Alpha Life

ALPHA LIFE

All over the world, from Tijuana to Tokyo, people run Alpha and invite their local community to explore the Christian faith.

This magazine is just a snapshot of stories coming from a few of those communities, profiling what Alpha is and, most importantly, how lives are being transformed through beautiful, compelling encounters. We hope you’ll feel inspired and encouraged to be part of it.

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Editor Phil James Art Director Luke Tonge Illustrator ZoĂŤ Barker Contributors Phoebe Son Hanniel Fernandez Rachel Khoo Nelson Lastiri Jen Snell Joe Ware Beth Surgenor-Aldridge Stefan van der Heijden Joshua Bowker Luke Silva Tekila Simon Kyle Jaster Cyrena Chih Photographers Mun Shing Cheong Alex Douglas Jon Tyson Dux Carvajal Matt Miller Holly-Marie Cato Kyle Jaster Alison Punch Paul Akinrinlola Zachary Bako Felipe Carranza Rob Bye Cover image Paul Akinrinlola Printing Windsor Contact Alpha International, Brompton Road, London, SW7 1JA

All rights reserved. No part of this or any other Alpha publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and

Alpha.org Š Alpha International 2015

retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright holder or the expressly authorised agent thereof.

06 — What is Alpha?

08 — On the Streets of Southville, Philippines 14 — Taylor Made, Texas 18 — A Higher Power, Colombia 24 — Priestly Ambition, Trinidad & Tobago 26 — Meeting Phoebe Son, Hong Kong 30 — Hope In Hell’s Kitchen, New York 34 — On the Streets of Marabá, Brazil 38 — My Second Chance, Netherlands 42 — The Life of Pariti Emmanuel, Rwanda 50 — Tekila’s Story, United Kingdom 56 — Digital Babylon, California 59 — A Global Experiment 62 — Bridging the Gap, California 66 — The Impossible Life of Paul Swala, Zambia 72 — AMENPAPA, Hong Kong 78 — What’s Next?

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What is Alpha?

Alpha is a series of sessions exploring the basics of the Christian faith. Typically run over ten weeks, each session looks at a different question that people can have about faith and is designed to create conversation. There’s no pressure or charge; it’s just an open, informal and honest space to explore and discuss life’s big questions together.

What does Alpha look like?

There isn’t really an average Alpha. Alpha is run in local communities all around the world, and everyone’s welcome.

It runs in cafés, churches, bars, prisons, parks, universities, schools, homes—you name it. No two Alphas look the same, but generally they have three key things in common: food, a talk and good conversation.

Food Whether it’s a group of friends gathered around a kitchen table, or a quick catch-up over coffee and cake, food has a way of bringing people together. It’s no different at Alpha.

Most sessions start with food, because it’s a great way to build community and get to know each other.

Talk The talks are designed to engage guests and inspire conversation. Usually around thirty minutes long, they can be given as a live talk or played as a video. They explore the big issues around faith and unpack the basics of Christianity, addressing questions such as Who is Jesus? and How can I have faith?

Conversation Probably the most important part of any Alpha: the chance to share thoughts and ideas on the topic, and simply discuss it in a small group. There’s no obligation to say anything and there’s nothing you can’t say (seriously). It’s an opportunity to hear from others and contribute your own perspective in an honest, friendly and open environment.

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On the Streets of Southville Words hanniel fernandez Photography dux carvajal

On the bustling, busy streets of Southville in the Philippines, Hanniel Fernandez walks with Patricia, Arjhay, Ivy and Warren, hearing about new-found hope in the government housing projects.

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“Life in a government housing project is vibrant and electric.�

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A view of Bacavalley Energy

I stroll through Southville at 6 pm with scholar of Bacavalley Energy – a power plant some of the kids who live here and have harvesting the methane from the adjacent attended Alpha. landfill. As a scholar she attended the pilot Alpha run by Bacavalley’s church plant – All the residents are out: the children and Building Bridges San Pedro. senior citizens awake from their siestas, the factory workers home from their shift. A girl On Alpha she opened up about the pressure is selling hot-dogs and barbecue, fanning she felt to deliver. Her mother couldn’t finish the grill and saturating the air with the smell high school and her father left them when of sizzling meat. Two men are playing chess she was young, so the future well-being of on the sidewalk, and ladies are gossiping her family depended on her. Overwhelmed, as they balance their babies on their hips. Patricia asked for prayer. She explains, A boy pushes past a wooden kart filled with holding back tears, ‘A girl placed a hand royal blue containers. He’s going to fill them on my shoulder. She started praying and with water from the tap outside the factory. I started crying. I felt a weight fall off my Life in a government housing project is shoulders. I felt peace and rest that I never vibrant and electric. felt before.’

Southville is a poor community. On the surface it certainly looks it: the large web of cracks on the brittle road, the rusty sheets of metal for roofs, and the exposed cement blocks that make up the utilitarian homes. The standard of living is evidence of poverty too: families of ten crammed in thirty-five square metres, a school of 3000 students with just fifty teachers, the intermittent water supply and the prevalence of crime. But tough as this environment is, the people here persevere.

Now aged seventeen and attending college, Patricia recalls graduating third place in high school, which upset her mother who wanted her to be valedictorian. ‘It’s ok that I finished third,’ Patricia smiles confidently as she explains. ‘I trust God, and he loves me. That’s enough for me.’ She’s still going to have to be the breadwinner of the family, only now she displays an incredible sense of poise as she bears the responsibility.

Patricia became the leader of Alpha at BBSP, running the course for her fellow high school students. On their second run, they invited a boy named Arjhay. At roughly 5’9, he’s taller than the average Filipino. He’s intimidating, loud and quick-witted. He has a wicked sense of humour and often used it to put others down.

We walk past a beauty parlour with a poster of Taylor Swift in the window. One girl proudly points out, ‘That’s my grandmother’s parlour.’ A small store even offers digital printing. And some of the houses are painted in pastels – though patches of hollow blocks remain exposed where presumably funds for the paint ran out.

He agreed to come to Alpha, but with the intention of making fun of Christians. He There’s a visible tension here. You feel the found it amusing when they raised their beauty and potential of humanity trying to hands while singing. (I asked him why he felt push through the ugly surface of poverty. It’s he needed to make fun of others. ‘Because I a daily battle that residents have to face. But didn’t feel loved,’ he puts simply. He goes on talk to the kids who’ve tried Alpha, and you to describe his broken family, and growing sense tremendous hope. up in a home where words were persistently used to inflict pain.)

Patricia moved to Southville five years ago at the age of twelve. She dreams of using After making fun of Christians for two her education as a way out for her family. sessions, Arjhay heard the talk on why Jesus She always excelled in her studies and early died. He tearfully describes the sharp convicon it was decided that she would become tion of sin he felt, followed by the sweetness the family’s breadwinner. She became a of forgiveness. Arjhay soon joined the church

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Ivy certainly felt the impact of this Alpha campaign. Being born without arms, she appears different from everyone else. She’s not insecure about it. She explains that her parents would tell her that she was special, and that she felt loved at home. But outside she remained cautious of letting people come We reach the main street of Southville. The too close. kids point out that this is where gang fights would take place. Warren knew this well. He Ivy recalls the day she was invited by a was part of a gang when he was just eleven classmate to attend Alpha. Usually she years old. By then cutting class, sniffing glue would look for a reason not to attend socials. and getting into trouble was the norm. The But flattered by the invitation and intrigued, older gang members were chain smoking she went. She was nervous as she approached and doing meth; a grim preview of his future. the gate.

He didn’t want to be in this world, but no ‘It’s obvious I’m different. I always get one could provide the security he needed. nervous about meeting new people. I came The gang exchanged protection for loyalty. As in and saw so many people. I wanted to a young member, Warren would participate leave. But then this girl came up to me and in gang fights. ‘What would you fight for?’ said hello. She asked me for my name,’ Ivy I ask. He shrugs his shoulders, ‘Nothing’. smiles sweetly as she tells that part of the Even at that age he knew that this life was story. ‘Suddenly I felt happy. This girl didn’t empty. Warren said he came to Alpha only even know me and she said hi and asked for because he wanted to play basketball on the my name,’ she repeats, amazed by the fact. church’s court. (The senior pastor had passed a rule: No Alpha, no basketball). He explains Alpha became a haven, and soon Ivy felt like being bored and sleepy on the first session. part of the family. She shares, ‘I’m a helper on But he kept coming back and slowly the talks Alpha and now I’m the one who approaches started to make sense to him. He shares: ‘On people.’ I ask her if she was afraid of how Talk Four, I prayed to God. I started shaking. people would react. She shakes her head and I prayed again when I went home and I cried. says, ‘No. I think about what Jesus did. They God promised me that he would never leave were mean to him, they rejected him, but he still loved them. I can do the same. And even me. This made me feel secure.’ if they don’t like me, God is in my corner.’

