Footprints in Ile, Mozambique: 12-14 June 2012

IRM Ile

Hein and Danie explaining the
community's current reality.

On Sunday June 10th Hein van Wyk traveled with Danie Murray, Johannes Aucamp and José Ganhale from Namurua to Ile to do follow-up on a Hope for Africa Vision Conference conducted at the IRM Congregation there in 2010. Hope for Africa’s vision is to see engaged, high-impact local churches affecting real transformation in their communities and in sufficient mass to disciple their nations. The vision is realized through a mission of helping the local church discover a vision for the Kingdom, to adopt a biblical worldview and to live it out in every aspect of community life.

During the previous Conference in 2010, which was hosted by Past Antonio Ualize, Hein van Wyk, assisted by Danie Murray from Handevat and Johannes Aucamp from TOPIA, helped to lay a biblical worldview foundation for the church's role as God's private voluntary organisation. They examined the biblical evidence for man's brokenness and God's intentions for responding to that brokenness in the future as well as in the present. It further examined God's intentions for the role of the Church as it serves as a "window" through which broken humanity can see God's intentions for healing. During the conference the delegates had the opportunity to deal with cultural lies like fatalism, tribalism and male superiority in practical small group discussions.

Hein, Danie and an elder during the
Conference in 2010.

The follow-up Conference this week was attended by delegates from various local churches in the area. These include the Igreja de Cristo, Evangelica de Cristo, Assemblies of God, Emmanuel Evangelical Church and IRM Ile.

Delegates at the Conference

As introduction to the Conference Hein shared the story of God’s covenant to Abraham from Romans 4: 17-24, “….Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations"—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, "So shall your offspring be." He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was "counted to him as righteousness." But the words "it was counted to him" were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also.” 

Hein explaining different
worldviews

God promised Abraham that all the nations of the earth would be blessed, including all the nations of Africa (Gen 12: 2-3). Abraham believed God, against all hope, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
It’s important to note that Abraham against all hope, faced the fact that he was old and that Sarah, his wife, was barren and past the age of child-bearing. Although at times Abraham searched for man-centered way to fulfill God’s Promise, he did not waver through unbelief; he became fully persuaded that God was able to do what He had promised. God will also credit righteousness to us (Africa) because of our faith. Let’s be greatly encouraged; transformation is coming as a result of the trustworthiness of His promise. Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that has ever happened.” 

The Conference continued to build upon the two realities Abraham faced; God’s reality and man’s reality. The community of Ile is faced with a reality which they described as poverty, sickness, lack of clothing, clean water, transport, healthcare, etc.; basically a community who forgot God. But, there is another reality and it is the reality God has for Ile. In Jeremiah 29:11 we read, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” It’s upon this God-reality that the Vision Conference is build. There is hope for Ile, even against all hope.

Transformational development is more about roots that it is about fruits. Unless the root is changed, the fruit will remain the same. God knows this and provided a new Root for Ile in the Person of His Son, Jesus Christ. In Revelation 22:16 it says, "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."On this Root the community must be build, as Paul said in Colossians 2:6,7 ,”Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” 

Delegates describing what the glasses
they wear tell them

The old roots, which are not of God, are responsible for the current reality Ile is facing. These roots, in the form of cultural lies, were identified and discussed. These included beliefs like tribalism, male superiority, ancestral worship, work is a curse, that there is no future, materialism, etc. This was discussed in inter-active small group meetings. The delegates then had the opportunity to think of practical ways, based on the Word of God, they expose these lies.

Some of the feedback received during the course of the Conference was as follows:

• “When we work and start to sweat we think we are cursed.” 
• “I believe I’m poor, because my father was poor. I believe I inherit poverty.” 
• “I planted 3 coconut trees sometime ago; the others didn’t. Now I enjoy eating coconuts while they do not have any.” 
• “Old people didn’t plant anything, because they think by harvest time they will be dead anyway.” 
• “Thank you for what you shared with us today. It’s good seed. We expect many more tomorrow. We will not forget today.” 
• “God promised Abraham a son. He was in doubt, because he and Sarah were old and couldn’t have children. Abraham tried to find his own solution by having a child with Hagar. God said that was not His plan.” 
• “I remember the tree; the tree depends on its roots. When the roots are good, the tree is good. My question is how can you cut the old roots?” 
• “I remember the tree; if you plant bananas you will have banana fruit. If you want to change bananas to mango you need to have mango roots. In the same way, if you want to change your behavior you need to change your thinking, for example, if you want to have a car, don’t just sit a wait for one, change your mind and do something.” 
• “Africans think, like fatalism, when my grandfather was poor, my father and I cannot be different; we will be the same; we cannot change. If you think like that, you have the wrong glasses. You need to change your glasses to what the Bible says.”

