Angels watching over you

I was out with Woking Street Angels again on Saturday night – part of the Jubilee Celebration weekend.  We were 8 angels and a visitor in our 'cohort'.

Our team of 3 included Caroline, who had met the angels when she was out partying a couple of years ago. She is a mother of two and was thinking about joining SAs, so she walked the streets with us til midnight. She found it fascinating to be on the 'other side' as she put it.

The Woking Angel sits on top of the memorial and keeps watch 

The first shift of 2 hours went very slowly. We talked together and greeted one and all. I chatted with Haroon/Harry, the Pakistani bouncer at Subway.  A bright, well-spoken young man,  he holds down 3 jobs to build a better future for himself.  A not-quite-sober man came up to him as we were talking. Tom asked to use the loo and Haroon explained it was out of action. ‘No problem’ he quickly retorted ‘I’m a plumber and earn £140 a day. I’ll fix it.  ‘But, you’re not authorised  to work here… Haroon insisted politely. Tom was not happy and swerved off to relieve himself elsewhere. Haroon commented that it is hard to be polite all the time. 

We spent the evening chatting to people, picking up bottles at one point sent off on a couple of wild goose chases. One after hearing of trouble in the town square. But the town centre is a building site with extensive renovations. The new Café Rouge is now open, and on this night it was the only source of activity, though very quiet.   

And the other time a passerby near Weatherspoons told us that there were some very drunk teenagers near the bandstand (by Toys’R’us).  When we got there … nothing. 

It felt like an 'almost and nearly' evening, we 'almost' got there on time, we 'nearly' saw a fight. We never seemed in the right place at the right time. Bu we did walk a lot – good exercise! 

There were lots of police around, and they seemed to turn up in places on time.  An arrest under the station canopy, we heard on the radio and from the bouncer at Yates about a man who had pulled a knife and had been taken off by the police.  And of a double arrest at the Chameleon. 

One Angel team spent a lot of time with a very drunk Italian girl and her Swedish friend who had been thrown out of BEd Bar. Their ID and keys were in their bags in the lockers inside. But they had lost the cloakroom tickets.  Eventually after lots of time and sympathy and negotiation, the team were able to negotiate with door staff and the bags were retrieved. And then put in a taxi home. That is, after all the ultimate aim. that people get home safely.     

A mysterious hand

Walking down street a girl stuck a hand out of her car and thrust a postcard sized leaflet towards us: 'Hell awaits a sinner ….. but Jesus died for your sins'

She asked ‘Are you saved?’  I must admit it is years, since that has happened.

There was a heaviness and intensity about her, a wistfulness and distance, as she sat in the driver’s seat of the car and handed over the tract. She had a passion for the lost and said she was from a church in Ottershaw. She wanted to know, if the church we went to was: ‘born again’. I responded  ‘Yes, again and again and again…!’  Her two friends returned with some coffee and they drove off.

The leaflet implied that being out on the street at night, drinking, partying … was being on a path to hell. I felt uneasy about it. There was a picture of two escalators one going up and the other going down… with a sign saying “it’s your choice' <=>  There were bible verses on the back talking of everlasting life (John 3:16) and being born again (John 3:3) and a picture of three crosses. It finished with: ‘if you confess….  Jesus is Lord…you will be saved’ (Rom 10:9)  

I was left wondering if it really communicated to the partying community in Chertsey Road. The encounter left us reflecting on how do you reach the ‘least, the last and the lost’. Does a leaflet really do it?

For me. I prefer a more gentle approach, summed up by prayer we prayed at the beginning of the evening before we went out. I’d found the book of prayers from Iona in the Horsell Hospice bookshop only that morning. (‘Each Day & Each Night: Celtic prayers from Iona’ J. Philip Newell, Wild Goose Publication, 2002)  It seemed to express the spirit of ‘Street Angels’

Watch now O Christ,

with those who are weary

or wandering

or weeping this night.

Guide them to a house

of your peace

and lead me to be caring

for their tears.

