LatinfileSpring 2014The magazine of conTemporary laTin miSSion

Senses of belongingIssues of communitypages 7–9

Whys and whereforesGetting the informed viewpages 4–6

all together nowCreating community where you arepages 12–15

Being acceptedListen and learnpages 16–17

TogetherCommunity with a calling: not just a strapline?

Contact us

3Editorial: Community with a calling | Latinfile Spring 2014

STEP is Latin Link’s short-term mission and discipleship programme for teams. Step provides hands-on, practical experience of living and working with local church communities in Latin America or Spain. We select and send teams for three to seven weeks during the summer, and for four months each spring. We welcome applications from individuals of all ages, and from groups wanting to create a team from their church or university.

STRIDE is an opportunity for individuals, couples or families to spend six months to two years putting their faith into practice in Latin America, working with a church or Christian-run project. It’s a chance to use and develop skills during a gap year, career break, university language year, sabbatical or early retirement. A two-year Stride is also the pathway into longer-term service with Latin Link.

STAY. We currently have over 100 members of 14 nationalities living and working in Latin America and Europe on a longer-term basis, from three years upwards. Their work varies from training church leaders to caring for children at risk, from supporting university students to generating employment opportunities. Members are based in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Britain, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Germany, Guatemala, Ireland, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Peru, Spain, Switzerland and Uruguay. See latinlink.org.uk or ireland.latinlink.org for a taste of current opportunities, or contact your nearest Latin Link office.

What is Latin LinkLatin Link’s vision is to see vibrant, Bible-believing Christian communities in every part of Latin America, impacting their neighbours, their societies and the wider world.

We work in partnership with churches to send and receive individuals, families and teams, to or from Latin American communities, to share the love of God. We do this through three programmes:

Latinfile Spring 2014 | Contact Us | What is Latin Link?2

Community with a calling

God didn’t make us to live isolated lives. Everyone needs love and support through friendships, acceptance and a sense of belonging. These can be rich sources of blessing, but many in our world live without them. Sadly, in many societies, communities have been eroded and people rarely interact anymore.

In contrast, what a wonderful privilege and joy to be part of God’s Church – his worldwide body! This has been brought home to me afresh during my recent illness and incapacity. Since I suffered a stroke, God has provided the Christian family to come around me to offer practical care and support, and to pray for me. I don’t know how my family and I would have coped without this. As Christians we have something precious to offer, which is like nothing else and which many are desperate for.

Latin Link is a community of God’s people. We are part of the Church, with a particular calling to join the great movement of God’s Spirit in Latin American mission. Our strapline ‘Community with a Calling’ brings these two strands together. We aren’t just for fellowship but are committed to action. It’s often challenging for us to be an authentic community. When thousands of miles separate members in one country, it can keep people apart rather than draw them together. It requires a deliberate effort and desire from individuals to connect with others by giving priority to communicate effectively, and a willingness to care and support each other in creative ways. Here in Britain and Ireland, with all of us playing different roles, it can sometimes be hard to ensure we are all pulling in the same direction.

This edition of Latinfile looks at various facets of community. Whether we are a supporter, pray-er, member, volunteer, or staff, it’s such an encouragement that we don’t function as independent individuals but are in this together. We value you and are grateful to God for all you bring to the Latin Link community.

I pray that God will strengthen us and bring more people to join us – but even more importantly, that he will bring people to join his family through us!

Andrew JohnsonTeam Leader

Welcome to the Spring 2014 edition of Latinfile.

Latin Link87 London StreetReading RG1 4QAt 0118 957 7100f 0118 957 7115e info@latinlink.org.ukw latinlink.org.uk

Latin Link IrelandUnit 1, Ravenhill Business ParkRavenhill RoadBelfast BT6 8AWt +44 (0)28 9045 7567e ireland@latinlink.orgw ireland.latinlink.org

Latin Link ScotlandGartgreenie HouseForestmillAlloa FK10 3QGt 01259 752728e scotland@latinlink.org.uk

facebook.com/latinlinkpage twitter.com/Latin_Linkvimeo.com/latinlink

Editors: Jeremy Weightman and Sarah Smith Design and Print: Yeomans Latinfile is printed on paper from sustainable sources.

Latin Link is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England 2811525. Registered office: 87 London Street, Reading RG1 4QA.Registered charity no. 1020826© Latin Link, April 2014

Latinfile can be viewed online at issuu.com/latin-link/docs/latinfile_spring_2014

Latinfile Spring 2014 | Community: whys and wherefores4 5Community: whys and wherefores | Latinfile Spring 2014

It’s a much--used word, but what does ‘community’ actually mean In this double article, we look at the meaning and purpose behind the word, and what happens to it in the hands of humanity.

