New loos take away the blues in ‘Nam

I spent 45 minutes last night attempting to remove all the cement from my main work shirt – with a smile on my face. You see I’ve recently returned from a 10 day adventure in Vietnam that focused on building new toilets for two visually impaired families.  A team of 9 Aussies dug holes, mixed cement, passed buckets, rendered walls and laid bricks at two separate homes in Nam Dinh, a city 90km south of Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi. One of the beneficiaries, Miss Mai, lives with her 87 year old mother and couldn’t afford to upgrade her existing toilet on the $25/month social allowance she receives. The other beneficiary, Mr Ho, has been blind all of his 68 years of life, and like Miss Mai, had to walk a fair distance around the back of his house to find the squat (drop) toilet. The team had a great time interacting with Miss Mai, Mr Ho and their families (thanks to the local ADRA staff’s translation!). We also loved bonding with the neighbours who provided the brains and direction for the building projects. My main images of Vietnamese people I saw growing up were the mean faces portrayed in the American made ‘Nam war movies, so I was stoked to experience a fun, humble and caring nature of these beautiful people.I wasn’t sure we were going to raise our $4000 fundraising total in time to resource the project materials. However, thanks to four months of creative attempts, generous donors and prayer – we made it.

Living in a busy, consumeristic Western world, I’d been keen to make a difference in the lives of the less fortunate. After some searching, the Submerge crew came across this ADRA Connections opportunity, which aims to assist the lives of some of the 750,000+ visually impaired people in Vietnam. In spite of this great cause, many on the team still wondered whether it was better to fundraise and make a donation to the project instead of going on the trip ourselves. After all – we realised our main input was $ – we weren’t skilled in building at all (OK we had one sparkie on the team but the voltage and wires in ‘Nam are dangerous!). It wasn’t really until our last day in Nam Dinh that we realised the impact we had made. Though we’d got the chance to go and visit beautiful Halong Bay on the weekend, everyone on the team agreed that their highlight was working and interacting with the families and co-workers on the project. Some claimed it was a far better trip than any holiday they’d been on. Our final visit to the Provincial Blind Association confirmed that the projects would not have gone ahead had we not come in person. We learnt that whilst the funding we provided was needed, more important was the motivation we gave, which built a stronger sense of community. We realised we were not just ambassadors for ADRA but for Australia. This made a great trip a worthwhile, impacting trip – and donating $ from the couch at home can’t compare with that.

So when I consider going on another Connections trip in the future, it is the friendships and loving interactions with the locals which will be on my mind. And when I look at my cement-stained work shirt, I pray it’ll give me the courage to give time and make similar connections with needy Aussies in my own neighbourhood.

Middle East Trip Reflections Part 2

It’s nearing two weeks since I left the Middle East and touched down on Aussie soil (and I’ve hit the ground running…). I wanted to reflect once more briefly on the last three or so weeks of the trip:

Jerusalem

What a place. Just walking from where the bus dropped us at the top of the Mount of Olives down to the Garden of Gethsemane was incredible. Why? Because Jesus spent time here – teaching, praying, prophesying and fighting for our freedom. There are so many places to see in this city – some of which almost make you sick (eg. Jesus’ hand print on the via delarosa) but some which – event if they’re not the legit site – are impacting (eg. the garden tomb).

Peace and War in Israel

I don’t have much to say about this ongoing saga because I’ve really only had a sniff of what’s going on over there – but I must say that I never felt my life was threatened during our travels. It appeared more likely that I could perish whilst digging in a cave for a week or driving the minivan on the right-hand side of the road. The Palestinians were very friendly and certainly more a welcome site than the fundraisers at the Western Wall. I would like to visit more West bank towns and the Gaza strip in the future though.

The Synagogue and the 7 Churches

I attended my first ever synagogue – the Jerusalem Great Synagogue (correct order of words) – on my last Shabbat in Israel. I’d heard that it was ‘visitor friendly’ and thus donned my long pants and green surf hat and entered into the lower men’s section to see what would happen.  There was a bustle of reading and response from the congregation, who were seated with their Torah’s mounted on little desks in front of them. I never received any welcome or instruction of what was going on (the fellas up front had no mics and no English). After about 30 mins the choir sang some numbers – many of which were in minor keys (laments? hebrew blues?) but with a cantor (lead singer) gifted with a great voice. Worth the visit – but I didn’t walk away praising God.

