Soul Touch

Reflecting 2007…bring on 2008!

To our precious friends and family,

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and recover sufficiently in time to start the festivities again for New Year! Before we enter into 2008 we’d like to share with you some of the projects that we, because of your faith, generosity and support, have been able to accomplish in the 2007. Thank you for your continued love and gentle guidance on our mission so far.

Soul Touch, known to many adorable African children as Auntie Erica and Auntie Lorna and to friends as Hoddit and Dottit, is the name of our project. We have been traveling now for six months and are almost at the half way point of our round the world trip. So far we have survived Mozambique, South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Israel, Egypt, India (deportation out of India to Sri Lanka), back to India, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Now at Hillsong church Australia we are being challenged, encouraged and questioned about our trip. Starting with the name!

Why Soul Touch? Well for those of you who know nothing about our mission (shame on you read our blog- www.worldwithoutwalls.net) let us explain briefly what we are doing and why the name is much more than a title; it’s become our way of life. Our aim is to significantly touch people lives by contributing practically to the work of either their charity and/or church, creating opportunities for them to experience Christ’s love in action.

In each place we visit we work alongside the local community and church helping with a huge variety of tasks including: teaching, acting, singing, painting, brick making, bricklaying, talking and most importantly listening. As Ambassadors for World Without Walls, a ministry birthed out of St Andrew’s church Bo’ness Scotland we are striving to capture, on film, the stories of the people we meet. Stories of children rescued from the streets of Uganda now educated and looking forward to the future. Of children who once thought they were invisible, forgotten by the world and by God; living in the jungle of India alongside wild animals, now expressing wishes of going to university, becoming doctors, missionaries and “bus drivers”. Stories like Rita Nkemba’s. A Ugandan women who set up an orphanage in Kampala, the countries capital and who has dedicated her life to looking after the some two-hundred abandoned children now in her care. The stories we have heard and captured on film will then be used to bring awareness to the worldwide church about the needs of the people it’s serving. We aim to strengthen relationships with WWW partners aswell as expanding its partnership network; identifying projects that you can be involved in supporting.

Brooke Fraser (Singer/songwriter) sings in her song Albertine: “Now that I have seen, now that I have heard I am responsible.” We believe it is the responsibility of the church to change the injustice that exists all over the world. We appreciate that not everyone can visit these places; that’s why we’re capturing it on film! The films show that amongst all the poverty and amidst, what appears to be, the most desperate situations there is hope.

We saw hope in the little ghost town of Pebane, Mozambique where we started our trip. There we joined a team (Team Moz, led by Jennifer and Alasdair Tollemache) from Stirling Baptist Church. For the past three years this Scottish church has been partnering a local hospital in Pebane, providing medical facilities for them. This year the aim was to supply the hospital with a much needed surgical unit. Disease is rapidly spread there because there is simply no sanitation and, before the teams visit, no running water. A 42 foot container, filled with medical equipment (most of which was surplus in the UK but still in excellent condition) was shipped from Scotland to Mozambique. Within a week it was converted into a fully furnished, working operating theatre which is now used to serve the local community. Team Moz continue to raise funds and dedicate their time and prayers to their partners in Moz. It was a challenging yet encouraging way to begin our journey for lots of reasons; it certainly acclimatised us to work on the mission field: working in the heat, gathering water from a well to shower, using a rather less conventional toilet than we are used to and living, breathing, eating and sleeping side by side! (http://themoznet.blogspot.com/)

We saw hope in the camp we visited in Gulu, a place in Northern Uganda which for the past 21 years has been in civil war led by terrorist Joseph Kony. Kony, in his attempt to overthrow the government, has captured and enslaved thousands of children turning them into “child soldiers”. These children are forced to pledge allegiance to his army demonstrating their loyalty by murdering their own siblings and/or cutting of the limbs, ears, noses and lips of their parents. Yet even there we saw hope of Christ, demonstrated by KPC (Kampala Pentecostal Church). KPC, lead by pastors Marylin and Gary Skinner, recently opened in Gulu. They are dedicated to breaking the chains of injustice and saving the lives of the people there.

And of course as many of you all have witnessed the hope that exists in Peru because of the partnership and faith of The Vine Trust, Scotland and SU Peru. You have seen street boys rescued and placed in homes and most recently a second medical ship cross the Amazon joining its sister-ship there to provide medical care for some of the worlds poorest people, living on river. This is the place where the mission really began; the place Lorna and I met and the place we first witnessed how powerful and constructive small groups of people can be when they work together (www.vinetrust.org).