 

Watching out for people and simple caring (out of a motivation of love) and guiding them safely home, does itself speaks volumes…     Sometimes it feels like a 'mysterious hand' is with us, guiding, watching, supporting. 

at the end of the day, to use the title of another (controversial) book by Rob Bell:  ‘Love Wins’    

I wrote about that earlier  in two parts: The Prodigal's Return and Between Heaven and Hell 

Putting angel into Evangelical

This painting was inspired by some very large pieces I saw in a Restaurant in London. I call it 'Red Girl Clubbing' and its part of a series (2 girls on a mobile is at the bottom of this blog). The originals were done by Paul Lemmon as part of an Exhibition: 'a Slice of Lemmon' put on by the Art Movement. Described as:

Voyeuristic, fixated and fetishist, Lemmon’s work is also exciting, provocative, atmospheric and compelling, in the way it inhabits an unstable, detached, partial and intrusive modern gaze. Like a Toulouse-Lautrec turned sinister.

I found his pictures very compelling.

On Friday night out with the Street Angels down Chertsey Road, Woking, we came across a lot of girls who had been out clubbing.

Quake had reopened after a couple of weeks with a Heavy Rock Band night. Plus of course there is BED Bar, Yates, O'Neals, Cameleon and RSVP

We met one girl who was very upset that she had been thrown out of 'Spoons for bumping into someone. Just 18 she said she had graduated from Police academy and was out celebrating. She was with her fiance. She was quite tearful. We saw her a number of times through the night talking to various people.

Two female street angels spent 2 hours with one girl who was very drunk. Her friends had left her and she had no money and was very upset and agitated. She tried phoning her friends - no joy. At one point she went to relieve herself , squatting down in the dark and a man came and squatted next to her. (I am still appalled at the lack of public toilets in Woking at night) So the 2 angels stuck with her to protect her. Eventually she thought of phoning her father who then came a picked her up by Toys'R'Us. and took her home. He was very grateful.

I suppose that epitomises what the street angels are about - having time to be with the vulnerable and see that they are alright and get home safely.

Very short skirts which leave little to the imagination, and high heels, seem to make girls even more vulnerable. We swept up glass and picked up bottles and gave out all our flip flops. Prevention is always better then expensive medical treatment.

After the drinking comes the eating as the Fast food outlets fill up with hungry punters. McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Subway, and the numerous kebab shops.

As one of the Pakistani taxi drivers told us: ' it seems the idea is to drink as much as you can, then get some food down you and be sick then you feel better and you get a taxi home'

It's what people call 'a good night out!'

The Angels patrol the streets to try and help people have a good night and not get into trouble, with a particular eye out for vulnerable girls.

The gospel reading for Sunday is from Matthew when Jesus is described, in contrast to John the Baptist, as 'eating and drinking' and called a 'glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners' (11:19)

I like that. He is at home on the streets, mixing with ordinary people. Those who are having fun, eating and drinking. Partying. Jesus felt at home in such company.

I was left reflecting why it is that the Church has been perceived as being so judgemental and unable to relate to people, so out of touch. Associated more with the aethetic, abolutionist John the Baptist - the puritanical, pietist streak of the church. Whereas Jesus the founder was so at home and so in touch with people. 'Come to me' he said, 'all you who are burdened and heavy ladened, and I will give you rest for your souls'. He understood people and knew what they needed. And being accepted and understood and listened to is so much of what people need. .....

Street Angels in some small way is helping to help put the angel back into evangelical ! So that the church (and not just the church) could also reach outside of itself and serve the young and the vulnerable on the streets. (By the way we are looking for more Angels to we can patrol on busier Saturday nights as well as Fridays - if you are interested let us know or signup online)

During the night, we also saw two foxes near the council offices where we are based. Running around frollicking in the town square. Maybe they too were looking for a good night out. They were certainly in search of food and drink....

'Out with the Angels' - Friday night in Woking

The painting was inspired by the concept of Street Angels

(based on a pic I found on the web)

This was my first time as a street angel - 11 of us on duty on Friday night. We gathered at 9:30pm for a 10 to 4 shift. Organised in pairs, two hours on and one hour off. The break time is spent in the council office staff room, which is also used by police and others.