Dr Paul Davies is a tutor and lecturer at All Nations Christian College, England.

What should it be like

Community: whys and wherefores

Four activities that define a church community

The first activity of Christian community is God-ward: that is, one that worships. We should be worshipping God together and also intentionally. Worship is a 24/7 activity; it’s not confined to a singing time together. Cathy Padilla (the deceased wife of Latin American theologian C Rene Padilla) used to talk of the worship after the worship, where we stand around for at least as long as we were in the culto or service. For Brother Lawrence (1614–91), ‘practising the presence of God’ is to recognise that all our activities – not only our ‘religious’ ones – should be worship.

1 Some translations translate plethos in Acts 25:24 as ‘community’ but normally it would be translated ‘multitude’.

2 The New Testament was written in Koiné Greek, which is the Greek of the marketplace not that of the theatre, which used classical Greek.

3 Ekkaleo means ‘to call out’.

The second defining activity is inward: that is, a loving community. This is where common-ness comes into its own. A healthy Christian group is one that reflects how the wider community should act towards one another. This is one of the missionary dimensions of the life of the Christian body; it should be giving the example of how to live to the world. If the world does not see the Church’s example of how to live and act as a loving group of people, then our church divisions are not only a domestic problem but an unmitigated missiological disaster.

The third and fourth defining activities of a Christian community are outward: that is, one that witnesses and one that serves. They again must be common and intentional. The invitation to come under the Lordship

of Jesus Christ and the discipling of people into a relationship with him, with other believers, and with the world is not done by individuals but rather by the whole Christian body.

And the final outward activity of the healthy Christian community is in service to the world. Quite often in evangelical circles we have a very negative view of the world. However, the world does belong to God and it is what he died to save. Serving the world is not a secular activity (as opposed to a religious one); it is where the Christian body expresses

God’s love for the world through what Peruvian theologian Gustavo Gutiérrez calls ‘disinterested love’, that is, love that gets nothing back.

How are we doing ?

So in summary, a healthy Christian community holds all things in common and is intentional. Within this framework it should be a worshipping, loving, witnessing and serving body. The conclusion is to ask ourselves this: are we in our churches, teams and societies embodying this type of community?

Dr Paul Davies considers what the Bible has to say about community – and what that means for us.

I am sometimes asked, ‘What is the Latin American Church like?’ I almost always answer, ‘Which Latin American church are you talking about?’ It’s almost impossible to say because there are so many different types of church in Latin America. You have the Roman Catholic Church, whose main type of service is the Mass. Then there are Anglican churches, Methodist churches, Baptist churches and Pentecostal churches. The ways in which these churches form community are many and varied.

In considering community, we should start with a biblical and theological reflection, as only this can tell us what a community should look like. Then we can look at what a community is often actually like, through anthropology.

The New Testament: it’s all Greek to me!

'Community' is not a word that appears in the New Testament.1 When we use the word in a church or mission context we are really talking about what we call ‘fellowship’. This word is sometimes

used weakly to mean something like having a cup of tea and biscuit after the service. Spanish (communión) and Portuguese (comunhão) reveal the meaning far better: the root is ‘common’. These words are all translations of the Greek word koinonia, which is derived from the word koine, which means ‘common’.2 So being a community is to have things in common (see Acts 2:44).

The most important community in the New Testament is the Church. The Greek word used for church is ekklesia. This is not a religious term but a political one. The verb that this noun derives from means ‘to call out from’.3 It was the group of people who were called out to meet, normally at the gate, to make decisions for the city. In Athens they met to up 40 times a year. So it’s probable that the early Christians and especially the Apostle Paul saw the Church not as a religious body that exists for itself, but as a group of people called out of the world to be sent into the world to serve the world. Therefore, the Christian community is an intentional and serving one. These two characteristics form the framework on what this ‘common’ and intentional community does – its four activities.

Latinfile Spring 2014 | Community: whys and wherefores6 7Senses of belonging | Latinfile Spring 2014

Dr Paul Davies and Dr Wilma Wells-Davies are tutors and lecturers at All Nations Christian College, England.

The human factor

The privilege and the pain:senses of belonging

Where do we feel we really belong

Obviously the amount of time we have lived in our serving country makes a significant difference. Compare the feelings of Hannah Wilkinson (a recently returned Strider) and Margaret Saunderson (over 30 years in Peru):

Hannah: ‘When I returned to Britain, I really did feel like a fish out of water.

I was out of touch with fashion, technology, culture, customs (it took ages to remember not to try to kiss people as a greeting, to put toilet paper in the toilet not the bin next to it, etc) and with how UK life works. I remember feeling that somehow I didn’t quite belong here, but I didn’t really belong in Peru either.’

