Communities connected to ...

What communities are you in and who/what are they connected to?

This question came up at a recent meeting I attended of the COGS Vision Team. We were discussing how the church positively impacts it's communities, and draws people to Christ.

If you're not a Christian and you're reading this, you may be wondering why this post is on my blog and what relevance it has to you?

The answer is that regardless of what we believe, each of us is (unless you are a hermit) is connected to other people through the communities (online and offline) that we participate in. Be it a book-club, a tennis-club, a Google+ stream or a go-club (or even, dare I suggest it, a church), our communities consist of a variety people who meet together on a regular basis, and some of those people may be Christians. You yourself may not share their belief, but this won't alter the fact that you may have a Christian praying for you, and (if God exists - a big if, I know) their prayers may be having a positive impact on your life.

If you're a Christian reading this, you may now be wondering what this has to do with church?

The answer is that church is not just a meeting that happens on a Sunday (and may well be unintelligible to some), but (especially around the beginnings of Christianity) is something that exists where two or more Christians meet in community.

What I've observed of Christianity so far is that whilst the Sunday service has a purpose and a place, the church best impacts the world and stimulates growth when Christians regularly meet with and serve others in their local communities. Hence communities connected to Christ.

Such communities are characterised by:

• being a mixture of Christians and non-Christians (with generally more of the latter).
• meeting regularly (at least monthly), preferably in a neutral location.
• meeting with a common purpose that benefits the whole community (not just either sub-group identified early).
• allowing and involving the sharing of each members views on life, the universe and everything.

So whether or not you're a Christian reading this, the question still stands: what communities are you in, and who/what are they connected to?

Third-World IT (on a shoe string)

Our focus today was the visit to a half-way house run by Oasis. It is home to six girls that have been freed from prostitution, with the aim of helping them return to a normal, self-sufficient life style.

Yet again, we were moved by both the scale of the suffering and the dedication and effectiveness of the Oasis staff.

This visit doubled up with Dave running a training session on Communication Skills and I one on IT (small topic really).

My session was prefixed by a morning working with Oasis's 21 year old IT administrator, to help figure out areas for improvement. He is the sole support to 30-40 users in Mumbai, spread across at least four different offices (in can take two hours to drive across Mumbai at rush hour). Most of their equipment is over ten years old (Windows XP on a P2 with 500MB RAM). We came up with a proposal for a (free) Google based architecture to help address their needs. Just wish I was here for four more weeks in order to help implement it.

Today was a turning point for me. For the last few years I've been wanting to use my skills to help people in the third-world, and I was not only finally doing just that, but I glimpsed how it could be applied to other NGO's too. This was combined by a deep appreciation of the difference that Oasis is making to the lives of Mumbai's poor. I don't know what will happen next, but I'll return to the UK with a passion to do much more to help Oasis India.

English men cause balloon riot in Mumbai

We returned to the Aruna Project Office today to help run a kids session. As the prostitutes work all night, their children are left unsupervised during the day, which can leave them vulnerable to abuse. Twenty children were there, aged approximately 5-15.

Tim did a fantastic job of entertaining them on the guitar. Despite his warnings, we then cracked open the modelling balloons. Even with two balloon modellers at work (plus Graham blowing hard and Lyndsay fumbling knots) chaos soon broke out.

The Oasis staff ended the session by providing lunch to the children, which calmed things down considerably. It was a privilege to be a tiny part of the work they do.

I'm providing IT training tomorrow, after Tim leads an acting session at an Oasis Boys Home. Prayers would be appreciated!

A battle of good and evil

The initial post title was Four white men spotted in Mumbai's red light district. Whilst this seems funny at first, the reality of what happens here is far from it.

Today was the hardest day of the trip so far. It was too physically dangerous to take photos, and the spiritual battle being waged was also tangibly fierce. Yet, despite this being the largest red-light area in the world, women, men and children are being freed from it. The Aruna Project that we visited works with approximately 1500 women and 30 children in this area, out of just one, small drop-in centre. It's fourteen workers do incredible work.

Please read more and provide your support via Aruna's Oasis page.

Oasis in the slums

Today is the Muslim festival of Bakri-Id. In my home of rural South England, this would go largely unnoticed, but in Mumbai, with its high percentage of Muslims, it meant there were approximately 15,000 Muslims assembled for prayer at the mosque near our YMCA.

Our morning was spent at the main Oasis office, located in the middle of a Muslim part of Mumbai. Four goats had just been slaughtered next door, as part of Bakri-Id, and were strung up to be skinned (taking a photo was not appropriate, so I'll let you imagine the scene).