I was with Margaret. It was a cold night but not very busy. We walked the streets to get an idea of the patch. Saying hello to one and all. Striking up conversations where wanted. Especially to people on their own. A Welsh girl. Man with dreadlocks who wanted to become an angel himself. A Russian bouncer outside Yates. The manager of a nightclub, RSVP. Plus the police – two teams the local community police and the quick response from Guildford, plus lots of taxi drivers, mainly Pakistani.

One team stayed with a very drunk 14 year old, under the station canopy, until her grateful mother came to take her home. We met a girl, Cloe, on her own sitting on the pavement outside a pub. Her 'ex' was inside and wanted nothing to do with her. We stayed with her while she vomited up the evening’s drink, gave her water and another team escorted her to the bus to make sure she was OK getting to a friend’s house.

A brother and sister were vehemently fighting in the streets, with a friend trying to separate them. Lots of things were said they would later regret. And it was at times violent. A shop window was nearly broken. In the end just being there, hanging around persistently and trying to talk to them, they eventually stopped. The sister was put in a taxi home and the police took details. They were known but not wanted. It ended all very amicably with both men expressing appreciation and exchanging hugs with the angels.

3 young girls who looked around 14/15 kept appearing, asking for lollipops. We did see one angel - a young woman off to a club in white body suit, dancing tutu and wings. She looked COLD…. And there was a jovial, old busker, who improvised a song about lollipops. A good laugh had by all ….

A taxi driver spoke to us of some of the abuse he had suffered at the hands of drunken customers. One man had ripped his coat and tried to strangle him. The 3 girls tried to cadge a lift off him, ‘mum will pay at the end’ they suggested. He refused "Mother’s never pay”, he explained, “mothers are always tucked up asleep in bed and never pay"

A night worker waiting for her lift, just grateful to be asked if she was alright.

We came across one couple arguing. So difficult to tell if the violence is going to escalate. And they didn’t really want any interference, so we moved on…

At the end of the night, we met Ted, a young man in a suit, who had had a £1800 bike stolen the week before, so he was off home, a 4 mile walk along the canal at 3am. We chatted and gave him a lollipop… He shouted back as he was walking off; “Amazing, the lollipop really does it for me, it really f***ing does!”

Woking seems to appreciate the angels on the streets. They just want them there on busier Saturday nights as well…….

the people of Taiwan on the move - Typhoon Morakot

We hear from Catherine who works in Taiwan (I visited last year) about the devastating effect of the recent Typhoon Morakot: 

As the disaster unfolds, it is clear that many lives have been lost, homes and buildings buried, crops and livelihoods destroyed.  Communications have been severely disrupted and many mountain villages even now remain inaccessible.   People are very angry over the government’s slow response and the excuses made by government officials trying to justify their incompetence and arrogance.  However, rather than resorting to protests and vandalism to vent their anger, rather the people of Taiwan are instead standing up and volunteering to go to the affected areas themselves and help.  By car, by train, by bus and bicycle, the people of Taiwan are on the move.  All are heading south to volunteer in the relief effort, wellington boots on their feet and shovels in their hands.  Homes and schools inundated by thick layers of mud are now being cleared by students on their summer holidays, by older people newly retired, by church congregations, by groups of neighbours who have come together to help others. 

VOLUNTEER PARTICIPATION

 

All disasters have a certain amount of chaos in the relief effort and this one is no exception.  Where to go, how to help, what to take, where to stay, who to consult?  The best place is one particular website set up ‘because we are fed up with the government, and if we wait for them to act, we’ll be waiting for ever.’ It makes fascinating reading.  Offers from people in the north to dig, to translate, to cook, to entertain children, to help in any way ~ are matched by organizations in the south looking for volunteers, by local people who offer a bed for the night, by recommendations and suggestions. The attraction of going south to volunteer is greatly added to by the free High-Speed Rail tickets available to all volunteer organizations. It cuts hours off the journey and oh, it is so much more comfortable!

CHURCH RESPONSE 

Now, the Bishop of Taiwan, the Rt. Rev. David J. H. Lai is encouraging all the churches in the diocese to send teams of volunteers to help.  Unexpectedly I found that this past weekend I was suddenly going to be free.  I felt moved to offer my services and after a whole day of chaos and wondering whether I would be able to go at all, it suddenly all came together at the last minute and I went off down to south central Taiwan on the High-Speed Rail taking a student with me.  We ended up in Chia-Yi, staying at St. Peter’s Church, joining a group of students from St John’s University and a few other hangers on.  A great group to be with! 

