June News

IN THIS ISSUE: 1. Our time in Aus. 2. So what now . . . . 3. China earthquake relief containers 4. Fancy mushrooms for tea?
1. Hong Kong to Sydney, Auckland, Rotarua, Palmerston North, Christchurch, Melbourne, Sydney again as well as up & down the coast, Perth and back to Hong Kong.
As you can see by the itinerary (and photos) we have done much travelling (and much talking) over the last couple of months. Our annual leave was combined with many meetings where Phil spoke about our Father’s heart for the poor and about Crossroads’ response to the need. His message had a particular emphasis on challenging people to think about where they fit in the world picture and to encourage them to think about coming to help at Crossroads. Many people were keen to hear more and to consider the possibilities so we look forward to what may come of this. Please chat that the M.D. will continue to work in their lives as they consider whether to come.

Incorporated into this time was also plenty of catching up with family & friends, not to mention lots of good Aussie food, visits to the Sydney Royal Agricultural Show, Auckland & Sydney Zoos, Rotarua thermal park & Fox Glacier, Perth’s beautiful King’s Park and the chance to celebrate our twins’ birthday with them for the first time in 5 years. We are so grateful for the hospitality of so many on our travels.

2. You may remember that in our last newsletter we wrote about how we had been working here for 5 years now and that this trip would also be an opportunity to reassess whether we should continue at Crossroads . . . . Well the answer is, that we will continue here at Crossroads for the time being. We have come to realise that that M.D. has not finished with us yet in Hong Kong. We have certainly enjoyed coming ‘home’. Even the weather has been kind much cooler than usual for this time of year.

3. China earthquake relief containers
The depth of pain sears deep in the lives of the five million survivors of the Sichuan earthquake. They are terrified that aftershocks and floods will bring more damage and more lives lost, causing survivors to seek shelter in open areas. Now homeless, these people must endure exposure to the hostile elements, the threat of disease, and daily battles with the relentless rain.

“In the immediate aftermath of the quake,” said our Crossroads worker in the field, “people settled in the open spaces. The problem has now become that there is little option for shelter in these areas. Groups of 20 people have been huddling in shelters made for seven.”

Tent cities have sprouted up in the area, with families crowding together in their makeshift homes. Despite their hardships, they appreciate the shelter of the tents and tarps as well as the relief of food and medicine they receive from aid workers in the area. Yet talks of the future, and plans to start over, cause more sorrow as a number of towns cannot be rebuilt, the cattle have died, and fields are gone.

“The people are relieved for a moment when you bring them the goods,” said our Crossroads worker distributing aid. “But as I ask them about the future, many of their eyes well in despair. Whole towns have gone. Fields for crops and livelihoods wiped out. We must be committed to helping these people in the long term.”

Within days of the massive earthquake on 12 May, Crossroads sent two 20 foot containers of pre-packed blankets and clothing into the disaster area, a shipment charitably funded by a large financial corporation in Hong Kong seeking to help however they could. Crossroads has also partnered with both the Red Cross and the China Foundation for Poverty Alliance to send and distribute aid in Sichuan.

DHL, the international shipping corporation, even generously donated the use of one of their planes. Crossroads packed 15 tonnes of plastic sheeting, blankets, and medical supplies which was flown this week into the quake zone. Red Cross and Crossroads volunteers met the emergency flight in Chengdu and escorted the relief items on a 12 hour journey along partially collapsed roads. The final destination was a village in Qingchuan county, in an area that had been cordoned off due to the spread of disease.

“As we delivered the aid,” our Crossroads worker commented, “words of thanks kept coming from everyone, from the gas station attendants who were filling the tanks, to the ladies serving the food, the officials, and finally the people most deeply affected. On every side they were saying, 'Thank you for what you are doing to help our people and China.'”

Crossroads will continue to help with the relief efforts. We have stock of more tarps, tents and other items to load a 40’ container next week and the offers keep flooding in. Another 40’ container of similar goods is likely to be loaded soon after and there is the possibility of Crossroads being able to facilitate the shipping of up to 8 containers of food from the UK.

4. Fancy mushrooms for tea?
As you can see from the pictures, our work is fruitful in many ways. Given the many warm rainy days we have had recently, the garden area adjacent to our administration block has produced an extensive mushroom harvest. I don’t think mushrooms were in the garden plan but it makes a nice display.

MARCH NEWSLETTER

In this Issue: Just over a week till we fly, Dave in HK, Handicrafts In Yunnan, Aids for Aids, A Zambian Elephant, Laying down tracks for Poverty, How you can help us.

