Home to Aotearoa

I am spending a nice afternoon at Clarke Quay, among the restaurants,
boats, fish and people watching, you can't get much better than warm
tropical weather and a good ice-cream and you can get it all here.

The most fun I'm having is checking out the fish in the river, feeding
on all sorts of things. Their scales are shiny and reflective as the
graze close to the waters surface. Hundreds just huddling together and
seeing what sort of yummies they can find. Its quite a nice wee sight.

Singapore, although I've only been here 3 times after my stint here
being born and being a baby - it still feels so comfortable and homely
and like I would fit into the culture, people, climate, and life at
the snap of my fingers. Maybe its because its a city that is clean and
green, or because its so easy to get around, or maybe cos everyone
speaks English? I'm not sure of why the ease and comforts are there,
but they just are.

Its a great location and really is the gateway of Asia. Its affordable
and easy to travel to any country around the world really and the best
thing that Singapore did for itself is making it a central hub with a
giant and amazing airport. It doesn't matter if you have a 9 hour lay
over in Changi Airport, because it will really only feel like 2 once
you've gone and explored, or maybe even got a spa treatment, gone to
the botanical gardens or butterfly garden or eaten an array of amazing
food and surfed the internet for free. No painful waiting here like
there was in Entebbe or Mumbai where you literally see the seconds
pass as minutes or sometimes even hours.

So anyway, this trip to Singapore, although short - is still a
delight. I managed to catch up with a sweet friend who is Malaysian,
who I met in London, who just happened to be passing through the same
dates as me for a job interview. Funny how life works out to give you
friends all over the world. Its just grand.

As I'm getting hour by hour, closer to my departure time for New
Zealand, my heart gets more and more excited. I just can't wait to get
on that plane! I kind of am like 'ok, I'm done being on holiday, I
just want to go home now'. It feels like this past 3 years have just
been one giant holiday. Yes, I remember that I have worked, and been
on trips to Uganda, India and Vietnam to do work that is on my heart
to do...but it still feels so like I've been blessed with an amazing 3
years of holiday. I won't try too hard to remember the incredibly
tough times that I faced...but I will continue to bask in this holiday
glory.

Ahhhhhh.

Off to Kiwi land I go.

Vietnam

I like food. Yes, I admit it, I even love food. It brings me such pleasure to taste the infusions in my mouth, to try new things, have spices and flavours just rolling around in there. It’s so good. My Vietnamese experience has been somewhat of a taste sensation, such beautiful fresh and crispy flavours, as well as some fiery little red chillis to spice things up, it has been a delight every meal that is for sure. I find myself looking for the place that I will next have my meal, constantly thinking about my stomach, or more like what concoction my taste buds will experience. I don’t know how I have managed to fit 3 to 4 courses in at one sitting, but I have mastered the art it seems. I look forward to every course like I am 5 years old on Christmas Eve, anticipating the arrival of Santas’ glory the next morning. I have had so many delightful meals, in ‘Western’ style restaurants, Not for Profit run restaurants to train and teach street kids, side of the road joints, food carts being pulled by sweet old ladies, fish markets, and in a family home, and I can safely say that I have thoroughly enjoyed every one.

One morning while in Hoi An, I rose early to go to the markets, where they start their trade at an early 4am when the first of the fishing boats start rowing in their catch of the night. With fish still jumping out of the boat for one try at their last escape, they haul the fish up on the docks and crowds from restaurants start to barter for the cheapest price from the lowly fishermen. It is ridiculous the prices here, it’s not worth mentioning because it will get you all mad and jealous that in the western world we pay far too much, and we can barely get them straight off the boat like this. The freshest and most delicious array that you can possibly imagine are soon all over the markets, getting sliced and diced and sold to the locals.

One of my favourite meals I ate was a whole fish that was wrapped and baked in a banana leaf, with some herbs incrusted over it and fresh lime, it is a taste that can only be described as fishy heaven. I have no idea of what the herbs and the spices were, and when I asked they could only provide me with the Vietnamese names, but I figured I didn’t need to know since I could never cook it as good as they just did.

(Don’t worry - this is the part about food, I will get serious soon but for the time being, I hope that you’re not hungry!)