Margaret: ‘I feel I belong at the moment in Peru, but when I go back to the UK I do have a sense of belonging there also. When I came

back to the UK the first time it was really hard: I felt very out of place and that I didn’t belong, but that has got easier over the years and I have really enjoyed my times back in Europe!’

Rachel Stainton, who has recently returned with her family to the UK after eight years in Peru, commented: ‘In the country of service you may feel you belong to a certain extent, and more as time goes on, but one incident

As members of Latin Link, we belong to an international ‘community with a calling’. We are not a geographical group, rather a dispersed family with a common purpose. Apart from our identity as Latin Link members, and the sense of belonging and purpose that gives, where do we feel we belong geographically What makes it difficult to feel at home? Where do Latin link’s children feel they belong What helps us to feel at home and part of a local neighbourhood Jenny Brown asked a few members about these issues.

European missionary movement grew and developed in the context of colonialism has influenced this issue, of course, and when Europeans have doubted the abilities of local Christians, this has split many churches and communities.

Finally, anthropologists have studied the invisible structures that hold people in their assigned place within the group. This might include kinship loyalty, fear, or respect. When serving communities, we need to avoid ripping them apart through our lack of understanding of these things. We need to understand what will happen, for example, if a group within a culture becomes Christian. How will the others react?

How anthropology and cultural studies can help

Understanding how society is organised helps in various ways. First, it can explain how people behave and relate to each other. When crossing from one culture into another, we can easily assume that we understand these things, but be completely wrong. For example, many Westerners assume that the clothes and especially the hats that Andean women wear are fashion accessories; actually they were originally used by the Spanish for social control.

Second, anthropology can make us sensitive to how leadership and authority operate. Again this is vital in mission as missionaries are often in positions of leadership. We often

say we need to ‘work ourselves out of a job’, so careful analysis of how leadership works in a particular culture should help us decide how to draw back from leadership.

Third, anthropology can reveal forms of oppression in the community or even within the church. Authority is often defined as ‘hidden power’. In a sinful world, this almost inevitably leads to oppression. For the gospel to challenge all expressions of oppression and injustice, the hidden power structures of domination need to be revealed.

Fourth, anthropology can help us understand why people may rebel against change or take the radical decision to leave a group. In some parts of Latin America there are growing numbers of ‘ex-evangélicos’ – people who left the Catholic Church and joined an evangelical church, but who have now left that too. For many it is because they object to the use, or misuse, of power by church leadership.

Fifth, anthropology can help us decide how we should approach a certain community. For example, if a culture emphasises group rights over individual rights then it’s probably a mistake to approach individuals. In Latin America, this is certainly true of many ethnic groups that maintain their cultural heritage.

Overall, an anthropological approach can help us to carefully analyse and understand the complexities of the communities we work with, including recognising the cultural impact our mission work could have on them.

Reproducing our home country in another country has been a problem in mission for many years. How can we avoid this sort of ‘colonialism’? And how can we understand communities in a multicultural world? One way is through anthropology – the study of human societies and communities – as Dr Paul Davies and Dr Wilma Wells-Davies show.

Anthropological interest

Anthropologists have explored a wide range of issues on this topic. How is a given social group organised and what are the major divisions within it? Is it flat (egalitarian), or hierarchical? (Many Amazonian groups are egalitarian, for example, whereas the Incas were hierarchical.) In the case of churches, do they make a distinction between laity and clergy? A hierarchical church, for example, would make a strong division between different groups. The Roman Catholic Church is the most obvious example, but some Pentecostal churches are also quite hierarchical.

The basis of these divisions is also important. Age, training, or authority can all be key factors. In a church context these might define who is a preacher and who is not. In the context of a Latin American Pentecostal church, whether the pastor believes the person is ‘anointed’ by the Spirit is vital.

Anthropologists have also been interested in who holds the authority, what sort of authority different leaders have, and how power is exercised. This is important when it comes to the relationship of missionaries to church, especially churches that the missionary has planted. That the modern

9Senses of belonging | Latinfile Spring 2014Latinfile Spring 2014 | Senses of belonging8

But experiences back ‘home’ can make it difficult to feel we belong there too. Rosemary Gibson (recently retired in Peru) remembers having a problem with her bank card on returning home: ‘I felt mortified, and other such experiences over successive home leaves fortified the sense of being a clueless stranger in my own place of origin.’

Several people mentioned the difference that Skype, Facebook and email make. We find it easier nowadays to stay connected with home – but that can slow our sense of belonging in our serving country.

