Teartimes Spring 2011

teartimes Spring 2011

Back to school in Haiti

Lives restored one year on

Global call to prayer Churches gather to pray with One Voice

Changing the climate How you can make a stand for poor communities

Be part of a miracle | www.tearfund.org

welcome

Ralph Hodgson/Tearfund

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hrough Tear Times, we want to connect you directly with poor people across the world.

We want you to feel close to individuals, families and communities to show you how your prayers, your campaigning and your giving are transforming lives and extending God’s Kingdom.

When I first saw the photo of Peter Shaw, Tear Times Editor and children, Evelyn (bottom right), it stopped Huaycan Community, Lima, Peru. me in my tracks. A young girl who survived the devastating earthquake – 4,500 miles away – enjoying seeing photos of herself in Tear Times. For me, it makes it clear that people in Haiti know that they are not forgotten and that Jesus – through the local church – is providing for them.

This issue, we look back at a year of transformation in Haiti (see page 8).

It’s just a small snapshot of how your amazing outpouring of generosity is directly, measurably, improving the lives of people in Haiti.

Thanks to you, people have shelter and a well-funded programme to rebuild their homes. Children can go to school; men and women have started small businesses. And throughout, the community of the church has been at the heart of our response, offering not just daily essentials and a long-term Back to rebuilding programme – but also hope for eternity. hool

s e m i t r a te 11 Spring 20

sc in Haitori ed

Peter Shaw, Editor editor@tearfund.org

Lives rest on one year

call Global er to pray

gather Churches h wit to pray One Voice

Tearfund We are Christians passionate about the local church bringing justice and transforming lives – overcoming global poverty. And so our ten-year vision is to see 50 million people released from material and spiritual poverty through a worldwide network of 100,000 local churches.

We can support you if you want to encourage your church and others to get involved with Tearfund. And if you have any questions, we’d be delighted to talk to you.

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can How you nd sta make a for poor ies nit commu

Be part

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Editor: Peter Shaw News Editor: Mark Lang Design: Premm Design Print: Pindar Graphics Copyright © Tearfund 2010. All rights reserved.

Permission is granted for the reproduction of text from this publication for Tearfund promotional use only. For all other uses, please contact us.

Cover image: Children at Gais Rossignol Primary School meeting in emergency classrooms – the school building was destroyed in the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Richard Hanson/Tearfund 2

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CONTENTS 4

News – Pakistan floods response and updates from across the world

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Hope for Haiti – one year on from the devastating earthquake

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Faith on the front line – how Tearfund responds to disasters

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Unless a seed falls to the ground – story of a family that turned hurt into hope

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World view – villagers united to rebuild a road in Haiti

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Holding firm in fragile times – protecting our neighbours across the world

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Hope, healing and the local church – church mobilisation in action

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One Voice – a global poverty prayer movement

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Recovering the fullness of the gospel – interview with theologian Ruth Padilla DeBorst

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Shining light in Haiti – God moving in the aftermath of the earthquake

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Richard Hanson/Tearfund

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Haiti: Earthquake survivor Evelyn sees herself in Tear Times. teartimes spring 2011

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NEWS

Ashraf Mall/Tearfund

Tearfund is implementing a long-term recovery plan following the devastating floods in Pakistan.

Tearfund responds to Pakistan floods

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housands of Pakistanis are receiving Tearfund help to rebuild homes and livelihoods six months after the worst flooding in living memory. Exceptional monsoon rain last summer led to dramatic floods which swept from the north to the south of the country and affected 20 million people.

More than 1,700 died in the disaster which prompted Tearfund to launch an emergency appeal that was supported by many churches across the UK. Ashraf Mall, Tearfund’s Country Representative for Pakistan, said, ‘We really appreciate the generosity of local churches in the UK. The £2.9 million funds raised have enabled us to respond quickly and help people in desperate need.’

Initially Tearfund partners responded with relief aid, such as food and shelter materials, to help people who had in many cases seen their homes destroyed or severely damaged and their possessions washed away.

Lack of shelter was a particular problem as many poorer people lived in homes made of weak unbaked bricks which simply could not withstand the flood waters. Perial, 60, from Mohammed Khan Jayo village in Upper Sindh Province, saw his house destroyed two days after the floods started.

‘The last time I saw flooding like this was in 1973, but it didn’t cause my house to collapse,’ said Perial, who received aid from our partner SSEWA-Pak. SSEWA-Pak mounted 4

‘The £2.9 million funds raised have enabled us to respond quickly and help people in desperate need.’

Ashraf Mall, Tearfund’s Country Representative for Pakistan the biggest partner aid operation, supporting more than 25,000 people across Pakistan.

Additionally, free medical checks, water purification and psycho-social support for children were provided by our partner ABES in Punjab. In Sindh, the Association for Humanitarian Development distributed 2,000 kits containing food, cooking goods, shelter materials and hygiene equipment.

Efforts are now being concentrated on longer-term recovery projects, such as helping restore food stocks, agriculture-based livelihoods, water supplies, sanitation and shelter. Temporary shelter is currently one of the biggest needs as flood victims endure the winter months – around 7 million people are still homeless.

Tearfund staff and partners are also involved in health promotion and projects to reduce vulnerability to future disasters. Ashraf said, ‘Our work is now in the rehabilitation phase and there is much to do as so many people lost their homes and their means of making a living.’ Please pray for Ashraf, his team from Tearfund and our partners in what is still an unfolding disaster. spring 2011 teartimes

2011 referendum: lifting up Sudan in prayer

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lease keep Sudan in your prayers as the country faces a key moment in its political history. By the time you receive this Tear Times, the people of Southern Sudan should have voted in a referendum on whether to become separate from the rest of the country.

In January 2005, following 21 years of civil war, the government of Sudan and the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement/Army signed a Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

This opened up a new chapter in Sudan’s history – with the war officially over, a sixyear interim government was formed. As part of the peace agreement, Southern Sudan is due to hold a referendum on 9 January to determine whether or not it should remain part of Sudan.