A dessert that I tried that I can still imagine tasting in the back of my mouth was a crème brulee, but infused with ginger and lemongrass. Oh. My. Goodness. Don’t even try to give me another crème brulee in my life if it doesn’t have this combination.

‘Streets’ was the name of a restaurant that I went to that was started and run by an American Buddhist, he has a heart and connection with Vietnam so has decided to start a Not for Profit organization here for abandoned kids who are living on the street. He has started a cooking school to give them a skill and has opened a restaurant so that these young teenagers and adults will learn the hospitality industry. They work there for a fair wage, as it is a not for profit so all the money after expenses literally go to these kids. It is such a fantastically run place, the kids are so welcoming, friendly and appreciative of what this opportunity has given to them. The owner (who for the life of me, can’t remember his name) comes to every table to welcome you, suggest an item off the menu and wants to know your story, why you came to Vietnam, how you’re enjoying it etc. It is the best hospitality I have ever received at a restaurant before and it was an absolute pleasure paying my bill at the end. The food was pretty spectacular as well.

Wandering the streets has been a delight as well, I have met so many funny people in the most random ways and the hospitality of the Vietnamese is so wonderful. I was going down a dead end alley way on my bicycle (it looked like it might be an exit), and one sweet woman called out to me ‘Wong Way!’, so I stopped and talked to her for a while. She invited me back the next day to cook and eat lunch with her, what could I say? So, I accepted her gracious invitation to welcome a complete stranger into her home and she said ‘ok, you meet my husband too’. I arrived the following morning at 10am like we arranged, and out comes a 59 year old Australian man from the house! So it turns out that this 29 year old Vietnamese woman is ‘married’ to this man. I say ‘married’ because they just pose as being married, since it is very against their traditional culture of not living together before you’re married. They get less hassle this way. So off to the markets we went to purchase a whole array of fruits, veges, herbs, fish and meat to cook, which in total cost less than US$5. I listened to her story while we cooked and obviously asked a lot of questions since the situation seemed so typical…an old, lonely western man wants a wife, man comes to Asian country to seek wife (younger and prettier of course!), man gets wife, wife gets visa. I know it’s a huge generalization of me and I automatically put them in that category (to which, sadly, they really do belong). We all ate lunch together in this awkward, ‘ewwww, you look like my granddad and your new wife is younger than your youngest kid’, state of conversation and sometimes it got the better of me and I just smiled and held my tongue. They were pleasant though. Thu, who is the woman, has a daughter who is 9 years old, she was once married to a Vietnamese man but he did the dirty on her and then ran off to America with a new woman. Since then, she has had to work for a little less than US$140 per month to care for her mother and daughter and so her daughter actually lives with her mother. It’s all very confusing. Steve, the Australian man, has 2 children back in oz who are in their thirties and have 2 children each. Steve and Thu plan to move to Australia soon, once Thu’s visa is approved, and they will leave the mother and daughter behind. Thu told me that this was her choice.

The whole situation just made my head want to explode. Hearing the stories and watching the documentaries of so many ‘mail order brides’ or the likes, and meeting the real deal for myself. It made me so sad that they were going to leave behind her mother and daughter…how would they survive? To me it sounded like sheer abandonment, but I guess you have to do what you have to do when you’re in a desperate situation. I don’t judge them for it, actually that’s not entirely true…I judge him a little for it, but then again, I guess it’s not really my job.

In a very oppressive country, in all aspects like governance, religion, gender inequality and steeped in generational traditions, it is very hard to have any peace or freedom in the choices that you make. My friends, Ross and Nicole Anderson, have been here for almost 2 years and have tried to participate in a church body that was for expats, but due to strict control, police will not tolerate Vietnamese and Westerners experiencing religion together. So the alternative to reaching the Vietnamese is underground or illegal churches. So, they started one! I found myself in an underground, secret church where they have to change their location every week so that police don’t get suspicious about having regular ‘mixed’ meetings. It was a fantastic experience, and actually in a country that has barely any freedom in religion when it comes to Christianity, these smaller, home sized groups work much better for this environment. It was a privilege being able to experience this part of the journey with them.

