Global Outreach 360 Degrees

Andy Frank Reports in From India

Here’s a quick overview of the day…

Our goal today was to do some sightseeing around New Delhi, the capital area of India….population about 16 million!  I think they all drive at the same time too.  Dang!

Started the day by swinging by the Delhi YWCA where there is a women’s hostile that is making a big impact in reaching and uniting women and girls.  Went from there onto the area of the Capital and Presidential Palace.  We couldn’t get too close today as the Prime Minister was traveling to or from the area.  Here is a picture of me, Justin and Ashley Reinhard in front of the area.  The building behind us is the Parliament building.  The next picture show all 3 government buildings.  The one on the left is the Prime Ministers office.  On the right is the Parliament building.  The dome shaped  building in the middle background is the Presidential Palace.

We went from there to visit the India Gate.  Pretty incredible to see this in person.  Armed guard protect this place 24/7….taking 4 eight hour shifts per day.

After that we went over to the house and memorial of Mahatma Gandhi.  This is the home that Gandhi was living in during the final days of his life.  You can walk the steps of Gandhi and stand in the exact location where he was assassinated in 1948.  Remarkable place to visit and a remarkable man to learn about.  Another example of the fact that one person can make a difference.  The guy changed the culture.  Fascinating man!

From there we went to eat our first meal together as a team.  Yup, you guessed it…..Chinese food.  What the heck!  It was great though.  No vomiting or diarrhea from anyone yet!  It’s really quite an adventure navigating through this city.  Takes a long time to get anywhere.  I can really appreciate how easy rush hour in PHX is now.  This traffic here reminds me of my trips to Vietnam.  Couple of shots below of our team, led my David Lall.  David runs an incredible mission in Damoh, India called Mid India Mission.  CCV has the privilege of supporting David and his wonderful wife Sheela as they make a huge impact here in India, reaching people with the message of Christ.  We will be spending the majority of our trip at the mission in Damoh.

We finished our city tour by driving out to a slum area.  The poverty here is as bad as I’ve ever seen it anywhere.  However, in the midst of extreme poverty there are glimmers of hope.  We parked our vehicle in this area and walked through a tight alleyway to find a room about 10×10 ft in size packed with 30-40 kids sitting on the floor getting an education, learning English, and thankful for the opportunity they had been afforded.  We had the pleasure of interacting with these beautiful kids for a short time, hearing them count to 100, say their ABC’s, reading words off of a small chalkboard as Tom Eggum (president of Hope 4 Kids Intl.) pointed them.  Really amazing!  I could some incredible video footage that I’ll share at a later time.  Our time there was ended quickly, however, as some locals started surrounding our bus.  We were encouraged to get out of there pretty quickly.  We were sent off by a group of children chasing after us down the street, laughing as they threw water balloons and rocks at the bus!  LOL!  A great adventure.  Got back to the hotel late and had a great Indian meal with friends.

Tomorrow we drive to Agra and spend some time at the Taj Mahal before continuing down to Damoh to serve.  I know I’ll have some stories to share over the next 10 days.  Elizabeth from H4K and I have the opportunity to go into a few villages where white people don’t really get to go.  Some of these kids may have never seen a white guy.  We’ll be meeting them and Lord-willing singing them up for sponsorship so that we find them families in the USA who will take them under their wing and support them on a monthly basis.  This will give these beautiful kids a chance to receive both physical and spiritual nourishment as well as a Christ-centered education.

I’m expecting my life to be changed as I have the privilege to meet and interact with these kids.  Some incredible days are ahead!  Good night friends!

-AF

Covenant Community Church - StreetLight Event

Sheila, Phyllis and I had a great time last night at Covenant Community Church. Great Silent Auction, Dinner, and Live Auction. They probably raised over $30K for Streetlight. Wonderful Church, loved the people. Their commitment to excellence is a role model to us all ! If you ever want to have a successful live auction, auction off a 3 month old doggy-door trained Yorkshire Terrier... Wow !

Prayer Event Demonstrates Unity

Last night was a combination of allowing everyone to give praise and rejoicing to the Lord for all that He has provided - as He has provided so much, laid a foundation, and made our tasks easier by bringing everyone together that truly created a feeling of how united we are in this mission.

