Take2 - The Journey

Well, tonight thank God it's them instead of you....

2006-12-23T07:28:00.000Z

Christmas will be very different this year - for lots of reasons. As a church we are out of our building because of our building project. That means lots of things - no Carols by Candlelight services, no Midnight Communion on Christmas Eve and NO service on Christmas Day! Like Cromwell and the Sheriff of Nottingham, some people think I've cancelled Christmas....

But it will be different this year for other reasons. Our trip to Africa has changed things. We have a different perspective - shopping yesterday in Edinburgh was an emotional experience. Surrounded by people desperate to get the 'perfect' present, I felt sad and angry. I even rang in to Radio Five Live and took part in a phone in on the merits of buying cows and goats for Africa - something I would never have done before our week in Kisumu. I saw a Scottish politician who had resigned the night before and shook his hand because I was so pleased to see a politician act with integrity and on principle - even though I disagree with his opinion! Why? Because in Africa I met people like Paul, Ronny and Bob who were leaders with conviction and integrity. They really believed they could make Kenya a better nation - and I was challenged whether I had the same attitude about Scotland or the UK.

But it will be different mostly because this year names I have always associated with Christmas have a different face. When I hear about Joseph, I can't help thinking of the man in Kenya who has taken in 10 children orphaned by AIDS. When I hear about Mary, I now see a young woman in a slum in Kisumu helping hundreds of people to live positively. And when I read of John the Baptist's mum, Elizabeth, I see a little 5 year old girl, outside a mud hut, wearing my daughter's pink hat and clutching to felt tip pens as if they are gold bars.

Christmas will be different because this year I know 'the greatest gift they'll get this year is life' and for me, it is no longer a lyric from Band Aid but something I have seen and heard, felt and touched. For a week I moved into their neighbourhood and saw things their way - lived life as they live it, to some degree. And that is what Jesus did at Christmas - and things weren't - could not - remain the same.

Hail Mary - full of grace?

2006-12-20T14:57:00.000Z

For me this year Mary and Joseph have different faces - not two small children with tea towels on their heads but two people we met in Kenya. Joseph is an amazing man - taking in 10 orphans in addition to his own family - taking children who are not your own seems to go with the name!

And Mary? One of the bravest, strongest people I have ever met in my life. Watch the latest video to meet her yourself. A young woman, she has saved hundreds of peoples lives. To sit in a slum in Kisumu and hear one after another HIV+ person pay tribute to her, was one of the most moving experiences of my life. She could have been full of self-pity, despondent and dreading the future. Instead she decided to live life positively - in all senses of that word. She has set up the Day Centre, feeds children who would otherwise go hungry and ensures that people who are HIV+ receive the right drugs and maintain their treatment. To meet a woman who had stopped taking her drugs - had deteriorated rapidly - and then recommenced her treatment with startling results because of Mary's influence was striking.

Mary - a young woman - giving life to others - seflessly - and at great cost to herself - sort of fits in another Mary at Christmas?

New Kenya video diary now live

2006-12-19T13:33:00.000Z

The next instalment of Dave and Cathy's journey to Kisumu is now live on YouTube and can be seen here.

There's more good news - you can now join the Take2 campaign online. When you sign up you are automatically pre-register for a special DVD pack featuring a film of Dave and Cathy's journey and stacks of other resources too. Stocks will be limited, so don't waste another second!

Busy time of year?

2006-12-18T11:41:00.000Z

This time of year - the usual comments come to church leaders and clergy! ' Oh, Christmas! - your busy time of year then?' People are a bit shocked when I reply, 'Er....No - it's actually quite quiet!' Now I know we are an exception - because of the church we are, lots of the church are away at Christmas - and because we are out of our building at the moment, we haven't done our usual big Carols by Candlelight services and we can't do church on Christmas Day!