Through the work that they’re doing here with the ‘fellowship’ and other outreaches, I’ve also had the privilege of visiting an orphanage, or better described as a shelter until they can find these kids a home. A wonderful elderly couple, of a Vietnamese-American mix have a massive heart for abandoned children of Saigon, so what began as taking a baby or 2 into their home and nursing them, has become over 13 shelters and housing around 250 children. They are very basic and don’t leave much to be desired for, but they are a home for kids that otherwise don’t have one. This old couple house the babies in their own home – being older than normal retirement age, this couple take in new babies and are their parents, I can’t imagine being that old and doing the mum and dad thing! So they are real troopers for Jesus, in total obedience to Him. Anyway, once the children get old enough to manage in a shelter, they place them in one that they have started. I managed to get to one of these shelters and the kids were so happy, so full of life and so, so cute. It was great to interact, to be there and to hear their stories. Sad story, after sad story…but transformed – and continuing to be transformed into a powerful story of God’s love and grace. There were some really great things about the place, but some really sad things too. They are not raising many funds from people overseas, so what they have is all they’ve got, kind of a deal. There aren’t many resources to spread around the homes and food is expensive when you’re feeding 30 kids in each shelter. They have a teacher coming to the shelter to teach them, but very basic when you consider the vast needs. Many of these children do not have documentation, so in the governments eyes, they do not exist. They are not entitled to education, dental and health care or basic rights until they have proper documentation. As you can imagine – it’s a constant struggle and fight against the very corrupt and inflexible government.

I adopted a wee boy as my God son, as I was leaving the shelter, this particular boy ran up to me and put a simple pink beaded necklace around my neck that he had made during the arts and crafts session. He was so proud of it and wanted to give it to me. This touched me deeply and I asked if I could adopt this little boy into my life. At the moment, he has an ear infection that he has had for many weeks, it is so bad that green ooze is spilling from his ear. It doesn’t seem to bother him much, apart from the fact that it is causing him trouble to hear. Health care is very expensive here and it is sad to see children in such a state, but hopefully now that we are aware of it, we can help him.

There are opportunities for people to adopt a wee life into your family as well. Ross, Nicole and a team they’ve got around them are currently trying to set up an official NGO, but with the governments zero tolerance on Christian organizations, it is proving to be difficult, but hopefully soon they will see the vast need of the communities they’re reaching and have mercy on the aid organizations. For the moment, it is encouraging children through writing to them and praying for them. It is a wonderful opportunity for people to enlarge their lives with some Vietnamese children, and at the moment, it will bear no financial burden on you…which is a plus for me since next year I will be studying and my financial life will be more difficult. They’re excited about leaving it open and seeing what God does, and if you feel in particular seasons that you want to give, then that will truly bless them.

Marie, who is French-Vietnamese woman, is leading this particular part and it is called Hand of Love. If anyone wants to adopt a sweet little child into your lives, then please let me know so I can pass on your details to Marie. Her main request is that you just pray for the child and the work that will continue to be done here in Siagon.

I am excited about the prospect of being a part of something in the beginning stages, of seeing what God is capable of doing in such a hardened country, in these kids lives and how big this thing really gets. But what is more exciting to me, is because we paid a visit, one life is changed, one kid will get some medical help (Nicole is a doctor!) and one kid becomes a part of my world.

The famous saying that my pastor in London says is ‘We can’t do everything, but we can do something’ resonates deep within me when I think about this. I love the realness of that statement. It is true, we can’t do everything, our visions often want to do everything then we often do nothing because it’s all too hard. But we can do something, and I refuse to sit by, comfortable with my life and pretend that other things don’t exist. They simple do, and we are not called to live a comfortable live, but one of surrender to Christ. Really…what would He do?

Indias Magic

Somehow in the chaos and confusion that consumes you when you enter Mumbai, you fall in love with it. I don’t know how it happens, or why it happened to me, but it has.

From the first time I took a rickshaw, I fell in love with Mumbai. I’m not sure why it was that experience that gave me a depth and admiration for that city, because logically it would be a death defying and terrible experience for any westerner, but maybe just experiencing life as the locals do was the best thing for me. I was a little nervous, those crazy 3 wheeler things that buzz around the city, weaving in and out of traffic (not very carefully) can be dangerous, scary and you feel like you can come within an inch of your life on most occasions. I was proud of myself, I did it. I flagged it down, I told him where I wanted to go, I got there, gave him the right amount of money and I had no help. I felt it was a small miracle, and for the first time in the four days that I was there, it made me smile from a deep place that I hadn’t smiled from.

