After a couple of long and quite theological posts it's time for something a bit lighter. My posts tend not to follow much of a pattern. When I'm finding my thinking challenged and I'm learning stuff then I tend to write posts a bit more like that. When things are a bit more normal then I tend to write things a bit more down to earth. It just comes as it comes to me really, so it's always a reflection of me and how I am, not just of some textbook stuff.
Anyway, I've titled this "No escape" because I'm finding that's simply how it is when it comes to the bugs out here. For the last couple of weeks I've virtually always had some form of visitor at my place including a millipede on my pillow as I was about to lie down and go to sleep! Where he came from I don't know, but I can tell you he didn't stay there! I've also got plenty of insect bites in the last couple of days. Somehow something zaps me when I'm asleep, I think, and then it itches like crazy for a few days, with a puncture wound developing if you do end up scratching it too much. I'm told that if I see any bites with two small holes I should go get that checked out by a doctor ASAP because that's likely a spider bite, and ironically it's the small ones that are most deadly. You'll generally not die on the spot, but if you leave it secondary things like septicemia will set in, which resulted in brain damage to someone Nicky knows! So if I spot that, or general flu like symptoms I'm off to the doc!
Some things never change too. There's no escape from parking wardens out here either! Got a ticket the other day for parking somewhere I thought was fair play. Actually everyone in my office thought it was fair play and have been getting away with it for months, yet I get the ticket! There is actually a sign about, though it's not really that clear until you know where it is. No one else had ever seen it, so I got busted unfortunately. Sigh!
Hmm, what else? Well, there's some pretty crazy thunderstorms at the minute. No kidding, these lightning flashes are like a camera flash for the world! Seriously, everything you see seems to light up for a split second from a strike that's so far away it's not even raining where you are! But when it's on top of you it's a pretty awesome thing. Rain pounds down, lightning flashes with great intensity, and the thunder makes a pretty fearsome sound!
On the whole I'm doing quite well though. My cooking continues to go on well, and I made a pretty impressive apple crumble with fresh custard for my english contribution to our Every Culture Sunday this week. I tried to do Special Fried Rice like you'd get at the legendary Shanghai Kitchen, but that was nowhere near as successful. It was nice, but by no means on that level. I've made a good number of friends, I'm pretty regular at the gym and increasing in fitness and strength if nothing else, I'm also playing footie regularly again, which is great. Spiritually I'm finding that the wonders of God amaze me more and more rather than less and less and there's always plenty of exciting challenge instead of dreary ritual. Thank you all who pray for me, for everything that it results in, but especially in the presence of God blessing me and making me strong.
I'm hoping to knuckle down soon and get some serious Zulu under my belt, or it'll just pass me by. I'm finding myself challenged as to how I'm going to grow in evangelism and in praying for the sick, as I've really not got anyone to mentor me in that, but I feel again the urgency of God to not just get a passing grade in these things, but to excel.
One final thing: I guess I also can't escape the fact that at some point I have to return to the UK. I do enjoy it here, and yet I would also love to be "back home". I still find myself referring to Beulah as "my church" rather than Hope, and I'm keen to hear how any of you there are walking worthy of the calling you've received. Anyway, whenever I come back I do need something to do, and that means I will soon need to start making preparations, either to stay here for a bit longer (if God so leads), or to start something when I come back. If you're one of my brothers and sisters in the Lord back home, I would greatly appreciate you both praying for me, and hearing from God for me (which is one major reason I'm even here)
on this. I really need either some direct guidance, or just the clear means to make a decision with sanctified common sense (the other major reason I'm here).
Blessings be upon you all!
Tuesday 30 October 2007
Monday 29 October 2007
Sawubona, hola, and wha's gwaanin'?