Tearfund has worked in South Sudan since 1998, in response to the famine in the Bahr el Ghazal region. Since then we have expanded the programme with operations in three more states, Upper Nile, Northern Bahr el Ghazal and Jonglei. These areas suffered greatly during the civil war and are particularly prone to drought and floods.

In Darfur, western Sudan – where Tearfund has operated since 2004 – we provide water and sanitation support, health promotion with vulnerable children, food security work and nutrition activities, and we respond to emergency needs as they arise.

This year is crucial as the peace agreement nears completion – particularly for the poorest people in Sudan in the communities where Tearfund works – and your prayers and support are vital. © Peter Martell/IRIN

Still recovering from the civil war, the people of Southern Sudan prepare for a referendum.

Inspiring conference prepares church leaders for mission More than 300 church leaders and outreach workers attended the Community Mission conference last autumn aimed at preparing churches to get active and involved in their communities.

Speakers at the London event, named Authentic Church, included Alpha’s Nicky Gumbel, the Evangelical Alliance’s Krish Kandiah and Tearfund’s David Westlake.

They set out to inspire churches with the desire to proclaim and demonstrate the

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gospel in their localities and their messages were followed up by practical workshops where delegates could explore ideas further.

One church leader who attended the conference said, ‘My team found it very practical and useful for their work. It was really worthwhile attending.’

Community Mission is a partnership between Tearfund and Livability.

For more information go to www.communitymission.org.uk

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news Layton Thompson/Tearfund

SuperBadger for iPhone A young pig in Fombe village, Malawi.

Pigs are flying in Malawi

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he humble pig is making hunger a thing of the past for rural families in Malawi. Four years ago, most villagers in Kamphata, north of the capital Lilongwe, were too poor to have livestock.

That’s changed due to the work of Tearfund partner

Agreds which introduced a pig-breeding project to boost locals’ livelihoods.

Kamphata’s residents were each given three pigs and training in how to feed and look after them, including how to maintain pigsties and how to source and pay for animal medicines.

Supporters with smart phones from Apple can now boost Tearfund’s campaigns by using our first iPhone application.

Tearfund’s online campaigning mascot, SuperBadger, is available as an app, making it easier for people to add their names to petitions calling for a fairer and more just world. You can download the SuperBadger app free of charge from Apple’s online store, iTunes.

Keeping the government green MPs across the UK have been told to take urgent action over climate change

by Tearfund supporters.

The Big Climate Connection last November saw concerned constituents lobby politicians of all persuasions to speak up on the issue.

The event aimed to keep up climate pressure on parliamentarians after the failure of world leaders to 6

come up with a fair and just climate agreement at the 2009 UN talks in Copenhagen.

In constituency-based meetings with MPs, supporters urged them to hold the coalition government to its promise to be the greenest UK administration yet and to show global leadership on tackling climate change.

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(through Tearfund)

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Work by Tearfund partners in Russia to tackle rising levels of drug addiction and its social consequences.

PRAYER PULSE Prayer is the heartbeat of Tearfund

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The ongoing recovery of Pakistan, where 20 million people were affected by last August’s floods.

A mass movement of churches around the world to take part in Tearfund’s One Voice prayer movement – coming together as a global church to seek God. The people of the Sahel region of West Africa who have suffered severe food shortages after drought and then flooding ruined harvests.

PRAYING FOR

ere’s a story that just goes to show how volunteering with Tearfund can lead to some surprising connections.

In 1972, Jean Morgan attended a Tearfund work camp at The Nazareth Hospital.

Fast-forward nearly 40 years and Jean’s eldest daughter, Lois, becomes engaged to a man called Alex. When, months before the wedding, the two families meet for the first time, Jean gets chatting to Alex’s mum, Catrin.

In the course of the conversation, the Tearfund camp at The Nazareth Hospital crops up and it emerges that Catrin was also a volunteer at exactly the same time.

Then, when they inspect an old group photo, Jean and Catrin realise they were actually sitting next to each other in the shot! To bring you bang up to date, here’s a picture of the two mothers at Lois and Alex’s wedding.

Now, while we can’t promise new family connections when you’re travelling with Tearfund, we can offer you amazing experiences.

Visit www.tearfund.org/transform

Generous support for our Zimbabwe appeal, which is allowing us to teach more people how to grow sufficient food.

GIVING THANKS FOR

Better connected

Continuing progress in rebuilding lives in Haiti, a year after the earthquake.

Latest prayer news at www.tearfund.org/praying

Owen Roseblade/Roseblade Photography

Tearfund reunited: volunteers Jean and Catrin were brought together after 40 years when their respective children met and married. teartimes spring 2011

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haiti update

HAITI – ONE YEAR ON The Haitian earthquake last January devastated an already impoverished Caribbean country. One year on, Lynsey Pollard – who travels regularly to Haiti to report on Tearfund’s response – describes how the generosity and prayers of our supporters have had a massive impact on the lives of those who lost everything in the disaster.

Words: Lynsey Pollard Photos: Richard Hanson/Tearfund

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Water collection at an internally displaced people camp in Portau-Prince, Haiti.

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Elissaint Margareth, who lost her husband and home in the Haiti earthquake, found support and shelter at a church supported by Tearfund partner CEEH.

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ne year ago – 12 January 2010 – François Nicolas, who was 79, washed himself in the river next to his house.

Floating in the water, enjoying the peace and quiet after a hard day on the farm, he heard a low rumbling noise. Opening his eyes, he saw tonnes of land from the hill heading down towards him like a waterfall. It was a landslide.

Terrified, he leapt up as the falling debris cascaded into the pool he had bathed in moments before. ‘I almost died,’ he says.

‘The ground was falling in on me. I only just escaped.’

François was fortunate. Many were not.

That was the moment Haiti was rocked by a massive earthquake. More than 200,000 people lost their lives. Fifty miles away in Port-auPrince, thousands of buildings disintegrated, burying people alive and injuring many thousands more.

In less than 40 seconds, 1.5 million people had been made homeless and, as darkness fell, they were running terrified through the streets of the collapsing city.