‘I can do this’ resonated from deep within.

That was the first sign.

The first weekend that I was there, it was Diwali (the Hindu New Year celebration, name the festival of lights), the streets were bright, ornamented with flowers, colours and lights. Every street corner was cracking with fireworks and the night sky was lit with beautiful sparks of colour and festivities. The people were buzzing in celebration and the atmosphere was wonderful, almost electric. People were happy and smiling and taking their time to admire lights and colours and beauty in what could be classified as a very ugly city. People took pride in the floral arrangements and decorations, they were adorned on cars and windows and buildings and doors, and such time and care was taken in preparing the lovely decorations. It was the India that we would imagine, or at least it is what I imagined. Bright, vibrant and very alive, and I was happy to meet it. Firecrackers and works began early morning on the Friday – I jumped alarmingly out of my bed when the first explosion woke me at 5am. Thinking it was a bomb that had exploded, I cautiously looked out of my window expecting to see some burning buildings, but to my surprise, I saw fireworks being sent into the early morning sky, then hearing the crackles and bangs made everything fall into place. For the 72 hours of the weekend, I don’t think there was one that was not filled with mini explosions, all through the night and day, hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of firecrackers were lit. Most people liked to put them under a bridge or flyover to get a full echo effect and to see them light up the darkness, there seemed to be a sort of competition to see whose was the loudest, brightest and best.

The famous Indian head wobble is another endearing and beautiful thing here. It is hard to describe what it is, but if you imagine one of those silly little dash board dogs that their heads wobble from side to side when the car moves, that is kind of what it’s like. The Indians have this sweet way of communicating with each other using the head wobble, any sign of agreement, encouragement, understanding and instructions will be given and received using this head wobble from side to side gesture. It means so many things, I’m happy with you, ok, I understand, yes, please, thank you, goodbye, nice to see you and so it continues. They use it when they laugh, when they make jokes, when they’re talking, when they’re making plans, when they’re giving instructions, and I’ve even seen it when they’re talking to someone on the phone! It is sweet and so unique and special to Indian culture (in my experiences of the world so far). I have caught myself doing it also and it has made me just appreciate it that much more and has connected me to the people.

It seemed to be a well known thing that everything runs on ‘Indian time’ so when making plans, I learned very quickly to be there at least an hour after we arranged and I would still be early, on one occasion, I was on time and the group of people I was meeting were 3 hours later, to which they then asked me why I was so early! For me, it was all a part of the Indian experience, you had to embrace it or it would never work for you.

Unsystematic, unorganized and chaotic seem to be three words that I would easily describe my experience of India to be. I had the absolute delight (I seriously mean delight) of going to a police station with a friend to make a report of a stolen phone, and I was in awe of the unstructured chaos that was so evident in the tiny building. Waiting outside the small office, was a line of more than 20 people waiting to see an officer, while in the room were at least 7 police sitting around behind their empty desks literally doing nothing but checking their phones and talking to each other. As soon as they noticed that we were there, they ushered us into the room. Soon there was a gathering all around us of police and locals wanting to find out the story of why we were there. They couldn’t understand why we were reporting a phone loss, but we were stern with them that we needed a police report for insurance reasons. After a small discussion amongst themselves, they handed us a piece of blank A4 paper and told us to write it down ourselves and they would sign it. With no computers, log books or any sort of filing system, I saw one officer slide a piece of paperwork between the desk and the wall and watched it fall to the ground. I thought that was one great way to deal with paperwork. I so enjoyed the people watching in that experience.

I don’t think people have defined jobs, and several times I saw signs such as ‘caution, men at work’ and then next to it were 20 men drinking tea and having a chat. Or I have seen one man with a drill and 7 men looking over his shoulder and making sure he has the moral support to complete the job. There will always be a bunch of gardeners and then a supervisor literally standing over them watching their work, or behind a counter there would be 4 men working the one till and taking your order. You never know what person you needed to talk to in order to get anything done.