We hope that you will see a pattern emerging here; a pattern we have witnessed. In each place we have visited there is need yet there is also a response to that need. All over the world seeds have been sown; small groups of Christians are living out the gospel in real, practical and powerful ways. We trust that you will join us in continuing to support some or all of these projects. Start by following our journey. Log onto our blog: www.worldwithoutwalls.net (go to the Soul Touch link). We pray that you will be as inspired by these teams of ordinary people doing extraordinary things as we are.

Finally we want to wish you a wonderful, prosperous and very blessed new year. We are looking forward to all that God has planned. The next stage of our journey takes us to New Zealand where we volunteer for Scripture Union on a children’s summer camp, teaching them water sports (you might want to pray for that one!) We then head to South America: Argentina; Brazil; Bolivia; Peru; Guatemala and finally Mexico. We know that hearing the stories of these people will change our lives and we pray their lives will be enriched by our by our responses to them.

Love and hugs in abundance Erica and Lorna
Soul Touch xx

soul_touch@yahoo.com

Have a Wonderful Christmas!

To all our dearest, most precious friends and family. Wishing you a very happy Christmas. Lorna and I are far away- Sydney Australia to be exact- but tonight as we wrap the few gifts we have for each other our thoughts are with you all more than ever. It’s Christmas eve…with a difference. There is no tinsel in sight and the shops are surprisingly (and refeshingly) quiet. We’ve spent a lot of our time here at church, for several reasons. Firstly the stunning spirit filled worship and teaching; secondly beautiful Caroline (Lorna’s sister) and many of her friends are students at Hillsong College and so they are completely involved in everything and lastly we are here to serve. Although Australia is by no means a developing country (however they haven’t developed enough to know that mullets went out in the eighties!) people here, like everywhere in the world, have needs and poverty and injustice does exsist. So over the past few weeks we’ve absolutely loved being involved in the ministry of the street teams, led by Camokazi (Caroline’s nick name ala Soul Touch!). We’ve been wrapping pressies, generously donated by members of the congregation. It’s one of the many outreach community care projects that Hillsong bless their neighbours with every year. It’s similar to the Shoe box appeal that we all get excited about at this time of year at home. I am picturing you all now stuffing goodies into carefully wrapped boxes for children less fortunate than yourselves, goodies which have been hand picked and bought with love! The concept is is similar in that the gifts are given out to children and families who are in need. However the practicality of it all is something we discovered to be very surreal. Instead of sleep socks and cosy slippers being packed into stockings we carefully wrapped beach cricket sets and volleyballs as we sat toasting in the sun outside on the church lawn. I know “outside” may be a foreign concept to you all at the moment. You will (or should) be curled up on couches watching star spangled episodes of Dancing with the Stars and X Factor, oh how we miss it!

…but not that much. More than turkey, snow and our favourite shows we miss you, each individually, personally and an incredible amount! Christmas is a celebration, a time for family and for most a time of reflection and so despite the physical ditance between us you are still the ones in our thoughts and prayers. We pray this Christmas you will be abudantly blessed and God will continue to enable you to bless others as you have blessed and enriched our lives! We love you all so dearly and being away from you simply reminds us of how fortunate we are to have all of you in our lives.

Enjoy every second of Chirstmas! We will be in touch before the new year to let you know more about our adventures so far and the ones we are looking forward to in 2008!
Love and many, many blessings to you all!
Erica and Lorna xxx

“Together We Are Better!”

In Africa (sorry to drag you all back there. Don’t worry you didn’t imagine all of our escapades since leaving that place. As Lorna has pointed out we are infact in Oz although there have been no sightings of the Wizard as yet. A lot of time has passed and a lot of miles have been flown since then but since arriving here in the Oz it’s made me think heaps about the friends we’ve left and the things we saw there.

In Uganda we spent time with the King Alfred team on a building site constructing a boarding house at Butagya Primary School. (Scroll back there’s lots more info about it earlier.) Although some of us tried to boss on site there was only one real boss: John. John was a Ugandan with a chubby tummy, a huge smile and a lot of responsibility. It was John’s job to oversee all of the work on the site. He had to ensure each brick was put perfectly in place in order to support the ones being placed on top.
Now at the time I thought John was a ultra pernickety. To me the building of the boarding house was a matter of urgency for two reasons. Firstly the children needed somewhere to sleep and secondly our time there was limited. As I looked around the school (which we had now turned into a building site) and assessed the situation it looked like we needed to work fast.

