Welcome to Australia – unity and diversity

Yesterday I had the privilege of visiting people in the Inverbrackie Detention Centre, Woodside, South Australia. I was there on invitation as a clergy member of a Protestant Church. My wife’s cousin is a co-ordinator of programs and activities in the Centre. So when the request came from some Christian detainees to meet with a pastor, she called me.

My first impression when I pulled into the car park was surprise at the amount of cars there. It was hard to get a park. I found out the reason why. There are so many staff and volunteers working in the Centre to meet needs its phenomenal.

I enjoyed my walk through, it certainly doesn’t look or feel like a Detention Centre. There’s no razor wire or high walls, it’s like a small suburb with housing spread along a street like any other suburb. The difference is, the ‘suburb’ is surrounded by a neighbourly fence and there is a check point in a little portable building at the entrance gate. I thought the Centre had a good feel about it. I am unable to go into detail but know my impression is positive and conditions are very good.

I am disappointed that the media did a big beat up of the Centre before it opened but there has been very little reported about the positive way in which the Centre is being run and the needs of the people are being met. I was fortunate to meet with the community program and activities team for a short time. It was exhausting just listening to the conversation. They are so busy not only organizing onsite activities for entertainment, learning and development but off site excursions to all kinds of cool sites and activities around Adelaide.

The main reason for my visit was to meet with detainees who nominated they were ‘Protestant – Christian’. I met Sister Meredith who co-ordinates religious programming. I admire her ecumenical and multi-faith approach. I found out that she had been running a Catholic mass on a Sunday afternoon but the Protestants wanted a Protestant minister to meet with them. This is understandable particularly when you are in a context where everything has changed and maybe being taken away from you, they search for something familiar to hang onto.

Our meeting was enlightening. It was only a small group and I was mainly there to listen to spiritual needs. I discovered that among the small group was a Muslim couple who were keen on getting involved with the Christian conversation and wanted a Christian bible. Sister Meredith shared with me that she would often get not only the small group of Christians (Catholic and Protestant) to catholic mass but a large group on Muslims and Hindus. The Muslims and Hindus participate in the worship and read prayers and readings, then when the Catholics come forward for the Eucharist the Muslims and Hindus come forward for a blessing. She thought this was unusual given there are worship meetings for Hindus and others for the large group of Muslims on site. But what they experience at the Christian meetings is unconditional acceptance. What a testimony, I wonder if that is why the Muslim couple are interested in more Christian meetings.

Talking with a group about spiritual matters through an interpreter was a challenge. I recognize that not only was there a language barrier but given the interpreter was not Christian there was a cultural barrier on top of the other cultural barrier given that we are from different countries and experience different expressions of the Christian faith. But given I have worked with Christian asylum seekers before  we were able to communicate and appreciate some of the difference. I was able to pray with the Christians and the Muslims in the room together through the interpreter which was a challenge and an absolute privilege.

The request by the end of the meeting was for the Protestants to have a separate Christian gathering to the Catholics. Sister Meredith and I were able to work in some subtle ecumenical desires into the conversations such as explaining how in Australia Christians do a lot together. We appreciate the difference in worship style but encouraged unity (last week was Pentecost Sunday after all) We agreed that we will have 2 services on a Sunday afternoon. An open Christian service run by me and other protestant ministers I can gather at 3:30pm followed by a Christian (Catholic) service at 5pm. This way we would still be able to get Christians of different expressions talking with each other. This divide is not unique to Christians, the Muslims are experiencing the same denominational divides. Sister Meredith and I are doing our best to communicate the spirit of Australian culture, tolerance and unity in the short time we have with them in the Centre.

I now have a team of pastors joining me to run  a Christian communion service working in partnership with Sister Meredith.

Shalom Mark

Be my eyes

Have you ever sat down with and listened to the story of someone who has been displaced from their home? Do you have a friend who is seeking asylum, or who has become a refugee in a strange new place?

Vox Congo celebrate this Christmas

Friends I bear great news!!!

