Sorry I haven't posted in a while - the big team went home on Sunday and so up 'till then I've been quite busy with that! But while a bigger team does take a lot more organising, they also get A LOT done! It's been great to see them all working away and connecting with local people in the various projects we've taken them to help out in. And seeing the way this has certainly left and impact on some of their lives too, has been so rewarding! So I'm sat here, eating a big pot of chinola (passion fruit - of which I won't be eating it all today!), my face screwing up at the sourness of every mouthful, though the taste I love; thinking over the last 2 weeks about what has really stood out to me... I think one of the little things that has stuck in my mind has been Meekah (really not sure how to spell that!). Meekah is a beautiful girl. She is one of, I think, 10 children and is looked after predominantly by her older brother John (Megan, a missionary who works he in their village wrote this about John back in 2012!). I don't know very much about the family situation at all, but I do know that John loves her and she loves him. And EVERY time I go to their village, as soon as Meekah sees me, she runs up and jumps into my arms! She will then go everywhere with me, hold my bottle for me, want to be thrown around in the air by me... until eventually I run out of energy (or arm strength!) and we sit down and play less energetic games! She is absolutely great - I look forward to seeing her every time we go there!
Then one time with this last team, we went and she was there but she was tired. And this big lump had grown on the side of her head, quite quickly in the last week. And it was hurting her. She came into the feeding programme but was very clingy and wouldn't go and eat, so I took her on my lap and fed her food until she refused anymore, saying she was too full. Then I went off to do something with the team and when I came back she climbed back into my arms, and while we were waiting around she fell fast asleep. Don't get me wrong, I loved the cuddles, but this tired, kind of lethargic and hurting Meekah was nothing on the excited always-ready-for-fun one! So we decided to take her and John to the clinic on our way out of the village. John went and got changed and got her some nice clothes (looked like her Sunday whites!) and we got them on the bus and went out. Claire gave John money for the travel back and he went off and took her to get checked out! We went back the following week and she was napping while I was working. Then John took me to see her; she was lying down on some cushions just outside their house. I didn't want to wake her, but while I was just talking to John out there she opened her eyes and looked up, so I went over and laid my head down next to hers as she reached out her little arm around my neck. I asked her if she was OK, and she said yes. And as she woke up a little more she climbed into my lap as I rocked her and we talked a bit. The lump was completely gone and she had no more pain! And by the end of this week, she was starting back at school and LOVING it!!! Now I don't know if the doctors' really helped, or whether it would've just got better on its own, but even just to know it wasn't majorly serious and that both the lump and the pain would go away was a good thing - a quick doctors' checkup and some medicine - something I've certainly alwats taken for granted. But with the cost of being seen and the cost of travelling; it's not always that easy for people in poverty. I've done a lot of thinking recently; trying to work out how a problem like poverty can even begin to be solved. But I'm reminded of how Jesus acted when he was on the earth - he didn't raise his hands in the air, say a pray and eradicate blindnes (for example) from the earth. He walked about; interacting with real people, caring about them, teaching them, and helping the person in need he found in front of him. Maybe if we all did that, the problem of poverty wouldn't be such a massive one to think about tackling.
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I am now back with my third team for the summer - time is rushing by! They arrived last Sunday, so are nearing their first full week and it's a BIG team (24), so LOTS of construction is getting done!!! But I wanted to talk about a visit we did on Tuesday to a mens' alcohol and drug rehabilitation centre called 'Christ Transforms'.
