Shallowford Worldwide Ministries

Dr. Salibo Some discusses ASUDEC on Nourishing the Planet blog

2010-11-30T15:27:00.002-05:00

Shallowford Presbyterian Church in Atlanta supports the African Sustainable Development Council (ASUDEC, www.asudec.org) through the Missions committee. ASUDEC and its director, Dr. Salibo Some, are committed to improving the quality of life in the West African nation of Burkina Faso. Dr. Some recently spoke to the Nourishing the Planet blog where he shared his insight into the critical issues facing the people of Burkina Faso. He also discusses the multi-faceted approach used by ASUDEC.

http://blogs.worldwatch.org/nourishingtheplanet/harnessing-local-resources-for-community-development-an-interview-with-salibo-some/

PC(USA) leaders address new Arizona immigration law in letter to Congress

2010-05-04T08:53:00.001-04:00

April 29, 2010

Dear Members of Congress,

We write to express our conviction that you must enact comprehensive immigration reform this year. As people of faith and the leaders of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), we are keenly aware of the devastating effects our broken immigration system has on the lives of individuals, immigrant and non-immigrant families, and our communities. The bigotry, trauma, and fear that will result from the recent new law enacted in Arizona, SB 1070, which criminalizes those who are found “with” undocumented persons and requires law enforcement officers to identify and detain such persons, serves to underscore the necessity of action at the federal level.

Churches are on the front lines of caring for families being ripped apart by our broken immigration system. Traumatized citizen children left behind when parents are deported are but one example of the ways the current system destroys the fabric of community life, the integrity of healthy families, and the safety of individual persons. Church workers are also at the forefront of offering relief and services to immigrants, regardless of documentation status. Arizona’s new law will put at risk those workers and others who are called simply to offer the most basic of humanitarian assistance. As Christians, we cannot stand by idly while our brothers and sisters die on our borders from exposure and thirst or languish in poorly equipped detention facilities, nor should we be required to do so by any law.

The new Arizona law also puts in jeopardy the public safety of immigrant communities, already wary of law enforcement for fear of deportation. Instead of new laws that induce fear and distrust, immigrants should be encouraged to participate with law enforcement, reporting crimes when they are victims and offering testimony when they are witnesses. Such trust and participation is impossible if local law enforce

Visit México Mission Network at:
http://missioncrossroads.ning.com/groups/group/show?id=2953649%3AGroup%3A1477&xg_source=msg_mes_group

Crossing Borders Photo Essay

2010-04-30T07:43:00.002-04:00

A delegation from SPC's Worldwide Ministries Committee recently attended the Crossing Borders, Encountering God conference in Phoenix, Arizona and they will soon present what they learned to the congregation.

In the interim, here is a photo essay from one of the other attendees that shares some of the highlights of this important summit.

http://bit.ly/bgjOYQ

Taiwanese and Japanese Ambassadors Visit Chez-Flo

2010-04-22T09:37:00.004-04:00

Ambassadors Thang, Ming-Thong and Tsutomu SUGIURA, respectively from Taiwan and Japan spent night at Chez Flo on Saturday April 17th. His Excellency Ming-Thong (right) was so impressed by the architecture that he asked if I could recommend him someone for using the same stone bricks to build wall fence like at Chez-Flo around the 5000 m² land his embassy owns in the city of Ouagadougou.

They loved the place!

Update on Mandira at Carmel

2010-03-25T07:26:00.003-04:00

Last fall, a little girl name Mandira was struck by a motorcycle and her leg was badly broken. Her family was faced with paying for a surgery to prevent her from being permanently crippled that they could not afford.

Through overwhelming support from SPC and a fast response from the WWMC, we were able to help raise the money for her surgery and we have just received the following update and images from Rev. Koshy on her progress.

Dear [SPC],

Thank you so much for your sacrificial support for the medical treatment of Mandira. She is back to school and is able to smile like other children in the school. Thank you for the timely help in rescuing her.

Please thank the Shallowford church on our behalf for their sacrificial support in saving Mandira.

I am sending few more pictures from the rag picker slums where people survive by collecting garbages and rubbish from the streets of the city and earn less than 2 dollars a day. These are the kids in our projects and these are the kids who learn computers and become like any other person in the society.

All these are possible by your prayers and continuous support for the slum projects of Carmel Community Projects.

Words cannot sufficiently express how much we appreciate your help for these less fortunate children.

With thanks and prayers

Koshy and Joicy

Burkina Faso, Mission Trip, November 2009

2009-11-10T10:17:00.004-05:00

The team arrived Saturday evening in Ouagadougou and after many hugs and warm greetings from old friends, the team traveled to the a home provided by our new friend, Mr. Emile Quedraogo. On Sunday, after a pleasant breakfast at a "patasseria" or pastry shop, the team visited a series of "peri-urban" work sites underway by ASUDEC. The team visited several villages where we met families who were implementing the chicken program of ASUDEC. One gentleman received 10 chickens in March of 2009 and has grown that number to 252, not including the 48 he sold for 60,000 CFA. He has used this money to buy a bicycle for his son to ride into Ouaga to attend school and has also bought a young cow, which after caring for and fattening, he will be able to sell for a substantial profit.

Monday, the team visited the American embassy in Ouaga. The new ambassador to Burkina has not yet arrived in Ouaga so the team met with an assistant. The team discussed ASUDEC and promoted the organization to the assistant ambassador. The team then visied a local market to shop and see the tremendous artisans in Burkina. That evening, the team had dinner with ASUDEC leaders.

Tuesday and Wednesday and part of Thursday will be spent traveling to Diebougou in the southwest of Burkina. This is the home town of ASUDEC director, Dr. Salibo Some. The team will be visiting various work sites in the area, including a school built by ASUDEC. The team has brought 4 backpacks full of school supplies which were donated by the Chapel Choir and the youth group.

Sorry there are no pictures, someone forgot to bring the cable to connect the camera to the laptop. The team has shot many hours of video footage already and many pictures as well.