Etienne and Adolphe have their Permanent Residency! I spoke to them both last night just as they found out and they are ecstatic! It overshadows the news Verity and I announced just a couple of days ago that we are having a baby! For those of you who don’t know yet, yes we will become first time parents in June next year. It was just a couple of days after we made the announcement to everyone that we’re having a baby tht Etienne called me with the great news.

Some of you know them as the lead singer (Etienne) and bass player (Adolphe) of Vox Congo, while others have come to know them as dear friends, family even, who have been fighting for their right to live free from oppression, their right to be protected and their right to be reunited with their families.

Verity and I first met Etienne, Adolphe, Martinse and Papy in mid 2002, 4 asylum seekers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We were living on campus at the Churches of Christ Theological College (CCTC) next to fellow students Keith and Sharon Briant. Keith was working with Urban Neighbours Of Hope (UNOH) through the Asylum Seeker Assistance Project (ASAP) and I was about to commence as senior minister at Knoxfield Church of Christ. One day while pottering in the garden Keith approached me and asked if our church would consider housing 4 asylum seekers UNOH had been working with, in our church manse which was currently vacant. It’s amazing what can happen from a conversation around the garden outside the units on campus at college.

From there we invited Jon Owen (UNOH worker) and Adolphe to come to a service at Knoxfield to not only meet but raise awareness on Refugee Sunday about the plight of refugees and asylum seekers. A couple of weeks later they were living in the church manse and so began an amazing relationship between the church and the guys but even more so between the guys and Verity and I.

As I began advocacy campaigns for them Verity spent time teaching them English. We had countless meals with them sharing stories, some very difficult to talk about. The church provided shelter, clothing and food. UNOH paid their utility bills. And over the 9 years I led 4 advocacy campaigns involving letter writing and visits with MP’s and Senators. Countless times the guys were rejected and depression set in, so we shared in the tears and the fears of what next, imagining the worst, to which Adolphe would say, ‘we need to be faithful, God is good’. Many people joined the fight at different stages of the joueney and some come and go, Verity and I knew they needed some constant friends to sustain them in the journey.

(hospitality with Vox Congo in our home, playing around at Glenelg beach & sharing the stage at a church gig)

I was talking with Keith Briant today celebrating the news. We acknowledged that it is almost 9 years since they arrived on our shores and began the process of applying for asylum. We remember there were times when both of us would sit with them and break the bad news about the reality of what they were facing. Especially after exhausting all avenues of appeals to the courts and refugee tribunal and still getting responses of rejection I remember sitting there with Keith and the guys with our hearts breaking telling them the fight was over, it was time to face reality. But here’s a lesson in faithfullness and hope in the face of hopelessness. Adolphe especially would look us in the eyes with the utmost respect for us as pastors of the church and say ‘Pastor, this is not the end. God will do something and give us a testimony to glorify his name’. Constantly each one fo teh guys would remind us of this whenever we hit a road block.

Not long after we met, Vox Congo was born and I became their manager working with them in getting gigs all over Melbourne, then Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide. I worked with them as they produced their first CD and we used their CD and the gigs we organized to lift the advocacy campaign for them and raise money to support their living.

It wasn’t long before my whole family had adopted each of them as sons and brothers, (the guys call my parents ‘mum’ and ‘dad’). My family always has a place for them, they have joined us at the Christmas dinner table and at family events, and now my parents house in Adelaide is a favorite retreat.

In July 2004 I married Papy to Rebekkah (they now have 3 kids) and in June 2007 Papy called me to let me know his Permanent Residency was approved. I cried, he cried and we waited for good news for the others. In February 2005 I married Martinse to Carmen (they now have a daughter Grace) and in January 2008 Martinse received his Permanent Residency. In July 2008 all of us exhausted, constantly harassing immigration to respond favorably to Etienne and Adolphe, we all felt like giving up. Once again Adolphe’s optimism and message of faithfulness rang in our ears. So we launched one more campaign to get 1000 people to write 1000 letters and we launched it at the UNOH Surrender conference. We got our 1000 letters and sent them off through their immigration lawyer. That was over 12 months ago and I thankyou you all for your participation. Now after a few technical glitches that held up the system we can finally celebrate with Etienne and Adolphe.