‘I was screaming, crying.

All of us went to the streets.

But we knew where we had to go – to the church.’

Haiti earthquake survivor Elissaint Margareth teartimes spring 2011

Call of the church Survivors were left injured and confused with nothing but the clothes on their back. But, deep inside, something was calling them.

‘My house fell on my husband, I lost him...’ says 40-year-old Elissaint Margareth. ‘I was screaming, crying. All of us went to the streets.

But we knew where we had to go – to the church.’ Along with her neighbours, Elissaint headed for the local church run by Tearfund partner the Council of Evangelical Churches of Haiti (CEEH).

Tearfund has worked in Haiti for 30 years through Haitian partners and local churches. So, despite suffering heavy personal losses – losing beloved colleagues, friends and family members – our partners set to work.

The Union of Evangelical Baptists in Haiti (UEBH) opened up the grounds of its Bible college for homeless people who came to look for shelter. CEEH set up a camp for desperate people who sought refuge at its church and Tearfund distributed cash to many hundreds of families so they could buy essentials to survive the first few weeks.

Giving life back Your compassion, love and prayers resulted in an incredible £6.2 million from our appeal.

As our partners worked to their full capacity, Tearfund’s disaster response team quickly reached Haiti to offer support and start 9

haiti update programmes to help the communities around Léogâne – a city close to the quake’s epicentre that was almost completely destroyed.

Monette and Françoise Jean, who are sisters, run one of the Tearfund-supported children’s clubs in Gressier, a few miles outside of Léogâne. ‘It is a way for us to give life back to the children,’ says Françoise. ‘Before, there was only sadness, but now we can bring joy and teach them what they need to know to stay healthy.’

Monette adds, ‘We want to congratulate and thank Tearfund supporters for this amazing initiative. Despite all the problems, children now have a brighter future.’

In the initial few months we supplied temporary shelter – such as tarpaulins – to 1,687 families and distributed seed and tools to around 1,500 families. Some 3,600 people have been involved in rehabilitating their villages and roads through cash-for-work schemes. Now, around 5,750 children are attending our 117 children’s clubs which provide a safe place for children in areas where sometimes formal education has never been offered before.

Tearfund’s local partners were able to respond to the earthquake from day one, through medical work and distribution of emergency relief items, and have already reached around 150,000 people.

‘Jesus Christ is our only hope’ As I have visited affected areas in Haiti, so many local church leaders have told me how encouraged they have been by the warmth and kindness of Tearfund supporters. They live by faith, bolstered by your prayers and generosity.

As AFCA pastor Rene Deciere looks to the future, he knows that God is in charge.

‘The church has to go beyond its spiritual responsibility and has to help people socially as Jesus Christ himself did,’ he says. ‘Jesus Christ is our only hope.’

Tearfund children’s club – which helps the traumatised children stay safe and healthy – outside Leogane, Haiti. The club is co-run by Monette Jean (pictured, in grey).

‘We want to congratulate and thank Tearfund supporters for this amazing initiative. Despite all the problems, children now have a brighter future.’

Monette, who runs a Tearfund-supported children’s club But it’s still early days in Haiti’s recovery.

The new Haitian government has much work still to do to tackle the loss of infrastructure and lack of basic services. Tearfund’s disaster response team plans to be in Haiti for at least the next three years, working alongside the local church and other partners in rehabilitation programmes.

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2010 was a year of devastating disasters.

Along with the earthquake in Haiti, there were the floods in Pakistan and severe drought in the Sahel region of Africa. Who knows what will hit in 2011...

‘The church has to go beyond its spiritual responsibility and has to help people socially as Jesus Christ himself did.’ Pastor Rene

Give now. Save later.

No one knows when the next disaster will strike but it’s vital that we respond quickly and effectively. A regular donation to our Disasters Fund gives us the resources we need for a rapid response to an emergency. If you feel moved to help, please complete and return the tear-out form between pages 8 and 9, visit www.tearfund.org/disasters or call 0845 355 8355 (ROI: 01 878 3200).

Deciere, from Tearfund partner AFCA Please continue to pray for Haiti, particularly for people recovering from injuries and for the 1.5 million people still living in temporary shelter.

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disasters

When disaster strikes – we’re there From the earthquake in Haiti to floods in Pakistan, 2010 was a year of disasters.

Even in these extreme situations, Tearfund’s response is fast and effective.

Words: Mark Lang

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he midday heat is blistering.

Combined with a keen wind, it feels like a hairdryer’s being blown in your face. Kaltoma, in her 60s, is sheltering in a small tent just outside the Sudanese town of Kass after fleeing her home to escape fighting.

It’s a flat, dusty and uninviting environment but one where Tearfund is meeting the most urgent needs of this elderly lady and her family. Plastic sheets provide them with shelter, water is on tap and toilets have been dug. Kaltoma’s been given cups, pans, cooking utensils and jerry cans too.

The true value of these items is underlined by her reaction to them. They’ve given her hope. That’s something Tearfund provides thanks to the enduring compassion of people like you who, through prayer and donations, have a direct impact on the lives of those facing extreme hardship.

From natural disasters, such as the floods in Pakistan or the drought in the Sahel region of West Africa, to humanitarian crises, such as conflict in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tearfund responds quickly – often in the first few days of a disaster – and we stay for the long term.

‘When disasters strike, poor communities don’t have the support structures to cope.’

Richard Hanson/Tearfund

A makeshift camp for families fleeing the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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Tearfund on the front line The second way we operate is through disaster response teams, trained Tearfund disaster staff who often work alongside local partners.

We currently have teams in north and south Sudan, Haiti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Staff are not only deployed when disasters strike to help survivors with their immediate needs but remain there to ‘build back better’, which means making communities more resilient, reducing the impact of future disasters.

Our disasters work has never been more needed. We can’t be sure that an individual drought like Niger’s or a flood like Pakistan’s was caused by climate change, but we are sure that future climate change means more and worse disasters like these. spring 2011 teartimes

Ashraf Mall/Tearfund

Born in disaster In fact, it was the Biafra crisis in 1967 that led to the creation of Tearfund. We exist because of the compassion of Christians and churches moved to respond to that desperate situation.

