Monday, September 13, 2010
The Justice Project has moved to a new site!! www.justiceprojectboulder.org
TJP has moved it's site... Please go to www.justiceprojectboulder.org to keep up with the latest happenings of this ministry.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Street Team Diary
Blog from the hillsong street team
It's so nice to know that we have brothers and sisters around the world joining us each Saturday that we go out doing the same thing! Confirms that God's speaking and we're listening...
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STREET TEAM DIARY
10 Sep 2010
Saturday 8:45 a.m. I slowly drag myself up the stairs to the small meeting room on the second floor of Hillsong Church - the city campus. It has only been hours before that I was vacuuming those same floors after the youth wandered out of their weekly service. Yet this morning, as every Saturday morning, I am met with smiling faces as I enter the room. I greet a few friends as I stumble over to get some coffee and an orange slice and find a seat for the mini talk before we head out for the week.
When I first started helping, a year ago, I wasn’t so thrilled about giving up my Saturday morning, but here I am a year later, and I love going out and seeing my friends in the community. I look around at the other faces in the room. I see a group of students, and other volunteers. Amidst the group are the really committed volunteers, like Catherine, who leads a team and who has come every fortnight for the past six years. She is one of the real heroes. Every Saturday, teams go out into the community showing Jesus’ love through simply meeting the local needs of citizens.
I recently sat down with Gary Farrelly, the leader of Street Teams at Hillsong Church, to ask him a little bit more about how his church is helping more people help more people. Here is what he had to say about street teams and his involvement.
So when did you first get interested in community outreach?
When I was 16, I visited my sister at the L.A. dream center where she was volunteering. I did a few outreached but the homeless outreach is the outreach that really struck me. .. There was such a huge need. I was shocked to see the conditions how people lived in skid row. ...It planted a seed inside of me that I needed to value these kind of people... and [what struck me was] the fact that everyone has a story to tell.
One [of the homeless men] was a famous artist’s son. [I was shocked at] how he got caught up in drugs living in the lime light of his mother. I think he recently passed away, but seeing people like that and seeing that you can’t help them right then and there is frustrating. [His story] urges me to do something for them. To befriend them and to hear their story. To be a listening ear.
How did you get involved with Hillsong Street Teams?
Through my experiences with ministry overseas, this equipped me with the knowledge to do this kind of work. I befriended the guy who ran [Street Teams] at the time and the job opening came up and I jumped on board. It was right up my alley.
What is the main function of street teams/ what do you do during the week?
Street teams as a whole is about meeting needs in communities through outreaches to low socio-economic areas, nursing homes, [and areas with great numbers of] homeless and [therefore] tangibly being a representative of the church and Jesus.
We gather volunteers together on a weekly basis, primarily on Saturdays but also on several other days throughout the week primarily to bring help to people in need whether mobility impaired, isolated, or in need of a friendly chat.
We truly believe that people don’t care about who you are or your experience until they know that you really care.
So we send the bulk of our volunteers out on a Saturday to thirteen different suburbs surrounding our four church campuses. We do random acts of kindness throughout these areas meeting the needs of the local community. Our goal is not to dis-empower the community, but to help work with them to get this area of their life stable. ...We also hold barbeques and other events to bring people together. We also have teams throughout the week who respond to crisis needs throughout our suburbs.
How could someone else start this in their local community?
It is as simple as meeting with the local agencies and stake holders in communities and finding the need. So many people just go ahead and do stuff without first seeking out what is actually needed. We have found it beneficial to have people and organizations behind what we do... Also, find out what is already being done in the community.
When I first started helping, a year ago, I wasn’t so thrilled about giving up my Saturday morning, but here I am a year later, and I love going out and seeing my friends in the community. I look around at the other faces in the room. I see a group of students, and other volunteers. Amidst the group are the really committed volunteers, like Catherine, who leads a team and who has come every fortnight for the past six years. She is one of the real heroes. Every Saturday, teams go out into the community showing Jesus’ love through simply meeting the local needs of citizens.
