Vision for Mission

LAURA MOORE, a 27 year old school chaplain in Deception Bay north of Brisbane, has long had a desire to travel and see the world. When she ran short of funds for a KonTiki trip, she asked a dangerous question, “How might God use my urge to see the world?” Laura began to seek alternatives to the usual young adult focus on “collecting experiences”.

In 2006 Laura was asked by her congregation to consider joining Global Walking, a short term exposure trip organised by Uniting Church youth worker Jason Bray in collaboration with Vision for Mission and the Justice and International Mission Advocate.

Despite being briefed before leaving Australia, Laura was not prepared for the mind-blowing experience she had in the Philippines. Laura was introduced to ‘in-your-face poverty’ from the moment she stepped off the plane. Walking through Manila, she came across a mother and two boys lying in the gutter. At first she thought they might be dead but she soon discovered that this was where they slept.

Ninety minutes with Manila’s huge rubbish dump slum community on Smokey Mountain changed Laura’s life forever. Here the team witnessed a whole community living, working and playing among the layers and layers of black rubbish, collecting and recycling material for sale.

Laura’s understanding of ‘church’ was changed by a visit with a tiny church on one of the islands of the Philippines. The majority of the members of the church had left when the pastor had been murdered for standing up for the rights of local fishermen. The only people that remained were the family of the pastor and a group of faithful persevering Christians with a passion for justice and righteousness. Laura was challenged to rethink the comfortable expectations she’d grown accustomed to in her own local suburban congregation.

The most difficult part of a cultural exposure trip is returning home. Laura found herself deeply disturbed by the realisation that while she had been changed inside, the everyday life in the suburbs was continuing as though nothing had happened. Everywhere she looked, people seemed to be focused on the same meaningless pursuits, with little awareness of the world beyond their comfort zone.

Initially, Laura was overwhelmed with a sense of guilt associated with the level of affluence that she had taken for granted. Over time she began to become more focused, engaging with her home environment with new eyes, changing the way she watched television and the choices she made while shopping.

Laura is still infected with the travel bug, but with a difference. While talking about her experience with young people at the Summer Madness camp earlier this year, she heard Jason Bray talk about the Global Walking trips to Bali and Zambia in 2008. “All of a sudden it was as if God had poured molten lava through my veins”, she said. Laura signed up to join the team which visited Lasaka and Mwandi.

The three weeks in Africa provided an experience of more subtle and yet more dire poverty. She was totally engaged by whole villages which appeared to be resigned to inescapable, perpetual malnourishment.

“God wants to use us where we are”, Laura said. “Maybe part of that call from God is to find alternatives to accumulating material possessions, focusing instead on sharing with the world.”

Laura’s approach to reading the Bible has been radically changed. As she explores the teaching and lifestyle of Jesus she looks for ways in which she and her community might become agents of change.

The Global Walking project has emerged over the last four years as a shared partnership between Json Bray, local congregations, Justice and International Mission Advocate Andrew Johnson, YACMU and
Uniting International Mission, with funding and support from the Vision For Mission project and the
UC Foundation.

The visionary behind the Global Walking project Mr Bray said the goal of cultural exposure trips is first and foremost changed hearts and minds. “With a new way of looking at the world young adults return home to live transformed lives that transform their community.”

Minister at Centenary Uniting Church in Brisbane’s west Rev Paul Walton said he had been inspired by
the way people of all ages have got behind the sending of those able to go. “The connections with The Philippines, Bali and Zambia have confirmed and focused our existing commitment to mission”.

Singer/songwriter Katie Wallis returned from Zambia deeply impacted by her experience there with a Global Walking team. With support from members of Centenary she was able to write down her reflections, shaping them into an album, “Contemplating A Change”. Through a series of concerts at churches and cafes she and her band raised over $13,000 for the Mwandi Orphanage.

Mr Bray said Global Walking encourages people to embrace the diversity and differences and discover God. “A revelation of God in a new culture takes us out of our comfort zone and provokes us to ask questions and explore our faith in new ways.”