Turkey is the home to the seven churches of Revelation. All are ruins, and some of the sites are closed to the public. When we visited some, I’d try and read the passage that spoke of the site and see what I could learn. The places came alive when by accident I stumbled across a website of a Bible Conference at Izmir in 2006. On this site were devotional talks by Mark Finley on each of the churches, and when I listened to these the history and practical application of each place just hit home. We’re often led to believe that the church in the West is like Laodicea, but all of the messages to the churches have such relevance to our situation today!

In Conclusion..

This was an incredible, tiring, inspiring, overwhelming and fun adventure. After returning, I feel as though I need to research more on the places we visited so I can make sense of what I’ve experienced. There’s so much to write/say about this trip that I haven’t mentioned here…but that can wait. Thanks to Michael Browning and diggings.com.au for the opportunity. I will endeavor to return to this part of the world one day soon and there’s a good chance that you could come with me. Come on now!

Middle East Trip Reflections Part 1

I’ve been fortunate the past 10 days to travel through Egypt and Petra on an archaeology trip (diggings.com.au). Tour leader Michael Browning asked me to assist him (with logistics) as we journey with 20+ people through the Middle East for 5 weeks. Having arrived in Jerusalem yesterday, I thought it was time to jot down some thoughts on the trip thus far.

Soak it in..

My whole life has been a somewhat transient, nomadic existence and I consider this a blessing. When arriving in Egypt however, I had to remind myself to step back and take in the grandeur of the pyramids and temples, not just visually but historically. I mean, some of these places are over 4000 yrs old and many are mentioned in the Bible! Which leads me to my next point…

Chronology

The current system of dating events in Egypt’s history (chronology) doesn’t mesh well with the dates given in the Bible. For many this disproves the Bible from being a reliable record of history or trustworthy with any other stories or info it provides. However, Michael Browning is convinced that a ‘revised chronology’ promoted by David Down (the founder of Archaeological Diggings) helps resolve these issues. He points to archaeological evidence and an earlier timing of events as supporting what the Bible says about Egyptian history and events before and after this period. I’m only beginning to grasp all of this but can see how Michael’s faith in God and trust in the Bible has come alive due to the time he’s spent in the Middle East coupled with this new chronology.

Exodus

It’s been exciting to find evidence of the Hebrews’ existence in Egypt. From the mud and straw bricks of some pyramids and workers’ villages, to inscriptions that speak of 7 years of famine with food in storage, to a canal from the Nile named after Joseph. We drove east from Cairo across the desert a couple of days ago, crossing under the Suez Canal and through the desert. Though the exact route and location of Mt Sinai is still a point of disagreement, I felt kind of privileged to be able to imagine what it would be like as a child of Israel heading through the desert to the Promised Land. The same was true in Jordan where we saw from a distance the tomb of Aaron and passed nearby Mt Nebo, the place where Moses’ last sight was Canaan. 

Islam

The majority of people in this part of the world are Muslim. On the plane I chatted at length to Mohammed, who’d been working as a tiler in Sydney for 12 years but was visiting family in Suez. He was very passionate about his beliefs and very welcoming and friendly. Our guide in Jordan gave a great overview of the pillars of Islam and painted a very positive picture of his country non-extreme way of life. He explained how Islam comes from the word ‘Salaam’ which means ‘peace’. Jihad means protecting your home and family but not attacking the innocent. There are many similarities between Islam and Christianity. Both have extremists who ruin things for everyone else. Both regard care for the poor of utmost importance. Both are awaiting the return of Jesus. I’d like to see more interaction between the two.

One last reflection

I think a trip like this is a must for anyone who’s grown up hearing Bible stories for much of their life. Coming to the places where these stories took place and seeing the evidence strengthens faith in God and his Word. It can revive lax or lost faith and I imagine that this experience will be heightened when I journey through Israel and trace some of the footsteps of Jesus!