never helped anybody to do God's will, never made a way of escape for anyone out of perplexity. Worry spoils lives which would otherwise be useful and beautiful. Restlessness, anxiety, and care are absolutely forbidden by our Lord, who said: “Take no thought,” that is, no anxious thought, “saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink, or wherewithal shall we be clothed?” He does not mean that we are not to take forethought and that our life is to be without plan or method; but that we are not to worry about these things. People know you live in the realm of anxious care by the lines on your face, the tones of your voice, the minor key in your life, and the lack of joy in your spirit. Scale the heights of a life abandoned to God; then you will look down on the clouds beneath your feet.—Rev. Darlow Sargeant4

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A record of God’s faithfulness in the past combines with hope in a better future for one end: to equip us for the present. As Tolstoy said, we have control over no other time. The past is unchangeable, the future unpredictable. I can only live the life directly before me. Faithful Christians pray, “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” and then proceed to enact God’s will—love, justice, peace, mercy, forgiveness—in the present, on earth.

If I reflect on my entire spiritual pilgrimage at once, I usually end up nostalgic for those times when God seemed so much closer. Faith, I have found, is not something I settle into, a skill I learn to master. It comes as a gift from God, and I need to pray for it every day, as I pray for daily bread. A friend of mine, paralyzed in an accident, traces her turning point in faith to this very principle. She could not face a life of total paralysis; she could, however, face one day at a time, with God’s help. The Bible contains 365 commands to “fear not”—the most reiterated command in the Bible—as if to remind us daily that we will face difficulties that might naturally provoke fear.

“There is no fear in love,” writes the apostle John, “but perfect love drives out fear….” He goes on to point to the source of that perfect love: “We love because he first loved us.” In other words, the cure to fear is not a change in circumstances, rather a deep grounding in the love of God. I ask God to reveal his love to me directly, or through my relationships with those who also know him—a prayer I think God takes great delight in answering.—Philip Yancey5

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When a guide leads you down a path that’s new to you, he doesn’t tell you what you’re going to need to do before you get to the turn or the fork in the way. He waits till you get to the point where you need to know before he tells you what to do or where to go next—and that’s the way it is with the Lord. In most cases, you don’t need to know all the details of what you’re going to do tomorrow. Jesus said not to worry about tomorrow. You often have to plan ahead, but you’re not to worry about tomorrow. Just do what God knows you can do and what God asks you to do today, and be prepared to do the same tomorrow.—David Brandt Berg6

Published on Anchor March 2014. Read by Jon Marc. Music by Michael Dooley.


1 NLT.

2 Streams in the Desert, Volume 2 (Zondervan, 1977).

3 Philippians 4:6 PBV.

4 Streams in the Desert, Volume 1 (Zondervan, 1965).

5 Reaching for the Invisible God (Zondervan, 2000).

6 More Than Conquerors. A Mountain Streams book (Aurora Production, 2002).

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