#6 Restore our Heritage... of Acting in Mercy

We cannot think about justice without also thinking about mercy.

Helen Roseveare was born in 1925, and went to Cambridge to study medicine. In 1945 she received the call of God. She began as a missionary in the Congo in 1953, and throughout her years of preparation to be a medical missionary, and her 12 years in the Congo, she asked God for a mountain top experience of his glory. She came to the realization that God’s work is done in ditches. She endured a civil war and then later cared for her elderly mother.

In 1964 she was taken prisoner by rebel forces and was a prisoner for 5 months enduring beatings and rapings. God used this in her life to minister to other single women missionaries. Helen knew that her relationship with God had not been damaged. She had not failed God in any way because of what had happened to her. On December 31, 1964 she was rescued. Helen had a sense of joy and relief, but also a sense of deep sorrow as she heard of her many friends who had been martyred.

She left the Congo when she was released and went back to England. She returned to the Congo in 1966 to help with the rebuilding of the nation. She worked for 7 more years, but it was full of unrest and disappointment. The Congo had changed since the war, with a new spirit of independence and nationalism. They no longer respected the doctor who'd sacrificed so much for them. Helen left Africa in 1973 with a broken spirit, and her 20 years of service in Africa left her feeling defeated and discouraged.

She went through a very lonely period in her life on her return. She turned to God as He was all she had. Instead of bitterness she found a new spirit of humility and a new appreciation for what Jesus had done for her on the cross. The Lord was fashioning and forming her for her next ministry. She became an internationally renowned spokeswoman for the cause of missions. Her honesty was refreshing, and Helen mobilized people by showing them that God used imperfect people, with real struggles, to be his ambassadors to a lost world that needed rescuing. She was a plenary speaker at the large Urbana Missions conference in the USA for 3 years.

Helen Roseveare's medical service in Africa is a practical example of what acting in mercy looks like. Her willingness to continue in that service after being raped shows the supernatural power of God's mercy in our lives. Pray with us for that supernatural mercy to be evident in Cambridge again:

Father God,
Thank-you that your mercy endures forever. Thank-you for Helen Roseveare and the way you have used her to show people your mercy. Would you restore that heritage in Cambridge today. Do it again! Revive your works in these days, we pray.
In Jesus' Name,
AMEN.