We arose and had a beautiful breakfast of French toast and syrup made by the lovely people at the guest house we stayed. I had no idea what was planned for this morning but when Geoffrey mentioned the Fistula hospital, I was immensely excited. I had seen this hospital on Oprah and the awesome woman who had the vision to start this hospital that works with many women suffering from this awful condition. Fistula is a hole. An obstetric fistula of the kind that occurs in many developing countries is a hole between a woman's birth passage and one or more of her internal organs. This hole develops over many days of obstructed labor, when the pressure of the baby's head against the mother's pelvis cuts off blood supply to delicate tissues in the region. The dead tissue falls away and the woman is left with a hole between her vagina and her bladder (called a vesicovaginal fistula or VVF) and sometimes between her vagina and rectum (rectovaginal fistula, RVF). This hole results in permanent incontinence of urine and/or feces. A majority of women who develop fistulas are abandoned by their husbands and ostracized by their communities because of their inability to have children and their foul smell. Traumatic fistula is the result of sexual violence. They said that they have girls as young as 12 who suffer from fistula and have treated women as old as 60. It broke my heart to see this on Oprah and I felt so priviledged to be able to witness the work they are doing first hand. I bought the book written about this project called 'A hospital by the river'. It is an inspiring book of the life of Dr. Catherine Hamlin and her husband from New Zealand and their journey in Ethiopia for the last 50 years. (Although her husband passed away many years ago.)
From here we went to our only souveneir shop stop at one of the local markets. I was not looking forward to this as it was cold and raining and I did not really go to Ethiopia to buy gifts. But nevertheless, we waited for the rain to calm down while Geoffrey warned us of the beggars that would be asking us for money. We were encouraged not to give any thing to them as it was very likely that these kids were not the actual recipients of what we would give, but rather, there were older men who were sending them out on the streets to beg.
The word went down the street that the "ferengi's" were in town. So each store that we stopped into would often charge us a much higher price than what the item was actually worth. The fact of the matter was, however, that the prices were dirt cheap. So I bought a few things but was exhausted by the end of it, having to say "No" many, many times -especially to one man who was trying to sell us a map! OH my goodness! I said No! lol. It was also on this day I realised how dark it was in all the shops and wherever we went. Come to find out that Ethiopia only has power every second day due to lack of water in the hydro lakes.
Anyway, we headed off from there to Nazaret. We drove for two hours through the countryside of Ethiopia. I was amazed at how there were always people walking on the side of the road. We drove past the huts, the fields, and industrial areas. There was also a small town that we drove through that looked familiar to me. Not that I had been there before but I had had a dream about it a while ago. That was pretty bizarre!
We arrived in Nazaret as the sun was setting. We settled in our hotel - the Rift Valley Hotel and found out what it is like to not have an elevator in a hotel where the altitude is far above what I am used to. It was breath-taking. Literally!
We began our nightly rituals here of meeting as a team, having a bible study and reflecting on our day and encouraging one of our team members. I already loved my team and the humour they brought into my life. It was a good night. Other than the look of our toilet, but that I was to get used to.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Ethiopia Day 1
The day before I left for Ethiopia, the message at church was about how God had told someone (sorry, I can't remember who) to go somewhere and how it felt like God had abandoned him just as he was preparing to go. Well, I could relate to this message. I had surrendered to go and had spent the last six weeks fundraising and working out the details so that I could go and safely leave my family behind. But with one day to go, I was still NZ$1000 short and I hadn't even packed. I started to doubt whether or not I was meant to be going or whether, once again, I had made this thing happen for my own selfish reasons and that God was not even going to be with me on my way or worse still - when I got there!
I prepared to go the day I was set to leave. My nerves were debilitating, I could hardly pack my bags. So when my husband got home, he packed them for me, we picked up the kids from school and set off for the airport. After a long check in, I only had a few moments to say goodbye to my family. My aunty was there and slipped me some money, as well as my sister, who said that God had told her to give me all her savings. Kathy has come such a long way in her Christian maturity and I was so proud that she would do that. So after kissing my babies as many times as I could and crying at the thought of leaving them for 13 days, I walked through the gate and onto the plane - not believing that the day had finally arrived where I would see my dream come true. The day where Ethiopia would no longer be pictures on a screen, but where it would become my reality. Only God could have made this dream come true for me.
After two long plane rides, I arrived at Dubai airport at 5am. I had two hours wait before the rest of my team from America and Canada would arrive. Dubai was unbelievably beautiful. It was there that I saw names of places I had only read about in the Bible. I could see images of the Middle East that were a world away from where I lived. It was evident that I was on the other side of the World. So I sat, had a nice cold frappacino to cool me down from the heat and keep me awake for the next three hours till our plane left.
After circling the airport many times, with my heavy bag on my shoulder that carried a tin of formula I was to take to the orphanage, I finally saw this pretty American girl waving at me as I approached the departure gate. I was impressed by my team. They all looked so fresh and good. I was most impressed by 16 year old Julia who was on her second trip to Ethiopia and just had a countenance of maturity that over-rided her age.
This was it! We were finally going to Ethiopia! We arrived and I still COULD NOT believe it! We got our $20 visas and proceeded through the security conveyabelt where we had our first "T.I.A" experience - which our translator Surafel would explain to me - This is Africa! We were subjected to a lot of unnecessary questioning about our gear and asked for tips for putting bags on the conveyabelt. I don't know, being a kiwi, how or when tipping is appropriate, but for me, this just seemed a bit too much. Anyway, unfortunately, our photographer Canadian member was forced to leave his camera at the airport and had to spend the next two days and $150 to retrieve it.
We were disappointed when we went through the gates and our team leader was not there waiting for us. Little did we know that someone was there however. While waiting around for Geoffrey, an Ethiopian man approached me about whether or not we were waiting for a man called Surafel. I had no idea who this was at this stage so I quickly brushed him off as another person trying to get our money! A few minutes later however, he would ask again more specifically for Julia. Julia knew Surafel and was happy to hear his name. Samson explained that he had asked me and I said no. Samson was our translator for the next two weeks, asked to assist by Surafel who had translated for Julia and her group the year before.
