Armistice Day

18,050 Kiwi’s and 61,928 Aussies lost their lives in WWI. Staggering numbers but they don’t compare really to the massive losses experienced in some other nations especially when the numbers are expressed as a percentage of the population. For example The Ottoman empire (now known as Turkey) lost 13% of it’s population, a staggering 2.9 million people. (2.1 million of those were civilians.) And the Serbs suffered the loss of 16% of their population.

These numbers blow my mind and it’s scary to consider a world gone mad, and not so very long ago.  Today marks the signing of the Armistice to bring an end to the hostilities at the Western Front.

My great great Uncle, James Alfred Heading served in the AIF 45th and 47th Battalions. See here for history of the 45th Batallion and the 47th Batallion. He received a DCM (Distinguished Conduct Medal) while serving with the 47th Btn. The following is his recommendation:

“At Passchendaele Ridge (NE of Zonnebeke) on 12th October 1917. Especially good work in leading his platoon and setting a splendid example in courage and determination. All Officers of three Companies became casualties and Sgt. Heading took charge, reorganised, placed outposts out and endeavoured to connect flanks and generally displayed initiative and ability in appreciating all situations. His work was of great value to the Battalion. He carried out his duty in a praisworthy manner. “

Stretcher Bearers Passchendaele August 1917

He was also awarded a Military Medal with the 47th Btn:

“At Dernancourt 5th April 1918, when his Officer was killed he took charge of the Platoon and showed exceptional ability in the handling of same. When his flank was in danger he immediately made dispositions to meet the occasion and showed utter disregard for danger in placing  his men. When all the platoon Lewis Gunners were casualtied, he manned the gun and crawling forward to dangerous position he continued to inflict heavy casualties on the enemy until the gun was blown out. By his scouting and patrolling he gained valuable information and established complete control of “No Man’s Land”. His work during the whole operations was of an exceptionally high order.”

Australian infantry wearing Small Box Respirators (SBR). The soldiers are from the 45th Battalion, Australian 4th Division at Garter Point near Zonnebeke, Ypres sector,

My brother shared this quote with me today:

‘An Australian soldier wandered about near the German lines after the battle of Fromelles. He had been hit in the forehead and skin hung over his eyes. He was blinded and out of his mind. He would blunder around in circles, hands outstretched, then fall down. Then he would get up and stumble around again. This went on for days. The Germans eventually killed him. It is unclear whether they did this out of cussedness or kindness. This was the Great War and men did terrible things and did not always understand why they did them.’

~Les Carlyon, ‘The Great War’

War. Awful beyond words.

Lest we forget.

WWI casualties per nation

Armistice Day in New Zealand

What is Armistice Day/Rememberence Day?

I like this…

“This is the true joy in life – being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.”

~George Bernard Shaw

My friend is moving away

I have a dear friend who is moving away to India with her husband and 6 children. They live fairly close to us and are also homeschooling. My children have become friends with their youngest and love to play together. As we don’t have family in this country I feel like they have become cousins.

I am so excited for them as they go to India because it’s something that’s been on their hearts for years and I know that it’s going to be amazing as they go and live the lives God has for them, but at the same time I’m feeling so sad. They have been such good friends to us. So kind and generous and have helped us with our marriage and parenting and I feel kind of mad at God for taking them away. I want to be selfish and have a nice cosy life with my friends around the corner!

I know our kids are going to miss them so much too, and I’m already anticipating a big hole in our lives. I hope they can understand the bigger picture when it’s time to say goodbye and that knowing why they are leaving will help them adjust.

It is such a mixture of emotion because ever since my teens I kind of knew this kind of thing would happen. I have always felt passionate about the nations in the sense that I believe the Gospel is for every nation and over the past 15 years or more I have felt a growing compassion for the poor in other nations and also a dissatisfaction with first world suburbia. I remember growing up that I freaked out at the thought of settling down close to the family home and just having a house and a couple of kids. D and I started our own marriage and family by moving far away from both our families. (Not for the purpose of moving away from our families, which has been incredibly painful and hard, but because there was more for us in this big wide world than our local towns)  I knew that if I let this grow in my heart it would mean painful goodbyes and also, it has become natural that my closest friends also have a heart to go someday.

But it still sucks.

