Putting your faith on the line

Putting your faith on the line. This was something that we had never faced in such a direct way. Our plans were to travel through a neighbouring country for a few days on the way home to Australia. For this, we needed visas. However, with predictable Central Asian unpredictability, the consulate would not see us.

So we sent someone on our behalf to present our papers. The message we received back was disconcerting. Any one of us would be called in to the consulate for individual interviews, focusing on 3 questions:

Are you a journalist?

Are you a Christian?

What intentions do you have in this country?

If we answered yes to any of these questions, we would be denied entry.Furthermore, they wanted details of our workplace or study in Australia. Some of us were theological students.

If we were denied entry, we couldn’t take our flight home to Australia. Or at least, we would have to spend 3 days in a notorious room in a Central Asian airport.

What was a truthful yet expedient answer? What was a wise answer? We felt that we were called to give an account of our faith, with something at stake. We were called to count the cost of discipleship.

We discussed and prayed about this matter, and realised that to bring honour to God, we were to speak truthfully, graciously, boldly, and wisely. We would not lie. And we would commit our welfare into the loving hands of our Father through prayer. We were to live by his grace.

Each one of us was ready to give an account of our faith, but trusting in God’s sovereignty. What eventuated was that the next day our entire team’s visas were granted without question or interview! God had granted us all we needed. Through this episode, had made us define our faith and put it on the line. And he brought us through.

A tough lesson - ministry outside our comfort zone

The next day’s ministry project would be a new experience – serving the homeless people during this cold winter. But then panic set in my mind, as we were told that amongst those homeless people, some would have active tuberculosis. But that’s very contagious! How could I, as team leader, responsibly bring the team into this environment?

Restlessly, I struggled for humility and wisdom. My discussions with medical advice left us with our own individual decisions as to whether to participate in this ministry. As a team, we discussed our concerns and prayed together. We decided that if we were to minister Biblically, we had to do as Jesus did – he touched those outcasts in society, including those who were infectious. So we committed this to God through prayer, trusting in God’s care for us.

As we sang songs, presented gospel dramas and chatted with the homeless, I looked at the crowd. One man was particularly dishevelled, wearing filthy lice-ridden clothes. I thought to myself, “Of all these people here, this is the man most likely to have TB – I’d be careful of getting too close to him!” And yet, of all the men in the room, it was this very person whom God caused to approach me closely, poignantly asking, “Do you have any warm clothes? I get very cold at night”.

I couldn’t ignore him or move away. This was God asking me, personally, for a response. What could I do? My only response had to be to take the coat from my own back and give it to him. This was Biblical. And this was the witness God demanded of me.

I had to entrust myself to God’s grace. And God taught me the extent of his love. Ministry outside my comfort zone.

Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. (Matt 25:37-40)

Integral ministry - at the women's prison

It was an icy cold day. As four of us from the team headed out there with local partners, there were feelings of excitement and fear. None of us had ever been in a prison before. On arriving, we noticed that the prison laundry that was hanging on the line had been snap frozen with icicles hanging off the sheets!

It was a forty minute van ride out there, in a big orange van. The van was also to double as the class room for the kids’ English class. These kids are the kids of the staff of the prison. I couldn’t help but wonder what sort of lives these children have, spending their days in a prison!

There were moments during the ride that I just wanted to jump out of the van purely out of fear, but I was reminded that God loves all people, and some of the Apostle Paul’s ministry was conducted in prison, so therefore, showing love to these women was the right thing to do. In the end, I was so glad I didn’t whimp out as it was a real buzz to be witnessing what our partners do every week, and to be involved in this amazing ministry. On arriving, we stood in the cold corridor and sang some Christmas Carols – through closed metal doors and cold metal bars. Lucky for us, we had one of the partners accompanying us on her guitar so we didn’t have to sing acapella!

We then split off into pairs and headed for individual cells. We had prepared activities to do with these women, activities which seemed quite childish and frivolous, but the idea was to break up some of the boredom of their day. The partners had also brought with them specific items some of the women had asked for. Mostly, these were items of warm clothing as it was now the middle of winter, some of the women had been jailed with only the clothes they had been arrested in several months earlier in the summer.

We were paired up and a couple of us ended up being the pair doing all the singing, each time, singing Hillsong songs such as “You rescued Me”, “Shout to the Lord” and “This Kingdom” as each time we moved to a new cell, the women asked us to sing after they’d heard us singing Christmas Carols in the corridor. It was also a great opportunity to talk to these women about the real reason why Christmas is celebrated. One woman we met claimed she was a believer, and brought out a lyric sheet of worship songs in Russian so our partner could also accompany her on the guitar. It was encouraging also to then be able to pray with her. We met another inmate in the corridor. I was later told that she is a faithful believer who was unjustly jailed for a crime she didn't commit. She has been in this prison for over a year and has been discipling a new believer while her case is still in court, awaiting resolution.

Meanwhile, outside, Jo and Simona were outside in the van with another partner getting involved with the English program with the prison staff kids. This ended with the kids giving each other toboggan rides in the snow.