Past Ualize translating Worldview
concepts in Lomue, the local
language.

Someone prayed during the meeting, “Our town (Ile) cries for change. Our glasses are misleading us.”

During one of the debriefing times Pastor Ualize shared with us how things are changing in Ile.
In December 2011 the town’s Administrator called all the churches together. She said that the condition of the community is going to get worse, because the Provincial government didn’t accept her plans for development. She asked the church leaders for advice and they said that the matter must be given to God.
In January 2012 a prayer meeting was held and all the community leaders were invited. They prayed, read the Bible and worshipped God for the entire day.
In June 2012 the Town council called the pastor saying that things have changed dramatically. As a result of the prayers plans are now underway to change the water situation in the town, to tar the main road going through the town, a community radio station will be started and a bank will open office in town. Not one of these things was possible in the past.

Church leaders in small group
discussion

He also shared how his personal situation changed for the better. When the IRM started the congregation in Ile in 2007, many people had doubt about the sustainability of such an initiative. The previous pastor asked people to make bricks to build a building for the Church, but for many years the building didn’t become a reality. Only under the servant-leadership of Past Ualize did volunteers come and put up a steel structure which became the roof of the church building. More volunteers are now joining the process in making more bricks to complete the building.
Church members experienced positive change in both the community and in the congregation at Ile. They are now pulling more than their weight in sustainable development initiatives, like taking care of the up keep and transport needs of Pastor Ualize and his family. In 2006 Pastor Ualize had to travel by bicycle to visit the various prayer houses in the congregation; something that is tiring and very time consuming. In 2006 he was fortunate to receive a motorbike through a congregation in South Africa. It was a great help, but he still needed the finances to maintain it; something the local congregation was not prepared to help with. He had to find ways to fund his own transport by using whatever he had in his hands; including the continued use of the bicycle.

Past Ganhale facilitates small
group feedback

After four years of using a bicycle, the situation changed in December of 2010 when the elders started to give him money for transport. They gave him 2 liters of fuel for every prayer house he visited. Supporting the pastor financially was difficult for the small congregation, but they prevailed. Each month each prayer house committed itself to make a contribution; some even give extra. Now, when the pastor returns from visits to the prayer houses, his motorbike is loaded with many things people gave him. They came to understand that giving is more blessed than receiving.

Johannes facilitated the third and last day of the Conference with Danie interpreting for him. Johannes guided participants through the practical application of worldview principles, as were discussed during the previous two days. The practical application of Biblical Truth is done best through demonstrating God's love through acts of service. For this reason God call's the local expression of the Church to demonstrate His love in the community where it serves. Johannes explained to the participants the idea of Seed Actions or Seed Projects, which is a proven strategy or method for doing small, short-term development initiatives with local resources. The session helped participants to make use of resources found within the community and in the process be set free from dependency on outside resources.

Johannes facilitating Seed Projects

The team left Ile late that afternoon heading for Mocuba, where they spent the night. Friday morning Hein, Johannes, Jose Ganhale and Tanya, a Peace Core worker from Mocuba, left for Milange. Danie stayed behind to receive a visiting team from South Africa.. 

The next round of Hope for Africa Vision Conferences in Mozambique organized by the IRM Tumbine Synod will take place from 17th to 27th of October 2012. Hein, Danie and Johannes will again be responsible for the facilitation of these Conferences.

Hein and the Team on their way to Milange

Soli Deo Gloria!

Handling forfathers in a vision conference in Mozambique

In the conference we talked about the world view that includes the reality of the forefathers and how the community trusts in them for rain, or protection etc. In the process the community is very quick to evaluate the contact with bad spirits, but when we talked about the good spirits, there was suddenly a quietness and challenge. After opening up and sharing that everyone still trusts these good spirits even as Christians, we could talk honestly about the difficult process of change. The knowledge of a Good God and an experience of how He is trustworthy are necessary to help the change. You need to grow in your trust for the Lord, and then it is easier to start the process step by step.

After the point where we could be honest about the fact that everyone is still trusting in the good spirits, and to see that there is no condemnation, the true encouragement started. It is something to experience. You see it in eye’s of people and that quiet atmosphere when people are listening and talking, forgetting everything else around them.

It helps also to know that we do not have to change everything at once, which is murderous. We can go into a process where we take accountability for one another and grow towards a 100% trust in the Lord. We will not stop before we are there. 