Just over a week till we fly…..

Yep that’s right we will be back in Australia and we are filled with anticipation as we look forward to seeing loved ones and friends again.

This year we are combining our Annual holiday with some speaking commitments which has lengthened the trip home somewhat. This time also marks five years here at Crossroads, so we are taking the opportunity to take some time out for reflection as we seek the MD on the future. The picture seems to be becoming clearer and it is looking like Hong Kong will continue to be our home for a while yet, but we want to be sure of the MD’s direction.

So here is the plan for the next 2 months … We fly home on the 17th to enjoy Easter with family. Then on the 27th we head to Auckland where we have a number of speaking engagements for Crossroads as well having a chance to catch
up with brother Tim, sister-in-law Lia and nephew Liam.

We continue on to Palmerst
on North, Christchurch and Melbourne for more speaking before arriving back in Sydney on April 22. It’s a month in around our home base then we head back to HK via a few days in Perth for more speaking.

We have a number of dates free if you are interested in having a speaker at your Sunday club, home group or want to organise a special Crossroads function. We will be having an Open Day in May (details to follow). We would love to catch up with as many of you as possible.

Things are quite hectic here as you can imagine with Sue trying to get as many shipments ready as she can before she leaves. Some exciting shipments coming up to Cambodia, Uganda, Ghana and the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as Kazakhstan and Israel.

Phil is tying up all the loose ends for his trip as well as organising speaking trips for later in the year.

We had a wonderful time earlier this month when our son Dave came through Hong Kong for three weeks, including the Chinese New Year Holiday on his way to the UK where he will be teaching PE for the next 2 years. We managed to squeeze in all the New Year highlights including the parade and fireworks, as well seeing most of Hong Kong’s tourist attractions. Dave has become a bit of a museum hound and spent a bit time visiting some Hong Kong’s finest.

Wang Pin Fen

Wang Pin Fen is in her mid-forties. She is married and has three children. She and her husband work very hard to pay for their children’s education. Besides working in the fields they have a little shop where villagers can buy soap and other small items for daily use. The shop was started as a result of the Threads of Yunnan handicraft project. This project is designed to raise the standard of living of countryside women in Yunnan Province, China, while raising their self-esteem and helping to preserve their traditional handicrafts. One of the training sessions is about how people in the village could earn money doing different things, and how they could use the money they earned from selling their embroideries to fund money–making projects.

Wang Pin Fen has become the leader in the handicraft project in her village and also organizes the pick up of handicrafts from the other villages. Besides her own work she puts a lot of time into helping the project and the women in her village.

One of Wang Pin Fen’s biggest desires was to get a sofa so she could have something nice to sit on when she got back from the fields in the evenings. She has saved money from her handicraft sales and now has her sofa.

Threads of Yunnan also run an adult literacy training program. When Wang Pin Fen joined this program she did not know how to read, write or do arithmetic. When she wrote her name the first time she had tears in her eyes. Now she is able to read all the names of the women in the project.

When asked to describe a typical day Wang Pin Fen said, “I am very busy everyday. I cook and work in the field every day. Every morning I work on my handicraft things. After dinner I go to night school. I like to write and to sing very much.”

In our Global Handicrafts marketplace, we have several unique embroidered handicrafts from Threads of Yunnan. The purchases of these items will keep women like Wang Pin Fen in the business of life, and what a busy life that is! To have a closer look at these handicrafts and find out more about their project, you can visit their website www.threadsofyunnan.com.

AID FOR AIDS


An AIDS orphan speaks:
"I grew up with AIDS. Both my parents died of AIDS. It's my turn to die of AIDS. Until then at least I want to eat every day, to play if I can. My legs ache and my stomach feels upside down. So I cannot play. But even if I want to play they think I am too weak, or too sick, and no one plays with me. Sometimes I think I should die because there is no one to care for me. Then I get scared... so scared". (Orphan in Lusaka, Zambia)

Zambia is a land full of natural riches and potential, and a country at peace. However, HIV/AIDS, malaria and poverty have had a devastating effect on communities. 30% of the population has HIV, among the highest percentages in the world. This has led to a growing number of impoverished households with families' main breadwinners often unable to work due to illness or the need to care for other relatives. Sadly, many children become orphans and rely on other families to take them into their homes. Otherwise, they grow up living on the streets.