Yesterday was our Every Culture Sunday at Hope Church, which was a vivid display of colours, styles, languages, cuisine, and mostly blood bought unity that makes us one. Each person came dressed in a way expressive of their culture and we had a picnic outside with all manner of international food shared as we fellowshipped with laughter and love. Being from England it's quite hard to dress in something distinctly english as most of the world has latched onto the US/UK/European style of clothing. Not being ones for great tradition we don't, for example, bring out leiderhosen every year even. But not to be undone I did South London proud (well, kinda!) by dressing as a typical Thornton Heath rudeboy (as best as I could without spending £100 on some fancy Nike's, and more on some Moschino and Ecko wares, not to mention getting some bling!). Probably my strongest statements of that culture were the infamous low hanging jeans and boxers with a name brand pulled up and visible from behind. That's the first, and I hope only time, I do that! I also managed to pull off a typical bop when I walked and spoke with our unique international flavour by greeting people with "Wha's gwaanin'"! I'm not sure anyone understood me much during the morning! :o)
But the multicultural theme started earlier in the weekend for me. On Saturday I took a drive down to Amanzimtoti where another Newfrontiers church was hosting Evan Rogers for the weekend, who was giving a seminar that morning on multicultural worship. While there were many excellent things about worship in general, I found that Evan's passion for non-racial praise and for diversity inspiring and infectious. The basis for this isn't political correctness, sentimentality, or being in the new SA - the reason is in what God has done in Christ. While the Church has not always caught onto it, the world is only beginning to catch up to what God has done when it comes to "race relations" - and that only as a dim copy.
What has God done? Let's look at a couple of Bible verses. While you may read this and think, "I'm not really interested in 'religious' things", I encourage you to read this stuff as I think the issues of race affect everyone and so this isn't a merely Christian matter, though it is a Christian viewpoint on it.
"Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands - remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility." (Ephesians 2:11-16)
What we have here is a statement about circumcised (Jews) and non-circumcised (Gentiles) people. Before Christ God had selected the descendents of Abraham (Jews) as His own people as a sort of launchpad for his gathering every tribe, tongue, and nation together and blessing them. Until Christ, then, all non-Jews were by definition outsiders and there existed a state of "hostility" between them because of this division.
It sounds a little like God put up a divider to keep Gentiles out only to bring it down again later. But that's not quite true. Gentiles could become God's people also, yet to do so they had to become Jews. In effect they had to change culture, not only belief. Their identity would no longer be Phoenician, for example, but Jewish. Our identity now as Christians is just that - Christ! Christ is our identity, not Judaism or Israel or circumcision! But I'm getting ahead of myself.
But now, through Christ, God has made the two into one by taking down the dividing wall and including Jew and Gentile (i.e. all nations) as His own on the basis of their equal relationship to Jesus.
So far it really only seems to involve unity with one culture - that of Jews being united also with the rest of the world. But to limit this statement to that is missing the point. First off, it's a mistaken presumption that Gentiles were all united and the issue was really with Jews (of which Jesus was one). Genesis 11 indicates at Babel that the nations really were divided because of their collective union under sin, and so though Gentiles were all non-Jews, that was the extent of their unity. There is definite hostility between cultures, as all history demonstrates. More modern thoughts for world peace and so on are not bad things, but they do miss the fact that for all we do share in common there are definite dividers between us. We may be able to perhaps live and let live, but that's still short of what God has done in Jesus.
Second the Ephesians passage is very particular about its wording when it says God's intention was to create one new man out of the two. Sounds a bit cryptic, but what it basically means is that by union with Christ God has taken all nations, Jew and Gentile, and has made a new nation under Christ. As said in the note above, I, for example, am no longer a Brit but am actually part of this new people. Note that this is a work of creation - God created a new man, that is a new mankind. Jews didn't lose their Jewishness and become Gentiles, Gentiles did not become Jews, nor did the two decide to get along. God has started His work of "making all things new" (Revelation 21:5) with His people, for "if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation/creature" (2 Corinthians 5:17)! This is more than patching over the cracks, this is an entire rebuild! It's not a further fragmentation of the "human race" so that Chrisitans then become a subgroup of other subgroups, it is the building of a brand new humanity!
If this sounds like a racial superiority argument then please don't misunderstand me. Christians are not the new Nazis! Instead of being extinguished, different people are welcomed in by us as the ambassadors of this new people. We speak the language of diplomacy, not conquest. Also, because of the nature of this "new race" as in Christ alone, certainly no one nation can be diminished in this view (e.g. Jews - Christians often being accused of, and sometimes guilty of, anti-semitism). In fact, when 2 Corinthians 5 says about people in Christ as being new creations it follows by saying, "Therefore we now judge no one according to the flesh", i.e. according to human labels of race, colour, culture, wealth, education, etc. As Phillip Greenslade says, the only label we give is the only one that fits - a designer label: "For whom Christ died".