Soon, Warren left his gang. I ask him if he Her smile grows even bigger. was afraid of the consequences. ‘No. I just stay away from them. I have God.’ Warren’s The sun is now setting, making the sky glow words are short and direct – a sign of simple, pink and gold. Soon, though, darkness will childlike faith. He’s going to college in come and invite danger onto the streets. But August at a private university, with Arjhay for the kids of BBSP, the night allows them to and three other boys from Alpha – all on dream of a better future. And when the sun scholarships. They’re already planning where rises, their new-found peace, love, security to run Alpha. They joke that they should start and acceptance gives strength in the day to a fraternity, since they already seem to have a keep fighting. name for it. and began to lead worship. He recognises the irony: not only was he now raising his hands while singing, but urging everyone else to do so. His sharp wit and quick tongue, which were once used to bring others down, was now being used to bring people to Alpha.

When you mention Alpha to the kids at BBSP, they all smile. At an age where the pain of rejection can be intolerable, these kids have found acceptance and friendship.

They always quote back to me, ‘We need to make people feel like they belong.’

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Clockwise from top left: 13 Ivy, Arjhay, Patricia, Warren

Taylor Made rachel khoo Photography alex douglas

Words

We talked to Taylor Madu about her journey of trauma, heartbreak and new hope.

‘I desire for people to know that they matter, and are not Taylor carried her baby boy up to thirty-two weeks of defined by their mistakes or failures. There is hope… there is pregnancy while studying at Cosmetology school from life… and there is a beautiful destiny ahead.’

8 am to 4 pm and then waiting tables every evening until 11 pm. ‘I was tired physically, emotionally; I was running Born in the Deep South in the state of Arkansas, Taylor on empty but determined to fight for myself, for my baby.’ grew up as the daughter of a pastor. She describes being raised in the church ‘from the womb.’ However, On Christmas Eve of 2005, Taylor was rushed into Taylor’s picture-perfect life was rocked aged seven, hospital for an emergency Caesarian. ‘I was so excited when her parents divorced suddenly: ‘Divorce is not to finally meet him, hold him in my arms, and love him a one-time decision. It forever has its negative effects. forever.’ When she woke from the anesthetic she found Over time you learn how to cope, however, it is always her mother and father by her side, each with tears there.’ Over the next ten years, Taylor was faced with streaming down their faces. They broke the tragic news that her baby boy, Micah, had not survived the birth. harrowing hardship.

‘Those words pierced my heart like a knife. That was Aged fourteen she began a three-year relationship with my season of the valley of the shadow of death.’ a boy at high school. ‘I longed for attention, for affection. I didn’t realise how broken I was. I was seeking Over the following three days, grieving in her hospital out anything to make me feel like I had worth… I bed, Taylor felt the presence of God beside her. ‘I read found myself eventually losing my virginity, lying to it in books, the pastor preached it every Sunday, the my family, withdrawing from the people that loved me worship team sang about it, the Sunday school teacher the most, staying out of church because I didn’t want taught it, however, the God that met me in the hospital to live a double life, making all of the wrong choices.’ room was so tangible and real. He met me, right where I was. I didn’t have to fix myself. He met me in the The relationship left Taylor feeling empty and broken. most ugly, dark season of my life.’

She longed to escape, but aged seventeen she received the news that she was pregnant. ‘I felt like such a disap- At that point Taylor decided to live for God. ‘I never pointment to everyone around me. I never foresaw my looked back. I’ve been on a long journey of healing… life would turn out the way it did. Going from this Yes, I am healed and whole, however, far from perfect, fairytale life as a child to a life of pain and sorrow, it and will never outgrow needing Jesus. I learned the hard way, but I would never change what I walked just didn’t seem right.’ through because I experienced Jesus. I love him and through the suffering, his words became life for me.’

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“I didn’t have to fix myself.

He met me in the most ugly, dark season of my life.”

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NEW LIFE

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An Interview with Taylor and Robert Madu...

‘My family mean the world to me. They are who I can run to in the What’s your key to a successful marriage? hardest times of my life… I can confide in and trust… I can let my guard down and be Taylor… what a comfort.’

T: It’s a bit of a cliché but it really is about having Jesus at the centre of everything. Sometimes we’ll have an argument In 2012 Taylor married preacher and international speaker because we see things differently, so it’s important to trust in Robert Madu, and recently gave birth to their baby girl, God – that he is leading us and guiding us in everything that Everly Adair Madu. We talked to Taylor and Robert about we do. It’s also about selflessness – putting the other person marriage, faith and their new experience of parenting: before yourself.

Tell us your story as a couple

R: Absolutely, and also it’s about communication. Communication is why I think marriage preparation is so good – R: It was a long journey, five or six years of on-and-off dating. learning about each other and having open communication.

I was speaking a lot and travelling – it was a hand to the It’s important not to hold on to things – don’t let the sun go plough situation. Obviously I was keen but I’d go back and down on your anger. forth from fear of commitment and feeling like I needed to focus on work. After ups and downs I got the courage, but Has parenting changed the dynamics of marriage?

Taylor knew from the beginning.

R: Completely. The day you see this little human who you are T: I fell in love with him early on, but it took him a little responsible for, for the rest of your life, everything revolves longer to figure it all out. I was willing to wait. I could see around them. It’s a big change, but in the best way – it’s that God was working out a few more kinks in each of us, incredible. I think there are aspects of God’s love that you to prepare us for a healthy marriage. Dating was part of don’t really understand until you are a parent – the feeling the healing process. On the other side I can see now that that you would literally give your life for your child. there were a lot of things I needed to work through before marriage.

What would be your message to someone who is exploring faith?

How did you prepare?

T: We did premarital marriage counselling – probably about six sessions – before we got married. It was great. As a woman I love to talk things out; most guys probably don’t.

For me it was honestly great. Being able to talk about the past really helped me realise the reasons why I sometimes acted the way I did.

R: I’d say, ‘You are loved more than you can ever imagine.’

All of us as humans walk about with feelings of guilt or shame.

I think that’s one of the biggest barriers to someone receiving anything – feeling that they aren’t worthy of it. I’d tell them that, no matter what they’ve done, there’s a love and God pursues them. You’ve got to love people where they are at and just do life with them. It’s amazing how that opens the door to conversations about faith.

Would you recommend it?

T: My life message is that no matter what you’ve done you are not disqualified from the love of God. That’s my story in R: Yes. 100%. If you can find a good marriage counsellor a nutshell. I was so rebellious but now I have a story to tell of who can help you work through some things – how you hope, redemption and love. communicate and express love and how the other person does too; I would recommend that highly.

Alpha offer a marriage preparation course, find out more at: themarriagepreparationcourse.org 17

A Higher Power Words nelson lastiri with joshua bowker Photography felipe carranza

Jhon Henry’s journey from drug cartel to close community defies belief and the story of his escape from heroin, crime and the clutches of death reveals a life redeemed.

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When we meet Jhon Henry the first thing that catches our attention is that he is wearing an Argentine baseball cap and a football shirt with ‘Messi’ on the back. He explains that he is a huge football fan. As a child he dreamt of being a footballer and playing for Atlético Nacional de Medellín.

Jhon Henry is only twenty-six but his backstory reads like a classic gangster movie. Born in Manizales, Colombia – one of the country’s key cities for coffee, bullfighting, higher education and beauty pageants – he was raised singlehandedly by his mother. His father left home when he was young and Jhon feels it was this lack of, and desire for, a father figure that led him to start drinking heavily aged just thirteen.

So keen to continue playing for the youth football club, a club that his mother could no longer afford to send him to, Jhon started to sell drugs to help contribute to the fees. A year later Jhon dropped out of the team altogether, exchanging football membership for full-time gang membership – the fees being more affordable and activity more rewarding.

“I would stand up to whoever looked down on me.”