It seems we speak of HIV/AIDS frequently in these newsletters. That is because we frequently hear from groups undertaking AIDS-related work. That, in turn, is because of the sheer magnitude of the crisis that Africa currently faces. Its utter enormity of scale leaves one asking what can possibly be done in response? How can we serve these people in any meaningful way? How can we share the message of love with them? Thankfully, there are ways. Although we are beyond their reach, geographically speaking, we can support others who are able to embrace those we long to help.

A like-hearted organisation based in Lusaka, Zambia, is working in a holistic way, with very limited resources, to support orphans and widows in nearby townships. They run a small community school for children who would otherwise have no access to mainstream education, and they are in the process of constructing a new school building that will allow for further expansion to meet the growing need. They aim to ensure each child's physical security, mental development and overall health by providing a safe place to learn and play, as well as a nutritious lunch for each student. We loaded a container for this group last year, filling it with much needed desks, clothing and toys. They were so pleased with the sheer size of the content that they wrote back to us about the ‘elephant’ we had sent them. Read on!

The Zambian Elephant
Have you ever unpacked an elephant?

Our Zambian consignees have done just that! At least, that’s the way they have been referring to the 40’ container of goods that was recently sent from Hong Kong. In many ways, for our grassroots consignee organisations, a shipment must indeed seem like a giant, lumbering beast, particularly if it is the first time they have received an international container. Communicating using shaky technology, dealing with difficult customs officials, arranging local transport through sometimes harrowing landscapes, raising sponsorship, are all struggles that our consignees face regularly.

Not all shipments are so difficult, of course, but for those that are, there is one shining reason why our consignees persevere: a deep and genuine compassion for those they are serving. As a Zambian aid worker (formerly a university lecturer) said to us, ‘How can I continue to teach academic subjects when my people are dying?’

Joyfully, this particular Zambian container arrived at its destination in January this year. However, the elephant-wrangling is not over, as our consignees are still waiting on some official papers that will release the container before they must start paying expensive storage fees for the held goods. Undeterred, though, the staff went to look at the stuff even though they weren’t able to yet claim it. They wrote to us in great excitement after viewing the contents of their container:

“My WORDS!!!” began the ecstatic email, “we all could not believe our eyes as we watched the unpacking of the Elephant yesterday. It took the whole day from 11 am. We were getting home around 5 pm rejoicing!!

“Two things strike us hard: One - how you managed to pack 700 plus parcels in the belly of one elephant. Two - the quality of the goods. Oh my WORDS…how can you send all the good things to Africa and what are you going to remain with? Oh my WORDS! We all stood amazed mesmerized by what we were seeing.”

What joyful words they are! And what a contrast to the words of the precious orphan we quoted at the earlier. We are chatting to the MD for a quick release of the container so that many, like this little one, can be ministered to.


LAYING DOWN TRACKS INTO POVERTY
As many of you know, we are most privileged to have on our team the very talented Helen Mottee. Helen is an award winning singer/song-writer who loves nothing more than to sing, play and show images of people in need in our dysfunctional world. Helen has been busy this past year giving voice and melody to the otherwise silent cries of those in need around the world.

During this time, Helen has felt the ‘Musical Director’ inspiring her with songs enough to fill an album. In recent weeks, then, we have started to make plans for laying down tracks into poverty in both the physical and musical sense!

But we will let Helen, herself, tell you more about her inspiration…

Victor Hugo said, ‘Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.’ This aptly summarises why we are preparing for the recording of a new album. In the year my family and I have been full-time volunteers here in Hong Kong, we have had the privilege not only of meeting many extraordinary people from around the world, but also slowly of gaining a deeper understanding of what the ‘real’ world is for the majority of the globe’s population. Refugees, child soldiers, AIDS sufferers, those who have experienced the horrors of ethnic and religious cleansing - these are no longer statistics on a page or stories in a book. I have been privileged to meet, talk and share a meal with people who are, or have been, these things. It is from such experiences and relationships that the new songs have been born. The vision for this album is to be a collection of musical 'letters' or 'photographs', and that those who listen to the songs will not only be moved by the message, but inspired, even spurred on, to act in some way themselves. We hope to record most, if not all, of the album in Hong Kong, as many of the songs were inspired and written here. Our dream is to involve musicians and singers who, like the community of Crossroads, come from diverse cultures and backgrounds. We have already made the initial steps in inviting asylum seekers here in Hong Kong, especially from Africa, to be involved in the recording of several of the songs. A very special team of musicians is on standby in Sydney, ready to come to Hong Kong and record if the way is made possible. We are also amazed at the enthusiasm and willingness of a wonderful man here in Hong Kong who will be involved with the arranging of the music for the album. A studio, too, has been made available at reduced price. We are so very excited to see this album coming together and wanted to share it with you! We also welcome your partnership with us. Do you have ideas or funding suggestions? Let us know!
HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT 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. Despite this have been steadily falling behind in our support in the 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 three ways you can provide financial support for us.

