Sidewalk Sunday School in Vikhroli

At the new Metro Sidewalk Sunday School sites we had some of the volunteers already go up on stage and put into practice what we taught them in the all day training the day before. These two did an excellent job praising God with the Hindu kids.

A dent in a high percentage

We had the privelege to start the first two Sidewalk Sunday School sites in India. To us it was like we were a part of making history. The first site we set up at was a location named Vikhroli, one of the many slums in Mumbai. We weren't sure what to expect. How many people will show up? Who will show up? Will we have persecution because of the low percentage of Christians in Mumbai? We weren't sure, we just went in and set up the truck and got ready for what was going to come.

Part of our team went into the slums to gather as many people as possible while Tabea and I set up the truck and got the volunteers ready for the site. Once we started setting up the truck, word must have gone out, because kids and adults were coming from everywhere. By the time we finished Sunday School, there were over 800 people there. The tarps were full of kids sitting on them and around the tarps was like a sea of parents. We got to preach the Word of God to over 800 Indians, but not just Indians; the highest percentage of the people that came out were Hindu.

Later on in the day we went to set up for Sunday School again, but this time in the largest slum in Asia. The slum that was shown on the motion picture "Slumdog Millionaire", named Dharavi. When we pulled up with the vans and the Sidewalk truck, many kids were already waiting for us. It was a tighter spot to set up in, but the outcome was incredible. This time the highest percentage of people was Muslim. This was an area where 90% of the people were Muslim. Everything went smoothly all the way down to the dismissal. Towards the end some Muslim men were planning something against us, but we were told to get in our vans and leave ASAP. We did as we were told and no harm was done. Regardless of the minor opposition, we got to preach the Word of God to over 1000 people at this site, but not just people, Muslims. Many Muslims at this site prayed with us, praised God with us and heard about the love of God. I have no idea the impact that we had this day, but even if we made a small dent with the love of Christ in a high percentage of Muslims and Hindus, it was all worth us going out.

"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." John 12:32

The Value of a Slumdog

A child running wild on the streets, no money, no home, has nobody, a homeless street kid. A child with dirty clothes, no shower, no toilet, not even a toothbrush to brush his teeth. A child begging for money, hungry, thirsty and in need of someone to turn and notice a child filled with more than hunger pains. A street kid. A slum dog. Is there any value left in such a person? For the woman in Luke 15:8-10 who lost one of her ten coins; is there any value left in a lost, dirty coin? Apparently yes.

"Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? (v.8)

Why would a woman go into so much work just to find one lost coin? I mean, she still has 9 more. And besides, the coin is lost in a dark room, on a dirty floor; she may never find it. The coin is lost and dirty. Is there any value left in such a coin? It doesn't matter how lost or dirty it is, the coin has not lost its value.

And neither had Dr. Rev. S. Joseph. Pastor Joseph was one of those invaluable street kids in the city of Mumbai. A street kid when looked at probably had no value. But Christ saw differently. He saw not just a poor and dirty street kid, He saw value in a slum dog. Now Pastor Joseph is the founding pastor of the largest church in India. There are around 400 New Life Fellowship Churches with approximately 700 services every Sunday. They have 10,000 house churches going on all over Mumbai. Their youth ministry is over 8000 and on top of that they are starting Sidewalk Sunday School in the lowest slums in the world. And the vision that Pastor Joseph has is 1 million souls by 2020. How is this possible? How can God use a slum dog to do so many outstanding things for the Kingdom of God? Like the saying goes, "one man's junk is another mans treasure." What is junk in the eyes of the world, is treasure in the eyes of God.

The simple power of a smile...

In the complexity of life, the simplicity of a smile is sometimes all you need. A smile costs nothing, but gives much. It enriches those who recieve it, without making poorer those who give it. It takes but a moment, but the memory of it can last for a lifetime.

As I would sit on the corner of the street outside our apartment in Mumbai I would just observe the people walking by. These people didn't have much, they lived in a filthy mess literaly, and not many would smile but just pass by doing what they could to earn a couple of dollars. There were two of them that caught my attention. They were both children. They didn't attend a school, not sure if they even had an education of any sort. They were up early and it wasn't to play. They were children that spent their day working. As they passed by I didn't say anything at first, because I didn't know what to say. I simply smiled as one would drive his bycicle making deliveries and the other would search through the garbage for plastic. As I smiled at them, their eyes widened as they smiled back. Every morning after the first smile, as Rajesh and a young girl who I don't even know by name passed by, the smiles continued. Nothing was said, but a lot was communicated. I took the initiative to send a smile, but they had no idea what it did when they smiled back. Who got ministered to more? Rajesh and the beautiful girl, or me? I think the answer is just as simple as the smile was.

When at times it is hard to smile, smile anyways, for you don't know who else is having a hard time smiling.

Kid's Praising God in Mumbai, India

5,470 children currently attend New Life English Schools. There are approximately 150 of these schools in Mumbai that are run by the New Life Fellowship Church. Education is the bridge out of poverty. It enables children who are the future of the nation to fulfil their destiny. The New Life English School provides primary education to many children who live in the slums of Mumbai.

Surety in Religion or Relationship?

