Fun with Mickey and Crew

We have just had a wonderful few days with our Friends Gregg and Kay and their Grand daughters, out at Disneyland.
Despite the heat we enjoyed the rides and I got to met my hero Buz!
We then enjoyed dinner AND breakfast with Micky, Pluto, Goofy and Minni. A lot of fun. I think we are all just kids at heart.

Hong Kong's Handover Day Fireworks

A Fireworks & Lightshow was a key feature of the many celebrations held Last Sunday July 1 to mark 10 years since Hong Kong's return to Chinese sovereignty. We were privileged to watch them from the Pacific Club. Here is a short video to give you an idea

Looking for People to come to Crossroads in NZ & Oz

Well I just got back to Hong Kong after nearly a month in Australia and NZ speaking on behalf of Crossroads and trying to encourage people to be open to the idea of coming to Hong Kong to serve.
Right now we believe we can use about 40 people across the whole organisation i.e. Crossroads, Global Hand, Like eXperience, and Fair Trade.
We need people with a range of skills from teaching, to IT, Admin Fork lift and just plain Muscle and the opportunity to join this amazing community of committed people.
My trip took me to Auckland, Wellington, Palmerston North and Christchurch in NZ and then Sydney, Newcastle, Wauchope, Port Macquarie, Lauriton, Gold Coast and Brisbane. I had over 30 meetings and met some amazing people. The results are not in my hands, but I am looking forward to seeing some of those people here in HK. Short term or long term!
Next up is Malaysia and Singapore with trips to UK and North America to follow. I am prepared to travel anywhere if it means meeting people with a heart to serve the Nations.
I also got to see some amazing scenery. NZ is a truly beautiful place and without wanting to sound Biased about my homeland Australia is also pretty nice to look at.
I also took a side trip in Newcastle to look at the Pasha Bulker. See video. The ship that was stranded on Nobby's beach during the big storm on Australia's East Coast a few weeks back. It really was just a short wade from the shore

Dear Friends

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:

1. The big picture 2. Comings and goings 3. Match stories 4. I can see clearly now! 5. Only in HK (cont.) 8. Your partnership with us.

1. The big picture

While we were home recently, Phil & I spoke to many people in many places about what Crossroads as an organisation does and what our jobs involve. It was hard to convey a clear picture of the size and scope of what Crossroads is actually doing. Because we have been so involved in the processing and shipping side of the work, the people we talk to know more about that aspect than anything else. We thought that in this newsletter we might try to give you a big picture view. To that end we’ve included a map of our site as a visual aid.

Crossroads has grown rapidly from very small beginnings 11 years ago. Our focus is still very much on using the unwanted resources, which would otherwise be trashed, to meet the huge needs in other parts of the world, both in our Hong Kong warehouse and through Global Hand virtual warehouse on the internet. The new aspects of our work, Life Xperience, Global Handicrafts and our Fair Trade Café, seek to raise awareness of the real world situation and offer a range of ways for people to help.

Our core business remains the processing and shipping of the wide array of quality goods donated to us, to organisations in desperately needy countries around the world. Many hands help with co-ordinating donations, collection of goods, handling and storing of the truckloads of stock that arrive each day.

Others work in our many processing departments, sorting, checking, testing, repairing, packing & labelling goods for local & international requests. Others co-ordinate the shipments & communicate with the recipients, handle freight & logistics, approach possible sponsors, load containers and prepare the documents necessary for customs clearance.

Others of our team work in departments that support this core business. Our administration staff handle correspondence & filing, thank donors & sponsors, feeding back to them about the difference their contribution has made. Others handle the money side. Yet others prepare food for the team and community volunteers every day or look after the needs of new team members and visitors.

Still others work in Communications supporting all the different parts of the work by envisioning people through stories, photos, our website and on site displays. The IT department provide technical support, maintaining and improving our computer network, inventory and phone system. Some of the team are involved in the renovation and maintenance of the large site we occupy or working in our Teaching & Learning centre so the children of team members are continuing to receive a good education while their family is at Crossroads.

Another relatively new support department at Crossroads is that of Training. With such a constant turnover of staff and volunteers it is imperative that we can train newcomers quickly and easily and hand over jobs without losing information that is vital to the work.

As you can see, there are a huge range of tasks to be covered. Small wonder, then, that we find our team struggling to cover it all. One of our greatest needs at the moment is for more full time people to cover all the gaps. When Phil & I first came to Crossroads 4 years ago there were about 45 full-timers. Today there are about 60 but we could easily use 100. We are very much aware that not everyone can serve in this way but we do know that your partnership enables us to be here and that similar support can enable others.