New PC USA Article Recognized Frontera Ministry

2009-09-22T08:46:00.002-04:00

The below link is written by the Pat Cole of the Presbyterian Church (USA) communications office and focuses on Frontera de Cristo's ministry of reconciliation.

http://bit.ly/3h7EN6

The article describes the works and background of Mark Adams and the Frontera Ministry.

In particular, they cite the work of Just Coffee and the Just Trade Center, but they also talk about the many congregations who visit the border each year to learn about the issues facing our neighboring countries.

Shallowford's Worldwide Ministries Committee has just concluded a year long evaluation of SPC's relationship with the Frontera Ministry and is please to announce that plans will soon begin for a 2010 trip to Agua Prieta.

Mission participants will begin meeting in January and will meet monthly prior to the trip so that they may begin to learn more about this ministry and work together in planning the trip and activities. The WWMC also hopes that the team can identify a project that will be conducted while in Agua Prieta.

If you would like to learn more about this trip or would like to be involved, please contact Nick Villaume (nick@villaume.net).

Decatur/Bousse Sister City Relationship

2009-09-01T14:18:00.011-04:00

Members of the Worldwide Missions committee at Shallowford Presbyterian Church, led by Dr. Darl Snyder, have been actively working to reinvigorate the sister city relationship between Decatur, Georgia and the town of Bousse in Burkina Faso. The relationship was particularly strong in the 1990's and included several trips to Bousse by folks from Decatur as well as Decatur hosting representatives from Burkina Faso during the 1996 Olympics.

Unfortunately, the relationship has grown dormant in recent years as city leadership has changed and folks became involved with other interests. Darl recently received a request from one of his very good friends in Burkina, Mouhoussine Nacro, to see if the city of Decatur still had interest in the relationship. Darl has worked tirelessly to bring folks in Decatur together, contacting many people who were directly involved before, and meeting mayor Bill Floyd and city manager Peggy Merriss for lunch.

As luck would have it, Mr. Emile Ouedraogo, who grew up in Bousse, and is now the Director of National Security for Burkina, was traveling in the US, and offered to stop in Atlanta to meet with the Decatur representatives. Darl picked up Emile from the airport on Friday, August 21 and took him to a luncheon in Decatur attended by several interested folks from Decatur, including the former mayor Elizabeth Wilson. Also in attendance were representatives from the current administration of the Decatur city government. Darl said, "It went beautifully. In fact, I don't think it could have been better. Emile seemed deeply grateful. Everyone was very positive and encouraging about renewing the relationship."

On Saturday, several members of the WWM committee had lunch with Emile at Leon's in Decatur. Emile shared his concerns for his people in Bousse and expressed his gratitude in our efforts on their behalf. He presented Jim Lang with a gift from the people of Bousse to the city of Decatur. The gift was a beautiful, leather notebook decorated with the names of the cities Bousse and Decatur. The craftsman of Bousse are well known as skilled in leather crafts. In the picture at right, L-R is Jim Lang, Andrew Swerlick, Emile Ouedraogo, Leta Bogle, and Darl Snyder.

Upon returning to Burkina Faso, Emile wrote to us: "I WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS MY DEEP AND PROFOUND GRATITUDE FOR ALL WHAT YOU DID FOR ME DURING MY JOURNEY IN DECATUR. I WENT BACK TO BOUSSE DURING THE WEEKEND TO MAKE A FULL AND COMPREHENSIVE REPORT OF MY MISSION. THE ENTIRE POPULATION,THE MAYOR AND THE COMMITY ARE EAGER AND PREPARED FOR YOUR VISIT IN NOVEMBER. FIND ATTACHED PICTURES RELATED TO THE WATER ISSUE, THE HEALTH CENTER AND THE WATER RESERVOIR BUILT BY BECATUR AT THE VERY BEGINING OF THE COOPERATION." The following are a few of these images.

Photos from Africa

2009-04-14T10:37:00.004-04:00

by Darl Snyder (SPC WWM Team Lead for Burkina Faso Ministry)

The lady on the left is Dr. Carla Roncoli, a faculty member at UGA, Carla is the person who carries money from the World Wide Missions Committee of Shallowford Presbyterian Church to the lady in Burkina Faso who has HIV. That lady is the one on the right in the picture. Her name is Francoise Yameogo. The money from Shallowford does not go directly to Francoise. It is given to a nurse who works in the US Embassy infirmary in Ouagadougou who is well known by Dr. Roncoli. The money is used to purchase medications to control HIV. As you will note, Francoise appears to be in very good health. That is because she is being provided proper medications due to the contributions from Shallowford Presbyterian Church. Francoise has two daughters who, as of this time, are in good health and have not been exposed to the HIV virus.

I join with the other members of the WorldWide Missions Committee in expressing grateful appreciation for the support SPC is giving Francoise. And, thank SPC on behalf of Francoise for your thoughtfulness.

Darl

Teachers and Learners (Observers)

2009-04-06T10:02:00.004-04:00

by Darl Snyder (SPC WWM Team Lead for Burkina Faso Ministry)

Today's Atlanta Journal Constitution has a section titled EDUCATION MATTERS, page A-11.

After glancing through most of Section A, I went back to page A-11 to read EDUCATION MATTERS. Subsequently, I thought how often I am asked the question, "What did you teach at the University?" Until this moment, my answer has been that I did not teach. Now my answer will be very different.

One is always teaching and always learning regardless of the circumstance. I find myself being on the alert to what others are doing and/or saying with the hope that I will learn something from them.
It is never too late to be a teacher/learner -- even at age 87 there is still some hope for the likes of me.

Most of you have met or have heard me speak often of Dr. Salibo Some' our young friend who is doing such remarkable things with his people in Burkina Faso, West Africa. In each of the EDUCATION MATTERS letters I saw Salibo wielding his magic as he does day-in-and-day-out with some of the more than 3000 farmers, and many others, he serves. I see his magic at work with the children in the school he brought into reality where no school had ever existed. Again, I see his magic at work with the women in their groups as they learn new ways of making money through micro-enterprises where none had existed. Truly, Salibo is a master at teaching .