So we boarded our Ethiopian decorated bus that had tassles inside on the ceiling- our chauffered limosine for the next two weeks - and headed through the town of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital. I sat next to Jen and as we were hit with the sights of an undeveloped nation, tears starting flowing. To say that it was a culture shock would be to say the least. My heart broke to know that people lived like this. The buildings that were being built had scaffolding around them made out of Eucalyptus branches. The pavements were half clad with cement blocks but mostly consisted of the mud that lay beneath the rocks. And there were people EVERYWHERE! So many many people, just walking all over the streets - literally, on the streets, in the middle of the road. The traffic system did not exist. There were lanky horses driving carts, 12 seater taxi vans that were more like buses, full to the brim with people. Tall buildings next to tin sheds that acted as the local store. People living on the street with not much more than a blanket. Just sitting on the side of the street while people walked passed unaware. Children lined the streets, ready for the next person to go past to ask for money. Children carrying children on their backs, trained to ask for money and knowing that the "ferenji's" - us, would most likely, have more money for them than the local Ethiopian. Stalls lined the sidewalks of mud with freshly cooked corn or coffee for sale. There were obviously no hygiene or food permits required to sell this kind of food. Addis was a busy, crazy city. We pulled up at a Pizza place to have our lunch and I was happy to be away from the craziness for those few moments.
From here, we settled all our things in at the guest house and drove to Big AHOPE. This orphanage was home to around 50 8-14 year old kids living with HIV or AIDS. It was too my amazement that these kids just looked like your ordinary kids. They did not have tubes coming out of their noses and did not mope around like their lives were about to end. They joyfully played together and lovingly approached us. The biggest hurdle here, and we would discover would be so for the next two weeks, was the language barrier. Fortunately some of the children knew a bit of English, and if things ever got too difficult, we could call on Samson.
I was so impressed with these children. They were having afternoon tea while we were there and I grabbed a broom to sweep the floor out of just sheer not knowing how to relate. The children insisted that they clean up and they didn't complain about it. They didn't complain that they got one measly plate of popcorn for afternoon tea and they just got along so well with eachother. The hit with them was our cameras. The cameras were now in the hands of these precious children and they took photos non-stop. They loved to see their images in the camera. The boy who had my camera was Immanuel. He was so cute. he also ended up taking my sunglasses. We only spent two hours with these kids and we had not come prepared to do much more than just hang out as we had expected to be visiting little AHOPE that housed the baby and toddler orphans. It was not quite the experience I had hoped for and felt sad that I was too tired to give more than we had. One of the little girls names was Mareta. She held my hand quite a bit and had the cutest dimples. She asked me if I was coming back and I could only tell her- not today. I pray that I will be able to go back and spend a bit more time with her.
That night, Geoffrey, our team leader and employee of 963 missions who organise these trips, wanted to take us to a traditional Ethiopian Restaurant. Apparently, it was going to be a mind blowing experience. I just wanted to put my mind at rest on a bed and pillow. Nevertheless, we went and were introduced to food, Ethiopia style. Injera spread wide with various toppings was on the menu. Injera is the Ethiopian staple that is made out of a grain related to millet. It in only heated on one side and steamed on the other. It looks like a sponge and tastes bitter. I assume that it is an acquired taste, but after not feeling too well, I wasn't about to acquire that taste any time soon. The mind-blowing part of this experience was seeing the live entertainment. One of the ladies that were dancing swung her head around extremely fast so that it almost looked like she lost half her head in the process. Amazing!
We walked out of the restaurant and headed back to our home for the night. Here we saw a calendar reading 2001. Now eight years is a long time to have a calendar on the wall! Later we were to discover that Ethiopia is 8 years behind on the calendar. They are also eight days behing, their clocks are set six hours behind so that the day starts at 6 in the morning but it reads 12am. They also have 13 months in the year- 12 that have 30 days and 1 that has 5. There are some random fun facts about Ethiopia for you. Sleep time!
I prepared to go the day I was set to leave. My nerves were debilitating, I could hardly pack my bags. So when my husband got home, he packed them for me, we picked up the kids from school and set off for the airport. After a long check in, I only had a few moments to say goodbye to my family. My aunty was there and slipped me some money, as well as my sister, who said that God had told her to give me all her savings. Kathy has come such a long way in her Christian maturity and I was so proud that she would do that. So after kissing my babies as many times as I could and crying at the thought of leaving them for 13 days, I walked through the gate and onto the plane - not believing that the day had finally arrived where I would see my dream come true. The day where Ethiopia would no longer be pictures on a screen, but where it would become my reality. Only God could have made this dream come true for me.
After two long plane rides, I arrived at Dubai airport at 5am. I had two hours wait before the rest of my team from America and Canada would arrive. Dubai was unbelievably beautiful. It was there that I saw names of places I had only read about in the Bible. I could see images of the Middle East that were a world away from where I lived. It was evident that I was on the other side of the World. So I sat, had a nice cold frappacino to cool me down from the heat and keep me awake for the next three hours till our plane left.
After circling the airport many times, with my heavy bag on my shoulder that carried a tin of formula I was to take to the orphanage, I finally saw this pretty American girl waving at me as I approached the departure gate. I was impressed by my team. They all looked so fresh and good. I was most impressed by 16 year old Julia who was on her second trip to Ethiopia and just had a countenance of maturity that over-rided her age.
This was it! We were finally going to Ethiopia! We arrived and I still COULD NOT believe it! We got our $20 visas and proceeded through the security conveyabelt where we had our first "T.I.A" experience - which our translator Surafel would explain to me - This is Africa! We were subjected to a lot of unnecessary questioning about our gear and asked for tips for putting bags on the conveyabelt. I don't know, being a kiwi, how or when tipping is appropriate, but for me, this just seemed a bit too much. Anyway, unfortunately, our photographer Canadian member was forced to leave his camera at the airport and had to spend the next two days and $150 to retrieve it.
We were disappointed when we went through the gates and our team leader was not there waiting for us. Little did we know that someone was there however. While waiting around for Geoffrey, an Ethiopian man approached me about whether or not we were waiting for a man called Surafel. I had no idea who this was at this stage so I quickly brushed him off as another person trying to get our money! A few minutes later however, he would ask again more specifically for Julia. Julia knew Surafel and was happy to hear his name. Samson explained that he had asked me and I said no. Samson was our translator for the next two weeks, asked to assist by Surafel who had translated for Julia and her group the year before.