Rede vir ekonomiese sukses

Dalk spreek die volgende aanhaling jou ook aan soos vir my:


What answer might you expect if you asked scientists in a Communist setting to account for America’s success?

That was the assignment given the Chinese Academy of Social Science in 2002. What they found surprised them, and stunned Western intellectuals, too.

Here’s their unforgettable statement, as David Aikman reports it in Jesus in Beijing:

One of the things we [Chinese scholars] were asked to look into was what accounted for the success, in fact the pre-eminence of the West [America] over the world. We studied everything we could from the historical, political, economic, and cultural perspective. At first, we thought it was because you [America] had more powerful guns than we had. Then we thought it was because you had the best political system. Next we focused on the economic system. But in the past twenty years, we have realized that the heart of your culture is your religion: Christianity. That is why the West is so powerful. The Christian moral foundation of social and cultural life was what made possible the emergence of capitalism and then the successful transition to democratic politics. We don’t have any doubt about this.

Ek het die klem ingesit.

Die rede vir die sukses soos hier beskryf is natuurlik deesdae besig om weer uit die regering, kuns, politiek, skole, regstelsel, familiebande, wetenskap ens gehaal te word. Dit maak dat opgeleide mense in al die sfere van die samelewing nie meer op die grootste realiteit, nl God, bou nie, maar op baie los waardes wat nie fondasie het nie en soos die Bybel sê voor die storms platgevee word. Die huis wat op die sand gebou is of wat van strooi gebou is.  Die storms kan dinge wees soos geldgierigheid, mag ens. Die proses van groei en bou is dus omgekeer in iets soos weg roes van binne af, want God word as realiteit ontken en onttrek uit die sisteem.

Wat sê dit vir RSA en veral vir ons as die minderheid, maar verspreid oor kulturele grense, wat nog bou op God as die grootste realiteit? God se hart vir die wêreld is in ons. En Hy is lief vir die wêreld in die situasie.

Gesels gerus saam hieroor.

Danie

Short description of last 2 conferences in Mozambique

http://hfatopiaeng.blogspot.com/2012/05/footprints-in-mozambique-hope-for.html

http://hfatopiaeng.blogspot.com/2012/05/footprints-in-mozambique-hope-for_27.html

Gmail - You Can’t Legislate Morality? - murraydg1@gmail.com

Morality and law.

“I killed my daughter.”

Toronto taxi-driver Muhammad Parvez, 60, had just strangled his 16-year-old daughter, Aqsa. So he dialed 911 and reported. Nobody could accuse him of hiding his crime.

Maybe no one was surprised when, last week in court, he pleaded guilty to the 2007 murder.

People often claim that “you can’t legislate morality.” Such a statement doesn’t square with reality.  In actual fact, all law is based on some moral code. The question is not “can morality be legislated?” but rather, which morality will be legislated.

Western society was built on the moral code of Judeo-Christian theism. But atheism also has a code, built on arbitrary absolutes. And, as the Aqsa  murder story brutally illustrates, Islam has its own (fierce) moral code as well.

The last few years in Canada have included discussion of allowing sharia law to operate in some domains (marriage, family and business disputes) “under the umbrella of Canada law.” Such a notion seems tantamount to condoning the use of brass knuckles in a street fight as long as a roped-in boxing ring is provided.

Jürgen Habermas is considered Germany’s foremost philosopher and one of “Europe’s stalwart secularists” who is “challenging the idea that religious reasoning inevitably retreats from the public sphere.”  Here’s what he says about Christianity’s contribution to freedom and human rights, essential ingredients protected by a moral code:

Christianity, and nothing else, is the ultimate foundation of liberty, conscience, human rights, and democracy, the benchmarks of Western civilization. To this day, we have no other options [than Christianity]. We continue to nourish ourselves from this source. Everything else is postmodern chatter.

A society’s moral foundations cannot be separated from its institutions: the moral vision of a society informs all of public life.  Trying to entrench opposing moral visions can only result in chaos. Eventually one will emerge.

The difference is more than superficial.

In South-Africa we are building more and more laws to control the population. If you are a good citizen because of the laws, you are a slave!  When we were young in faith, we were like slaves. As we grew to know God we became more and more children and are not slaves any more! 

What do we see as a good life?

What are the moral base that supports this life?

What are the faith basis that supports this moral base? 

As christians, how do we understand God's heart? What is in His heart?

If we investigate well, we will find our faith foundation of our life. Any life's vissible  part have a faith base even if it is in something else than Christ.