PAYING TAX 

There followed a weekend in the Chia-Yi County Tax Building.  Yes the very same place where everyone goes to pay their taxes, and no I am not joking, we really did spend virtually the whole weekend there.  And as it was a Saturday the air-conditioning was off, so it was sweltering hot.  There in the midst of all those Tax offices is the Chia-Yi County Red Cross, and what a marvelous organization it turned out to be.  By the end of the weekend we had moved almost 4,000 boxes of all shapes and sizes sent by the general public (free postage) as donations to the relief effort.  The Post Office vans spent all day driving back and forth delivering boxes to us, and we spent all weekend moving them up to the third floor, recording the sender’s details, checking the contents and sorting them all out.  Boxes of clothes, baby items, cans of food, milk powder, rice, instant noodles, candles, water bottles, toothpaste, you name it, it was there.  We worked in pairs, one recording, the other slashing open the box and sorting the contents. Have knife will cut, that was my role!

 

DELIVERING GOODS 

On Sunday, yesterday, 2 of us went with the Red Cross up into the mountains to deliver some of the goods.  Chia-Yi County stretches from the coast, where the Tax Building, County Hall etc are located, right up into the central mountain range as far up as the top of Taiwan’s highest mountain, Yu-Shan. We drove for well over 2 hours.  Helicopters were constantly flying overhead carrying supplies.  As we went up, so the road worsened, in many places only cleared enough for single file traffic. We took mainly plastic containers for petrol, instant noodles, cans of food, and candles.  When we reached Da-Pu Village, up beyond Tzeng-Wen Reservoir, we could go no further.  Up and beyond, the road was impassable except by jeep, and even then everything would have to be carried by hand for more several hours up to the mountain villages.

  

Beyond Da-Pu the people are from the Tsou tribe of indigenous people.  Many of the people severely affected by this typhoon are indigenous people, and most are Christians.  Many have shared their testimonies in front of news cameras on TV in the last few days, and can testify to God’s amazing grace in the face of Taiwan’s worst typhoon in 50 years.  They mostly belong to Presbyterian and Roman Catholic Churches, and there must have been severe damage to many church buildings and communities.  Restoration and repair will take months and even years. 

 

 

CMS is MANY THINGS

 

CMS is MANY THINGS

CMS is a carpet shop in Woking:  Coffee Machine Services (used to maintain the machines at partnership house) , Centre for medical services  in US,  Convention on Migratory species,   College Music Society   CMS energy  and computer maintenance services   and  Content management systems;  The Catholic Men's Society 

Most excitingly Compact Muon Solenoid    - Nuclear research in Switzerland  ! 

On a Google Search  CMS UK is now No.4 under CMS. 

The possibilities are endless !  which has inspired me again!!    Sorry  

 

COMMUNITY Of MISSION SERVICE

This is Tim Dakin’s favourite (other than his famous talk  ‘Complexity Made Simple’!)  It is a term originally coined by John Taylor  Community has become a major theme.  CMS is now an Acknowledged community (ref CMS website statement)

In addition we also have had an assessment by the Charity Commission  on  Public Benefit (ditto) . CMS was one of 4 religious organisation that were assessed

CHANGING MONEY SITUATION

Life has been hectic in CMS with a lot of meetings of the Senior Management Team to look at the implications of the Global Financial Downturn .  
We have had to make lots of cuts again this year  in mid stream   because we are £750k in deficit already  (there was a planned deficit of 500k for the year). So this has been very hard as it has meant some redundancies. So you can imagine the atmosphere at present
It also means people are watching expenditure like hawks and seeking to make savings wherever possible.

In was recently reminded of a timely quote by  Hudson Taylor

 'God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supplies'

COORDINATING  MISSION in SEOUL

Rev Simon  in Seoul reports that they have reached a level of maturity now that they are 3 years old.   The presence of CMs has helped to catalyse the Anglican Church . The Bishop of Seoul Paul Kim has set up the Korean Internation Mission (KIM).