The Oasis team gave us a fantastic, family welcome (my reading of Mark 3:31-35 that morning was particularly poignant). Jeanie and Aabuu briefed us on Oasis's work, which was both distressing and encouraging at the same time. The numbers are devastating:

• According to the UN, 58% of Mumbai's population live in a slum, or on the streets.
• This figure has increased by 5-8% over the last 5 years.
• Human trafficking (e.g. forcing women into prostitution) is now the world's second largest industry (the first being arms, the third, drugs) and has an estimated annual revenue of $5-9 billion.
• 50% of trafficked victims are under 18.
• It takes 1-2 years to rehabilitate someone freed from forced prostitution.
• The global recession has had a noticeable impact on Oasis's fund-raising over the last two years - less money is being given to support their work. 

Whilst this figures make the task seem near impossible, Oasis is unswervingly focused on transformation, one life at a time. We visited two slum projects today, which clearly showed the difference they were making:

• A sewing training centre, which has helped over 500 women in the last five years to learn to sew and thus start earning an income. Over the next few months Oasis are exiting from this project, as its women convert to their own self-run and self-managed federation.
• An office training centre, which has trained over 300 students in English and basic IT skills. This is funded out of DHL's (Blue Dart in India) Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) budget. This project has now been replicated in two other Indian cities.

During our visit to the slum, we also went to see the family of Mina, who Dave knew from a previous visit. She was a single mother, with two children, one of which has Cerebral Palsy. They live in a 4ft x 10ft room, which is not bad by Mumbai's standards.

I was stunned by my first experience of the slums. The smells and claustrophobic living was overpowering, but as was the friendliness of the people we met, and the seeds of hope that Oasis has planted there.

The day was capped off with an after dusk walk through a back-street, Muslim community, to have a shave and head massage at a local barbers. It was, again, a unique experience. The sights, smells and sounds were deafening: people lived as much on the street as in the densely packed houses. Tuk-tuks, cars and bikes wove through the people. Choosing where to walk was a balance between being nearly run over or stepping  through someone's kitchen. It was surreal.

Today has left me speechless, but thankful. God is at work, through Oasis, in bringing restoration to these communities.

Lighting up Mumbai

We made it to Mumbai in one piece, via an overnight flight through Dubai. An Oasis worker kindly drove us to our base for the week, the YMCA. His driving was excellent, especially when compared to the taxi rides we had later in the day. Driving in Mumbai requires lots of honking, no lights (especially after dark) and optional observance of traffic lights and any other suggestion to stop. As a passenger, its best to keep one's eyes shut.

I dislike cities because I feel threatened by them, and I was unsure how I'd cope with Mumbai's crowds. There were fewer beggars than I expected, though seeing the one child tapping on our taxi window was saddening enough. He was about eight-year's old and was showing us his right leg, which was just a stump below the knee.

A local church, with links to Oasis, had invited to us to speak. We were very humbled by the warm, loving welcome we received. I was particularly struck by one of the congregation, Jabbal, who was converted to Christianity from Islam when he was 25. He now pastors his own church further north, with a strong emphasis on meeting and discipling Muslims and Hindus. Dave talked about forgiveness, which Tim illustrated using some touch paper. Graham and I then joined them in praying for those wanting help with forgiving others.

Pastor Jabbal and his wife

Tim lighting up Mumbai

Hindi and English versions of  passage on forgiveness 

Mumbai, here I come

In just under one week from now, I'll be starting a week long visit to Mumbai.

The trip is inspired and being led by my good friend, Dave, who works for a charity with strong connections to the area. Mumbai has Asia's second largest slum. We'll be visiting various parts, including the red-light district.

The aim for our team of four is to share, learn and enable growth. Although I've done this kind of thing before, I expect this is to be the toughest trip I've ever been on, so please pray for me - I will need all the help I can get!

Love is ... unconditional (really, truely)

I've been a blown away by the book Velvet Elvis. It challenges many assumptions we make about faith, and strips it back to its bare essentials.

A quote from the book that particularly struck me was this:

"If the gospel isn't good news for everybody, then it isn't good news for anybody.

And this is because the most powerful things happen when the church surrenders its desire to convert people and convince them to join. It is when the church gives itself away in radical acts of service and compassion, expecting nothing in return, that the way of Jesus is most vividly put on display. ... We have to surrender our agendas. ... I have learned that when I toss out my agenda and simply love as Jesus teaches me to, I often end up learning more about God than I could have imagined."

Mind blowing stuff. The exciting part is living it.

You know you're in Africa when ... (Kotido, Kachiri, Kaabong)

We've been in Kachiri Monday - Friday, Kaabong this Saturday and Sunday and Kotido in-between.

