Reflection Stories

We must face the reality that for most of us, our societies are Post-Christian. As believers, we often find ourselves bumping heads with people who disagree with our faith. Naturally this can make us want to retreat into our Christians communities and hide from the world. In all honesty, the challenge for us now is: to be Christ even more than before. Our world is broken and the loudest voices are often the angriest. Think of an injured animal. It is aggressive and lashes out if you try to approach it but at the heart of the issue is its pain.  Much of our world is like this now. The Church is called hypocritical, bigoted, hate-filled and many other things. For us,  we need to admit where we have fallen short and failed to be Christ to the lost. Not long after he was elected to lead the Catholic Church in 2013, Pope Francis preached about how Church leaders must be shepherds who smell like their sheep. It is our duty now to step out of our comfort zones like the early disciples and go into the hard places to embrace those in need of the Gospel. Jesus said that it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but those who are sick. When others meet us with hatred or anger, we must see past the emotion to the heart of the issue and that is where we plant seeds of love and compassion. Without losing sight of what is right in the eyes of God, we must remember that every person has been created in His image. Serve that person who expects anger and rejection, and give them compassion instead. Where there is fear, let us bring peace. When Jesus encountered people He did not yell their sinfulness at them but He encountered them in a way that convicted and transformed their lives. There is a lot of fear and anger in our world. It is our responsibility and our mission to pray for the wounded and love those who persecute us. If we truly choose to live like Christ we cannot stay in the upper room, we have to go out and smell like the sheep.

Three weeks before Allison was to visit Palu, Sulawesi island was hit by a devastating earthquake and tsunami. The following is the story of her experience: I was meant to meet Henny and her husband Agus when I arrived in Palu but the plan had to change when the island was severely damaged by the natural disasters. I remember the shock of thinking, I could have been there and been injured like so many others. There was also a part of me that wanted to help but that wasn’t an option in the way I had expected. I couldn’t be there on the ground but I was determined to help in some way. My prayers were answered when I was able to provide advice for The Waterjars and other organisations to best direct financial aid and I was able to gather more financial support. While I was in Bali, I was able to connect water filter distributors with people and organisations who wanted to help Palu. With my skills in aid and development I was able to give what little aid I could to help in an overwhelming situation. A few days after arriving in Indonesia Henny and her family, and Shane and his family got in touch with me, letting me know they were in Jakarta. I caught a train from Bandung to Jakarta amazed by the way God had orchestrated our meeting. Henny was staying 10 minutes from the station and Shane was only five minutes away from where Henny was. When we met, Henny told us their experience of the disaster. Her nine year old daughter was traumatised and had lost three of her school friends. Even being on the upper floors of their hotel scared her. Agus’ mother had been living in the house he had built for her for only six months before the disaster. The house had been completely destroyed in the quake. In their 14 house compound, Henny’s was the only one left with running water. At the time of the earthquake Agus had been on his motorbike and the shaking had been so bad that it threw him to the ground multiple times. His workplace had been by the beach and was destroyed. While we were speaking we watched as Shane’s daughter playing with Henny’s and breathed a sigh of relief. We were happy to see them take advantage of the chance to be carefree children. Henny’s daughter was proud to have the opportunity to practice her English and showoff how much she knew. We made it a priority to allow Henny to express her grief. It’s an essential part of the healing process and by sharing, that healing would come to the whole community. Henny was born in Palu and felt a deep commitment to the town, it’s people and her local community. She shared photos and videos of the devastation. Hundreds were missing, thousands were dead and over 70,000 had been left homeless. There were no words of consolation we could give that would soothe her but as friends, the best we could do was to encourage Henny as a person and as a woman when everything in her life had been shaken so deeply. The next morning we sat together in the presence of God with Henny, Shane and his wife because we knew God would provide wisdom and guidance. We spent time worshipping and during our prayer I was reminded of Romans 8:35-39 and our Lord’s promise that no circumstance we face will seperate us from His love and mercy. The only thing you have in these situations is the love of God. With this truth in our heart we drew a mind map to identify the groups Henny and Agus were connected with, a total of 75 families. With this Henny could go back with a clear task she could manage without feeling overwhelmed. Even so, it will be a long rebuilding process, one that some may never fully recover from. We must simply keep moving and never lose hope. “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” – Romans 8:38-39 Allison is a friend of the Waterjars and a Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) Consultant. Involved in several ministries, she and her husband lead Chandelier Ministries. Want to join? Click here.