Fifty years later, people in poverty are still invariably those who suffer the most when disasters hit. Lack of income means poor people’s choices are limited when it comes to where they can live and what access they have to healthcare and education. When disasters strike, they don’t have the support structures to cope.

Tearfund responds to disasters in two ways.

In many countries, we work with partner organisations and local churches, developing long-term relationships to best support communities in desperate need.

These partners know which communities are vulnerable to problems, such as drought or flooding, and work with them to save lives.

For example, we educate people about early warning signs of disaster – and explain what to do when they see them.

In drought-prone Niger, Tearfund partners have been running projects for many years to help communities cope with changing climatic conditions. We do this through agricultural training to conserve livestock pasture, by creating grain banks for hard times and by promoting literacy and education.

More than 21 million people were injured or left homeless as a result of the Pakistan floods in July and August 2010.

High standards Underpinning all our work is a commitment to high professional and technical standards, which is why we’re a signatory to the International Red Cross Code of Conduct for Non-Governmental Organisations in Disaster Relief, and a member of the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership.

Both equip us to best provide for people at the sharp end of disasters.

People like Mahadia in Darfur, who was able to take her undernourished baby daughter to a feeding centre run by Tearfund where she gets food, medicines and health advice.

People like the millions in Pakistan devastated six months ago when extreme monsoon rains led to floods which claimed lives, homes and livelihoods. Here, our partners not only provided thousands of people with emergency aid such as food in the immediate aftermath, but are now working with a Tearfund response team on long-term rehabilitation projects.

Of course, this vital work wouldn’t be possible without the continued generosity of Tearfund supporters, like you, for which we are truly grateful. If you would like to stand with us – as we stand with those in need – please give at www.tearfund.org/disasters or use the tear-out form between pages 8 and 9.

Please continue to pray for our partners and Tearfund teams in some of the countries hardest hit by disasters.

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stories of transformation

Unless a seed falls to the ground…

Bob Jackson, a former Anglican archdeacon and a Tearfund supporter, writes passionately about his own loss – and the opportunity it created to provide for vulnerable children in India.

Words: Bob Jackson Photos: Christine Jackson ablu half-remembers going with his parents at the age of four to a big market and getting separated. It was the last time he saw them. He ended up in a station begging for food and then stowed away on a Calcutta train, which is how he ended up at the huge train station at Howrah.

There, he scavenged for food on the longdistance trains as they arrived, and slept on the platform with other boys. The police would move them on and beat them up. But gradually he made some friends and a little money washing dishes for the fruit sellers.

One night, a taxi ran over his legs as he slept and, though his friends took him to the hospital, he could hardly walk afterwards.

Meanwhile, halfway across the world, my family and I were on a walk when our son, Matthew, tripped and fell down a slope, hitting his head on a tree, and was killed. He was ten.

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Vijayan Pavamani was a church minister and director of Tearfund’s local church partner Emmanuel Ministries in Calcutta. He and his wife, Premila, had long wanted to start a home for the boys from the station and George Hoffman, the founder of Tearfund, agreed to finance it.

They went to the station at Howrah and befriended Bablu and some other boys. They offered Bablu a place in their new home – which was named Pauline Bhavan, after George Hoffman’s wife, Pauline. The home was like heaven to Bablu: people cared for him, gave him food, a bed, even a bath.

One day, Bablu had a visitor from England, who brought some toys to Pauline Bhavan. It was me. I had come to see the home we had helped to finance through Matthew’s death, and to gain some consolation from seeing other children’s lives transformed as a result.

Pain and promise A great deal of money was raised in Matthew’s memory. And, as he was a great Tearfund supporter, we gave it to Tearfund, who used it to finance a new children’s home in Calcutta.

Bablu’s journey Gradually, Bablu recovered and was able to run and play again. But the pull of freedom at the station was too strong and three times he ran away back to Howrah. Each time Vijayan and

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Bob Jackson returns to visit the children of Pauline Bhavan children’s home in Easter 2010.

‘Links between Tearfund partners and supporters can be long term, rich and fulfilling, giving and receiving in both directions.’

Premila went looking for him and persuaded him back when they could so easily have given up. They had also started a school named Emmanuel and Bablu was able to go there as well. He discovered he was bright and good at his studies, though the routine and discipline were hard to adjust to.

There were Bible stories at Pauline Bhavan and sometimes Bablu went to Emmanuel Chapel on Sundays but he never fully met with Jesus. So was Jesus real? By the time he was 16, he had lots of questions about God, surrounded as he was by all sorts of religions, but he was still looking for the answer.

Then, one day, a five-year-old girl at church was very sick. Her parents had tried everything and, in desperation, they took her to Vijayan. He called the church elders over and they prayed for

Bablu (left) who was rescued from a life on the streets in Calcutta by Tearfund partner Emmanuel Ministries.

her as Bablu looked on. While they prayed, the girl got up and moved around for the first time in many days – she was healed. Bablu realised there was someone watching over them, and that Jesus’ love was real. The next year, 1990, he was baptised.

Bablu eventually went to serve Jesus on a missionary ship, touring the world. One holiday, back in Calcutta, he met Debbie, a volunteer at Pauline Bhavan from Ireland. They married in 2007. Vijayan and Premila had long wanted Bablu to take over as warden of Pauline Bhavan because of his natural understanding of the children. The previous warden left in December 2006, so Debbie and Bablu joined the leadership team after their wedding.

‘The Lord adds a son of encouragement’ A new generation had taken over and the ministry continued. Last Easter, we enjoyed visiting Bablu and Debbie and playing with their little daughter, Sarah, as well as the other children.

After Matthew died, we had another son, Joseph Barnabas, a name that means ‘the Lord adds a son of encouragement’. Joe had visited Calcutta with us and developed his own interest in Pauline Bhavan, donating his 18th birthday money to the programme. Last Easter, Joe married Nicola in London and the collection at their wedding service went to Emmanuel Ministries. A new generation is taking over in England as well, and the support continues.