I hope the following gives a taste of what we've seen and done....

You know you're in Africa when ...

10:30 am actually means 12pm, or maybe 1 or 2 pm.

It rains for less than an hour and everywhere is flooded. But the people are over-joyed.


The local church is just a tin roof.


You have four armed police men guarding you at night.


Almost one-hundred people meet under a tree, and will listen to three locals and three Muzungu's talk about God.


Only English men use umbrella's when it rains.


Children have swollen bellies because there is no food.


Young and old have eye problems that are a minor operation in the West. Yet when they look at you, you also see their love and gratitude for meeting you.


You borrow a local's bike, only to discover it has no brakes.


Your vehicle gets stuck in a dry river bed, and you and half a village dig, push and pull it out.


People who have nothing give you their fatest goat and chicken as a leaving gift. Some passengers (me) seem to worry about travelling with them though!


Planting a hedge is blister-making, back-breaking work (if you're a Muzungu, that is).


Going to the toilet (long-drop) at night may mean being shot (by a sleepy policeman, or whoever they're guarding us from).


A game of hop-scotch attracts half the village.


People play football barefoot, despite inch-long thorns.


A three-hour church service is short. It (plus free lunch) attracts 720 people and ends with 102 people becoming Christians.

Arriving in Kotido

We left Kampala on the 7.30 am MAF flight to Karamoja.Flying from Kampala in the South to Karamoja in the North-East was uneventful, but mind-blowing. As we crossed the Nile, and got closer and closer to Karmoja, the land went from being lush and green to dry and brown. River beds were very visible, with not water to be seen. I asked Laurie, the pilot, how long they stayed wet for. His reply was just one day. This is a region that only gets 5 cm of rain a year, and yet people have lived here for thousands of years.

Arriving in Kotido was very exciting. To finally be here after seven months of planning was a great feeling. It was mid-thirties, so we found the nearest bit of share to wait for our pickup.

After a fantastic welcome ("you are most welcome" was a phrase we would hear a lot from then on), we got to work. More on that next post. Our accomodation was basic, but suficient. We were just very glad for the mosquito nets!

First impressions of Uganda

We've done a fair bit of driving around Kampala today, what with needing to buy some wireless routers to take to Karamoja, plus visiting various sights and markets. When I say driving, I fortunately mean "being driven", as for a Westerner, the traffic is a nightmare! From what the others say though, Kampala is fairly typical of a large, 3rd-world city: busy, noisy, smelly and lots and lots of bikes and scooters. The only rule road-users seem to follow is keep to the left, though this does not stop over/under-taking at any opportunity!

What's surprised me about my visit so far is how normal everything seems. I was expecting to feel huge culture shock, both from being an ethnic minority and also due to the poverty. Both are very, very present, and the poverty saddens me, but I think I have yet to see it at its worst. I think that this has been tempered also by the seemingly even spread of poverty across the city: everywhere we go, we see people begging, selling things or otherwise impoverished, and yet right next to them will be someone in a suit, or a smart car, or even a private tennis court!

We were also treated to a view of Uganda's Prime Minister today! His convoy of a pickup, loaded with bored, but armed soldiers, followed by his chauffeur-driven Merc honked past us. We decided not to take any pictures though, having been warned by a traffic police-woman earlier in the day that taking photos without prior permission was not allowed (even from a car)!

Flying up to Karamoja tomorrow. Need to be up at 6 am :-(

Flickr photo stream of Uganda trip

Modern technology rocks! Although I can't claim responsibility for any of these snaps, they were taken by various members of the team...

• Flickr slide show
• Flickr image list

First post from Kampala

I'm writing this post from Namirembe Guest House, in the capital of Uganda, Kampala. It still feels a bit surreal to be here, and inside I'm feeling very wobbly, like my head is not connected to my body!

I'm here with nine other Christians from Church of the Good Shepherd, Four Marks, as part of its Mission 2008 program. The basic idea is that we're celebrating the church's 100th anniversary by sending out 100 "blessings" to others, across the room, across the street and across the world. Our team are here to serve the church in Karamoja, an impoverished region of Uganda that is linked with the Winchester diocese.

Tomorrow morning we'll be flying to Karamoja on a MAF flight that will take six of the team to Moroto, in South Karamoja, and three of the team (including myself) to Kotido, in the more rural North Karamoja. One of my functions in the team is to install two laptops in the diocesan office in Kotido, and provide training in their use. The team will also be visiting local schools and manyatta's and speaking in local churches (Christ Church, Kotido on the first Sunday and St Peter's Church, Kabong on the second Sunday).

We'll be living with the locals, possibly in a manyatta like the one below!