church press supplement september 2010
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"Lose your life that you may find it" - a supplement from Church Mission Society published in the Church Times and Church of England Newspaper, week of 10 September 2010.TRANSCRIPT
Judy Acheson was just awarded the MBE after 30 years in Congo… May 6 1980. I arrived in Bunia, knowing so
little about Congo. I have now been here
for three decades, including several years
of dictatorship and horrific tribal war. At
one point there were three different armies
fighting outside my house. Listening to the
guns and shouting, I realised that I had
an inexplicable peace. God sent 20 people
to hide in my house during the conflict and
even when the house was attacked, he kept
us safe.
Since the first democratic elections in 2006,
the country is beginning to pick itself up. With
70% of the population under 25 years old, the youth
can be a major resource for reconstruction. Giving them
hope is crucial.
Through working with young people, my faith has
stretched in order to keep up with their hunger to
deeply understand the Bible and have a real walk
with Jesus. Responding to their needs, we produced
manuals like Young people, with God let us rebuild
our beautiful country. We watched as young people
who had scarcely known peace worked through issues
and took hold of their future. Example: in Mwena Ditu,
young people from many churches have joined with
Muslim youngsters to work together for development. At
present they are voluntarily building a bridge so people
can transport their produce to markets and get out of
poverty. It’s a real testimony.
The highlight of my life and work in Congo has been
handing over the provincial youth department work to
Rev Bisoke Balikenga and Mr Jean-Bosco Tshishwaka.
God has empowered these local men to help young
people love God, each other and their country.
As I prepare to return to the UK, I can see how my life
has been challenged and changed. God has shown me
things in my life that weren’t pleasing to him and he
has shown me how to depend on him. Praise God for
the gift of his holy spirit.
Settling in another culture is not easy. It meant
examining what is gospel and what is culture. Often
I have made mistakes, but it is worth the struggle.
When we give of ourselves to others, they give of
themselves to us and together we enrich each other.
What a privilege.
Pall Singh, providing a sanctuary for seekers in Birmingham…
You might expect a Sikh family to be
disappointed when their son becomes a
Christian. For a time, I lost not only my family
but also my Asian identity. I was a youth
worker in a white, middle-class church and my
cultural background was largely ignored.
Gradually I began to discover that my heritage,
far from being somehow unchristian, was a rich
spiritual well. I was inspired by the teachings
of Sadhu Sundar Singh, who said that while the water
of life offered by Christ was for everyone, Indians were
put off because it was brought in a western bowl.
“What would a modern British Asian bowl look like?”
I wondered. I began to find my true calling, to help
British Asians discover the truth and peace of Jesus.
Since 2007, I’ve helped establish Sanctuary, a safe
space in Birmingham where British Asians can meet
Jesus in a place designed to be comfortable for Sikhs,
Muslims and Hindus. We meet outside the main Asian
area so people will feel safe coming to us.
Creating a safe, contemplative place for British Asians
is a challenge because often it is misinterpreted as
condoning “unchristian” behaviour, yet it is God’s
gracious character that is emphasised at Sanctuary.
Festivals like Diwali, the celebration of light, are
colourful occasions that allow us to invite British Asians
to celebrate Christ as the light of the world. Basically,
I see people from other faith backgrounds as holding
candles of God’s light. We want to open the curtains
and let them see the sun, without blowing out their
candle.
I also help western Christians who want to build bridges
with Asians. Many Christians are keen to support work
amongst Asians in far-off places, but struggle in their
local context. We all must lift our eyes beyond our
hedge. May God give us the wisdom to balance grace
and truth.
James Pender, six years in Bangladesh…
I came to Bangladesh in 2004 with a
desire to serve God through working for the
poor and restoring his creation. My work
includes strengthening the development
initiatives of the Church of Bangladesh
Social Development Programme (CBSDP).
Together, we have begun new programmes
that fight human trafficking, care for the
poor and help the environment.