God's oilpainting in the morning

This was the sunrise and the awesome spectrum of colours one morning from our bedroom window and the crystal clear spectacular view of the mountains that drape the town.

STOP PRESS

It's set! It's definite! Our supporters' update evening is coming up!

If you are in Sydney and have been one of Team CAR's supporters or you'd just like to see, smell and hear more of what we got up to in Central Asia than what's on this blog, then keep the evening of MARCH 15th 2008 free!!

Meanwhile, here's a fact for you: 90% of the country we were based in in Central Asia is mountains, so here's a pic of the team at the Manas Museum on top of Manas Mountain. Apparently, there's a debate as to whether this mountain we climbed is naturally occurring, or whether Manas himself made it!

Reverse Culture Shock

In terms of reverse culture shock, mine personally has been in the form of flashbacks and snapshots of things I saw and funny things that happened over there, triggered by things people say or things I see here at home. I haven't felt disgust at the developed world for being so materialistic or anything like that, but I've felt terribly humbled and blessed at how much we have. We take many things for granted here at home. We take hot water, showers, and clean toilets for granted. We take our high road rule standards for granted. We take our health for granted. We assume that if we get sick, we have the resources available to treat us, without having to be flown out to another country.

We've been back a few days now, gotten through Christmas and Boxing Day, now hanging out for the New Year, so I thought I'd share some of the bazillion photos with you from our trip as as I reminisce while I'm slowly sorting through my stash, and converting them into jpegs!!! The people living in this country may not have as many material things as we do, and lead much simpler lives, but what they don't have materially has been made up for with awesome scenery. We were all awestruck by the scenery. That scenery alone was a testimony to how great our awesome dad is.

Please click on the really small photos to see the bigger view.


This was an awesome sight during the last part of our van ride over the mountains back towards the capital. This photo really doesn't do it justice in showing how high this mountain was and how majestic it looked!
This shot was taken from the awning of the cafe we stopped at to have lunch, about 3 hours into our 8 hour trip on the way back to the capital.


Chicken anyone??! These guys were multitasking - plucking feathers next to the toilet block while also collecting money from the restaurant patrons who used the conveniences! I kid you not! Also, I'm not convinced that that's chicken, but that's what they said it was!


A lucky shot as I stuck my torso out the window of the van as we were zooming along at 80kph or so...


The lunch table at our meeting place. Our team felt right at home like at cp11. Their meeting time was at 11am too! They made plov for us for our last time there as a farewell lunch.


Cerise chucking a snowball at the van as we passed by. I had my torso stuck out the window, as usual, and she got me, and the camera! Right after this shot, I almost got swiped by a stationary truck as the van drove past, as I recoiled back inside. According to Wongo, I was 10cm away from potentially life ending injuries!


Team CAR as we said goodbye to our friends and our block of apartments.


Part of the team enjoying freshly steamed manty and samsas for lunch while checking out the local bazaar and putting our bargaining skills to the test during some retail therapy.

Our manty man at the bazaar who by the second time we returned (yes, a few of us made the bazaar a daily ritual) would give us all discounts!


Simona and I went on a homestay to Janar's house, in a village 2hours walk outside of town. We were waiting by the side of the road for a mashrootka (van/bus, their form of public transport) to take us back into town. This man was on his way with his sheep to take them out to pasture.

Cows stopping traffic as we headed back into town in the mashrootka.

That's all for now, there will definitely be more photos to come!

Wishing you and yours a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Almost home...

Hello!

I just noticed it's been quite some time since the last update. So I might as well do the honours. Unfortunately I have no photos to show you...

Right now I'm sitting in an internet cafe in in Kuala Lumpur, while the rest of the team is enjoying themselves watching 'I Am Legend' at the nearby IMax theatre. We are indeed getting busy with the R&R part of this trip!

The last days in the the capital city in CAR went by very quickly. Everyday was spent doing something different, and the team has had hardly any time (until now) to relax and recuperate. I think for many the highlight would have been the dinners we had with some long term partners there - each sharing their own story about how they ended up where they are. It was also very insightful to hear about what exactly they are up to - taking on holistic point of view in whatever they do. (Please do ask us about this when you see us next!)

It would be impossible to mention everything that happened for the rest of our stay, but some of the 'exciting' highlights include homestays, weddings, getting stopped by police, headless cows, horses & sheep, dental surgery, really good food, really bad food, working with homeless people, singing Vron's music medley six times in one weekend, mucking around in the snow on the side of a highway, fake Russian accents, lovesongs for the single women on our team from local boys, amorous university students... all documented with a million photos. Actually, I'm exagerrating a little - we only took about five thousand photos.

So far Vivian's flu managed to get passed around to almost everyone on the trip. Almost everyone - Matt somehow managed to remain immune, and is still currently flu-free despite our best attempts to cough and sneeze on him. However, he managed to pickup the one thing we were really worried about - food poisoning. Ironically, he didn't pick it up from Central Asia - he got it here in Malaysia instead!

Anyway, my time is up here. We'll all be flying home tommorrow night, and be home in the 24th in the morning. Looking forward to seeing you all on the 25th!

In all things, remember to give thanks!