So we boarded our Ethiopian decorated bus that had tassles inside on the ceiling- our chauffered limosine for the next two weeks - and headed through the town of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital. I sat next to Jen and as we were hit with the sights of an undeveloped nation, tears starting flowing. To say that it was a culture shock would be to say the least. My heart broke to know that people lived like this. The buildings that were being built had scaffolding around them made out of Eucalyptus branches. The pavements were half clad with cement blocks but mostly consisted of the mud that lay beneath the rocks. And there were people EVERYWHERE! So many many people, just walking all over the streets - literally, on the streets, in the middle of the road. The traffic system did not exist. There were lanky horses driving carts, 12 seater taxi vans that were more like buses, full to the brim with people. Tall buildings next to tin sheds that acted as the local store. People living on the street with not much more than a blanket. Just sitting on the side of the street while people walked passed unaware. Children lined the streets, ready for the next person to go past to ask for money. Children carrying children on their backs, trained to ask for money and knowing that the "ferenji's" - us, would most likely, have more money for them than the local Ethiopian. Stalls lined the sidewalks of mud with freshly cooked corn or coffee for sale. There were obviously no hygiene or food permits required to sell this kind of food. Addis was a busy, crazy city. We pulled up at a Pizza place to have our lunch and I was happy to be away from the craziness for those few moments.
From here, we settled all our things in at the guest house and drove to Big AHOPE. This orphanage was home to around 50 8-14 year old kids living with HIV or AIDS. It was too my amazement that these kids just looked like your ordinary kids. They did not have tubes coming out of their noses and did not mope around like their lives were about to end. They joyfully played together and lovingly approached us. The biggest hurdle here, and we would discover would be so for the next two weeks, was the language barrier. Fortunately some of the children knew a bit of English, and if things ever got too difficult, we could call on Samson.
I was so impressed with these children. They were having afternoon tea while we were there and I grabbed a broom to sweep the floor out of just sheer not knowing how to relate. The children insisted that they clean up and they didn't complain about it. They didn't complain that they got one measly plate of popcorn for afternoon tea and they just got along so well with eachother. The hit with them was our cameras. The cameras were now in the hands of these precious children and they took photos non-stop. They loved to see their images in the camera. The boy who had my camera was Immanuel. He was so cute. he also ended up taking my sunglasses. We only spent two hours with these kids and we had not come prepared to do much more than just hang out as we had expected to be visiting little AHOPE that housed the baby and toddler orphans. It was not quite the experience I had hoped for and felt sad that I was too tired to give more than we had. One of the little girls names was Mareta. She held my hand quite a bit and had the cutest dimples. She asked me if I was coming back and I could only tell her- not today. I pray that I will be able to go back and spend a bit more time with her.
That night, Geoffrey, our team leader and employee of 963 missions who organise these trips, wanted to take us to a traditional Ethiopian Restaurant. Apparently, it was going to be a mind blowing experience. I just wanted to put my mind at rest on a bed and pillow. Nevertheless, we went and were introduced to food, Ethiopia style. Injera spread wide with various toppings was on the menu. Injera is the Ethiopian staple that is made out of a grain related to millet. It in only heated on one side and steamed on the other. It looks like a sponge and tastes bitter. I assume that it is an acquired taste, but after not feeling too well, I wasn't about to acquire that taste any time soon. The mind-blowing part of this experience was seeing the live entertainment. One of the ladies that were dancing swung her head around extremely fast so that it almost looked like she lost half her head in the process. Amazing!
We walked out of the restaurant and headed back to our home for the night. Here we saw a calendar reading 2001. Now eight years is a long time to have a calendar on the wall! Later we were to discover that Ethiopia is 8 years behind on the calendar. They are also eight days behing, their clocks are set six hours behind so that the day starts at 6 in the morning but it reads 12am. They also have 13 months in the year- 12 that have 30 days and 1 that has 5. There are some random fun facts about Ethiopia for you. Sleep time!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Encouraged
Today I feel so encouraged. Although I have still $2000 to raise and had a failed attempt to raise some money today, I had an awesome fundraiser on Saturday night..
I would just like to acknowledge my family and friends that helped me to raise another $1000 towards my trip. First of all, to my husband again who holds the fort whenever I set out to achieve such an event. Then, my family who I constantly rely on to pull out all the stops for me, like I could do to no others. That includes my mum, sisters, cousins and Aunty Sivi and Uncle Arthur especially, Asaua's family - especially Tee and Ants. Then, thank you to my sponsors "Pacific Grace Jewellry", then the best act of the night CYDEL -these guys are so awesomely talented and just went above and beyond to make it an enjoyable night, also big ups to Molee, MC Sio, Jane and Tina, and all of those who bought tickets and celebrated with me. I love you all. (Shux, I sound like I'm accepting a Grammy haha).
Another reason why I feel so encouraged today, is because I received an email today with an article that confirmed for me that I am on the right track.
Years ago, I watched a dvd series called the Dream Giver, by Bruce Wilkinson. This book was a defining book in my life as it spoke to me about how God gives us the dreams in our heart. Of course, there is a measure to whether a dream is of God or whether it is just a figment of our imagination. But as I have dreams, like ones of going to Ethiopia, God has set a process in my life for me to achieve that dream and often throws things in my path -for this dream and others - to confirm that I am on the right track. Well, I believe that this article is one of those messages from Him -straight to me.
But before I cut and paste it for all of you to read, here is an encouragment for you to achieve YOUR dreams -
90% of people have an idea and discount it immediately as impossible for whatever reason.
7% have an idea, try to work out how they could do it, but are dissuaded by friends (?) and circumstances and lack of confidence.
3% have an idea and work and will not give up until they have achieved their goal.
I like to think of myself being part of that 3%. I don't want to come to the end of my life and regret not doing what I felt in my heart, God had given me a dream to do...this is my window of opportunity and I'm taking it!!
Here's the article from "Court in the Act" July 2009 Issue www.youthcourt.govt.nz
Steve’s story
The following is from a letter to Principal Youth
Court Judge Andrew Becroft from His Honour
Judge Tony Fitzgerald, a Youth Court Judge in
Auckland and founder of the Auckland City
Youth Court Intensive Monitoring Group (IMG).