Where do our kids feel they belong

It’s interesting to compare the experiences of two families:

Linda Lugtigheid (Bolivia): ‘Near the start of our last home assignment we were at a camp reunion. We sat with a family with children similar ages to ours, and one of the boys

asked Aiden, “Do you like Star Wars?” Aiden looked puzzled and answered, “What’s Star Wars?”’

In contrast, Sammy and Benjamin Brown (Peru) perhaps have more in common with British children, living in a city where the kids connect with globalisation more than the Lugtigheids in rural Bolivia – the two boys love Star Wars! Benjamin (7) has quite an unexpected sense of being British – he loves his Union Jack socks and hat even though he left the UK as a baby.

Sammy (10) expresses his feelings: ‘I belong in both places really, because we live in Cusco but I was born in England. In Cusco my friends are here and we live here. I feel out of place in Cusco because my [extended] family aren’t here and my friends have family visit them and I don’t really have that. In England I feel out of it because I don’t have so many friends, but I fit in because I’m not looked at so much and I can visit my family more easily.’

What makes us feel we belong

Many people noted that relationships are crucial to a sense of belonging. Jill Spink (Spain) summarises this well: ‘I believe that feeling at home, or belonging, depends very much on the relationships we are able to build wherever we are on the planet. The longer I’ve been in Spain the stronger have grown my friendships there, and so the more I feel that this is home. Of course I still miss family and friends in the UK, and certain aspects of life in Britain, but then when I am in Britain

I miss aspects of Spain and people there! This is the privilege and the pain that goes with having the opportunity of immersing yourself in two cultures, and in two communities.’

Perhaps for all of us, living overseas has helped us understand the passage in Ephesians 2 where Paul says, ‘This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You’re no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here …’ We are at home in God’s kingdom, we belong to God’s family, and whatever our geographical location, this is never our true home.

My real country!‘It was the Unicorn who summed up what everyone was feeling. He stamped his right forehoof on the ground and neighed, and then cried: “I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now.”’

C S Lewis, The Last Battle, chapter 15.

or a difference in cultural practice from your own can make you feel you don’t belong after all. There’s a definite sense of displacement wherever you are. Interestingly, Emily [Rachel’s eldest daughter] said recently that when she was in Peru she thought she would belong in the UK and fit in better but now she’s here she realises she’s more Peruvian than she thought, and doesn’t quite belong here either.’

What makes it difficult to belong ?

Benjamin Downing (Guatemala): ‘Guatemala has a phrase – familias cerradas, meaning closed families. There’s a lot of suspicion of people from outside the immediate family. This is partly due to the history of violence in the country. As well as this, many people work six days a week and the seventh day is spent with their own family. These cultural characteristics have meant that relationships with us, a family from overseas, have taken a long time to form and deepen.’

11Step | Latinfile Spring 2014Latinfile Spring 2014 | A taste of heaven10

‘It’s a wonderful experience, seeing people we’ve never met before, or people we know but haven’t seen for a while,’ says Mike Terry (Argentina). ‘It brings us together, unites us, gives a sense of fellowship which we cannot experience in our own individual ministries or teams. We see ourselves as a family.’

The sense of personally connecting is something others pick up on. ‘It’s been so helpful to meet people whose names I’ve recognised from prayer letters and talk to them about their projects,’ says Becka Bailey (Guatemala). ‘It’s much easier to pray for people once you have that personal connection.’

Amy Ward (Guatemala) confirms this: ‘Just to see people, have conversations and get to know them personally, rather than as the individual who works in prisons or who saves souls on the streets. It fleshes it out, which is so important in a community.’

Catching up with old friends is certainly part of it. ‘I’ve reconnected

with all the Striders I met during orientation,’ says Betty Tai (Ecuador). ‘After not seeing them for five months, catching up has been wonderful. It’s such an encouragement to see what God has done in their lives.’

Support

Then there’s the support we can give each other. Paul Turner (Peru) says: ‘It’s an opportunity to meet people from other teams, listen and learn from their experiences, and take that back to our own contexts.’ Joy Barker (Guatemala) agrees: ‘It’s helpful to talk to people who are doing similar projects in different countries, share ideas and get advice from them.’

For Verna Langrell (Brazil), the IA has given ‘a real sense of being part of a family that is much bigger than just my little team in Brazil.’ She adds, ‘It’s been good to catch up with people and find that many of them are going through the same things – similar ministries with similar struggles.’