They are listing their home for sale today in anticipation of the big move and it’s really hitting home the reality that they are actually going. If I’m feeling emotional about it I daresay they feel like their hearts are tearing in two. I’m not looking forward to the day we do the same but at the same time part of me cannot wait! What a crazy conflict.

Secretly (and now in the most public of forums – on the internet hehehe) I hope that we will meet up with them again somewhere, somehow. I feel like it’s been a God given friendship and we are like minded in so many ways. We both have a heart for the motherless children and ….well who knows? I don’t know…I wish I did.

They have an amazing story actually of how it is all falling into place as they get ready to leave. You can read about it all on Jodi’s blog called Yatra to India. I recommend going back to the first posts as she shares how God has clearly spoken over the years. (Not in a ‘voices in my head‘ kinda way so don’t be freaked out.)

Bono’s NAACP Speech

Bono’s NAACP* Speech

I saw this video on facebook the other day and I can’t get it out of my mind. I tried to comment on my friends page when I first saw it and typed about 17 responses but I’m always worried about coming across too strong, especially when it comes to things I’m passionate about.

It’s no secret here on my blog that I’m passionate about poverty and us in the west opening our eyes to how the rest of the world lives. I don’t think the comment space was big enough for my response to this video, and so I am going to go on about it here. Aren’t you lucky?

Also, I’m rather tired of not speaking my mind fully and here is a good place to practice. You see at least here this is my blog and I can say what I like!

Here are some of my initial unfiltered responses to this video:

1. I love this man!

2. Oh my gosh, he has a handle on our Christian faith better than most of the church.

3. Oh God help us! Change our hearts.

4. Aren’t you glad the religious church never got hold of this man?

5. This is a prophetic voice to our generation and so central to the Kingdom of  God and we really better not miss it! I get so frustrated with the church’s lack of concern for the poor.

6. I WANNA GO!

7. Let’s not just watch and applaud Bono’s inspirational, emotional, and crowd pleasing speech. I find it hard to understand that a person can be moved with compassion about a person’s suffering but then move on having done nothing about it.  Let’s stop and think (and/or pray) for a few minutes and then DO something about it. Even if it’s a small thing. It’s better than nothing. I wonder how many of those people who gave a standing ovation acutally went off and DID something about extreme poverty, the AIDS crisis in Africa, or helped save a child from dying of malaria? Hopefully many of them.

8. I absolutely love to see people who are themselves and doing what they are created to do.

9. Western Christianity has become far too theoretical and cerebral and far too little practical is done. Where are those who rage against injustice?

10. So what are we gonna DO about it?

*National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People.

Meme (what does that mean anyway?)

Saw this meme over at Sharon’s blog today and thought I’d join in. I’m so tired lately that it’s been hard to write but this is an easy way to get something down.

What is your current obsession?

Raising funds to ship 473 boxes of donated medical supplies out of my garage and to the Howard Hospital in Zimbabwe.  Also poverty in general and raising people’s awareness of it.

What is your weirdest obsession?

I have no idea. If you think I have a weird obsession be sure to let me know. Thanks.

What are you wearing today?

Jeans, t-shirt, cardi.

What’s for dinner?

D made fried rice. Yum

What’s the last thing you bought?

A pair of knitting needles and a ball of wool because my 4 year old son wants me to make him a scarf to wear in the snow on Saturday. We are going on a (long) day trip to Mt Ruapehu.

What are you listening to right now?

Rain on the roof, crackling fireplace. Hum of computer.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?

To visit family in Australia

Which language do you want to learn?

Hindi

What do you love most about where you currently live?

We are safe and warm and we get to eat every single day.

What is your favourite colour?

Pink or green

What is your favourite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe?

A white cotton peasant blousey thingy.

What were you doing ten years ago?

Backpacking around India with my buddy Ali.

Describe your personal style?

Um…..style? Casual. Comfortable. Practical.

If you had £100 now, what would you spend it on?

Well, that’s about NZ$259 which would cover the shipping of about 16 of the 473 boxes mentioned above.

What are you going to do after this?

Sleep

What are your favourite films?

I always find it hard to answer this question because I forget movies. (Never forget a good book though!) Also I don’t tend to watch the same movie over and over so none become a firm favourite. But let’s try……I enjoyed Australia, and did enjoy Slumdog Millionaire,

What inspires you?

When people discover and make time to pursue their dreams or the thing they are best at. I really believe that every single person has a unique and valuable contribution to make to the world…a destiny or purpose if you like and there is nothing more wonderful and inspiring to me that seeing them doing it with all their heart.