At least forty school girls, between the ages of 5-14, were now scattered amongst the human chain that had been formed to transport the bricks from one end of the site to the other. Dressed in sunshine yellow dresses which matched their smiles, the girls giggled and laughed at the mazoongos (turning pink beneath the hot African sun) who were struggling to keep up passing the hundred ton bricks (they told us they were made of mud but I think they lied!) to the children who effortlessly tossed them onto the site to be used. Some carried them on their heads, cushioned with leaves to protect their scalps. The mazonngos even had a go but the less said about that the better eh Pastie!? The girls in line were currently sleeping in their classroom, huddled together like animals but with poorer sanitation.

My eyes could only see the immediate situation. These beautiful girls needed a boarding house (somewhere to sleep) and fast. So you can imagine my frustration and confusion when John (site manager) insisted on checking each individual brick put in place and then proceeded to adjust any that were placed incorrectly or were “rubbished” as he would say. John was an expert bricky and an awesome teacher. He was even patient with me when I couldn’t get the hang of the tools (I know now that string is an extremely important tool in every brickies toolkit). This string thing had a weight on the end and I am told it measured something. I was also told the name of it, which I’ve momentarily forgotten but know doubt my brothers will remind me of it once they’ve read this. Anyway, it was used to make sure the bricks were straight, which most of mine weren’t

For a week John and the team laid the bricks….slowly. They used the process of laying one, checking it with the special string and so on…and on …and on! And so we left that site with the boarding house unfinished. It did leave me slightly dissatisfied as I would’ve loved to see the girls in it and the roof on but I was content with John’s promise that the job “would get done”. Looking back I’m so glad John was there. I’m thankful that he corrected my bricks and that the men finishing the build know how to use the string thing correctly. You see I know that when that building is complete it will be magnificent. It will be a beautiful home for the girls and they don’t deserve anything less than magnificent. So imagine that is one small group of dedicated people building a boarding house for school children- imagine the church (think global, think massive!) rebuilding the temple for Christ coming. (Nehemiah 6)

Since arriving here at Hillsong Church Australia we’ve been receiving amazing (although challenging) teaching and we’ve met some beautiful (ridiculously stunning) men and women who love God. People who believe they are like the bricks. No not square and made of mud (although I’m sure some smart theologian could come up with a sermon out of that n prove me wrong what with the murry clay n all that!) but they believe they are people placed perfectly where God wants them to be.
More so they believe that the brick that follows- the next generation of believers- will be seriously effected by whether or not they are in line. I know you guys back in Scotland are imagining the same thing. I know that you are fighting hard to get into line with God and to position yourself in a great place so that you can bless future generations. So I want to thank you first of all for your example and your vision, that you are trusting God and believing his promises (Isaiah 43: 5-7, Jeremiah 29:11-14)) but also to challenge you. Remember we are not the foundations: we are part of the build.

For centuries Christains have been spreading the gospel to all nations so we can trust that we have some amazing foundations. Some of the greatest people who ever lived have laid them- the most obvious and strongest rock ever Jesus- and that’s just the start. Since his death (and resurection) his disciples have been building: Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Billy Graham to name a few and that’s only who my wee brain knows about.

I want to encourage you that wherever you are in the wall make sure your contribution counts cos it will most definately effect those that follow. It is up to you whether or not it effects them in a positive way or a negative one. What’s more it doesn’t matter if you are not the cornerstone, someone taking extra weight and responsibilty, (although well done if you are) without you and your contribution the cornerstones would fall too.