Links between Tearfund partners and supporters can be long term, life long, passed on to future generations, rich and fulfilling, giving and receiving in both directions. My family has gained more than it has given from the family of Emmanuel Ministries, but the real winner is the kingdom of the God who sees the whole future and knows the generations yet unborn.

Bob Jackson now focuses on church growth research, teaching, writing and consultancy.

If you have a story to share about your own experience as a Tearfund supporter, we’d love to hear from you. Please contact us at editor@tearfund.org or call 0845 355 8355 (ROI: 01 878 3200).

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worldview Tearfund photographer Richard Hanson says, ‘We drove into the mountains south west of Port-au-Prince, to where much of Tearfund’s work is concentrated. After days of struggling through the traffic, dust and rubble of the city, we climbed a dirt road and faced an entire village working together to build themselves a road, with support from Tearfund. It was beautiful, powerful, and hugely encouraging.’

Photo: Richard Hanson

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climate change REUTERS/Stringer courtesy www.alertnet.org

HOLDING FIRM

IN FRAGILE TIMES

‘The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it’ (Psalm 24:1) and he created us to live in it, to be amazed by it and to glorify him by caring for the precious people he has put on it.

Words: Helen Heather

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ut, with growing signs of environmental destruction, not least through climate change, it’s clear that we have often failed to look after God’s creation – and the effects are causing greater suffering for people living in poverty throughout the world.

The devastating floods in Pakistan, and Russia’s worst drought in decades last year, remind us that the climate is changing – resulting in more extreme and unpredictable weather, floods and droughts, leading in turn to more disasters. It is difficult to attribute individual events like those in Pakistan and Russia directly to climate change. But we know they are consistent with the climate impacts that science predicts – and that they are on the increase. spring 2011 teartimes

Severine Flores/Tearfund

Emmanuel Niampa and his wife Salimata from Ouindigi from Burkina Faso, who have seen their harvests halved as the climate changes.

come,’ says Laxman Rishi Dev from Ranjung-Belgachhia in Nepal.

• having to find alternative income and food: ‘It's hard to view farming as dependable.

Because of the changing climate, it's not sustainable,’ says Andrew Maglasey from Fombe Village in Malawi.

‘It’s getting harder to get a good harvest – I now grow half of what I used to.’

Shelter from the storm: more than two thousand people died and over a million homes were destroyed in the devastating floods in Pakistan in 2010.

And as the impacts of a changing climate take their toll, it’s our poorest and most vulnerable neighbours across the world who suffer the most. They’re dependent on the land for food, their homes are often more fragile in marginal areas and they lack resources and insurance to recover from disaster. This can push them further into poverty resulting in: • more precarious farming and failed harvests: ‘It’s getting harder to get a good harvest – I now grow half of what I used to,’ says Emmanuel Niampa from Ouindigi in Burkina Faso.

• lost homes: ‘In the past 15 years we’ve seen much heavier rain... Our houses are made of mud so we have a problem when the rains teartimes spring 2011

Emmanuel Niampa from Ouindigi in Burkina Faso.

Across the world, churches are helping to bring hope in the face of climate change – answering God’s call to love our neighbours and be good stewards of his creation. Homes are being rebuilt, tree planting and flood defences are protecting land from floods and drought-resistant seeds are bringing more reliable harvests (continued over).

Speak truth If you’re unsure about climate change, or know people who are, check out Tearfund’s guide to the arguments used to claim that climate change isn’t happening, and read articles written by Sir John Houghton – a world-class climate scientist, a Christian and adviser to Tearfund at www.tearfund.org/science

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climate change

Climate facts

Layton Thompson/Tearfund

• 2010 tied with 1998 as the warmest January–August period on record (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2010)

• Climatic changes are estimated to cause more than 150,000 deaths annually (World Health Organisation)

• It’s estimated that developing countries will bear most of the costs of damage due to climate change – some 78–80 per cent (World Development Report 2010)

Burkina Faso’s annual carbon footprint is less than 0.1 tonnes per person – in the UK it’s 9.4 tones per person.

But urgent action is also needed to tackle the causes of climate change. If we are to keep global temperature rise under control, rich countries must make deep emissions cuts and raise billions of dollars a year to help developing countries adapt and develop sustainably.

Climate urgency It may be selfish ambition, fear of lifestyle changes, worry about the financial cost, questions about the science or being blind to the urgency of the situation. But, the fact is the wealthiest countries most responsible for climate change are failing to recognise and take action to curb the unjust impacts of unsustainable consumption and energy use.

The church is in the places worst hit by climate change and it’s in the wealthiest nations most responsible for it. So it can play a key part in transforming the situation.

• Climate change is estimated to increase the number of undernourished people to 40–170 million (4th IPCC Assessment Report) Changing our own lives to live more in step with creation, remembering, as the psalmist says, that it’s created by and for God – and that God’s people depend on it. We must convince our friends, our churches and our government to love our neighbours and the world that God created by acting upon this injustice and praying for God’s power to change hearts and minds among politicians and policymakers – and spur us into action too.

Take action Join the church's response to climate change this Lent. Take part in the Carbon Fast – simple daily steps to live more sustainably, speak up for justice and pray. Find out more and order Carbon Fast resources at www.tearfund.org/carbonfast or call 0845 355 8355 (ROI: 01 878 3200).

Tearfund partners have provided emergency aid following the Pakistan floods, such as food and cooking equipment, as well as setting up healthcare centres.

Ashraf Mall/Tearfund

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spring 2011 teartimes

church mobilisation

Hope, Healing and The Local Church Willow Creek pastor Bill Hybels has a saying: ‘The local church is the hope of the world.’ Tearfund is seeing the church’s hope in Jesus transform communities in some of the poorest places on earth...