Dear Andrew
Every now and then a story
comes out of the Youth Court
that is worth sharing. I have the
permission of the young person
involved in this case to share his
story (with his anonymity
protected), perhaps with a view
to it being included in a future
edition of “Court in the Act”. It
is something I hope will provide
motivation and encouragement
to others.
The young man concerned, who
I will refer to as “Steve”,
admitted charges of being
found without reasonable
excuse in an enclosed yard on
23 June 2006 (amended down
from an original charge of
burglary) and injuring with
intent to injure on 19 August
2006. The second offence was
committed while Steve was on
an FGC plan for the first. At the
time of the offending Steve was
aged 16.
The assault was a brutal and
unprovoked attack by members
of a gang of which Steve was
then a member. As a result of
the beating, the victim suffered
some brain damage from the
concussion, a fracture to the left
cheekbone and damage to the
left eye which resulted in
permanent blurry vision. He
was a promising rugby player
who will never be able to enjoy
playing his sport again to the
same extent.
The victim and members of his
family attended Steve’s original
FGC and were prepared to
forgive him for his part in what
happened because he played a
lesser role in the assault than
the main offenders who were
adults.
Steve was ordered to undergo
supervision for six months plus
120 hours of community work.
He did not properly engage or
comply with either order and
his family were said to not be
interested or supportive.
Therefore application was made
to the Court to cancel the
community work order and
substitute another. By the time
the application regarding the
supervision order was made,
the order had expired.
To this point the picture seems
gloomy and all too familiar.
The Family Group Conference
that was then directed was
attended by a friend of Steve’s
family who is involved with the
Habitat for Humanity
organisation. The FGC was
again attended by the victim
and a victim support person.
Agreement was reached about
Steve being able to go to
Ethiopia with other young
people for three weeks and
complete work for the Ethiopian
community as part of the Habitat
for Humanity programme. To
earn his place on the team,
Steve was required to first
complete 60 hours of
community work in Auckland
which he did.
What follows are some extracts
from the reports (in October
2008) that came back from
Ethiopia:
“Steve has shown great
progress in the time he has
been under my care. He has
had a change of heart and
attitude.
He is a natural people’s person
who showed respect for all
people and got on well with his
whole team. He is a young
person who loves kids and
really respects old people. He
was popular with the Ethiopian
people and was a real hit and
they loved him for that.
Steve certainly put his weight’s
worth of work in and worked
hard consistently for all the days
we were on site. He has a great
sense of humour and is a real
story teller.
He was a hit on the team and a
great team player. His natural
charming personality warmed
him to the other team members.
Steve is a young man at a
crossroads who was challenged
in Ethiopia to the core and did
some soul searching while
there. He made some brave
decisions whilst there which he
will now need to follow up when
he returns home.
There were no problems at all
with him and we developed a
healthy respect for one another.
It was a pleasure to mentor
Steve for the three weeks we
were in Ethiopia.
This positive progress by Steve
has continued. On 6 March
2009 an evening was organised
at which Steve made a 15
minute powerpoint presentation
about his experiences in
Ethiopia in front of a large
crowd. Those who know him
see his natural leadership
abilities.
At that event it was publicly
proposed that Steve go again to
Ethiopia this year as a mentor
and that another at-risk-youth
be chosen to go as an
understudy. Steve would be
required to contribute
significantly towards his own
costs.
This success with Steve has led
the family friend and sponsor
(from Habitat for Humanity) to
want to work closely with the
Youth Court and CYFS in future
to develop similar opportunities
for other young people. This of
course will require financial
support from the wider
community to make such
ventures possible and thought is
being given now as to how to go
about obtaining such support
and developing this opportunity
for others.
Yours sincerely
A J FitzGerald
Youth Court Judge
Continued
I would just like to acknowledge my family and friends that helped me to raise another $1000 towards my trip. First of all, to my husband again who holds the fort whenever I set out to achieve such an event. Then, my family who I constantly rely on to pull out all the stops for me, like I could do to no others. That includes my mum, sisters, cousins and Aunty Sivi and Uncle Arthur especially, Asaua's family - especially Tee and Ants. Then, thank you to my sponsors "Pacific Grace Jewellry", then the best act of the night CYDEL -these guys are so awesomely talented and just went above and beyond to make it an enjoyable night, also big ups to Molee, MC Sio, Jane and Tina, and all of those who bought tickets and celebrated with me. I love you all. (Shux, I sound like I'm accepting a Grammy haha).
Another reason why I feel so encouraged today, is because I received an email today with an article that confirmed for me that I am on the right track.
Years ago, I watched a dvd series called the Dream Giver, by Bruce Wilkinson. This book was a defining book in my life as it spoke to me about how God gives us the dreams in our heart. Of course, there is a measure to whether a dream is of God or whether it is just a figment of our imagination. But as I have dreams, like ones of going to Ethiopia, God has set a process in my life for me to achieve that dream and often throws things in my path -for this dream and others - to confirm that I am on the right track. Well, I believe that this article is one of those messages from Him -straight to me.
But before I cut and paste it for all of you to read, here is an encouragment for you to achieve YOUR dreams -
90% of people have an idea and discount it immediately as impossible for whatever reason.
7% have an idea, try to work out how they could do it, but are dissuaded by friends (?) and circumstances and lack of confidence.
3% have an idea and work and will not give up until they have achieved their goal.
I like to think of myself being part of that 3%. I don't want to come to the end of my life and regret not doing what I felt in my heart, God had given me a dream to do...this is my window of opportunity and I'm taking it!!
Here's the article from "Court in the Act" July 2009 Issue www.youthcourt.govt.nz
Steve’s story
The following is from a letter to Principal Youth
Court Judge Andrew Becroft from His Honour
Judge Tony Fitzgerald, a Youth Court Judge in
Auckland and founder of the Auckland City
Youth Court Intensive Monitoring Group (IMG).
Dear Andrew
Every now and then a story
comes out of the Youth Court
that is worth sharing. I have the
permission of the young person
involved in this case to share his
story (with his anonymity
protected), perhaps with a view
to it being included in a future
edition of “Court in the Act”. It
is something I hope will provide
motivation and encouragement
to others.
The young man concerned, who
I will refer to as “Steve”,
admitted charges of being
found without reasonable
excuse in an enclosed yard on
23 June 2006 (amended down
from an original charge of
burglary) and injuring with
intent to injure on 19 August
2006. The second offence was
committed while Steve was on
an FGC plan for the first. At the
time of the offending Steve was
aged 16.
