Zech 8:5 “The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.”
This is our prayer that the new Jerusalem would be filled with boys and girls from Senegal, Talibe’s and beggars and that they would be among a great multitude of other children too.
Street children here in Senegal do play, they may kick a bottle or a plastic bag as a football, or perhaps play a game with a stone. However play is a seldom experience for street children and Talibe’s in Senegal. Street life and that of a Talibe puts other demands on children to survive or to avoid abuse.
So here we have a hope that childhood can be restored for these children. We also see that play is valued by God as the activity of children. Many psychologists would agree play is indeed a child’s world and language. Through play they perceive and understand the world, and I would add God too. In the city where God dwells Talibe’s and street children will play.
Dakar Diaries: Talibe
Talibe means disciple. Talibe’s are children as young as 4 years old who have are living in religious schools called Daara’s. the religious teacher known as the Marabout trains the disciple children in the qu’ran and sends them out to beg for money and food for the Daara’s. Seldom do the children see any of this money or food and it more than often ends up in the Marabout’s pocket.
I have noticed the Talibe’s surrounding the area we are in venture out to beg 5 or 6 times a day for as a long as an hour each time. They never seem to have very much in their buckets, perhaps the stash it somewhere?
Many reports indicate that the Talibe’s are often beaten and abused when they don’t bring back enough to the Daara’s.
They are in the truest sense street children.
Pray for the new president of Senegal to make changes that will improve things for the Talibe’s.
“Sometimes it is hell on the streets but when I play football I feel as if I am in heaven.”Thamires, Brazil
Street Child World Cup is hosting the Big City Sleep Challenge in London on the 23rd March. They’re asking supporters to spend a night sleeping rough to raise money for SCWC 2014 which will take place in Brazil.
There will be live Brazilian entertainment, a meal voucher for all sleepers and a chance to find out more about the Street Child World Cup.
When I was doing the Faith and Hope Tour in England and Scotland I took part in a variety of concerts, creative workshops and discussions on hope using the songs from my album “Beyond the Sun”.
A few of the events involved some sort of creative response.
Here is one of those very responses, a picture of hope in Aiden’s view (11 years old)
Jubilee Message
Happy New Year as a new year commences and old comes to an end I hope that for many of you this next year is a good one, that you find hope and healing for the hurts of the past and scars in the present. May this year be your year of Jubilee, freedom and justice
Faith and Hope Tour Part 8
In the school where I led some discussion groups on hope here is some of the responses I got.
What is hope?
Wanting something to happen
Believing in yourself
Believing in someone else or for something to happen
Hope is pure
Hope is different from everything, it changes everything, it isn’t normal
If hope were a colour what would it be?
White - pure
Rainbow - beautiful
Rainbow - it is unique, hope is different
Rainbow - it is bright and colourful
If it were an item of clothing what would it be?
shoes - help you walk along
shoes - help you get somewhere
glasses - help you see where you are going
boxers - without underwear you have no hope
scarf - you dont always wear it, when you do it gives you warmth and comfort
if hope were an animal what would it be?
Dove - pure
Dove - symbol of peace
Dove - God is hope. Noah story.
White Tiger - Rare but beautiful
Guard Dog - protect you
Guide Dog - help you find your way
Dolphin - Dolphins have been known to have rescued/saved people.
Mission and Prayer!
Thursday night of this weekI will be sharing and singing at a missions prayer meeting in Stone a bit about my wife and I as we embark on early adventures into mission with WEC.
It got me thinking about the importance of prayer when it comes to mission. This week I have been very encouraged by the focus on prayer each day and before youth clubs etc. You see without prayer…or without God’s coming into our labour (mission) then it ceases to be truly what God’s mission is to redeem the world.Then it becomes our agenda, our events and programmes. But when our efforts are characterised by prayer and seeking God then we are open to a change of direction and our focus is where it should be the God of mission not some agenda.
Not only does it offer focus but it makes all that we might do more effective when God is part of it all.
So be encouraged, whatever you are doing, may it be your act of worship and may it be sustained and build upon the foundations of prayer.
Christ in you.
Col 1:27
To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Some thoughts:
Christ in you - a source of hope
Hope - of glory - perfected creation, a world made right, no more pain or suffering, no more death
A Hope worth sharing - An invitation to share the hope of Christ with a broken world. Practical, tangible hope made known in our words and our actions! We can bring hope to other people in our love and mercy towards them in actions. So much of the time we know because of our experience. So it is with hope! Therefore we can bring hope into peoples experience so that they might know the hope of Christ in us!
Faith and Hope Tour Part Two
Q: What is the Faith and Hope Tour?
A: The Tour is a series of events that involve sharing songs from my new album and talking about or discussing the theme of hope
Q: Why talking and why discussion?
A: I was thinking about ways in which I could best use my music to engage people with the issues the songs touch on and with God. So rather than just a straight music event I thought including some form of dialogue would be a helpful way to do this.
Q: What types of events are you doing then?
A: I am doing a mixture of things. I have already led some youth bible studies using my songs, movie clips and passages from the Bible to talk about Hope. I have also used my songs in church services to talk about the message of hope in them and particularly the challenge to be hope to other people. Coming up I will be doing some assemblies, school concerts, church services, discussion based events, creative/arty events and more.
Q: Why "Faith and Hope"?
A: A lot of the songs on the album refer to or speak about hope. It seems to be a major theme in the cd. It is also something I am passionate about especially this idea that we could be hope to other people who are in need.
