POVERTY IN PARADISE

Blogged in 2011

A cruise ship stop over in Vanuatu gives you a wonderful insight into the beautiful islands that make up what appears to be paradise. The happiest nation on earth!! Helicopter rides, pristine waters to snorkel or dive in, french restaurants, sail boat cruises, cascading waterfalls, thatched air conditioned bungalows........ and the people, why they are always smiling and so friendly. This just has to be heaven on earth??
Well, if you happen to take the steep flight of stairs behind the shops and walk 200 metres over the hill, you will come across the villages of Seaside Tongoa and Parma. Now village is a pleasant name is if you are picturing vegetable gardens amongst pretty grass huts... not exactly the right picture. Try imagining a rusty corrugated iron lean-to, held together with a few nails and some wire. On the ground is an open fire kitchen often laying amongst rubbish. Some people cook over a concrete bucket full of coals to prepare the family meals. Attached to the kitchen will be a dirt floor bedroom, usually the size of a horse stall, it will have a small window for air and a grass mat on the ground. This is where it is common for a family of 5 to sleep in the sweltering heat. Narrow alleyways run between these homes, if it rains........it all turns to mud.
Now take that image and times it by 100....maybe 200, then put it all on 5 acres and add about 1500 people, a lot of these being children and babies. To complete the scene you must scatter dogs, cats, chickens, pigs and the occasional pet lizard. This is certainly not the place a tourist would like to wander through at night.
Yet......if you really spend some time in the heart of this village, getting to know the people, you will find the unexpected and instead of witnessing hostility, misery and depression.......you will witness, love, joy happiness and a sense of being welcomed into a family who will protect you with their lives. Something I don't really experience or feel in the neighborhoods of Noosa.
Since coming to Vanuatu 6 years ago and feeling a passion to help these people, a small group of committed friends have helped to build two schools, a community kitchen, kindergarten, youth training centre and 2 toilet block built. It has been a true team effort and God has never ceased to amaze me in the connections He has placed before us and the generosity of many people.
Also during my time in Vanuatu, I have got alongside many mothers and children. Domestic violence and husbands abandoning their wife and children is commonplace in the villages and is an area often overlooked. Painting women's fingernails, having a chat and watching the children chase soap bubbles floating through the air, can be the best therapy these beautiful yet broken hearted women need.
We have ministered in churches, schools, prisons, hospitals, on the beach, in the slums or just under a big old mango tree while we sat in the dirt.
Over the year in excess of 150 people have come from Australia and experienced our cause first hand, their time and money has not been wasted........they have definitely made a difference.
So next time you step off a cruise ship and want to experience the local culture....please....don't just scratch the surface, dig a little deeper....because you never know how those people can touch your life.
God is looking for people to make a difference!!!

For more info on what we do in Vanuatu, go to
www.evidence.org.au 

THE PASSION FRUIT

Blogged Easter 2011

 
Just a little something to think about with Easter coming up.
The name of the Passion flower or Passion fruit sounds 'passionate', however it has nothing in common with a passionate love, but is actually connected to the torments and Passion of Jesus on the cross. 
The Passion flower is therefore also called the flowers of Jesus. The first Spanish missionaries, who came to South America in the 16th century and saw that exotic flower in tropical forests, named it so because it reminded them of Jesus Christ’s thorny crown. Jacomo Bosciom, a monk who wrote about the Torments of Christ, got drawings of the Passion flower from Mexico and in this strange flower he found several symbols of Christ’s crucifixion:
Radial filaments in the form of a wreath represent the Crown of Thorns.
The ten petals symbolize the ten faithful disciples (he excluded Peter due to his denial of Christ and Judas because of his betrayal).
Three upper stigmata are the three nails, two in the hands and one through both feet.
The flower's tendrils symbolized whips.
The five lower anthers symbolize the five wounds of Jesus. One in each hand and foot and one in his side with the lance.
It is amazing that such a beautiful flower can represent a time in Christ's life that most people don't like to dwell on. Yet I believe there was true beauty in what Christ went through when he hung on the cross........because it was based on love and passion. This was a pure, sinless, perfect, unconditional love that has never been repeated by anyone, and this alone is a reason to celebrate Easter. The cross is not about death, it is about love. 
So next time you see a passion fruit flower, check out the symbols for yourself and this Easter celebrate the beauty of the cross and the Passion of Christ.