Details in the sidebar

Jan News

“Kung Hei Fat Choi” (traditional greeting for Chinese New Year)

Yes it is now Chinese New Year again. Last year we had so much fun, and with Dave arriving just in time to enjoy it with us roll on the Year of the Rat (or Year of the Mouse at Disneyland).

Have we really been here 5 years?

Time has flown and so much has been done. Thank you for walking with us through these years.

In a recent report we read “You could not imagine our joy when we saw all the wonderful gifts come out of the container” Multiply that joy by 200 and think of the Joy that the 200 containers of amazing goods would bring. Well that is how many have been sent since we arrived!. Our adventure has been truly an adventure as we have walked with the MD and seen Him do some amazing things.

2007 again has been pretty full on so here is our best attempt to summarise it. So much has happened that summarising is a challenge, but here is our best attempt.

January really started in December as we returned from a trip up Northorities we were on hand on Christmas day to receive a container of vita-meal facilitated by Crossroads.
We will never forget the experience of seeing how great the need was. I will never forget as long as I live the look on the face of a man who had just had his leg amputated without anaesthetic! We came home determined to do everything we could to serve these people who live with nothing

Next we left for North America (thanks to the generosity of some friends). There w visiting some hospitals and orphanages that Crossroads has been shipping to. At the invitation of local authe were able to visit some partner organisations and spend some time working through partnership opportunities as well as catching up with friends. The only down side of the trip was the loss of my lap top’s hard disk (Phil). It has been replaced but that was the the harbinger of some more problems with other troubles showing themselves on a regular basis. The USB ports were the last to go and the disk drive is also playing up. It is a vital part of my work and travels with me as I talk about Crossroads, showing power points etc so please chat that it keeps going for a while yet as we do not have the funds to replace it.

At the beginning of the year we also welcomed the Harrisons from our Australian Club. We have had a wonderful year with them and will miss them as they head home this month.

In March we retured to Australia for 3 weddings (brother Jon & Janine, Friends Sarah & Matt & Chantelle & Rocky)

We had visits from Alison & Claire, Rob (our son) Kenny, Pete, Ben, Steve & A.J. all came from our home club

Phil made long trips to Australia, New Zealand and UK to do recruitment. They were tiring but rewarding speaking at about 50 meetings

We enjoyed the ‘slum wedding of DJ & Liz.

During 2007 Shipments were sent to Israel (5), Kazakhstan (4), DPRK (4), Mongolia (2), India (2), China (2), Cameroon, Uganda, Zambia (3) Zimbabwe, Trinidad & Tobago, and Macedonia

So what does 2008 bring?

We head down to Australia and NZ in late March, for a longer break than usual. Well it’s not really a break, as Phil will have a fairly full speaking programme. But it will give us a chance to reassess where are going and to listen to the MD about his future plans for us. What ever happens there will be a lot of travelling for Phil in 2008, with the plans in place for travel to North America, UK and South Korea

Next week our son Dave arrives on route to the UK where he will be teaching for 2 years, so we are looking forward to that.

D.R. CONGO (our ref. S2125) –

Ngalia felt ill, she had a temperature, headache, cramps. The little clinic diagnosed her with meningitis and recommended that she head to another clinic 12 hours away on foot. Her brother made a stretcher and rallied 17 villagers to carry her. 4 hours in, Ngalia died. This story reported on the BBC is not uncommon in Congo, a country devastated by a five year war that is now over but which continues to kill.

A recent IRC (International Rescue Committee) survey has placed the death toll from the war at 5.4million. 45,000 people continue to die every day from the knock on effects. The majority of deaths – estimated to be nearly 60% greater than the average in sub-Saharan Africa – are due to preventable and treatable diseases, such as malaria, diarrhoea and pneumonia.

We will soon be preparing a container for a group in Kinshasa, the nation’s capital. In a video of their work, the footage trails for minutes around streets of squalor. Mud and open sewers play host to street kids, the unemployed and the poor. This group chose to place their building for gatherings in the midst of the slum, opening their doors to offer hope in word and deed. The group ha heard and responded to the mandate to be the hands and feet of the love that they have found. Hands and feet they have in plentiful supply with 200 workers and volunteers giving their time to serve the desperate needs around them. What they don’t have are the tools with which to serve.