Jhon went from simple assignments to more complex ones, where sensitivity and discretion were called upon in greater measure. He helped out with drug transfers, making sure the exchange and delivery ran smoothly. He would collect bribe money from wealthy or influential people in exchange for their lives or their jobs. He was a man to be called upon when things got rough, a man to be feared and a man to be depended upon.

The leaders of his notorious gang, The Hurricanes, made Jhon feel accepted and wanted. He was young, strong, coura- One night, an assignment came dangerously close to going geous and daring. He had everything he needed to flourish wrong: police stopped a shipment that he was in charge of at a checkpoint. He hid in the back of the truck while his in the group. And flourish he did. colleagues distracted the police officers so he could get away.

A few successful years later, Jhon was promoted. Leaving He describes it as one of the most traumatic experiences of the local neighbourhood gangs that had given him his first his life, and the point at which he started to have serious taste of criminal community, he arrived in the city and found questions and doubts about the life he was living. himself part of The Office of Envigado, one of the most violent drug cartels in the criminal underworld of Medellin. In 2009, everything changed. His mother Noemí passed Things went from casual to professional and Jhon started away and Jhon’s life started to unravel. With no idea how to carrying guns, earning big money and enjoying steadily more deal with the grief, he blamed his father, looking for a way to influence within the cartel. This is the part of the story where kill him and somehow avenge his mother’s death.

Jhon really gets into it. He says living in that environment made him feel powerful and immortal: ‘I would stand up to He travelled back to his hometown of Manizales to find and murder his father, but he never found him. Disorientated by whoever looked down on me.’ unresolved grief, confusion and doubt, Jhon fell into a state And just like every gangster in every gangster movie, Jhon’s of depression, which neither alcohol, nor heroin or women hard work earned him respect and flattery. His obedience led could save him from. He’d lost everything: his mother, his him to receive perhaps the highest compliment that a drug job, his respect and his identity. trafficker can receive: ‘You could have been a great asset to the boss,’ his superiors said to him one day – referring On the edge of death, and considering suicide, Jhon decided to none other than Pablo Escobar Gaviria, the departed to give up and accept the consequences, whatever they founder and leader of the Medellin drug cartel and possibly looked like. He travelled to a town where he was wanted by the most powerful man to have lived in the Colombian mafia. both police and rival gangs. That’s when Jhon came face to face with a gunman who shot him twice in the chest and left him for dead.

And this is where the movie would normally end.

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“It has not been easy; the battles have been hard, but I have seen the power of God and I don’t want to go back.”

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Waking up in hospital, Jhon saw the scars and heard the story of his survival: two gunshot wounds, two punctured lungs, and four months of recovery. After 120 days, gaining strength and quitting drugs, Jhon had nowhere to go. It was either return to the criminal underworld or live on the streets.

He went to the Plaza Bolívar and he turned it into his new home. He was free from drugs but turned to alcohol instead.

He remembers, vividly, the time he encountered some gang members on the street, but he was so drunk they deemed him a waste of a bullet.

Then, one day, a lawyer came on the scene and invited him to Alcoholics Anonymous. Short on options, Jhon decided to go along. On the course, the tutor explained that there were two steps he needed to take to move forward. The first was to admit the wrong in his life, and the second was to call on a higher power.

Because of the poverty he was living in, the promise of warmth and food kept him coming back week after week.

‘I was living on the streets so the food for me was like a taste of heaven.’ But at Alpha he found much more than a warm, safe place; he found people who would become his family.

He started to share every moment of life with them. They began supporting him in bigger ways: raising money to help him start selling sunglasses to get back into work, taking him into their homes and giving him clothes – even a football shirt, reminding him of his childhood dreams.

‘At each session of Alpha I experienced something new; I drew closer to God and opened up my heart. No one judged me for the things I thought and said. I remember one time I had a lot of questions about suffering and I could express them in the group without people frowning at me.

After that, I started to discover that I had been wrong about many things and I started to find some answers.’

‘And what is the higher power you put your trust in?’ he Jhon Henry sums it all up: ‘God has changed my life.’ asked his mentor. ‘To tell you that, I need more time,’ the Everyone sees it: his sister, his friends, and especially himself. mentor replied. ‘Let’s have breakfast tomorrow.’

‘I have to confess, at the beginning, I was reluctant to speak The next morning they had breakfast and Jhon’s mentor and talk about my situation because I didn’t want to relive introduced him to Jesus and he has never looked back. my past. But God started to change my life step by step.

The events of that day started a long process of restoration, It has not been easy; the battles have been hard, but I have which eventually led to Jhon trying Alpha. seen the power of God and I don’t want to go back. Now I know that my past doesn’t matter to God and that he wants Arriving at that first session, and seeing lots of people, to have a personal relationship with me.’

Jhon was immediately scared of the inevitable judgement that would come streaming out of them in his direction. But, Jhon Henry’s story is one of redemption. He still has the to his surprise, it wasn’t like that; the judgment never came. scars on his body; marks of the past that remind him to value Instead he encountered for the first time some of the dear the present and find hope in the future. friends that were to help him become the man he was made to be. ‘Alpha gave me the confidence to tell my own story.

The group were never afraid and they did everything out of love,’ he says with his eyes full of tears.

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“If you want to involve people outside of churches, and expand your reach, you might want to think outside the box.�

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Priestly Ambition Words

luke silva alison punch

Photography

We met with twenty-two-year-old Luke Silva from San Juan, Trinidad & Tobago.

In training as a Catholic priest on the Caribbean islands, he talked us through his first encounter with Alpha.

When I first heard about Alpha, I had no idea what it was, what you all do. But when I came, I then realised that this is an extension of family. It’s a breaking down of the basics; knowing who God is, and, basically, that is love.

A lot of things happen nowadays that bring separation and division in family life. I love that Alpha is all about coming together and it’s all about the basics. We live in a fast-paced world: everything is clustered, everything is fully exposed, and so we need some sort of clarity. And that’s what I think Alpha does. It’s a moment where people can speak, it’s a moment where people can be heard, and it’s a moment where things can be clarified. When it’s joined with the community and the church, I think it can be a powerful movement here in Trinidad.

It’s great for the youth here. With the Alpha Youth Film Series, it’s fun, they’ve thought about everything and they’ve made it very simple. So it’s not too complex; everybody can join, follow and engage. And that’s what you want. You want nobody to feel separated, detached or incapable of participating. I enjoyed that everyone was able to feel open.

Here in Trinidad all we want to do is lyme, chill out, and party, so Alpha would work in any setting with that type of atmosphere. Even on the beach.

I love the beach – I would love to have a session like this, just chilling on the beach. And all the breaks you have – you know you’d take a dip in the ocean too. Trinidadians make light of every occasion; we make every occasion a good one. If you want to involve people outside of churches, and expand your reach, you might want to think outside the box, and Trinidad is great for that.

To find out about running Alpha in a Catholic context, visit: alpha.org/catholics 25

Meeting Words

phoebe son

Phoebe Photography

mun shing cheong

Son

Fifteen-year-old Phoebe Son describes adapting to city life and the lasting impact of Alpha at Hong Kong International School.

I’ve gotten so used to the busy, dense, environment, and I love it. I was born in Panama City then lived in Charlotte in the US before moving to Hong Kong. The city is very different depending on where you go.

Some parts are very diverse – blurred with businessmen and ex-pats – however, other areas of Hong Kong are very local and when you go there, you’re able to immerse yourself in the true Hong Kong culture. For some people, it’s quite an aggressive city; everyone is always rushing and it’s always work, work, work.

I actually find that quite peaceful though.

There’s a sort of serenity within the busyness of it all; that’s what I love most about Hong Kong.

I started going to Alpha at Hong Kong International School when I was in the sixth grade, I was eleven years old. I had been exposed to Christianity since I was born, but I became a Christian through Alpha at school. For me, it was more of a gradual process, and didn’t happen overnight. But there have been very specific moments when I’ve realised how great God is and how he’s been working in my life all along.

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I think Alpha confused a lot of my friends when I told them that we explored questions about life together. Not many of them are used to things like that. For some, I think they felt that they weren’t vulnerable enough to share or talk about their journey, but others have been so open to the idea and joined in, no matter where they’re at.

A Day in the Life of Room 504 On an avergage day, Room 504 is a seminar room meant for students at Hong Kong International School. But on Wednesdays from 3–5 pm, it becomes Alpha. When you walk into the room on a Wednesday after school, you’ll be able to smell the amazing homemade food cooked by various mums and will be welcomed by smiling faces.

