Public Education
Department -
Church Relations
Tel: (852) 2399 8630
Fax: (852) 2394 0566
church@worldvision.org.hk
World Vision of Macau Association – Church Relations
Tel: (853) 2843 5335
Fax: (853) 2835 2737
macaupe@worldvision.org.hk
Resources
World Vision Hong Kong provides
To honour God and his Word, we, as Christians, need to deepen our understanding of Jesus' passion for the poor: what it means to be merciful and just to all, and how we can work towards this goal. We hope that our Christian learning materials can help you and your church community to learn more about poverty and injustice, and reflect on God's teachings in this area.
From Caring to Sharing
| As participants in these World Vision Bible Studies, you will already be a caring person. But sometimes it is hard to know how to express that care in everyday life. We hope and pray that as you study the Bible and look at some of the world's needs, you will be able to discover ways in which you can also be a sharing person. God can use your vision, your resources, your love and your life to make a difference for a needy world. Now, as you begin... The studies are best done in a group context, with both the group leader and other participants having done some preparation in advance. STORY
BIBLE STUDY The Bible passages invite us to hear the word of God and then unravel its applications for each of the themes. This will be a process likely to take 20-30 minutes for the main passage (maybe 40-50 minutes if you look at all the biblical material). RESPONSE The next component of the study is an invitation to "earth" what has emerged from the study, a decision to act in some concrete and perhaps new way to meet some element of the challenges discussed. A personal-plus-group activity like this could occupy between 10 and 20 minutes. PRAYER The study concludes with prayer. A prayer is included for your individual or group use, or you can create your own. Depending on the size of the group, it should be possible to complete the study in about an hour and a half. |
| STORY (15 minutes) Basaan, a rather isolated village on Bali, Indonesia, had the need for a safer and more efficient water supply. The same creek water was used for bathing, brushing teeth, toileting, clothes washing, and often drinking. There was some piped water, but when the steel pipes broke the villagers were unable to repair them, and the water leaked out forming stinking greenish pools of stagnant water-great breeding grounds for mosquitoes! The World Vision's "change agent" in the area understood the people's vision for somehow utilising a nearby spring for improved water facilities, especially for people living on higher ground with little access to the valley water supply. This "change agent" also knew that Rus Alit, an Indonesian specialist in "appropriate technology" might be able to advise them. To the delight of all, Rus found that the village was sufficiently lower than the spring for a simple system of PVC pipes to be laid to transport the water. The villagers were encouraged to contribute financially, as they were able, to the initial cost of the system, and within a week they installed two thousand meters of piping. Now they had clean flowing water for drinking, washing, and watering their gardens. Later, water sealed toilets were introduced, and the formerly stagnant ponds transformed into fishponds. A vision for life-giving change had come to pass! For Reflection :
BIBLE STUDY (20-30 minutes) The nation of Israel, the Old Testament people of God, is about to enter their Promised Land after their exodus from four centuries of slavery and oppression in Egypt. Their leader, Moses, sets out some of God's vision and requirements for their economic and social lives in their new society. Read Deuteronomy 15: 1-11 For Discussion:
To find out more on God's requirements regarding vision, read some or all of:
RESPONSE (10-20 minutes) What vision(s) do you have for your local community; or perhaps for another community about which you know something; or even the world community? Would one of the following help you to "catch a vision"?
Lord God, Shake me out of my limited worldview. Open my eyes to what you want to show me. Open my ears to hear your call. Open my mind to learn new things. Open my heart to feel as you feel. Change my desires to will what you will. Amen. |
| STORY (15 minutes) Angellina Mpeeta lost her mother when she was five years old, and was cared for by her grandmother until she, too, died a few years later. This experience motivated Angellina to ease the suffering of children in similar circumstances. So in 1981 she and her husband began to take orphaned and neglected children into their home and care for them. As her own family grew, so did her extended family. Soon they ran out of room in their three-bedroom family house, so they converted the chicken sheds out at the back into extra bedrooms! World Vision heard about what Angellina was doing, and offered her assistance. The family grows crops and tends animals on small plots of land nearby. A Board of Trustees has been established to assist in planning and decision making, with a representative from the local government who assists in locating extended families of the orphans who might take them in. Work is almost completed on a new dormitory building for the children. When it is operational the old chicken sheds will revert to their activity for the home, as well as supplementing the diets of the children. In this and other ways, it is hoped that the home will become financially self-sufficient. Angellina now has 6 children of her own as well as 28 orphans she cares for; she and her husband express gratitude to God for being able to share the love they have for their large family. The children still have many needs, but the Businge Children's Home in Uganda is a place of love, care and refuge for them. For Reflection:
BIBLE STUDY (20-30 minutes) These verses describe aspects of the community life ("koinonia") of the early church, the New Testament people of God. The events take place not long after Jesus" death and resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Read Acts 2: 42-47 and 4: 32-3 For Discussion:
To find out more about God's requirements regarding the sharing of resources, read some or all of:
RESPONSE (10-20 minutes) In what ways can you share your resources with others? Would one of the following be a possible avenue for your sharing?
