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News from Jane Shaw in Lahore

Those with good memories for news will recall the attack on the police training college and the Sri Lankan cricket team. These events have caused great grief and anguish. However, a friend from the United Christian Hospital (UCH) found a bullet under the chair where she would have been sitting, if she had been in her office when the gunmen struck . God protects us more than we imagine!

Helping hospitals work effectively is of course Jane's main area of work, and she is pleased to report that her visa has been renewed for another year. UCH is still open and treating patients who flocked to the hospital for a recent 'medical camp' event - free examination and half-price surgery: doctors were glad to be busy and income went up. As within the Health Service at home, doctors there make huge efforts to reduce wasted expenditure and to improve staff morale. With all the troubles in the provinces near the Afghan border, it is encouraging to hear that a Christian Hospital in Waziristan is offering good medical care by women doctors for women who live in the area; the Christian witness of this work cannot be underestimated. It is an isolated posting, but a worthwhile one.

In the midst of these troubles Jane rejoices that congregation members at the chapel are taking more responsibility for leading worship and preaching, which helps her a great deal and provides other insights into interpreting scripture for the present age, in Lahore . Nor is it all solemnity - chapel life has its social side too - and the 'parish picnic' was well attended. They too are raising money to make a new building for a central church. The target for Jane's English-speaking congregation is 10% of the total cost - 2 million rupees (£17,500).

We pray for Jane that she will enjoy the times of rest she makes, for the fundraising for the New Church building, and for the Bishop Rockey Chapel congregation while this is going on. We also thank God that He continues to guide and bless the work in Pakistan , caring for Jane and keeping her safe.

As usual the full text of Jane's letter is available at the back of church or from me.

Peter Hemming

News from ASHA in Delhi .

A year ago Michael Wallace, a student who sang with the choir at St Chad 's for 3 years, went to India to work with a charity ASHA in Delhi . After a difficult few months he taught English to groups of children. Now his year's 'work' with ASHA has finished and he sends greeting to all those who supported him.

Since Christmas he has been teaching English to slum children, rather than working in the Office. Michael writes:

"I taught students in two batches: 11-14 yr olds and 15-18 yr olds. In the morning it was boys classes and in the afternoon it was the girls. I was basically given very basic equipment and told to get on with it! . Most days were very unpredictable and I had to get used to varying student attendance and events that rendered the classes impossible. Sometimes the classroom was being used for something else, or a festival, a protest, or both made my daily commute an adventure! Sometimes there were no students attending class and the next day the class was overflowing!

"Heat was another issue, particularly when the temperature rose to 45 C on most days! It was OK so long as there was electricity, but this being India and a slum area, there were times everything stopped! The power was often out for an hour or more and I often had to cancel classes when this happened towards the end.

Michael Wallace in India - contd

"The good side of it was that my students were great and I will never forget them. They gave me an overwhelming farewell party, making speeches they had lovingly prepared in English (slightly ungrammatical ones, but well meant!) . I will never forget my last visit to one of my student's homes climbing a bamboo ladder to reach his tiny slum room where we ate delicious fresh fruit and momos with some of my other students.

"With practice, I actually learned how to deal with class situations, which was a great experience; unfortunately I still loathe teaching with a passion!

"Despite all that has happened, I think the last year has been one of the best of my life so far - praise be to God!! I had a wonderful answer to prayer in my last few months in Delhi . I had been under pressure to move out of my room in the guest-house where I had lived for most of the year. . I was praying about this when I was invited to dinner, out of the blue, by a family I'd met earlier that year. I mentioned my accommodation problem and they immediately offered me their house for the last two months of my stay! They had been praying for someone to live there while they went away for a month to the US and my name had come to mind. . The family are great and when they arrived back from the US , allowed me to stay on; I almost felt it was my home by the time I left."

News from Kenya - John Padwick writes

John Padwick, one of our CMS link missionaries, works with the Organisation of African Instituted Churches, OAIC, in Nairobi . This is from his latest newsletter - you can get a copy from Peter Hemming or via the CMS website.

Kenyans are angry . frustrated that the peace deal (cobbled together over a year ago after the elections of 2008) has merely held the peace but not been able to agree on major reforms - peace, justice and reconciliation after the violence, land reforms and so on are still not dealt with. Politicians are, meanwhile, agreeing on salary increases and better allowances, for themselves . and that's why people are angry. Road rage is common; the mainline between Uganda and Kenya has been torn up where its route went through a shanty town. Women's organisations have declared a sex strike, so they can talk to their husbands about politics.

On the face of it things are depressing, but churches seem determined to keep reconciliation going, building up communities in urban and rural villages, while addressing the problems faced by young people.

Millions of male youths are unemployed and therefore vulnerable to politicians with money. Many have joined political gangs, building violence into the struggle for ethnic supremacy in the country. The Mungiki of Central Kenya give the most cause for concern. This was Mau Mau territory in colonial days and the place of some of the most horrific guerrilla warfare against British Colonialism. In urban areas the Mungiki are an unofficial layer of government, providing security and (illegal) connections to water and power, but also terrorising the populations that refuse to pay (illegal) taxes to them. They are difficult to control as they are also regularly part of the established police and churches.

Churches realise they need to do more, talk through the issues, but they are afraid of the consequences of being seen as opposing the powerful and violent gangs.

This political unrest forms a stark background for John as he helps to organise a conference on Mission in the 21 st Century for East African churches. It is hard for the content to be rooted in people's experience and not academic theory. They are struggling with expressions of the work of the Spirit with which they are not familiar, as well as how to deal appropriately with the Mungiki and other political issues.

. and all this in the face of the worst famine for years after a really bad harvest in 2008 and a poor looking one for 2009.

Please pray for John as he draws churches and people together to help them find Godly solutions to such impenetrable problems.

As usual, I have the full text of the letter, and there is likely to be a copy on the table at the back of church.

Peter Hemming