Friday, August 25, 2006
Upcoming events and such
Hey Y'all,
This sunday I'm preaching at Zulu Church, Thulani will be translating for me, I'm preaching on Philippians 2:1-4. This is a very humbling passage for me, cause I am always getting caught up in self-seeking, and not preferring others...the practice of humility is one that my flesh is constantly putting off...So, prayers are appreciated.
It makes a world of difference having Conrad here working every day. It would have taken me 2 weeks (2 weeks that I don't have, even) to do what he's done in 4 days. I hope I can drop some of my more menial tasks and start working alongside him, cause I think I will learn a ton.
The team is coming in 9 days, and we need to pass an inspection that we haven't even scheduled yet, or the team won't be able to do any work. We also need to open the new gate, or there will also be no work...Pray for the team, preparations, adjustments, and a servants attitude that could only come from knowing Christ.
The weather in South Africa is crazy. I remember the expression I learned in Kazakhstan. The people there told me that "The weather in Kazakhstan is like a woman. It can never make up it's mind" It's not dissimilar here. Fortunately our focus now is on a section that is covered, so we are one of the only groups that can work when it rains.
I have less than 5 months left here in SA. I'm not counting down at all, I love it here. I am hoping to go visit Kwacha and Kondi (Our Malawian Missionaries) and then do some exploring farther north once I'm in Malawi. Probably in October.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Updates
Hello.
South Africa is cruising along.
a quick update on my last two entries,
1) Dick is getting along very well. He was released from the hospital after just 2 days, and was back to work at the end of the week. He's well, and was able to share on Sunday about all the ways God gave him grace in the situation.
2) Lambano is still in dire financial straits. We need R60,000 (almost 10,000 $) in the next 2 weeks to make ends meet.
Currently there is a team here visiting Lambano, doing crafts and stuff with the kids. Also, on Wednesday they are finally moving into their 4th house, so, God is blessing us richly, though, He always leaves room for us to depend on Him more. You can't depend on God too much.
Other than that, we've also got a New Addition to the Intern Team. Conrad Tycholaz (picture coming soon) is a Bricklayer from Alberta Canada and he and his wife Jennifer are here for a year to work, he on the building site, and she as a teacher at Lambano. It's good to have an experienced builder to work with. Pray for them as they adjust significantly culturally and personally, being newlyweds as well.
Work consists of getting everything ready for another big team in September, and working with the current team. I love my job.
Monday, August 14, 2006
Tragedy Strikes
Hello Everyone, Something terrible happened yesterday evening. On the way home from church, one of our Elders, Dick Kelder, who is also Pastor Brian's father-in-law, interrupted a hold up at his house, and was shot in the leg and hand, and bludgeoned in the eye, when the criminals attempted to hijack his car. He was rushed to the hospital, where he was stabilized, and is currently under observation.
The Bullet went clean through, and apparently his leg will be fine, but he will need surgery on his hand.
The Amazing thing, and it's easy to forget to be amazed by God sometimes, is Dick's spiritual state. When we visited him last night, he was totally at peace, and not just because of the painkillers, but he was trusting in God. It's easy to be angry, upset, depressed, etc. after such an incident. But Dick is under the influence of the Holy Spirit...as we prayed with him, he prayed for the salvation of his attackers, and we are all trusting God a lot, right now, which is probably what He wants us to do all the time.
Pray especially for Anita, Pastor Brian's wife, and Dick's daughter. After her hijacking in April, she was really shaken up, and now well, you can imagine the trauma. Also, Dick's wife Marlene, recently had heart surgery, so pray for her as well, just that she would have the same peace, and respond in a godly way to this trial.
Thanks everyone.
The other thing that it made me think about, is how it changes your perspective when it hits "close to home" as it were. Stuff like this happens every week if not every day in Jo'burg...but, somehow, it's different reading about it in the paper, than it is waiting in the hospital waiting room at 11:30 PM...I'm not sure what i should pray for, but that God would change the hearts of all those involved, and that he would bring them to see His glory, and His supremacy over all the earth. Pray for further trust in Him...the only one we can trust.
Monday, August 07, 2006
Quick Note for Prayer
Hey Y'all, Lambano Children's Homes needs help, so everyone pray.
1) in the midst of expansion they are struggling financially, each month has been pretty close to broke, so pray for that.
2) The Grey Combi Van was stolen a week ago, pray that it would somehow be recovered.
3) As always, the salvation of the children and a cure for AIDS is the heart of Lambano's prayers, so pray with us for that.
Peace!
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
It's a dirty job...
Well, today I got an unexpected surprise.
This morning I did some office type work, and then after lunch I went to Beth Mack's place (She's in charge of women's ministry at church) to take a whole lot of stuff to the Dump. By the way, the dump is an experience in itself...it's not like the dump in the States, where there's the compacting area and a nice concrete structure you can line your truck up on...your driving on top of and through old garbage, and then throwing it all from your truck into a pile that they then move around with a Bull Dozer. And there are seagulls everywhere. And we're not even by the sea. I always think of those seagulls in Finding Nemo, that say "mine".
But that's not the point of this entry. Joseph, the groundskeeper at Lambano, and I took a bunch of Beth's stuff to the dump. There was also a bunch of stuff that Joseph wanted to keep. Picture frames, and an old sink he can fix up. There was also a good stock of firewood. So we loaded it up and went to Josephs shack in the squatter camp. This is my first time going into a squatter camp...it's weird...
It's actually not as dirty or smelly as it seems from the outside. There's little shops all over the place, and Joseph lives in a little shack. Some of them have gardens with corn stocks, and who knows what else growing there. I didn't have my camera, so, no pictures...but I was able to help Joseph get all that stuff to his place.
You know what wasn't there? A bunch of guys waiting to beat me up. There were a couple of guys who were so drunk they couldn't walk straight. At like, 4 in the afternoon. Anyways, if you wanna get a visual, watch the movie Tsotsi. It's about townships and violent crime. It's pretty intense, but it gives you a perspective of what it's like in the camps.
Please pray for Joseph, cause he works around christians, and has attended our church before, but is not a christian.
Also, I've been preaching through Philippians at the Zulu Church (with an interpreter, obviously), so I will try to share some thoughts about what I have been learning in that.
