Yes, Father by Camille Beckingham (Porter)
“Child, where are you going? Where is it you live? Come back and visit grandma some time won’t you. If you happen to have the time”
Named after the mole on her face, Grandma Fai shares her name with one who is famous- the first Michelin starred cook on the streets of this city. But our “Fai” is afflicted by a few diseases. A disease of her memory and mind, but most devastating is the disease of loneliness and hopelessness.
And so on some days I balance the wrestle of seeing my own beloved grandmother in her face and cries, against the rush and delay of missing the boat to attend an appointment… for an interaction she may not remember. How often does this parallel our stories? I question what is love, if without inconvenience? And just where does my ego start?
So on the days where I get closer to the pure love I so desire, I hear the same stories. Poverty, death of a partner, volatile relationships, sleeping with a gun under the bed, “servicing” the local maritime industry, loneliness, scarcity, being looked down upon. Where is the hope? My grandmother-friend is experiencing the loss and devastation of her life again and again with each retelling. The breaking is palpable.
But what if there is hope?
What if the way Fai’s heart and mind are betraying her can be the road to hope and redemption again and again.
What if the unexpected silver lining in her days is the ability to be seen, embraced, loved and redeemed again and again, as if for the first time. What if the hope of the gospel and the Kingdom, of justice, of love, are allowed to crack through afresh, as her weakness and brokenness allows her to hear and experience it for the first time. Let it be so.
And so today we hear, “Child, come by and visit me again.”
May our response together be, “yes, Father”.
Formation With UNOH by Brad Coath
In September Brad Coath and Dave Tims spent a week with our two UNOH “apprentices”, Matt Di Lorenzo and Derek Porter, as part of their formation process, for an intensive week of learning and reflection—with a bit of fun thrown in. Over the week we explored topics including empowering partnership, incarnational living, theology of shalom, and incarnational presence, as well as having the opportunity to visit some other groups making a difference in their own urban neighbourhoods.
UNOH Formation is a three year process which, like an apprenticeship, is intended to equip new workers to live out a vocation of participation in God’s mission. It particularly explores the areas of community and team life, personal development, theology, and neighbourhood practice, designed to shape and equip people for neighbourhood ministry in UNOH teams through a process of action and reflection which engages the head, hands, and heart.
If you sense that this could be the next step in your journey, then we’d love to hear from you.
Get in touch by emailing: brad@unoh.org
Empowered With Hope by Brad Coath
Family. Community. Worth. Empowerment. Hope.
These were some of the words at the forefront of my mind as I sat cross-legged on the vinyl floor amidst boxes of brightly coloured beads, listening to the small group of women tell us their stories while they weaved, braided and tied the various handicrafts on which they skilfully worked. Fellow UNOH worker Matt Di Lorenzo and I had travelled to Bangkok in April, and while we were there we spent an afternoon with the team at Roy Rak, a local business supported by UNOH workers in Klong Toey.
One of the themes which emerged in their stories was debt – how easy it is in Klong Toey to fall into debt, and how destructive it can be to people and families. We heard how, struggling to pay the rent, someone may have to go to the local loan sharks to borrow, of course at steep interest. Having become indebted, its a hard – perhaps almost impossible – way out. If someone can’t pay their debt, then they pay a smaller amount – perpetually. And if they can’t pay, then standover tactics follow. It’s a downward spiral that most don’t make it out of.
Just as it is today, debt was also a devastating problem in Jesus’ day. Many families living in the villages surrounding Lake Galilee, who worked the small holdings of land which had been in their families for generations, struggled to keep up with taxes enforced by the increased Roman presence in two newly built cities nearby. Falling into debt, for most, would eventually mean losing their land and being forced into the precarious world of the day labourer. It’s no coincidence that when people did reach the point of revolt – some thirty years after Jesus – the first thing they did was burn records of debt in the Jerusalem Temple.
And it’s no surprise that when Jesus taught those around him how to pray he spoke about debt – “Forgive our debts, as we forgive those indebted to us” (Mt 6:12) – nor is it surprising that this is so connected to having “daily bread”.
What we saw at Roy Rak that day was a way of empowering people – each with a family and a story of their own – out of the spiral of debt. There was a sense that power was being put back into their hands, and a hope that they might imagine a new future.
Whether in Bangkok or in Broadmeadows, debt can be a destructive force. Our dream, though, is that our neighbourhoods might more and more become places where people relate to one another with generosity, and where people are empowered to face their future with hope.
Unsettled: A Christchurch Shootings Reflection by Dave Tims
Aotearoa will never be the same. In many, many ways, “we have lost our innocence,” our reputation as a low threat and beautiful environment has been tarnished, forever. A Muslim man sat with our local Baptist Pastor and cried for us, fully knowing what this means for New Zealand.
