In Harm’s Way
January 29, 2010
“For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly.” (Mark 7:21,22 NIV)
These days, while on stateside assignment in the States, we have found ourselves in the midst of a community whose children are being targeted by someone with ill-intent. Since the New Year, there has been four attempted abductions of schoolchildren between the ages of nine and fourteen. Thankfully each potential victim got away unharmed. Unfortunately the criminal has yet to be apprehended. Crime is no new news in the States with statistics showing nearly 5,000 serious crimes being committed for every 100,000 people in a given year. Here in America we often hear and marvel over the relatively low crime rates of other countries in the world—particularly in such places as Japan. However, some research I’ve done on the topic revealed that rapid crime rate increase has become a serious concern in Japan in recent years. One source I looked at said that though Japan’s crime rate is still much lower than a lot of other industrialized nations, in the years 1993-2003, the crime rate had increased an unbelievable 150%. As our oldest children entered elementary school in Japan a few years back, parents were regularly receiving reports home of attempted abductions with detailed descriptions of the person and vehicle in question. Here in our part of the U.S. even before reports of attempted abductions, the majority of kids were being brought to and from school by parents. Japanese parents on the other hand, accustomed perhaps to years of low crime, have long felt it safe for kids to walk to and from school unaccompanied by a parent. Attitudes may be changing; one report quotes the Prime Minister as having said, “We cannot say Japan is the world’s safest country anymore.” Please pray for safety of the children here in our own country as well as children in other countries such as Japan. Please pray too for those with ill-intent; pray that God will arrest criminals with His Love, Grace, and Righteousness so that they may turn from their sin to Him.
By Donna Qualls