I recently sat down with Gary Farrelly, the leader of Street Teams at Hillsong Church, to ask him a little bit more about how his church is helping more people help more people. Here is what he had to say about street teams and his involvement.
So when did you first get interested in community outreach?
When I was 16, I visited my sister at the L.A. dream center where she was volunteering. I did a few outreached but the homeless outreach is the outreach that really struck me. .. There was such a huge need. I was shocked to see the conditions how people lived in skid row. ...It planted a seed inside of me that I needed to value these kind of people... and [what struck me was] the fact that everyone has a story to tell.
One [of the homeless men] was a famous artist’s son. [I was shocked at] how he got caught up in drugs living in the lime light of his mother. I think he recently passed away, but seeing people like that and seeing that you can’t help them right then and there is frustrating. [His story] urges me to do something for them. To befriend them and to hear their story. To be a listening ear.
How did you get involved with Hillsong Street Teams?
Through my experiences with ministry overseas, this equipped me with the knowledge to do this kind of work. I befriended the guy who ran [Street Teams] at the time and the job opening came up and I jumped on board. It was right up my alley.
What is the main function of street teams/ what do you do during the week?
Street teams as a whole is about meeting needs in communities through outreaches to low socio-economic areas, nursing homes, [and areas with great numbers of] homeless and [therefore] tangibly being a representative of the church and Jesus.
We gather volunteers together on a weekly basis, primarily on Saturdays but also on several other days throughout the week primarily to bring help to people in need whether mobility impaired, isolated, or in need of a friendly chat.
We truly believe that people don’t care about who you are or your experience until they know that you really care.
So we send the bulk of our volunteers out on a Saturday to thirteen different suburbs surrounding our four church campuses. We do random acts of kindness throughout these areas meeting the needs of the local community. Our goal is not to dis-empower the community, but to help work with them to get this area of their life stable. ...We also hold barbeques and other events to bring people together. We also have teams throughout the week who respond to crisis needs throughout our suburbs.
How could someone else start this in their local community?
It is as simple as meeting with the local agencies and stake holders in communities and finding the need. So many people just go ahead and do stuff without first seeking out what is actually needed. We have found it beneficial to have people and organizations behind what we do... Also, find out what is already being done in the community.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
A21 Campaign - working to abolish injustice in the 21st century
My good friend, Marissa, is heading to Greece in November to make a difference in the lives of women trapped in sex slavery. Check out her website at "I walk for freedom" to read more about sex trafficking and what the A21 Campaign she is working with is doing to rescue girls and, if you're so inclined, please help support Marissa's trip!
And to TJP girls ... maybe we can consider joining alongside the A21 Campaign and supporting them through 1 or more of the 21 ways to help.
Ready to carry His glory into the darkness??
"The Lord of the harvest could bring the harvest in alone by His own might, but He chooses to share His divine nature and glory with us. Enter with us into a world of love, rest and companionship even while buffeted fiercely on all sides by evil storms. In Him we are more than conquerors, shielded through faith by God's power until Jesus is fully revealed. We are ready to carry His glory into the darkness wherever the love of God is wanted!" - Rolland Baker
Friday, August 27, 2010
Our Next Outing Has Been Scheduled!
Hi everyone!
The next outing has been scheduled! Saturday September 11th will be our next Saturday out on the streets! We're changing it just a tad this time. We'd like everyone to arrive down at the "Band Shell" area at 2:30pm instead of meeting at the church. The reason for this change is that a couple in our church felt like the Lord wanted them to buy the main items for a BBQ picnic for all the travelers that God's called us to minister to.
They have placed an order at KT's BBQ for the following:
25 pounds of pork/beef brisket
3 gallons of beans
1 gallon of mashed potatoes
We also need help from you all in providing the following:
-Bottled water and canned soda
-Deserts
-Two tables/some chairs (not very many chairs but if you'd like to offer someone a seat - it would be nice! Otherwise, we'll just sit in the grass - which is no problem! Very much like a picnic would be!)