The result goes far beyond Jew/non-Jew relations. This brings me to the next passage:
"For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:26-28)
Okay, and another:
"Here [that is, in Christ] there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all." (Colossians 3:11)
The effects of this new creation activity mean that every ground of division between all people is gone when they are joined together in Christ. This is more than willing ourselves to be one, this is God having done something to us to make us different than what we were, and united with one another. All other attempts at unity teach us to ignore the present divisions and hostility across the various lines caused by our sinfulness and pride. Here God has dealt with these divisions! Whether it is a breach between Greek and Jew (ethnic), circumcised and not (religious), barbarian and Scythian (so called "civilisation", or lack thereof), slave and free (status), male and female (gender), all are done away with as grounds for division through Christ.
Note: Not only did sin result in division between nations, but also in strife between man and woman (Genesis 3:16).
So what does this mean? Because there's no male and female am I somehow now asexual? No, neither do I suddenly speak Zulu (though I wish I could!). My vital parts and my culture (as in my way of doing things, my norms, my practices) still remain, but the division is gone! It's not merely that I've decided (as I've always believed) that racism is a bad thing, but that I am one with my brothers and sisters in Christ - we are each new and sharing in some amazing new common ground and linked together as one body.
This is what Evan Rogers was speaking about, and this is what we celebrated on Sunday. In somewhere like post-apartheid South Africa this sort of message is so radical as old wounds continue to bleed and even new ones form on new grounds of education or class. But Evan's view (and the Bible's) was bigger than SA - it's a global thing, and this is what I'd not quite seen before.
First of all, our view is shaped by the goal God is heading for.
"I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb." (Revelation 7:9)
John Piper says that God is more glorified by diversity than He is by uniformity. God is more honoured by a complex spectrum in harmony than he is by a one type in unison. Rainbows are beautiful because they mix colours together as one in a way that's bigger than just the sum of its colours (e.g. red doesn't look as good on its own as it does in a rainbow). Symponies incorporate a number of distinct elements in unity, sometimes with even things like the violins being a quartet in harmony with each other and with the rest of the orchestra. God Himself is Father, Son, Spirit - three in one and one in three. God's passion for the nations is not just for peace' sake, but to demonstrate his wonderful nature in Trinity. Piper also says that the worth of something is proportional to how many types of people esteem it - i.e. God is more praised by all manner of different people confessing He is ultimate than just by one group because it becomes clear his value doesn't depend on anything outside of Himself.
In Jubilee Church in Cape Town (where Evan is from) they will, for example, worship in a number of languages and styles. In a multi-cultural context like SA you'd expect that you'd need to sing in English, Afrikaans, Xhosa, etc. But what was clear is that Evan had really grasped it in a way I had not and when I put him to the test by asking, "Do you sing any Russian songs" his answer was an immediate, "I'd love to!". What became clear is that they worship multiculturally not merely to manage diversity but to express unity! It's not that they've found some middle of the road compromise to keep everyone happy, they're actively delighting in expressing their freedom as belonging to the Christ-culture. That's why they started singing Xhosa songs even when they had about 2 black people in a congregation of about 400! It wasn't about keeping people happy, but about expressing the fact that God has made them into a new people, at one with each other and with all who are in Christ!
I've always been able to see why you'd be multi-ethnic in somewhere like SA and why this "one new man" thing is so important as an antidote to racism. But now I've seen something more - a unity of grace that just has to be expressed whether we see there's a racial problem or not. All I can say is God's done something in me since Saturday and the lights have come on. Seriously - I can't wait to get back to the UK and do multi-ethnic church. When I return we won't sing Zulu and Afrikaans and Sotho songs as some novelty, or because I've been to SA, but because we are one new man in Christ! I came back home on Saturday and just couldn't wait to look up even Afrikaans songs (which I previously wasn't all that interested in)!
So it was with great joy that we had our Every Culture Sunday the following day. We worshipped, as ever, in many langauges and styles, but I for one saw it very differently. Everyone was dressed in their cultural gear, we all ate together of each others' food, and I led the church in singing one of Evan's new songs, with a chorus saying:
Simunye (we are one), simunye, we are one new man in Christ
Simunye, simunye, we're bought from every tongue and tribe
Simunye, simunye, by Your blood we're reconciled
We are one, 'cause Jesus paid the price
Wow! What a powerful thing that was! To see former enemies worshipping God together in freedom. Even those who were of that hated Afrikaaner legacy (even if they had not ever been an oppressor in act or thought) freely dressed in traditional attire and worshipped with us and were not excluded as a symbol of a divided age. We had prayers and readings in Spanish, French (spoken in much of Africa, this time by Alain from DRC), Tamil, Sotho, Zulu, and probably some more too. For all the efforts of new SA and others, no such unity exists anywhere else in the world!