Aid that Increases Poverty? Unintended Consequences

I think he describe this aspect of the dependency problem very well. Only in the part of the schools I think he simplifies a much more complex situation.


Aid that Increases Poverty? A Case Study in Unintended Consequences

(If you click on the title, you will see the article on the blog of “Discipling the Nations - Darrow Miller and friends” were it were published).

Posted: 21 May 2012 08:53 AM PDT
by Scott Wisely
Scott Wisely was born in Thailand to missionary parents, attended boarding school in Malaysia and spent four years in the Philippines. After earning a Masters degree in Third World Economic Development from Eastern University he has served in Papua (formerly known as Irian Jaya) since 1996. Scott describes his service as “focused on wholistic ministry with a big emphasis on discipleship.”  In particular, he helps operate an elementary school, a strategy which “impacts the whole family and community.”
Papuans were totally self-sufficient for thousands of years so it is a difficult task to convince them that they are hopeless and helpless. But in the last decade well-intentioned outsiders have made significant headway. The Papuans, who viewed themselves as “the people”–strong, free, brave and capable–are becoming dependent on government, mission, and aid organizations.
Beliefs are what shape us. If you convince someone he is poor, he will act poor.
I teach a college class of aspiring teachers about poverty and education. I asked them, “Who convinced  you that you should get everything free?” They blamed the outsiders. I asked, “Who made schooling and medical services free here?” When they named the head politician I asked where he was from. They got quiet because he is a local. I called to their attention the many campaign posters promising giveaways.  I said, “If I came to you and said ‘Oh, you poor Papuan student, I feel so bad for you. You were malnourished as a child and came from a single parent family. This is really hard what you are doing: working and going to school. You can’t do this. I will pay your school fees and I will give you clothes and food and a place to live and spending money. I’ll do your homework for you and take your tests.’ What do I believe about you? That you don’t have what it takes. You are weak and I am strong. You are poor and I am rich. You are stupid and I am smart. Is that what you are?
“What do I believe if I have to come in and put in a clean water system for you and build all your houses and teach you farmers to raise vegetables and take your kids to raise and educate myself? It says that I don’t believe you have what it takes. You don’t know how gravity works and you can’t glue PVC pipe or swing a hammer or farm or raise your own kids. You are helpless and hopeless.”
Anger rose on their faces because everyone hates being pitied and disrespected.
Then we talked about how God views us. He looks at each girl in the room and says,
You are my precious, beautiful, smart and very capable – daughter. I made you to love and live and praise me with your sweet voice. I made you to nurture and care. I delight in you.
He looks at each boy and says,
With me you have what it takes. I made you strong and brave and ready to lay down your life to protect those I love. I made you a builder, a leader, an influencer. You are THE man.
I challenged them to stop believing the lies of politicians and well intentioned AID workers and missionaries. Believe in God and what He says about you. You might not have much money or stuff but don’t take on the label ‘POOR’.”
There wasn’t a dry eye in the room. Grown men and women crying. We all want to be respected, not pitied.
Many well intentioned outsiders are unwittingly bent on convincing Papuans that they are poor. (See Steve Saint’s article, “Projecting Poverty Where it Doesn’t Exist”.) Compassion is a love for the hopeless and helpless. It is the brother of Pity and cousin of Tolerance. That whole family of loves is supposed to serve in the hospice or mental health ward, not venture out into the streets and accost healthy people.
Why don’t we see these peoples’ strengths? Why do we only focus on what they can’t do and what they don’t have? Is it because we have so little respect for them? For me, I believe the main reason is pride. I think I am stronger, smarter, healthier, and richer so I condescend in compassion or tolerance or pity. But are we really that wealthy? Are they really that poor? I asked my Ugandan roommate in Turkey why Development Associates Internationalhas such a great cross cultural team. “We respect each other. Each of us brings our strengths to the table.” Then he listed the strengths, and his list was as long as the list the Westerners bring. Wow! We need a lot more of this kind of respect-filled love.
Other villages have asked us to start a branch of our school for their kids. We always begin the discussion by saying they have to provide land, building and houses, and pay teacher’s salaries. We will partner with them and come up with the rest but this is THEIR school so THEY have to PAY for it.  They love being treated with respect but PAYING the price of being respected is a hard choice.
Recently we met with the church and village leaders in Eragaiam in the Walak tribe. I shared that I didn’t view them as poor but as strong, wealthy, brave and very capable people created in the image of God. Some tough Walaks started tearing up. They are starving for that kind of affirmation. They said, “We have to give the wood and materials and help to build this school. We have to build a road in. We are ready to pay the teachers’ salaries.” In the 60s the missionaries treated them with respect and thousands of churches, schools, and health clinics were built this way. In those days missionaries lived in the villages with them and saw their strengths and abilities every day. One wrote a great book called The Amazing Danis!: the title says it all. But times have changed. Now missions means a foray. Outsiders jet in for a short trip. They can only see what the people don’t have. Such a practice engenders little respect.
This village had asked us to help them start an elementary school, even though already had one. A beautiful school building stood 50 meters away from where were meeting. At 10 o’clock on a Tuesday morning it was totally empty. It was built and is supported with foreign aid money. The children attend is free. But they graduate with a shattered identity and crushed self-worth. Most cannot read, write, or do basic math. The villagers realize this and are ready to pay $60 a semester– in a place that Reuters reports as one of the poorest spots in one of the poorest countries in the world–for their kid to go to school.
In the book The Beautiful Tree by James Tooley, an African father was asked why he sent his child to the private school with its run down facilities when he could send his child to the government school that had great buildings and was free. He answered, “When you go to the market and someone is giving fruit away for free it is because it is rotten. If you want good quality fruit you pay for it.”
The villagers named our school Ob Anggen, “Good Fruit.”
Write Scott at shwisley@gmail.com