The charity is working alongside the government to rebuild the country’s infrastructure. They are targeting everything from medical work to housing for orphans, agricultural work and rebuilding the roads - which could have kept Ngalia and many others like her alive. We are reminded of the promise of those who will be called repairers of broken walls and restorers of streets with dwellings and feel honoured to be supplying them with the tools to do so!

S2087 Philippines

The Island of Mindanao in the Philippines should be known for its tropical climate and picturesque coastline. Instead, it is best known for the bombings and shootings that have been holding its population in fear in recent years.

Last June we sent a container to a charity that has a training facility in the region. The place has become a haven for those studying there. They take in tribal students from the rural regions to equip them with truth and light to take back to their remote communities.

One of the students, upon receiving some of the items from our container shared in a morning gathering:

“One of the most stressful jobs I have experienced is to guard the campus at night. During the rainy season, I had to endure chilling lonely nights for the safety of the campus. Difficult yet rewarding especially when I realised that along the way, somebody out there who has a big heart cares and remembers students in the school.

“Thanks so much to you through whom help and concern comes. I received summer shoes, a blanket and rainwear to wear and a flashlight to use at night.

“Some nights may be very cold and lonely and the challenges seem to get tougher yet my heart is always warmed by the love that you sent my way.

“My heart is grateful that someone cares. I will always be thankful that you shared your goods with us in Mindanao.”

The group serves big students and small, and also works with a kindergarten in a remote region. We recently received a heart warming video of these tribal kids pulling out brand new outfits from Hong Kong, beaming like little princes and princesses! They gathered together and in one chorus cried “Salamat Crossroads”! We pass that greeting of peace on to you also.

“Thank you for the opportunity that you gave to us to reach many people through the gifts from Crossroads.”

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

Christmas in HK

Christmas in Hong Kong is a little different. Well that's not to say they are not trying to ignore the true meaning of Christmas, but here.....
They don't even bother with Santa its straight to Disney. They like the Holiday though. On Christmas Eve they have a countdown ah la New Year's Eve and crowds in the city with funny hats........ Very strange. The buildings around the harbour have the most spectacular light displays. We had a wonderful 9 lessons and carols on the harbour with our club surrounded by the lights, although playing guitar and singing into a microphone are not recommended activities on a rolling sea, let me tell you.
So enjoy the photos. Thomas and friends Christmas, Pixar Christmas, trees with shapely legs and others made from old toys and who knows what. But at least one building understood.

I'm A refugee

Watch this amazing video.


This song was written by Helen Mottee who works here at Crossroads. The video was made by Lyn another CR staffer.

Tell me whether you think it is as powerful as I do.

November News

In this newsletter: 1. What a month (or so) 2. The marriage of DJ and Liz (Whiz) 3. UK Visited. 4. A big month for Sue. 5 Suddenly cooler Christmas 6. Cards are coming. 7.Hand made dignity 8. A FABBA-ulous match story. 9. Your Partnership with us.

What a month (or so)
It seems so long since we wrote (as our extraordinary month left us with little time). October started with an extraordinary and wonderful wedding between two much loved team members (Liz & DJ). Then on that very evening (after the wedding) Phil left for the UK for the whole month to speak at over 20 meetings. While Sue was kept busy back in HK with new staff to train and several shipments to get out

2. The wedding of the year
The marriage of DJ & Liz was much longed and hoped for. It was a delightful day, a great celebration, which very much reflected this precious couple’s heart for the poor and downtrodden.

It was conducted in the slum built here at Crossroads and each facet reflected different parts of the world, as did the food at the wedding feast. The MD’s compassion was very much in evidence to all who witnessed this great event. Both the hundreds gathered here on site and the many who watched on-line all over the world.

3. UK visited
With the wedding over Phil headed for the airport to catch an Oasis flight to the UK. The flight was provided at no cost to Crossroads (apart from tax) by the airline. In fact some wonderful, support through the provision of hire car, accommodation and even the covering of expenses, has meant this amazing trip was conducted at almost no cost.

But the outcomes were far better than we could have hoped for. The team have told me that over 100 names have been added to our hotline list and a good many of those have expressed interest in coming to work as volunteers at Crossroads. Please do continue to Chat for the many who are now considering whether the MD would have them come to Crossroads

I was told by friends in that it was a mild autumn but it felt cold to me, coming from the Hong Kong version. The thermometer even reading -.5 degrees on at least one occasion! The autumn colours were amazing with reds, browns and gold. And the warmth of the people I met more than made up for the single digit temperature. I really did enjoy seeing England again.