The most amazing part of this story is the faith journey they have been on, through the crippling lows particularly and their attitudes of hope, their faithfulness and their optimism. We have discovered the value of true friendship together and what it means to stick with your mates through the crap. Now we look forward to the party and celebration of a hope realized. Last year my mum was able to visit Adolphe’s family living as refugees in Kenya and Verity and I were able to visit Etienne’s son who was living in Paris. Now the guys have plans to visit their families in person. Oh and did I mention that last month Papy changed his name to David after he became an Australian citizen!

In the words of Adolphe, “Praise God! God is good!’

Amen

May shalom reign this Christmas.

Mark

P.S. Check the tags for related Vox Congo stories over the past 5 or 6 years and I just rediscovered a bolg I started some time ago which I haven’t touched in a while with more Vox Congo stories on it. Follow the journey at www.voxcongo.blogspot.com

Another member of Vox Congo becomes a permenant resident in Australia today

I invite you to celebrate with me friends once more as I have tears in my eyes yet again (what a sook).

Martinse Kanda member of Vox Congo (the little shy guy who plays Rhythm and drums) is now a permanent resident in Australia as of today when he received his letter in the mail. This news comes 6 months after Papy received his full residency. This is a huge celebration for Vox Congo and testimony to their faith. I have developed a very close relationship with these 4 guys since they arrived in Melbourne in 2002 and have seen the many heart breaks and disappointments time after time as they we’re told they couldn’t stay, they were told they were non-persons and even their closest advisors told them there was no hope.

Not once did their spirit or faith falter under the pressure. Depression lured many times but their faith and hope lifted them. Martinse and Carmen as well as the rest of the guys have asked me to thankyou all for your tireless support and for never giving up on them. Thankyou for you letters, petitions, friendship, showing up at concerts, your meals, clothing, financial support and a roof over their heads. Often we don’t get to see the impact we can have in lives or hear the good news stories, well here they are, a testimony to your efforts in standing by the neglected and the cast aside in their time of need. Well done.

We ask for your continued prayer and support for Etienne (band leader) and Adolphe (the unforgettable Bass player). I had a series of meetings with them in November last year and they were not traveling well. They miss family, they are feeling lost and confused, yet they still have great hope. I am concerned for my friends and I ask that you please stay with them in prayer and support. After their visit to Adelaide in November I was at a wedding with them in Melbourne and Etienne asked if I could launch an appeal for him and Adolphe to the new immigration minister. Asylum seekers and refugees have a new found hope in our new government who seems to know the meaning of compassion based on recent actions like the release of the prisoners (unlawfully detained refugees) from Naru.

I will be in touch with you when I have something put together which will include information and format on how to write to the minister for immigration. If anyone would like to help me with this I would be grateful. I am still a learner. I will be relentless and will not give up until each member of Vox Congo are heard and have received residency in Australia.

Until then please share this message through your networks as I don’t have contact with everyone who wants to be kept up to date on Vox Congo.

Blessings
Mark Riessen

Great news for Vox Congo – Papy a PR

For 4 or 5 years now the band Vox Congo have captured and warmed the hearts of thousands of Australians not only with their amazing energetic music and strong Gospel message, but also with their tragic story of fleeing their country (DRC) to seek asylum here in Australia. It is a story that tugs at the heart strings and their past 5 and a half years here in Australia have been a real rollercoaster ride of appeal and rejection. Not only had their plea for asylum in Australia been rejected but their home country didn’t want them back. They refused to reissue passports after they had expired so when the guys were ordered to leave our country they could go nowhere. They were labeled as non-persons with no country. This means no health care, no government assistance, no rights.

Etienne, Adolphe, Martinse and Papy expressed deep faith and determination to continue hoping in a hopless and helpless situation. They appealed to the compassionate hearts of people who make desisions within our immigration system and waited patiently in prayer. My wife Verity and I, journeyed with them through the uncertianty and the heart ache, as week after week we would ask, ‘have you heard anything yet?’, only to meet long faces and a sadened response. Yet through it all they continued to play their music with energy, to sing their song of joy in a strange land and Adolphe would always say to me, ‘yet God is good and we have faith’. It has been an awe inspiring journey.

