GETTING PLUGGED INTO MISSION Connecting with the Pacific MISSION ACTION Vol.12 No.1 March 10 Anglican Missions Board of the Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand, and Polynesia Te Poari Mihinare mo te Haahi ki Aotearoa, Niu Tireni me Pasifika; Komiti ni Veivaka Lotutaki ni Lotu Jaji e Aotearoa, Niu Siladi kei Polonisia
Editorial Canon Robert Kereopa Getting Plugged in to Mission MISSION ACTION is published three times a year to inform and encourage the supporters of the global mission of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa/New Zealand. THE ANGLICAN MISSIONS BOARD was established in 1927 by General Synod to encourage, promote and coordinate overseas mission for the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. In partnership with others, the AMB actively supports and enables the Church s mission throughout the South Pacific, Tanzania, North Africa, South-East Asia, Pakistan, Cambodia and beyond. Designed and printed by: Kapiti Print Media Ltd ANGLICAN MISSIONS BOARD Anglican House 32 Mulgrave St PO Box 12012 Thorndon Wellington 6144 Mission action is all about reaching out beyond ourselves. We are all called to get plugged into this Mission together, regardless of our different theological views, cultural experiences, worship styles, ages, genders or local histories. The miracle of Mission action is that we can all make a contribution, even if our contribution may differ from others in the Church. This difference is something we can celebrate and share together. This edition of Mission Action looks at a number of different ways our Church is getting plugged into Mission by reaching out with God s love in very practical ways. For example, we are reaching out with the people of Papua New Guinea in the remote Dogura diocese, by partnering and helping them with a tractor! Kiwi ingenuity partnering with the practical needs of an Anglican diocese located in one of the poorest areas of our Pacific region. Our Tractor Mission specialist Malcolm Pease has already left to visit them to help assess exactly what is required in terms of tractor use and maintenance. Responding in some measure to the Pacific tsunami that struck Samoa and Tonga last year, is another example of how this Church is getting plugged into Mission. The Lower Hutt Family Centre from the Wellington Diocese has sent teams to help with trauma counselling; a truck has been purchased for Habitat for Humanity, who are building over 300 fales to rebuild those which were lost in the tsunami; a community centre is being built for the Samoan community worst hit by the tsunami; a boat is being provided in Tonga to help replace those lost; and Anglicans planning to go to Samoa to help rebuild fales are being subsidized by AMB to help them with their travel expenses and living expenses while in Samoa. Look out in these pages for opportunities to get you plugged into Mission through Short Term Mission trips to various parts of the world. Our hope is that these short term missions will lead to a greater commitment to Mission, including the possibility of serving as a missionary overseas. We are getting plugged into Mission as a Church in so many different ways by partnering with fellow churches, responding to those in desperate need, sending Anglicans in support of the Great Commission, and supporting emergency and poverty related projects. Let s get plugged into Mission together! Robert Kereopa Executive Officer Tel: 64 04 473 5172 Fax: 64 04 499 5553 Email: info@angmissions.org.nz Website: www.angmissions.org.nz 2
A tractor for Dogura Practically Equipping a Community of Faith In New Zealand, we are not used to the local church providing food for the community and giving logistical support to the parishioners and communities of the region. In parts of Papua New Guinea, this is an essential part of the life of the church. Growing crops to finance the church and provide food for the local school can be all part and parcel of the life of the Diocese. In the Diocese of Dogura, Papua New Guinea, there is no vehicle. It is a long walk uphill from the wharf to the Station, where the school, hospital, store and accommodation are situated. The communities in the Diocese depend heavily on the mechanical assistance of a tractor. The tractor transports trade store goods from the wharf to the store and fuel drums to Alotau town. It takes building construction materials from the wharf, cuts grass around the Station and performs farming and gardening. It transports visitors and sick patients from the wharf to the Station and patients from the hospital to the boat for emergency transfer to Alotau Hospital. For many years the Church has relied on the hire of a tractor from a local businessman, but that vehicle is no longer operational. A tractor owned by the Diocese could be used to raise crops, and the funds raised could maintain the tractor and church and feed the students at the secondary school. It could also help the church to deliver cargo and complete other jobs, including planting of essential crops. What better gift could the Anglican Church in New Zealand give the Anglican Diocese of Dogura? The Diocese is committed to be fully responsible for the tractor, for raising funds for operating expenses. The Diocese will appoint a Tractor Management Committee, headed by the Diocesan Bishop and Diocesan Council Members. The Diocesan Secretary will be directly responsible for its management and operation. Local people have experience in operating a tractor but they haven t owned one before. The Anglican Missions Board is working with a New Zealand Tractor Mission, based in Taranaki, to source an appropriate tractor for the Diocese of Dogura. This Tractor Mission, founded by Malcolm Pease, also trains local About Malcolm people to maintain the tractor, even when spare parts are not available. This is essential for the long working life of the machine. Will you help us give the gift of a tractor to the Diocese of Dogura? This would be a gift which would keep giving to a needy community. A special project will be launched to fundraise for a tractor for Dogura. This will happen after Tractor Mission has completed their onsite assessment in Dogura in April. Tractor Mission tractor Solomon Islands In 1962, 18 year old Malcolm Pease joined a group bound for Vanuatu to assist the school at Vureas. At his own admission Malcolm returned to NZ having learned more than he taught. Fast forward 25 years and Malcolm visited Vureas again, this time armed with skills in agricultural machinery. He was able to help them restore and replace old machinery skills invaluable whenever a pump, generator or tractor needed fixing. Since 1987, ably assisted by his wife Jill and with the generous support of church and community groups, Malcolm has been instrumental in getting many agricultural tractors and implements into PNG, Tanzania, Vanuatu, Fiji, and the Solomon Islands. 3