And, while he is teaching he, also, is learning, turning new thoughts in his mind, thoughts that could well make a huge difference to these people who have so little. While Salibo is teaching and learning, I, too, will be doing the same as I have for these many years. It is humbling to give thought to the numbers of people, in so many parts of the world, whose lives I have touched and who in turn have so richly touched my life. I am thankful to be so privileged to be a role model functioning as a teacher and as a learner.

Darl

You can download a presentation about all that ASUDEC and Dr. Some's work here:

http://bit.ly/n9aSr

Here are some excerpts:

Computer Lab Setup

2009-03-30T07:53:00.002-04:00

Dear Bro. Nick, Dr.Richard, Ms. Alice and the Shallowford Mission Board!

Words cannot express how much we are grateful to each of you and the Lord Almighty for this wonderful gift for the kids in the slums. It was wonderful to see how the kids were amazed when they were brought into the computer lab. None of this kids had any access to a computer and none of them have ever touched a computer before this day. Some of the kids were afraid even to touch it.

May I add here that you are a blessing much more that you can ever imagine! These kids who have been deprived of a human life are going to be equal with other children in the society. This gives them identity as human beings from a subhuman life. This vocational training is also going to give them opportunities to be independent and find meaning for life. As a Christian institution, it is also going to be a testimony to the community how God loves the Slumdog kids and they too can have hope in life.

On behalf of the children, their parents, our teachers and my family, I thank you all for this wonderful gift of a computer lab for the Rag Pickers' slum kids.

Koshy and Joicy

We have contact!

2009-03-27T23:55:00.005-04:00

Just got email from Koshy that the computer lab is now setup. They will be getting internet soon and we will be able to chat and email the kids there soon!

Koshy and friends manning the new computers!

Koshy's email:

It is so exciting to see the computers in our school. It is a dream come true. I would love to thank all of you for your wonderful gift to the Slumdog kids.

We have done the installation of the computer lab and today(Saturday) the computer vendor is coming to install the MS software. I will be getting more pictures to you once the complete installation is done. We are getting the internet connection also once we have the complete system installed.

We will have the kids access to it as soon as we have all the system installed. Next pictures will be with the kids.

Please continue to pray for us.

With thanks and prayers

koshy and joicy

The Computers have arrived in Carmel!

2009-03-19T10:13:00.003-04:00

Rev. Koshy Baby has just returned from a mission trip in another part of the country and was delighted to see that the new computers for the computer lab have arrived and are awaiting the setup of some tables and chairs for use in the community center by the children.

New computers awaiting setup!

A work colleague of Nick Villaume, Vineet Sethi, has volunteered to help setup the lab and do some training with Rev. Koshy and the kids there. He is excited to be able to get invovled in a project like this and is truly passionate about sharing his knowledge with Carmel.

Vineet was able to locate a vendor in Delhi that gave an excellent price on 6 computers and they still have a good deal of money left over from that purchase to help pay for some software, furniture and internet connectivity.

We will report more as things progress, but want to keep all of you in the loop on how our money is being spent to help bring the folks in India closer to us through technology.

Day 8 - Let's Party

2009-02-11T09:14:00.000-05:00

Today was the final day here and we only had one thing to accomplish....CELEBRATE! 1/2 of our team went to the beach during the morning while the others stayed at the hotel to take care of a few errands. We then arrived in Union Roja at 1pm to help decorate the building for the party which would start at 3pm.

Preparing for the party.

Members of the team sign the board.

Doug poses for a picture with Ismael.

During the ceremony, members of the training team were given certificates of completion. Here, Kendle give the lead trainer, Ayde, her certificate.

All of the trainers pose for their certificates.

The operators and installers take a picture with their certificates.

Members of the SPC team take a photo with old friends from Salvador Urbina. This is the Perez/Cifuentes family.

Here Febe takes a picture with Feliciana and her daughter, Rosario.

Day 7 - Getting Ready to Wrap It Up!

2009-02-10T09:32:00.001-05:00

Today was not what you would call a light day, but basically it was a day where we felt strongly that we had reached the home stretch. I left for Union Roja with the operators at 9am and we went to the water building to do some work with the folks there and then sent Mike off to Salvador Urbina to do some repairs to the system there.

After doing some tests on the system, Doug, Adrian and I, made a 30 minute hike through the woods and up over a small mountain ridge to check on Mike and retrieve a few supplies that would be needed from there. We found mike elbow deep in some heavy system repairs, but it was nothing he couldn't handle.

After grabbing what we needed, we hiked back down to Union Roja where we met teh operators and went over bottle washing and distribution procedures for the sales of water. These guys are so on the ball it is ridiculous, so not much discussion was needed and we then told them to go ahead and run a batch of water on THEIR new system. They immediately went to work turning valves and flipping switches as if they had been doing it for years.

Feeling great about leaving them alone with the system to run a batch of water and do some other modifications, we returned to Salvador Urbina to check on Mike only to discover that he had gone with Don Jorge and Bertrand to Tapachula to buy parts. So, since Mike seemed to be in good hands, we left to go visit our friend Adam in the town of El Aguila where another system is in place.

While all this was going on, the training team was holding their final day of training. A member of the local education committee asked to bring 17 children from the school so that they could practice the method they have learned on them. According to Kendle, it was a raving success and the trainers did a great job.

Meanwhile, we were in El Aguila visiting the home of Adan and the system there. We have known Adan for a few years now and he is a really great guy. His wife prepare cookies and coffee and we sat in his kitchen telling funny stories.

Finally, we returned to Union Roja where we enjoyed the first drink of water from the new system and then went back to Salvador Urbina to find Mike adn visit with our friend Sandra Cifuentes and her family as well as the family of our friend Luis who is working now in Atlanta and had asked Mike to deliver some gifts to his family as well as a video camera so that they could take videos of themselves and send back with Mike.

All in all, a great, but exhausting day.

Tomorrow is the last day and we will dedicate the system and have a party with friends from El Aguila, Salvador Urbina and Union Roja!

The hike to Salvador Urbina is by no means easy, but these guys can handle it.
We found Mike elbow deep in work in S.U. That is him hidden in the back behind Don Jorge.

Aides and Kayla teach the school children about health.