2. Comings and goings

At this moment as I write, Phil has just arrived in New Zealand, about to begin a speaking tour there and in Australia, where he will tell as many people as he can about Crossroads and talk to them about the possibilities of serving here. Over the next few weeks we would be grateful if you can be remembering him as he travels and be asking for much fruit to come out of this trip. He is being sent because of the great need we have for people to help our very overworked team. A list of current positions that need to be filled is included at the bottom of this Newsletter.

As you probably know, we recently returned from leave in Australia. It was as usual a very busy time of catching up with friends and family (at 3 weddings all over the country) and of speaking about the work. Thank you to all of you who made our time at home such a joy. It was disappointing not to be around for the arrival of Andrea Rose to the Wade household but we were delighted to meet her on Skype with the webcam when we were back in HK.

This year has been one with many visitors to Hong Kong already and we look forward to many people coming to see us later in the year. A special treat will be to have our son, Rob, here for a month in August/September.

3. Match stories

We talk about match stories a lot here at Crossroads. Sometimes it is a case of something needed urgently for a shipment that just arrives out of the blue. Sometimes it is a team member with just the right skills or experience who comes short term and is able to fill an essential role with perfect timing.

In the last couple of weeks, I have come across many matches. First it was bunk beds needed for Kazakhstan that came in, then the mattresses we needed to go with them. Then we had 2 rather unusual requests for skis and for wedding dresses also from Kazakhstan. Surprisingly we do have skis but up till now have had nowhere to send them. Wedding dresses? Would you believe 2 pallets arrived recently?!

Then there was the request for cooking equipment for the Philippines shipment we are loading on Saturday. The saucepans came in last week. And this week it was the megaphone they asked for, that appeared in the electrical department among stock we had earmarked for recycling.

I can’t talk about matches without mentioning the happy news that 2 of our team, David (DJ) Begbie and Liz Watson have decided on an October wedding on the site here. Crossroads is certainly a place where need and resource meet. And yes she will be resplendent in a gown from Crossroads.

4. I can see clearly now

Phil will be enjoying the cooler NZ & Aussie weather while he is away but the rest of us here in Hong Kong are dealing with extremely hot weather. It is pretty humid already but over the next couple of months the humidity will creep up even higher (95% is normal) and the rain and typhoons will begin. However we have been delighted over the last week or so to have beautiful clear days with minimal pollution. I’ve seen views I’ve never seen before in all my time in HK. There are definitely many great photo opportunities so keep an eye on our photo page.

5. Only in Hong Kong . . .

. . . can you come home sweaty and damp, have a shower, towel yourself off and still be as wet as you were to start with (though not as smelly, hopefully)

. . . can you catch a mini bus and spend 5 minutes of the journey in a petrol station, while the driver fills up his tank.

. . . can you find a laundry/dry cleaners called Piggywhites – isn’t that an oxymoron?

6. Your partnership with us

We are constantly encouraged by our many friends at home, here in Hong Kong and from other countries , who faithfully support us and also remember us to the MD and keep in touch through email and mail. The MD’s provision has been amazing, last year we found that he provided what was needed to the $, and this year we have gained some new supporters to cover those we have lost from last year. Our support covers such things as food, accommodation, electricity etc. One of our friends expressed surprise to hear we need support, so we do need to keep communicating this fact. If you would like to help there are four ways you can provide financial support for us.

You can send a cheque to us here in Hong Kong made out to Crossroads International. Our address is below.

1. You can send a cheque or pay by credit card through our Australian office of Crossroads. P.O. Box 152, Wahroonga, NSW 2076, Australia. Make sure you mark it for Phil & Sue Warner’s support.
2. To claim it as a tax deduction you can pay by cheque through ADRA in Australia. Just send a cheque made out to ADRA to the Wahroonga office again marked for Phil & Sue’s support. We can also arrange for any US support to be tax deductible
3. You can also deposit direct into our Australian Account (contact us for details)

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

Every blessing

PHIL & SUE

STAFF NEEDS

Teachers: We urgently need two teachers to care for the educational needs of the students on team. Do you know any teachers who might like to serve in Hong Kong for a year, or more, to teach these precious kids? (Needed May 2007)

Shipping Manager: We are looking for someone to prepare the shipping documentation for the international shipments. They need to be accurate and organised with a heart to serve the nations.

IT people: We need further support for our IT needs as the complexity and size of operations makes this a huge job. Any hands to lighten the load would be of great help. GH, too, can use further help in its massive task this year (though, in the case of GH, this needs to be a longer term commitment.)