-Frisbees / footballs
Sign up for these things either by leaving a comment with what you'd like to bring or by sending an email to TJPBoulder@yahoo.com.
Also, if you would like to financially help this couple off set some of the cost of the BBQ from KT's, let Haven know and she can get you connected with the couple who is purchasing the meat and sides.
We will meet at 2:30pm, setup, and then Lord willing, be ready to start serving at 3pm.
If you have any other questions, please see Bridget Tompkins, Micah Hayden, or Haven Shank.
As always, please come ready to just love on people with the love of the Lord! This will be a wonderful time of "friendship and fellowship" with all these wonderful people who have asked for exactly that from us - our friendship and fellowship.
Blessings to you all! Have a wonderful week and we'll see you on the 11th!
-TJP
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Sex slavery plagues Romania and Bulgaria (Reuters: UK Edition)
(Reuters) - Anca thought girls who spoke on television about being sold into sex slavery were paid to invent such stories to boost tv show ratings.
That was until she answered a friend's invitation to join her in Germany and work as a dishwasher in a town near Hamburg.
When she arrived, her passport was taken away and her captors forced her to work as a prostitute for their clients.
Three months later she slid down two floors on a drainpipe, ran several kilometres (miles) through a forest and finally found a taxi that took her to a police station and safety.
"The girl who invited me won her freedom by bringing in two other girls," said Anca, a quiet 20-year-old from a Romanian village. She asked for her real name to be withheld to protect her from her captors.
As they prepare to join the European Union, Romania and Bulgaria are struggling to contain human trafficking and smuggling, particularly in drugs, which is endemic in the Black Sea region that will soon become the EU's eastern border.
Every year, thousands of women such as Anca, some as young as 13, are kidnapped or lured by promises of well paying jobs or marriage and sold to gangs who lock them up in night clubs and brothels or force them to work on the streets.
Observers say even more women could be at risk after the two countries join the EU in January and traffickers seek to increase business by taking advantage of easier access to western Europe, where most of the victims end up.
"There is a lot of exploitation in Romania and I am sure the numbers will get bigger," said Gina-Maria Stoian, Anca's case manager and the director of The Adpare Foundation, a Romanian organization that helps victims of human trafficking.
"Already there is sex tourism around the Black Sea."
CRIMINAL ROUTES
Romania and its southern neighbor Bulgaria are among 11 countries listed by the United Nations as top sources of human trafficking, based on reported numbers of victims.
Other countries in the region, the poorest in Europe, are also hotbeds for organized crime and illegal trade such as Moldova and Ukraine.
Poverty, disillusionment with the region's slow reforms after the collapse of communism, and a fraying fabric of society following decades of forced repatriation of many communities help gangs flourish and find easy victims.
"There is poverty, dysfunctional families, mentality. The girls have no roots, no self-esteem," said Iana Matei, who runs Reaching Out, a Romanian charity that helps trafficking victims.
"The traffickers now look for 13 to 14 year olds. They are easier to control. They are trained and brain-washed here. They see they can get little help from police, the system. And they think they can make money and become independent," she said.
Geography is also a problem. Bulgaria and Romania are part of the "Balkan route" for transporting heroin from Afghanistan -- which produces the vast majority of the world supply of poppies -- to Western Europe. Eighty percent of Afghani heroin reaches Western users through this route.
"Romania will be the final border, the final frontier of the EU," said Cristian Duta from Bucharest's SECI Center, which supports trans-border crime fighting in southeastern Europe. "It will be the first step for anyone who wants to get into the EU."
FIGHTING ABUSE
Some observers worry that Romania and Bulgaria's membership of the EU could aid the spillover of illicit trade that plagues the Black Sea region into the west.
Bucharest and Sofia governments say they are doing all they can to combat trafficking and abuse. Romania has won praise from Brussels for reforming border controls, combating endemic corruption and improving police cooperation.