Your favourite books?

How long have we got? Ha ha there are many. I just finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaleed Hossieni and loved it. Also loved Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton. Oh and The City of Joy by Dominique Lapierre, and The Hiding Place by Corrie TenBoom.  I love learning about how other people live and books that inspire me to action about things that are unjust in the world – like poverty and war and political regimes.

But I also love the classics, like Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and Jane Austens works. I also like classic childrens literature like Treasure Island – RL Stevenson and The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Do you collect anything?

Books and clutter.

What makes you follow a blog?

I like to read blogs of people I know as it’s a great way to get to know someone better. I also like to read blogs that inspire my creativity, or about ordinary people doing extraordinary things to make a difference in the world. Sometime I follow a blog out of habit because it’s been on my feed reader for such a long time and it would seem disloyal to suddenly delete it!

Name an unfulfilled dream or one thing you must do before you die?

To visit/travel in/ live in Africa. Feed a hungry child. (I mean literally….be there, not just send money)

What’s your biggest regret in life?

I don’t really have any regrets, but that’s not because I haven’t done anything stupid, but you can’t change the past so I tend not to think about them. I dunno. A minor regret prehaps …not celebrating my 30th birthday with a big fat party.

When you were a child/teenages what did you really want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be a nurse and a mother. (So far so good!)

The rules:1. Respond and rework; answer the questions on your blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your invention, add one more question of your own.2. Tag eight other people.

I’m tagging anyone anywhere who wants to join in. Leave a comment here so I can come read yours too.

Now I Know

I stumbled across this song some months ago now and still sometimes the refrain goes through my mind…

“I know what I know and I can’t deny it…”

I’m glad I’ve woken up and starting to look around me… I’m glad I’m learning the truth even though it’s painful. My dreams terrify me but I can’t go back now. I feel ruined for the status quo. I hope I never forget the plight of the poor, the orphans, the forgotten and overlooked ones.

Just thinking

I’ve been brewing a bit of an idea around here…which has been keeping me busy, hence the long absence. I am going to be sharing it with my church people on Sunday morning…and so here it is for you too! It’s totally terrifying to have a dream and more so to share it. I feel like I’m really putting myself out there and it’s rather scary!

Around the time just prior to starting the Zimbabwe project, and over the months that have followed, I have been making myself aware of some of the issues around poverty, particularly extreme poverty in developing nations. I have let myself be shocked at the statistics. I mean really let myself think about what they mean. The numbers are so big that we struggle to comprehend the magnitude of the problem. When we read that 1.1 billion people in the world live in extreme poverty, do we really get it? ¹ Have we ever stopped to really think about that? What would you and I do if tomorrow and for the foreseeable future we had only $1 per day to pay for all our daily needs of food and drinking water, shelter, clothing, medical care, and education?

As I have read and become more aware of the great needs in the world, I have become increasingly convinced that it is everyone’s responsibility to address the problem of poverty.

In my opinion it’s far too easy for those of us who live privileged lives to be ignorant of the way hundreds of millions of people in the world are living. It far too easy for us to be so wrapped up in our day to day lives worried about our houses, and cars and shopping and jobs and children; and spending our days working hard and watching TV, trying to pay the rent or pay off the house, that we are selfishly ignorant of the fact that several million mothers in the world struggled to find food for their babies today.

As a mother I think ‘what makes me so different from those other mothers who face a daily anguish of finding food for their fretful hungry baby?‘ Broadly, the answer is simply circumstance. There is no other difference between us than the circumstances of our births.

It could have been me born in Sub-Saharan Africa, where 40% of toddlers die from Malaria, which by the way is a preventable and treatable disease. It costs between $0.50 – $5.00 NZD for life saving medication to treat Malaria.² But sadly for most of the people dying of malaria, it’s not as easy as popping down to the local doctor, or having a friend take you to hospital. Even if they do make it to a hospital often times the medication simply isn’t available.

I wonder what would happen if people in New Zealand started dying at a rate of 10000 per day³ of a preventable disease? Just wondering.

And lets not forget the orphans. The are around 40 million orphans in the world today. 15 million of these are orphaned because of HIV/AIDS and of those 11.6 million are in Sub-Saharan Africa. ⁴

See….the statistics are shocking aren’t they?

