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Out of the House, into the Food Chain

14 May 2013

On Cyber Monday last November, the local airline had a special for round-trip tickets for $65! Where should we go for 'Fall Break' from school? "The jungle!" has been the answer from the kids since a medical trip to the jungle we made as a family in 2008. Several missionary friends, most notably the Wiests and Welshes (fellow Nebraskans) live in Pucallpa, so we decided to go there. Pucallpa isn't a typical vacation destination ("I've never heard of anyone coming here for vacation," stated the missionaries whose home we stayed in.) But for a week's vacation, we found plenty to do, boat rides to parks, the zoo, etc. Amy and I even celebrated our 20th anniversary on Wednesday. Friday, we went to Cashibo, the missionary airbase where the planes can take off from either land or water to take missionaries out to the tribal villages. It was the birthday of one of the MK's so most of the kids from the mission high school were there. One of the missionaries has a small outboard so we were waterskiing and tubing. While waiting in the water for the boat to turn around I suddenly felt a 'pinch'! 'Ow!' I said. "Probably a piranha!" yelled back the driver. Then suddenly, I got more than a pinch! 'Ow!!' This time the piranha got a chunk off of my foot! I was done. I didn't really needto waterski that badly! If it weren't for the fact I'm running the Lima marathon next week, it wouldn't be a big deal. Hopefully, it will heal up by then. All the kids got out of the lake, but the water was too inviting, and soon they were back in again, rationalizing that they've swum there for years without being skeletonized like a wading bovine. Despite there being 20 kids there, Sarah was the next to get bitten (Georges are either especially tasty or easy to see because of our light complexion in murky water), and another MK also got a piece taken out of his foot, but that didn't keep the rest out.

Careful where you swim,

Allen & Amy

Grains of Hope

03 May 2013

Good luck to you French-speakers!

Here is the video clip created to promote a year-long collection of meditations on the theme of "May Your Kingdom Come". I contributed to this effort with one humble offering (those of you who heard me in Australia would have heard something on 1 Cor 15: 36-58).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUP7jIuqTv8

This collection was prepared for the 3-day Conference I helped with early April with 220 women from 30 different countries participating. We had such a blessed time. In the different sessions that addressed the theme what transpired the most was the fact that the Kingdom of God is advancing inexorably. One of the features of the conference was the chance several women had to share "Seeds of the Kingdom", in other words, ministries they were involved in (and had often started with one very small step of obedience) and that were the sign that the Kingdom of God was truly gaining ground.

A wonderful, rich time.

Joy in the midst of death

03 May 2013

For some reason, God had us 'foster' a malnourished young girl for 10mnths, her name is Jocell. She came to us weighing just over 6kgs and was five years old. We bonded immediately with her and she quickly became a member of our family and the christian community in which we are living in the Philippines. She learned English quickly, loved watching The Wiggles on Sophie's iPad and swimming in the above ground pool we brought over from Australia. Her health went up and down due to her lower resistance to infection and she also had many Acaris worms (something we were never prepared to see) that she was infected with by eating sand from the dirt floor of her home on a small island. Her mother had said that she was treated so we were not at all expecting her to be so infested. The reason that her family had us look after her is because she was 'failing to thrive' on the formula given to by the Malnourish Team here. Usually the children stay with their parents and the formula is taken to their homes once a month for twelve months and during that time the ministry works with the family to provide a livelihood for them so that they can rise above the devastating poverty that has led to the malnourishment of their child/children. Jocell was the middle child of five.

Jocell was able to speak with her family and have them visit during the months she was with us. These were delightful times for her and she loved to share her 'blessings' with her siblings eg dolls, clothes and food.

We left the Philippines in late Jan 2013 to return to Australia for a five week break and Jocell went back to her family two weeks later (weighing 12kgs!). However, within three weeks she was brought back to the ministry centre unable to sit up, having sores on her arms and legs and barely able to talk. The mother said 'she is not eating'. We were so shocked to hear that she had lost 6kgs within the three weeks and reasoned that she must have not eaten at all in that time. She was taken straight to hospital and given food through a nasal drip. Within days she was in a critical condition and I decided to come back to the Philippines a few days early to see her and pray for her.

By the time I got there she had been incubated by hand for a couple of days. I asked the Dr's if there was anything at all we could do and they said that there was only a slim chance but the thing she needed most was a mechanical incubator as the mother would get tired during the night and not supply adequate oxygen. We searched the city for a machine but not only was there none available, but there were waiting lists for each of the handful of machines in the whole city. The next morning at 11:25am Jocell died .