Update on the Pacific Tsunami Appeal EXCEEDS $100,000 Anglican Missions on behalf of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia undertook an appeal through parishes. By December 2009 the appeal reached a record amount for Anglican Missions just over $100,000.00 has been raised. Up until 2009 the largest appeal was $20,000.00. As this was an unprecedented response Anglican Missions has been working with established agencies with many years of experience in emergencies. Funds have been distributed to the following projects so far: $20,000 Children and Youth Trauma Counselling Lower Hutt Family Centre is helping traumatised villagers regain their confidence and trust to pick up their lives and relationships again after the horror of what they have been through. They are also training villagers, who work with them in the field and will eventually take over the project. $6,000 Fishing Boats for Niuatoputapu The island community of Niuatoputapu (Northern Tonga) relies on fishing and transportation to their neighbouring plantation island to survive. The tsunami destroyed the villagers only boats and funds have been utilised to replace them. Anglican Missions worked with the Pacific Council of Churches on this project. $18,000 Habitat for Humanity 6-Tonne Dyna Truck Habitat for Humanity quickly responded to the tsunami emergency and were contracted by the Samoan government to rebuild over 300 fales. This project involves teams of 25 New Zealanders, who stay in Samoa for 2 weeks at a time, working alongside Samoans. One of the greatest needs for the project was the provision of suitable plant and machinery and Anglican Missions has provided funds for the purchase of a 6-tonne Dyna truck. The Children s Programme being delivered in the village of Salani facilitated by the Trauma Counselling Team $25,000 Community Hall/Multipurpose Centre The Sale apaga community of 500 people was devastated during the tsunami, with 31 villagers dying, including 20 children under the age of 8. The whole village is relocating further inland to start afresh. Once completed, this multipurpose community facility will be the hub of the new Sale apaga and will be administered by the Congregational Church of Samoa, the main church of the village. Fale being built by a team from Habitat for Humanity 4
TsunAMI Up to $12,000 towards Anglicans joining Project Hope to rebuild Samoa A major project (known as Project Samoa Hope) involving the rebuilding of over 300 fales, has been facilitated by Habitat for Humanity. This project has received significant funding from the New Zealand Government and is being undertaken in partnership with the Samoan Government. The Anglican Missions Board has decided that it will utilise up to $12,000 of the tsunami appeal funds to assist Anglican parishioners who wish to be part of the rebuild programme. The assistance is in the form of a $240 grant towards costs of going. Christian World Service Anglican Missions would like to acknowledge the significant support and assistance that Christian World Service has provided in distributing funds raised. This has ensured that all distributions have been made in accordance with International Aid and Development best practices. The 3 Rs of Disaster By Rob Radtke, President of Episcopal Relief & Development at the beginning of the Haiti Disaster (full article, www.er-d.org/blog). It is important to remember that all disasters have a life cycle: Right now, we are in the Rescue phase. This phase involves finding and treating the immediate medical needs of survivors and stabilizing ongoing hazards, such as shifting buildings. As such, it is best left to the heavy lifters government and military search and rescue teams. These groups also have heavy equipment that can clear roads and debris, as well as large specialized operations with mass distribution systems that have pre-positioned warehouses. The Rescue phase typically lasts a week. The next phase is the Relief phase, where the focus is on creating temporary safe and sanitary conditions. The church is often one of the first places people go to seek assistance and shelter. The Relief phase typically lasts a few months. Finally, we get to the third and final phase: Recovery. During recovery the emphasis shifts to restoring services, rebuilding houses and buildings, and returning to selfsufficiency. The challenge of the Recovery phase is that most of the television cameras have moved on, but the human suffering has grown. It is a chronic state, not a crisis. However, it is the phase that Episcopal Relief & Development and its partners excel at, because we work with churches that are part of the communities and know the needs best and how to meet them. This phase will last years. Photographed by Ben Fraser 5