Alpha is a great break from the competitive environment we have here at Hong Kong International School, and once Room 504 has finished being set up, it becomes a warm and cosy atmosphere. I was asked to be a leader this year and was so excited to be involved again. Alpha is how I found my faith, so I feel a special connection with the atmosphere of it all, and the course itself.

Along with the high school student leaders, we have several teachers who help lead our small groups as well. Normally there are twenty-five to forty people there, including leaders. We will start at 3.30pm and begin the Alpha Youth Film Series – the series is presented by Jason and Ben, who help guide us through our time at Alpha. Each video has a different topic, with small clips, skits, sketches, and then questions within the episodes that we explore in our small groups. I really have enjoyed using the film series because it’s quite open-ended yet it doesn’t distract us from having great discussions.

The first few sessions of Alpha are always a bit awkward, especially with Middle Schoolers, but eventually we all become more vulnerable with each other and I have seen many of the girls in my small group grow in confidence since it began. By the end of Alpha, I can see that it has sparked everyone’s interest, and I’m hopeful they will continue to explore and question over time, just like I did.

Check out the Alpha Youth Film Series: alpha.org/youthfilmseries 29

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Hope in Hell’s Kitchen Interview phil james Photography jon tyson

From Adelaide to The Big Apple via Orlando.

Jon Tyson, author of Sacred Roots, founder of Trinity Grace, NY, and pastor of their Hell’s Kitchen parish, talks culture, community and learning curves in one of New York’s most intriguing neighbourhoods.

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Tell us about moving to New York It was a very disorientating transition. I was born in Melbourne and grew up in Adelaide, Australia before moving to the US. Then I basically went from only working with huge suburban churches in Orlando, to moving to a tiny apartment with a few friends with no real idea of how to start a church or what to get going. The city has completely changed our approach. Initially our plan was to create a suburban mega-church model right here in New York, but we realised, pretty quickly, that that wasn’t going to be the way to do it – Trinity Grace functions as a city parish network, and we just planted our twelfth parish church.

What’s the journey been like?

The journey has been incredible. It’s been the best thing I’ve ever done and it’s also been the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

I’ve learned a lot about who I am as a leader; I’ve learned about my strengths and my weaknesses. With every other place I’ve been to, I’ve felt like I was trying to contextualise and become what that culture needed. But when I came to New York, for the first time ever I found my true self, I found the people with whom I could be who I really am.

What’s the culture of Hell’s Kitchen?

Hell’s Kitchen is a fascinating neighbourhood – it was historically an Irish and Puerto Rican neighbourhood; West Side Story was set there and gangs were prevalent. The conditions were so deplorable. One police officer is rumoured to have once said, ‘This place is like hell,’ and another replied, ‘It’s more like Hell’s Kitchen.’ In the 80s and 90s it was one the most affordable neighbourhoods of Manhattan and in the census, almost half of the population there identified themselves as ‘working artists, actors or musicians’. Since 9/11 there has been a ton of gentrification – and it’s now one of the most expensive areas.

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How did you get involved with Alpha?

We’d been at this for ten years in New York, and while we’d seen God do a lot of things we felt like, man, there’s got to be another way; there’s got to be more tools available. So we got some training and then I launched Alpha myself. We ended up doing it in my apartment. The experience was absolutely fantastic. I was blown away by the sequential nature of leading you on a journey, and people’s willingness to go on that journey.

It’s really difficult to have discussions in our culture with anybody—no matter how relationally invested you are—on topics like, How can I have faith? Or, Why did Jesus die? We ended up having extraordinary conversations about some profound things and there’s really no other forum in society, even in friendship circles, that really lets you go through stuff like that.

“I think the hospitality thing is massive – just giving people a place to eat and belong is very important.”

Why do you think it can work somewhere like Hell’s Kitchen?

I think the hospitality thing is massive – just giving people a place to eat and belong is very important. Even though you hear our culture is really secular, people still have these foundational longings, so giving people a loving, accepting space is an incredibly powerful formula for somewhere like New York.

What impact have you seen?

I’ve seen my friends coming closer to Jesus and I’ve seen people gaining confidence, feeling like there’s a tool with which they can invite their friends to something and have those conversations that otherwise can feel awkward. We want this to become one of our central strategies, and we’re aiming to get it started in each of our parishes. I think it’s one of those things that can bring churches together with a common vision to connect with the community here in New York.

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On the Streets of Marabá Words

jen snell with joe ware barker

Illustrations zoË

Two years ago Jen and Phil Snell upped sticks and moved from Ontario, Canada to the heart of Brazil. Jen writes about encountering a new community and finding a home from home.

Here in Marabá in Brazil, you either have a lot or you have very little. There is great socioeconomic diversity; there are people who fish in the rivers for a living and there’s a giant four level mall with a movie theatre inside. It’s one of Brazil’s fastest growing cities and I’m one of the 250,000 people who call it home.

Outside my gates lies a neighbourhood that grew up from people squatting on land until the original owner lost his rights to it.

The streets are thick with mud in the rainy season and like talcum powder, fine red dust in the dry season. The houses are made from a variety of materials, either orange brick or wooden slats. Many would call them shacks.

Poverty and crime run rampant on the streets, while behind closed doors abuse of all kinds is common.

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My husband Phil and I moved here from Canada two years ago with our two children, Luke and Faith. We try to share our lives with people, and once a week we do so over a meal. We call it Alpha in the Street.

It’s been a long and winding road that has brought me to Brazil, one that continues to surprise me. If I’d had it my way I’d still be in Africa; I had worked there looking after orphaned monkeys in Nigeria, acting as part vet-part project manager. Africa was my first love, ever since I was a child poring over National Geographic magazines; the continent called to me from within, like a voice I couldn’t ignore. But life can be funny like that. South America wasn’t in the picture, but then when I first met Phil I wasn’t attracted to him in the slightest either.

Fortunately I fell in love with both of them!

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“The street is well lit now; I like to think in more ways than one.”

Alpha in the Street is just as it sounds.

We take food, chairs and tables to a friend’s house and set up outside, right in the street.

Culturally, in Brazil, the evening is a time spent sitting in front of your home, enjoying the cooler night air when your house is still stiflingly hot because of the heat of the day.

We asked friends to invite their neighbours and we had eighteen people on the first week. It had grown to thirty-two by the end.

We bought a tiny projector we found online that wasn’t too expensive. We pointed it at the outside wall of the house or on to a white sheet and with a portable sound system we had everything we needed. The joy of being outside is that even those who aren’t attending can listen in.

to clean up your act first. Sadly this kind of thinking isn’t unique to Brazil. By bringing some of the best bits of church into the street we get to meet people who wouldn’t normally step foot inside a church.

One such woman was Izabel. She was a heavy drinker. She had no electricity, no stove and she cooked on a small fire outside her house. I had been asked to come and visit her because she had an injured leg.

When I arrived at her small wooden home I found that she had more than just a wound, she had a gaping hole in her leg the width of her calf and it was seriously infected.Her entire leg was swollen and the veins bulged through her skin. She had been dealing with the wound for thirteen years. Several family There is an unfortunate belief here that if members had tried to get her to the hospital you are going to come to church you need but she wouldn’t go. Somehow, after a bit of

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conversation and prayer, I managed to get There is so much despair here: poverty and her to agree to see a doctor. feelings of hopelessness. The street we did our first Alpha on didn’t have any streetlights She spent a week in the hospital and nearly when we started – it was a very dark and lost her leg, but thankfully they managed dangerous neighbourhood. Towards the end to get the infection under control. As we sat of Alpha, the city came and installed lights. together in the hospital, I talked about my The street is well lit now; I like to think in life and about God. It turned out she didn’t more ways than one. understand a word of my broken Portuguese but we had a good laugh.

Last week in church I was thinking of Izabel and wondering if I would ever get the chance I invited her to Alpha. She didn’t come the to see her come to church, to see her shed her first night, or the second, but at some point feelings of unworthiness. After the service I she was there. She wouldn’t sit with everyone looked up and my heart leapt. There at the else, always preferring to sit on the curb on back of the church, leaning against the wall the other side of the road. I made a point of was my friend Izabel. I went and gave her a sitting with her. By the end she was coming huge hug and told her how happy I was to every week, and on the last night she sat with see her. She laughed and smiled and hugged the group. We now have a little group in the me back. Moments like that remind me that same location that meets regularly and she I’m one of the people in Marabá who has a comes – not every week, but she comes. lot to be thankful for.