Reminding us that it is not just a few people working at the Streetlight office who are fighting this war - but it is an entire community of believers who are rising up against this, and rising to the call to help God's children.

Yes, last evening’s prayer event at StreetLight was a huge success with many folks staying for an hour or more afterwards asking questions and uncovering ways to be helpful.

We had a wonderful conversation with the Academic Programs and Asst to Vice Dean for Academic Affairs at The U of A College of Medicine Phoenix. We spoke about a group of doctors and professors who are all believers that meet monthly and support various agency's (Christian Clinic was one).  She was very moved with all that StreetLight has accomplished and is willing to make some introductions to the Vice Dean to help facilitate possible medical needs for StreetLight.

We met Sylvia, a survivor who was on the street for many years and has a  daughter from her former pimp. She saw the email from Bridgebuilders a while back and had to come and see when the invitation went out. She said if a center like ours was open to her like this, she would have been there in a heartbeat. She is going to go to one of the Mending The Soul groups to continue with her healing.  We hope she will join us to share her story with our girls in due time. What a miracle to meet her and bring more healing into her life.
 
The ladies that make the quilts brought about 20 quilts that are beautiful. Their group is working so hard to make us 50 quilts. They also told me of an organization that assists runaway teens from Church of the Nations. That organization feeds and helps around 150 teens. That would be the time to meet them--to prevent them from being vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation.

Thanks to all !

Nairobi Trip in June - Come and find out more Sunday Feb 28

Justin and I just returned from Nairobi and what a trip it was. We scoped out the different projects we will be doing in June when we return with 89 people whose lives will be changed for evermore.

That is why I am writing you because you can be one of the 89 if you feel God is tugging at you to go. Of the thousands of people that have gone on missions trips here at CCV not one has come back the same. This trip could very well be our very best trip.    

CCV is taking a short-term team to Mathare Valley, a slum located in Nairobi, Kenya. Our goal is to take a team of 89 workers to assist with the ministry of Missions of Hope International, and we want you to be a part of it.

Here’s a quick overview of Mathare Valley:

• 3 ½ miles long ½ mile wide and home to 800,000—1 million people

• 100,000+ school aged children who are not in school
• Regarded by many as “The Valley of Darkness”

Here’s a quick overview of Missions of Hope International:

• Began in 2000 as a school to only 37 students
• Today there are 10 schools and over 3000 students in Missions of Hope
• Use the children in their schools as a way to reach out to the families of Mathare
• Employ a strategy known as CHE (Community Health Evangelism) that seeks to empower and develop the community as oppose to simply handing out aid.

Here’s a quick overview of CCV’s mission trip:

• The dates are June 10-19, 2010
• We will be reaching out to the community through various projects including: sports, construction, medical clinics, and education.
• The goal of our outreach is to create a community of believers that will one day be transformed into a church!
• Read the blog from our recent trip www.globaloutreach360.com

We are having an informational meeting on Sunday February 28, 2010 at 1:00pm at CCV PVII. The last day to register is Friday March, 5 2010. Spaces are limited and we are receiving registrations daily. Register online now at www.ccvonline.com/nairobi

Questions? Contact Justin Reinhard at 623-298-2891 or justinreinhard@ccvonline.com

 

Great Coverage on Fox 10 News - Feb 9, 2010

ETHIOPIAN FOOD .... GOTTA TRY IT !

Justin is looking at some Ethiopian food we just finished. It was great. We are bringing some home for someone named Sheree, she will love it.

 

Ethiopian cuisine characteristically consists of spicy vegetable and meat dishes, usually in the form of a thick stew, with large tortilla like bread made out of fermented flour. Ethiopians eat with their right hands even though some are left handed. No utensils are used.

SAVE OUR PHOEINIX VICE, THEY SAVE OUR CHILDREN

 

As most of you know Phoenix is going through some tough financial times. The Phoenix Vice Squad who we work very closely with is in jeopardy. We can not let this happen.

Please CLICK HERE to save our Vice Squad.

