GUEST BLOG: “I Came To Change You, But Instead You Changed Me” by Derrek Fikes

Posted by christine, September 24, 2008

Editor’s Note: Derrek Fikes was on our Mocha Club Ethiopia trip #3 from July 17th-26th, 2008.

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I was able to travel to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with other Mocha Club members back in July. It was the toughest thing I have ever experienced. It was also the single most rewarding and amazing experiences I’ve ever been a part of.

The part of the “trip” I want to focus on are the street kids. They are the kids who have been kicked out of their home, left because of abuse, money issues, etc.

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Now, understand something. When I say street kids, I mean kids who survive on the streets. They roam the streets, make their living on the streets, fight for food on the streets, and pretty much live there. They are looked down on by everyone. These kids are amazing. It hurt me to see these kids in these situations. You want to see injustice? Nothing screams it more than an 8 year old boy who has to fight to stay alive and who struggles daily to get a meal.

I wanted to close my eyes, snap my fingers and transport all those kids to loving homes with loving parents. That can’t happen, though. I felt so…helpless. All I could do was love them for those hours and days I was with them. All I could do was show them God’s love. They have been rejected and alone all their lives. Rejected by parents. Rejected by society. Rejected by the church. Rejected by everyone but God.

All we could do was feed them. Hang out with them. Laugh with them. Love them!

The book of James says that “religion that God our Father finds as pure is to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to not be corrupted by the world.” Look after orphans and widows. Pure. Religion. We don’t see much religion that is pure and faultless these days. Much of what we see are the negative things which are affiliated with religion. Yet, God spells it out for us. Look after the poor, the orphans, widows, prostitutes, crack heads, homeless, and etc. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

This “trip” really put things into perspective for me. I am not a big deal. I am but a vapor in the wind. Here today, gone tomorrow. When I pass from this life to the next and get to the gates, I want to hear my Savior say “Son; welcome home, the war is over.” I want to love, not hate. I want to give, not take. I want to live, not apathetically go through the motions. I want to encourage, not dishearten. I want to be an example of Christ’s love, not be just another Christian stereotype. I want to LOVE.

Make that change.

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Besides, that’s what is pure.

Living Hope kids: Wait 4 Me!

Posted by christine, September 23, 2008

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This summer, 1,050 children from grades 4 through 7 attended a “wait4me”
concert at the King of Kings Baptist Centre. Led by the Prevention team of Living, the concert was held for those children who have made a commitment to abstain from sex until marriage and encourage others to do the same. The children came from the neighborhoods of Red Hill, Ocean View, Masiphumelele and Capricorn, places where Living Hope conducts after-school programs daily to help disadvantaged kids.

Through drama done by Living Hope, messages from life skills educators, and music by groups from our local communities, the boys and girls were given encouragement to help them fulfill their goals. Each child received a “wait 4 me” bandana and a wrist band that symbolizes their
commitment. They enjoyed goodies which included a hotdog, chips, sweets and cool drink. The concert proved to
have a positive impact on our children with clear and powerful messages. Feedback received suggests that they all
look forward to repeating the event next year.

Floods in Southern Sudan

Posted by christine,

Please remember our friends in Sudan as they face unimaginable challenges right now…

Floods leave 40,000 more people homeless in Southern Sudan!
AWEIL, SOUTHERN SUDAN. Heavy rains in Northern Bahr el-Ghazal have caused the Kuom river to overflow in the town of Aweil, driving tens of thousands of people into the bush. This is in addition to 50,000 who fled the fighting in May between government and southern troops in the oil-rich Abyei district.

As conditions deteriorate, high water levels increase the threat of cholera, typhoid and malaria.

The UN recently announced that Sudan ranks in its top ten list of “Hunger’s Global Hotspots.” At the same time, citing “relentless” attacks on food convoys, along with severe budget shortfalls, its World Food Programme threatened to stop air services to Darfur this week. More than 300 humanitarian agencies depend on UN flights, which currently deliver emergency supplies to three million people.

“We currently serve over 80,000 Darfur refugees and IDPs in the Bahr el-Ghazal region,” said Brad Phillips, president of the Persecution Project Foundation [one of African Leadership's partners in Sudan]. “Although they may not be directly affected by the WFP cutbacks, more refugees in Darfur will flee to our area of operations on the border, putting a greater strain on our resources. We’re going to need all the help we can get.”

Photos: IDP Camp near Gulu, Uganda

Posted by christine, September 4, 2008

Our Mocha Club Events Coordinator, Marisa Van Houten, had the chance to visit Village of Hope in July. We wanted to share some photos she took at the AWACH IDP camp outside Gulu.

Several of the Child Mothers from Village of Hope who are being rehabilitated are now helping serve and lead clubs for other Child Mothers at local IDP camps in Gulu! Here are some photos…

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Water wells & kitchen gardens

Posted by christine, September 2, 2008

For three years, several thousand refugees from the genocide in Darfur have huddled in and around the community of Jach, which is located just south of the Darfur border. Jach is a wilderness, making it very hard for survival. Temperatures can easily reach 130 degrees during the day. Until recently, the refugees had no dependable water supply. However, Mocha Club and African Leadership have helped fund the drilling of 20 clean water wells recently! New wells were dug next to the medical clinic, school sites, church, landing strip and other strategic locations. Our partners in Sudan have also begun to buy “bowsers” (110-gallon donkey carts) to transport water to those who do not have access to a well and to help irrigate the growing number of “kitchen gardens” being planted every year.

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Women in Jach enjoying the well

With this new water supply comes the opportunity for sustainable agriculture programs in the area. Mocha Club is now helping provide the supplies for the refugees of Jach to grow “kitchen gardens” – a variety of vegetables that will be the easiest to harvest and will best enhance the health and diet of the local people, including:

* Tomato
* Okra
* Pumpkin
* Onion
* Watermelon
* Sweet potato
* Ground Nuts

A half acre plot is being used to cultivate 10 kitchen gardens maintained by 10 families. This plot of land can potentially yield enough vegetables for 500 people or the equivalent of 100 families! These kitchen gardens will supplement the refugee food supply, thereby greatly increasing health standards and saving many lives. The ground is hard, and the tools are elementary. But the people are determined, hard working and tenacious. And the result is a sustainable food supply in a wilderness that the United Nations declared didn’t even have any water.

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working the soil

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