How can I say that we were grieving but full of joy at the same time? Well, our wonderful loving Father had shown us all something on the last Sunday before we left for Australia. I was preaching that morning and I had to share how I thought that God was showing us all something that morning. What was so special was that Jocell was up the front with the worship team with her little wooden ukelle singing loudly and raising her hands in praise to God. Why was this so special? Well, I had taken her up the front only weeks before to see if she would share a word of thanks (as we all often do) but she got absolutely stage shocked and just stared and hid her face. However, this Sunday she was full of love and joy. I noted to the group that God was showing us how our love had made Jocell whole, we had each shown her God's unconditional love in various ways and now she was able to put aside her shyness and praise God in abandonment. What a gift from God. He knew He would be taking her to himself soon but gave us a glimpse of the joy that she would be experiencing with Him.

We all still miss her but are so comforted in the knowledge that she is with the Lord and we will see her again.

The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord!

And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

Sunday: Jocell praises the Lord

Me incubating Jocell the night before she died.

Five weeks later: I am incubating Jocell the night before she died.

Being content

28 Apr 2013

Had a lovely 3-day retreat at the SIM France guest house and offices. Soula Isch took on the question of being content/satisfied. Here is one of the reflexions she found to share with us.

Vis le jour d'aujourd'hui, Dieu te le donne.
Live today right now, God gives it to you
Il est à toi,
It is yours
vis-le en lui.
Live it in Him.
Le jour de demain est à Dieu,
Tomorrow is God's
il ne t'appartient pas.
It doesn't belong to you.
Ne reporte pas sur demain
Don't carry over to tomorrow
le souci d'aujourd'hui.
Today's worries.

Demain est à Dieu, remets-le lui.
Tomorrow is God's - give it over to him
Moment présent est
The present moment is
une fête passerelle.
a festive passage/bridge.
Si tu la charge des regrets d'hier,
If you load it up with yesterday's regrets
de l'inquiétude de demain,
and tomorrow's worries,
la passerelle cède,
The bridge will collapse
et tu perds pied.
And you will stumble.

Le passé ? Dieu le pardonne.
The past? God pardons it.
L'avenir ? Dieu le donne.
The future? God gives it.
Vis le jour d'aujourd'hui
Live the present day
en communion avec lui.
In communion with Him.

by Bernadette Coupey.

Time to go to church

07 Apr 2013

Ever have problems getting the kids to stop their computer games, put down their books, not get another snack and get in the car so that you aren't late going to church? Though it is hard to reproduce, we had a tremor (this is a frequent occurrence in Arequipa) as we were trying to get everyone moving. "Let's move it!" It was especially timely, as the troops were harder than usual to get moving as we were going a bit early to pick up prizes along the way for the Sunday School kids that had memorized their verses. Sorry no photos. It wasn't that big of an earthquake.

Easter Marriage Retreat

02 Apr 2013

Last week, I was the guest speaker at a 3-day marriage retreat at one of the main evangelical churches of Arequipa. I spoke on five different topics, Love Languages, The Stages of Marriage, Sex Education for our Children, Sex, and Machismo. I finished with an open-ended time of Questions and Answers. I had over 60 attendees each day. Since sex is a taboo subject in the church, I was surprised how frank the questions were! (they were mostly written anonymously on slips of paper) I've never seen such an alert congregation.

Memorial Library and Reading Center Project

30 Mar 2013

The last two weeks has been a challenging time for our family. In September my Dad was diagnosed with various lung diseases. On Tuesday March 19, 2013 he went home to be with the Lord. My Dad was one of our biggest most enthusiastic supporters, he truly believed in what we were doing. When he passed a memorial was set up with our ministry as the beneficiary. We were truly humbled and grateful. Through this seed money and money we already received from Maranatha Christian Academy, we are being led to purchase books. We are in the planning stage for a new library and reading center in a Zulu village just outside of Newcastle, where we will be serving full time in South Africa. God has also started to open doors for us to obtain more books and assistance through our sending agency in organizing this project and setting up the library. The library/reading center will in essence be ground zero in providing literacy education to an area which sports among the lowest literacy rates in all of South Africa. illiteracy is a problem best described as epidemic among the poor in South Africa. Once established this center will offer regular Christian themed reading tutoring for children/youth within the village, conduct tutor training to older students, and provide various christian centered activities within the community. We will also reach out to local schools offering reading supplement programs for their students. We also plan to be mobile and go out to other areas and villages to conduct tutoring and eventually set up other reading centers throughout the entire area. The library and reading center's main purpose will be to present the gospel in all it's power and make disciples through reading education and community outreach. We ask for your continual prayers as we move forward.with this project and the ministry as a whole. Please pray the God will grant us wisdom and we will hear his voice with clarity and that all obstacles will be removed from our path as we prepare for full time ministry.