I find it most fulfilling when my interests
in environment and fighting poverty
come together. For example, I helped
develop an arsenic mitigation project to ensure poor
people do not get poisoned by the water they drink.
I’ve recently had the privilege of helping the CBSDP
develop a project that equips church members to go
to their neighbours, teach them about the effects of
To be in mission is to give yourself away — your time, your skills, your comfort, your stuff. Sometimes this means going to other places for a few months, a few years or a lifetime. Below are some people in mission who have agreed to share their stories: how they got where they are, what they’re doing and how their lives have been changed as a result. Because that’s the thing about mission that some don’t tell you: often the life you change may be your own.
Judy
Ach
eson
Jam
es P
ende
r
Pall
Sing
h
So the environment is better cared for, those vulnerable
to climate-related disasters are more secure and church
members are sharing their lives and faith with others.
Some Christians make a distinction between
development and environmental work. While
in Bangladesh I’ve discovered that the God
who calls us to ‘tend the garden’ in Genesis,
advocate for the oppressed in the prophets,
heal the sick and feed the hungry in the
gospels and preach salvation to all people in
Acts does not call us to rank or choose, but to
obey. I have increasingly felt that my concern
for climate change is not my own, but a burden
God has put on my heart, and my work in
Bangladesh and campaigning in the UK is not
my work but his.
Kate and Tim Lee on leaving a piece of their heart in the Philippines…
We arrived in Manila in May 2003, thinking that
we had been sent to change the lives of some
of the thousands of deprived kids that roam
the streets and slums. However,
our own lives were changed
dramatically.
We began a weekly kids’ club, with just us, three
Filipino volunteers and two boxes of our own children’s
toys on a church floor. This grew into an organisation
called Jigsaw, which employs 25 local staff, has four
community centres, runs clubs for over 1,000 children
and provides school sponsorships, special education
needs and literacy classes six days a week.
Yet, God has shown us that no amount of projects
can substitute for the change that happens when we
love one another unconditionally. Love isn’t just a nice
thing; it’s the most powerful tool God has given us. As
we were accepted and loved by the Filipino staff, we
began to understand how life-changing love is.
God gave us a vision to provide places for children that
were God’s kingdom on earth — where they could grow
in love and healing, in contrast to their chaotic, abuse-
filled lives. In doing so, we learnt that God can only use
us effectively when we give up control. Jigsaw relies
totally on God for finance, staffing, vision and future, and
we have never been let down.
Jam
es P
ende
r
Zew
elan
ji Ch
amun
da
Tim
and
Kat
e Le
e
God also showed us that he wanted Jigsaw to be run
by people from the deprived areas where the ministry
works. These people are often considered incapable, so
it’s been a real privilege to see God use them mightily.
After six years, we felt God saying we actually needed
to leave the Philippines in order for Jigsaw to grow and
be locally directed. So we returned to the UK where we
continue, as mission partners, to enable, empower and
support Jigsaw staff. This phase of mission often gets
missed. Tim communicates daily with Jigsaw via skype
and makes three visits a year. It’s been a year since we
left and Jigsaw is growing strong.
We praise God for the staff of Jigsaw whose
unconditional love and faith have helped us on our
journey to know God so much more.
Ed Todino, five months in Tanzania…
Having a disability myself, arriving in Tanzania
for five months of mission amongst disabled
people was both humbling and shocking. In
Tanzania, disability is considered a curse
— those with disabilities are often hidden
away or abandoned to fend for themselves. Employment opportunities are practically
nonexistent, which is why Neema Crafts —
where I was going to work, was started. Since
2003 they have
trained, employed and given a life
to more than 100 deaf or disabled people. Beyond that,
they have worked to change people’s perceptions
of disability.
In Tanzania, I taught computer literacy, networked with
other charities and spent time with the Neema workers.
There was a guy called Haruna who works behind the
shop counter; he’s a really funny chap, always smiling.