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Second Chance

The personal story of Stefan van der Heijden is both raw and redemptive.

He writes, in his own words, about his conflicted past and hopeful future.

Words stefan van der heijden Photography alex douglas

My Second

“I have changed so much – from a guy with no self-confidence and no purpose to a man who is confident and satisfied with the life he is living.�

“I didn’t care what other people thought about me and I didn’t care about them.”

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I grew up in a small village in the Netherlands. My parents got divorced when I was around seven years old. My father had brought stability to our home, and without him my mother couldn’t control me; I did whatever I liked.

After my parents divorced, my brother died. I felt like there was no room for my emotions at home. My mother had a lot of psychological problems, and when my father left she started dating lots of different men and some of them became I had the opportunity to talk to a pastor. He listened to me violent with me. and gave me support; for the first time in my life I could tell my whole story without being judged. I then was moved to It was when I was in the sixth grade that I started smoking another prison and it was there that I heard about Alpha. I weed. I was around older guys and they were all using met a man who was running it and he invited me to come, at drugs. At the age of twelve I got arrested for burglary and the first I didn’t want to go because I wasn’t sure what kind of life child protection service saw what my situation at home was I wanted to live. In the end I decided to try it, but I had no like. I was sent to foster families, shelters, and youth prisons. idea what to expect.

As I got older my drug use increased and I got involved with more criminal activities. I started to deal drugs; growing weed and earning quick cash. The contact I had with others was superficial; I didn’t care what other people thought about me and I didn’t care about them.

In December 2010 I was living in Germany. I was becoming psychotic – seeing things that weren’t there. My ex-girlfriend and daughter were with me. It still hurts me a lot to think about what my daughter saw; she was so little and she witnessed everything that happened.

At Alpha I got to talk about faith freely and ask questions.

Where I came from everyone was Catholic but I wasn’t practising. I had attended church for a while at the age of eighteen but I stopped because it didn’t fit with my lifestyle. I was committing crimes and then going to church – I knew that wasn’t right.

Alpha gave me another chance – a chance to meet God and find out about Jesus. It literally saved my life. Alpha helped me with my questions and doubts about faith, and also helped me handle my fears about my release and the future.

My group leader was the first person in years that believed in One day I went back to the Netherlands and when I arrived me, because of that my self-confidence grew. After the course there I thought I saw someone I had a bad history with – that I was more open to God and I wanted to make something of was when I decided to go into a restaurant and commit an my life. armed robbery. The girl behind the counter was so scared.

When I think back, I had enough money and didn’t need to I have changed so much – from a guy with no self-confidence do it – I think it was a cry for help. I was looking for a way and no purpose to a man who is confident and satisfied with out of this life. the life he is living. I regret the things I’ve done and the people I’ve made victims. I think that’s something I’ll never After the robbery I got in my car and drove off. Once I was forget. In the past I built a wall around myself but now I’m on the highway, I noticed that a man had followed me, and open and I want to help others. was signing that he wanted to talk to me. I asked him if he wanted to follow me to the gas station to stop there. It turned My wife and I met while we were both in treatment: my wife out that he was the owner of the restaurant, and the girl I for an addiction and I for my behavior. At first we were afraid held up was his daughter. I got out of my car, handed him my and too shy to talk. I went back to my own treatment, we gun and asked him to call the police. I knew I needed help kept in contact and after a while we told each other how in – I needed to get out of that life. love we were; and still are. After I finished my treatment we dated and got married – two years later we have a son and are I was arrested and taken to prison. I was very depressed and settled as a family. thinking: How could I do this to my daughter? I thought about killing myself more than once. I just didn’t want to hurt her Together we’ve started a foundation called ToReachIt. any more. I was angry, frustrated, scared and sad all at the We help people coming out of treatment for addictions or a same time. jail sentence. Depending on the situation it could mean helping them look for a job or a house, or some kind of income. We also help with their relationships and family connections – it’s important to give people a chance to get back into society. We help people who are in similar situations to those we have been in because we know, as well as anyone, that everybody deserves a second chance.

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The Life of Pariti Emmanuel Words & Photography kyle

jaster

In a small village in Kibungo, Rwanda, Kyle Jaster met with Pariti Emmanuel and heard about a life transformed and of hope born out of the devastating, violent and tragic Rwandan Genocide.

I found out about Emmanuel’s story in early 2015 through a letter he sent to our Alpha office in Rwanda. The letter was short and concise – two paragraphs in length – recapping the last twenty-one years of his life. It was simple, in fact so simple that it wasn’t until my second or third time through it that I could begin to understand the profound implications of the words I was reading.

Emmanuel explained that he had spent many years in prison for his crimes in the 1994 Genocide, and that during his time in prison he had found out about Jesus, became a Christian, and sought forgiveness from the relatives of those he had murdered. He wrote of how Alpha had been a part of his journey and that he was now helping to start Alpha in many different churches in his own community.

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Emmanuel with Vincent

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It was a lot to take in all at once. I was moved. I was excited. I couldn’t really believe what I was reading, and I wanted to know more.

Six months later, sat at the heart of Emmanuel’s village under the shade of a small house, he told me his story: ‘My name is Pariti Emmanuel and I participated in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsis. I murdered many Tutsis under the order of bad leadership.’ Emmanuel grew up a Hutu, in a village not far from the one he now lives in, in the Eastern Province of Rwanda. Rwanda had seen many years of conflict and unrest leading up to the 1994 Genocide due to divisions between the Hutu and Tutsi people groups. However, on 7 April 1994, a 100-day-long mass killing would ensue that would lead to the death of more than eight hundred thousand Tutsis, leaving the country in shambles.

After the Genocide ended in July of 1994, Emmanuel was arrested for his part in the Genocide and was sent to prison where he would spend the next six years of his life before the start of the Gacaca courts – a justice system designed to work alongside the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda to address the high number of prisoners as a result of the Genocide and work towards restoring the nation.

“I lacked peace. I kept wondering how I would live with the Genocide survivors.”

For Rwanda to be able to move forward as a country after this tragic event, it became important for its people to be reconciled – to be able to live together in peace. For this reason, and with this message, prisoners were encouraged to tell the truth about what they had done for the sake of closure and reconciliation. Emmanuel explained, ‘I spoke the truth during the Gacaca courts and was sentenced to ten years in prison.’ But because Emmanuel was willing to tell the truth, and because he had already spent six years in prison, he was allowed to serve the remaining four years in community service.

During his time in prison, fellow prisoners invited Emmanuel to try Alpha.

Seeing something different in these prisoners, he went, but life was challenging in prison and although he felt encouraged by Alpha during this time, he struggled to cope with the things he had done and found he wasn’t able to fully engage. Emmanuel realised he needed to tell the truth about what he had done. ‘I wrote a letter asking for forgiveness from the people whose relatives I murdered… and I found peace in my heart.’

Despite the peace Emmanuel was able to find through writing these letters in prison, his experiences outside of prison would prove to be equally unsettling and difficult. ‘When I came back to the community, I met many heartbreaking situations. I found my wife with two children that were not mine.’ Facing the world outside of prison was also increasingly hard for

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Emmanuel, ‘I lacked peace. I kept wondering how I would live with the Genocide survivors. To me, that was a big problem. I never liked meeting a survivor. Whenever I met one, I would hide. I liked hanging around fellow Hutus and those who also committed Genocide. That shows the state of my heart back then. My heart was filled with agony, loneliness and fear.’

Remembering the encouragement he had found doing Alpha in prison, Emmanuel decided to reach out to the chaplain who had run his Alpha, and he did Alpha again. ‘I learned that Jesus forgives, and experienced love in a way I had never known before. [I realised] I needed to forgive my wife like I had been forgiven, even though I had murdered people. I forgave my wife and took care of the children.’

Having experienced a profound sense of freedom and peace in his new-found relationship with God, and being reconciled with his wife, Emmanuel decided he wanted to take the opportunity again to ask for forgiveness from the relatives of his victims, but this time in person. With the help of his pastor – formerly his prison chaplain – Emmanuel went to find Vincent, whose mother and grandmother he had killed, to ask his forgiveness.

