The Bronx Household of Faith

The Bronx Household of Faith

City Lights

Newsletter

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Editor’s note: Amanda Swift has grown up in BHOF, has been to China and has studied cross-cultural ministry with Wycliffe. Her article is a reminder that the mission field has come to us.

Our Nepali Friends

are natives of Bhutan<= /st1:country-region>, who, for being Hindu, were persecuted and kicked out by the Buddhist govern= ment in the early 1990's, and who have lived for the past 17 years in a refugee = camp in Nepal. All of their children were born in the camp. By God’s providential ha= nd, He connected our church with one family in particular and has blessed us to= be part of each other's lives over the past two years.

Pastor Jack's wife, Pat, has had a heart for getting connected with the Burmese who were fleeing to NYC. She had been in touch with a Lutheran resettlement age= ncy because she wanted us to be involved in ministering to the Karen and Kareni. She kept being put “on hold” by the agency because the Karen/Kareni aren't here in New York City yet but the agency told her that “= the Nepalis are here—would you consider taking some= of them?”

When Pat said we wouldn't have a place for them by “next week,” the agency wouldn't take no for an answer! The next week a family of five show= ed up. Mother and daughters move= d in with Naomi, while father and son moved into a room in Manasseh house (Hope Christian Center) down the st= reet. Later they all moved to Manasseh house.

The first year, our church contact was mostly with this one family. We managed = to get the children enrolled in the Christian school where several of our chur= ch members work. Our pastors did Sunday School Bible class with them. They came over every night for home= work help and attended church and prayer meeting regularly. Living among us, they became involved in all aspects of our community life together.

The agency helped with official paperwork. We did the practical things: furnis= hing their apartment, getting the kids in school, helping with English, shopping, etc. We helped with their first time experiences in the culture (they had n= ever used things like, a stove, vacuum cleaners, washing machines, etc...) Every evening, someone (mostly Naomi and the people in her home) tutored them.

Last year they finally moved into their own apartment in a building with nine ot= her resettled Nepali families—many of them knowing each other from the ca= mps! Although moving down the block too= k them farther away from us, it opened an opportunity to meet others.

We began to meet other refugees from the camp who said= that they became Christians in the camp. We later found out that these people ar= e Dalits, the untouchables. It is much more common for them to= be Christian, than the higher caste Brahmans. Dalits and Brahmans living in one building—only= in America!. The <= span class=3DSpellE>Dalit believers have their own church. Jack and Pat go to their bui= lding weekly and do a Bible study in the Gospel of John with the Brahman families= .

We recently had a large dinner with a musician and pastor from Pakistan. They were very grat= eful for the music and were very responsive to the cultural connection made thro= ugh the music, especially when he began singing the psalms to traditional Bhajans. Seeing how beneficial it was to have this Pakistani pastor here, even though they spoke in Hindi, not their national language, there was a definite cultural = connection.

We were reminded of the need for people to be able to ask deep questions in th= eir native language, which they are not able to do in English. We know it is so critical not to c= onvey the idea that Christianity is American or western.

To that end, we are planning to have a “Fine Arts Week” geared tow= ards the various refugees in the neighborhood, presenting the Gospel through culturally familiar art forms. Children will be exposed to Christian art in their own languages as they receive instruction in music, dance, drama, vis= ual arts, and instrument making. The evenings will be spent around a shared mea= l, Bible teaching, and fellowship with the parents.

We hope that this “appreciative inquiry” into their cultures will = communicate to them that the message of Christ is for “every tribe, tongue, peopl= e, and nation.”

Our Nepali friends host us regularly in their rooms, their apartments, cooking = for us, feeding us. God has blessed us with a reciprocal relationship. However, such a ministry does not happen on its own, = and requires involvement from the entire body. So many have been faithful and intentional with hospitality, providing clothes and furniture, long hours of tutoring, driving, music, vocational training, help with English, trips to = the ER, shopping, Bible study etc In many ways we have fallen short, yet God has proved faithful and shows us wh= at a privilege it is to be part of the story!

There is one person wh= o has carried most of the day-to-day interaction and responsibility—Naomi <= span class=3DSpellE>Woodmansee. She has treated this family in every way imaginable as her own and was once mistaken by a Nepali relative as belongi= ng to them! She is a living testimony as to what it means to be the hands and = feet of Christ. He has filled her with untiring love and energy towards these families, and she is an example of the numerous ways in which believers can minister the Gospel of reconciliation through everyday life. =

Look how He has placed the unreached people of the world right in our very homes= ! Please pray with us for this outre= ach this summer.

= &nb= sp; = = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Amanda Swift =

Household Words

We were recently visited by a Cambodian family VuTha Mam and family. He is a leader in the Cambodian church. They were part of our refugee ministry some 25 years ago. As you can see from Amanda’s article, we are back at it again. That the mission field has come to= us is certainly not unique to this ministry.&nbs= p; People from all over the world are, no doubt, in your community as well. It’s a great opportunity for the church across our nation.

I looked wistfully at a film clip about a ministry in the Midwest with a building under construction. They were thanking the Lord for all the volunteer help doing the bul= k of the construction. ̶= 0;If only we could do that,” I thought to myself. But no! The regulations here in New York City are = so tight that we are unable to use volunteers until the final stages, when the bu= ilding is more than 95% finished. Mind, we have had many volunteers offering their services but, sad to report, we’re not at that stage as yet. We do thank the Lord for these good folks who are so kind and who genuinely want to help. Please pray with us. We would love to be in the buildin= g by our 40^th year in 2011.

Oh yes! the lawsuit. Remember that? The city of New York is still trying to block our r= enting the public school buildings for worship services. Just by way of reminder, we = went before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in October of 2009. Seven months later we a= re awaiting their decision. Mean= while, because of our case and the valiant efforts of the Alliance Defense Fund, we continue to hear of churches being planted in New York City who are meeting in public school buildings. That is very gratifying.

These matters are all part of the spiritual battle being waged in the unseen world. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = <= b>Bob Hall

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City Lights<= /b> is a publication of The Bronx Household of Faith, an urban church commi= tted to bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the streets of New York

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Co-pastors: Bob Hall, Jack Roberts,

Phone: (718) 220-3652,

Email:bhof@bhof.org

Web: www.bhof.org<= /p>