But meeting church leaders in Kenya made me think about the jobs we both do. I started off by introducing myself as doing the same thing as them - preaching, leading (apparently I do a lot of that if you've watched the first video!) and helping people to become Christians, and then grow in their faith.

But the more I met church leaders in Africa, I realised that though there are similarities, there are some striking differences too. I preach every week, just like them - the church in Kisumu had about the same number of people - 700 -as we do but my sermons don't include weekly appeals for families to take more orphans in as their own. I think the church I serve (by leading!) is a pretty good church - they're up for most things including lots of change - but weekly requests to take in more orphans might be pushing it too far!

If you're preaching this Christmas, try it on Christmas Day and see what response you get!

You'd better be good for goodness sake....

2006-12-16T10:08:00.000Z

9 shopping days to go! Lists are being made - and Christmas music is in all the shops - actually some shops in Edinburgh began in October!

Seems a bit different this year though. We want our kids to enjoy it - to get some of the stuff they want - but can't help thinking about the children we met in Kenya. For Elizabeth and Charlie - Maureen and Melissa - children living around Kisumu Christmas this year won't be about Doctor Who, cybermen masks or how badly injured you can get by a computer control. There won't be too much food to eat - no decisions about which chocolate to leave until next time - or a stiffening of the resolve not to eat one of the 4 million brussel sprouts the nation consumes a week on Monday.

Christmas will be like lots of other days I guess - not much of anything really - apart from floodwater, mosquitoes and the daily battle to survive. For so many, there are no parents to leave lists for - and what would the use of a list be anyway? How do you write a list when the things you really want can't come down a chimney - even if you had one?!

For the thousands of coloured felt tips that will be thrown away by Boxing Day, we will think of a little girl in an African village thousands of miles away who will still be treasuring the ten felt tips given to her by two visitors from Scotland - and handling them as if they really were made of gold....... For the thousands of boys who complain that 'this is last year's away strip Mum!', we will think of a small six year old boy in an Arsenal kit who will play football with 19 other children in a Children's Home in Kenya and remember the day that 'old man' played with them......

It doesn't seem fair - and isn't! But that means, as the song says, we'd better be good, for goodness sake!

Cheap grace?

2006-12-14T10:21:00.000Z

A counsellor, David Seamands, summed up his career like this.
"Many years ago I was driven to the conclusion that the two major causes of most emotional problems among evangelical Christians are these: the failure to understand, receive and live out God's unconditional grace ; and the failure to give out that unconditional love, forgiveness and grace to other people."
I think he's right - we may read a book by Philip Yancey or Max Lucado, sing 'Only by grace' or even 'Amazing grace' - but our lives and churches remain empty of grace so often.

But what does grace mean in Africa? How does grace respond to HIV/AIDS? How does an African orphan respond to grace?

Well, imagine a very ordinary Christian with child after child asking for his help - water, food, shelter, guidance - what would you do? Would you set up a Children's Home for 20 kids? Would you have the faith to pray for the land and buildings to be provided? Would you have the courage to clothe, feed, parent 20 extra children in addition to your own if you have them? I don't think that would be my response.

But that is what George did - he lives just outside Kisumu - with his family - and 20 other children in the Children's Home he has set up with a local church. They do normal things - play football, sing, laugh, cry, play, argue - but it is not a normal place. It is a place of grace - of unconditional love, given as a gift. And the name of the Children's Home?

'Grace Children's Home', Kisumu. Seems to mean a bit more in that context, don't you think?

First Kenya video diary now online

2006-12-14T09:56:00.000Z

It's what you've all been waiting for - the first clip from Dave and Cathy's visit to Kisumu in Kenya is now live. And it's here.

Pictures from Day 1 in Kisumu

2006-12-12T11:57:00.000Z

Here are some pictures from our first day in Kisumu.

Dave at the airport.
Our first attempt to land was aborted because of a bad rain storm directly over the runway, so we had an unscheduled return to Nairobi. Thankfully we made it OK the next day.
We later learned that another airline has stopped flying to Kisumu airport because of the bad state of the runway!

