What do you see?

Red, and yellow, and pink, and green!

Purple and orange and blue!

I can sing a rainbow!

Sing a rainbow!

Sing a rainbow too!

This was a song we used to sing when we were young kids, when we saw rainbows in the sky. All we could see then were the beautiful colors in sky. This song came into my mind when I was out working in the villages. It was a cloudy day and was promising to rain. I was feeling low, depressed, and worn out that day. That’s when I looked up to the sky, and I saw a rainbow.

Now that I am older, what do I see now? When I saw this rainbow, I did not only see the beautiful colors and think of the song; I thought of Genesis 9:12-17. After the flood, God established a covenant between Him and us. I see that our God is truly there in heaven. He keeps His promises; what He says surely happens. The rainbow covenant was established during the time of Noah, thousands of years ago, but it still stands up to now. What more confirmation do we need that God is really there? This was a sacred moment for me, and my mood changed from being depressed and feeling low. I felt peace inside of me, and deep in my heart there was inexplicable joy.

This got me thinking, how many things do we see every day that show us, or remind us of God’s promises and covenants with us? How many times does God give us a sign of His everlasting love, but we fail to see it because we are so consumed with the things of this world? Just take time and observe what God is trying to show you. What God says will surely happen, all we have to do is have faith and believe in Him. It’s time to let go and let God.

Ruvimbo Zvikomborero Simango

GMF International, Class of 2016-2018

Malawi

#3022244

 

Ready to be Awakened

Just a week ago in Mexico City, we experienced another series of earthquakes. There was little or no damage here where I am, but it was still scary given my memories of the September earthquakes. In honor of these recent earth-shakings, I’m finally getting around to publishing something I wrote about the ones a few months ago.

*****

On September 19, there was an earthquake of a 7.1 magnitude that struck Mexico, with the epicenter 75 miles/120 km away from where I live. This was the second large-scale earthquake in two weeks. Both caused great destruction, but 19-S’s destruction was closer to where I live, with dozens of buildings collapsed in Mexico City, thousands more condemned, and hundreds of deaths in the whole region.

I was fortunate in many ways: I was at home when it happened, and the minor damages that happened to my building were repaired within a few hours. Everyone I know was safe after the earthquake, although a colleague and his family did lose their home. Despite my luck, it was still a very significant experience for me and one I won’t soon forget.

There are many bad ways to respond to a disaster or any tragedy. Among them, is the idea “everything happens for a reason” or “this is God’s will” or even worse, “this is God’s punishment of you for your sins.”

I do not think everything happens for a reason. Most things just happen—whether as direct effects of the choices of human beings or because of biological and scientific processes—and we have to deal with those events and decide what the meaning will be. I do not think suffering is God’s will. I do not believe God wishes suffering upon us. I do not think that God punishes sin through destruction. Events like earthquakes and hurricanes are naturally-occurring phenomenon that are a part of how the Earth works.

While I do not think that tragedy is something that God wills, I do think that these sorts of events can be important moments for us. They shake us awake. They make us realize things we didn’t realize before. They show us things we may not have noticed otherwise. These are often moments of great pain, trauma, and loss. And sometimes, they can also be moments of learning.

I can’t prescribe what this event’s wake up calls were for other people; I can only mention what I myself have realized through this experience:

1. The Earth inspires awe, and we should be concerned about how we treat it. After the earthquake, while I sat alone in my house without cell phone battery or electricity waiting for someone to get there to inform me of what had happened, my thoughts immediately turned to the Earth. With all the hurricanes and earthquakes of the recent days, I was impacted by the destructive (creative) power of the Earth and I was humbled and ashamed how humans contributed to destroying our benevolent place of residence.
2. Sometimes I can’t be there. My body’s reaction to the earthquake was to get sick straightaway. The stress was too much for it, and it shut down via a cold. Once the power came back on at 9 pm and I actually learned about the magnitude of what had happened and what there was to be done, my body said, “No. You can’t go out there.” It was hard for me to stay inside while the rest of the city was coming together to rescue people trapped and to support those who had lost their homes, but I knew my sick body would just be in the way. Staying inside felt similar to the feeling I get when I see people in the U.S. taking to the streets (literally or figuratively) to protest the injustices happening: I want to join, but I’m not able to be there. Sometimes I can’t be there physically, and I have to find other ways of getting involved.
3. I am grateful for my life and for the lives of my friends and family. A few days after the earthquake, I started crying out of the blue. I cried because of the gravity of what I had lived through—the death and the destruction that was so close to me yet that I had somehow evaded. I was overwhelmed with gratitude for my own life and for the lives of my friends, and I felt led to tell them so. In some ways, it seems hard to have fun after such a tragedy, but it has also been important to celebrate the life and friendship that we’ve all been given.
4. Human beings are capable of so much when we work together for good. Without a doubt, people in Mexico really came together to help their communities (and beyond). Immediately, regular people went to work moving debris and helping get survivors out of collapsed buildings. With the power out, young people began directing traffic. Professionals from different fields (doctors, nurses, psychologists, engineers, architects, lawyers) offered their services for free. Churches, schools, and other organizations set up donation centers to collect food and hygiene items for those affected. Local hardware stores and pharmacies sold their products at cost for relief efforts. There were many reports of there being too many volunteers in some places. The power of the people is inspiring.
5. You can’t always be prepared. Being prepared is exhausting. The day of the earthquake, a lot of information came out about how we could prepare ourselves for future aftershocks or other earthquakes. Make an emergency backpack with a first aid kit, water, canned food, a blanket, and important documents. Leave a pan on the edge of a table so it will fall and wake you up during an aftershock. Keep a jacket and shoes handy. Always have your phone charged and have a back up battery charger. For a few days after the earthquake, I was obsessed with being prepared. I followed the above advice. I started to worry if I couldn’t find my shoes in any given moment. I was obsessive about keeping my phone charged (my phone had lost charge shortly after the earthquake, so I had learned my lesson). Even now, as I walk down the street or go to a new place, I think, “What would I do if an earthquake happened right now?” and I take note of any cables or tall buildings and look for the familiar earthquake gathering place symbols. In all my efforts to be prepared, I quickly realized that being constantly alert and prepared was exhausting. Life fights to get back to some sense of normalcy. My feet have to go barefoot at some point. My phone will lose its charge.
6. I can channel my gifts and my training. Back in March I went to a training by the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). I went because I work with ministries related to migrants, and I learned a bit about how we could partner on migration-related projects, but I also learned a ton more about disasters, disaster relief, and disaster prevention. At the time, I did not know that all that information about disasters and relief would prove as helpful as it has to me and my community after the earthquake. It has been nice to share my knowledge and written resources with the team from la Comunidad Teológica de México as we develop and implement a disaster response program. Being bilingual has also been very helpful in this work, since many disaster relief funding organizations speak primarily English and I have been able to translate important documents to send to those organizations.

This tragedy calls to mind the passage in Mark 13 in which Jesus warns listeners to “Beware, keep alert.” At the beginning of the chapter, Jesus says that the temple will be destroyed. When some disciples ask more about this destruction, he also warns of wars, famines, and even earthquakes (!). He says that his disciples will be put on trial and beaten and will have to bear witness to the gospel. Their family members will die, and they will be hated. During these and many more tribulations, they should always be “on guard” and wary of those who claim to know the truth. After these difficulties, “they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.” Jesus finishes saying,

“Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on watch. Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come… or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly.”

In this passage, Jesus warns us of the suffering that is a part of life. Wars, famine, earthquakes, people who are against us, family members that die… and much more. In the past several months, this hemisphere alone has seen great tragedy—hurricanes, earthquakes, mass shootings, and more. In the midst of the difficulties of life, we have to be “on guard.” We have to beware, be alert. Many people will try to claim they know the truth about God and the world, but we have to be cautious about who we trust and believe. Do we believe those who claim our suffering as punishment for the sins they impose on us? Or do we make our own meaning and draw our own realizations from our experiences?