The assault was a brutal and
unprovoked attack by members
of a gang of which Steve was
then a member. As a result of
the beating, the victim suffered
some brain damage from the
concussion, a fracture to the left
cheekbone and damage to the
left eye which resulted in
permanent blurry vision. He
was a promising rugby player
who will never be able to enjoy
playing his sport again to the
same extent.
The victim and members of his
family attended Steve’s original
FGC and were prepared to
forgive him for his part in what
happened because he played a
lesser role in the assault than
the main offenders who were
adults.
Steve was ordered to undergo
supervision for six months plus
120 hours of community work.
He did not properly engage or
comply with either order and
his family were said to not be
interested or supportive.
Therefore application was made
to the Court to cancel the
community work order and
substitute another. By the time
the application regarding the
supervision order was made,
the order had expired.
To this point the picture seems
gloomy and all too familiar.
The Family Group Conference
that was then directed was
attended by a friend of Steve’s
family who is involved with the
Habitat for Humanity
organisation. The FGC was
again attended by the victim
and a victim support person.
Agreement was reached about
Steve being able to go to
Ethiopia with other young
people for three weeks and
complete work for the Ethiopian
community as part of the Habitat
for Humanity programme. To
earn his place on the team,
Steve was required to first
complete 60 hours of
community work in Auckland
which he did.
What follows are some extracts
from the reports (in October
2008) that came back from
Ethiopia:
“Steve has shown great
progress in the time he has
been under my care. He has
had a change of heart and
attitude.
He is a natural people’s person
who showed respect for all
people and got on well with his
whole team. He is a young
person who loves kids and
really respects old people. He
was popular with the Ethiopian
people and was a real hit and
they loved him for that.
Steve certainly put his weight’s
worth of work in and worked
hard consistently for all the days
we were on site. He has a great
sense of humour and is a real
story teller.
He was a hit on the team and a
great team player. His natural
charming personality warmed
him to the other team members.
Steve is a young man at a
crossroads who was challenged
in Ethiopia to the core and did
some soul searching while
there. He made some brave
decisions whilst there which he
will now need to follow up when
he returns home.
There were no problems at all
with him and we developed a
healthy respect for one another.
It was a pleasure to mentor
Steve for the three weeks we
were in Ethiopia.
This positive progress by Steve
has continued. On 6 March
2009 an evening was organised
at which Steve made a 15
minute powerpoint presentation
about his experiences in
Ethiopia in front of a large
crowd. Those who know him
see his natural leadership
abilities.
At that event it was publicly
proposed that Steve go again to
Ethiopia this year as a mentor
and that another at-risk-youth
be chosen to go as an
understudy. Steve would be
required to contribute
significantly towards his own
costs.
This success with Steve has led
the family friend and sponsor
(from Habitat for Humanity) to
want to work closely with the
Youth Court and CYFS in future
to develop similar opportunities
for other young people. This of
course will require financial
support from the wider
community to make such
ventures possible and thought is
being given now as to how to go
about obtaining such support
and developing this opportunity
for others.
Yours sincerely
A J FitzGerald
Youth Court Judge
Continued
Monday, June 8, 2009
Event Fundraiser & Wish List
As I prepare to go to Ethiopia, I have to raise around $3000 to cover what I can't afford out of my own pocket (the trip in total is NZ$5100). Sooo, I am having a fundraiser on the 4th of July. My friend Soane is putting together the tickets for me (so watch this space!), but the plans are that I am having a function at 42a Lambie Dr on the 4th of July.
Its an international theme night with a variety of music (anyone want to bring some jams?) and also some food. There will be three menus (Italian, Mexican and Island) and the ticket price will include the feed!
It's just $15 and will start at 7pm and finish around 9pm. I will let you know more details this week!
My other fundraiser is a raffle that is being drawn on the 4th of July. There are three prizes that have generously been donated from Pacific Grace Jewelry .
1st prize is a $100 voucher,
2nd prize is $60 voucher and the
3rd prize is a $40 voucher of any jewelry from the Pacific Grace range.
(I am not usually a fan of raffles as they go against my values of anti-gambling, but if you just see your donation as giving to my cause, the prize is just a bonus!) So please support me.
While I am in the mood, i thought I would also let you know my wish list. These are items that I need to take with me that I don't have yet.
1. Video camera! If anyone has one that I could borrow, please let me know.
2. Still camera.
3. Shoes for the street kids.
4. Material for the ladies to give them material to make their own clothes.
5. Suitcase!
6. Food for the 4th of July. I'll need mince and cheese that would go into our menus. If anyone can help to donate these items, that would really help to drop my expenses =)
7. Other items like drinks, serviettes, plastic forks, decorations.
Let me know if you can help and want to support. Become a follower on my page too so you can follow along my journey to Ethiopia.
Its an international theme night with a variety of music (anyone want to bring some jams?) and also some food. There will be three menus (Italian, Mexican and Island) and the ticket price will include the feed!
It's just $15 and will start at 7pm and finish around 9pm. I will let you know more details this week!
My other fundraiser is a raffle that is being drawn on the 4th of July. There are three prizes that have generously been donated from Pacific Grace Jewelry .
1st prize is a $100 voucher,
2nd prize is $60 voucher and the
3rd prize is a $40 voucher of any jewelry from the Pacific Grace range.
(I am not usually a fan of raffles as they go against my values of anti-gambling, but if you just see your donation as giving to my cause, the prize is just a bonus!) So please support me.
While I am in the mood, i thought I would also let you know my wish list. These are items that I need to take with me that I don't have yet.
1. Video camera! If anyone has one that I could borrow, please let me know.
2. Still camera.
3. Shoes for the street kids.
4. Material for the ladies to give them material to make their own clothes.
5. Suitcase!
6. Food for the 4th of July. I'll need mince and cheese that would go into our menus. If anyone can help to donate these items, that would really help to drop my expenses =)
7. Other items like drinks, serviettes, plastic forks, decorations.
Let me know if you can help and want to support. Become a follower on my page too so you can follow along my journey to Ethiopia.
Friday, June 5, 2009
How it all began!