Not too far from my humble little room that I called home, was a new mall with a lovely coffee shop in it. Whenever I needed my western comforts after a long day on the Vision Rescue bus, or on a Saturday morning, I popped down to the mall and had a coffee. After only my second visit, the staff remembered me and my name and so every time I went in there, they would see me walking up, start waving, smiling and calling out ‘Hello Miss Corrina!’. It was so sweet and another reason why I have come to love this crazy city called Mumbai.

‘It is people, it is people, it is people.'

It was a quote that was used all the time by my Maori lecturer in college, and it is only now that I am really beginning to understand those very simple, but powerful words. In some ways it is the only way I can really define why I love to explore this beautiful world of ours, and it is the only way I can describe some of the best experiences in life I have ever had. I thought it was a silly and meaningless quote, but now I understand the power and truth in it. Something seemingly so small can impact a life so much – and how? Through people.

The Indian people are beautiful, welcoming, appreciative, humbled that you want to be there, excited, joyful and truly genuine. From being invited into homes of the people that we were reaching on the streets, invited to participate in a meal and seeing them giving completely out of their need and lack, to being invited to a humble, single room home of a teacher, I have been completely and utterly touched. This, so far has been the most extreme poverty that I have encountered, but the more extreme I seem to experience, the more generous and welcoming people I seem to come across. All the people I met and was invited into their space, were so enthused that I would come and be with them, they wanted to serve me and give to me as best as they could, and they counted it as an absolute honour to have me in their home.

So, it is with sadness and joy that I have departed the shores of India. Firmly planted in my heart and life, I know I will be back and be able to connect with such wonderful people again. I love that life has such an incredible way of unfolding layers upon layers of things you truly never expected to experience, and you India, were one of them. I hope through this journey of mine, that you have also had a piece of India enter into your hearts and lives…there’s so much more to it than these few words and experiences that I have shared, but too much for words to express. Simply put – you must experience the wonders for yourself.

Last Teacher Training

On Friday, I concluded the teacher training that I have had the
privilege of doing. I gave each teacher a clear file of all the notes
from the training, new songs, games, copies of the new planning format
and they were so stoked. A clear file that was organised and brought
for them, each. The delight on their faces was beautiful when I asked
them to write their names on the front with a permanent marker and I
think they finally felt worth something.

After going through the paper stuff, we just played games and had fun
together, I wanted to keep the mood light and let them know that they
can really enjoy themselves in an extremely hard and taxing job.

Over the few weeks that I have been having the training sessions, I
have seen people lighten up, relax and open up a whole lot. From the
first session, I felt they were cold, worried about what others would
think, they wouldn't participate like I wanted them to. Slowly,
they've come out of their shells, I have demanded it from them and it
has been invaluable for them as people and them as teachers. On Friday
I saw them laughing in hysterics, not caring about how they look or
what others think, completely letting their guards down and not being
afraid. It was such a freeing experience for everyone, and such a
beautiful sight for me.

I really felt in that moment, as I got one of the teachers to lead a
game I had just taught and seeing everyone roll in laughter, that I
had really done something here. If that's all I did, and that's all
that they remember, then I am happy with that.

At the end of the training, I gave the Kindergarten teachers the large
pack of goodies that I had made for each of them, including maths,
phonics and english resources, story books, toys, puzzles and other
things for developing language, personal skills and relationships and
the smiles were again, so impacting. Something that seemed so little
and small on my end will impact their ability to teach greatly, and it
only took a few thousand Indian Rupees per pack and a few days of
planning and organisation to make it happen.

My main work has been to develop a working model for the Kindergarten
programme as it is so new, but greatly needed. It has been fun taking
something from absolutely nothing, and moulding it into something that
will really work, putting resources and skills in the teachers hands,
and seeing them run with it, with enthusiasm. I really hope that it is
only the beginning of something great, that will take on its own shape
and continue to grow and adapt where it needs to.

I also purchased some more hands on resources for the buses like story
books, measuring tapes etc and gave the teachers them as well. The
need was not as great as it was for the KG team, so I was pleased to
be able to give to that. Don't get me wrong, the need is still so
great...but for the time and money that I had received to put into it,
that is what I was able to do and it was greatly appreciated.