At Christ Transforms, there are 30 men who live there, and a Pastor who is the one in charge. The Pastor, whose looks and mannerisms give him the nickname (to us, anyway!), Lenny Henry, tells his story about how he had a problem with alcohol and he was in and out of prison all the time, and even the people in prison didn't like him because of how he was with the alcohol. And eventually, he found his way to the centre and there he found God and he turned his life around. Not long after that, the 2 people running it had to leave, and he found himself stood in the middle of the place and he stood there and said to God, "I can do this." And so he could. Then he tells us all, rather animatedly, how he told God, "If I'm going to do this, I need a wife by my side. No longer can I be alone," and he went to the local church, and there was a beautiful woman there, and now... "we have THREE children!" *MASSIVE CLAPPING FROM EVERYONE* He's so funny! Anyway, the "programme" there is one of living together in community and worshipping God. They have worship services 3 times a day. They all live together, cook together - they have a kind of farm with lots of chickens. But the whole principal, if you like, is that Christ transforms; and through worshipping him, and growing into relationship with him, they find strength to turn their lives around. And as one of the guys on this team said, it is 'like we see a glimpse of the Kingdom of God there.' They don't have very much at all; the buildings are higgledy-piggledy and falling apart, they run off donations and so we usually try and take some BIG bags of rice over when we go - but they don't mind. They're all so happy with where they're living; so happy there's someone there who loves them and cares for them; even more happy that we take the time out to go and see them! And a lot of the guys, once they've made it through the programme, they'll be back, giving testimonies or preaching because they want to help other guys get through like they have done. It's a picture of hope and joy. Of forgiveness and grace. Of community and love. And it's beautiful. It's taken me a while to get a morning cuppa routine going... but here it is! For a start I didn't have a kettle - and then my hobs ran out of gas (in fairness, to solve that one all I need to do is ask; but the faff!) - and then even just finding NORMAL tea! People don't really drink tea here. The locals certainly don't and then most of the tourism comes from the States and Canada, where they don't really drink it much either (I KNEW they were CRAZY for some reason!!!). And then there's the milk issue, which I think I've mentioned before, and me not wanting to ruin the beautiful beverage by dolloping in UHT! But... needs must! {I don't think I've ever written that saying; is that how you'd write it?} So I braved the milk; and my good friend Claire lent me a kettle; and she sourced me some English Breakfast tea bags - and THIS is the result! Oh that first sip. When it's still too hot to really drink but ohhh, it tastes so good! I mean, it's not the same as a cup of tea I'd have made in England, but it was close enough to still be heavenly! I know most people will look at that photo, and think I couldn't possibly care about the actual flavour of tea if I have it that pale; but I have come to the conclusion that I just have sensitive taste-buds, and I CAN taste it, and I LOVE it! Started the Sunday RIGHT! Now off to get ready for church!!! :-D Anyone ever had condensed soup before? I didn't even know there was such a thing! But there is, and I had it last night!
I have to admit, as it all glooped out of the tin, and I poured the UHT (milk that's not worthy to be called milk! ;-P) in I did wonder if I'd be able to eat it. But, after stirring for about 10 minutes and finally deciding the heat might help the two substances merge in a more... consistent way, I heated it up and it wasn't actually too bad! Could possibly do with a bit of sugar, as it was quite bitter, but it was warm, faintly tomato flavoured and alongside the nice soft bread I had, filled me up good and proper! And that's all you really need in a meal anyway! :-) Yesterday was house dedication day, and as one Facebook commenter on this photo said: "The smiles tell us all we need to know." This is the family who will be receiving the house this team sponsored and have been working hard to build. And I remember, particularly the first time I came out here on a 2-week trip and was shovelling dirt into a house that looked just like the ones below; I remember thinking, well this is hardly an amazing house. Compared to my house back home, this is nothing. And by Britain standards my house is fairly normal! These houses are TINY in comparrison; they have 2 bedrooms, a living space and a little toilet and shower room - and it's generally big families moving into them. But then the family comes and looks around, and they go through the service - and every service I've been at the mother has tears in her eyes (if not down her cheeks) and they respond as if you'd just handed over a palace! Because what they're actually being given is safety. Security so that they're children can grow up without the threat of being evicted if they can't pay the rent one month. Sanitation so that they can have access to running water; they can wash and use a toilet in their own home with no danger. Society so that they have other families around them; access to schools and clinics and churches; friends and a community spirit. House dedication day is always a beautiful day and this is why we do it - this is why teams come out here and build and shovel and get dirty and hot and sweaty. Because it is a gift that will make a real, tangible difference to this family. |
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AuthorI'm a recent Cambridge Theology graduate now studying for a Masters in Biblical Studies and blogging about all sorts of things! I'm interested in faith, Church, theology, social action, the great outdoors and being creative, and all of those things - along with many more - come through in my posts!
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