4. A big month for Sue at home
While Phil travelled to the UK and talked himself hoarse, work continued as busy as ever back in Hong Kong. The highlight of this time for me (Sue) was definitely the period when our colleagues from Kazakhstan AKA the Crossroads Central Asia Team were here. During this time they were keen to learn all they could about how we process, inventory and recruit and work with volunteers. They were joined here by a team from a Sydney club, who have supported them for some time and all were able to help pack goods and load a container for Kazakhstan. The goods for this container had a focus to help groups setting up businesses and training people to earn a living. The unemployment rate in the “stans” runs as high as 80% in some areas and hence this work is addressing huge needs in places where there is no safety net of social security. The container was filled with many precious gifts: hairdryers & stylers and mirrors & massage tables for a beauty salon project: fabric, wool and sewing machines for tailoring and crafts; exercise equipment for a gym; cooking equipment for a catering business; car maintenance tools; draughting tables; and (my favourite) wedding dresses and evening wear for a wedding hire shop. What an awesome range of goods came together in this shipment. It brings us such joy to know that so many lives will be changed for the better by what we are able to send.

Another focus during this time has been on training and settling in a number of new team members. Our 2 wonderful Goods Officers, Sheila and Tari are both moving on: Sheila to a new role as proud mum of little Jeania and Tari to married life and more study. To replace them we have 2 equally awesome young ladies, Anna from Cameroon and Monette from Australia. As you can imagine, there is a lot for them to absorb about their new job as well as getting settled into a new country and a very different way of life. Another complication during this changeover has been a key person in processing being on leave for a month and many of the Kazakh and Aussie team needing training in Processing as well. Despite these extra demands on our time we have managed to continue the preparation of goods needed for the shipments and for the local groups that we help. During this time we have also managed to document more of our procedures, which will make for smoother future changeovers.

5. Suddenly cooler
With Phil’s return to Hong Kong has come some cooler weather (Phil is taking credit for having brought it back from the UK). We always look forward to the change of seasons here in Hong Kong, when the Monsoonal shift sees the weather come down from the North. This time of the year is very pleasant. A lull between air con and heater. The only downside is the pollution. The air takes on a grey haze as the Mainland sends a little by-product of industrial growth to us.

6. Want a Christmas card (with special bonus gift) …………. Email your address today
Right now we are starting to write and send Christmas cards and we would love to include you. This year’s cards are wonderful (see story below). But if you want to receive a card, we need you to send us your address by return email. Even if you are certain we have your address, a few minutes sending us an email will ensure that you do not miss out.

7. HAND-MADE DIGNITY
Have you ever employed anyone before, just by receiving a Christmas card?

Each year for the past few years, we have employed groups of various people in need around the world to produce our Christmas cards. We have given people work in Bethlehem, China and Rwanda, each making a nativity scene from their region.

This year, 100 women from villages across Chile have been employed for several months hand-making cards for us. The nativity scene features Chilean mountains, fields, huts and llamas! In a country where 1 in every five people lives in poverty, the gift of employment is just about the best present they could receive. They call it ‘hand-made dignity’.

If you would like to play your part in serving the poor of Chile, why not make sure you are on our mailing list!

Felis Navidad (that’s Merry Christmas in Spanish!)

8. A FABBA-ulous loading and match
In a country where the life expectancy is 38 and half of the population is unemployed, Jacob was counted one of the lucky ones. He ‘had it all’ – a family, home, car and prestigious lecturing job and invitations to emigrate. As he considered life in another country, he first took a long hard look at his own. He didn’t need to look hard to see poverty and sickness. One in every five of his fellow citizens are HIV+, many of them children.

‘How can I continue to teach academic subjects when my people are dying’, he said. He turned down the offers, gave up his job, began a local gathering of people in a poor area and established a work amongst AIDS orphans and widows.

Jacob now provides a daily meal for the orphans, funds their schooling, clothing, shoes, blankets and the much needed anti-retro-viral drugs. He also provides skills training such as tailoring and knitting for the widows and training to run mini businesses. He also visits the local prisons to encourage and teach the inmates.

The shipment that we loaded this month for Jacob and his work included school and household furniture, kitchen equipment, blankets and clothing and a sewing machine. Amazingly, we received some large cones of wool for use on knitting machines. Just what was needed to resource the widows’ knitting business!