A taste of heaven

Step team buildingStep teams are unique within Latin Link, for both the team aspect and their short timescale. Step Coordinator Liz Diskin asked several of last year’s teams what they did to make team happen:

Most Step teams comprise individuals who don’t know each other. They meet for the first time at their orientation; maybe all they have in common is that they are part of God’s family and feel called to spend some time serving him in Latin America. From that first weekend they start to build their Step team community. Each team is different. For teams where the individuals are similar, community may come relatively easily. For most, however, there are challenges – differences in age, denomination, upbringing, stage of life, social class, personality – and team unity comes through hard work and intentional building of community.

I asked last year’s Spring Step team leaders how their teams had gone about this: all of them put daily prayer together at the top of the list. ‘Praying together before the working day was something we tried to do to remind us of our common goal for the day, as well as starting the day reminding

ourselves that we are all united in Christ and that serving him is ultimately the common vision.’ (Georgia, Team Guatemala) Another team emphasised getting to know everyone in the team on a personal level, sharing things from their lives back home, struggles and praise points, and discovering each other’s gifts and passions. ‘You really begin to get to know people intimately when you know what their hearts are for!’ (Jodi, Team Peru–Bolivia).

Eating together and chatting was also a priority, plus time off together to do fun things, laugh and relax. They also talked of how ‘community was built through honesty within the team’ – being open about problems

and struggles. What impacted me most was one team’s desire to build community by serving one another, as well as those they’d set out to serve in Latin America. They would sit around encouraging one another, play Secret Angel (blessing each other with secret good deeds), and in the run-up to Easter, followed Jesus’ example by washing each other’s feet.

This is what community should look like. A Step team is a microcosm of the larger Latin Link community and the Church, the family we’re all part of. We can learn from how these teams have intentionally built community and make it a priority in our churches and lives.

‘ Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.’

Hebrews 10:23–25

Doing things together is vital for team buildingOver 170 people from Latin Link came together from 7--11 February, for our sixth International Assembly (IA) in Quito, Ecuador. We asked delegates to explain what the IA does for our togetherness:

Personal growth

Alongside the bigger picture, the IA also challenges and encourages personal development. ‘The testimonies have helped me in my growth in Christ,’ says Betty. ‘I was inspired and challenged personally,’ says Natalie Walters, ‘God also gave me direction as I get my head around only having three months left in Costa Rica.’

Ultimately though, the IA is a place to be with Jesus. ‘I enjoyed getting to know everyone, listening to different stories and learning new things but mainly I loved our worship times,’ says Jana Laukova (Costa Rica). ‘I have worshipped in two different languages before, but never four! What an amazing experience! I cannot wait to be in heaven and be part of worship in even more languages!’

So we’re not just a ‘Community with a Calling’ – the IA was also a taste of the ultimate community: heaven!

13All together now | Latinfile Spring 2014Latinfile Spring 2014 | All together now12

Latin Link members describe how they have helped to create a sense of togetherness in five very different places.

Cusco, PeruIan and Juliana Horne have helped to establish Tawna, a ministry to abandoned elderly Quechua people.

Our experience is that community develops naturally given the right conditions, but there are steps that can accelerate the process.

The elderly people whom we serve are living in conditions of isolation, abandoned by their families. When we started our weekly meetings they were a collection of individuals. Within a year, however, this had changed: there was a real buzz of chatting and nattering as they interacted together! Perhaps the simple, interactive games we played with them, and giving them the chance to tell their stories to the group, helped. Also, we shared Bible stories (in Quechua, of course!) that emphasise caring for

our neighbours, such as the Good Samaritan. A highlight of our Christmas celebrations is when they do a gift exchange: each brings a gift such as a knitted scarf, a bag of maize or boiled eggs to share with an elderly neighbour.

One lady, Dominga, even turned down the opportunity to go on a journey with her family because she didn’t want to miss her weekly experience of belonging. We’ve seen the group helping one another practically, and believers inviting other elderly people to their churches. Perhaps one of the most important contributions of Tawna is creating a safe space where people can receive the comfort and affirmation that community offers, as well as experiencing more of God’s love.

Cochabamba, BoliviaGray and Andrea Parker founded and ran Tunari Treasures, a project teaching metalwork, life-skills and faith to young lads from low-income homes.

In creating our community, a key factor was making the boys feel safe and cared for: we would stop to chat when they had problems. Some of our students said the project

was a second home for them. We also built on Bolivian culture; anything involving good food will be well received!

We built community through various means:

Having team times. Gray would share his thoughts about the project and ask their opinions. They would read and discuss the Bible together, and pray.

Twice a year we took the students on an excursion out of the city, cooked them a barbeque and relaxed together.

We held graduation ceremonies to recognise their achievements, involving food, drink, formal dress and certificates. In Bolivia, such formal occasions are important – particularly involving speeches from people in authority. We created a tradition and a special occasion.