In a humble house in the middle of one of Melbourne’s trendiest suburbs, the Waterjars team visited the Missionaries of Charity. Their group was started over 60 years ago by Mother Teresa, a Nobel Prize winning nun who was well known for her charity work in India. The house we visited serves as a soup kitchen, providing meals to men in need of warm food and a welcoming community. Taking a leaf out of her book, Natalia and Thandi chose to give this experience as an early birthday present for Jim. When we walked through the doors we were met by Srs Guadalupe and Patricia who were busy rushing around, preparing to greet their guests. In the same warm spirit they welcomed each of us in with big smiles. Sr Patricia led us into a room dedicated to the history of the Mother Teresa. It told the story of how she began as a child in Albania who loved God and wanted to serve him. Her love took the form of a long spiritual journey and a religious order of men and women who make a vow of poverty and live to serve the poor From this room we were led into the building itself where we were given our aprons and briefed on how the evening would go. The men usually start arriving from 4pm and sit down for conversation, tea or coffee. As volunteers, we were welcome to sit with them and chat. From there we would sing a hymn, listen to a Bible passage and pray before serving the men dinner. The men served at the soup kitchen were mainly homeless men but the Sisters welcome those who are lonely and poor in spirit as well. The Sisters also have a seperate women’s shelter which provides emergency accommodation to women and mothers in need. The volunteers who came through the door, each met with the same joy from the Sisters came from all walks of life; business professionals, students and seminarians. Just before 5pm the Sisters called in those wanting to pray while we handed out hymn books. Most of the men came inside while others chose to sit in the back veranda until meal time. Sr Guadalupe led us in a song and then a reading from the Gospel with a short teaching about how our hope should be in Christ and the riches of heaven rather than focusing on the riches we have on earth. We joined together in prayer and after this we were ready to serve the food. As the newest volunteers the Sisters placed us at different points of an ‘assembly line’. One person was in charge of plating the rice, meat, vegetable and dessert each. Communication was essential to make sure that all the men received a plate and those with dietary preferences could be taken into consideration. Others were assigned to wash dishes and clean up as the men ate. Though it was busy there was a spirit of love and companionship which made the work seem lighter. The Sisters took the lead in this; they knew everyone’s name and even though they had many people to supervise they knew where there was a need. And while we had never met some of the other volunteers this made it easier to help one another. There was always something to do and someone to help you do it. Once all the men had left and everything was cleaned up we all came together for prayer. Sr Patricia led us, starting with a special prayer for Jim’s birthday and his intentions, before praying for every volunteer gathered there by name. The same caring smile that greeted us was the same smile the Sisters gave us as they welcomed us to come again. For each of us the experience was different because of our relationship with the soup kitchen. For Jim it was his first visit. For Natalia it was her first visit in years. For Thandi it was her second visit that week. Even then, the feeling we had as we left was the same. Somehow the Sisters had created a home, not only for the men they served, but even for the people they brought in to serve. The Missionaries of Charity Soup Kitchen can be found at 69 George St, Fitzroy and it is open from Saturday to Tuesday 4:30pm to 6pm for men aged 18+.

In the work The Waterjars does we have the privilege of working with many great people and communities. On 28 September 2018 the people of Palu, Central Sulawesi, were impacted by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake and a tsunami which have devastated the island. The Waterjars and Entrust Foundation have been working closely with the people of Mbuwu, a small village one and a half hours outside of Palu. Through our work we have come to count the community of Mbuwu as our friends and the tragedy has hit us deeply. All the people of Palu are in our prayers. We ask God to continue protecting survivors and to show His mercy as relief efforts are made to find those still trapped in the mud and wreckage. To our friends who have been affected by this tragedy, we are with you and we are thinking of you. The challenge you are facing will not go on forever. You will see tomorrow. Take care of each other and know that God is with you. We stand with the people of Palu during this difficult time as they recover from this natural disaster. There is a great need for basic necessities such as clean water, food, shelter and medical supplies for the injured. Thank you to our friends at Entrust Foundation who are running an emergency relief campaign to support communities in need. To donate click here.   Want to join? Click down bellow.