So to all the people that so generously gave, that is what you gave
to. And now, in the Kindergarten programme, over 200 2-5 year olds
that they see per day will get hands on resources and activities to
see and do every day instead of sitting on a mat waiting for their
food. It seems worthy when you see the 200 precious little faces.

Sightseeing and the Temple Gates

Sightseeing has not been on my agenda for this trip, so it is a

welcomed but also interesting experience.

So far in India, I have really experienced life as a local and have
definitely not been to the sights, treated like a tourist or even
behaved like a tourist. This weekend I was thrown into a whirlwind of
something different, of how most foreigners view this country.

After being scammed, ripped off and taken for a ride, I can
comfortably say that my trip here could not have been complete without it and has added a beautiful dimension to my stay. From touts sending you in a direction of a 'tourist information' centre, where they are on commission for any things that they manage to talk you in to.

Rickshaw and taxi drivers who literally times their fare by at least 5
for anyone that looks different, or men in the market groping you
because they think they can...it all somehow makes India beautiful,
unique and intriguing.

India is wonderfully disorganised, and I don't even know if they know
it. It is something that you resolve to and it all becomes a part of
your India experience. Standing in the train station line to buy
tickets to Agra is a prime example of how un systematic their
'systems' are. Out of 20 lanes open, one was for woman, I joined the
back of the line and was quickly squeezed forward by another that
joined behind me. Suddenly, wrapping her arms around my waist and
holding me, I was alarmed at this stranger and her serious lack in
physical boundaries, then I glanced forward and noticed that every
woman in line was doing this and soon it became apparent why.

Woman try to push and barge their way to the front or try to get others to
buy their tickets so woman stand strong, united in their line
formation and determined to keep their places. But as I got closer and
closer to the front I noticed all these people that seemed to be
'legitimately' pushing in, and it seems that they were allowed to by
the strong woman standing their ground. Men and woman were pushing
their way to the front, crowding the window and buying tickets on the
side of where the actual line was and I then found out that these
people are buying coupons. So, you can board a train with coupons or
tickets, if you're buying a ticket then you have to line up, but ifyou're buying coupons you have every right to push your way forward. So why doesn't everyone buy coupons?! After a long, squished wait time of 50 minutes, I finally arrived at the front and was told I was in
the wrong line. Hah! I assumed I was in the right line since it was
the only womans, and this is where they sold train tickets. But...this
is only where they sold train tickets to Indians, and I had to
therefore go to the International Tourist Bureau to get my more
overpriced tickets. I went there and it was closed. A friendly
gentleman pointed me to another one which just happened to be where he
worked.

To cut a long story short, it ended up that I hired a private car with
a friend, to take us to Agra which is where the Taj Mahal is. No
trains were available and I needed to do it, I came here to do it. So,
after dodging traffic for 4 1/2 hours on a long, straight and busy
road, I found myself standing at the gate of the mighty Taj.

Included in the car price was a guide and he met us there, we walked
in and we were faced with the images that we had seen all our lives.
The beauty was inescapable and every bit as amazing as you would
imagine. Except, I got to see it in person, with my own eyes and it
came alive...off the paper and it was so breathtaking. We did not have
a beautiful blue sky, but one of white fog and it seemed it gently
blended into the background, but yet protrudes out to meet you.

It is just a sight, it is just something else in this world that isbeautiful, but I'm glad that I got to experience and see it. Like the
pyramids of Egypt, the structures of Olympia, Vatican City and ancient
Rome and the white terraces of Pammukale, they will be a once in a
lifetime trip. I won't come here or do this again - so it is fun that
I have been.

I also have had time to explore Old Delhi, with forts, tombs, mosques,
temples and bad electric wiring, with streets and rows of buildings
connected by hundreds of lines of electricity between them, crossing
roads and dangling from every corner. I was able to imagine how life
was, and really how life still is for many, many people.

One scene really threw me back to bible times actually. There was a
long, narrow road with markets down either side, bustling with people,
children and all sorts of livestock. There were areas of grass that
people were selling their most prized goats, pigs and chickens, and it
was buzzing with life. At the very top of the road was a temple, up
raised on a hill and overlooking the market place. After moving my way
through the busy, non-touristy market, climbing the stairs and going
into the temple, I came out of the gate around 3pm, and there, sitting
right at the gate were lame men - blind and deformed. Immediately I
was taken to the passage at the gate called Beautiful where Peter
called upon the man to 'Look at us!...Silver and gold I do not have,
but what I do have I give to you'.

