This year marks the 30th anniversary of CEDAR. This year is not only a year of celebration, but also a year that teaches us to move forward courageously by standing firmly on the foundation built by our predecessors.
In this issue of ‘Focus’, we will share exciting testimonies from our 30th anniversary event and the direction our ministry is headed towards. We encourage you to continue to walk alongside us on this journey. We also interviewed a staff member who has served at CEDAR for many years where she shared stories about being part of the organisation. (‘Learn a Little More’). Additionally, we lead everyone in reading the Bible through the eyes of marginalised communities, which allow us to change the way we interpreted scripture (‘Back to the Bible’). Lastly, we invite everyone to participate in our ‘Beyond Feeding the Poor’ initiative to witness and cheer on the transformation of lives.
ARTICLES OF THIS ISSUE
Written by: Edward Lai (Senior Communications Officer) A Haitian woman sits on the floor beside several circular mud cakes. She rubs pieces of dust off the mud cakes, and slowly puts the cakes into her mouth, chewing slowly. To her, and to many other Haitians living in poverty, these cakes – made by mixing mud with water and salt, kneading the mixture into the shape of a cake, and setting the cakes under the sun to dry – were their daily meals; their life-saving meals. Our founders, Mr and Mrs Oliver Mark, were deeply touched by the sight of women eating mud cakes. They were in the UK at the time; after returning to Hong Kong, they were…
Written by Winnie Fung (Board Member of CEDAR Fund, Academic Head of Lumina College) Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy… Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work… Deuteronomy 5:12-14 When you read this passage, what jumps out? Many of us may answer: the seventh day is meant for rest. However, for the impoverished, it may be the opposite. Justo L. González, in his book Santa Biblia: The Bible Through Hispanic Eyes, shares about a pastor who, when preaching this passage, asked his poor and urban congregation: How many of you were able to work…
Written by Edward Lai (Senior Communications Officer) ‘I hope that my little donation will help you and can make a change to your life!’ ‘I pray that you will be joyful, that the Lord will help you and that you will have a prosperous life!’ These are the words of primary school students in Hong Kong when they wrote words of blessing to our beneficiaries overseas. Though most of them have never seen the beneficiaries of CEDAR’s projects. They have realised, through our activities, that there are people living in poverty: these people only want a simple, happy life; they do not want extravagance. There is a popular saying in Zimbabwe, ‘Hungry men are angry men.’ When one…
Banner Photo: Bonnie with her husband who has supported her throughout the years. Written by: Edward Lai (Senior Communications Officer) Editor’s note: In this issue of ‘Learn a Little More’, we’ll introduce you to our ‘coffer keeper’, Bonnie. Through sharing her experiences and thoughts while serving with CEDAR, you will understand more about what kind of Christian community CEDAR is, and witness God’s unending grace. ‘Time flies when you’re having fun. In a blink of an eye, I have served CEDAR for 23 years,’ said Bonnie Ho during her sharing in a prayer meeting with co-workers. Over the past 23 years, Bonnie has witnessed several milestones of CEDAR. From the 1990s, when founder Mr Oliver Mark ran CEDAR…