 

Currently, our priority is to secure the funding and staffing of the Phoenix Vice Squad that is being considered for budget cuts in the Phoenix City Council. If you’ve followed STREETLIGHT and BRANDED at all over the past year, you understand the utter importance of these heros who fight to save children from sex slavery on the front lines, and lock up the predators that enslave them. Not only is the Phoenix Vice Squad essential for the combating of sex slavery that exists in the Phoenix Metro area, they also are national leaders for law enforcement on this issue. THEY are your tax dollars well spent.

Day 3 - Nairobi Slums

Today we visited the schools we will be working at in the ten villages. Remember the villages are all connected. We got some great footage and two interviews that I think will be fantastic. Beth was begging in the street with her kids for years. She met Mary who started the school in the   
slum. Mary gave Beth a $15 loan to start a business on the condition she pay her back. Long story short Beth started a selling soap in the slums. Today Mary has her own concrete house and has expanded her business. She became a believer and has the most amazing testimony.

The schools we visited were amazing. I almost felt embarrassed to watch how well these kids behave. The typical 3^rd grader in the classrooms in the slum far exceeds a typical 3^rd grade American kid. The scripture these kids have memorized is incredible. This kind of quality education is not uncommon in Africa, unfortunately it is only available to a fraction of the children which in this case 3400 out of 125,000. I looked at the leadership training that these kids get starting at 2^nd grade. I was shocked. The leadership principles these kids are getting in grade school you rarely see in college. Africa may have a chance someday.

We also visited where we will be conducting our sports clinic. It is your typical dirt fields. Kids all play barefoot.

 

I think the June trip back her will be a good one. Visit www.ccvonline.com/missions

to register and see more about the June trip.

Day 2 Feb 2 in Nairobi Slums

Today was spent in the Mathare Slum. The slum itself is about a half mile wide by three miles where 800,000 live. It’s broken up into ten villages however there is no way to know where one village ends and another begins. We spent the afternoon in the village of Pangani. It’s hard to describe but living conditions in Mathare. Clearly this is the worst living conditions I have ever seen and I’ve seen a lot. All the more reason to come here.

 

What I read this morning in Isaiah 61:1 was so appropriate.  “The Spirit of God, the Master, is on me because God anointed me. He sent me to preach good news to the poor, heal the heartbroken, and announce freedom to all captives”.

We spent some time at a school called Mission of Hope where 500 kids go each day. There several Mission of Hope schools in the slum that teaches 3400 kids each day. That only leaves about 125,000 who do not go to school and live off whatever the slum has to offer them. These kids are not orphans. They come each morning and go home each day.  Child sex trafficking is  big here. We will check that out before we leave. 

It reminds me of the guys who was walking on the beach where thousands and thousands of starfish were stranded by the receding tide. He came across a young boy who was picking them up and throwing them back into the ocean. The man asked the boy why was he even bothering and that he was not making any difference at all. The boy looked at the man and said, “I’ll make a difference for this one”, as he threw the starfish back into the ocean.

 Micro financing is very big here. The way is works is a group of business owners form an association of about ten. Each one of these business owner had to go through the same process. The bank is usually a Christian organization, in this case CHE is the bank. When a new person wants a business loan he or she must go in front of the business owner team to apply. The team must be willing to guarantee the loan. Then CHE assigns a loan officer and collector (same person) and the loan is made. Interest is usually 10%. The amount of the loan varies but some are around $15.00 to about $100.00. The business owner starts their business. Examples include selling soap door to door, bread business, etc.

  

STILLS USED TO MAKE ALCOHOL

 

 

There are over 500 loans outstanding with a 2% default rate. Perhaps American banks show come to Kenya and take some lesson.

Arrived Nairobi Safe !

 
Justin and I arrived safely in Nairobi after a pretty intense 26 hour trip. We travel well together. I am anxious to get started. It looks like a good place to bring about 50 people back in June to work in the slums.

Mathare is a truly desperate place to live. One of the largest slums in the world, hundreds of thousands of people live in an area just a few square kilometres in size. Social problems like ill health, child abuse and alcoholism are evident wherever you look. Infrastructure is poor and amenities are lacking. Every day people die needlessly because of disease, tribal clashes, drugs and domestic violence.

Yet life goes on and the people of Mathare make the most of what they have. It is a terrible misconception that places like Mathare lack innovative and creative people simply because of the poverty that the residents are forced to endure.

I will try and update everyone every day if I can..  God Bless Larrie