Elizabeth Giller Based in Pakistan, Liz has been involved in many educational settings, with a key component being in training and supporting growth in others. Stephen & Josephine Stephen and Josephine founded a mission organisation in 2003. Currently, the organisation s primary ministry is the Arab Christian Network which trains, recruits, supports and equips Arab Christians. One of Stephen and Josephine s Zeal workers Jamail shares about God s work: I heard about a non-believer who was longing to know about Jesus. I visited her and talked with her about the Lord. She cried because the Lord touched her; and she gave her heart to the Lord. But she could not read the Bible since she is uneducated. But by prayer and persistence she started to read the Word of God. Praise the Lord! Another worker Sayeed shares his experience : 85 girls from 2 cities attended a conference. They were mainly from poor families and they listened to a message I gave about the hard circumstances we go through. 20 girls gave their lives to the Lord this day. 6 Liz writes about a courageous and faithful young woman named *Sarah: A young woman, Sarah, was the first girl in her family to receive an education. Following her year as a theological student, Sarah received teacher training and worked at the women s Bible training centre. Her concern for others was evident. After returning home Sarah s passion to see people know Jesus continued. Sarah could only go out accompanied by a male of her family, her family are not encouraging of her, and yet she has taken bold steps to see change in the lives of those around her. Sarah noticed that there were many churches, but no Sunday schools. Sarah spoke to the church leaders, challenging them about the need for training up these children and laying godly foundations. Sarah offered training to these leaders, who came along to learn how to set up, run and teach children through a Sunday school. There are now 30 new Sunday schools set up in her area. Praise God for Sarah s courage, skills, passion and commitment. *Not her real name
Rev Iri & Kate Mato Iri is a theology Lecturer at Msalato Theological College. Kate is the head of the Dodoma Language Institute based at Msalato. Kate Mato shares the encouragement of seeing Msalato students minister to their own villages, building churches and growing in faith: During our time here at Msalato we have been invited by many students to visit their villages. So, some Sundays, we gather up a team of students and head off in our trusty NZCMS vehicle. It was on such an occasion that we first visited Mindola, a village with no church. The village was obviously very poor, there had been no rain, there was no pastor, but here we found God s faithful people trying to build a church. We caught their vision and through the support received from our home church St Georges, Gate Pa, we have been able to help. Now the church, made from mud bricks, is complete. Stanley, the student who led us there, is now respected, and has been unanimously voted student chairman at Msalato. Through his example Stanley has led many young men in the village of Mindola to be baptised. Bwana asifiwe (Praise the Lord)! 2010 Short term mission teams TANZANIA When do we leave? 26 June 10 July 2010 How much? $5500.00 Doing what? Running a kids club for 5 days, visiting the local market, walking up Lion Rock and a possible visit to Mikumi National Park. CAMBODIA When do we leave? July or Aug/Sept 2010 How much? $3600.00 FIJI When do we leave? July 2-16 2010 (TBC) How much? $2500 PAPUA NEW GUINEA How much? $3300.00 Date TBC KENYA When do we leave? 30 Nov 18 Dec 2010 How much? $4300.00 Doing What? Working alongside a local team. If you would like to be considered for a short term trip please email executiveassistant@nzcms.org.nz and you will be sent an initial form to complete. AMB 2011 Tour to the Holy Land. Watch this space for details. 7
AAW OVERSEAS AND OUTREACH UPDATE New Zealand Association of Anglican Women Robyn Hickman This month the AMB is focussing on the results of their emergency appeals that have been special concerns recently. In keeping with this theme I thought it would be appropriate to elaborate on the AAW s missionary allocations for various requests over recent years. AAW raises around $37,000 per annum to assist in Missions. The AAW Overseas and Outreach funding is divided into 3 sections. 1. Grants made to projects, particularly involving women and children, in consultation with AMB. These are given for a 3-year period, being updated every 3 years. In the past 9 years our grants have gone to assist various programmes in Fiji; Tonga; Solomon Islands; Papua New Guinea; Tanzania; Kenya; Sri Lanka; Cairo; Pennell College, Bannu, and Kunri Krafts, Pakistan; Bangladesh; Cambodia; Peru. In NZ we also give $3000 p.a. to Churches Education Commission to assist poorer schools with material for classes. 2. Seeding Grants are one-off grants for new projects in NZ. This money can not be used for wages, salaries, travel or transport. They must support and encourage the work of women and children. Applications are received through the regional AAW groups and discussed by the NZ Executive. Some projects that have been supported include Growing Through Grief (to help young people cope with the loss of a close relative, or pet); Super Grans; Arohata Womens Prison Picture Bibles; Chaplaincy endowment for Massey; Teenage Parent school, Gisborne; Homes of Hope, Charitable trust, Tauranga; Waves, walk-in health and support service for youth in New Plymouth. 3. Emergency Fund is a fund kept in a special account enabling us to respond quickly to any appeals made by the AMB, NZCMS &CWS for help after a crisis. This fund is administered by the NZ President, Overseas and Outreach Convenor, and Treasurer. We have donated to flood relief in Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu; and also to Bay of Plenty, Manawatu, Feilding and Waitotara; famine relief; earthquake relief; AIDs programme in Tanzania. Used clothing, books, and spectacles have also been sent overseas. Once again, a big thank you to all members of Association of Anglican Women for the contributions to clean water supplies for villages in Fiji. I understand that the Anglican Missions Board is awaiting directions from the Bishops in Fiji as to where the priorities are for the $22,000 we raised as our Thanksgiving Gift celebrating 40 years of AAW promoting fellowship, mission, support and prayer in our parishes. Gerehu Rectory, PNG 8