Every so often we would take them to another project so that they could help others (eg building a set of goalposts for a children’s home, painting a nursery). It gave them a chance to see other people’s lives and challenges, plus a day of being together and working in a team.

We provided a uniform (overalls, boots etc) for safety, but it also gave a sense of belonging.

Sometimes our ideas didn’t work. Once we gave them a choice of activities for the excursion – for example, going to the cinema together – but they weren’t interested. It was something they weren’t used to doing; something Westerners do.

Excursions and food featured a lot in bringing the group together

All together nowTawna: helping to overcome isolation issues for elderly Quechua

Recife, BrazilPaul Crothers is part of a project reaching out to boys and young men through a number of programmes, including football.

Initially the project was about building friendships with the boys, gaining their trust and respect. We gained the support of the families and the community as they recognised our goal was to shape and mould these young men, providing guidance, support and opportunities to fulfil their potential.

This poor and socially disadvantaged neighbourhood felt neglected and abandoned by the authorities. But the project, including the football, provided a renewed sense of self-esteem and pride. At the first youth service in the church which the project helped to plant, I invited a well-known Brazilian professional footballer. Many from the area turned up. That night had a profound impact on all who were present and brought pride and hope back into the community. It showed that there are people who love and care for them; that led them to begin to question deeper, ‘Why do these people care?’ Football brings the community together

Playing games and relaxing together is a one part of the Uno en Cristo group

Quininde, Ecuador Beth Tranter is doing her Stride placement with a church, including starting a youth group for teenagers on a Sunday morning.

One of my hopes when I started the Sunday morning youth group was to help create more of a sense of

After I finished the project stopped. However, this helped the boys to recognise what the project stood for and meant to them. I visited them last year, and it was evident the boys wanted the project re-established. They miss the bonds, support and love and that people cared enough to invest time in them. [Great news: having initially worked on this initiative as a Strider, Paul will restart the football project in Recife later this year as a longer-term member of Latin Link.]

Usually it takes a while to gain people’s confidence that we are genuinely concerned for them. Once this is gained, many families make real efforts to get to our meetings. They tell us that it’s fulfilling a great need; often it becomes the one meeting where they feel truly cared for and listened to. This group has become a lifeline to almost 20 families.

belonging among the teenagers in the church. One morning we spoke about this; most of them didn’t feel they had any close friends who were Christians, and that they found it challenging being Christians in their schools. I think it’s vital for teenagers to have a close group of other young people who love God, and to have Christian role models.

Over the past year we’ve done activities together, such as painting a mural on the back of the church, performing a dance for the rest of the congregation, and singing

during the New Year’s service. They’ve appreciated having a place and space just for them, they’ve become closer as a circle of Christian teens, and they have started taking ownership of the group, coming up with their own ideas.

Some things I’ve tried haven’t gone as expected! One Saturday I organised a social event at the swimming pool and invited everyone I could think of. My aim was to get kids and teenagers together from the church, my English classes and the schools I’ve helped in. I ended up with quite a few confused people wondering what the event was for and whether I had a religious agenda, when all I’d had in mind was some swimming and socialising between the various groups of young people!

Drawing the teenage girls together

15All together now | Latinfile Spring 2014Latinfile Spring 2014 | All together now14

Gang mentality?Verna Langrell, who works with youth on the streets of São Paulo, Brazil, offers a few provoking thoughts on gangs:

Imagine you are a child who has just run away from home.

You arrive in a strange place potentially even more dangerous than where you have left.

You meet up with others who seem to understand you as they have a similar story.

They offer you much-desired protection.

They provide for your needs, somewhat precariously, but you feel there is safety in their midst.

They provide you with company and friendship.

They teach you a new means of survival, a new way to live.

You gain a new set of ‘parents’, who direct the group and look out for you.

Some might say you have become part of a gang.

But you say you have found a family.

San Jose, Costa RicaBased in Costa Rica, Brenda Darke helps to run Uno en Cristo (One in Christ), which supports families where one or more members has a disability.

The name Uno en Cristo was chosen by the team members, expressing the sense they felt of being in a community, held together by Christ. This group began as a response to felt need. We’ve been going ten years, and done various things to create togetherness:

Regular monthly meetings provide a safe space where people can air their grief and their joys, pray together, study the Bible and share practical help.

The group frequently requests prayer for difficult and emergency situations, this being shared by phone.

Home visits have helped us to gain insight into each family’s situation.

We try to ‘be there’ for each family; we can’t solve every problem but we are alongside them, listening and praying.

It’s important to accompany families through the experience of the death of someone in their family and continue this care after the funeral.