We shared in celebration with Papy and Martinse at the end of last year and early this year when immirgation informed them they were allowed to apply for residency. We then went through the gruling task of preparing the application which wasn’t guarunteed to succeed and wondering where on earth they were going to find the $3000 each to lodge the application.

It is with great excitement and tears in my eyes that I share this amazing news with you.

Papy Mbikulu Wena (keyboard player and drummer for Vox Congo) received a letter from immigration yesterday, Wednesday June 27th, to say he is now a PERMANENT RESIDENT IN AUSTRALIA!!!! This great news has been 5 years and 8 months in the making. Through much heart ache and struggle we have journeyed to this point of celebration.

Praise God for the amazing journey, the prayers, the persistence, the courage and the hope we have that yes we can actually make a difference when we stand with those who cannot and ought not stand alone.

I had the privilege of sharing in tears of joy with Papy on the phone last night. He would like me to spread the news far and wide that he is now free to make a home with his family here in Australia. His wife Rebekkah is relieved to say the least and daughter Jael will continue to grow in the comfort of knowing that her dad will not have to leave her behind.

On behalf of the family I extend special thanks and gratitude beyond what words could ever express to Urban Neighbours Of Hope and the Knoxfield Church of Christ for their endless support and tireless efforts in standing with the ‘Congo Boys’ as they appealed to our government again and again for compassion. Your advocacy support, compassion and prayers made all the difference. One particularly special thankyou goes to Robyn for her amazing financial gift to help Papy apply for residency. Robyn, you are truly amazing and will not be forgotten.

I am still overwhelmed with the news and can’t wait to bring similar news once Martinse finds out the answer to his residency application. We are yet to find out if Etienne and Adolphe are allowed to apply for the same rights, they continue to seek asylum in Australia. Please continue your prayers for them. They now have even greater hope and expectation for this great news to flow through all of their stories.

Please share this story through you networks and newsletters as I have lost many contacts through my move to Adelaide. I promised people I would let them know when these guys reached the final goal they had been praying and hoping for, for so long. When citizenship comes up I’ll make sure you all hear about it so you can go to the ceremony. I know I’ll be there.

Post your comments at www.myspace.com/voxcongo so papy can receive your encouragement.

Shalom
Mark

Hope dawns on Vox Congo this Christmas

This past 48 hours have been a massive emotional rollercoaster for me. Not only have I been saying goodbye to Vox Congo as their manager but I am saying goodbye to ministry with the Knoxfield Church of Christ and to Melbourne. Vox Congo held a dinner for Verity and I and the church has said their farewell last Sunday. But the all the emotion began for me on Saturday night the 16th of November at around 8pm.

If you notice the time on this post it is very early in the morning. While I have not had a chance to sit down at a computer since I found out this great news, I can now no longer sleep properly until I tell the world what is happening. It’s around 5:30am and the sun is rising on a new day, quite powerfully symbolic for one of our members of Vox Congo and his family.

On Saturday night, Etienne so casually leant over to me as we were eating dinner and said,

‘did you hear, Papy got a letter from immigration and few days ago.’

‘Well what did it say’, I said excitedly and impatiently.

‘It is very good news, he’s not an asylum seeker anymore.’

As you could imagine I nearly fell off my seat. Papy and Rebekah were sitting just a few spots up the table from me. I got up out of my seat and went straight to them, I wasn’t sure whether to just throw myself at them with a huge hug or calm myself just for a moment to confirm the news with them. I chose them latter, then threw my arms around them.

People hear this, PAPY IS NO LONGER AN ASYLUM SEEKER! Is that loud enough! Go and shout it out your window right now, tell the world.

