A response to the tragic death of Elianne Andam

It was with great sadness across the Mission that we heard of the loss of yet another precious young life to knife crime, 15 year old Elianne Andam from Croydon.

Elianne is at least the sixth person this month to be a victim of knife crime in Croydon alone.

There is something so tragic about the murder of someone so young, something so wasteful in a young life full of promise cut short, something so brutal about wielding a knife to end a life, such that we are stunned each time we hear of yet another life lost.

Our hearts cry out “why?” to the Lord.

We mourn deeply with those who are affected by this tragedy, many of whom our teams in Croydon know personally.

We continue to grieve with those living in the aftermath of knife crime, where each wave of news can bring remembrance of their own loss.

We pray for devastated families, and for justice.

We pray even for the perpetrators of such crimes. For every young person lost to a knife crime, another family loses their child to incarceration.

Can we really dare to hope in the face of such terrible violence? Is there really any light to be found in the dense darkness of this, and other such tragedies?

At a time like this light might seem small, seem faint and hard to see, and yet...

'The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it'

John 1:5

I am grateful in dark times like this to fix my eyes on the light of the gospel.

The LCM Missionary Team who run our Operation Forgiveness programme in schools throughout London are the mother, sister and brother in-law of a boy named Zac.

At a great personal cost to themselves, they as a family, visit London schools alongside local churches, and relive their experience of losing 15-year-old Zac to knife crime the day after he gave a talk about combatting youth violence.

Zac’s family speak of their heartbreak, loss and the depths of sorrow they felt in the tragedy they experienced. They speak of the court case and consequences for the perpetrators.

The Operation Forgiveness team challenge young people to forgive those who have hurt them.

They encourage the children to commit to non-violence. The response is overwhelming and regularly moves teachers to tears.

They also speak of the power of forgiveness, how their faith in Christ holds them through an unimaginably difficult time and how experiencing God’s grace in personally being forgiven changes everything.

The team take the family devastation caused by knife crime and allow the light of the gospel to overcome that darkness.

So, we can dare to hope in the face of such terrible violence - how great a light we hold if it overcomes a darkness so deep!

Graham Miller, Chief Executive

Efrem Buckle, Deputy CEO and Director of Training,

London City Mission

Please join us in praying for the family and friends of Elianne Andam, for Croydon and our team of missionaries in the borough.