Truly God has displayed his multi-coloured wisdom through His Church (Ephesians 3:10)!
Wednesday 24 October 2007
The power of the Cross
This isn't at all much of an update in terms of me and what I've been doing except to say that for the best part of the last hour I've been singing the glories of the Cross - the self-sacrifice of Jesus Christ, Son of God. For the last four Wednesdays myself and a few others have been having an informal theology class in the afternoon, focussing entirely on what we call the atonement - the means by which sinful people like us are set right with God. Today I presented a small talk on one aspect of this wonderful work of God and in the writing, the presenting, and the discussion that followed I could not help but be awed by the Cross once more.
Most modern worship songs have not spent the time in meditation on the significance of what happened there, choosing perhaps to zoom in on the love demonstrated by dying for one's enemies. But the majesty, the justice, the power, the wisdom, and the sheer bonkers mercy of it becomes far more apparent the more you study it. So I spent my time remembering how to play (on guitar) a great variety of songs that trumpet the greatness of the Cross. Here's a few choice lines:
You were crushed by my sin
Your punishment has brought me peace
And by the wounds you suffered
I'm alive and healed
Here is love vast as the ocean,
Lovingkindness as the flood,
When the Prince of Life, our ransom
Shed for us His precious blood
When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end to all my sin!
Oh to see the pain written on your face
Bearing the awesome weight of sin
Every bitter thought, every evil deed
Crowning your bloodstained brow
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His, and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ
Behold Him there, the risen Lamb
My perfect, spotless righteousness
The great unchangeable "I AM"
The king of glory and of grace
There are many other great verses of praise of this amazing triumph of God, but these are some of the ones I sung. What becomes all the more clear is that this Cross is the foundation of everything. I beg any of you who have known this, don't "graduate" from the Cross. It is the power and wisdom of God - it is His salvation. You cannot improve upon it, you cannot substitute for it - you can only glory in it.
Two more verses to consider. If you do not know about this Cross and why I'm making such a big deal over it (and you're still reading this far!), you can consider these verses too. Whoever you are I urge you to examine this great wonder that God has put forth in the man Jesus Christ. It's no theological novelty, it's a breathtaking, scandalous, horrific, glorious, historical act that changes everything. This is not just "What Christians believe" but what God has done on the open stage of history for all to see. If it's "the way we like to think about things" then it may be mildly interesting, but it is wholly insignificant. However if the historical fact of this man, Jesus, tortured to death on a Cross outside Jerusalem 2000 years ago means all I think it does, then it affects literally everything. I'll let these last verses explain what it's all about.
This the power of the Cross
Christ became sin for us
Took the blame, bore the wrath
We stand forgiven at the Cross
No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
'Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand
Stand, or fall, on this Cross, but don't ignore it. Glory be to God!
Most modern worship songs have not spent the time in meditation on the significance of what happened there, choosing perhaps to zoom in on the love demonstrated by dying for one's enemies. But the majesty, the justice, the power, the wisdom, and the sheer bonkers mercy of it becomes far more apparent the more you study it. So I spent my time remembering how to play (on guitar) a great variety of songs that trumpet the greatness of the Cross. Here's a few choice lines:
You were crushed by my sin
Your punishment has brought me peace
And by the wounds you suffered
I'm alive and healed
Here is love vast as the ocean,
Lovingkindness as the flood,
When the Prince of Life, our ransom
Shed for us His precious blood
When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end to all my sin!
Oh to see the pain written on your face
Bearing the awesome weight of sin
Every bitter thought, every evil deed
Crowning your bloodstained brow
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His, and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ
Behold Him there, the risen Lamb
My perfect, spotless righteousness
The great unchangeable "I AM"
The king of glory and of grace
There are many other great verses of praise of this amazing triumph of God, but these are some of the ones I sung. What becomes all the more clear is that this Cross is the foundation of everything. I beg any of you who have known this, don't "graduate" from the Cross. It is the power and wisdom of God - it is His salvation. You cannot improve upon it, you cannot substitute for it - you can only glory in it.