17Being accepted | Latinfile Spring 2014Latinfile Spring 2014 | Being accepted16

Being accepted

Some of our members talk about their experiences in moving into a new place and becoming part of those you are living among.

‘From the beginning we decided to immerse ourselves in Brazilian culture,’ says Jan Greenwood. ‘Although there were other ex-pats in the town we chose to make friends with Brazilians. We got involved in our church, we were learning Portuguese, and went to Sunday school, even though we couldn’t understand it. I think they really respond to that.’ But as well as getting stuck into the culture, ‘go in thinking, I’ve got to watch, listen and learn.’ Husband Phil agrees: ‘You have to realise you’ve an awful lot to learn, and be willing to learn and adapt.’

‘I had to remind myself that I’m a Peruvian girl with my Peruvian mind in a different culture’ comments Diana Vilchez, a Latin Partner working in Essex. ‘To be part of the community, first I needed to listen and see how people behave and relate to each other. Then I could do the same and start to build relationship.’

‘It’s the old temptation when you enter a different culture,’ continues

Phil. ‘You tend to think, Oh, that’s not a good way of doing it, my way’s better. You’ve got to put that aside. My way’s different, but not better. Have the humility not to think you’ve always got the best ideas.’

Painful lessons

Humility also comes through making mistakes. ‘The church we attended was open to letting us help,’ says Phil, ‘so early on Jan had a Sunday school class with four year olds who were also effectively learning to speak. She could make mistakes and they didn’t think it was a problem.’

‘We also took on leading a discipleship group,’ says Jan. ‘They helped us to learn things about the culture. They would make fun of us and tell us how to do things.’

Sometimes mistakes can be painful, however, as one of Jan’s stories shows. ‘We’d been in Brazil three years. Brazilian culture is very all-inclusive, so if your kid has a birthday party or event you need

Quito, Ecuador. ‘It’s difficult sometimes being the new person but the culture in Latin America is open and patient so you just have to do your part.’

For Julie Noble, working at a rehab centre in Bolivia, ‘I’ve become more rooted in the church body since taking on teaching the teenagers – which wasn’t something I meant to do.’ Such adaptability is key. And that includes making time. ‘Spending time with my mentors and colleagues allowed me to be accepted into their circle,’ continues Cat. ‘The same was true for my Ecuadorian host-family – spending time with them at weekends, on holidays, being open, eating with them and generally being involved. It’s not going to happen in seconds; making the time and effort to be involved in people’s lives – doing life together – is what makes community.’

Making sacrifices also helps. ‘We had a couple in our discipleship group,’ says Jan, ‘and they said, ‘‘Well, this is good, but if we’re going to really learn from

you we need to live with you. So can we?’’ We took a deep breath and said, ‘‘Okay.’’ They lived with us for 18 months and had their first baby in our house. We learnt as much from them as they learnt from us.’

Jan notes the importance of children too. ‘We had three small children and they make friends, which aids acceptance into a neighbourhood. Our kids would continually invite other kids to our house. Our son, as a teenager, would have loads of young lads round. I was working with teenagers, so that gave me the opportunity to disciple them.’

I’m accepted!

‘It was an episode with one of these young lads that made me realise we’d been accepted,’ continues Jan, ‘He should have been at school, but wasn’t because his mother hadn’t gone to sign him in. (His mum had problems with

alcohol and his dad was always away from home.) So I went into the school with him to sign him in. Feeling that he was okay with it was a real sign of being accepted.’

For Diana too, certain experiences indicated acceptance. ‘Where I live most of them are white and they don’t relate much with non-English people. They see that most of them have different costumes and habits that they don’t understand or don’t like it. Now I realise that they have been watching me and have accepted me, because I’m being invited into their homes, they tell me more about their lives, they trust me and listen to me as well.’

For Cat, it was the family times that clinched it: ‘At Christmas and New Year, I was involved with the whole host-family. We gave and received presents and I dressed up with the kids. They invited me to be part of their family customs, so I felt accepted then.’to invite everybody within the

circle. You mustn’t leave anyone out. On this particular occasion our kids asked if they could go with friends from two families from our discipleship group for a burger. But we didn’t invite all the others. One of them took great offence and told us clearly. That was a hard but important lesson.’

‘It’s one thing to recognise a characteristic of the culture,’ continues Phil, ‘it’s another to realise how important it is to the people, how easily you can offend. You then have a big job to rebuild. This episode was hard, but helped us to see that being prepared cross-culturally was important, because otherwise you could put your foot in it all the time!’