We also would ask prayer for finances. We are still working to build personal support that will allow us to live and work in SouthAfrica. Currently we are seeking financial support from individuals and churches to help us meet our goal. If your church or you know of a church that may have an interest please let us know and we will contact them. And we would ask that you seek God to see what he may have you do to partner with Him in this endeavor. Please contact us through our website www.simmons4africa.org or by email [email protected]

HE KNOWS

30 Mar 2013

HE KNOWS

O Lord, you have searched me and you know me... You are familiar with all myways. - Psalm 139:1, 3 (NIV)

Rarely do we sin openly. When an ungodly thought or deed is committed, it is usually done in secret. We may repeat gossip or tell untruths thinking no one will know, and we may deceive our spouse about our whereabouts. Evil, when it exists, lurks in the shadows and hides in the safety of darkness. Evil does not welcome light and truth for these things expose sin for what it is. Instead, we hide our wrongdoings, thinking that if we don't talk or think about them, they will go away. Sadly, they do not, and our weaknesses find us again and again.

What makes us strong is our dependence on God. This may sound ironic since our modern society teaches that independence is power, but in spiritual matters, leaning on God rather than our own devices allows God to keep us in His merciful grasp. In other words, the best defense in our moments of weakness is to immediately call out to God for where we might be weak, God can be our strength.

It is impossible to hide the reality of our sins from God for our Heavenly Father IS truth. God sees through the darkness of sin for He IS light. We may run from God, but our sins always find us out.

Today, rather than hide from the wrongdoings of our lives, why not consider having a good heart to heart talk with your Creator? God knows our struggles, unmet needs and desires, and He seeks nothing more than to light our way to righteousness.

Good Friday - thanks to Bronwyn for passing this on.

29 Mar 2013

Just thought I’d share this poem about Good Friday. Bruce Dawe, Australian poet, wrote this in 1964. I am shocked each time I read it. Although confronting, it conveys a clear image of that Friday, from the perspective of one of the soldiers…

AND A GOOD FRIDAY WAS HAD BY ALL

          You man there keep those women back
          and God Almighty he laid down
          on the crossed timber and old Silenus
          my offsider looked at me as if to say
          nice work for soldiers, your mind's not your own
          once you sign that dotted line Ave Caesar
          and all that malarkey Imperator Rex

          well this Nazarene
          didn't make it any easier
          really - not like the ones
          who kick up a fuss so you can
          do your block and take it out on them Silenus
          held the spike steady and I let fly
          with the sledge-hammer, not looking
          on the downswing trying hard not to hear
          over the women's wailing the bones give way
          the iron shocking the dumb wood.

          Orders is orders, I said after it was over
          nothing personal you understand - we had a
          drill-sergeant once thought he was God but he wasn't
          a patch on you

          then we hauled on the ropes
          and he rose in the hot air
          like a diver just leaving the springboard, arms spread
          so it seemed
          over the whole damned creation
          over the big men who must have had it in for him
          and the curious ones who'll anything if it's free
          with only the usual women caring anywhere
          and a blind man in tears.

          Bruce Dawe

Black Hawk Down - When helping hurts

21 Mar 2013

While waiting for Christine at a cafe I casually browsed their second-hand bookshelf and picked up a book called "Black Hawk Down". After reading a couple of pages I couldn't stop reading it.

Black Hawk Down is a gripping true story set in Somalia in October 1993. After a years of civil war and a devastating famine the UN moved in to distribute food and to help stabilize the country. It became very clear that the millions of dollars in food aid pouring into the country would never reach the people in most need when the country was controlled by roving armed gangs. How could poverty be alleviated in these difficult conditions? For some time there were unsuccessfully attempts to engage the warring clans in peace talks. Then on the afternoon of the 3rd October 1993 the US led a daring daytime mission that hoped to begin the road to stability in a country that desperately needed it. The plan was to abduct two senior leaders connected with a Somali warlord and bring them to justice.

Things went wrong! What was supposed to be a quick two-hour mission turned into a bloody battle with hundreds killed and more than a thousand injured. Why didn't the Somalis understand that this team of soldiers were there to help ultimately bring peace? Thousands instead turned up in force, forgetting their tribal differences and united to fight against the US soldiers. The result was terrible carnage. The mission was a success as far as capturing two leaders of this Somali warlord but did nothing to advance peace in the country or alleviate poverty. It created a bitterness on all sides and to many Somalis, a deeper level of poverty.

What went wrong? Why didn't this UN intervention bring real change? Almost 20 years later the civil war continues. Why are people in Somalia no better economically and possibly worse off than before?

Another book titled "When helping hurts" deals with the question "How to alleviate poverty without hurting the poor… or yourself". I like the book because it begins with a Biblical foundation. There is one important concept that runs through the book. Poverty is not just an economic problem with an economic solution. There may be some deep underlying problems and economic poverty may be just one of the symptoms.

Now it's your turn

What do you think is an underlying problem in Somalia? Is it possible to help?