Words: Peter Shaw

W

e expect change to come from studying the Bible – maybe a deepening of our understanding of God or a prompting to alter our lifestyle. But can a Bible study ‘reduce the killing of elderly women’? Yes, it can. And does. It is just one of the many fruits of what Tearfund calls church mobilisation, a process that starts – and continues – with studying scripture. And it’s at the very heart of Tearfund’s vision.

When an evaluation was made in 2005 of the church and community mobilisation programme of Africa Inland Church in the Diocese of Shinyanga, Tanzania, some amazing

teartimes spring 2011

results came to light. Fewer elderly people were killed, families were strengthened, fewer women were beaten and poor people were given greater support and value in the community. And the local church grew.

Not just in the size of congregations – one church trebled in size – but also in the active contribution and involvement of church members.

‘I had a message for the church in Tanzania that Tearfund was about relationship with the church at the centre.’

Peter Gitau 21

Richard Hanson/Tearfund

Tanzania: structured Bible study helps churches to realise their responsibility to the poorest people in their communities.

church mobilisation

Caroline Irby/Tearfund

Tanzania: getting churches active in their communities is key to church mobilisation.

Humble revolutionaries ‘All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need... And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.’

Acts 2: 44-45 & 47.

As we see from the book of Acts, church and community mobilisation is not new, but it’s still a revolutionary idea. The church – the gathering of God’s people – is key to God’s mission on earth. In chapter 3 of Paul’s letter to the Ephesian churches, he explains that God’s intention is that, through the church, his wisdom should be made manifest.

Tearfund’s vision is about building up churches in the world’s poorest communities so that they are equipped to carry out God’s purposes. Peter Gitau was one of the pioneers of church mobilisation in Tanzania and Kenya.

He has now left Tearfund to become Kenyan Ambassador for Namibia and Angola – an amazing testament to his 12 years of dedicated work with Tearfund.

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Back in 1998, when he initially encountered Tanzanian churches looking to partner with Tearfund, Peter’s first impression was of people expecting others to provide for their needs. ‘Early on, it was clear that Tearfund was perceived as just a grant-giving organisation,’ he says. ‘But I had a message for the church in Tanzania that Tearfund was about partnership. It is a relationship with the church at the centre.’

Peter began to realise that his role was to give back to churches their original purpose – not only to be active in worshipping together and sharing the gospel but also in serving each other and their neighbours with what they had. ‘My first task was to help them understand their true identity through Bible study. And they started to realise they did have resources, and that partnership wasn’t just about receiving: they were also expected to give.

‘They believed they had nothing to give.

But they began to understand that Tearfund was seeking partners to reach out to poor people, and to enable the church to carry out that work.’ spring 2011 teartimes

By giving churches expertise and helping them discover their God-given abilities and resources, we can make sure that the work is sustainable. ‘The dependence syndrome is minimised because churches realise they have the capacity,’ says Peter.

‘Tearfund has significantly built up the church of Christ.’

Peter Gitau God’s instrument Throughout our work, Tearfund recognises that God’s intention is that his church should make his wisdom manifest. But that is not to claim that all churches have got everything right. ‘There is no point looking for a perfect church – it does not exist,’ says Peter. ‘But when God calls us to work with a church which we think is weak, we must remember that, in that area, that church is the ‘My first task was to help churches instrument the Lord is using.’ understand their true identity through In Matthew 5:13–16, Jesus calls on his Bible study.’ followers to be salt and light to the world. But Peter Gitau he also issues a warning that they should not lose their ‘saltiness’ or hide their light away.

Tearfund has a vision to see 50 million people Taking ownership released from material and spiritual poverty One of the keys to church mobilisation is through a worldwide network of 100,000 local helping churches realise their own calling churches. Church mobilisation keeps churches within their community, and providing training, encouragement and expertise to help ‘salty’ and lets their light shine.

‘While Tearfund does not stand in the them fulfil it. ‘For one diocese in Tanzania, pulpit,’ says Peter, ‘by building the capacity evangelism and capacity building were key,’ of the local church, we have achieved Peter recalls. ‘And we helped them to amazing things. Tearfund has significantly concentrate on those crucial activities.’

Church mobilisation does not focus on what built up the church of Christ.’ we can give to poor communities. Instead, it concentrates on the resources that churches See for yourself the incredible way that already have. ‘Conventional development has local churches are mobilising their been the same,’ says Peter, ‘so organisations communities out of poverty. Tearfund from other countries come in to “do things”. invites you to invest in a community in But this sets up an expectation that people Africa, Asia or Latin America – month by outside will come and carry out the work – month – and see it transformed from the so communities sit around and wait.’ inside out. You’ll get monthly updates, ‘Of course, the first few years of quarterly films and the opportunity to be development are usually about doing things part of seeing things change. for the people. But this does not change the people. So long-term empowering and Find full details in the next issue capacity building helps the church realise of Tear Times. the potential God has given them.’ teartimes spring 2011

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one voice

LIGHT UP THE WORLD

WITH PRAYER ‘Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire, unuttered or expressed; the motion of a hidden fire that trembles in the breast,’ wrote 19th century poet James Montgomery. Because prayer is powerful, we’re uniting as a Global Poverty Prayer Movement. Together, we want to light up the world with our prayers.

Words: Amy Church Illustrations: Crush

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spring 2011 teartimes

One night in Cajamarca

Layton Thompson/Tearfund

It was a cold, dark evening in rural Cajamarca, Peru. And the men, women and children walking into the dimly lit church were hunched over and stiff with cold.

We were filming the church service, concentrating on the job in hand – avoiding tripping over the wires, trying to get the light and sound right… not paying as much attention to the service as we should have been. And then the congregation started to pray, and we were blown away…

Led by Pastor Eulogio, an elderly farmer with a booming voice, everyone came to the front of the room. They fell to their knees, lifted their hands, and prayed.

Maybe I’ve led a sheltered prayer life, but this was praying like I’d never seen before. I don’t know exactly what the congregation were praying for, but, together, they were quite simply pouring out their hearts.

Congregation in El Tambo praying and crying out to God.

teartimes spring 2011

Some knelt and prayed quietly to God. Others cried out loud, tears pouring down their faces. This was raw, honest, passionate prayer. Pastor Eulogio and his congregation were praying as if their lives depended on it.

Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark (James 3:5) In itself, this one evening of prayer in northern Peru was powerful. But what’s really incredible is the fact that this scene is being played out again and again around the world.

As night falls in Cajamarca, and the prayers of the villagers come to an end, the sun is rising elsewhere, and the prayers of others are just beginning.

Together, around the world, individuals, groups and churches are gathering, and praying passionately for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

One Voice around the world In this way, we – you and your church, me and my church, Pastor Eulogio and his church, and thousands of other groups and individuals – are a movement.

We’re praying together, becoming channels of God’s love – beacons of hope and lights in the darkness. So this year’s One Voice isn’t just about a Global Poverty Prayer Week, it’s about a Global Poverty Prayer Movement.

Join us…

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one voice We’d love your church or you as an individual to pray with us…

If you and your church are already committed to One Voice, then we look forward to praying You can order a One Voice pack by visiting with you over the coming year. If not, please www.tearfund.org/onevoice or calling join us.

0845 355 8355.

The pack contains the We want to be channels of God’s love – beautiful, all-age-appropriate, One Voice lighting up the darkness. So every single animated film, and a poster resource to individual voice added to this movement guide you through One Voice. will make it more powerful. Together, we’ll shine brighter.

We’ve produced lots of extra ideas and During the One Voice launch week – 27 resources to help you pray as part of February to 6 March – individuals, groups and this Global Poverty Prayer Movement, churches around the world will be praying. from a Prayer Plan to PrayerPods and a Some will be holding sunset or sunrise prayer PowerPoint presentation. This is a global gatherings, others will be setting up prayer movement, so you’ll find many resources rooms and PrayerPods, and some will be available in French, Spanish, Russian and hanging paper prayer stars to represent lights in Portuguese as well as English. All available the darkness… online at www.tearfund.org/onevoice You or your church can choose how to get involved – the important thing is that we pray If you have internet access, please with One Voice. come and connect with others in the movement through the exciting Your One Voice prayer postcard One Voice community prayer space.

Tear out the postcard on the previous page, You can read prayers, praise and ideas fill in your prayer or message, and give or from around the world, and share yours, post it to someone you know to tell them at www.tearfund.org/onevoice you’re praying for them.

Let’s pray

‘Every single individual voice added to this movement will make it more powerful.

Together, we’ll shine brighter.’

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spring 2011 teartimes

' Visiting Africa and spending time with children living in poverty was a profound experience which stays with me - even three years on' Lauren Jones Transform will organise an adventure you'll never forget (whether you’re 18, 35 or 70). You'll be the hands of Jesus where they're most needed - be it painting, building, playing or teaching.

Meet like-minded people. See your soul shaped.

NEW family trips for summer 2011

Go to www.tearfund.org/transform or call 020 8943 7777 (and recommend it to someone in need of a soul-stirring experience.)

Recovering the fullness of the Gospel

Latin American Theological Fellowship

Q&A with Ruth Padilla DeBorst

Ruth Padilla DeBorst.

Born in Colombia and raised in Argentina by an American mother and an Ecuadorian father (former Tearfund International President René Padilla), Ruth Padilla DeBorst has a wealth of unique experiences of cross-cultural missions. Ruth’s compelling life story includes the loss of her first husband on the mission field – he was killed by car thieves in Quito. She says, ‘Life itself, with its inherent pain and joy, has also been a powerful teacher in the hands of a merciful God.’ Ruth is General Secretary of the Latin American Theological Fellowship and Director of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students’ Spanish-speaking publishing house, Ediciones Certeza Unida. Ruth is also team leader of Christian Reformed World Missions’ work in El Salvador.

Interview: Peter Shaw

What do you believe is the most important mission of the church?

One of the clearest things in Ephesians 2 is the call for the church to be a community

‘Theology is building bridges between word and world.’

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that incarnates God’s kingdom that has been inaugurated in Jesus Christ but hasn’t come to its full expression in history.

The most immediate expression of church is to be the local community – a welcoming, mutually supportive place of belonging. That explains what it is to be a church, but a church is also what it does. Churches need a clear understanding that the call to being a Christian community in the world is not for its own sake but for the sake of others. Compassion is the first step but that’s just the beginning of the relationship with the reality of poor people and the burdens they bear. After compassion comes recognition of the image of God in all people, including the poorest and least powerful.

Tuca Vieira

As a theologian, how do you perceive the role and relevance of theology?

Theology should not be an academic endeavour which seeks to feed itself by only engaging with people in that same academic endeavour, and is disconnected from life. To me, theology is generated in the dialogue between the praxis, the involvement, the commitment, the incarnation of a church in mission and biblical teaching. Theology is building bridges between word and world and that constant engagement and mutual questioning of scripture with reality – and reality to scripture.

São Paulo, Brazil: ‘In Latin America we have the widest gap between rich and poor people. The contrast in inequality is grotesque,’ says Ruth.

How would you define ‘integral mission’?

In Spanish we use the word ‘integral’ in terms of ‘wholewheat’ – the bread is left whole.

You don’t take out a portion of it so that it is whiter or softer. ‘Integral’, in that sense, is not taking out anything that was originally there – and should be there. ‘Integral gospel’ is really recovering the fullness of the gospel and the creation call that God has a claim over every area of life. The gospel is good news for the whole complexity of the human person.

You can’t announce ‘good news’ without living good news and seeking everyone to experience it in a whole way. So it will affect our economic, political and social relations and our ecological perspective.

Why isn’t ‘integral mission’ more commonly understood and practised in churches?

It’s partly because some people have been fed teachings of the New Testament but hardly ever go back to the Old Testament and look at the bigger picture that the New Testament brings into being. People think about Jesus and salvation but don’t go back to the triune God and creation, to the call of the prophets and demands of the law which are made to provide full life for all. When Jesus said he has come to give life ‘to the full’, it’s in the context of

‘We should define “church” as the community that shares an understanding of its identity and mission in Christ.’ all the meaning and experience of the people of Israel from the beginning. There’s sometimes a lack of holistic teaching of scripture.