We have seen an outpouring of grief and love towards our Muslim brothers and sisters, a beautiful response of warmth and care. People have attended local mosques, leaving flowers and cards, others have organised gatherings to remember and to pray together. Work mates of Muslims have opened their hearts whispering words of tenderness, sympathy and concern. Our Prime Minister has shown her quality of leadership, visiting Muslim Centres and listening to Muslim leaders and families. As she meets with Muslim people, she sees fellow country-people, New Zealanders, humans, precious, grieving. She has responded with compassion, strength and has carefully chosen language that has unified New Zealand, not allowing division, difference or racism, to have any central place.
Eric Mailau, UNOH Member in Wainuiomata, remembers a comment made by a Muslim teenager, shortly after the event – “But will N.Z. remember in a months time or in a years time?” I think her concerns are legitimate and we do need to have a closer look at who we are, our past and our present, so that we can make enlightened and deliberate choices towards a future better land.
Denise and I have lived in Randwick for eight years and during that time, I am aware of three gun incidents. Two of those incidents involved a gun being pointed into the face of a teenager. Anne-Marie, a local hero and local school youth worker, yesterday expressed her concern at the violence of female students towards each other. The concern was not about girls scratching or pulling hair, but instead deliberate aggressive and violent punching, kicking and stomping upon victims. Last month, the news reported that the Police respond on average, to a domestic violence incident, every four minutes. These are examples of something not right in our land, maybe, we are not that innocent?
Some of my South African friends, have commented on the ‘unwritten’ rules of segregation and class in N.Z. They note that neighbourhoods of beauty, with good solid and warm housing, trees, gardens, clean streets and good shops, are commonly settled by European descendants, while poor housing, rough and dirty streets seem to be housed by non-European. In some ways, it’s the same as the old South Africa, the difference is, it wasn’t a ‘rule’ in N.Z. or was it?
As I write, I do not want to undermine the pain and grief being suffered by the Muslim families and communities following the tragic events that occurred on our shores. There are no words or actions that can replace their loss. What happened was evil and unacceptable and we should be vigilant to express our destain at such actions and pray that this type of tragedy never happens again. But…this isn’t the first time a people group in Aotearoa have been targeted and terrorised.
According to the N.Z. Government webpage, between the years 1845 and 1872 over 2000 Maori warriors were killed in the N.Z. Wars. Many battles occurred after Maori tried peacefully to protest the illegal taking of their tribal lands. The story of Parihaka is a key example and this history is still vastly unknown by many NZers. (Note 1).
After World War 2, Maori were targeted and ‘the relocation of Māori became official policy (the Manpower Act). Rural Māori families were encouraged to move to the cities with the provision of accommodation (State Housing), employment (low paid, low-skilled jobs) and general assistance in adjusting to a new life.’ This, and the encouragement of Pacific people into factory jobs and State Homes, explains why we now have ghettos of State Housing from the ’50’s to ’70’s era. Many Māori would argue that this was about removing the stronghold of Māori from their connection to their tribal lands and marae (see Note 1 for land loss). Under the Maori Affairs Amendment Act 1967, Māori land owned by one to four people, was reclassified as ‘European land’. These changes made it easier to alienate remaining areas of tribal land, and Māori were outraged by them. A new generation who had been raised and educated in the cities realised they were in danger of losing one of the foundations of their Māoritanga. nga-take-maori-government-policy-and-maori.
The 1867 Native Schools Act declared that English should be the only language spoken at school. One hundred and twenty years later, N.Z. finally recognised and acknowledged the Maori language with the Māori Language Act in1987 declaring te reo Māori to be an ‘official’ language of NZ. This gave the right for te reo Māori to be used in all aspects of life – Courts, Education etc. In N.Z. today, we are seeing a resurgence of te reo Māori but, what are the effects on a people group when their language is deliberately targeted to be wiped out?
To help us understand this, imagine if Japan had invaded NZ during W.W.2, and then demanded that everyone had to speak Japanese, all land and homes had to be handed over to Japanese control and everyone was expected to live, think and behave Japanese. The Kiwi-way of life was to be forgotten. In many, many ways, I think, this is what Māori experienced.
