It’s hard to believe that we’ve been in country for a week already! We’ve spent much of that time learning about the area, about the different ministry opportunities, about the vision for ministry in Salford. We’ve gotten acclimated to the time change for the most part. We finally have a washer and a dryer (an unexpected surprise) in the house! And yesterday we had our first trip out of Manchester to the city of Chester, which is beautiful. I won’t really be able to post pictures until we get internet at the house, but I’ll be sure to do that as soon as possible.
I wanted to share a little bit with you about the area of Broughton, which is a geographical location within Salford (kind of like the Bronx is a location with New York City). This is the area in which we are living and in which most of our ministry takes place. Although the area doesn’t look as run-down as some of the inner city places I’ve visited in the US, the people here are just as poor and probably even more hardened. One of the ministry leaders shared some statistics about what it means to live in Broughton:
-Broughton is the 126th most deprived ward in England
-if you live in Broughton, you have a lower chance of succeeding
-60% of all kids in Broughton are in a free-lunch program
-Salford (the whole city) has an unemployment rate of 11%; Broughton (a ward within that city) has an unemployment rate of 30%
-1/3 of all crimes in Salford are committed in Broughton
-it is so much harder to access health care in Broughton that a child born in Oxford will live 10 years longer than a child born in Broughton
-if you live in Broughton, you are less likely to receive the education necessary to get a good job, which means the cycle of poverty will just continue
All of these statistics have been internalized by the youth of Broughton, leading them to believe the lie that they are worthless and will never amount to anything. They have become “dehumanized” in the sense that they are becoming less than who God would have them be. They believe that the life they have experienced is normal; they are without hope because they don’t believe there is any other option.
Our mission and purpose for being here is to show them that hope by loving them as God loves them. We want to show them that they are so valuable that God paid the price of His only Son to restore their relationship with Him. These kids are loved with an everlasting love, and they desperately need to know that.
If you want an even better picture of why we’re doing ministry in Salford, I recommend Gary Bishop’s book Darkest England & The Way Back In. It’s a quick read, but it will give you more insight into the darkness that has overwhelmed this area of England.
Please continue to pray for us as we jump into ministry next week; we especially need patience and an abundant amount of God’s love as we work with these kids. Also, pray for the kids, that God would allow them to experience His love in new and awesome ways.