And there are many Anglican Priests now considering mission. Zinkoo and family in N Cyprus. Rev Peter is investigating a teaching placement in China. And a retired  Bishop also wants to go to Mongolia and China. Dominiq is planning to go to India. Others are looking at the Mekong Delta, Philippines  N.Korea  Japan.     

Bp Kevin of GLOBAL TEAMS  reported on an ANGLICAN CONFERENCE in Seoul:  

‘5 years ago there was a conference in the Anglican Church of Korea sponsored by GLOBAL TEAMS and Koram Deo along with a few congregations. The organizers felt it was the first such conference in the Anglican Church, at least the first they knew of. About 40 or 50 attended.  Last week there was a second such conference held at the Vision Centre of Disciples Church (also known as St. Columba's). CMS and GLOBAL TEAMS helped develop it.   There were over 100 to 150 people in attendance.   7 missos from CMS and GLOBAL TEAMS reported on their ministries in places like S.Korea, Nepal, India, China, Mongolia, Japan, and Vietnam. There was worship and prayer and a challenge to either GO or SEND. The involvement is growing among the Anglicans there....’

 

COMMUNICATION  MANAGEMENT  SYSTEMS

As part of the development of NETWORK MISSION, we have been experimenting with various social networks  

Facebook; incluing abgroup for CMS Asia and SACYN;  and now CMS has a Kindling community.  And we have registered a Website  address, www.AsiaCMS.net, which we hope to activate in the Autumn / Fall

CHRISTIAN MUSLIM SOLIDARITY

One of the most encouraging meetings I have attended recently was the  Christian Muslim Forum and the launch of ethical guideline   for  evangelism – 10 commandments. They represent a hopeful sign of being able to work together  See details

I used them as part of a talk I was doing at the Guildford Diocesan Summer School  entitled  ‘Common Ground: being Deeply rooted and Profoundly open’=

'CO-CONSTRUCTING MISSION SYSTEMICALLY'  (or 'CONDUCTING  MISSION  SURVEYS')    

The ASIA PROCESS has been engaging with partners and people in Mission around Asia. This has been an Appreciative Inquiry into the future, based on the 4-D cycle:  Describe Dream Design Deliver. It is about co-constructing reality together and so far we have had a lot of buy-in to and ownership of the process.

We have had meetings in Bangkok, Islamabad and Karachi in Pakistan, Pune India.  We have also had a follow up meeting in Islamabad and half process in Colombo.   We have a further 2 meetings to go  - in Oxford and Seoul

Peter of ALL Singapore  has conducted a survey of 10 Asian cities

At the SACYN Sri Lanka Core group  meeting we were able to conduct a mini process gathering stories and themes. 

There is a a commitment to report to trustees in October and a final report in January 2010. We had a SMT & Trustees where the go ahead was given to look at the Malaysian Peninsular as a coordinating office and continue to develop office  in Seoul and a base  in India alongside the Pakistan one.  So that’s generally going well.  KST, a CMS Trustee,  is visiting Malaysia soon and will make contact.   The enquiry process still has 2 more meetings  one in Oxford and one in Seoul, both in Sept.   We are trying to get all the write ups done of the process so far

Now we have  appointed John as  part time Project Manager, we hope to be able to get more stuff done.  

A DJ's view on UK Church

BBC Radio 1 DJ talks up church

By Marie Page | June 26, 2009

This clip from DJ Chris Moyles on his Breakfast Radio Show is so encouraging to hear. It shows that people with no personal experience of church can find a contemporary worship service surprisingly relevant to (post) modern culture. In the UK at least, a whole generation has little understanding of church other than traditional weddings and carol services. Church (and therefore Christianity) is sterotyped as old fashioned and irrelevant. Here Chris Moyles talks about a Pentecost service he saw on the BBC.

The service was called ‘That’s The Spirit!’ and shows worship from Kingsgate Community Church in Peterborough. Its on YouTube  See what you think.