Phyllis "Cookie" Reyes is the grandmother of two of my boys that attend the Sidewalk Sunday School in Harlem, New York. She was a wonderful grandmother. Yes, she had a short fuse and she loved to curse out the Jehovah Witnesses when they came to the door. And it was scary approaching her door, since her catholic sign on the door threatened your life. Besides this, she really loved her boys and was committed to her God in a different kind of way. For the last year or more she has been fighting cancer in her body, and it looked like she was winning. Although, just before I left for South Africa, she took a turn for the worse, and she couldn't walk no more. I brought the family food two days before I left for South Africa. She wasn't really responsive and she had deteriorated fast. I knew that she didn't have much time left. I told the boys before I left, to call me if they need anything. I prayed for the family and left for South Africa.

This Saturday, I was excited to visit her to see how she was doing. I knocked on the catholic threatening door, and Frankie, one of her grandsons opened it and the first words that came out was, grandma passed. She passed a few days after I got back from South Africa. I was a little annoyed and told the son, "Why didn't you call me?" But they had thought I was still in Africa.
I sent her a postcard from South Africa just to encourage her and to lift her spirits during her tough time. Her son told me that she received the postcard the day before she passed. In a way I got to connect with her one more time before she departed this world.
My prayer was always that she would be right with God before she left. You see, she was a very religious woman, but I was never certain about her relationship with God. I have to ask you the same thing...Which are you sure of today? Your religion or your relationship? Her son affirmed me that just before she left, she repented and got right before God.
Her son also told me that she was so afraid. Why was she afraid? Probably because of the unknown. You probably think about many things laying on your death bed. Like, is this God I say I believe in really who He says He is? Is there really a heaven or a hell? Did I live my life according to what God wanted me to, or did I miss it and die prematurely? I am not sure the thoughts or feelings of lying on the death bed, but I am sure that it can be very fearful.
Although, when you are more sure on your relationship than your religion, then the perfect love from your relationship can cast out all fear. I believe she has gone to a better place we call heaven and is now enjoying the most beautiful relationship - since there is no more need for religion anymore. There is no surety in religion, so why be religious? Seek and find a relationship with God, there within lies your confidence.

"For Thou art my hope; O Lord God, Thou art my confidence from my youth." Psalm 71:5

Going the Extra Mile - Literally

Just before Sidewalk Sunday School was starting in Khayelitsha, we went out blitzing in the township by handing out flyers to all the kids and families we met. Asanda, one of the staff members of Metro South Africa, guided us through the township. As we got to talking with Asanda, he told us a shocking story about a little girl who comes to Sunday School every week. Regardless of the circumstances that this little girl lives in and regardless of the environment which this girl lives in, she walks to Sidewalk Sunday School every week. The thing is, is that she doesn't just live around the corner. This little girl lives 2 kilometers away from the Sidewalk site. So every week, this little girl travels 4 kilometers just so she can be at the Sidewalk Sunday School site.

Most people can't even get out of bed to go and meet with Jesus, never mind walking 4 kilometers to do so. We have heard people say it many times, "we need to go the extra mile", but we never do becuase we have become lazy and comfortable and we want Jesus to come meet us instead of us going out to meet Jesus. The Bible even says that we need to make the initial step, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." (James 4:8)

I am almost certain that as this little girl starts walking to the Sidewalk site, God is moving towards her as well. The most amazing part of this story isn't that this little girl travels 4 kilometers, it's that she started walking this distance when she was only two years old. She is now five and continues going the extra mile - literally.

Kids in Khayelitsha Worshipping

Visitation An Eye-Opener

A few days ago I had the opportunity to go on visitation with James (Metro South Africa Director). What I was able to see up close really opened my eyes to view life in a different perspective. It allowed me to view my problems and my struggles from a different level and it put me to shame. I know now that I need not to complain about the circumstances that I am in, but rather thank and trust God in everything. On visitation, this is what I saw:

One of the first places we stopped at was at a young girls house (actually it was more like a shack). James went inside to see how the family was doing while Willie, Ryan and myself stayed outside playing with some of the children. When James came out, he looked very thought oriented. That little girl who we just went to visit had recently lost her father of AIDS (a very common disease among the people of Africa).

Another place we visited was another families shack. This was a tiny shack, no bigger than my current bedroom. In this shack lived a family of eight. All eight family members shared one bed, their floor was pretty much dirt, their walls and ceiling had holes in the metal and the wood, and their kitchen, if you can call that a kitchen, consisted of a pot or two and a little portable stove. This shack isn't actually a house. I don't know how people can actually live in these shacks, but maybe that's because I have been Westernized. Some of these families that live in shacks just find an open spot and build on out of wood, metal, rubber, or any other material they can find or that is available to them. They call these squatters. They also don't have running water, a bathroom or even a toilet. One of the mom's showed us what they do if they need to use the bathroom. They go out back and they do their business in a bucket. Once they are done they take the bucket and go to the river and rinse it out. Imagine having to do this every time you had to go to the bathroom. And the amazing part is that these families are content, it puts me to shame.

We then went to another house where a grandmother lived who had been taking care of four of her grandchildren. One of her grandchildren hasn't been able to go to school for over a year, because he has been ill. Nobody knows what is wrong with him, but for some reason he doesn't get enough oxygen. So they have this little boy hooked up to a tank that supplies him with oxygen. The tube goes from the tank to the child's nose. The tube that he is hooked up to is so long, in order for him to move around the house. The crazy thing is that these homes are so small that everyone steps all over his tubes.

To experience people living in unlivable circumstances breaks your heart. But I am not sure if my heart breaks more for these people, or for the people that have plenty and are not grateful.

After visitation, me and Ryan got to enjoy and great game of soccer with some of the boys in the township, so much fun.