Making the effort

However, making an effort is crucial. ‘I was accepted into my church because I made an effort to go to events and cell groups,’ says Cat Spreadbury, who recently completed her Stride placement in

© N

igh

trid

er

Cycle 100km (62 miles) through the heart of London, and fundraise for Latin Link at the same time!Following the success of last year, when we raised over £5,000 for Latin Link, we have again booked places on the Nightrider event, which takes place on the night of 7–8 June.

The bike ride takes in many of London’s famous landmarks, including Tower Bridge, Piccadilly Circus, St Paul’s Cathedral and the London Eye. In 2013, Nightrider attracted over 4,000 cyclists for this amazing fundraising experience. See more at: www.nightrider.org.uk.

At the time of going to press, we still have a limited number of places available on a first come first served basis, so get in touch with us now to book your place through us. Please note that there is a £39 entrance fee (reduced from £99, as Latin Link has paid the first £60).

To register, please contact Paula on paulam@latinlink.org.uk or 0118 957 7107.

19Latinfile Spring 2014 | Get involved18 Inspire report | Latinfile Spring 2014

Cycle the sights!

These days, being part of a community doesn’t mean you have to be physically together. You can do it online! Here are two ways you can connect with the Latin Link community.

FacebookOften the quickest and most up-to-date way to find out all the latest news and views

from within Latin Link, including the very latest from our Step teams.

But Facebook is also a good way to share news from the nations of Latin America that often doesn’t make it into the main news on TV and radio.

We now have over 1,350 people connected to us through Facebook, though something posted on our page can reach lots of other people too. A post made in the UK can attract comments from others all across the world in minutes.

If you are already on Facebook, visit our page ‘latin link’. If you aren’t yet on Facebook, create an account via www.facebook.com and then like us at ‘latin link’.

TwitterFollow us on the social networking platform that everybody is talking about. Our

news and views in 140 characters! Visit www.twitter.com and then follow us on #latin_link.

Get connected with Latin Link

A community together‘Inspiring’ was the word of the day at Latin Link England & Wales’ annual Inspire! conference in March. With 129 people packed into Carey Baptist Church, Reading, there was an atmosphere of excitement and passion for mission in Latin America.They came from afar – the Isles of Man and Wight, Liverpool, Swansea, Ramsgate and Norwich, to name just a few. And they spanned the ages: the youngest was 8 months old, the oldest 89 years. We had current members, ex-Steppers, ex-Striders, retired members and people with no formal connection to Latin Link at all. The full breadth of the Latin Link community.

There was an excellent main session of teaching from Martin Lee (Executive Director of Global Connections), to help us get the bigger picture of what is going on in the world of mission. As one of the delegates said, ‘I thought Martin Lee’s talk was really challenging.’

There were also talks and seminars led by a number of our members, including Paul Crothers (Brazil), Douglas Cowan (Ecuador), Lucho Sanchez (Latin Partner from Peru but based in north-west England), and Sharon Jones (Peru), who told a ‘fairy tale’. Virginia Patterson (who ran the SIWOK indigenous crafts stall) commented, ‘I was impressed by Sharon Jones’ bravery and honesty in her talk about her work in Peru.’

During the breaks, you could hear the buzz of earnest conversation, possibly aided by the free coffee and tea donated by our partners Kingdom Coffee (www.kingdomcoffee.co.uk). Musical worship was led by a Brazilian couple, and included songs in three of the languages of Latin Link.

There were a number of opportunities for people to contribute financially to the mission, with over £800 collected on the day, about half of that being put towards the fund for retired members. In addition, those running a stall selling indigenous Bolivian crafts donated their sales of over £120 to Latin Link. And one of our speakers (Bethany Tranter, who two days later was heading back to Ecuador for a further year of her Stride placement) was pledged £1,000 to make up the shortfall for her year ahead.

Good food, honest conversations, excellent company – all things that contribute to a strong community. As Catherine Evans (leader of the New Malden prayer group) summed it up: ‘The whole day was a real blessing – every session I attended was enlightening.’

A fairy tale

The lunchtime buzz

Andrew Johnson (Latin Link Team Leader) and Martin Lee (Global Connections) on stage

Seek God’s will for your life as you serve overseas Explore opportunities to work in social justice Help bring hope and dignity to the underprivileged and vulnerable Deepen your faith Learn a new language Make new friends Encourage and inspire the Church in Latin America

/latinlinkpage @Latin_Link vimeo.com/latinlink

Apply or find out more…

w latinlink.org.uk/stridee Stride@latinlink.org.ukt +44 (0) 118 9577101

Striders join us for 6–24 months (as individuals, couples or families) and work with churches and local projects to meet a wide range of spiritual and practical needs.

Put your Christian faith into action on a Stride placement in Latin America

Take a Stride of faith