Two more verses to consider. If you do not know about this Cross and why I'm making such a big deal over it (and you're still reading this far!), you can consider these verses too. Whoever you are I urge you to examine this great wonder that God has put forth in the man Jesus Christ. It's no theological novelty, it's a breathtaking, scandalous, horrific, glorious, historical act that changes everything. This is not just "What Christians believe" but what God has done on the open stage of history for all to see. If it's "the way we like to think about things" then it may be mildly interesting, but it is wholly insignificant. However if the historical fact of this man, Jesus, tortured to death on a Cross outside Jerusalem 2000 years ago means all I think it does, then it affects literally everything. I'll let these last verses explain what it's all about.
This the power of the Cross
Christ became sin for us
Took the blame, bore the wrath
We stand forgiven at the Cross
No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
'Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand
Stand, or fall, on this Cross, but don't ignore it. Glory be to God!
Monday 22 October 2007
All talk?
I said I'd give you guys an update on what our vision as a church is for working with the poor here in Durban after our preach last week. Well, we've had the third and last in our mini series, so I'll tell you a little about that too. Sorry it's turned into a long one, but it is a serious topic and not something that's not readily lending itself to being packaged for our convenience. And as a major part of what I'm doing here I think it's good to do it justice here.
Drew preached last week telling us about God's heart for the poor. He referenced Jesus' great manifesto in Luke chapter 4: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me to declare good news to the poor" including those who were mourning, hungry, sick, blind, and captive to powers stronger than themselves. It was a declaration of the season of God's favour coming to the earth, which Jesus said he was the fulfilment of. While there were many things said, I think what cuts to the heart of it was the statement that what will change the situation of the poor is an encounter with Jesus. While that can include people turning around to follow him, it is not always just that. Jesus did much in healing and teaching for people who never ended up following him, but their lives were definitely changed! No one left an encounter with Jesus the same, even if they didn't leave as his disciple. Philanthropy was around long before Jesus, but it was in Jesus' coming that he could say there was finally some "good news" to the poor, backed by the power of the "Spirit of the Lord". If we read the passage Jesus quoted from in Isaiah 61 we find not only are the poor helped, but they become "oaks of righteousness" and ones who rebuild what has been torn down. Those who were broken are healed and made healers of others who are broken. It's a radical change from a perpetual dependency that often comes with "missionary" and "humanitarian" work, as good as those things are. What is needed is for people to encounter Jesus Christ, here and now, as he operates through his people. They need to encounter his compassion expressed through our hands, his comfort expressed through our words, his healing expressed through mountain moving faith, his righteousness expressed in our integrity, his humility expressed in our willingness to be become lowly, and his saving love expressed in his death and resurrection. When we help the poor, brothers, we must bring more than ourselves to the table, even if we don't necessarily mention Jesus every time. But we must bring, by faith, his season of supernatural favour by the same "Spirit of the Lord" that was on Jesus.
One further point of conflict with our natural thoughts was God's reasoning in delighting in the poor. Jesus said he came to "proclaim the year of the Lord's favour". It's much more than proclaiming a year of "justice" or of "equality" - it's favour, i.e. above what is "necessary". God, being full of love and generosity, being eager to give his favour chose the poor. Why? We want to say, "Because they need it more", but the Bible never really gives that as a sufficient reason. It tends to say more that God gives to those that have nothing so that there can be no claim that they deserve it (quite what I was saying before with, "The poor don't deserve our help"). God wants it to be clear that his favour is given because he is favourable, not because certain people impressed him or had something he needs. For people to know truly that they are loved without regard for merit, that is certainly necessary. Rich and poor people are both equally "deserving" of God's favour as ones created by Him and for Him, but yet God seems to favour the poor because that allows is the freest of loves (not the compelled sort we tend to associate with working with the poor). It may seem like a side-issue, but it's actually central. If we are to be overflowing with favour it must be because we see God's overflowing favour and desire to give, not just a compulsion to help. Our Father is compassionate and is not unmoved by suffering, but He is more moved by His own swelling character of love.