The children learn about proper hand washing.

A view of El Aguila (where we were going) from Salvador Urbina.

El Aguila is a town of about 2000 people on the side of a steep hill. It makes Haight Ashbury look like an ant pile.

Adans collection of Machetes. One for every occasion!

Members of the team enjoy a toast to the first glass of clean water!

Doug finally gets Paco the parrot to warm up to him.

Meet your 2009 water council of Union Roja! From left: Aides Ruiz, Raul Ruiz and Ismael Santos!

Day 6 - Up and Running!

2009-02-09T08:08:00.000-05:00

Today the system was, for all practical purposes up and running. The installers glued most of the parts before lunch and the first batch of chlorinated water was run through the system to sterilize the internal parts before lunch.

After lunch the trainers went to work with a planning session where the education committee discussed how they would continue to train community members on the system.

Ismael's parents look on as the cistern is filled for the first batch.

Ismael flips the switch on the system for the first time.

Mike watches the water level inside the rotoplas. Once we have filled it to the desired level the first time, a pressure gauge inside the building will be marked and used to indicate when it is full.

Although we have not yet run our first batch of purified water, the next door neighbor is already using the draining water to wash his car and entertain his dog.

Raul prepares to install the filters and run the first official batch of clean water.

Day 5 - Progress!

2009-02-08T07:48:00.000-05:00

Today was purely a work day. Everyone had a plan in place and we all went with it. The installers and operators began to attach the system and assemble the pieces on the board while the trainers did another great day of training.

Doug works with Ismael gluing together pieces of the churn. This is the piece that mixes the ozone gas with the water.

After having tasted a sampling of salt water that the trainees thought was fresh, Kendle enjoys a good laugh with them. The test proves that clean water cannot be identified by sight.

Rosario, the 3 year old grand daughter of Aides, holds her own tea party using the communion cup that is left over from the water tasting exercise.

Rosario's mother, Feliciana, helps construct a daisy chain that will be used to decorate the water building for the dedication on Wednesday.

Ismael's daughter and mother, look on as the class discusses clean water.

A lot of time is spent laughing and sharing.

End of day result is the system about 1/2 assembled.

Doug, Raul, Ismael, Mike, Julio

Day 4 - Let's Get Crackin!

2009-02-07T10:18:00.000-05:00

Today was the first big work day for us. The installers went to the water building early while the trainers stayed in town and purchased some additional supplies for the afternoon session. There was a small amount of anxiety as we all anticipated whether or not the needed work to the water building would be done in time and if anyone would even show up for the training.

However, by the time we arrived, some of our worries were abated with a report from Doug and Mike that progress at the water building was good. The necessary modifications to the building were done and they had already made good progress on mapping out the system on the board.

A concrete top was added to the cistern and larger pipe
outlets were installed to the system inside the building.

Doug and Mike map out system components to
ensure good spacing on the board. This is a good idea as it later
allows for access to all the components when repairs are needed.

All of the components are planned out and ready to be attached.

The training session started at 2pm and we were pleasantly surprised by a great turnout of about 15 persons including Raul, one of the operators. Training session ran for about 2 hours and many subjects were covered including discussions of clean water issues, health and sanitation issues as well as procedures for using the water system.

Febe discusses the training with members of the community.

One of the children gets a coloring sheet depicting clean water.

Students make a model of what they thing a
germ might look like under a microscope.

Trainers user glow-lights and special lotion to
show the impact of inadequate hand-washing.

The end of the day left us tired, but with much accomplished. The final touches were to get the electrical components installed and doing some general clean-up to the water board.

Ismael trims bolt ends from the board as Adrian pretends
to do some work to the electrical system (with a sledge hammer?)

Day 3 - Meet, Greet and Plan!

2009-02-06T09:52:00.002-05:00

Today we visited Union Roja so that the team could beginning planning with the people there. We arrived at the water building around 10:00 am where we met Ismael and Raul. Aides, the chair of the education committee, met us there also.

The installers, Mike and Doug, started with an orientation of the system, how it works, what to expect over the coming days. They also made some decisions about the system and some additional construction that needs to occur such as putting concrete on top of the cistern to support the rotplas (container that will hold the clean water).

While that was taking place, the trainers, Kendle and Sandy, visited the training facility that we would use with Aides.

We concluded the morning with some team planning and lunch at the home of Aides.

After lunch, the team split up. I went with Sandy, Kendle and Febe to Tapacula to buy training supplies as well as a few additional parts. Mike and the others hiked through the woods to Salvador Urbina where they visited the system there and people in town.

During the day we were approached by several people. It is not uncommon when we make these trips to be approached by persons who want us to visit their town to put in a system and there is no shortage of interest for sure. One of them is a fellow from furhter up the mountain who appearantly has a system in place in his village, but the persons who have the system at their home appear (from my weak understanding of spanish) to be trying to turn the system into a for-profit business. I am going to visit him on Tuesday afternoon and try to help rectify that situation.

We are also due to visit our friend Adam in the village of El Aguila where there is a system installed by our friend John Mather from Phoenix. No work planned there, just a friendly visit.

We did have some car troubles with our driver, Julio, as his car broke, so he had to find a friend to help. However, we should be back on track today.

As a side note, I left my cable to transfer images in my room, so I will post some pictures later.

More to follow...

Day 2 - Preparing for the Team's Arrival

2009-02-05T08:12:00.000-05:00

Now htat we are settled in, we have to get to work on preparing the installation building for the teams arrival. There are basically two tasks on the agenda for today. 1) Get the plywood painted and 2) purchase 100 Garafones (bottles) for the distribution of the water.

We arrived at the water building at 10:00am and discovered that the paint we bought the day before was bad, so we had to go to the store and replace it. So, we stopped on the way back and bought the garafones.

Pelayo's truck loaded with 100 garafones.

After stopping for barbeque tacos on the way back, we unloaded the bottles and got to work on painting. Adrian and I jokingly tell Don Ismael, one of the system operators, that painting the board is the only real work we will do the entire week. Mary will attest to the fact that I am no fan of manual labor and they are lucky to get this much out of me. However, that is the reason I signed up as team lead, to stand around and watch. :-)

Ismael and Febe chat while the board dries.

