Covid19 has hit the world hard and fast. The health impacts of the pandemic have resulted in unprecedented travel restrictions and bans worldwide. Just as we face restrictions and challenges here in NZ, our people overseas and the communities they serve are also dealing with the consequences of the virus outbreak. While this may seem […]
My kitchen is bigger than her whole house. My walls and floor gleam white and one entire corner of my lounge is well-tended, exotic jungle. Her bed fills her entire room, save a 2-foot strip which allows space to get dressed and access the personal effects stored under the bed. My apartment is flooded with […]
Come, Come. The table is ready, Prepared just for you. I say มา มา (come) Sticky rice, som dtam and chicken. All your favourites, Because I know you. I created you. I love you. So leave your rice fields. Do not stop at the temples, Or pause before the monks. Come young and old. Bring your family and friends. Come out of the heat, Find shelter and peace in my name. I am the God of all. Come, […]
We opened the doors of this particular freedom business in 2001. It is located in one of Asia’s largest red light areas with around 10,000 sex workers; many of whom were trafficked from small and remote villages. The vision of this business is to provide alternative employment, and opportunities for freedom, as a way to empower women to leave […]
Much has been preached, spoken, and written of the Great Commission in Matthew 28. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…” This principle is further underscored by another ‘great commissioning’ of Jesus’ followers in Acts 1. “… you will […]
Somewhere near the Southern outskirts of the huge and crowded city of Dhaka, Bangladesh, there is a tiny little school, crammed into a small apartment type building, that is trying to make a difference. In a country of over 160 million people, a school of 350 students seems pretty insignificant, but the work that’s being done […]
A group of 50 young Nigerian women, promised a better life, had made it overland across the obstacle of the Sahara, run the gauntlet of exploiters waiting for them in Libya, and amazingly, made it to Italy in an overcrowded, barely seaworthy boat. Yet within days people checking on them found that all but two […]
I was recently challenged again from Acts 4:13 NIV : “When they (the rulers, elders and teachers of the law) saw the courage of Peter and John and realised that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” How do we ‘be with Jesus’ today so that […]
When I was growing up, first in Pentecostal and then in Baptist churches in Scotland and England, I thought I knew what “mission” was. It was what missionaries did. They were special people who had responded to a call from God, directly to them, to leave behind the familiarity of home and the material benefits of […]
We all like to think we're making a difference, don’t we? We invest our time, effort and resources into things that we care about, and we grasp onto a deep desire to see something good come of it all. Sometimes we're delighted by what we see, but other times we wonder if the effort was really worth it. Recently, I completed […]