Walking through the manic Kisumu market. Quite different to Edinburgh markets!

Everyone was going about their business in the blazing hot sun.

It's incredible what people can carry on the back of bikes - one person we saw had a sideboard perilously balanced on theirs!

Third video diary now live

2006-12-11T13:58:00.000Z

Number three of our exclusive sneak previews of Dave and Cathy's film journey is now live. It's right here.

Find out their final thoughts and reflections before setting off for Kisumu in Kenya for the journey of a lifetime.

Where are all the grown-ups?

2006-12-08T06:35:00.000Z

As you get older, you ask yourself that question more and more. Suddenly facing up to the fact that you are the responsible one - and that there's nobody else! I remember leading a holiday for teenagers for the first time with others our age - and suddenly realizing we were the grown ups! The worrying thing was we didn't know much more than the teenagers. I'll tell you a secret - I even ask the question now from time to time!

One of the consequences of AIDS in Africa is that there aren't as many grown ups around. Visiting a child headed household (an oxymoron in itself!), we met Maureen and Beatrice. Two young girls bringing themselves up because both their parents have died from AIDS. It was sobering to meet them, walk around their sparse home and realize that they were the grown ups. Others from the houses around were helping out but they were the responsible ones. (Their younger brother was off playing football - a reassuringly normal event in an abnormal world). We left admiring their courage and strength but imagining our own kids at home trying to do the same. Our 12 year old is fairly responsible but trying to picture him bringing our other two up doesn't bear thinking about! Clean clothes would last a week and as for food? Toasted sandwiches for life! We wanted to do something practical for them - make a meal, wash their school uniforms, anything! - and why do they have to wear white shirts for school? Even writing this brings back the tears and the sense of helplessness.

So where are all the grown ups? Thousands have died and been replaced by children. Children who have to grow up too quickly and too soon. Imagine if it happened here? Then the children really would be on their own!

Take2 - The Journey

2006-12-07T06:53:00.000Z

Care by the Community

One of the surprises happened on our first day in Kisumu. We met with a Community Care Coalition (CCC). Sounded like the latest New Labour initiative for the Health Service but what we encountered was amazing!

A CCC is a group of people from the local community - nominated by the local community - who decide how the community is going to respond to HIV/AIDS. They were very ordinary people - local church leaders, the local GP, a representative of the local council, and 10 'pastors' - I guess we would call them home group leaders in our church. And they told their stories - one after another - about what they were doing....visiting people dying of AIDS, caring for the families left behind...everyday practical compassion arising out of the desperate need, and their Christian faith. They were ordinary people - yet doing extraordinary things!

We were amazed at how the church is at the forefront of the care offered - and how the church is consulted and respected. This really was the local church being seen as the hope of the world (Bill Hybels). We wondered about the contrast with the UK where the church is often marginalised and ignored - and were in awe of the church in Kisumu - who, with what few resources they have, are serving their local community with care and compassion. Imagine too starting a meeting in the UK with your local GP and council official with 20 minutes of prayer and worship where they join in! There was no discussion about whether the word 'Christmas' might offend some people in the next month either!!

Here is the church - being the church - and the world welcomes them - because they see the church really cares - that the church really is a community caring for the community. We talk about care in the community - we saw care by the community -and it was very impressive!

Second video diary now live

2006-12-06T14:49:00.000Z

Exciting news - the latest instalment of Dave and Cathy's video diaries is now online at YouTube.

You can view it here.

Enjoy!

A long way away.........

2006-12-04T17:42:00.000Z

Kenya can seem a long way away from Scotland. Surrounded now by the run-up to Christmas and being battered by gale force winds, Kisumu on the side of Lake Victoria seems a million miles away. Yet there are so many links too - real people facing real problems - on a scale we cannot imagine. BBC Scotland reported last Friday that there were 400 new cases of people being diagnosed with HIV last year in Scotland. Kisumu is the same size as Edinburgh but 28-40% are HIV+. How many were diagnosed in Kenya last year?