As I slowly walked away, I was contemplating that story, the whole
scene that I was just in that almost mirrored exactly what Peter had
encountered that day, and I was disappointed in myself. Here I am -
having the answer to abundant and beautiful life, full of grace and
freedom and I did not have to boldness or tenacity to simply say 'look
at me!' and help them up.

Imagine if I did?

What would happen?

Would the Lord heal them?

Would the men turn to faith in Christ?

Would it mean that the people would be in 'awe and wonder'?

It just makes you think...

It makes me believe that it is possible. It gets me excited and expectant.

Look at me! There is power in that.

Proverbs 10:12

I am sitting here in Mumbai, India, at Gloria Jean's coffee shop and
am having a moment of peace and solitude from a crazy city outside of
these walls. I am reading my bible and these words are hitting me deep
in my heart.

"Hatred stirs up dissension,
but love covers over all wrongs."

Dissension. I don't even really know the full extent of what that word
means, but I know that it is not pleasant. In my heart I know that
hatred is simply a lack of love - it is not the intense word that we
use in todays society, and I really believe that everything that lacks
love is hate. I know that there are some people that I am finding hard
to love at the moment, does that mean hatred? I know I would never say
that, but is that how God sees it? Is that how He views my heart when
it comes to people that I'm finding difficult to love? I really hope
not, but I'm pleased that the next part of the verse says what it
does.

Love covers over all wrongs. Wow. My wrongs, your wrongs and everyones
wrongs. Love, His love, and our love for each other. It covers all
wrongs...not some, but ALL. That's crazy and unimaginable as I sit
here and think of all the wrongs that go on inside me on a daily
basis, all wrongs that other people do to me and I do to them, all
wrongs that are done in this city that I am experiencing. All wrongs,
all wrongs, all wrongs.

It doesn't say that love will fix all wrongs...but covers. I think
that is incredible and so against the culture that we live in. We live
in a fixing culture, where everything needs to be perfect and
wonderful and if it is not, then we need to change something about our
lives, or circumstances, or get new friends, or shelter our existence
instead of really battling through it.
Love covers...I imagine the Lord spreading out a blanket over my life,
my wrongs, my thoughts, my feelings, my hurts, my troubles, wrongs
done against me. He doesn't fix it, doesn't make them go away, I still
have consequences of my thoughts and actions but He covers, He covers
it with His love, grace and mercy.

I imagine a blanket being tenderly pulled over this city and all the
tragic wrongs that are done here in peoples lives and to the people.
Some have no control over it, some are beaten, killed and controlled
by terrible people wanting to make money or because of power. Some
young girls and children are trafficked and broken and made to service
disgusting men for their pleasure. Some people and families are forced
on the street because of unfair treatment in their workplaces. Some
come to find a better life, expecting promises to be filled, only to
be shown the true reality of what it means to live here and what was
'the city of dreams' soon becomes that of nightmares as they find
themselves wrapped up in evil. Some have known nothing else than to be
living on the kerb eating gutter food. Through it all, I see Jesus and
His mercy and kindness and He is kissing this city, He is covering it
with His enduring love.

Somehow, love covers this city and people will know Love. Love is
covering, but now needs to be poured out. He needs His church, His
people to rise up and to be His hands and feet and to show 'kindness
and mercy' to those who are so desperately in need of it.

People might not want it. People might not appreciate or value it the
same way in which we do. But nevertheless, it is a command. To love
our neighbour is not a small, medial task, but a mighty one and one
that Jesus and His apostles so wonderfully modelled to us. They went
to the dirty, unclean, seemingly un loveable people as well as their
friends, family and people who were similar to them. To love our
neighbour is not to just love the person that is easy for us to love,
it is to love all people. That is huge for me and I know I can't do it
without His empowering grace. In my humanity I will struggle, but in
His bounty of grace and love I know that it is possible.

It has to be possible, otherwise He would not have commanded it.

So, imagine today, God spreading His cover of love over all the wrongs
that you have experienced in life, that others have experienced, that
your city is experiencing and that this world is experiencing. See him
gently spreading the cover over us and thank Him, love Him and love
your neighbour.