I was sent the Link from Music Academy 

Posted in Church stuff, Pick of the Best, Worship | Tagged Chris moyles, Christianity, contemporary worship, DJ, radio 1, songs of praise | 5 Comments

Bethesda Life Centres Goa

Bethesda Life Centres GoaMartin and Beena set up the ministry in Goa in 98 not long after their marriage.Martin spent time in Papua New Guinea for 3 years and they were also in Hillsong Australia as a couple for a year after their marriage.
Her father VA Thampy started the New India Church of God’ www.nicog.orgin Kerala in the 1970s. There are now more than 2000 churches over India as well as Nepal Dubai. They also run Children’s homes and schools, refuges for women as well as 11 missionary training schools. The model is sending out mobile teams. This is not so much a denomination but a mission movement ‘Christ for the Nations’ 

'ONE ACT OF KINDNESS'

Meena’s Father VA Thampy He was converted aged 19 in a remote village in Kerala from a Greek orthodox background. He became passionate about sharing the gospel even preaching from the top of Palm tree, using a home made megaphone (I’ll write that one up later) The story is told in a book by Brendan McCauley ‘India – one act of Kindness’ (Tate Publishing 2004).

DANIEL’S AND REBECCA'S ENCLAVE

I spent the day visiting the various projects: ‘Daniel’s Enclave’ home for 58 boys (where 2 of my children Andy and Jo have worked on summer programmes) I had kids climbing all over me and we even celebrated Jo’s birthday with chai and cake and banana chips.

The girls home ‘Rebecca’s Enclave’ is home to 36 girls. When we visited they were playing a version of HopscotchThey are also renovating a 3rd home which will they have bought to relieve the pressure on Daniel’s enclave Plan to take e in another 15 who need admission70& of the children are without parents, children of aids victims HIV+ve children are refereed elsewhere The others are mainly children of sex workers plus some leprosy background children

They also work with women to help them return to their villages.
Martin and beena have established a newtwork of support from churches in Woking,  Gretton and York a charity in UK exists to support wwwJames1v27foundation.org.uk
 

Girls from our church were also spending time there as part of as gap year travelling in Asia. Our church youth ministry 'Graceworks'  sends teams each year to work with them, to both encourage and are themselves encouraged by the experience. They appreciate short term volunteers but they also need trained people who can take responsibility and bear some of the burden for the work.

Goa has a colonial feel to it. The Portuguese colony with a strong Catholic influence . The relaxed, easy pace of life attracts tourists It is particularly famous for its beaches and now it seems for the casinos. I stayed at the Mandovi Hotel on Panaji, near the water front. A number of floating casinos blared out dance music. The Indian-Portuguese mix is reflected both in the food and in the churches. Here the twain shall meet.

BIBLE SCHOOL

I also visiting the bible school run by Manoj, Registrar and Ligi, academic dean. It started in 1997 as a missionary training centre They run a 2 year residential programme with a one year practical internship. To ‘train and send’ This might be to work with children, schools, street kids, church planting, training centres, mobile evangelistic teams

Around 20 students from Orissa, West Bengal, Kerala, Kanata, Tamil Nadu, Andréa Pradesh Manipur and Myanmar.  I shared my own journey in a mixture of Hindi/Urdu and English, as well as some Biblical principle of mission and some of the changes and challenges in the mission scene. The students were enthusiastic and welcoming, We then had a quick lunch before dashing off to the airport to pick up my flight to Chennai. A great way to spend a morning.

Hijra of Pune February 2009

Penna, Stella and Koelli talking with Dr Lalita 

I visited ‘Budwar Pet’ Red Light district in Pune with Dr Lalita. We walked to the Satvana crèche run for children of sex workers every week day from 5:30 – 9:30 for the last couple of years. They weren’t there but it gave us space to talk (in hindi/urdu). Being able to communicate makes all the difference. It gets beyond the superficial, the outward appearance of things. Dr Lalita calls the Hijra ‘her special people.’

