Malo e lelei kainga! (Hello family!)
Eric Mailau
We were fortunate enough to go on a little sabbatical break a few months ago, the timing was significant; a change of season for our little family. I have moved away from part-time formal youth-work into a full-time plumbing apprenticeship. Alongside this change was a change in our natural season of parenthood drawing us away from youth-work and towards connecting with young parents.
Our sabbatical was best characterized by a meme: the expectation vs reality meme (google it). Much of our time was spent with one or two of us sick, and ended with our smallest girl Naomi going to hospital. Anna went with her and I and the other two kids stayed at our hired house, negotiating extra days, taking trips back and forth to hospital, and trying to make something of the time. At the end of the sabbatical time we rushed home shattered! Don’t get me wrong, there was some beautiful family time, and prayerful reflective time peppered in there too.
Some of that reflective time came from my reminiscing on some strange advice that my mother gave me years ago when I embarked on this chase of a meaningful faith and mission which landed me with UNOH. “ ‘Oua ‘e ngalo ‘ia koe ho tau kakai “ translates to “don’t forget our [Tongan] people”. My dreams and expectations were of being a youth pastor, a powerful preacher, of leading missions to the ‘third world’ etc. My wise mother saw a reality closer to home, and with that advice, she planted a seed.
This seed particularly resonated with me when I read Mark 5; Jesus heals a demon-possessed man, specifically verse 19. After being healed the man begged to join Jesus in his journey and ministry, and Jesus denies him:
Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”
Mark 5:19
Jesus tells him to go home and testify to what God has done for him.
I’ve always read Mark 5 and thought that the demon possessed man could have been a great tool for boosting Jesus’ ministry! I’ve always thought that Jesus would never say ‘No’ to anyone willing to go with him into the thick of the action. I’ve grown up expecting that the action or the mission is to be out there, somewhere foreign, somewhere far away. I’ve romanticized our faith to be one of adventure; mountain top, deep valley experiences; a form of spiritual adrenalin seeking.
Yet Jesus cuts through this expectation with the reality of “go home…” He shows us that much of mission, faith, life is lived out on the plains.
For us, Jesus saved us from our own pride disguised as godly expectations and freed us to slow down, pace ourselves in our new season, in the beautiful plains. Fatherhood, training in plumbing, connecting with young parents and men in Wainuiomata.
The Stranger on the Road
Elise Fletcher
“When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognised him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
LUKE 24: 30-32
No trip to London would be complete without a trip to the National Gallery. And if there is one painting that will keep me returning it is this one – Caravaggio’s ‘The Supper at Emmaus’ – pictured above with additional Elliot!
Last month, Having dropped two of our number at Heathrow (the moment that we had been dreading,) Elliot, Bow and I travelled on to stay with relatives in London. For a week we allowed ourselves to get lost in the crowd; we walked and walked until our feet hurt and we dropped into bed exhausted each night having seen all the sights. As intended, it was the most wonderful distraction from being apart.
Returning depleted to our quiet house in Shrewsbury meant stopping for long enough to begin processing the twists and turns of the last few months. I know that Jon experienced the same on returning to our not-so-quiet home in Khlong Toey.
Leaving Thailand behind in July was emotionally heavy but compounded by illness that disrupted goodbyes, and by visa/passport issues that almost kept us from travelling. A lot of doubts crept in. When we eventually arrived in Shrewsbury, it was on the back of a pickup truck and events continued in this vein… there were bailiffs letters through the letterbox before we had even moved into our house. Then there was the pressure to make the most of family time while it lasted… and you can probably imagine how that went!
Only on stopping to acknowledge and name some of the disappointment and loss do I recognise the Stranger on the Road. I see him in the visa officer who marked our application ‘compassionate’, I see him in the provision of the stamp in Bow’s passport that was in our hands only hours before our flight, I see him in the teammates who blessed us to leave and the family who welcomed us in our messy state of return, I see him in new neighbours and old friendships rekindled, I see him in our London hosts whose kindness was specific and perfectly timed. The Stranger on the Road is no stranger to my experience because he has been a constant companion.