He uses walking sticks due to polio, but is really strong
and confident. We spent a lot of time together, talking
about how Neema had helped him and about disability
policy in Tanzania. I really feel like getting to know him
changed me. He knows what it’s like to suffer but he
creates such a positive atmosphere wherever he goes.
I won’t pretend that the trip wasn’t challenging
physically for me. I had to get used to not having things
I consider necessary, such as bars in the bathrooms or
reliable public transport. But God gave me patience and
a sense of purpose. I’d wanted to go to Africa for years
and prayed for an opportunity and God eventually gave
me one through CMS. I think it’s important to know
your limits, but it’s also important to push them. If
you have a disability and think overseas mission can’t
be for you, I’d say as long as you have the heart and the
calling, then nothing should stand in your way. God loves
you for who you are and how he made you, and he can
work through you.
Zewe Chamunda, five months in Argentina…
My name is Zewelanji Chamunda (most people call me
Zewe). I’ve recently returned from short term mission (five
months) in an orphanage in Argentina called Hogar El Alba.
I wanted to do short-term mission because I felt called
to mission work abroad, and to make good use of my
gap year I decided to test it out. I wanted to go to South
America because I enjoyed studying Spanish at school. I
specifically chose the Hogar because I was thinking about
going into social work, plus I love working with kids.
For the first few weeks I found it difficult knowing
how I could help, because generally when you think
of mission work you think of building houses, medical
work, teaching etc, but that wasn’t the case at the Hogar.
Mission work meant getting stuck into helping with the
day-to-day aspects of running the home, and bringing
Jesus in through how I served, loved and shared what he
was doing in my heart. That was a major thing
God taught me — mission is to be everyday,
how we live, not just a special project done
abroad.
In Argentina, I was able to deepen my
relationship with Jesus and learn to depend on
him so much more. I also feel like I have greater
patience and understanding for kids that are
troubled and hurting, along with a greater desire
to bring Jesus to those in difficult situations.
These five months were invaluable. CMS is
passionate about missionaries sharing Jesus
with people as well as receiving from them.
Mission isn’t just one-sided. For me, my time
in Argentina was a stunning picture of that kind
of mission — the Argentine people and I, from
two different places and cultures, sharing the
same Jesus, blessing one another in our walks
and enjoying friendship with one another, as it
should be.
Ed T
odin
o
Join the We Are Saying Yes campaign for everyday missionGod calls us all to be in mission, wherever we are. We Are Saying Yes is all about
taking simple steps to make God’s mission our lifestyle. At wearesayingyes.org you can
get and share ideas for everyday mission actions. Log in, choose an action, share your
story. It all starts with saying yes: www.wearesayingyes.org
Church Mission Society, Watlington Road, Oxford OX4 6BZ Tel: +44 (0)1865 787400 Email: [email protected]
Here are some ways you can give yourself away today…
www.cms-uk.org
Lose your life that you may find it. We have opportunities in Asia, Africa,
Europe, the UK, the Middle East and Latin America. Go for a few months, a
few years or a lifetime. Remember, the life you change could be your own.
For more information email: [email protected] or call Carmen Guanzon on
01865 787416
Link up with a CMS person in mission…Linking with a person in mission (like Judy, Pall, Kate, Tim, James, Ed or Zewe) is a two-way relationship.
You can support them through your time, prayers and gifts and in return they can help you and
your church gain a fresh understanding of another culture. Having a link mission partner isn’t about
just supporting mission; it’s about being involved in mission. Call or write to Julie Hinckley for more
information: 01865 787524 or [email protected]
Enquire about short or long-term mission service with CMS
And what better time for mission than Advent?For some people, Christmas is a time of presents, food and the warmth of family and friends. For others, it
can be a time of sadness or loneliness. Your church can make Advent a special time for mission this year
with Share the Light, the CMS Advent mission resource. Call Michael Burke: 01865 787515
or [email protected] or visit www.cms-uk.org/advent