So as I have been considering all these things and letting myself be confronted with the harsh realities, I have asked myself what can be done. Whose problem is it? Governments? Politicians? United Nations? Charities? Aid Organisations?The Church? Individuals? And the answer I came up with is Yes to all of these. It’s every body’s problem. There are many causes of extreme poverty, but injustice is a major one. And so just because I believe it isn’t right, I believe it’s my problem to address it. And, as Christ followers it is our very mission to break the chains of injustice and bring good news to the poor.

So, essentially my vision or idea is to:

Firstly, and most importantly develop in myself and us a heart like God’s for the poor.

Secondly, to take action to support projects that directly benefit the poor, by setting up a separate fund to which we as a local church can give as we are moved to and collectively make a huge difference. Together we could save hundreds if not thousands of lives, and

Thirdly some time in the future, to make a way where ordinary people like us can go to the destitute places and get our hands dirty and really help in practical ways to bring an end to extreme poverty.

And now, something to think about.

“What, therefore, is our task today? Should I answer “Faith, hope and love?” That sounds beautiful. But I would say – courage. No, even that is not challenging enough to be the whole truth. Our task today is recklessness. For what we Christians lack is not psychology or literature… we lack a holy rage – the recklessness which comes from the knowledge of God and humanity. The ability to rage when justice lies prostrate on the streets, and when the lie rages across the face of the earth… a holy anger about the things that are wrong in the world. To rage against the ravaging of God’s earth and and the destruction of God’s people. To rage when little children must die of hunger, while the tables of the rich are sagging with food. To rage at the senseless killing of so many, and the madness of militaries. To rage against the lie that calls the threat of death and the strategy of destruction, peace. To rage against COMPLACENCY. To restlessly seek that recklessness that will challenge and seek to change human history until it conforms to the norms of the kingdom of God.”

~ Father Kaj Munk (1944)

1Extreme poverty being defined as living on less than $1 per day. Moderate poverty defined as living on $1-$2 per day. (The End of Poverty (2005) Jeffery Sachs pp20-21)

2http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/facts.htm

3(The End of Poverty (2005) Jeffery Sachs p215)

42007 Data. http://www.avert.org/subaadults.htm

More questions than answers

“It is not permissible to add to one’s possessions if these things can only be done at the cost of other men. Such development has only one true name, and that is exploitation.”

~ Alan Paton. (Cry, The Beloved Country. 1948)

I’ve been thinking about poverty a lot lately, and it’s becoming clearer to me that the way I live has an impact on people in a greater way that I thought before. You see…what I do doesn’t just affect my and my family, or even just my city. The way I live along with all the rest of us affects people everywhere.

I’m becoming aware of greed. You see….our culture makes us want Stuff. By that I mean all sorts of items non-essential to life. And we want more and more of this Stuff, and because we are greedy we want it cheaply. We get it cheaply on the most part, but why? When I buy my son a little pair of shoes that cost less than $10 from The Warehouse…do I really think that in that $10 price that is enough to pay retailers costs, profit for the retailer, transport costs from China, profit for the manufacturer, the cost of materials AND a decent wage for the person making them?

This has raised a lot of questions for me. I have to ask myself:

• Why are they so cheap? Is it cheap labour?
• Why is the labour cheap?
• Because in China people are willing to work for less?
• Why are they willing to work for less?
• Do they have a choice about working for less?
• Are we greedy?
• What are the people in these factories paid?
• What are their conditions like?
• If I stop buying cheap goods churned out to satisfy the west’s insatiable appetite for Stuff will it help the cause of the people who are currently making them?
• Is there that much difference between this and the boycott of sugar by the abolitionists who refused to eat sugar produced under slave conditions?
• What about Fair Trade?
• What should I do about it?

(I wrote this post months ago and just cleaning out my drafts folder. Mostly the questions remain unanswered, but I am developing an inner rage about injustice so you might just hear more about this someday soon)

Cry, The Beloved Country

Cry, The Beloved Country – Alan Paton

This was one of those books that when I’d finished, I wondered where it had been all my adult reading life. (Or prehaps where I’d been, or perhaps why hadn’t my High School English teacher set this as a required text?) I’d borrowed this book from a friend, but it one I definitely want on our shelves.

Published in 1948 about aparteid South Africa. This is a moving story about a black pastor Kumalo who leaves his village for Johannesburg to find his son who had gone away to work, but had stopped writing home. As he follows his son’s trail to find his whereabouts, the news is increasingly grim.