Jesus cautions us to be awake and alert and even to leave space for hope (leave open the possibility of Jesus coming in on the clouds). As I discovered after the earthquake, it’s extremely difficult to always be prepared for the next thing coming our way. We can’t always be alert or awake or “woke.” The doorkeeper for the man’s house cannot stay awake all night every night until the man comes home.

It’s hard to maintain a state of constant awareness, especially during this time of social media and a 24-hour news cycle. Sometimes we need to take a break and re-center and de-stress. But I think being prepared isn’t that you always know where your shoes are, but rather that you’re always open to being shaken awake when you fall asleep.

We can’t always be alert, but we must always be willing to be awakened by our own experiences and by the world around us. We must always let our experiences move and shape us. But we must also take care of ourselves in the midst of our alertness.

What will you learn from tragedy? How will you take care of yourself in your times of tribulation? How will you see the hope that appears even during these difficult times?

Amanda Cherry

GMF International, Class of 2016-2018

Mexico

#3022198

Threat of climate change in Kenya (PACJA)

Kenya is already feeling the effects of climate change. The widespread poverty, recurrent droughts and floods, inequitable land distribution, overdependence on rain-fed agriculture, and few coping mechanisms all combine to increase people’s vulnerability to climate change. For instance, disadvantaged people have little security against intense climatic actions. They have few resource reserves and poor housing and depend on natural resources for their living. Floods and droughts have caused damage to property and loss of life, have reduced business opportunities, and have increased the cost of transacting business, as recently witnessed in most parts of the country. Climate change and variability are considered to be major threats to sustainable progress. The areas likely to feel the greatest impacts are the economy, water, ecosystems, food security, coastal zones, health, and the distribution of populations and settlements. Africa is considered vulnerable to climate change’s effects largely due to lack of financial, institutional, and technological capacity.

Has Climate change officer ( missionary )working with Pan African Climate justice alliance ( PACJA)

In order to successfully deliver the strategic plan on how to address the climate change issue, PACJA uses an approach that integrates research, advocacy, partnerships development, capacity building, and awareness creation.

Advocacy comprises the core business of PACJA. The Alliance undertakes evidence-based advocacy aimed at improving the policy and laws regarding natural resources management. The research work that PACJA supports, the partnerships it develops, and the capacities it strengthens are all supportive of the advocacy function.

Local communities that are key custodians of natural resources remain vulnerable to climate change, have low adaptive capacity, and lack sufficient capacity in the sustainable management of natural resources. PACJA mobilizes and coordinates capacity building efforts targeting the community and other key stakeholders.

PACJA recognizes the knowledge and information gap in society about climate change and larger environmental and natural resources values and threats. PACJA uses a comprehensive knowledge management approach in creating awareness of effective climate/environmental threat coping mechanisms and wise use of natural resources.

PACJA also supports and facilitates research to generate new information and knowledge that is both used internally 
to support climate resilience-building and natural resources management, making the same available to other stakeholders for use in a variety of ways.

PACJA recognizes the importance of developing and sustaining strategic partnerships. The Alliance continues
 to identify and strengthen partnerships with a variety of stakeholders ranging from small community support groups, religious organizations, civil society organizations, private businesses, government institutions, and international networks.

Are you willing to support the missionary work of helping people of Kenya with climate change issues and how to eradicate the issues that cause disaster in Kenya?

Your action today can save millions of lives tomorrow so support GOD’s work by promoting the work of Global Mission Fellows. Show your love to God and to people by supporting this mission work of addressing climate change issue.

 

Odilon Mwaba

GMF International, Class of 2017-2019

Kenya

#3022367

Asa Dapit?

Asa Dapit?

Asa dapit

… This is a question one poses when they want to know the exact location of someone or something. One of the many Cebuano phrases that I had to use or be asked daily, at my (former) placement site in the Philippines, from texting to meet up with a friend to phone conversations with delivery persons wanting to know where my apartment was situated to people asking where I am from.