All of the garafones are stored in the building.

Adrian does "his side" of the board. I realize you don't see me working in any of these photos, but I swear I did!

After finishing our work for the day, we went to Salvador Urbina to drop Adrian off for a meeting of the Just Coffee members while Febe and I went to Tapachula to deliver our luggage and get checked into our hotel.

We then went to find Renee, our driver for the week, but he was MIA and we heard news that his truck was in the shop, so we found another friend of Pelayo's to drive us and yet another with a van big enought to get our team and luggage from the airport.

The team arrived at 10:30pm and we got them from the airport and then safely into their hotel rooms. Since Adrian and Febe are newlyweds, there is a lot of "PDA" going on and I have to keep telling them to "Get a room!" So, as you might guess, it was nice to actually get them into a room last night and go to bed myself!

Oh! Get a ROOM!

Day 1 - Getting Started

2009-02-04T08:02:00.000-05:00

Our first official day of the trip is almost over and to say that it was a success would be an understatement. We woke up this morning at the home of Luis "Pelayo" Diaz and enjoyed breakfast with them. Pelayo loaned us his pickup truck so that we could go to the village of Union Roja and to Tapachula to purchase supplies.

We got UR around 9:30 or 10:00 in the morning and went to the home Aides Santos and her husband Raul. Raul greeted us at the door and we spent at least one hour visiting with Raul. Their home is a very simple plank house with a tin room. Most of the floors are dirt with the exception of the main house which is concrete. The kitchen, however is dirt floored with a wood stove.

The home of Raul and Aides Santos

Raul Santos visits with us at the water building

Raul told us the story of his journey to the United States where her traveled as part of a group that was lead from here to the border and then across. Along the way, they were stopped and questioned by the police and many had to give up their money to continue the trip. Most hide money in other places so that the police won't find that to and just put bribe money in their pockets. They were also left in the desert in the middle of the night by their guide (known as "coyotes") and had to find their way on their own. Raul worked for about 2 years in the united states at both TJMaxx and IHOP where he had fake identification so that he could receive his wages (with income taxes deducted of course).

After that we visited the building where the water system will be installed. That building is very nice and they have prepared an excellent cistern for holding the dirty water before it is moved into the system.

The water building in Union Roja

We then drove into Tapachula and were able to purchase all the supplies and drop them back off at the water building.

As I write, it is 5:40pm an dI am sitting out in front of the Just Coffee building in Salvador Urbina enjoying the cool (75 degrees) evening air as I look up at the 11,000 foot volcana Tacana that looms over the village.

Tomorrow we will return to the water building where Raul, Ismael and I will paint the plywood to prepare for the arrival of the team tomorrow evening. We will also meet our driver for the week as well as check into our hotel in Tapachula.

This parrot, named Pacho, lives next door to the water building and constantly shouts "Agua!" to all passers by. I asked them if he was hired to advertise.

Until then...adios

Hola de Mexico!

2009-02-03T15:34:00.004-05:00

I am have just completed my flight from Atlanta to Mexico City and have to wait until 8pm here for my flight to Tapachule. Adrian, Febe and Daniel should be arriving, but I am not sure I will be able to find them, so maybe will just have to see them in TAP.

I was concerned over recent safety reports regarding Mexico City, but it seems fine form here and this is my first visit to the new terminal. It is most impressive! It is basically just one giant room made of concrete walls and ceilings all with little 12 inch hole windows all the way around. (See picture below).

Anyways, just giving the report that my bags arrived and are checked to Tapchula and I am doing fine here on my own.

I will most likely not post again for at least one day as I will be staying in the village of Salvador Urbina this evening and there is no internet or cell access there. So, stay tuned....

Bag Packed, Team Commissioned, Ready to Go!

2009-02-03T08:10:00.007-05:00

Our Living Waters Team is all set to go to Union Roja, Chiapas to install our second water system.

We met at the church last Saturday to pack up
the system and go over our final checklists.

Robert Ferry and granddaughter Laurali stopped-in to deliver suitcases.

Doug Scott and Nick's father-in-law, Earl Pitre, cushion
and pack the filters for the system.

The team was commissioned on Feb 1st.

Nick sits at the airport this morning waiting for
a 9:20AM waiting head out a couple days early
to make sure everything is ready.

2009-01-12T11:28:00.003-05:00

This blog established by WWM Chairman, Nick, will enable us to keep Shallowford informed about the most current activities of the WWM committee. I have had a special interest in the Carmel Mission and look forward to keeping folks informed about the great work of Koshy and Joicy who are making such progress in the slums of New Delhi, where they are about to establish in a school a special computer center with the help of Shallowford. We hope this will ultimately help us in frequent communication with the school in New Delhi.

WWM Annouces Inaugural Mission Team Orientation Class

2009-01-11T09:30:00.004-05:00

Today, Sandy Martin held the first ever SPC Mission Team Orientation & Preparation Class. The class, the brainchild of Sandy Martin and the WWM committee, was created to address mission preparedness on many levels:

Understanding WHY we do mission
Understanding what each member brings to the team
Defining each unique mission
Emergency preparedness, health consideration and team safety and security
Diplomatic issues
Cultural sensitivity

Sandy explains that, because every member of the church participates in mission on some level, whether that be funding, supporting or actually going on a trip, it is a good idea for each member of the church who has any interest in mission participate in one of these classes. For church members who are planning on going on a trip, the class is of much greater importance.

Sandy Martin and Kendle Hassinger share what mission means to them.

Sandy would like to begin offering this course at least once per semester so that groups going on trips can schedule to attend prior to their trip.

The class will be formatted as two 1 hours sessions and will include some reading materials as well as some expert advice on preparing for mission in different areas of the country and world.

If you would like more information about this class or would like to arrange for a special session to be held for your group, please contact nick@villaume.net.

Living Waters Mission Preparations Underway!