Do you remember the songs We are the world and Do they know it's Christmas time? Those songs came out in 1985 while a famine was happening in Ethiopia. At the time, I was a six year old, living in Melbourne Australia, where we had moved a year earlier from New Zealand to be closer to my dad's Greek family. At the same time, my parents had bought a Christian Kids album called Psalty's Kids Praise 6 "A heart to change the World." This album intrigued my little mind as it took me on a journey of mission work around the world. This is where my heart for missions began. At the age of 6, my mother recalls me telling her that one day, I was going to be a missionary to Ethiopia. In my mind, I would be right in the middle of a famine, feeding hundreds of hungry children as they lined up on the side of the street.
The funny thing is, that as that six year old, I hated living in Melbourne. Not because it was a terrible place or that I had no friends (or maybe that was the case lol), but more because I wasn't able to go home. I heard years later about this thing called agrophobia which is a fear of not being able to get back home. My mum said that there is no way I could have had this, but I think in a small way, I did. I hated the fact that I couldn't get back to our home in Glenfield, Auckland, New Zealand. I really, really wanted to go home! I saw this played out in Rotorua, when we moved there four and a half years ago with my daughter Lydia. For a few months, she kept asking to go home. When can we go home? She would cry and I could empathise with her because I had felt the same way. Fortunately, however, Rotorua was only a three hour drive away.
I share this about Melbourne, to show how far I have come. I remember even in 1995, when I first met Asaua, asking my prayer companions at St Anthony's Youth Group, to pray for me as we were planning to go to Camp Adair. The thought of going on camp, even scared me. Fear was a big thing in my life. This was one of the first things that God had to deal with, within me.
But that trip to camp was not as bad as I had imagined. In fact, it was a real awesome experience for me. One that began my search for God. I had just met Asaua and thought he was a bit of a hottie lol. But I didn't know him at all and didn't want to rush into anything. I opened my bible (something I didn't do very often at all back then) and it opened to a verse in Psalms 37:4 and it read "Seek your happiness in the Lord and He will give you your hearts desires." Asaua had become my hearts desire and so I really tried to "seek my happiness" in things that pleased God. Well, I got Asaua, and not long after that, I forgot all about that verse. Asaua and I got really heavily involved in our relationship. We went through a lot of good and bad times. It was through a series of events, that two years later we got pregnant, then married and had our first baby at 19. Even then, I had told Asaua that I had always wanted to go to Ethiopia and asked him if he would want to go one day...you know, when we get old.
While lying in bed one night in the hospital after having Jamal, I had a dream. This dream was so vivid that it felt really real. You know those dreams when you wake up and wonder if you were dreaming or if it was real? Well this dream was about me and my old next door neighbour. We were on Queen St (a place I frequented a lot as a teenager) and we jumped on a bus that was going down town. While turning a corner, this bus got sucked down a black hole and (in the dream) I knew that my life was ending. For the first time, after a lifetime of believing that if I was a good girl (whatever that means) I would go to heaven, I really questioned whether or not, I really WAS good enough! It freaked me out!
A lot had happened in the previous months- I had stopped drinking and smoking, I had given my life to this handsome young man, I had moved out of home and into our own house. I had also been visiting Asaua's brothers church and youth rallies and had heard messages from the Bible that really made me question my relationship with God. The thing that always got in the way of me developing that relationship was things I had done, things I wanted to still do and things that I already had sorted. But this dream just made me rethink all that. It made me realise that none of that mattered. So three months later, when I attended a church service at BBC Otara and heard about the woman at the well and how Jesus offered to be her friend and offered her eternal water for her soul. I went to drink from that well and accepted that living water. My soul was at rest and I wanted to tell the whole world!
We soon moved to Otara to save money by living with Asaua's parents (which didn't last long lol) and also to go to BBC (where we vowed not to go hard out like his brother). But as it happened, we fell in love with the church and really hungered to learn more about the Bible and God. So we attended pretty much almost every day. Eventually, we helped out in a lot of the activities like after school clubs - Asaua helped with the 7-8 yr olds while I helped and led the 5-6 year old club. I loved working with little kids. My mum noted that this was my Mission field. I had to agree. When Jamal was one, we bought a ten seater Ford Econovan so that we could fit all the kids in that we would pick up. We also used it to take a group of youth to Lake Pupuke on late night swims after church- my favourite place on the North Shore! Those were good times.
Anyway, one weekend at church, we were having a Missions weekend. By this time, Asaua and I were teaching the Junior High Sunday school class and, as part and parcel of leading that class, were all involved in putting together a Missions night. This was a chance for everyone to set up a room in the country of their choice and talk about what is happening in that country. Our first year, we did Italy. That was fun and I got to make Italian food! This year, however, we did Samoa. Anyway, that was beside the point. We also had twins at this stage and our family was taking it's toll on our ability to be as involved in church. A couple was visiting this particular year, who had done 15 years missionary work in Ethiopia through the 70's and then done 20 years in Kenya. I eagerly awaited their arrival and was so excited to see their slides! As soon as I got the chance, I talked to the couple and told them of my long desire to go to Ethiopia, to which they responded "God NEEDS people in Ethiopia!". This half excited me, and half scared me as it never ACTUALLY dawned on me, that it was something that I could tangibly do. So I replied, well, you would have to convince my husband of that. And she wisely suggested that we let God do the convincing...this was going to be a long feat! My husband did not even like the thought of leaving Auckland, let alone the country! This did, however, plant a seed in our minds of something that might be.
Well, two years later, after having our fourth child, going through some rough trials and finally being obedient to the voice of God, we made our first step. We moved to Rotorua! It was a step of faith, and a step out of our comfort zone. We were leaving behind Asaua's stable job with my uncle. A job that he excelled in and was comfortable in. He was an Alternative Education teacher-something that I knew he would be good at, before anyone else did as I had sat with him through many Sunday school classes and seen him relate to these kids that not many other people (myself included) could relate to.
Our year in Rotorua was the best year of our lives. We lived off nothing for the first three months while Asaua waited for a youth organisation down there to get some funding through. He worked hard in a timber mill while I stayed home, pregnant, with our four kids who were all under the age of 8. God taught me about fear and how to overcome it. He showed me in his word that nothing would harm me that he wouldn't allow and that by being fearful would not protect me but would only be detrimental. This was the year I overcame fear. I also overcame the need to be busy all the time and really rested for a good year. But as God would have it, my mission time in Otara hadn't finished, so we moved back. We actually started a journey to applying to going to Ethiopia together as a family, but the time was not right and we turned our efforts into starting a youth organisation of our own in Otara.