I was in awe of the things I was hearing. What was more, Vincent, whose mother and grandmother Emmanuel had murdered, was sat next to Emmanuel as he told me his story. Vincent explained that it wasn’t easy seeing Emmanuel coming to ask for forgiveness after what he had put his family through during the Genocide. However, he felt it was important to extend forgiveness to Emmanuel. ‘For the sake of unity and reconciliation, I told Pariti not to be embarrassed to meet me. It wasn’t easy to say such words to someone like Pariti, who had committed such atrocities. It wasn’t easy. But I realised that when one is in the Lord, everything is possible, so I decided to forgive and live together with him.’

Today, Emmanuel and Vincent live in the same village together – a unity and reconciliation village built for Genocide survivors and perpetrators. They have formed a friendship, and now, Emmanuel says, ‘I no longer feel the shame and embarrassment I felt before. I understand that Jesus forgives and, I have peace in my heart.’

‘I have found healing and forgiveness for the things that I have done.’

“I have found healing and forgiveness for the things that I have done.”

Watch the video of Emmanuel’s story at: alpha.org/emmanuel 48

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Tekila’s Story Invitation is at the heart of Alpha. All around the world friends, family, colleagues, communities and churches invite people to try Alpha, ask questions and explore faith.

The Alpha Invitation is all about real guests with real stories; this is just one of them, Tekila, who explains how, after being invited by her twin brother, she unexpectedly found purpose, passion and a faith that transformed her life.

Words tekila simon Photography matt miller,

alex douglas & holly-marie cato

From a young age I arrived at the conclusion that God was not part of my life.

Even though my church schooling and regular Sunday church visits secured my belief that God existed, the idea that he was far too busy to help with the problems my family faced consumed me at the start of every prayer. To me, my prayers were empty words fuelled by a combination of doing what I was told and getting the words right. God was just another unused name in my contacts, saved only for the comforting thought that he just might pick up if I called in an unlikely time of danger. Life itself was far more real than God was.

As I grew up, I was obsessed with upholding the image that I was effortlessly keeping up with life’s rat race. Avoiding the shame of falling behind, by immediately supressing the ever-growing feelings of regret, anger and anxiety, was all that kept me going.

The pleasure I would feel by fooling everyone into believing that I was content with this false lifestyle and image was an adequate substitution for happiness. However, soon my neglected feelings grew too powerful to keep buried down, and they confronted me before I gave myself the chance to confront them, dragging me into a deep depression.

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A religious debate with my twin brother, who always had a strong faith, left me feeling even more frustrated than I did before. I wanted phrases like ‘God loves you’ and ‘God is great’ to be more than just vague or hollow words.

Seeing how much sense it made to my brother and other Christians I knew, left me feeling like I was being left out of some big secret. I needed to know what all the fuss was about.

The debate ended with my brother recommending I try Alpha. Visions of a Bible waving priest hijacking my free time to self-righteously rant about God’s ‘love’ and ‘greatness’ immediately popped up in my head, and initially made me averse to the idea. Deep down, however, I knew that I needed a fearless, non-judgemental and trustworthy companion to help me deal with my past, present and future. According to my brother, God was the man for the job, but I didn’t really know or understand him.

I decided that Alpha was the way that God would be vetted for this position in my life.

When I first walked through the door, it was completely different to what I expected. My group consisted of men and women from different backgrounds who, behind the shield of agonisingly awkward small talk, seemed to be fighting the same urge as I was to stand up and scream, ‘What on Earth am I doing here?’

Nothing, from the friendly group leaders and helpers to the delicious free food, felt natural.

The idea that something so well organised was a seemingly selfless act was ludicrous to me, and I was determined to find a crack in the welcoming façade.

The challenging debate topics of Alpha kept me keen on returning to the meetings. Every week I gained a clearer understanding of the role God wanted to play in our lives, as well as a hunger for more answers. The consistency with which the helpers listened and accepted everyone’s views was incredibly disarming, and, though I was still sceptical about Alpha, I couldn’t ignore the notion that all they wanted from me was to turn up, speak my mind and be myself.

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We all came from different walks of life, but during our discussions my group connected to each other’s minds instead of our jobs, achievements or backgrounds. Soon I felt like I was among close friends instead of distant strangers, and this gradually gave me the confidence to let my guard down and be myself.

Alpha became a haven I looked forward to escaping to every Wednesday evening.

Alpha didn’t affect me immediately, but it put me on a path, and I feel like I have become who I truly am because of it. My priorities changed for the better and the strong friendships I’ve built from the course are ones I’ll always treasure.

“I couldn’t ignore the notion that all they wanted from me was to turn up, speak my mind and be myself.”

My idea of serving God had always been one where God was sitting with his feet up and reading a newspaper while I rushed around bringing him coffees and constantly reminding him of how awesome he was. But through Alpha, I realised that serving God was accepting God’s service of giving me the best version of my life.

Everything is just way easier and more enjoyable now that God has taken the wheel so I can finally enjoy the view. Life is not without its challenges, but when they arise they are overwhelmed by my gratitude for what God has given me, that they don’t seem as big as they were before.

Sometimes I get nervous about the changes that God is making in me, but knowing that he will catch me if I fall gives me the confidence to go with it, and I must say it feels great to finally be excited about my life.

Find out more about the Alpha Invitation and get all you need to run Alpha: alpha.org/run 55

Digital

We met up with David Kinnaman, researcher, author and president of Barna Group in California, to chat about the rise of digital, the role of Google and what it all means for the church.

Twenty years ago saw the launch of the world’s first smart-phone – a distant cousin to the pocket-sized, app-filled devices we have today, but it kick-started a digital revolution.

Fast-forward to now and the way people communicate and interact has been transformed.

Millennials have grown up in an era of constant communication, with new challenges and opportunities in a world unrecognisable to that of their parents.

David Kinnaman is one of the people leading research into this new digital age and how it impacts the church as a whole. Over his time at the group, David has worked with a diverse array of clients such as NBC-Universal, Salvation Army, ONE Campaign and SONY. These clients come to David, and to Barna, for their research and insight into social trends on matters of faith and contemporary society.

‘We live in an all-access world,’ David observes, ‘There is access now in ways we can’t comprehend.’ In this digital landscape we expect to be able to access information and the answers instantly, through search engines such as Google. ‘Google is the zeitgeist,’ he says, ‘It is what the church and parenting used to be. The normal way to learn about something used to be through the people around us, now it’s through online searches.’

David uses the phrase ‘Digital Babylon’ to describe this new, digital, connected world. He told us that for many it’s an ‘alienating power’. ‘With the rise of social media we are more connected than ever; we can Skype across the Atlantic and yet we are lonelier than ever.’ This is evident in findings from Barna’s research, which shows that in the United States people are twice as likely to say they are lonely compared to ten years ago.

So what does this mean for the church and modern culture? Should we steer away from digital and condemn the smart-phone? Far from it. He is certain that we need to adapt: ‘The church has to use the tools of our time to be a counter-culture for the common good. We need to help people understand and be willing to ask and answer these kinds of questions.’

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Words

beth surgenor-aldridge Photography alex douglas

Babylon

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For Alpha, David muses: ‘Maybe there is a core value in terms of being there in person that’s part of the founding vision; a certain sort of intimacy… But was the founding value the intimacy of relationships, honesty and a space for helping conversation more so than being in person?’ He continues, ‘Someone will figure out how to do things in a digital context that, before, we thought was not possible.’

Speaking about the cultural climate in the US and how groups like Alpha can relate, he says, ‘One of the opportunities for a programme seems to be to help make churches more accessible for someone who wants a conversation about what we really believe and why.

We’re good at big events, but how do you make these places more intimate and somewhere that real spiritual dialogue can take place? I think there is a huge opportunity in the States for any programme that creates a real and realistic place.’

“There is access now in ways we can’t comprehend.”

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A Global Experiment Interview phil james Illustrations zoË barker

From early morning coffee and a bagel in San Francisco to a late night tea in Chonburi, via a café in Hong Kong, an airport in Bengaluru and a sketchy wireless signal in Zhaoqing. We checked-in with Vincent Cheng to hear about his virtual Alpha, which ran across time zones and continents connecting friends around the globe on Google Hangouts.

So how did it all start?

A friend of mine, Cyrena, was visiting me in Hong Kong from San Francisco and we got to talking about Alpha.

She’d heard about it, and said she’d love to try it, but wasn’t sure where to start back in her hometown. She asked if we could do it over Skype. I knew it would be pretty different to what Alpha usually looks like, but as she was so interested I thought, ‘Let’s give it a shot.’ The more we talked, the more I thought it would be cool to invite some friends to join in.