What are the key challenges where you live in Latin America?

There are monumental challenges in inequality and injustice in Latin America. We have the widest gap between rich and poor people.

We have the richest man in the world – a Mexican – and masses of people in absolute poverty. The contrast in inequality here is grotesque. That engenders violence – the level of murder and social strife is marked.

It’s a reality we have to grapple with on a daily basis. And there’s the ecological degradation, the horrendous impact of our changing climate and our irresponsible use of natural resources.

These are particularly impacting the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world who

Lausanne Movement

Q&A with Ruth Padilla DeBorst

Ruth Padilla DeBorst leads the Tuesday morning plenary session on Ephesians 2 at the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelisation in Cape Town, South Africa, October 2010.

How can Tearfund supporters pray and encourage your work?

Please pray for my work with the Institute for the Promotion of Christian Higher Education in Latin America – we are working with Christian graduates and teachers that mostly teach in secular institutions.

We encourage them to really engage in integral mission and build bridges between their discipline of professional practice or teaching with their vision of God’s kingdom. don’t have the means to insulate themselves And to link their commitment to Christ with from the impact of flooding or drought. service to others.

Please also pray for the Latin American How can local churches respond to such huge Theological Fellowship, which is very challenges in their communities? complementary to the institute. In July 2012 Our understanding of church is key. If you think we are holding our Latin American congress of church as an institution – a place you go to – on evangelisation. This is our fifth congress, then that doesn't have any teeth to it. We which we hold roughly every decade. We’re should define ‘church’ as the community that preparing a guide for people to start, and shares an understanding of its identity and engage with, evangelism in their own circles, mission in Christ. The church’s first contribution church groups and networks. It’s something to the transforming of communities is just by that we really want to administer wisely, being the church, as described in Acts 2 and 4 so please rally support and prayer for and across the whole of the New Testament. It’s this consultation. a community where people can belong and are recognised as worthy – gifted by the Spirit for Find out more about Ruth and the Latin special work. Everybody – not just the pastor, American Theological Fellowship by visiting the leader or the ‘star’. Every woman, man and www.ftl-al.org (click on ‘English’ in the top child in church is gifted to build up and serve menu to view a translation) the broader community.

‘Our understanding of church is key. If you think of church as an institution – a place you go to – then that doesn’t have any teeth to it.’

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spring 2011 teartimes

Richard Hanson/Tearfund

reflection

Reconstructing Haiti: Building a wall at Tearfund’s Tom Gato compound.

Shining light Words: Mathew Frost, Chief Executive

A

Clive Mear/Tearfund

in Haiti

year ago, as TV viewers stared helplessly at reports showing desperate pictures of suffering in Haiti, many people were prompted to question, ‘Where is God in this?’ But, as Christians, we know where God is. We can see him amid the brokenness. We join with him to weep with those who are hurting, and mourn with those who have lost so much.

But we don’t stop there – we turn that anguish into action.

In the midst of the darkness of suffering, local churches in Haiti offered a shining light. They didn’t stand by, merely observing. In their brokenness, they continued to serve the people of Haiti. And, as the people turned back to God in prayer, they also turned to local churches in their communities.

Pastor Rene Deciere’s church, situated at the heart of Tearfund partner CEEH’s camp in Port-au-Prince, supported people from the very first day the earthquake hit. Initially, they offered food and shelter to 200 families who came for help. They now offer counselling and emotional support alongside prayer and ministry to hurting and traumatised people.

Despite losing friends and relatives themselves, Pastor Rene’s church remained steadfast. He says, ‘There are courageous teartimes spring 2011

people here in this camp. Many of them have lost families and houses – but I still see smiles on their faces. That is courage.’ This unwavering response from churches in Haiti reinforces our vision of working with and through local churches.

But, in extreme situations, we cannot leave one part of the body of Christ to cope alone.

That’s why Tearfund’s disaster response teams are vital, bolstering and enabling local churches to respond more effectively – resourced by your generous provision of funds and prayer.

Our Tearfund response teams come from other parts of the church body – called to support suffering people across the world wherever disaster hits.

So when people question where God is in disasters, we can point to the generous response from churches and Christians to our Haiti appeal, courageous Tearfund staff and our amazing local church partners – all demonstrating Jesus’ compassion in determined action.

Get in touch with us!

UK

www.tearfund.org Email: enquiries@tearfund.org Tel: 0845 355 8355 100 Church Road, Teddington TW11 8QE Registered Charity No. 265464 (England and Wales) Registered Charity No. SC037624 (Scotland)

Challenge House, 29 Canal Street, Glasgow G4 0AD T y^ Catherine, Capel Cildwrn, Llangefni,Ynys Môn LL77 7NN Rose House, 2 Derryvolgie Avenue, Belfast BT9 6FL

ROI

www.tearfund.ie Email: enquiries@tearfund.ie Tel: +353 (0)1 878 3200 Tearfund Ireland, 5–7 Upper O’Connell St Dublin 1, Ireland Registered Charity No. CHY 8600

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2010: Earthquake in Haiti; drought in central Africa; floods in Pakistan… What will hit in 2011?

We can’t predict the next disaster. But we can prepare for it.

The first few days are the most vital when delivering aid in a disaster. When you give regularly to our Disasters Fund you can be sure your money is used most effectively – saving lives when disaster strikes.

The World Bank’s independent evaluation shows that the frequency and intensity of disasters is on the increase*. So we need to prepare now and increase our resources.

Just £19 a month could provide essential emergency items such as plastic sheets to provide shelter and basic household items for at least three families.

Give now. Save later.

Call 0845 355 8355, complete and return the tear-out form between pages 8 and 9 or visit www.tearfund.org/disasters * Ronald Parker, 'Development Actions and the Rising Incidence of Disasters', World Bank Independent Evaluation Group, June 2007.

Registered Charity No. 265464 (England and Wales) Registered Charity No. SC037624 (Scotland) 20223 - (1110)