Goods Officers: Later this year, we will need people to coordinate these vital roles: overseeing the packing of goods and the associated computerised records which allow us to prepare pre-shipping documentation,

Packing Managers: We need people to supervise the "wrapping, packing and stacking" of goods that pour into our laps in so many wonderful ways. This is an ideal task for those with "people skills" and organisational skills.

Artistic Director: Our artistic director recently completed her time with us so we now are looking for a designer for the development of further theme park exhibits.

Front desk / Reception: We have two ladies who handle our two front desks. Both will be on leave for a period of 6 months, however, from June. Do you know anyone who is looking for a short term position and would like to serve in this way? (Needed June - December 2007)

Accounts Department: We rejoice in the fact that this department is now safely in the hands of an accountant. He needs an assistant, though, as the task is very large.

“Cast” Members: We need a variety of people for the theme park. We need people with a love for theatre – whether on the performance or acting side – and a heart for the nations.

Local NGOs: We are also so busy with the many local orders inside Hong Kong that we need an assistant there. Cantonese would be helpful, but not essential.

Administration: We need admin people, for a number of our departments, who love to be organised and are comfortable multi-tracking.

Communication Department: We need an administrator to serve as PA to our Communication Manager.

Kazakhstan: Our office in Kazakhstan is also in urgent need of more team members, at this moment. They are looking for long-term volunteers with admin, muscle, accounting, or communications skills (and much more!) who are up for the challenge of learning another language and living cross-culturally. (Please note: Those roles are not short-term commitments.)

Handymen: We are crying out for handymen or handywomen. Tasks remain in almost every building on the site and work on some has not even begun yet. Do you know any electricians, welders, or plumbers as well?

Electrician, Car Mechanic, Air-Conditioning Technician: We have equipment, but we need to keep it operating. We need help for the vehicles and electrical needs around the site, on an ongoing basis.

Gardeners: We need both regular "green thumbs" and landscape gardeners. The site is huge and we cannot afford to hire outside labour to manage it. We promise, if gardening is your interest, you won't be bored here!

Muscle: We always need people with muscle to collect and process furniture etc. Or, hey, if you lack the muscle, we can help develop it. It's more fun here than your local gym!

Drivers: fork lifts & trucks. We urgently need qualified people for both on our site as it is so huge.

General Help: If you have willing hands, we can put them to work. We need people who can wash, scrub, scrape walls, paint, sew, lay floors, tile, garden, do repairs, sweep, etc.

Not recognise yourself? If you are you interested in coming but cannot see a role above, write to us anyway!

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.

Oz Holday report #7 - Australia the Beautiful

While traveling great distances at home we were reminded about the remarkable beauty of the land we called home. Sue in particular took time (with her new camera) to record some of the things we saw. So we share some of them with you here.

Oz Holiday Report #6 - The Spider & the Bee

During our Holiday we got a bit of time to do some nature photography. I just happened on this little tragedy. Reminded me of Frodo, except he escaped.

Oz Holiday Report 5# - Rocky Chantale"s Wedding

The third wedding of our trip home was Rocky & Chantale's. In all respects if was a lovely wedding. Held at 8am on Sunday morning to give working people time to drive on Saturday from either Sydney (400k South) or Brisbane (6ook North). We also meant time for socializing on Saturday night.

It was held on a bushy headland overlooking a beach and the ocean, you could not think of a nicer setting. The Bride (and bridesmaids) look wonderful. Rocky looked great as well and very happy. It was a marriage of 2 people very much in love and committed to serving the MD.

The reception was held at Surf Club overlooking lighthouse beach. For us a good chance to catch up with some old Crossroads Friends. We travelled up and back with our sons Dave & Rob, so that was a bonus. Rob even managed to catch the Garter so look out girls!

Oz Holiday Report #4 - Sarah & Matt's Wedding

Following a most enjoyable drive north we settled in for a weekend of festivities in Brisbane. Starting with a get together on Friday night with the family and some friends, we got some catch up time with the lovely Sarah. She was the first teacher at the Crossroads teaching and learning Center for its first year of existence. This enabled families to come and work at Crossroads without the children missing out on their Schooling.
The the wedding on Saturday. Both Sarah and Matt looked great and very much in Love. It was a really nice wedding followed by reception at a city golf club. I had the fun of looking after a Web cam of the wedding back to some of the staff at Crossroads who would have loved to have been with us.
It all finished with a nice breakfast with Sarah's family on Sunday morning before heading back down the coast. I have included photos of the dress which I am told the girls like to see.