A Personal Reflection
What happened in Christchurch was disgusting, evil and so wrong. I am proud to be a Kiwi and to see how our Nation has responded to the Muslim community and to gun reforms in Parliament. But, I am also afraid that the words of the young Muslim student will still ring true – “Will NZ still remember in one months time or in one years time?” Our past often indicates to us what our future will be like. Will we forget Christchurch, in the same way, that many Kiwis have either; forgotten our own history, chosen to ignore it or are completely unaware of it? When you are the victim or your family have suffered injustice, you don’t forget. Time can cause the events of the past to fade, but if we care to seek out and to ask the deeper unlying questions relating to poverty, injustice and inequality we will find the shadow side of ourselves, our land and our people.
Our innocence wasn’t lost this year, 2019, it was lost a long time ago. I think it’s time we took courage to reflect upon our past as a nation. As a Pākeha, married to Denise of Ngāti Porou (East Coast, Gisborne), Ngati Raukawa, Ngati Whakaue descent, I have watched her come to terms with her struggles. Her struggle and frustration in learning the native language of her grandparents, while aware of their story of corporal punishment at school for speaking te reo Māori. To understand what it means to follow Jesus as a Māori woman and to wrestle with a theology that has been taught from a Western perspective. To see the poverty and pain that many Māori face and to taste the bitter fruit of colonisation, even today. To choose to live in a community of poverty that screams injustice and to commit her life to make a difference for her people.
I have also struggled, but my struggle relates to grappling with the reality of white privilege.
“Whiteness is connected to economic power and class — and is probably least understood by those it privileges. Most white people seem blind to its existence, while most non-white people are not.” Max Harris – author for e-tangata, 2018, Mana Trust.
As a Pākehā, I am proud of my heritage and roots. However, I also need to be aware of the injustices of the past and present, and how I have benefitted from them, continue to benefit from them and how I may have contributed to them. This reflection, isn’t meant to pull-down white people, or Pākehā. It’s about being honest and open about our advantages — and thinking about how to dismantle the system, that produces and reinforces them.
In N.Z. we are not class-free, we have bought into a system of capitalism and neo-liberalism. These strengthen our class system and create high levels of inequality. Class matters in N.Z. and it’s important that we own and understand how this system works. As Jesus Lovers, we can choose to work to undermine the system and live counter culturally to its power.
As Pākehā we need to support Māori-led efforts of decolonisation: understanding the process and negative impacts of colonisation and re-centring indigenous worldview – white, isn’t always right! We also must push for a new economic system, that values ‘well-being’ (our relationships with self, others and the earth) and not only profit. We need to stop expecting our Māori brothers and sisters, to spend so much of their time and energies, re-educating us Pākehā, about our past and history. Often we are ignorant of how much we ask of them to give, for free or a small koha. We tend not to look at the resourcing we invest into our own development in comparison. We, as Pākehā, need to educate ourselves and have conversations with other Pākehā.
Through my relationships with people who identify as Māori, through the study of N.Z. history, through continuing to be open to listening, and through mixing with others who are re-thinking new paradigms, economically, politically, socially and spiritually, I find myself changing and seeing the world differently. Even though, I try to understand and value the First Nations/Māori world view in N.Z., I still make mistakes and I am still learning.
My hope and my dream, is that more and more Kiwis will become unsettled with our present State of the Nation; that we will remember our past, learn from it, and become ‘presence-based’ activators for organising social change, so that the future may look somewhat different from the past and present…and may we never forget…
Note 1: In 2000 Maori held only a fraction of the land of the North Island – perhaps as little as 4%.
From 1840 – 2000 the Crown used pre-emption to buy two-thirds of the entire land area of New Zealand from Māori – including most of the South Island. They paid 21,150 pounds in total – the equivalent of $2.4 million in today’s money, or about three residential properties in Auckland. Other bits of land was either confiscated or was taken, and still is taken, for Public Works purposes (a Bill to stop this failed in 2016, after the Greens tried to being in the Public Works Amendment Bill)
Not A Fuzzy Feeling by Derek Porter
“I just don’t get it, I have so much love around me now, so many people caring for me, it’s overwhelming because it’s something I’ve lacked for so long.”
These whispered words rung in my ears louder than the worship music she pierced. Tara is a beautiful 15-year-old girl whose mother’s drug use led to her premature birth and severe physical disabilities. Her family did not have the resources to enroll her in a school that could accommodate her mobility needs, rendering her illiterate. So there I found myself, reading out the Thai lyrics from a projector so Tara could sing along in worship.
We met Tara through a local “kids club” in a dense community of row houses where we frequently found her alone, waiting for her adult family members to return from their long, irregular work shifts. The weekly club served as a welcome respite from her isolation, despite her being the oldest participant. Over the years, Tara developed a habit of staying after dismissal to pray with the volunteer staff (often for her pop idol’s well-being). Then by no explicit invitation from staff she pulled me aside not long ago to say she wanted to follow Jesus!