I met Panna who runs the crèche, Koelli from Keralla who has been in Pune for the last 25 years and Stella from Tamil Nadu for the past 20. All three have come out of the trade. As we talked they gave a demonstration dance and Penen sang a song: ‘Koi bhi chore mujhe, Yesu kebhi nehin chorega’ (even if others leave me, Jesus will never leave me)

Dr Laita stared working at Jadhav Natva Sansar and befriending the hijra or 'kinnar' (eunuchs). It was a real lesson in acceptance. Dr Laita has befriended and served them, demonstrating unconditional love. They are now in turn helping others. They all seem to call her ‘uma’ (mum) or ‘aunty’

We went on a walkabout the streets. Narrow dirty lanes, full of shops, DVD stalls, narrow lanes and gullies. People milling around.  Penna and the others greeted men and women and fellow ‘kinnar’ and the mamas sitting outside the doors. Everyone eyes everyone else up.
At night it is the twilight world of TGs (transgenders) FSWs (female sex workers) and MSMs (men having sex with men).  In the heat of the day, the home spills out onto the street, difficult to discern private and public, domestic and professional.    I was concerned about girls not much older than my daughter. So much exploitation. 

 
In her small one room flat over a cuppa ‘germ chai’, Penna showed me pictures of her heyday, her dancing days. With all her make up, she looked like a Greta Garbo figure from Hollywood. Then she earned 10,000 Rs a night dancing. But she wouldn’t swap those days for now anytime. Now she has a sense of peace and purpose.

Penna quoted by heart Isaiah 56: 4-5 in Hindi - verses that mean so much to her: 

'For this is what the LORD says: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off.’

Zindegi: Break the cycle

Zindegi: Break the cycle   a film by Timothy Gaikwad.  Timothy has produced about 50 films  He showed us this latest 40 min docu-drama whilst on a visit to the Alpha village. 

The plot summary is taken from  Yet another AIDS movie by IMCARES

Zindagi is a story of a 16 year old girl who is trafficked from rural Maharashtra and sold into prostitution in Mumbai. This is a document of Her and many like her who go though this journey through hell. She gives birth to a daughter in the brothels. The little girls too is at the risk of being recruited in this oldest business in the world. Meanwhile certain simple social workers from a nearby church come to her rescue. The daughter is brought-up in a foster home and the mother is reformed. The cycle is broken! But ignorance is bliss. The parallel story shows a fourth generation prostitute. A young male child who is abused by his mother's customers, grows up to be a Hijra and eventually takes over the brothel. No child is safe in the red-light areas be it a male or a female.

There are simple and friendly looking agents lurking in the villages in India, to take advantage of poverty stricken families. They promise domestic jobs for young girls, pay some money to the parents, and then sell the girls in Mumbai's red light areas. This is true. This film contains some bold scenes of torture, post traumatic disorders and the apathy of women and children in prostitution. But above all it gives hope!

And that hope is exemplified by our visit to Alpha village.  A project of IMCARES  (Intermission Care and Rehabilitation Society) based out of Mumbai, where there is a ministry to streetkids.  The village itself is outside Pune and  occupies a plot of land behind an old Anglican Church (now CNI). 

It is not huge by any means, but it is a safe haven.  A smattering of buildings house around 50 boys, who are mainly Aids orphans or come from Mumbai sex workers as well as victoms of the 1993 Latur earthquake in Maharashtra  (there is another home for smaller boys and for Girls)  The 'village' has a small kitchen garden and views of hills around. The sense of care abounds. Lots of smiling faces and happy children playing cricket. 

Timothy Gaikwad is brother-in-law to my CMS colleague Adrian.  He is passionate about his agency Intermission but more about his street-ministry: 

'I am heartbroken and yet challenged to carry out initiatives that will help end this evil practice of child trafficking . We, at Inter-Mission Cares, have recently produced a film on child trafficking called Zindagi — Break the Cycle. Though this ‘A’ certified film (I don’t know for what reason), is suitable for all of India, it is primarily made with the church audience in mind. We attend church every Sunday and warm the pews. We have become so selfish in our worship of God, that we forget that He is a God of the oppressed and of justice. This film is being shown in churches so that we move out of our comfort zones and go out there, raise our voices, expose the trafficking racket, and also, most importantly, accept the oppressed back in society'

You can read more in 'Expressindia' Reeling Life Realities  and in a Tearfund article:  Film brings message of hope.     Intermisison is a part of both  Viva Network and the Micah Network.  The film was supported by Geneva Global   There is even a clip on YOUTube on the making of Zindegi  Just to give you a taster.  You can also watch a clip from another of Timothy's films Masiha Aaya Hain (a Saviour is Come) showiung a Bollywood style dance in a church that is opening its doors to the marginalised.