The novel also tells the story of a white farmer whose farm is near the same village. His son, an engineer in Johannesburg was murdered by a young black man who’d broken into his house. The murdered man Arthur Jarvis was an advocate for black people. 

I found it an intelligent and unbiased look at the injustices of the time. So very beautifully written in the Zulu oral tradition, the story and the characters engaged me and the issues were addressed with sensitivity and understanding. The central themes are the land, justice and fear.

A paragraph I’ll take away with me and have been giving a lot of thought to, comes from a document the murdered man had been working on at the time of his murder. It was found among his papers by his father. He is writing here about the problem of the breakdown of the family and the tribe because of mine workers being away from the villages and their wives and children…

What we did when we came to South Africa was permissible. ….

…

It was permissible when we discovered  gold to bring labour to the mines. It was permissible to build compounds and to keep women and children away from the towns. It was permissible as an experiment, in the light of what we knew. But in the light of what we know now, with certain exceptions, it is no longer permissible. It is not permissible for us to go on destroying family life when we know that we are destroying it. It is permissible to develop any resources if the labour is forthcoming. But it is not permissible to develop any resources if they can be developed only at the cost of the labour. It is not permissible to mine any land, if such mining and manufacture and cultivation depend for their success on a policy of keeping labour poor. It is not permissible to add to one’s possessions if these things can only be done at the cost of other men. Such development has only one true name, and that is exploitation. It might have been permissible…before we became aware of it’s cost…. But now that the cost is known, it is no longer permissible.

I can’t stop thinking about that sentence above which I’ve highlighted.

Loved, loved, loved this book.l loved how it told a great story that made me cry, examined real issues which despite being based around the events in SA in the 40’s are just as relevant today (in fact are universally relevant), and it made me think!

Brought to you by the letter ‘B’

This is a one of those waffling nothing kind of posts so feel to wander off if you get bored.Okay? But there’s a poll at the end, so skip the boring bits and go vote and comment! Oh, and did anyone notice that the last 7 posts all started with ‘B’? Or is it just me who notices things like that.

It’s 2:17 on a Friday afternoon, and I still haven’t done the dishes. Or the washing. But! I have just blitzed! the house. Well almost the whole house…I have cleaned three rooms, moved a bed, a bookcase and all the toys and vacuumed behind all the furniture in the bedrooms. You see….I’ve been creating a Play Room! No photos….because the boy is sleeping in there.

I’ve moved the single bed from R19months’ room into the big kids room. That room now has their bunks and a single bed, and a tall boy. I’ve moved all their toy drawers and boxes into R19months’ room which is now a play room except for when he is sleeping in there. The idea being that when he is big enough for a bed he’ll move in with the other two. Three kids sleeping in one room may sound crowded, but it a largeish room and if you just have the kids and their clothes it’s fine. All their toys and books will be in the other room.

So even though the rest of the house is a tip, it feels good to be clean and tidy in our bedrooms. A move around is always refreshing and inspiring. The older two are now having fun with the extra bed, and with long lost toys rediscovered.

The tidy up, clean up, get organised, get control of this disaster zone called my house bug has bitten me and I’m not finished yet! I’m taking a quick break and then it’s off to the kitchen, lounge and vacuum the rest of the carpet areas. If I have time I’ll also clean the bathroom and toilet and then I’ll feel like a million dollars ready to start the weekend!

Another piece of happiness is that we have our exemption. The one I was stressing about … That is, an exemption from the requirement to enrol E5 in a public school. So the application that I was so worried about has been approved, post dated to her birthday and has arrived a couple of weeks early. So we are officially home schooling now….the government has given us permission to teach our child. Pfft.

Oh, and in other news. I have a job interview on Wednesday. Eeeek! It’s been a while since I was in work mode… I’m planning to go back to work for a shift a week (nursing) for now, perhaps two in the future. We really could do with the extra money, and also if I leave it too much longer I will have to study again to keep my skills up to date. The advantage of nursing is that I can work shifts when D is home to look after the kids. Actually, it’s essential really….I don’t think child care centres take nearly 6 year olds! Wow. So I’m going to be working again.

I want to add a poll. Just because I can. And I’ll be the first to answer. Yes! I have secret ambitions. I’m a dreamer and I want to change the world. Or part of it at least. How about you? And don’t be shy to comment!