We ended up with five of us: Cyrena in San Francisco, me in Thailand, Hugo in Bengaluru, and Justin and Robin, who were usually in Hong Kong.

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How did the logistics work out?

Was it also difficult to connect emotionally?

We met once a week starting at 11.30 pm in Hong Kong, which is 7.30 am in San Francisco. In the week beforehand everyone would hit a link in a shared Google Sheet we created, and watch the talk online. In that way it was kind of like a book club, everyone came to the session having seen the talk already.

It was definitely a big departure from the groups I’ve led in the past, so there were a few new challenges. We didn’t have that purely ‘social’ time, and it can be hard to open up with people and have real conversations when you haven’t even met in person. We tried to mitigate this in a couple of ways.

First, we began each session with a ‘fast check-in’ where each person gives one word for how he or she is feeling physically and mentally, just to quickly get everyone feeling open and familiar. Then we would have a deep communication starter, which helped us get to know each other beyond just superficial niceties, but it definitely felt different than meeting together, face-to-face.

More often than not we came into some technical difficulties; trying to get five people online and seeing each other simultaneously is tricky. Google Hangouts is like calling on a web-cam, or Skype, but instead of just seeing one person, there were five little screens showing each of us in our separate locations. Some countries have a bad internet line, so it’s common for someone’s connection to drop-off or for someone else to lose audio – I remember this one time it was particularly bad, one of us had a Bridgeline at our office, which is used for digital conference calling, so we all called in and talked on the conference call with Google Hangouts on mute so we could still see each other. But despite the technical challenges we always made it work… Eventually.

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Despite the distance, our group became very tight-knit. One of the guests commented that he felt really close to all of us – and that was before the group had ever met in person. In that sense, it’s not so different from other Alpha groups that I’ve run in the past, it was amazing to watch relationships build and see friendships grow.

What were the highlights?

There was one week when each of our five members was in a different location – San Francisco, Hong Kong, Thailand, Switzerland and India – and it totally didn’t feel like it.

It felt like we were in the same room together, having a chat and talking about the big questions of life. As a tech geek, I remember being amazed to see God at work in that situation – even five years ago the technology wasn’t really there for us to do something like this. The first time we met in person was in Kuala Lumpur – everyone flew in from his or her respective countries and we had a weekend together. It was wonderful to finally get together, and it gave us something extra that we couldn’t have experienced long-distance.

Any surprises?

The whole thing was surprising really, how it just clicked.

We felt very close by the end of it. We actually still chat on a WhatsApp group and we have a Google Hangouts reunion coming up. It left a lasting impression on all of us.

Read about Cyrena’s experience on Vincent’s virtual Alpha 61

Bridging Words cyrena chih Photography rob bye &

zachary bako

the

Gap

Logging onto Vincent’s Virtual Alpha early in the mornings in San Francisco, Cyrena Chih connected with friends, old and new, around the globe and explored faith from a distance.

I lived all around the world as a child, from New Jersey, Taiwan, Texas to Hong Kong. My home has always been defined by wherever my mother is, rather than a specific location. My parents were Christians – they were loving, encouraging and self-sacrificing in every action and decision in raising my sister and I. Growing up, I felt incredibly lucky to be surrounded by a loving family, diverse cultures, and forgiving friends. My only ambition was not to waste everything that I was blessed with by, one day, helping those less fortunate than me.

Despite my parents’ faith, they never pressured my sister and I, or decided on the role religion would play in our lives. Instead, we were told that we should figure things out for ourselves. I never really understood nor truly appreciated this approach towards our faith until I later found my own faith, aged thirty-one.

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I was always very curious and eager to learn about all different types of religion. At a young age, I was atheist. Then in college I became agnostic. However, I felt there were wonderful and not-so-wonderful manifestations of all religions. If I were to follow a faith, who was I to say that one faith was better than another? I figured, If there was a God, wouldn’t he just tell me which faith was the best to get to know him? Then, last year, I heard a verse in the Bible and it resonated with me; ‘You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.’ I felt like I should truly try and understand.

I’d been to various small groups and churches throughout my life in every city I’ve lived in, but none of those environments were what I was looking for – a small group of people to question, think, explore, and talk about life together. I figured it just didn’t exist. It wasn’t until I went to visit some old friends in Hong Kong that I heard about Alpha for the first time.

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It sounded like a safe place to ask questions with no pressure, expectation or fear of offending others. I told my friends I’d be happy to sign up to a long-distance Alpha if ever they decided to host one. I figured it was a distant dream. Luckily an old friend of mine, Vincent, happened to entertain the farfetched idea of trying to lead a virtual Alpha with a global, motely crew shortly thereafter.

“Then, last year, I heard a verse in the Bible and it resonated with me; ‘You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.’”

Going into it, I anticipated two possibilities; worst case, I thought it would be like a boring work conference call; best case, I thought it would be an interesting and informative podcast. Needless to say, the result was completely beyond what I expected. We watched the episodes online individually; they were not only thought provoking, but also fantastic dynamic conversation starters.

After our calls I often felt like a disappointed child asked to leave the playground early— I wanted our conversations to continue endlessly. What also amazed me was the level of commitment that five strangers, from different parts of the world, ended up devoting from their personal time and busy lives for ten weeks.

If you asked, Did I have faith before Alpha?

The answer would have been, Yes. But did I understand Jesus? —No. It’s been an incredible journey that I know will never end. I’m still amazed to this day by the open, safe, intellectual, and inquisitive environment we managed to create between five strangers, oceans apart.

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The Life of Paul Swala Words phil james Photography paul akinrinlola

We spoke with private, prisoner and pastor Paul Swala about his many trials, survival of torture, and his passion to transform lives.

On 28 October 1997, Zambia awoke to a man calling himself Captain Solo announcing through the state radio that the government had fallen and that he had acquired control of the country.

Under the orders of Captain Solomon ‘Solo’ Lungu early on the Tuesday morning, a group of soldiers broke into an arms depot, seized control of the state broadcasting studios and drove armoured vehicles into the heart of the capital, Lusaka. Amongst those in the convoy headed to the central military barracks was a soldier, two years into his service, Private Paul Swala. Intercepted on arrival and held at gunpoint, the soldiers’ participation was abruptly halted by government forces loyal to the late President Frederick Chiluba.

captured, many, Paul included, oblivious to the attempted coup in which they were unwitting actors.

‘For four days I never saw the sun, I never saw any legal representative,’ he recalls of the time following his arrest, ‘It was heavy torture every night. No one thought we would survive all that.’ Holding up his wrists he still carries the scars of those four days.

It took six months, in cramped, overcrowded cells, before the start of his trial; ‘Everyone thought we were going to death row.’

In this time of suspension and uncertainty Paul found out that Mary was pregnant. ‘I did not know what to do – I told her she could go back to her family,’ he says recalling his helplessness. The first time he would The aborted overthrow lasted just three hours see his baby boy, he would be in handcuffs, and by the afternoon order was restored on naming his son through the prison cages on the streets of Lusaka. In all, 104 people were his way to trial. arrested and detained following the failed coup, including Paul, who would spend the With little hope and less faith, Paul continues, next six months awaiting trial for treason ‘I thought I was going to be executed and under the sentence of death.

I had to find out what would happen to me when I died.’ After several invites from Paul’s journey started back in 1973 on a fellow inmate Paul came to Alpha, held the streets of Kapanda in Mansa District. in a prison cell. ‘After three weeks, I asked An unhappy childhood, marred by the Jesus into my life.’ He recalls, ‘With my faith, death of his father from an illness that began sometimes there would be something there, when Paul was five years old and to which other times…’ he trails off. It wasn’t until a he succumbed when his son was aged just few sessions in that it clicked. ‘Before, I was nine. Unprotected by the law, his family lost a broken person, but joy started flowing their wealth and home. An adolescence of through me. It was like I wasn’t in prison; struggle, grief and conflict led Paul to the that burden that was on me was lifted.’ army where he was accepted and trained.

Stationed in Lusaka, he now had the chance ‘I went to the corner of the cell and I prayed to provide for his brother and mother in their one prayer, I said, “If you just take me out of village and, one month before Captain Solo’s this prison, out of this problem I’m in, I will infamous proclamation, he married his wife serve you my whole life.”’

Mary.

