May Newsletter

In this News Letter: 1. Australian Holiday?? 2. A new challenge. 3. Mongolia Shipment. 4. Poverty in Mongolia. 5. Mongolia Match. 6. Glory Express. 7. Volunteering at Crossroads 8. How you can Help. 9. New Teacher needed

Dear Friends

We stood at a lookout overlooking the rolling waves breaking up on rocky outcrops and quiet sandy beach ………

It was our last full day in Australia and we were at a wedding at 8am in the morning in Port Macquarie.

We saw so much of our beautiful home land, travelling to weddings in the Hunter Valley and Brisbane. In all we drove around 4,000 km! The coastal regions in which we were travelling looked amazingly green considering the severe drought gripping most of the eastern half of Australia. Brisbane, sadly, looked very dry, with very severe water restrictions. But for the rest recent coastal rain had things greening up, while just a short way inland many dams are quickly drying up through lack of rain.

All in all it was a great if somewhat busy holiday at home. Catching up with friends was wonderful. We also spoke to a number of groups. We spoke at 14 meetings in total. So it was great to share about Crossroads and how people can help.

And we are grateful for the extra provision we needed to do all the things we did. Thank you MD.

2. A NEW CHALLENGE

We arrived back at Crossroads and hit the ground running with a full year of shipments to plan. In addition Crossroads have asked me (Phil) to take on a new role. This will require me to speak both in Hong Kong and Internationally in order to try to recruit desperately needed staff.

At present I am in the middle of planning an itinerary that will take in North America, UK (possibly Europe) Australia and NZ. Please chat for provision for the travel expenses in doing this and that people will hear of the need and respond.

If you live in one of those places and would like to assist by arranging speaking opportunities or perhaps inviting people to your home to hear about Crossroads please let me know.

3. MONGOLIA SHIPMENT

Saturday this week is an exciting day as we load a shipment for Mongolia. As you will see from the stories below it is a much needed shipment. In addition the organisation that is receiving this shipment is linked strongly to a Club in Mongolia from which our friend and colleague ‘Chief’ hails. Chief is back in Mongolia at the present but will return to us later in the year.

Finally this shipment is being sponsored by our Hong Kong Club, as part of the Annual Christmas Appeal. Each year a large group from the club head up to Mongolia to work with street children and many of that group will be here to assist with the loading of the container.

4. POVERTY IN MONGOLIA

It is late afternoon in Ulaanbataar, Mongolia’s capital, and Altan’s legs are aching. She has spent several hours walking the streets, trying to sell small candies that barely bring in enough money to make the effort worthwhile. Strapped to her is a precious passenger: Altan’s tiny 2 month old daughter, who joins her daily journey from their traditional ger outside the city. The baby is not Altan’s only child. She has two old enough to be in school and two younger ones, just two and four years of age, whom she must leave unattended each day. Altan’s husband, Batsaikhan, cannot stay with them either as he collects scrap iron from the streets by day, in order to buy firewood and a little food for the night. Even so, they struggle. Their home is bare, without beds or furniture, and the four older children share just two pairs of shoes.

Life is literally a hand to mouth existence for Altan and Batsaikhan. Their struggle has not come through laziness, or any addictions siphoning off family funds. They are simply part of the 1/3 of Mongolia’s population who are living in poverty, without enough money to meet their most basic needs for food, clothing and education.

The reasons for the breadth of poverty in Mongolia are complex, but the reality of those who are poor is, to some extent, simple. If Altan stays home to care for her preschool children, the children are more likely to face life with empty bellies and fall prey to illnesses they can’t afford to cure. If Batsaikhan stops his degrading, backbreaking work, the older children may not be able to attend school at all.

Even as we hear stories of such basic need going unmet, we ourselves intercede with a simple cry: ‘MD, see their pain’. We ask this on a daily basis for the people that are being served by the organisations who receive our shipments. The joy is that he does see, hear and feel their pain, and he acts.

The container of goods we are sending will help provide for families like Altan and Batsaikhan’s. They give basic necessities, such as blankets and clothes, and support so that the little ones may attend kindergarten. The change in the hearts of some of these people has been rapid, and they were soon giving thanks to the MD for the generosity he has shown them, knowing a more secure future because of him!

