Lent Devotional: RestoreSample

Restore: The forgotten people

At Tearfund, we believe broken relationships are at the heart of poverty.

Through Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection, our relationship with God is restored. Now Jesus calls us into a ministry of restoring relationships – and I can’t think of a better illustration of this than the work we recently began with the Mbuti Pygmies of Ituri Rainforest in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

They are one of the oldest, most remote and largely forgotten people on earth. The relationship they have with their neighbouring community is a broken one. The Pygmies continue to survive mostly as hunter-gatherers, as they’ve done for centuries, so they have no land rights and are often reduced to a life of servitude by their bigger, stronger tribal peers.

The Pygmy women and children are made to work on their land, and are sometimes beaten. Yams (a root vegetable) are often their only payment. Where we may choose to give up something over Lent, the Pygmies have no choice.

Dear Lord God, thank you for sending your son to restore our relationship with you. We pray this Lent that you would bring restoration to the Pygmies and their neighbours – and to every community across the earth where reconciliation is needed. Heal the brokenness and help people make peace with one another. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

David McAllister, Tearfund

A small donation could provide farming tools and seeds for three people to be able to grow their own food and provide for their family. Find out more about our work with the Mbuti Pygmies.