But the EU has been more cautious on Bulgaria, rapping Sofia for not doing enough to fight rampant organized crime.
"Our borders are a 100 percent secure," said Dumitru Licsandru, who runs Bucharest's state agency against human trafficking.
The agency's data shows about 1,400 Romanian victims of trafficking, including sexual exploitation and forced labor, were identified in the first nine months of this year, while some 200 perpetrators were arrested.
Sofia's interior ministry's organized crime unit said 4,000-5,000 Bulgarian women are trafficked a year.
"We cannot deny the fact the problem of trafficking exists," said interior ministry spokeswoman Katya Ilieva, adding that the numbers had dropped compared to previous years.
Observers say official figures on the numbers of people trafficked show only the tip of the iceberg.
Aid workers say police work is not enough. Governments need to train judges and prosecutors, better protect victims and fight corruption which still allows traffickers to take women through borders or keep underage girls on the streets.
They also need to change the mentality in the traditional Balkan societies which often blame victims for their plight.
"My girls all knew about trafficking. But they thought it only happened to whores," said Matei, whose charity assists girls caught up in prostitution rings.
(Additional reporting by Kremena Miteva in Sofia)
Monday, August 23, 2010
being willing and ready
As a testimony to the work God has done in me (and in the other participants of the Justice Project as they have similar stories), I just want to share about my experience in giving.
In my natural self, I'm not much of a giver. I grew up with a giving sister and I married a giving man, so whenever I am with them, I am aware and ready that they may stop at any point and talk to someone, give someone something, or just do whatever it is that the Holy Spirit is telling them to do. However, I was never the one who would stop. Yet over the past few years, God has slowly been changing me. As I've prayed for Him to show me His "treasures", to make me sensitive to those around me, and to help me be willing and ready to do what He wants, I've become a new person. I now see the homeless. I'm aware of the fact that I may give up my lunch, may have to stop and say something, may have to give away the money in my wallet. I'm no longer going about my busy day in a rush, but I'm mindful that there might be someone that God wants to touch. And granted, I don't always get it right. I miss it a lot. However, when I do hit the mark, I'm always amazed at how blessed I am.
Today was one of those days when I actually hit the mark. :) My toddler and I were out doing our weekly grocery shopping. I knew how much money we had to spend, how we would need to purchase enough to last us the next 9 days, and how we were on a time clock as my boy would be needing a nap. So we hit our first stop, did our shopping, loaded the car, and as we were pulling out of the parking lot, there was a man with a sign that said "food or money for food needed". And we all see these signs everywhere; especially with jobs and finances being hard to come by for many right now. But this time was different. This time I knew I had to stop and give him something. So my brain quickly searched through the list of items that I had just bought. I had plenty of food but nothing suitable to give a man with a backpack. What good would a gallon of milk or a green pepper do the guy? I had no cash on me either. So I prayed about what to do. I thought about buying him a sandwich, then another thought came to me, and I knew it was the right idea. So I decided to head to my next stop and get some cash from the ATM. My boy and I ran in the shop, quickly grabbed the remainder of groceries that we needed, ran to the ATM, then prayed that the man would still be there. We drove back to where we had come from, and yes, he was still there. He was on the opposite side of the street, so I pulled into the other lane, rolled down my window, and frantically waved at him to hurry and come get it. He kindly thanked me, said "God bless you," and I drove off.
And funnily enough, I cried as I drove home. Mainly because I'm just so blessed to be a child of God, to hear His voice, and to obey. Being obedient is such a blessing!! But secondly, I know what it's like to not have money for groceries. I know what it feels like to say, "Lord, we need this amount of money to pay our bills." And I know what it feels like when someone blesses you. Not just by giving you a buck or by saying, "hey, I'll pray for you," but really blesses you!! How can I be out buying groceries to stock my fridge when someone else doesn't have enough to even buy something to eat? How can I not give? Yes, it took part of my grocery money to give to this man, but you know what, who cares.
