When business as usual doesn ’ t work , new doors open for followers of Jesus to walk alongside their neighbours . Intercultural Worker Bee and State Director Andrew Palmer share from their experiences .
Door Number Two
Bee
SOUTH EAST ASIA
Cases continue to rise at a rate of 3000 per day across our home in South East Asia . Early on , our province went into a six week lockdown to try and prevent further spread . However , with an already weak economy , and a stuttering governmental assistance program , this pushed many thousands of people into poverty . As such , with many restrictions in place , the government has reopened the economy to get people working again .
But through it all , we see God ’ s hand at work . These challenging circumstances enabled us to support the café staff in practical ways . When many businesses were closing , by God ’ s provision , we remained open and continued paying wages . This built trust and has proven our reliability . The crisis has meant we are required onsite a lot more frequently than before and this has provided more opportunities to share love and hear stories . We have experienced a strengthening of relationship with the local staff during this time ; a level of trust which normally takes years to establish has been fast tracked as we have endured this significant crisis together .
We cannot underestimate the value of walking alongside people during tough times . Shared experiences like this open unique doors that just wouldn ’ t exist otherwise . For this , we are so thankful .
Andrew Palmer
SEAFORTH BAPTIST CHURCH , SYDNEY
As COVID restrictions took hold we became acutely aware of a spike in anxiety within our wider community . Christian faith speaks so clearly into fear … but how could we connect with each other in a safe way ?
Our pastor Christine began a group called ‘ Big Questions ’. This group was designed for folks who had found themselves in the midst of COVID hitting some pretty big hurdles of fear , loneliness and isolation . The agenda is simple : the group comes together and shares some of their personal story and then shares some ‘ big questions ’ that have been challenging for them in their lives . These included questions like the nature of evil , is God trustworthy and whether the pandemic would be the end of our communities . This space each week was simple , unhurried , group led and deeply respectful . It was never about ‘ Christian education ’ so much as holding that God was right there in the midst of the big questions .
So , what happened ? Well – community happened ! People who had never previously met came together and developed trust and respect and care – and yes , people had a sense of the presence of Jesus . The kingdom of God , on earth as it is in heaven . resonate · issue 36 · page 6