My testimony, by God's grace. Fall 2020.

 

Copy and paste into your browser:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_-KvT4swe8

Weep With Those Who Weep

 

Romans 12:15b

“Weep with those who weep” 

When World War ll broke out, my Dad was nine years old.  Two of his older brothers fought in that war, and, strange as it may seem, my Dad was called a Nazi.  Where he grew up, one was frequently referred to by a string of previous generations.  For example, my Dad was known as: “Gerard Mosie Mose Germain.”  With this moniker, everyone knew which family he belonged to, especially given that many children throughout the community had the same first name.

Back to being a Nazi.  You see, some people in the village could not pronounce “Germain,” so they called my Dad: “Gerard Mosie Mose German,” followed by the excruciating taunt that he must be a Nazi, given that “German” was in his name.  Painful, to say the least; deserved- of course not.  It was utterly foolish; so misguided. 

Moving ahead to the year 2021, Canadians are finally discovering the horrible truths about what happened to the thousands of Indigenous children at our so-called “Residential Schools.”  I would not label them as such.  They were literally killing fields, along with the indoctrinating of children so as to be entirely at odds with their culture and language.   Lest we think: “Oh that was so long ago,” 1996 is only 25 years ago; in my lifetime and likely in yours.  As a Canadian, I am appalled and apoplectic.  Heartbroken, I have wept.  Justice must prevail.  Several generations have been deeply traumatized and we need to work hard at reconciliation and healing.  So many layers of lies kept this information hidden.  But, now we know. 

Just like my Dad was certainly not a Nazi, I, as a follower of Jesus Christ, am in no wise connected to the so-called Christians who perpetrated these awful deeds under the guise of Christianity; their sin is not mine to carry.  It would be equivalent to making the people of Germany, today, responsible for the sins of their fathers.  Representing a church, not representing Jesus, the perpetrators of those who ran these ‘schools’ hid behind their black robes.  They were wolves in sheep’s clothing; albeit black sheep.  And the government officials were just as guilty, seeing as they passed on the tedious-to-them:  ‘ Indian problem.’

 I will not, however, ‘cancel Canada’ because of a shameful, albeit recent, past.  I will work towards justice and reconciliation.  While I am not personally responsible for the aforementioned atrocities, I can, and do call true Christians to repentance; acknowledging that we may have heard stories and yet did not want to believe them; acknowledging that we may have labelled Indigenous people as lazy or incompetent-there is plenty of guilt to spread around.  I would echo God’s words of 2 Chronicles 7:14

If my people, who are called by my Name

will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways,

then I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sin and heal their land.

 

When I was a child, some children in my little village called me by many names: “Nigger, Blackie, Indian.”  How I shrank at those words.  They cut like a knife.  My Mother would tell me:  “Forgive them.  They don’t understand what they are doing.  And always remember that there will be people who will need you to stand up for them.”  I am forever grateful for her tender spirit, and in my little soul I determined that if ever I met others who were maligned, taunted and spoken of in crude and nasty ways, that I would love them and defend them fiercely.

For all the little souls that were taken; for all the crumpled bodies that were mercilessly thrown into graves; for all the survivors who came home but no longer felt at home; for all the children whose blood is crying from the ground- may God have mercy on your families.  May God bring healing.  May those of us who are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ come alongside of you, and weep with you and pledge to love you and work for a better tomorrow.