After 5 long years of seeking asylum here in Australia, finally one of the 4 has received the news he had been longing for. Papy is the first to receive such news as his timeline with immigration was slightly ahead of the others. This has given the other 3 guys a huge dose of expectation and renewed sense of hope. What I find most amazing is how they all take it in their stride, like they really expected this to happen. Their faith in Jesus never faltered, they never gave up praying and the never gave up hope. The Good News ‘Kinanga’ this Christmas is that God reveals himself in suh ways. The journey with the guys has taught me a few things, like what’ the use in hoping if you don’t expect the thing hoped for to be realized? These guys have helped me realize hope in a new light.

So I bet you’re wondering where to from here? Well they’re not out of the woods yet. Even though papy is on the other side of the asylum seeker line there is still a long process to come. He now officially has the status of ‘tourist’. he has a 6 month tourist visa and within this time Papy has to apply for a temporary spouse visa. I had the privilege of marrying Papy to Rebekah in 2004 and they brought their first little girl into the world almost one year ago today. As soon as I fill out a statutory declaration for them, thy can begin the process of applying for the next visa and the Wena family will be on their way to becoming a complete Aussie family. If they are successful in securing the temporary spouse visa then Papy becomes a temporary resident. It’s another couple of years before he can then become a full resident and then another few years after that to becoming a citizen. I tell you what though, no matter where I am in the world I will be attending that citizenship ceremony.

Your prayer works in amazing ways. Keep praying for the Wena family and for Martinse, Adolphe & Etienne and their families. We hope the others will hear soon. By the way, I was so caught up in the excitement that I nearly forgot to tell you that Etienne sent me an SMS yesterday to say he has received study rights. I’ve been trying to get in touch with him to find out what this means. I will be posting again soon after I catch up with him. It’s all happening for Vox Congo!

Watch this blog over the next few weeks as I expect it to be active with posts. If you have questions or comments please post them in the comments section and I’ll do my best to respond.

Shalom

Mark Riessen

P.S. For some reason pictures won’t upload on this blog (too early in the morning) so check out the ons I’ve loaded onto the Vox Congo blog.

A Glimmer of Hope

Does hope carry much meaning for us today? Is it a real and tangible thing to grasp onto and look forward to? Or is hope the kind of thing reserved only for fairytales.? How important is it for us to place our hope in something? Do we really need it?
I guess the answer to that question needs to be placed within context. Hope looks so much different through the experience of an asylum seeker with no country and no identity, than it does through my own. While one child hopes for a new bike this Christmas, another hopes to live to see tomorrow. So what use is hope? Is it real? Is it beckoning something on to be realized in reality? While I could so casually hope for a particular gift for Christmas, another might invest all their faith and energy into the hope for life. What does that glimmer of hope look like?
Verity and I had the opportunity to attend a preview screening of ‘The Nativity Story’ on Wednesday night. I will say from the start, ‘what a fantastic film! Go and see it’. This movie will help you engage the Christmas story all over again with fresh new eyes. One very strong theme that came through the movie for me was the message of hope, hope for a generation who had nothing left except hope.
One of the many prophets of Israel, Jeremiah, is one who is responsible for instilling this hope in the people of Israel. He writes (among many things like this):
“”The days are coming”, declares the Lord, “When I will raise up to David a righteous branch, King who will reign wisely, and do what is right and just in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety…”” (Jer 23:5-6)
This was written in a time when the small nation of Judah was located in the middle of 3 big nations at war. They still dwelt under the shadow of the Babylonian super power. In the years leading up to the revelation of prophecies such as Jeremiah’s, the people of Israel lived under the extremely tough and oppressive rule of Caesar.
Yet into this world God broke through, a glimmer of hope in the form of a baby born in the humblest of places to the humblest of parents. Those who were alerted to his birth were not the prominent and the powerful but the helpless and near hopeless.
There are millions in our world today who hold on to hope in a million different ways. What will this hope look like to them. As followers of Jesus 2000 years after his birth, we celebrate the glimmer of hope that has broken into our lives. We don’t have blind hope, we hold onto a hope which has already been and is still yet to be. We have received a special and unique gift.
Christmas is about giving. You have received a glimmer of hope in Jesus, now in turn share that glimmer of hope with those you encounter in your week. Lord knows, there are a million reasons why you should.

Shalom
Mark