2009-01-08T19:00:00.003-05:00

Our Living Waters Installation team met this evening in the church library to train and prepare for our upcoming trip on February 5th to Union Roja, Chiapas, Mexcio. Charlie Mathers was the official trainer and in attendance were Mike Hassinger, Doug Scott and Nick Villaume.

Charlie will not be able to join us on this upcoming trip, but was nice enough to take time in helping educate Doug on the systems function and assembly as well as to go over a materials list and planning items.

We will have a work day on Saturday, January 24th where the installation team will pre-assemble several parts of the system and get everything packed up for our Feb 5th departure. If you would like to come and learn more and bring your old suitcases for packing the parts, the training will be from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM on the 24th.

Here are some highlights from the session:

Charlie explains about the steps in purification process.

Eager students doodle to maintain consciousness.

Mapping out a schematic of the whole system not only
helps educate, but also identifies needed parts.

A basket of assorted parts all signed by our church members
who attended last years water night!

Charlie gives us some pointers on gluing and pipe fittings.

Now that the classroom work is done, it is time for some hands on.

Shallowford is mentioned in the new "Just Coffee" book by Mark Adams and Tommy Bassett

2009-01-06T19:49:00.007-05:00

The new book co-authored by Mark Adam, the Director of the Frontera de Cristo Prebyterian Border Ministry and Tommy Bassett, the Developer of the new Just Trade Center is called "Just Coffee: Caffeine with a Conscience" and it is now available for purchase at the Frontera de Cristo website.

The book is already receiving much acclaim and tells the story of the Just Coffee cooperative as well as the story of many people whose lives have been touched through this miraculaous story of faith, entrepenuership and dedication.

Please go order your copy of this book today. You may do so by making a $25 donation at http://www.fronteradecristo.org/just_coffee_book.shtml. (Note: you have to scroll down to see the info.) I have just ordered my own copy that I will read and review. If enough of you order (and if I am feeling generous) I might then place my copy in the most capable hands of our church librarian, Alice Smith.

During my recent visit, Mark and Tommy were kind enough to share a sneak peak at the book. I was impressed. That these two fellows were able to co-produce this without killing each other is astounding. The layout is great and the book is filled with really great info and captivating stories of the lives of many of the people who our WWM committee and Living Waters teams have come to know so well over the years.

Also in the book, Mark speaks highly of the Living Waters for the World system in Salvador Urbina that was installed in a cooperative effort between SPC and the Just Coffee cooperative there.

I am really excited to get my hands on a copy and will keep you posted.

Passing the torch in Burkina Faso.

2009-01-05T13:55:00.000-05:00

Darl Snyder has been keeping SPC in close touch with Dr. Salibo Some in Burkina Faso, Africa for over 20 years and it has been a realtionship that has touched so many lives beyond the doors of our church that it would not be possible to list all the ways. Darl and Salibo became close while Salibo was studying at UGA and Darl was a professor there. From that time on, one could describe their relationship more as a that of a father and son than teacher/student or missionary.

However, in recent years, Darl has indicated that he cannot keep doing this forever and that new blood would be needed if this relationship between SPC and the ASUDAC (http://www.asudec.org) program, that was founded by Dr. Some, is to continue. Although we have been keeping an eye out for some time, we had not been able to find a person who was interested in stepping up to this role until serendipity brought Jobn Bogle to our committee.

John, Darl and I met about two months ago and enjoyed a great lunch where we shared about Salibo, ASUDEC and Darl's philosophy about that mission. He really is more like a father to this ministry and us all in that Darl never tells you how to do anything. He explores with you and is very clear in expressing his unwavering faith that you will find the right solution. This has been at the heart of his interaction with Salibo over these many years and it has not failed him yet as Salibo repeatedly demonstrates his ingenuity and accountability.

In a recent communication with Salibo, Darl shared the following:

"John Bogle, a new member of the World Wide Missions Committee at Shallowford is much interested in your work and wishes to take over responsibility at this end. I find him an excellent choice and will be moving to keep him informed by copies of messages to you. No, I am not leaving you, just getting some very good support."

John has lots of great ideas and is a very thoughtful and insightful person who we believe will bring the same gentle and inqusistive leadership to this minsitry that we have come to love from Darl. Salibo is also happy to hear of this change and expressed this in his response to Darl where he says:

"I know you wont never leave me, nor Burkina Faso and ASUDEC. Isn’t the coming aboard of Jon Bogle a testimony? I feel very flattered to benefit his trust and that of Nick Villaume. I am profoundly thankful, John and Nick! We will do all to merit your trust and friendship."

I should add that all this news comes on the heels of a recent contribution from Shallowford to help with the completion of a guest house in Burkina Faso that will be used for community activities as well as to generate revenues to help build the community there.

The contribution came about as a result of our following the lead of Dr. Snyder and simply giving with faith that Salibo would find the best possible use for the money. This, to us, is what mission is all about, trusting in our Lord to show the path of most good and using an open, trusting and sharing relationship with our friends around the world to expose that path.

The guest house, started through a contibution from Darl's late wife, Flo, is finally complete and open for business. Dr. Some reports great things and excitement at our joint accomplishments and looks forward to a long and fruitful continued relationship with SPC.

I encourage you to keep Darl, Salibo and John in your thoughts and prayers and to touch base with John regularly as he learns and shares more and more about this great legacy that Darl has created!

If you are interested in becoming involved with mission at Shallowford, please contact me and attend one of our upcoming WWM committee meetings. All are welcome and you do not have to be a committee member to attend. Although, we will try to recruit you.

Shallowford Sponsors Christmas International House Dinner

2008-12-29T21:00:00.000-05:00

Atlanta Ministry for International Students (AMIS) (http://www.amis-inc.org/) sponsors a Christmas International House (CIH) Program. This is a program started by Dr. Fahed Abu-Akel, who is a Presbyterian Minister at Peachtree Presbyterian and was the Moderator of the 214th General Assembly.

The CIH program provides volunteer housing for hundreds of international students throughout the country who would otherwise have no place to stay during the holidays when college dorms are closed.