Training, Kids and Other Things.

This week is week 3, and actually, it’s almost the end of week 3! I cannot believe that my time here has ended up going so fast. I guess the days are long, but the weeks are fast. Or that seems to be my feelings when I get home each night, exhausted, hot, dirty, and in desperate need of a shower. My very rusty and corroded faucet and shower head have proved to be very worthy of my praise and I have set up a little offering to it. Haha, just kidding…but seriously, if ever I was going to have a false idol, this glorious shower at the end of the day would be it.

This week has been a little different, some training sessions with the teachers and a lot of admin for me and only one day in the buses with the kids. I guess it’s getting to that point of the trip where I really have to set in stone the things that I have done, so I have been busy writing curriculum, useable planning formats, songs, games, translating to Hindi and I feel very much like a one man band doing everything. But I feel capable, not out of my depths and very secure in what I am doing. It is such a great feeling, because I know that I am definitely being used by God, and the things that I am setting in place and training them in are going to have huge implications in such a positive way. It’s fun knowing that I get to be the ‘behind the scenes’ person in helping them reach over 600 kids per day with education, Jesus and food.

Yesterday I had a 2 hour training session with the Kindergarten teachers, it went extremely well. I was so happy with their receptive hearts, and there was an atmosphere that was so glad, and I almost felt them have a sigh of relief as they were so happy to really have something to go with instead of wandering in the wilderness as they have been. The KG teachers are absolutely fantastic and they love to be with the kids, and in this ministry. They are enthusiastic and energetic with the children, but they have lacked such direction since they have not had any training. All the previous training that has been done has been with the teachers who target the 5-14 year age bracket, so they really just felt like they were ‘entertaining’ the children and not really inputting into their lives and education. I shared a new planning format that will help their preparation, and give them direction. I also gave them a ‘mini-curriculum’ with ideas for areas of learning that they need to head towards. They were very encouraged and thankful to have that particular direction, and stoked that I did not leave them hanging with no ideas and gave that extra support. It would be all very well and great of me if I just trained them in how to use the planning, but they would still have that stuck feeling like they didn’t know where they were going, so this way it gives them skills and resources to fall back on.
After sharing all those things, planning a model lesson together and doing a model lesson together, I shared some other ideas in using just a ‘bag of tricks’ as I have called it. It is a bag of toys, objects and a lot of random things like sandpaper, to create discussion, developing language and also using some thinking skills that will hopefully get the children to be more interactive and alive in the lessons.

The children here are interesting, and it is quite hard for me to watch. Their life is hard, it is not fair and there are so many wrongs with it. But the one thing that breaks my heart, is that the children here are completely under stimulated. In the western world, our kids can often be so far over stimulated that it has created this highly stimulated and entertainment driven generation, but here, I can’t even explain it. Some of these children will sit on the small mat hunched over, limpy and lifeless and no matter how much you try and coax them into doing some actions or singing some songs, they will not. Their little lives have created it, they are simply left on the side of the road on a mat and are required to sit there, to not play, to not move. The parents sleep, lie down, don’t move, don’t do much at all and that is the life that is modeled to them. They have seen it from such a young age, and they copy. They have extreme internal boredom and literally no skills or knowledge of how to think, create play, or do anything but to sit. I can’t imagine how it affects you in such a deep way, and by the evidence that I have seen here, I know the type of society it produces. There is nothing healthy about it. It is probably the most tragic thing that I have seen here.

So, going into the slums and teaching has more barriers than you can imagine. They are up against so many obstacles, but they remain faithful, positive and in the knowledge that God has called them to be there and to do His work.

Did I ever mention that they use 75kgs or rice per day? PER DAY!

I have 2 weeks left here in India before I head out to Vietnam to see what is going on there. I am going to take a little break from Vision Rescue work for 5 days and this weekend I will head up to Delhi and see that area. I will also travel to Agra and see the beautiful Taj Mahal…how can you come to India and not see it right?! So that will be a fun adventure, and I have a travel companion as well which will be nice. A mutual friend hooked it up so that is great to have a little company.

I hope that you’re all keeping Vision Rescue alive in your hearts.