People who are diagnosed as HIV in the UK face a very different future - drugs that can help them live a relatively normal life. Their condition can be managed and controlled. In Africa, the reality is very different - the drugs are not available in the same way - and the diagnosis still seems like a death sentence.

And yet the people have hope - a belief - a resilience that I am not sure I would have faced by the same circumstances. Worlds apart in so many ways - but with so many links. People - just like you and me - facing enormous odds but believing they can survive - because unlike the UK, HIV is about survival in Africa.

HIV and Aids - the problem seems so big!

2006-12-02T18:01:00.000Z

HIV/ Aids seems such a big problem - there are so many people affected by it in Kenya - figures of between 28 and 40% of the population are HIV+ in Kisumu where we went - and the church we went to had 90% of its membership affected by it in one way or another! There are so many orphans and vulnerable children because so many adults have died over the last 20 years or so.

And yet people are dying unnecessarily - if they could get access to the same drugs we have in the UK then people wouldn't have to die in the numbers they are. It is outrageous that an African life seems to be worth less than a British life!

And yet the people we met had such hope! They passionately believe they can make a difference - that Kenya can be a better nation - and that AIDS can be defeated. Because they seem so full of hope, it seems almost a betrayal of them to feel despair!! We had gone out to Africa expecting to be heartbroken - and it is very sad! But at the same time, there is a hope....Bill Bryson in his trip to Kenya ('Bill Bryson's African Diary' - £9.99 - all proceeds to Care International - very good Christmas present!!) queried this hope and was told, "As Kenyans we always have hope". Amazing in the face of such a disease!! And to see the church at the forefront of action -incredible.

The problem does seem so big and so overwhelming, but we came back more determined to help and support the people in Kisumu. We really can make a difference because they believe they can!

First Video Diary now online

2006-12-01T11:42:00.000Z

Short 'video diaries' featuring Dave and Cathy and tracking their journey to Africa will be appearing throughout the month of December and the first one is online now!

Check it out at YouTube right here.

Great tip: register with YouTube and subscribe to receive updates whenever new videos are posted. Then you'll never miss a single instalment of the journey.

Today is World AIDS Day

2006-12-01T08:52:00.000Z

Today, December 1, is World AIDS Day and there's lots out there on the web to help you find out more about the AIDS pandemic and mark it. Here are some great links to try:

UNAIDS website is a fantastic resource, including recently released data on the AIDS pandemic

A message from UN Secretary General Kofi Annan for WAD 2006 is downloadable as a Word file here

Join (RED) offers a range of products which you can buy, where proceeds will go to help the Global Fund. There's a message from Bono on there too.

The Global Fund's own website is here

Wikipedia's entry on the AIDS pandemic is very helpful

World Vision's pages on HIV and AIDS are pretty good too (well we would say that, wouldn't we)

And World Vision's new Take2 campaign homepage is also worth checking out!

Advent Calendar

2006-11-29T18:31:00.000Z

To launch our Take2 campaign, we've developed a fabulous free interactive Advent Calendar. Each day there's something new to discover in the lead up to Christmas - including stories, video clips and reflections from Dave and Cathy.

It looks great and it only takes seconds to download and install... so do it!

Simply click here, or visit www.worldvision.org.uk/take2 to download it.

Welcome to the Blog!

2006-11-27T09:27:00.000Z

Today we've gone live with the Take2 blog - what you're looking at right now in fact!

Here we'll be bringing you Dave and Cathy's thoughts and reflections from their visit to Africa to discover hope amidst the AIDS pandemic.

Feel free to post your comments and responses about what you read and drop your suggestions for what you'd like to see appear here to take2@worldvision.org.uk.

Happy reading!

Editor.