During their two week stay in Altanta, students are lead on a number of cultural and recreational activities by volunteers and then return to the homes of their host families each evening. In past years, many SPC members have hosted students and have become great supporters and friends of this program. To name a few, Susan Ginn has hosted students for over 15 years, Martha Rosselot has not only hosted students in years past, but was host to two students from Taiwan and Japan this year. Richard and Alice Smith, Jay and Joan Scott, Nick and Mary Villaume and others are among those who have opened their homes to the program.

Every year, SPC's WWM Committee sponsors a dinner for the students participating in the program. This year, the dinner was held on December 27th in Heritage Hall and was attended by approximate 40 students, 7 members of SPC and 3 volunteers from the CIH program.

Each year, we start with a tour of the church. This year, the tour was interesting because, unlike past years, there were NO Christian students in the group. So, for me, explaining our order of worship, beliefs adn sanctuary was a bit of a chore, but they were very receptive and, I think, they understood me.

Chef Dooley Shabazz served a wonderful meal in Heritage Hall and each table was manned by one of our church or committee members. The students really enjoyed the food and came back for seconds and even thirds. Great job Dooley!

After the dinner, we watched a video about the Living Waters Ministry and took several questions from students and I believe it was a succesful and fun way to spread the word about our ministries.

The evening ended with the students baording their bus back to St. James Methodist where they were picked up by their host families.

Suzanne Ginn and I waited with a few students who were being picked up at the church and enjoyed sharing with them during that time.

Thanks to all of you who made this possible and I encourage each of you to get involved in this wonderful ministry.

In addition to hosting students during the holiday, you can become involved with the AMIS program where you are simply asked to make contact with a student here in Atlanta and invite them to dinner or lunch or other events. Mary and I have done this is past years and made some great friends.

If you are interested in becoming involved with mission at Shallowford, please contact me and attend one of our upcoming WWM committee meetings. All are welcome and you do not have to be a committee member to attend. Although, we will try to recruit you.

A Christmas Greeting from .... India?

2008-12-25T14:35:00.002-05:00

You read it right folks, just on the heels of the Hindu New Years celebration of Diwali, our partners, Koshy and Joicy Baby, are spreading the word about the Nativity in the slums of Delhi, India.

In a letter dated, December 24, Rev. Koshy Baby shares with us that:

"Christmas is the time that we use to proclaim the gospel. For the last few days we are going out for carols and preaching the gospel to the people. Our youths do street plays and give the message of the Christmas. There are many people who do not know the meaning of the Christmas in our city and people are more receptive now than other times."

As a suiting addition to our own Christmas cheer, SPC has recently helped facilitate the creation of a new Internet computer lab at the Carmel Community Ministry where over 1000 children are educated each day. The lab will allow the children to become acclimated to internet technologies and basic computer skills, which will open the door to a future career in any number of areas. Without the help of Carmel and this lab, many of these very poor children might never have the opportunity to expose themselves to technologies and we are so grateful to Rev. Koshy for masterminding this and bringing it to fruition. We are so excited about this.

The Rev. Koshy Baby and his wife, Joicy and family.

Sadly, there is some hostility there toward Christians and we are keeping the Carmel ministy in our prayers. They are very brave people there and their courage in sharing their faith is truly heroic. The following, regarding the receipt of our wire transfer in December, will give some indication of the challenges they have faced:

"We do have problems like due to non-cooperation of the banks because of our ministry in proclaiming the gospel."

However, by the Grace of God, the money has arrived and plans are underway! In the near future, we hope to make corresponding with the children at Carmel a regular part of our Sunday School and youth activities here at SPC. In the words of Koshy: "It will be great to have our kids from here write and communicate with kids there. We are looking forward for Feb. to have the communication start."

Our committee will be working in coming weeks with the SPC's Christian Education committee to help facilitate this unique sharing opportunity.

If any of you would like to start corresponding with the kids at Carmel from home, please let me know and I can get you in touch with them.

If you are interested in becoming involved with mission at Shallowford, please contact me and attend one of our upcoming WWM committee meetings. All are welcome and you do not have to be a committee member to attend. Although, we will try to recruit you.

A Mexican Wedding

2008-12-06T12:54:00.001-05:00

As many of you may be aware, we have been conducting an on-going discussion here at the Worldwide Ministries Committee about Shallowford’s relationship with the Frontera de Cristo (FdC) Ministry in Agua Prieta (A.P.), MX. This last December, I took advantage of the wedding of Adrian Gonzalez to visit Agua Prieta and discuss our relationship with Mark Adams, the coordinator of FdC.

Mary and I left Atlanta on December 3rd and arrived in Tucson, AZ that evening where we rented a car and drove, the following day, to Agua Prieta. A.P. is about 120 miles south of Tucson and shares the border with the town of Douglas, AZ, where the FdC office is located.

We arrived at the Frontera office at around noon and were immediately greeted by Mark Adams who insisted on taking us to lunch so that we could catch up and talk more about the issues our church is facing with regards to the ministry there. After lunch, we visited for a few hours with both Mark Adams and Tommy Bassett, on of the founders of Just Coffee and the Director of the Just Trade center. Our conversations covered many topics, but in particular, Mark and Tommy were able to lend a lot of clarity to some of the questions we have about the nature of FdC and some of the activities in which they participate.

After a productive afternoon, Mary and I had planned to go to our hotel in A.P., but Mark insisted that we stay at his home. So, we met Mark at his home around 6pm and caught up, briefly with his family, his wife Miram and children: Cindy (12), Anna Flor (6) and Nathan (1), before Mark and I prepared some dishes to take to the “bachelor party” for Adrian.

In Mexico, Presbyterians don’t drink, smoke or dance and they certainly don’t have bachelor parties in the traditional sense. Instead, Tommy Basset procured about 20 pounds of marinated rib-eye steaks and we all sat out on the back patio in the cool Sonora evening and had a semi-traditional Carne Asada. It was a great time to visit and laugh with friends from American and Mexico. I made the salso and pico de gallo for the meal and received a number of compliments, although I think they were just being nice. We had a lot of fun telling stories of funny things that happen on the border and Tommy video taped everyone giving Adrian “marital advice.” Apparently, Pastor Rudofo gets the price for most revealing tips. I do not know what he said, but it was enough to make Tommy blush, so I didn’t even ask.