This was a dream that was a long time coming as we saw the need to meet young people where they were at and not to force them to come to church to see where they were at. We took the example of Jesus, who walked the streets and sat with the sinners and showed his love to those who were unlovable. We had started a good thing. People were supportive and so were the funders. We got sooo busy, growing this thing and looking after these youth that would walk through our door, that we forgot what we had learnt in Rotorua.
There is a saying that I learnt last year that says that "it is easier for Satan to kill a seed than to destroy a harvest." Well, unfortunately, that project didn't get much further than being a seed. Fortunately, however, the seed still remains in our heart and was nurtured by another man in Otara who took us into his harvest and set our feet back on solid ground. Through him, God taught us about His grace. "Grace that restores, grace that redeems, grace that releases me to worship, grace that repairs visions and dreams, grace that releases Miracles!" Israel Houghton sings those words, and still, to this day, they bring tears to my eyes. I would never have known the extent of God's grace, until I had experienced receiving it myself. The miracle is that my family is still together and thrives after the storm. God repaired the dreams in our hearts and is now allowing me to live this dream to go to Ethiopia!!
I now work for a youth organisation called Crosspower Ministries Trust (the BEST youth organisation in New Zealand!) No bias there - whatsoever! and have had the opportunity to work with MORE awesome young kids in the low socio economic area of East Tamaki. I have also been a proud supporter of our dance crews, who this year qualified to go to the World Hiphop Champs in Las Vegas in July. I was asked to go along and thought, wow, what a great opportunity that would be for me to take my oldest son to! Jamal is almost 12 now and loves Hiphop dance. I told him to pray about it and he was excited. But then...I thought about what values I wanted to pass onto my son. He has grown a heart for Ethiopia too as we have talked about going over the years. He has talked about wanting to help those who suffer real poverty and so I had told him that when he turns 13, we would go.
Asaua and I had visited the States for our 10th anniversary, two years ago. It was amazing but at the same time, disturbing for me. In some places, you would see such affluence, while knowing that just across the border lay such poverty...even on their own city streets, lay poverty. I could take Jamal and show him how he could make it to a world stage and receive fame and fortune, but with him being at such a vulnerable age, would I rather teach him the importance of empathy and generosity. I decided not to take him to Las Vegas that night.
That week, my friend Julie from Texas, posted a poster on her Facebook site about the Mochaclub. I was intrigued once again! I had just gone through a process last year of trying to organise a trip with an American organisation who build schools in Africa. My colleague Moe and I thought that we could take a group of our youth from Otara over to show them what missions is all about. But I could never get a response from the organisation. So after spending an hour on the Mochaclub website, I emailed them to see if I would get a response to my request of taking two places on a trip to Ethiopia in July! I fell in love with this organisation because they exist to support local initiatives. They also are very transparent and have two week trips-which suit me to a tee.
To my great delight, two days later, Geoffrey emailed me back! I almost cried in my office as I read his email. So after too-ing and frow-ing about what and how and when and my kids? and with what?, I committed to going. I paid my deposit. I stepped out in faith again. I have the support of my Pastors and most of all, I have the support of my husband (well, he is the one I am leaving behind to keep the fort). So I am off! On the 19th of July-Jamal's 12th birthday. And I am inviting you to follow me on my journey. So lets go!
The funny thing is, that as that six year old, I hated living in Melbourne. Not because it was a terrible place or that I had no friends (or maybe that was the case lol), but more because I wasn't able to go home. I heard years later about this thing called agrophobia which is a fear of not being able to get back home. My mum said that there is no way I could have had this, but I think in a small way, I did. I hated the fact that I couldn't get back to our home in Glenfield, Auckland, New Zealand. I really, really wanted to go home! I saw this played out in Rotorua, when we moved there four and a half years ago with my daughter Lydia. For a few months, she kept asking to go home. When can we go home? She would cry and I could empathise with her because I had felt the same way. Fortunately, however, Rotorua was only a three hour drive away.
I share this about Melbourne, to show how far I have come. I remember even in 1995, when I first met Asaua, asking my prayer companions at St Anthony's Youth Group, to pray for me as we were planning to go to Camp Adair. The thought of going on camp, even scared me. Fear was a big thing in my life. This was one of the first things that God had to deal with, within me.
But that trip to camp was not as bad as I had imagined. In fact, it was a real awesome experience for me. One that began my search for God. I had just met Asaua and thought he was a bit of a hottie lol. But I didn't know him at all and didn't want to rush into anything. I opened my bible (something I didn't do very often at all back then) and it opened to a verse in Psalms 37:4 and it read "Seek your happiness in the Lord and He will give you your hearts desires." Asaua had become my hearts desire and so I really tried to "seek my happiness" in things that pleased God. Well, I got Asaua, and not long after that, I forgot all about that verse. Asaua and I got really heavily involved in our relationship. We went through a lot of good and bad times. It was through a series of events, that two years later we got pregnant, then married and had our first baby at 19. Even then, I had told Asaua that I had always wanted to go to Ethiopia and asked him if he would want to go one day...you know, when we get old.
While lying in bed one night in the hospital after having Jamal, I had a dream. This dream was so vivid that it felt really real. You know those dreams when you wake up and wonder if you were dreaming or if it was real? Well this dream was about me and my old next door neighbour. We were on Queen St (a place I frequented a lot as a teenager) and we jumped on a bus that was going down town. While turning a corner, this bus got sucked down a black hole and (in the dream) I knew that my life was ending. For the first time, after a lifetime of believing that if I was a good girl (whatever that means) I would go to heaven, I really questioned whether or not, I really WAS good enough! It freaked me out!
A lot had happened in the previous months- I had stopped drinking and smoking, I had given my life to this handsome young man, I had moved out of home and into our own house. I had also been visiting Asaua's brothers church and youth rallies and had heard messages from the Bible that really made me question my relationship with God. The thing that always got in the way of me developing that relationship was things I had done, things I wanted to still do and things that I already had sorted. But this dream just made me rethink all that. It made me realise that none of that mattered. So three months later, when I attended a church service at BBC Otara and heard about the woman at the well and how Jesus offered to be her friend and offered her eternal water for her soul. I went to drink from that well and accepted that living water. My soul was at rest and I wanted to tell the whole world!