The trial lasted for over a year – witnesses On that October morning at his posting, being called, evidence submitted and all the Paul and his comrades received orders to while Paul lived, life in the balance, sleeping travel to the main barracks. In following in a room built for forty and housing twice those orders, what he didn’t know was that he that. On May 5 1999 Paul eventually stood, would be risking his life. When the convoy ready for judgment to be handed down from pulled into the compound it came under fire the judge. ‘The one thing God gave me was from government forces, all soldiers were courage. Everyone was being found guilty

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– my friends sentenced to death before me.

“Guilty. Guilty. Guilty.” Then he reached me: accused number six – and he said, “Paul, you are acquitted.”’ As cries of relief and celebration filled the courtroom, the prosecution submitted an immediate appeal against the ruling.

“It was heavy torture every night, no one thought we would survive all that.”

It wasn’t until December of that year, more than two years since his arrest, that he was fully cleared by the Supreme Court of Zambia and able to walk free. This was just the start of Paul’s incredible story.

Despite being exonerated from all wrongdoing, when he went back to the army there was no place for him: ‘According to me I was innocent, according to the law I was innocent, but when I went back they gave me a letter: Your services are no longer required.’

With severance of £200 Paul remembered his one prayer, took the money, and walked back down to the prison from which he had been released.

A witness to the dangerous, dehumanising conditions within the prison walls, the former soldier was compelled to bring about change.

Offering his severance and his services to the prison warden he took in pipes and, from the one accessible tap to prisoners, plumbed sixteen showers for the inmates.

Speaking to Paul, you get the impression that he feels it was all worth it – like prison, and torture, were necessary actors needed to bring about his second act. He smiles almost constantly as we talk, even about the most harrowing elements. He is a man full of joy and overflowing now with purpose.

After returning to his home village of Kapanda to see his family, Paul continued his work in prisons in Zambia, communicating his faith to inmates, and endeavoring to improve the conditions he knew about all too well. Slowly he went about building relationships with officials and bodies overseeing the Zambian penitentiary system – gaining trust and entrance to some of the most deprived

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and dangerous prisons in the country, where The generosity of others in the community he shared Alpha along with his personal helped the project grow further and they’ve story. had the chance to find land and to build a permanent premises.

Having begun his battle to transform the lives of those in most need, Paul was granted 162 children now attend the school, named an audience with President Frederick Hope and Grace, and the number continues Chiluba: the man who he had been charged to grow. The students from previous years with attempting to overthrow, and the man have moved onto high school and beyond, who had sanctioned charges against him. and new children from the community Together they sipped tea while discussing have the chance to gain an education. Paul their past and talking about the future, and continues his work with prisons in Zambia, how to build a better one. The president, and oversees the growth of Hope and Grace. moved by Paul’s story – as many had been He and his wife Mary live in the community by now – endorsed his work and permitted they’re affecting from the inside out. continued and expanded access to reform Zambia’s prisons.

After speaking with Pastor Paul, as he is affectionately known, I couldn’t help but Gathering all chaplains from every prison ask him the reason for his abundant joy. ‘I in Zambia, Paul set about teaching them used to have a sad face, my mother told me about what Alpha is and how it works and, so,’ he says, ‘I had a short temper and I was with the blessing of President Chiluba, broken, but God has given me a smile; he has it became the official tool of the Zambian given me a face that shows that God is able chaplaincy system to use for prisoners who to heal brokenness. No matter what you’ve wanted to hear and talk about the basics of been through, when he comes into your life the Christian faith. Countless stories of lives he heals those things. He heals the past and changed while in prison contribute to Paul’s he brings a smile.’ evident joy and hope in a better future for his homeland.

Not content with just reforming Zambia’s prisons and the lives of those within, his next step was to move himself, and his family, to a shanty on the outskirts of the city.

Chipata Compound is a highly populated and highly deprived makeshift town, where poverty and lack of opportunity have traditionally dictated the lives of its residents.

Starting a school, he looked to give education and hope to children in the area. The first year, there were four pupils and the school met under a tree; the year after, that number had grown to ten. Well-wishers would bring materials: chalk, paper, and books. Over time, the school has continued to grow and the venue has moved from the tree, to Paul’s home, to a constructed plastic hut.

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“He is a man full of joy and overflowing now with purpose.”

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AMENPAPA Interview phil james Photography mun shing

cheong

With stores across China and Hong Kong, Salina Yam’s faith-based clothing label AMENPAPA has attracted worldwide attention.

We find out what inspires the woman behind the brand and how she’s using fashion to spread a message of joy.

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Tell me about your life growing up My father was very strict in disciplining me – I was emotionally detached from him because he was so angry all of the time. I was interested in boys; even from a young age, I wanted to find someone to fill my emotional needs. Relationships were the focus of my life – but I was never satisfied. I got tired of each boyfriend, usually after about three years, and then I would move on to the next one. That was the pattern of my life.

What happened next?

About nine years ago, my ex-boyfriend proposed to me. It was such a big decision to make. I was thinking, What would happen if I met someone better after marrying him? Or, what would happen if I turned him down and then couldn’t meet someone as good as him? Who can guarantee that he’s the best for me?

I started to think about it over and over, again and again, every day and night; asking friends for advice – I even made a chart to analyse the pros and cons of each decision. From the anxiety of overthinking it all, I started to suffer from insomnia. It was light at first but became very serious after about a year. I didn’t label it at the time, but I came to realise I’d also been suffering from depression.

Did you have a faith?

During this time of insomnia, I did think about God, but not very seriously until my grandma was dying in hospital. I’d been to Catholic school since I was very little and if people asked me if I had a religious belief, I would say I was a Catholic or Christian – but actually I didn’t really know God. As I was suffering from insomnia, I got plenty of free time at night. So I started to read the Bible. One evening, I randomly opened the Bible. It was John 4 – Jesus talking with the Samaritan woman. I felt God say, ‘You are the Samaritan woman – you try to look for satisfaction from relationships with men, but they will never satisfy you. Come to me; I am the only one who can.’

How has your life changed since that moment?

It’s been a drastic change, but it wasn’t instant; it took almost two years for me to overcome insomnia and depression. After finding a relationship with God, life has never been so free.

Tell me about the idea behind AMENPAPA? After coming out of insomnia and depression, and with a new-found faith, I felt so joyful and I had the urge to share the words in the Bible with my family and friends. Just like when you see a good movie, you just want to tell people about it. However, I found that it’s not easy to introduce people to the Bible as they usually think it’s boring or for the weak.

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One day, I saw a billboard with the words scrawled across it: ‘We love because God first loved us.’ At that time, I didn’t really understand the meaning but the words spoke to me. I thought: I could design t-shirts with messages from the Bible, that way people can read the Bible without much effort – and it will also be a good way to start some interesting conversations about life and God. On top of that, people always think that Christians are nerdy, boring. But I really want to change that perception. Christians can be fun and fashionable, and creative too. That’s how AMENPAPA started.

Did you have a background in fashion?

Not really, I studied economics. I was in the advertising industry for four years before I started working as a marketer in a fashion company. I wasn’t a fashionista or a business minded person before I found my faith – even now I just see fashion as a canvas to share God’s words.

How has it developed and grown over time?

It’s very organic. I didn’t expect it to grow like this. It was only my weekend hobby. I gathered some Christian designer friends to work on it together as a fun project.

I asked my boss at that time if I could sell the clothes in her store and she was so kind to let me. To my surprise, people liked it and we got a lot of press coverage and support from celebrities. Then we started selling in other fashion retail shops such as Harvey Nichols, Galeries Lafayette and Bauhaus. We now have our own shops in Hong Kong and China.

How did you come across Alpha?

Well, my husband went to Alpha when his older sister invited him. He’s an architect, so logic matters to him a lot, and he’s curious about everything. He found Alpha very logical and reasonable, and he felt safe to explore and ask questions. He also met a lot of like-minded people and they became good friends after the course. After that he invited his younger sister and she became a Christian too – since then it’s brought so much joy to the whole family, and they’ve carried on helping out on Alpha.

Alpha is now part of our training programme. We call our frontline staff ‘Storytellers’ because they need to be able to tell our customers about the stories and messages on the clothing – so we run Alpha right here in the office for our whole team.

What would you say to someone considering exploring faith?

If you are interested in finding yourself, try exploring faith. And think of it like having a date – you don’t need to make your decision on whether to get married on the first date. Explore more and take the time.

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What’s Next?

Try

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