The following day, Mary and I met Adrian for breakfast at the Hacienda Hotel in A.P. Anyone who has been on a trip will well recall how good the food is at the Hacienda’s Café and it is a popular morning meeting spot for all the movers and shakers in A.P. In fact, we have even seen the Presidente (mayor) dining there in the past. We had a great meal of tortilla casserole, eggs and fresh fruit.

After eating, we all met at the Lily of the Valley Church to clean and prepare the church for the wedding. We swept and mopped, setup chairs, raked the front parking area and dusted. We worked alongside Mark and his wife Mirian, Adrian and his soon-to-be wife, Febe. Chuy Gallegos Jr. was there from Colorado with his wife, Julie and many other friends who all made quick work of preparing the church.

After the church was cleaned, setup and locked-up, Adrian took us all to the town square for one of his favorite meals: Mexican hot dogs. These are basically just normal hot dogs, but are wrapped in bacon with salsa, pinto beans and guacamole on top. Those, along with the strawberry and pecan Paletas (Mexican popsicles) that we had for desert, pretty much finished off our eating for the day.

That evening we had a rehearsal at the church where I was then informed that I would be a part of the wedding. This was truly an honor, which I had not expected, but it was a small reading part and I would be allowed to do so in English, so no worries there. We then all shared funny stories about the inherent tardiness of the Mexican culture. Julie Gallegos, an American from Colorado who married Chuy, a Mexican from A.P., shared a story from her wedding where she told all the Mexicans that, if they did not get there on time, the Americans would show up early and steal all the good seats. That seemed to work, but it was unclear if they actually heeded her warning or if it was because their only rides to the wedding was with the American families hosting them.

The rehearsal started at 8:15 and the plans for the wedding the following day were well underway. I admire the Mexican attitude about planning and we could all learn a lesson from this. It is one of gracious and friendly acceptance and humor. They do not stress over time, in contrast to American clock-watching, is part of what I believe makes them such a happy and relaxed culture.

The day of the wedding was hectic, but great. Mary and I crossed back to the U.S. side to do some last minute shopping and make an ATM withdrawal. During our shopping, Adrian called and asked if we would go to the home of a woman name Monchi to pickup the wedding cake and deliver it to the church. Since Monchi lives next door to the community center we were able to find her home and knocked on the door to receive the cake.

However, as with any “planned” procedure, I have learned that there will always be one, or a dozen, critical steps that are always omitted from the plan as a matter of principal. In this case, the step that we had missed was to inform Monchi of a) who Mary and I are and b) that we were coming to pickup the cake. Now, my Spanish is just not good enough to communicate such a specific concept and Mary had, unfortunately, lost her voice from Bronchitis on the way into Tucson, so this left us attempting to explain to Monchi that we were there to retrieve the cake, which was sitting in 12 different pieces in the middle of her living room. I proceeded to explain that we were trying to take “that” (couldn’t remember the word for cake) to the “iglesia.” I believe she thought us to be two random Americans who had somehow found her home and were looking to buy a cake and she was not about to let us take it. Finally, I called Adrian on my cell and just shoved the cell into the hands of Monchi and let him explain it. Once she understood, she was all business and she, along with her two daughters piled into our little rented car and we carried the cake(s), in two trips, to the church with everyone holding at least two cakes and some more (see photo).

The wedding began at 3pm and there were three pastors involved. Pastor Rodolfo, who is the Senior Pastor of the Lily of the Valley, was the officiating pastor. A wonderful sermon was then delivered by Joca Gallegos. Jocabed is the daughter of Chuy Gallegos Senior, who used to be the Mexican coordinator of FdC. Chuy now lives and operates a Hispanic Church in Greenville. After the sermon, Mark Adams performed the marriage ceremony. In Mexico, they not only have a ring-bearer, but also a “lasso” bearer. There is an ornately decorated lasso that is placed over the bride and grooms shoulders at the end of the service to symbolize that they are bound together. Aside from this, the vows were exchanged and the bride was kissed just like it is in an American wedding and they left the church to the blare of Mariachi trumpets playing Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March.”

The reception was held at a “wedding salon” just one block from the church. The venue was called “Mundo Magico” and I can assure you it was truly a magical place for a reception and conveniently had a court yard with a playground so the children were all safely and conveniently removed from the reception area. Dinner was BBQ chicken and cole-slaw and each table was amply equipped with 2-litre bottles of Fanta Orange, Pineapple and Apple (my favorite) soda. There were at least 2 dozen Americans in attendance and even some that I had met on past trips to Southern Mexico or with whom I have crossed paths in other areas of mission. We enjoyed the music of the authentic Mariachis and visited for a couple hours before we had to make a mad-dash back across the border and then to Tucson where we caught a 1:00 a.m. red-eye back to Atlanta just in time to make it to the 11am worship on Sunday the 7th of December.

This trip was such a great experience for us and we are so grateful to Shallowford for having gotten our family involved in these relationships. I never would have thought, just 5 or 6 years ago, that I would one day have such close and familiar relationships with people from other countries and of other cultures. It has been of such importance to our family to be able to understand and share this culture and common faith with folks in Mexico.

The information from the final report and recommendations of the WWM committee on FdC will be available in February. Please email nick@villaume.net to receive a copy of the report in digital form.

If you are interested in becoming involved with mission at Shallowford, please contact me and attend one of our upcoming WWM committee meetings. All are welcome and you do not have to be a committee member to attend. Although, we will try to recruit you.

New PSA for Living Waters Sponsored By SPC

2008-08-01T14:51:00.000-04:00

Check it out! Shallowford has sponsored the this PSA for distribution in the Atlanta Market. It is on youtube.com, but you can view it right here!

Of course, there is ONE slight catch! WE CAN'T GET ANY TV STATIONS TO AIR IT!!!! So, if any of you super cool and well connected folks have some pull, hook us up!

If you are interested in becoming involved with mission at Shallowford, please contact me and attend one of our upcoming WWM committee meetings. All are welcome and you do not have to be a committee member to attend. Although, we will try to recruit you.