Love is the answer, because God is love.

LOVE NEVER FAILS: The Christian Response to Jihadism

Posted: 10 May 2012 11:01 AM PDT

Governments have the responsibility to defend their nation against terrorist enemies. But the church has a different responsibility: to love. Christ calls us to love even our enemies. The church responds to the violence of the sword with the vulnerability of the cross; to the culture of death with the culture of life; to hatred with love, injustice with justice, tyranny with freedom.

Andrew van der Bijl (b. 1928), known as Brother Andrew, smuggled Bibles into communist countries during the height of the Cold War. After the fall of communism, he turned his attention to the Middle East. “We cannot win the war on terror with guns and bombs,” he says, “because everyone we kill is replaced by dozens more who seek revenge. . . . We believe that if millions of Christians would respond to Muslims with the love of Christ, that would do far more to remove the threat of terror than our military activities.^[1] Brother Andrew challenges Christians to say, “‘I Sincerely Love All Muslims (I.S.L.A.M.)’ and to prove it by putting their arms around Muslims and say, ‘God loves you; therefore I love you.’”^[2]

Liberato (not his real name) is a pastor from the Philippines and part of the minority Christian community on an island with a Muslim majority. He told me how his church became a love cell. Muslims wanted to overrun the central government and set up an Islamic state on the island. They sought to drive the Christians out by burning down their homes. (Imagine if someone in your community hated you enough to burn down your home, simply because you were a Christian.) The Philippine army arrived to crush the Muslim rebellion by blowing up the terrorist’s homes. Liberato responded by saying, “We need to love our enemies. We need to demonstrate God’s love.” None of the other pastors in the community agreed, but Liberato organized his church to rebuild the terrorist’s homes. Eventually other churches joined them. When I heard the story, they had rebuilt the homes of forty Muslim families. Not surprisingly, the attitude of the Muslim community toward Christians was changing dramatically.
I received a letter from a friend named Chris who works with the Disciple Nations Alliance affiliate in Africa. Chris had the privilege of speaking to pastors in Malakal, in what is now South Sudan, on the need for the church to minister to the needs of the larger community, including the Muslim minority. Chris describes a thrilling moment in the closing ceremony:

The highlight of the celebration was when a mosque preacher, an Imam, who we did not know was a participant, walked forward and said, “Having listened to the wholistic message of loving one’s neighbor as oneself, including loving your enemies, and the rest of the transformational messages, I hereby openly declare my departure from the Islamic faith and identify myself with the family of Jesus Christ.”

Abba Love, a large cell church in Jakarta, Indonesia, ministers in neighboring slums inhabited by Muslims. They have started schools, soup kitchens, literacy programs, and skills training for unemployed Muslims. When a group of radicals came to burn down Abba Love’s building, they were prevented by poor Muslims who streamed out of the community and surrounded the building, saying, “You are not going to touch this church. These people love us.”
May these examples be multiplied a million times over everywhere a church touches a Muslim community. The war from the East will be won through the self-sacrificial love of the church, through the Word becoming flesh in God’s people.
- excerpted from Emancipating the World: A Christian Response to Radical Islam and Fundamentalist Atheism by Darrow Miller