Fast forward a few months to our precious exchange. Tears choked the lyrics in my throat as she went on singing songs about our Father’s great love and acceptance; remarkably, she sang as if the words were… well, true! As I pondered her comment I realized, for Tara, God’s love was not simply a fuzzy feeling or nice concept that contrasted Thai society’s frequent condemnation of the disabled (due to bad karma). No, this love was more concrete. It was embodied in the faithfulness of volunteers who served for years with no promise of lasting impact. It was incarnated in the acceptance, appreciation, and generosity of this local Jesus community, who welcomed her and reiterated her worth. It was manifest in flesh and blood. Much like our God. Much like yours and mine.
As her friends, we still yearn for the day when Tara will taste the fullness of freedom and the healing to come, but for now her soul-splitting smile serves as a signpost for the Kingdom that has already come near.
New UNOH Location: Bang Kachao
This past June marked a new beginning and reset for Camille and Derek Porter, as they relocated to a community that they had been sensing a pull toward since they were newly married.
Meeting in Klong Toey, their connections to this community remain important. But together the Porters are embarking on making home in a community with limited convenience and access. Though seperated from Klong Toey by only the width of a river, life on the river-island of Bang Kachao is different to the big city in many ways – the open spaces are more plentiful; the slums are smaller; the schools are less accessible from home; food is harder to access; markets are further afield; public transport is non-existent.
The Porters are just in the learning phase about what marginalisation looks like here, but they hope to hear the heart and hopes of this place, as they begin to share their lives. Some things feel the same- the elderly are lonely and isolated; healthcare requires a trek; there are areas you are warned not to enter due to their roughness and drug use; gambling and addiction cripples families; people work long hours for little pay or have no stable work at all; parents long for their children to have education and opportunites far beyond what they themselves had. In spite of this, Camille and Derek believe that the Kingdom of God and its justice offers great hope for their new neighbours and Bang Kachao, and are excited to follow Jesus into places of poverty.
The Porters
Camille and Derek Porter
Bang Kachao, Bangkok, Thailand
These two UNOH workers and their families have separately called Thailand “home” for many years. Now in their life together the Porters are making a small community in Bang Kachao home, located just a stone’s throw from UNOH HQ (in the Klong Toey community where they met and married).
Derek and Camille hope to befriend the most vulnerable members of their community, and seek together new expressions of what the Kingdom of God, in it’s fullness, would mean for the poor, the lonely, and those in need of hope there.
The Porter family are grateful for the opportunity to bear witness to the Risen Christ at work amongst their community, as they see what this means for its inhabitants and ecology.
To stay up to date with what is happening in our neighbourhood, subscribe to our story here: https://mailchi.mp/d302aa21d47a/portersfindinglife.
If you are from Australia please give via the UNOH website, if you are from the US please give via giving.ywammontana.org/support/derekporter. Thank you!
RoyRak
Have you ever found yourself pondering the purpose of RoyRak? What does it have to do with Urban Neighbours of Hope Bangkok? Why all the pictures of jewellery brightening your news feed?
In Klong Toey, an average household earns only around half of the national average and only around one-third of the income of an average Bangkok household. (Data from BorgenProject.org)
In the slum communities where we work, women are often the main breadwinners and yet their job options are limited by factors such as stigma, inflexible childcare and incomplete education. As UNOH workers we try to work with our neighbours to respond creatively to some of the problems that we encounter on the ground. Providing meaningful employment for a few neighbours does not solve the problem but it is a sign that we stand in solidarity and choose to journey deeply with some of the most vulnerable.
A stable income and caring work environment seem to have a ripple effect, the benefits spread into the whole of life and the families of our staff also reap the benefits. Chaos inhibits change but stability allows for change.
Some of our staff have been with us for many years and have become skilled artisans, while others are with us for a short time as a stepping stone into work elsewhere. Some have fought addiction and self-doubt to take on significant management and design roles. Perhaps most encouraging is the compassion and support that they show to each other. Some of the UNOH values are taking root as we work and learn side by side.
UNOH workers and our many supporters worldwide have networks that these women just don’t have. They can produce high quality items but cannot sell them locally at a price that allows a fair wage. We support them by promoting RoyRak to our contacts overseas who, in turn, get to glimpse the faces and the stories behind the products. We want to raise awareness of issues arising from urban poverty and encourage ethical consumerism.
So… RoyRak is about EMPOWERMENT in the form of employment, training and community! We are beading love!
You can support the RoyRak team with your purchases at RoyRak.net
If you have opportunity to sell our products in your local context we would love to hear from you! Please take a minute to like and share our post!