Lastly, I just want to say that I used to be someone who judged those who stood on the street corners with their signs. I used to assume that they'd spend whatever money I'd give them on alcohol or cigarettes or whatever. But now, I've realized that it's not up to me to judge. It's up to me to obey whatever the Holy Spirit is telling me to do. That's all that concerns me. I do what He says and go on my day. I hope and pray that the man was able to get a good meal tonight and that his life is somehow touched. But all I really know is that I was obedient, and that's what I was responsible to do.
I'm so thankful for the love and grace of God in that He has changed me into someone who can now freely give. The love of the Father has blessed me so much today. And I hope He's blessed you, and others through you, today.
In my natural self, I'm not much of a giver. I grew up with a giving sister and I married a giving man, so whenever I am with them, I am aware and ready that they may stop at any point and talk to someone, give someone something, or just do whatever it is that the Holy Spirit is telling them to do. However, I was never the one who would stop. Yet over the past few years, God has slowly been changing me. As I've prayed for Him to show me His "treasures", to make me sensitive to those around me, and to help me be willing and ready to do what He wants, I've become a new person. I now see the homeless. I'm aware of the fact that I may give up my lunch, may have to stop and say something, may have to give away the money in my wallet. I'm no longer going about my busy day in a rush, but I'm mindful that there might be someone that God wants to touch. And granted, I don't always get it right. I miss it a lot. However, when I do hit the mark, I'm always amazed at how blessed I am.
Today was one of those days when I actually hit the mark. :) My toddler and I were out doing our weekly grocery shopping. I knew how much money we had to spend, how we would need to purchase enough to last us the next 9 days, and how we were on a time clock as my boy would be needing a nap. So we hit our first stop, did our shopping, loaded the car, and as we were pulling out of the parking lot, there was a man with a sign that said "food or money for food needed". And we all see these signs everywhere; especially with jobs and finances being hard to come by for many right now. But this time was different. This time I knew I had to stop and give him something. So my brain quickly searched through the list of items that I had just bought. I had plenty of food but nothing suitable to give a man with a backpack. What good would a gallon of milk or a green pepper do the guy? I had no cash on me either. So I prayed about what to do. I thought about buying him a sandwich, then another thought came to me, and I knew it was the right idea. So I decided to head to my next stop and get some cash from the ATM. My boy and I ran in the shop, quickly grabbed the remainder of groceries that we needed, ran to the ATM, then prayed that the man would still be there. We drove back to where we had come from, and yes, he was still there. He was on the opposite side of the street, so I pulled into the other lane, rolled down my window, and frantically waved at him to hurry and come get it. He kindly thanked me, said "God bless you," and I drove off.
And funnily enough, I cried as I drove home. Mainly because I'm just so blessed to be a child of God, to hear His voice, and to obey. Being obedient is such a blessing!! But secondly, I know what it's like to not have money for groceries. I know what it feels like to say, "Lord, we need this amount of money to pay our bills." And I know what it feels like when someone blesses you. Not just by giving you a buck or by saying, "hey, I'll pray for you," but really blesses you!! How can I be out buying groceries to stock my fridge when someone else doesn't have enough to even buy something to eat? How can I not give? Yes, it took part of my grocery money to give to this man, but you know what, who cares.
Lastly, I just want to say that I used to be someone who judged those who stood on the street corners with their signs. I used to assume that they'd spend whatever money I'd give them on alcohol or cigarettes or whatever. But now, I've realized that it's not up to me to judge. It's up to me to obey whatever the Holy Spirit is telling me to do. That's all that concerns me. I do what He says and go on my day. I hope and pray that the man was able to get a good meal tonight and that his life is somehow touched. But all I really know is that I was obedient, and that's what I was responsible to do.
I'm so thankful for the love and grace of God in that He has changed me into someone who can now freely give. The love of the Father has blessed me so much today. And I hope He's blessed you, and others through you, today.
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