We are often referred to as a match-making organisation with the MD being the chief introducer. This shipment is certainly a great example of that principle in action. Some time back, one of our team had come across a man in Australia who is connected with Jacob and his work. Moved by their story, our team mate approached the shipping department to put forward a request for their work and their friend. The shipping manager looked at the other team member in amazement. ‘Look at my screen!’ she said. ‘I am just now typing a letter to someone who works in Zambia! Could it possibly be the same man?’ After some checking they confirmed that it certainly was. We were so encouraged to see the match-maker at work again!

This container was generously paid for by a group of stock-brokers in Hong Kong. Each year, they lay aside their phones, calculators and competitive spirit long enough to focus on raising dollar value not for clients but for those in need. For the past few years, we have been very blessed to be the recipients of the generosity of this group of bankers, brokers and those in the financial arena,

9. 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. As reported our general support has been down recently and catching up has been slow. 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.

For details of how to support us please see the side bar

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

PHIL & SUE

September Newsletter

In this newsletter: 1. Visitors from home 2. Beijing with Bob & Ben 3. Summer Celebrations. 4. Coming to the UK. 5 Nigeria carry-out. 6. A song for those in need. 7. Welcome back Bob 8. A Kosovo Story. 9. Your Partnership with us.

1. Visitors from home
It has been a very busy and exciting time for us at this, the tail end of the summer. Over the last few weeks we have had lots of visitors from our home club, making the number of people from Berowra on team quite significant. First came Alison & Claire, closely followed by Rob, our younger son, and Dev & AJ, Pete, Benson and Kenny. Rob and Kenny are still here for another week or two. It has been so lovely to have the opportunity to show all these friends what it is that we do and what Crossroads is all about and simply to catch up.

2. Beijing with Bob & Ben
We were able to visit Beijing with Benson and Rob for a few days last week and had a great time, walking on the Great Wall and exploring the Forbidden City & Tiananmen Square. The highlight for the boys was the chance to hone their bargaining skills in the markets, not to mention checking out the fast food, Beijing style, which included scorpion skewers and seahorse on a stick. As Rob will tell you, we really don’t recommend the seahorse!!

3. Summer Celebrations
As summer here draws to a close and the weather becomes infinitely more bearable (at least in Sue’s opinion), there have been a number of special events here. An event signalling the end of the summer each year is our annual student party. This is a time to say thank you to the students who, through the intern and student program, have made a huge contribution to the work in every department. This summer we have had a grand total of 95 interns, who committed to working full-time for 6 weeks through their holidays, plus many other students. It was fun getting to know them all and awesome to see the amount of work they were able to get through.

A Summer Clearance Celebration was also held over a 2 week period. We decided to extend an invitation to the local charities that we have worked with in the past to come and select from a range of goods we had prepared. There was a two-fold purpose in this. As well as offering them a range of items that they could use for their work, (and at the same time clearing stock to free up space in our badly overcrowded warehouse) we wanted to introduce them to the other new aspects of Crossroads. So we had information available about Global Hand and they were able to take part in a LifeXperience activity. They also had the chance to visit the Silk Road Café and Global Handicrafts. Many local groups came and collected goods and enjoyed coffee and Helen Mottee’s singing in the café. Friendships were renewed and new requests generated.

We also wanted to include the guys we call the African team who are part of our community. Many of them are asylum seekers. We wanted to make them feel special and give them an opportunity to select some goods for themselves, their family and friends. As well, we used a special day during the Clearance to show them what we are doing with our LifeXperience program to allow Hong Kong people to understand better what life is like for people like them.

4.SPECIAL NOTE
PHIL IS COMING TO THE UK IN OCTOBER FOR CROSSROADS AND IS LOOKING FOR SPEAKING OPPORTUNITIES. PLEASE LET HIM KNOW IF YOU CAN HELP.

5. Nigeria carry-out
By day 16 year old Adiana sits by the roadside, waiting for her band of homeless kids to bring back to her whatever food they have scavenged for her to cook. Adiana would join them but she does not have the use of her legs and so must spend her days waiting.

By night the children gather around Adiana and haul her up the side of an empty petrol tanker. They drop her in then tumble in after. The kids used to live in a home scratched together from branches and plastic. That was, until one of them was kidnapped and sold for ritual murder rites. It’s a money making venture in these parts. The kids now take ‘refuge’ in the abandoned tanker, standing on each other’s shoulders to push Adiana back out the small opening each morning to start the day’s survival routine again.