Could every road that we tread be an invitation to meet Jesus in a new guise, in a new capacity? The shocked state of recognition, so well encapsulated by Caravaggio’s painting, is not unfamiliar to me and I find myself at that table again and again. To recognise the face of Jesus is not a one time event but a regular occurrence as we walk and talk and stop to rest along the Road. It is not simply that we forget his face but that our spiritual sight is stretched to recognise him in the unexpected as well as the familiar places. May every encounter with the Stranger on the Road be as sacred as our first.
*If you have five minutes…. read this fascinating article on the subversive Christian invitation hidden in ‘The Supper at Emmaus’ painting! It is literally hidden in my photo as Elliot is blocking the most significant detail from view!
Quick Updates
Brad Coath
Finding Life
Aside from all that happens in our neighbourhoods, part of what we’re about is inviting others into the journey of living out God’s shalom in whatever places we find. Here’s some of the things that we’ve been up to over the past few months…
Story From the Underside
Earlier this year UNOH ran The Story From the Underside, a six week series on exploring Matthew’s Gospel as a story written by those on the margins for those on the margins.
If this is something you or your small group would like to consider running, we’d love to hear from you. Contact Brad Coath: brad@unoh.org.
The Underside Podcast
The Underside Podcast featured ten episodes of interviews with UNOH workers discussing UNOH life, values, and commitments.
Hosted by Brad Coath and Matt Di Lorenzo, the series draws on the lived experiences of workers in Naarm/Melbourne, Thailand and Aotearoa/New Zealand.
Check out an episode now: https://theunderside.buzzsprout.com/
Church Visits
We’ve loved being able to visit a number of churches over the last few months, sharing about UNOH’s journey and finding God in the neighbourhood.
If your church would like to connect in this way, please get in touch!
Contact Brad Coath: brad@unoh.org.
RoyRak
Here’s the schedule for upcoming RoyRak sales at churches. Please come and support the wonderful work of RoyRak in Bangkok.
Saturday 22nd October 2022
10.00am – 3.00pm
Fair’s Fair 2022
TLC Church
265 Canterbury Road
Bayswater North Vic
www.tlcchurch.org.au
Sunday 23rd October 2022
Brad & Colleen speaking
10.00am
One Church Blackburn
184 Surrey Road,
Blackburn Vic
one.org.au
Sunday 20th November 2022
Tecoma Uniting Church Twilight Fair
4.00pm – 8.00 pm
1566 Burwood Highway
Tecoma Vic
It Takes a Village
Dave Tims
Last week, I received a text from a local resident, “Dave, there is a kid graffitiing the building and he just walked down your street”. Later on, as I watched the security video, I quickly identified the kid. It was Richard, a kid who rarely attends school. Thankfully, I had met his nana through a friend of ours and so I was able to visit her and have a quiet word. To my surprise, the next day Richard came to my house, “Sorry Dave, I didn’t realise that the community building was yours, sorry I won’t do that again.”
Since then, Richard has kept his word and he has promised to keep the building safe. Thanks to Richard, I now know other kids who have tagged the building.
A couple of days later, I got a similar type of phone call, but this time it was from the shopkeeper. “Dave, you know those kids who were fighting outside last week, well they are back.” Then he asked, “Can you come over?”
As I drove over to pick up the kids, mum waved me down. “Have you seen Hune, I am really worried about him? He smashed a window and I don’t know where he is.”
“It’s O.K.” I replied, ”he’s at the shop, I’ll go get him.”
When I arrived at the shop, I saw Hune and his mates. Close to them I noticed a lot of dirt and freshly plucked native grasses, scattered along the footpath. “Hune,” I yelled, “Get yourself in the van, now, mum’s worried.”