The closest translation to the English language of the phrase would be “where exactly.’’ I have had to respond to the same question upon returning to Zimbabwe when people asked me where I had been serving, and then when I would say Philippines, people would always comment on how far it is, stating that it is the other side of the world. A different setting and culture all together.

For my integration, I am serving at a local church in Chipinge, a place that I had never been before. People I tell about my experience often wonder why I did not choose a place that is closer to home, either in Harare or in Mutare, why I had to go “all the way” to Chipinge. My answer: “That’s what from everywhere to everywhere is about. One of the things that the Global Mission Fellows / Generation Transformation program teaches is to be brave and delve into new ventures–to not only engage with those that I am familiar with, but to also go beyond the expected and learn more things in life.

Coming from the Philippines, I brought with me some packets of coffee that the organisation I was working with was producing. Ecosystems Work for Essential Benefits works with local farmers, some that farm coffee. My duties would allow me to do the hands-on duties as well, like selecting perfect beans for the coffee production and doing the roasting, grinding, packaging as well as the marketing. I brought some of the coffee back for a relative, telling her that it is some of the work that I had been doing. She asked me why had I been doing that when I am an environmentalist. My response was “from everywhere to everywhere.” I am no longer inhibited by what society dictates, however I trust God in all aspects of life.

Charlotte Upenyu Chitambo

GMF International, Class of 2015-2017

Philippines

Ecosystems Work for Essential Benefits (EcoWEB)

#3022098

The Other Side of the Storm

I’ve spent most of my life in Zimbabwe, so I was very excited at the chance of working and living abroad. My placement site is in Mozambique, on the south-eastern coast of Africa. I work in a small rural town called Chicuque, Inhambane. This small town was right in the middle of Cyclone Dineo, the worst cyclone some of the locals have ever experienced.

It’s the only cyclone that I have ever experienced, and I was petrified! Even before the cyclone hit, everything I was reading about it scared me: the wind speeds, the amount of downfall, and especially the direction of the storm. My little town was right in the center of the storm. Oddly, all the locals that I spoke to about it did not seem too scared–they made plans for the following day while I was thinking, “God may we please survive this!”

By 3pm the winds had picked up intense speed. My fellow missionary, Noe, and I rushed home, getting pelted by needle like raindrops along the way. For a moment it was a beautiful sight. The tall trees succumbed to the persuading wind, while the dark clouds danced to it. It left me awe. That is until I heard the first tree falling to the ground, too close to our house, and the reality of what was about to happen sunk in.

We lost cellphone network and electricity had been cut the previous night. It was dark, pitch black, and all one could hear was the terrifying wind. My friend Elizabeth described it as “laying on the runway of an airstrip with planes flying over… like banging metal sheeting being ripped from their nails just waiting to break free.” I put earphones on and played music, trying to drown out the sound of the wind. It was a very long and frightful night. As morning came the winds and rain died down, but left behind them a wounded town. According to the National Emergency Operational Center 650,000 people were affected by this cyclone. Many people lost their homes, 7 people lost their lives. So much property was damaged including 70 hospital units.

From Facebook.com/McCormicksinAfrica

Seeing all this damage and hearing all these stories, I asked, “Why?” I like to believe there is a reason for everything, and I try to find this reason to make sense of even the most horrific situations. As I asked myself why this happened, I came out blank. What was the purpose of this? It is similar to the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Why would a community already facing hardships be exposed to even more suffereing from this cyclone? Why would families, that have very little to begin with, have everything taken away from them overnight? Why wasn’t there more effort to evacuate people? Why do bad things happen to the most vulnerable people?!

I shared these thoughts with Noe, and he helped me to realize that maybe the “why” is not for us to comprehend; it’s beyond human understanding. Maybe all we can do is discover how the situations shape us-inwardly, spiritually. So my perspective has to change. Instead of trying to figure out why the cyclone came through Chicuque, I should try to help the people that I interact with change their perspective as well. What do they have to gain or learn from it, as a community and individually? How could the experience help them towards becoming the kind of people they want to be?