That’s a huge lesson I’m learning here: “Together we are better!” (Brian Houston)
The church (and I’m talking globally) is one team and like the bricks we can all support each other. If you look around the church and you’re squirming in the position you’re in maybe you need to think about repositioning yourself. If you see everyone else and wish you were where they are or doing the job they are doing, or worse still you don’t want their job but you don’t want them to be blessed by it either well I suggest you find a John. Find someone who will help you get in line (or how to use the tools we’ve got on our site- trust me the bibles a whole lot easier to use than the string thing ‘n’ it makes more sense, well to me at least!) Like John they will be patient and take time with you. Remember they are overseeing the job- they don’t want you to fall cos that only holds up progress. We want a church that is constantly progressing! We have no time for “regressors”! (Ephesians 5:16)

If you feel, wait a minute I’m not even a brick yet. I’m still in the mould ‘n’ I’m not sure I’ll be able to fit. Remeber the one who made you, made you perfectly just how you’re supposed to be. He made you to be part of the build. (Phillippians 1:6)

In Africa materials are expensive so they waste NOTHING. A couple of time a few of the mazoongos (not naming any names) would spoil a brick, dropping it from the cushion on their heads. Others were damaged when the human chain started laughing hysterically! Nobody cast them aside. Never once did John say “Oh well that one’s damaged we can’t use it.” No! He simply sanded off the rough edges and made it fit. He even went to the trouble of adding a lil extra mud to a couple and reshaping them so they could be used. Most often these “damaged” bricks were used as the cornerstones cos he said they were the strongest. How much more does God love it when he can reshape us and use us to make something magnificant!? (Math 18: 10-14)

When we first arrived at Hillsong we were immediately challenged by a vision they have here. They call it The I heart Revolution: (www.iheartrevolution.com)

“Imagine a global church and the impact it could have on the world!”

I thank God that you guys are imagining a global church and together we are witnessing how it is changing the world. Although we are not the foundations we are part of the build and we’re progressing. We are building on what’s gone before and preparing something better for the future.

God is building a global church and we need each other. If we unite we are stronger. The world is watching and like me on the building site they are becoming impatient. They can see (and feel) the immediate needs. They want an answer like the girls wanted somewhere to sleep. I believe we have the answer- Jesus!

Are you committed to the build?

Aussie Barbie? Na pass me the waterproof poncho please!

G’day! Howz it ga’in dudes?! Yes o yes we have arrived down under! That whole ‘ we at the bottom of the earth’ thing makes me feel dizzy when i think about it too much. The weather out here is scortchio…na im joking, its actually been rain storms everyday since we arrived, which is actually making it feel a little more like Christmas for us!

We met up with my sister Caroline on arrival at the airport, its been 5 months since i seen her so the skies reverberated with high squeals and laughter when she found us lying on the benches sleeping our tierd little heads since we had decided not to go to sleep on the plane but do an 8 hour movie marathon. Can you believe that they show ‘The Neverending Story’?! AND ‘High School Musical’?! Im not ashamed of my film taste at all..cough cough! But we turned Malaysian Airways into broadway as we watched ‘Hairspray’ and ‘High School Musical 2′! Yeah we got an encore, but our dancing had to calm down as the pilot thought the plane was going through turbulance.

So we have been in Oz for just over a week now and our days consist of, church, church, church, a day in the city and more church but when your local church is Hillsongs you start to cry when the services are over! To be honest with you guys, when Caroline was taking us to our first service which was last Saturday night i was nervus…yes i admit…i was nervus about going to church! I had seen Hillsong on TV and it looked massive, everybody uber confident and i just felt like it was my first day in school.

The first thing that i noticed about the church is that it was so welcoming for first time visitors. Outside the church they have proper coffee wagons, table and chairs and a burger stall where you can meet church members or just chill out before for what will undoubtably be a powerful sermon. When i entered into the main church it actually looked more inviting and homely than what i had imagined it to be, yes there is an overall congregation of 10,000 people per sermon – 4 sermons a day, but there was a seat for everyone and we weren’t stuck right at the back at the fire exist doors but we comfortably founds seats 4 rows from the front, where we pearched on our seats eager for the worship to start! They have massive wall screens that boom on powerful versus in the bible that prepare your heart, mind and soul for hearing God.

So im standing there all hyped up, and then……( everybody get your air guitars ready) Hillsong United come on stage and bring you further into God’s presence with their powerful worship! The legend that is Darlene Zschech was leading it also, i felt so blessed to be there. I looked around and saw that most of the congregation are youths. This church had done it, this church had made God more attractive than the world for young people and it was awesome.

We have plans made up for Christmas, we are going to Annette’s Mum ( the lady that owns the house that Caroline is staying at) is taking us in for Christmas dinner and then we have been invited to Terry Scott’s who is one of the worship lecturers at Hillsong College for a gathering! It looks all good!

Hope to update you with more later!

Lorna xx