"Jesus cannot forget us; we have been engraved on the palms of his hands."

God's Sense of Humor!

Blogged in 2011

Isn't it funny how we mainly share answered prayers with others when they are big prayers, amazing healings, financial breakthroughs etc.
But.......do you know the answered prayers I like the most? The little, tiny, insignificant ones that didn't really matter either way. The one's where no one's life depended on it, yet God took the time to answer it anyway. Hey, it's not like that prayer jumped the queue of another that was more important, cause God is so amazing He can answer them all at once.

On the weekend a little fella came trotting over to me and pulled his pony to a stop, hands up around his ears and a smile a mile wide on his face.......so cute! It was just before his barrel race and asked me to pray for him. So together we prayed that Jesus would protect them, they would have a fun time and his pony would have a big smile just like him, as they ran the clover leaf pattern. Well the photo above is proof that God answers little, itsy, bitsy prayers and has a sense of humor to boot! Zoom in and you will see a smiling pony!!!
Now, some may call this coincidence, but I call it my Father in Heaven, who want's to show a little boy that He loves him, and thinks he is special enough to respond to the smallest of prayers.
Photography by the wonderful Colin Worley.  

Vision

Blogged in 2011

"The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision."

I have decided that the time has long passed where I should have gone back to the optometrist. These cheapie glasses are doing my eyes no good. I buy them cause I know I am in danger of losing the expensive ones, so I just get 10 pairs of the cheap readers. But I have come to realize there are some things that have to be the best, cost more and take more care to look after. My eye sight is getting worse, the giant print bible is all blurry and I am sure I go out with my make up looking real bad. I would really appreciate anyone telling me if I have a big blob of foundation on my cheek that I have neglected to rub in. Twice lately I have put my shirt on inside out and have had no idea! Instructions on labels are definitely a "no go".....even if my life depended on it. My arms are now too short to hold writing at a distance so I can read it.
So....I either have to get longer arms....or new glasses.
However, on a more positive note, as my physical sight deteriorates, I feel that my spiritual sight is improving. God is showing me the things He wants me to see, clearer and clearer each day. Crystal clear examples of what is priceless in life. 20/20 vision of where my heart should be touched and my hands should be working.
Truth is....I would rather be blind in the physical, then blind in the spiritual.

"There is no better way to thank God for your sight than by giving a helping hand to someone in the dark."

Moments

Blogged in 2011

Today I have been alive 17,106 days. Being that there are 1,440 minutes in a day, that calculates to 24,632,460 minutes I have been breathing. The average breathing rate per minute, between rest and exercise, is around 18. So I have approximately taken about 443,387,520 breaths. That of course got me wondering how many times I'd brushed my teeth, driven a car, saddled a horse, put on mascara, met someone for the first time, eaten a piece of chocolate.....OK, a block of chocolate...... the list could be endless. 
When you think about it, life is made up of lots and lots of moments.........good, bad, boring, frustrating, exciting, reckless, cautious, sad, happy......... Moments, all added together to make a life.
However...

"Life is not about how many  breaths you take...

it's about how many moments take your breath away."

Oprah Winfrey once said... "Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one that you know you have for sure."
So, try hard today not to waste any of those precious moments on the negative things in life.... bitterness, jealousy, unforgiveness, hatred, self pity, anger, fear, resentment, apathy...............................
Instead, create wonderful moments, that will turn into beautiful memories that you can cherish forever.
After all.......when the moment comes  that your life flashes before your eyes.
Make sure it is worth watching!!!!!