Recently, a local organisation with few resources was given some clothing to hand out. The clothing had come all the way from Hong Kong. Adiana and her ‘gang’ received basic items such as shirts and trousers. Adiana bundled her new items into the small fabric wrap that contains all of her worldly belongs. It was a small gift but a significant one.

A larger gift is on its way to Adiana as, this week, we will be sending a small consignment of items to this area, including a wheelchair with Adiana’s name on it. She doesn’t know it yet but she is about to receive the gift of mobility!

A Nigerian lady who is ‘carrying out’ these items commented that “this will give Adiana a freedom she has never known in her 16 years. Until now the community has looked at her as a burden - thinking her life has no use to it. Now she will be able to get herself around, perhaps even go to school!” The ‘carry out’ will also contain books, medical equipment and toys, all bound for the poorest of the poor in Nigeria.

As well as the containers that we ship out every month, we also send out many goods in ‘carry outs’. Sometimes as small as just one bag, these gifts can still make a big impact on groups around the world.

6. A song for those in need
We’re delighted to have working at Crossroads singer/ song-writer Helen Mottee - along with her husband Jim and children Georgie and Isaac. Helen has worked as a professional musician throughout Australia and New Zealand and also in Zimbabwe. Her song writing has been greatly influenced by her time spent overseas, often in countries where people are in desperate need and face seemingly impossible situations. These travels have allowed her to hear first hand stories of suffering but also of hope and courage. Helen’s heart is to share these stories, being a voice for the voiceless and encouraging us to travel on the road billions walk everyday.

“…when our hearts can be broken for the suffering and the isolated and the unheard, then pain becomes the conduit through which we can begin the journey.”

You can start this journey right now by visiting Helen’s new website If you like the songs you hear, there is also the opportunity to vote for Helen in the 2007 Musicoz Awards. Her entry ‘Do You’ was written for and about refugees and was used recently by the UNHCR in Hong Kong for World Refugee Day in their National television campaign. To vote follow the link through from her website or Click here

7. Welcome back Bob
Much celebration at out Hong Kong Club this month as we welcomed back Bob Jones as Shepherd. He served as interim a few years back and we are delighted that he has agreed to return with officially with his wife Amy and daughter Mo.

8. Kosovo Nazmije's Story
"At 41, I thought life was already over for me," says Nazmije, a survivor of the Kosovan conflict. "My country turned into a place of horror. I witnessed it as I ran from village to village with my five children."

It was an era of terror. The Kosovan conflict of 1998 – 1999 left 10,000 dead, mostly men and boys. Half of the population fled across the borders. The survivors were mostly women and girls. Rape was wielded as a weapon of the ethnic cleansing campaign, with 20,000 women falling victim.

“War has left lot of pain in me. When I returned with my five children to my village, Cikatove, after the war ended, I came back to nothing. I was heartbroken," Nazmije recounts. "I was homeless, jobless and sick. We had to start life again. I took so many medicines to recover but found no relief from my pains. The best medicine for me was Women for Women International’s program. The classes woke me up. I could not believe that one day I will be able to earn money myself and I will be able to support my family.”

‘Women for Women International' mobilises women to change their lives by bringing a holistic approach to addressing the unique needs of women in conflict and post-conflict environments.

They begin by working with women who may have lost everything in conflict and often have nowhere else to turn. Participation in the organisation's one-year program launches women on a journey from victim to survivor to active citizen. The program starts by linking up a woman sponsor with a woman in a post-conflict situation. The women move through a program of recovery to rehabilitation. Women for Women believe that providing people with a sustainable form of income is crucial to the healing process of both these women and the communities that they are from. Nazmije's story is one of the many that have been touched by the work of ‘Women for Women’.

“The letters I received from my sponsor Shan, warmed my heart," she said. "I thought how a woman from far way who has never seen or met me has put her faith in me and made a commitment to change my life. If she was so committed to help me improve my life, why should I not do it for myself?”

"Now I have joined a group of women in my village to work on looms. The loom work has become part of my life. Because we don’t have another space, I put the loom in the same room where my husband, five children and I sleep. I work there when I finish cleaning and cooking. The loom sounds to me like music, and it makes me feel good and calm."

In the Global Handicrafts marketplace, you will find items from the looms of Kosovo available for sale. We also have products from other ‘Women for Women’ projects in Afghanistan. Your purchase of one of these items will keep women like Nazmije in the business of life!

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO SUPPORT US SEE THE SIDE BAR