Honestly, sometimes life is unfair, and bad things happen to the least deserving people. No matter how much we prepare for the coming storm, no matter how much we heed the warnings and take shelter, we get hit by the cyclone, get flooded, lose everything we have, and ask “why?” When this happens, reflect on why it happened to YOU. What lesson could you take away from the experience? How could you grow from it? This perspective may seem impractical, cliche even, especially in a world drowning in injustice. This is not to belittle the gravity of the situation, but to empower one to learn and grown from the tragedy. Sometimes we feel stuck in a season with no growth because we are not opening our eyes to the lesson in the season.

Memory Masuko

Center of Hope

Mozambique, Africa

GMF International Class of 2016-2018

#3022252

Who Teaches us the Most?

“They have no electricity… Wow.”

That’s what one of our visitors said after visiting the community of 30 de Abril (3oth of April) in El Salvador. It’s true, the residents have no electricity in their homes, which are primarily composed of sheet metal and tarps bolted to bamboo. There is no running water, and even the well water is severely contaminated. The only high school is miles away across the highway, a dangerous journey in the country with the most car accidents per capita. Yet these homes are on land they fought hard for, and they are proud to have won the land in a struggle with the local government.

Several years ago, a massive flood displaced a community of people who now make up 30 de Abril, leaving dozens of families homeless and with no other options. They pleaded for access to land from the local government, but they were met with silence. Without a home to return to, they squatted in a sugar cane field, living homeless and constructing shanties out of whatever they could find.

As the years went on, they began to organize as a community. They advocated for their right to safety and land, and finally, on April 30th, 2015, they negotiated their rights to the space with the local government. It was a struggle, but the success and satisfaction of this accomplishment is commemorated in the very name of the community. It is true, they may not have many amenities, but they have something invaluable: the skills to organize and advocate for their rights.

The next challenge is the struggle for clean water. Currently, the well water is undrinkable because of contamination from nearby agriculture and the toxic chemicals they use, such as pesticides and herbicides. The community board continues to organize the citizens in lobbying their government to ensure their access to clean water, but the fight continues. Their strength, perseverance, and organizing skills are inspiring as they persist, and they have a lot to teach all of us.

The visitor mentioned earlier came to learn from them. He wasn’t a tourist or a philanthropist who came to save the people of El Salvador, but a participant in a seminar on human rights and community development. This seminar, hosted by the non-governmental organization Cristosal, was an opportunity for U.S. citizens to come down and learn about the work the community is doing to advocate for their rights. It’s not an opportunity to marvel at the poverty and destitution before them, nor is it a chance to bring the solution to any problems. Here, participants learn from people doing some of the most amazing grassroots organizing under extremely difficult circumstances. These people have skills we need.

Especially at a time when cities like Flint, Michigan, lack access to clean water from their taps, and when oil pipelines have spilled into the water sources of thousands just in the past few months, the people of 30 de Abril have much to share. We are finally realizing just how many communities in the United States also lack access to clean water, something we often take for granted. We in the U.S. pride ourselves on our freedom and rights, but are victim to the same human rights violations many other countries are, even though it is difficult to conceive of the great America allowing such violations to exist.

When the participants say “Wow,” they are marveling not at the destitution before them, but at the accomplishments the community has achieved. They are amazed at how, without things we consider so basic, people continue to fight and win. They are inspired. They realize they have much to learn. This is the power of the human rights approach to Christian mission. It honors the true work of Jesus Christ in our world: a ministry and mission by the marginalized for the marginalized.

In this interaction is typified our relationship with Christ, that we learn to lead lives of love and righteousness from a man who was born on the margins and stayed there to teach. A man who spent his time with lepers, prostitutes, and tax collectors. These people we push to the edges are the ones from whom we can sometimes learn the most.

 

Joseph Russ

GMF International, Class of 2016-2018

Foundation Cristosal

El Salvador

#3022225