Lord, I find it so hard to share. All my life I've been taught to hang on to what's mine- Finder's keepers, look after number one. I want to change all that. I want to experience a new life of community and oneness. Where it's not "yours or mine" but ours. Help us, I pray to be good stewards of all the great wealth and resources you have bestowed upon us in this world. Amen. |
| STORY (15 minutes) When World Vision moved into the Sidlakan area of the Philippines there were people who were ready to be part of the project by offering whatever help they could to assist the very poor and the most disadvantaged of the area. One of these generous, caring people is a man named Ruffy. It is obvious that he wants to help people in deprived barrios (shantytowns; slum areas) in the region and in fact beyond. It is quite a sacrifice for a poor fisherman like him to take time away from his daily occupation, as he needs all the money he can earn to meet his basic family needs and keep himself out of debt. But Ruffy has chosen to be a member of the Board of the Sidlakan project, which has responsibilities for the manufacture and operation of pedicabs, and the setting up of small businesses, such as craft and food stalls. This involves Ruffy in much time and effort in group planning and work. But he is willing to do this because he is thinking of other people and their needs. His desire is to lift their lives and show them God's love. He models that gracious love and servant perspective which Jesus calls every one of his disciples to show. The intriguing thing is that Ruffy, who is married and has eleven children, has never looked for help for himself or for his family-although World Vision staffs assess him as one of the poor fishermen of Sidlakan, and indeed as one of the poorest men in the entire community. For Reflection:
One of the difficult issues the early Church struggled with was the loving acceptance of all believers into the Christian community, regardless of social and economic status, race, and sex. They discovered their faith had practical implications! Read James 2: 1-13 For Discussion:
To find out more on God's requirement for loving action, read some or all of:
RESPONSE (10-20 minutes) How can you show love in your own contexts - home, church, work, school, community? Would involvement in one or more of the following be appropriate?
Father God of compassion and love: Let my heart be broken with the things that break your heart. Show me injustice and oppression. Give me an eye for seeking the plight of others. Give me the courage to face my own weakness and avoidance tactics. Help me face the risks that helping others entail. I do love and worship you. I want to feel your heart of love. I want to love those whom you love. Amen. |
| STORY (15 minutes) Catalina Ursachi is small for her age. She's almost 3 years old, but looks and acts much younger. Four months ago she couldn't stand up by herself or talk. When anyone went to pick her up from her cot she screamed at human touch. The only thing that quieted her was to be put back in her cot. She never smiled. The little girl was born in the regime of Nicolae Ceausescu, the Romanian dictator who ordered that "product units" be born to enhance the nation's economic productivity and population. As a newborn babe, Catalina was left at orphanage No. 4 in Isai (pronounced "Yash") near the Russian border. She was left virtually 24 hours a day in her cot. One caregiver had the impossible responsibility of raising her and 22 other children ages between one-day-old to three years of age. Catalina never felt the gentle caress of a loved one, or the rough and tumble of play, or the challenge of building blocks. Her greatest emotional, mental, and physical development needs were denied her. Until Dr. Barbara Bascom, an American developmental pediatrician decided to commit five years to saving the Romanian orphans. For the past two months Catalina has been in intensive therapy. She can now build a tower with blocks. Her language skills are at the level of a 6 months old. But she'll catch up. Catalina can now pull herself up from the prison bars of her cot, reach out for a hug and smile. Thanks to a remarkable Christian woman with a vision for the future and a willingness to share her life. For Reflection:
Jesus taught his disciples that the sharing or non-sharing of their lives had implications beyond the opportunities taken or missed in this life. Read Matthew 25: 31-46 For Discussion:
To find out more on God's requirements concerning the sharing of our lives, read some or all of:
RESPONSE (20-30 minutes) How can you put the sharing of your life into practice? Are some of the following possibilities?
Jesus, Son of Man You alone have shown us what it means to share, to give, to be vulnerable, to love, to be hurt, to lay down your life for others. You alone have shown us the path of life. Lord, you alone can help me to put aside my fears and inhibitions, my comfortable lifestyle, my own plans for the future. You alone are the great God who will judge my coming and my going. You alone are the one whom I want to serve. Amen. |
These studies have been prepared by the Church and Christian Relations Unit, World Vision of Australia, A. C. N. 004 778 081, 1991.
Contributors: Ros Alit, Anne Carroll, Helen Carter, Elaine Forbes, Paul Nichols, Lyn O' Meara, Glenda Orland, Jamie Tidd, Ken Tracey, Gillian Tremain, Grace Thomilinson, Milma Wandke, Ian Webber
Contributors: Ros Alit, Anne Carroll, Helen Carter, Elaine Forbes, Paul Nichols, Lyn O' Meara, Glenda Orland, Jamie Tidd, Ken Tracey, Gillian Tremain, Grace Thomilinson, Milma Wandke, Ian Webber