We soon moved to Otara to save money by living with Asaua's parents (which didn't last long lol) and also to go to BBC (where we vowed not to go hard out like his brother). But as it happened, we fell in love with the church and really hungered to learn more about the Bible and God. So we attended pretty much almost every day. Eventually, we helped out in a lot of the activities like after school clubs - Asaua helped with the 7-8 yr olds while I helped and led the 5-6 year old club. I loved working with little kids. My mum noted that this was my Mission field. I had to agree. When Jamal was one, we bought a ten seater Ford Econovan so that we could fit all the kids in that we would pick up. We also used it to take a group of youth to Lake Pupuke on late night swims after church- my favourite place on the North Shore! Those were good times.
Anyway, one weekend at church, we were having a Missions weekend. By this time, Asaua and I were teaching the Junior High Sunday school class and, as part and parcel of leading that class, were all involved in putting together a Missions night. This was a chance for everyone to set up a room in the country of their choice and talk about what is happening in that country. Our first year, we did Italy. That was fun and I got to make Italian food! This year, however, we did Samoa. Anyway, that was beside the point. We also had twins at this stage and our family was taking it's toll on our ability to be as involved in church. A couple was visiting this particular year, who had done 15 years missionary work in Ethiopia through the 70's and then done 20 years in Kenya. I eagerly awaited their arrival and was so excited to see their slides! As soon as I got the chance, I talked to the couple and told them of my long desire to go to Ethiopia, to which they responded "God NEEDS people in Ethiopia!". This half excited me, and half scared me as it never ACTUALLY dawned on me, that it was something that I could tangibly do. So I replied, well, you would have to convince my husband of that. And she wisely suggested that we let God do the convincing...this was going to be a long feat! My husband did not even like the thought of leaving Auckland, let alone the country! This did, however, plant a seed in our minds of something that might be.
Well, two years later, after having our fourth child, going through some rough trials and finally being obedient to the voice of God, we made our first step. We moved to Rotorua! It was a step of faith, and a step out of our comfort zone. We were leaving behind Asaua's stable job with my uncle. A job that he excelled in and was comfortable in. He was an Alternative Education teacher-something that I knew he would be good at, before anyone else did as I had sat with him through many Sunday school classes and seen him relate to these kids that not many other people (myself included) could relate to.
Our year in Rotorua was the best year of our lives. We lived off nothing for the first three months while Asaua waited for a youth organisation down there to get some funding through. He worked hard in a timber mill while I stayed home, pregnant, with our four kids who were all under the age of 8. God taught me about fear and how to overcome it. He showed me in his word that nothing would harm me that he wouldn't allow and that by being fearful would not protect me but would only be detrimental. This was the year I overcame fear. I also overcame the need to be busy all the time and really rested for a good year. But as God would have it, my mission time in Otara hadn't finished, so we moved back. We actually started a journey to applying to going to Ethiopia together as a family, but the time was not right and we turned our efforts into starting a youth organisation of our own in Otara.
This was a dream that was a long time coming as we saw the need to meet young people where they were at and not to force them to come to church to see where they were at. We took the example of Jesus, who walked the streets and sat with the sinners and showed his love to those who were unlovable. We had started a good thing. People were supportive and so were the funders. We got sooo busy, growing this thing and looking after these youth that would walk through our door, that we forgot what we had learnt in Rotorua.
There is a saying that I learnt last year that says that "it is easier for Satan to kill a seed than to destroy a harvest." Well, unfortunately, that project didn't get much further than being a seed. Fortunately, however, the seed still remains in our heart and was nurtured by another man in Otara who took us into his harvest and set our feet back on solid ground. Through him, God taught us about His grace. "Grace that restores, grace that redeems, grace that releases me to worship, grace that repairs visions and dreams, grace that releases Miracles!" Israel Houghton sings those words, and still, to this day, they bring tears to my eyes. I would never have known the extent of God's grace, until I had experienced receiving it myself. The miracle is that my family is still together and thrives after the storm. God repaired the dreams in our hearts and is now allowing me to live this dream to go to Ethiopia!!
I now work for a youth organisation called Crosspower Ministries Trust (the BEST youth organisation in New Zealand!) No bias there - whatsoever! and have had the opportunity to work with MORE awesome young kids in the low socio economic area of East Tamaki. I have also been a proud supporter of our dance crews, who this year qualified to go to the World Hiphop Champs in Las Vegas in July. I was asked to go along and thought, wow, what a great opportunity that would be for me to take my oldest son to! Jamal is almost 12 now and loves Hiphop dance. I told him to pray about it and he was excited. But then...I thought about what values I wanted to pass onto my son. He has grown a heart for Ethiopia too as we have talked about going over the years. He has talked about wanting to help those who suffer real poverty and so I had told him that when he turns 13, we would go.
Asaua and I had visited the States for our 10th anniversary, two years ago. It was amazing but at the same time, disturbing for me. In some places, you would see such affluence, while knowing that just across the border lay such poverty...even on their own city streets, lay poverty. I could take Jamal and show him how he could make it to a world stage and receive fame and fortune, but with him being at such a vulnerable age, would I rather teach him the importance of empathy and generosity. I decided not to take him to Las Vegas that night.
That week, my friend Julie from Texas, posted a poster on her Facebook site about the Mochaclub. I was intrigued once again! I had just gone through a process last year of trying to organise a trip with an American organisation who build schools in Africa. My colleague Moe and I thought that we could take a group of our youth from Otara over to show them what missions is all about. But I could never get a response from the organisation. So after spending an hour on the Mochaclub website, I emailed them to see if I would get a response to my request of taking two places on a trip to Ethiopia in July! I fell in love with this organisation because they exist to support local initiatives. They also are very transparent and have two week trips-which suit me to a tee.
To my great delight, two days later, Geoffrey emailed me back! I almost cried in my office as I read his email. So after too-ing and frow-ing about what and how and when and my kids? and with what?, I committed to going. I paid my deposit. I stepped out in faith again. I have the support of my Pastors and most of all, I have the support of my husband (well, he is the one I am leaving behind to keep the fort). So I am off! On the 19th of July-Jamal's 12th birthday. And I am inviting you to follow me on my journey. So lets go!
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