Thursday, September 23, 2010

Engage Care | Karen Garage Sale 2010

Yearly there has been a "Giant Garage Sale" in Brisbane to raise money for the work on the Thai-Burma border. It is happening again this year on Saturday 2nd October, 7am to noon. Please come along and spend up big!!!

Also, we need your goods. Toys that now sit lonesome, that breadmaker you swore would come in good use, that lamp you bought on impulse, anything you think is worth selling we would love to have at our garage sale. If you have things to donate to the garage sale you can leave them at Creek Rd Presbyterian Church building Monday 27th to Thursday 30th September (9am-4pm) or Friday 1st October (9am-9pm).

All the money will go towards education in 3 primary schools in Mae Hla Refugee Camp and 1 high school (Noh Bo Academy). This will help fund teachers' salaries, uniforms, health, toiletries, education needs, building maintenance and travel. Brochures will be available at Engage on Sunday explaining the work at the border. The funds will be distributed by our partner church, Christ Church Bangkok.

If you've got any questions contact me (Tim) on tim at engagecitychurch.com

This is just another great way Engage City Church can partner with God's global work!

Written by Tim Iedema

Engage ate it’s way to educating a child in Zambia

It costs $12.50 per month to educate a child in Zambia.

That’s AU$150 per year.

With that in mind Tash, Dora and others set out on their great adventure to raise some, if not all the money required to help educate a child trapped in poverty. With help from many, and a cast of post breakfast stomachs they set out to see what they could do. There was little notice but a fair amount of “gusto”, Engage ate enough chocolate crackles/coconut slice/date slice/ chocolate slice/baklava/cheese cake (I think you get the picture) before lunch to raise AU$180.00 from the slice sale on Sunday, the 19th Sep. But wait, there’s more. Tash went to a desert night later that same night and sold some more, raising a total of AU$281.65. Nice!

So what happens now?

This is all part of Tash and Ryan’s efforts to raise funds for Eagle Wings (http://www.ewafrica.org), which includes their 1500 km pushbike ride from Brisbane to Canberra.

Eagle Wings, founded in 2003, is a Zambian based organisation that builds schools and educates children in Zambia. Started by Lackson Matolokoshi, a church planter, who realised that there were many Zambians who could not read the Bible because they had never attended school. Lackson started teaching adults at his Grace and Truth Baptist Church, but quickly realised that many children wanted to learn, and started to attend. These children were learning so fast that he had to separate them from the adults.

Seeing a growing need to educate these children trapped in poverty, Lackson started Eagle Wings. And now with the contribution of many like Tash, Ryan, and you, Eagle Wings Australia is hoping not only to help build schools, and educate children, but are working towards sending two 20 foot containers, one from Brisbane and one Sydney, filled with educational resources to use in the whole School from Grades 1-12.

So well done Engage. With your stomachs full you can be content in the knowledge that you have helped educate a child and possibly help break their poverty cycle in Zambia!

Written by Rob Boynton

Monday, September 20, 2010

The Measure of a Man

"The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good."
Samuel Johnson, 18th-cenutry British author.


Naw Eh Khu Moo, an ethnic Karen refugee boy waits for treatment with his father, a landmine victim at a refugee hospital in Mae Sot, Thailand, Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2007. (source)

Monday, September 13, 2010

Church planting in Northern Thailand

Peter, writing to the church persecuted and scattered throughout Asia, encourages them by saying, “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.”

Over the past ten days an Elder of my church plant and I had the privilege of visiting and spending time with the leaders of the Karen people, 200,000 of which are living as refugees on the border between Thailand and Burma. Brutally oppressed by the Burmese army as 'insurgents' and rejected by the Thai authorities these people live in appalling conditions, and yet are some of the most generous, faithful and joyful people I have ever met!

After arriving on the border, we were chauffeured around in a 4x4 by the personal body guard of one of the Karen leaders. It was weird being driven around the beautiful countryside by a professional body-guard bearing the nickname 'skinhead'. We visited christian orphanages, schools, churches and church plants scattered throughout the jungle, however the majority of our time was spent teaching the leadership from 1 Peter and Acts. We sweated, laughed, cried, ate and prayed with our brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. And when we had to come home a bit of our heart stayed behind with these beautiful people.

Peter's message of joyfully standing firm in the amazing salvation of Jesus Christ in spite of cruel and oppressive persecution remains a message for the church today, especially for our brothers and sisters amongst the Hill Tribes of Northern Thailand. Please pray for them. They are oppressed on every side and yet joyfully standing firm in Jesus. If you would like to find out more about supporting the work of planting and nurturing churches amongst the Karen people please email me at will@engagecitychurch.com

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Thai Border Trip Day Two

Chatuchak Weekend Market in Bangkok is the mother of all markets... There was everything there. Overwhelming, exciting, amazing and sad at the same time. And the smells... Wow I thought working in a feedlot was bad...

Thia Burma Trip 2010 Day 2 Markets from Will Henderson on Vimeo.

Thai Border Trip Day One

Thai Burma Trip Day One 2010 from Will Henderson on Vimeo.



Last night in Bangkok it was encouraging to chat with Peter, a local Pastor, who together with his wife had moved from the UK to see good news of Jesus shared in this region. Though my eyes felt like they were falling out I was intrigued by their vision, passion and heavy burden for true discipleship. As we sat over coffee and filtered water our discussion focused on the need for long term investment in the lives of the people. Yes it is important for men and women to come and visit and see for themselves that “the fields are ripe for harvest,” but what is imperative is that some then prayerfully commit to return and make disciples over a period of three, five or longer years. It is only as deep relationships are built around Jesus that a movement will be unleashed... And for those who come for a visit and return to Brisbane, the challenge is the same. Will you commit to a community for 3, 5 or longer years? Will you commit to intentionally building and nurturing relationships centred around Jesus? Discipleship is not only powerful, it is Jesus' chosen way of transforming the world. Jesus told His disciples,
“O have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disiples to obey all the commands that I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)