“How did you know where I was?” Hune asked inquisitively.
“The shopkeeper rang me,” I replied.
With a look of surprise Hune responded, “Far Dave, you know everyone”.
“Yes Hune, I do! Now tell me, how did those plants lying on the footpath get there? Did you pull them out?”
Hune’s face dropped and a guilty look came over his face. At first he denied it, but his mates spoke out and narked on him. Finally Hune admitted, “Yes, sorry, I did it.”
“Well,” I replied, “that’s a stupid thing to do. You know my neighbour Phil aye? He planted those grasses two weeks ago and he’s going to be angry once he finds out who did this.”
“Argh, oh, no,” Hune muttered, “Promise you won’t tell him Dave”
“Too right Hune, I won’t be telling him, ‘cause you are going to tell him tomorrow. And, you are going to replant them with Phil.” Then, with an intense look, I stated, “Let’s hope he is in a good mood, aye.”
One of the things COVID has taught us, is the importance of neighbourhooding and the networking of relationships; adults watching kids, extended whānau gently guiding others, street pātaka kai (food cupboards) set up where neighbours help neighbours, shopkeepers who care, community centres owned and managed by the neighbourhood, schools who stay connected to community leaders. These social networks act like a hīnaki (a woven net used for catching eels). The strands of woven rope are like the threads of intertwined neighbourhood relationships. This is reflected by neighbours; offering support, connectedness, encouragement, deconstructing shame (a common trigger for misbehaviour) and upholding mana (the spiritual essence of a person or place).
In her book, Daring Greatly, Brené Brown describes shame as; “the fear of disconnection” and “real pain”[1] Brown’s research confirms the heart of the concept of shalom—we all are connected. We were created for connection. According to Brown, there is a direct correlation between our fear of being disconnected from one another and our level of shame. At its heart, shame is a fear that attempts to make us believe that we are unworthy of connection by highlighting our failures and our shortcomings. The core lie of shame is, ‘I am not enough.’
For Denise and I, when the neighbourhood hīnaki works, it makes us smile. It is God at work by His spirit and our willingness to serve. We see Him in the trust built with neighbours, the creation of street BBQ’s, the home visits, people helping each other out, neighbours connecting through street facebook pages, the sharing of kai (food). This is the beauty of “love thy neighbour.”
The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.
John 1:14-18 (The Message)
We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son,
Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.
John pointed him out and called, “This is the One! The One I told you was coming after me but in fact was ahead of me. He has always been ahead of me, has always had the first word.”
We all live off his generous abundance, gift after gift after gift.
We got the basics from Moses, and then this exuberant giving and receiving,
This endless knowing and understanding— all this came through Jesus, the Messiah.
No one has ever seen God, not so much as a glimpse.
This one-of-a-kind God-Expression, who exists at the very heart of the Father, has made him plain as day.
Māori Words
Hīnaki – The hŅnaki (eel pot) was a basket-like pot that was set in open water with bait, or used at pŌ tuna (weirs). Intricately woven, the best-made hŅnaki were works of art.
Whānau – WhŌnau is often translated as ‘family’, but its meaning is more complex. It includes physical, emotional and spiritual dimensions and is based on whakapapa (family tree). WhŌnau can be multi-layered, flexible and dynamic. WhŌnau is based on a mŌori and a tribal world view
Pātaka kai – https://www.patakai.co.nz The (PŌtaka Kai) Open Street Pantry Movement is a resident-led, grassroots, crowd sourced solution to immediate and local need, rescuing food and encouraging the co-sharing of food between neighbours to strengthen communities.
Mana – Mana is a difficult concept to explain. Its meaning is multi-faceted. It includes psychic influence, control, prestige, power, vested and acquired authority and influence, being influential or binding over others, and that quality of the person that others know he or she has.
[1] Brown, Brené, Daring Greatly: How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent and Lead (USA: Penguin Group, 2016), 68 & 71.