5. MONGOLIA MATCH

It was the scene for one of the MD’s well known match stories: a shipping meeting where staff were deciding which goods were needed for what. The problem of the day? Our Mongolia consignee, for all the reasons given, was asking for desperately needed winter clothes. We did not, it seemed, have them.

Almost as soon as the problem had been raised, the very next day, in fact a call came from the clothing department. Our trusty volunteer there had discovered an entire pallet load of winter clothes, and another of warm winter slippers! Ah, the timing! From those pallets, around 30 boxes of winter clothes could be prepared and made ready for shipment! “It’s amazing how he works,” said one of our shipping staff. He hears our requests. We’ve always said we have the best Managing Director of all. His stock management is particularly impressive. We love to be reminded of it daily and, no matter how often it happens, never get so used to it that we take it for granted.

6. GLORY EXPRESS

One of our local recipients here in Hong Kong has helped murderers, gang members, thieves and drug addicts beat their past and start a new life by offering them employment and job training. Most of society had written these people off as criminals, losers and drop-outs, but the result of this program has begged the question: If they can turn their lives around and be a success, then what about other disadvantaged groups in society too?

For this reason, the organisation is opening up opportunities to other disadvantaged groups in Hong Kong, such as mentally and physically disabled people, widows, the elderly, orphans, the unskilled and the many long term unemployed people in Hong Kong.

You may remember a previous story from our website or Hotline about a canteen on a building site run by ex-criminals? After the building work was completed, there was no more business. However, with wisdom and creativity they transformed their business and launched a catering company. Now you can get a hot, freshly cooked, inexpensive lunch, delivered to any address in Hong Kong, served with impressive efficiency and dedication. "We cook and deliver about 800 lunches a week, and we have the capacity to do double that, easily”, the director told us.

For the scheme to work, of course, the company must be successful. Given the minimal budget of its charitable organisers, every effort has been made to minimise the financial capital needed for start up. Crossroads was able to help with comfortable chairs, furniture, lockers and white goods.

7. WHY DO YOU LIKE VOLUNTEERING AT CROSSROADS?

Recently some of our community volunteers were asked why they volunteered at Crossroads. Here are some of their responses:

“It’s good to know that I am doing something worthwhile - helping the needy. There are so many people doing all sorts of jobs and making things happen. That gives me a lot of pleasure!”

“Volunteering at Crossroads is wonderful because of the community. Each time I come, I feel fulfilled that I have accomplished something. I look forward to the days I come!”

“There are so many people from so many different nations coming together here for the same cause. It makes it very interesting.”

“You can only go to lunch with the girls and go shopping so many times before it gets a bit old. Don’t get me wrong, I love my friends and I love shopping, but there is more to life...”

“It is the feeling of family that I love most about Crossroads, especially because my family all live overseas and I miss them. It has also given meaning to my life as an ex-pat wife. All the friends I have made here are very special to me.”

“When I met one of our recipients from Uganda face to face, I realised the impact of giving my time. That was pay day! I wept as he told me stories of how blessed they had been by the quality and appropriateness of the clothes and the obvious love and care taken in the way we folded and packed them.”

8. HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT US

For information about how you can support us please see the sidebar.

We do think of you and chat to our Father about you often.

Every blessing

PHIL & SUE

PS. We have an urgent need that we have mentioned before but still exists.

We are richly blessed to have several families, with children, on our full time team. In total, we have 10 beautiful kids, aged 6 to 14 years. They do their studies through a home school correspondence course at our "Teaching & Learning Centre", under the care of two teachers/tutors. (Two are needed because each child is a different age and has their own school programme.)

We have two temporary teachers who have replaced our long term teacher, however, they are finishing their periods of service with us in mid May. We are asking the MD to send us his chosen people to replace them...and to send them soon! The kids, too, are on their knees about this need each day.

What are the requirements? We are looking for people with training in education who feel called to serve here for one year.

If you know of any teachers who might be interested in hearing more, could you let us know? We'd love to get in touch with them.