Indonesia's Compassion First isn't knocking down doors, but caring for victims and tutoring at-risk youth living in cemeteries.Inside a cemetery in West Java, a woman rests on a mattress laid on top of a gravestone beneath the oak trees. The graveyard is home not only to the dead but to the living poor, who have nowhere else to go.Residents of the Rose Cemetery community collect garbage, drive pedicabs, or clean graves by day. In the northern section of the cemetery, about 200 families live in brick and tin buildings lining a ditch filled with trash and milky sewage water. At night, many women resort to prostitution to provide for their families. Their daughters are often sold—or kidnapped—into the sex trade. (CT changed the names of the cemeteries and only used the first names of its residents for security reasons.)Compassion First (CF) offered tutoring, parenting classes, and cooking classes for the community on a blue covered porch in the cemetery complex. Recently they moved to a new community center nearby. CF focuses on fighting sex trafficking in Indonesia, and here at the cemetery, that means community development among families vulnerable to exploitation.Susi and Mala, two mothers who have lived in the community their whole lives, noted that neighbors rarely knew one another in the past. CF arrived during the COVID-19 pandemic—initially to provide food for the community and scholarships to the children. Since then, the neighborhood has become much more close-knit and better resourced. For young girls, this could make the difference between whether they are trafficked or not.Susi learned from the cooking class how to make seblak (a spicy dish made of wet crackers and meat or seafood, smothered in sambal chili paste) and now sells it to supplement her income. Mala learned about the five love languages in the parenting class ...Continue reading...

On this Earth Day, here are some practical things you and your family can do that will actually help you be better stewards, caring for God's creation.

On this Earth Day, here are some practical things you and your family can do that will actually help you be better stewards, caring for God's creation.

On this Earth Day, here are some practical things you and your family can do that will actually help you be better stewards, caring for God's creation.

As you enter our life-size Noah's Ark, one of the first exhibits you'll see is small animal cages. These cages aren't just props—they are actually working cages!

We haven't ceased to be the church. We'll never cease to be that. But I miss the gathering.It’s been a month.Four full Sundays of worship at home.And with every week that goes by, I realize more than ever how much I miss it.No, not the building. You can have the building.Not even the event. You can have that, too.I miss the people.I miss gathering as the church.Active, But SeparatedSure, the church is still alive and well. More than ever.We’re checking up on each other. Making grocery runs for our seniors. This evening, some friends dropped by with donuts, then stood at the end of the driveway as we chatted from the door for a few moments. We’ve never done that before.So the church is engaged, active, worshiping and caring for each other.But I miss the gathering.Deeply.The Emptiness Of AbsenceI miss being in the same room, worshiping, singing, serving, laughing, praying, and receiving communion together.That’s the part that hurts.The part where I feel an emptiness.It’s not about the building or the event. It never has been.It’s about the people.God’s people.Gathered.Going To Church MattersYes, it’s true that we are the church. That’s what matters most.But it’s becoming ever more clear that the going part is a very close second. And an essential element of being the church.Going to church matters. A lot.Gathering as the church is as fundamental to my faith as it can possibly be.No, we haven’t ceased to be the church. We’ll never cease to be that.But I miss the gathering.What a celebration it will be when we’re gathered again.Continue reading...