Gary and Nicky summed up the mini-series this week by helping us think biblically about the issue of HIV in our culture. If HIV is considered a problem in Europe, it's a huge thing in sub-saharan Africa. Nicky, being an HIV trainer, gave us the rundown on how things are in South Africa. I don't remember all the numbers, but they were very very shocking. In KwaZulu-Natal, where we are, it is reckoned that anywhere up to 40% of people are HIV positive - a breathtaking figure! While it can be spread from parent to child at birth (approximately 60% risk, easily halved to 30% with early detection, and possible to reduce to 0% with a fair bit of cash), or from contaminated needles (either between drug users, or accidental infection, say in a hospital), or from blood transfusion (not too risky in SA, but much more so elsewhere in Africa), the overwhelming majority (as in about 95%) of cases are transmission by sex.
It's an interesting dynamic here. Sex is both taboo and also widely practiced. A sex industry is very evident, but the society as a whole would not really talk about it and generally think it to be the preserve of a certain shameful group. Young people, it would seem, get themselves into sexual relationships quite readily, but it's usually hush hush. In townships and more rural areas this is especially so - people with little else to do and little hope having casual sex, but not talking about the consequences. Ironically also with many the threat of contracting HIV just isn't such an issue as they reckon they'll always be poor and will die young - there's not a lot to ruin by becoming infected.
Because of the taboo nature of sex it does mean that there's also a great stigma attached to HIV. It's not just a disease - it's a statement that you've likely been doing something you shouldn't have been doing (which isn't necessarily true as you could get it from a cheating husband or wife, for example), and so people don't readily go for tests or seek help. HIV has achieved a very ominous status to the point where it is assumed that everything connected with it is a scary ordeal (e.g. even being tested).
HIV suffers are very much like the lepers of Jesus' day. Gary spoke to us of Jesus' compassion on them and power to heal them in Luke 5, followed by Jesus giving healing to a paralysed man but being concerned first to grant him forgiveness of sins. Lepers were basically anyone with a visible and contagious skin disease of any kind. In the interests of keeping this from spreading to the entire neighbourhood lepers had to be seperate and were "unclean". Many took this to mean that they were defective, devalued people who deserved to be shunned. Jesus (and the OT) did not view them as this, but merely as people who needed to be seperate for the sake of others. The OT, I think, envisioned care and help being offered to the leperous, though with some seperation because of health reasons. Why else were they permitted to remain in the camp?
Jesus went right across what was culturally accepted and offered compassion to the leper. We also must push past the shame associated with this disease and reach out to the many who are dying with HIV/AIDS. But again, it is the encounter with Jesus that was important. Gary reminded us that we're not on a "world improvement program" - we reach the poor because it's God's heart, and we do so while preaching the gospel and saving people from far worse than HIV. What does it profit someone to be even healed of HIV and to remain in darkness and death apart from God? Our aim is not to fix everything or to create perfect comfort for all people, but to make God known.
Sounds a bit unfeeling, huh? Well let me take what Gary said and explain it a bit further. A "world improvement program" basically says, "People are all fine, but their surroundings need to be fixed. They need education, opportunity, healthcare, family support, justice, etc" - which they do. But we would be labouring on the finer points if we focussed only on these things (even though they are massive "fine points" that God calls many to spend their lives pursuing for His sake). The fact is that people are not fine and what is necessary is not just a change in circumstances, but a change in them. God looked at the world and decided that the root of the problem was not what happened to people, but where people stood in relation to Him - as enemies (A place where you can only really expect bad things! The Bible never has much problem with the question, "Why does God allow suffering?" but addresses the much more baffling one of, "How can a righteous God show favour to sinners who deserve His wrath?"). Hence Jesus came, taking on human flesh, and died to put an end to bring an end to that status for the creation and for all who would turn and accept Him as their Lord once more. God's "world improvement program" does include a change in the world where "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away" (Revelation 21:4), and that as a consquence of the dwelling place of God being with man once more (previous verse), but it also includes a change in people through dealing with their sin and fallen standing before God. To be just about "world improvement" would be a fallacy. The gospel of Jesus Christ must be preached, the evidence of it's power and of God's compassion being seen in our works of kindness on His behalf. For indeed, "As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me" (Matthew 25:40).
What struck me when considering this though is how all our efforts can only change external things. It quite reminds me of Jesus' statement in John 3 - "flesh gives birth to flesh". Even that which will really change the state of play in the world, conquering death, disease, disaster, and division, is done by God's power through the Cross ("If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation" - 2 Corinthians 5:17) as a supernatural work. So all our efforts even for "world improvement", which is a concern of God's completely in line with the "spiritual" things of worship and eternal life, must really come from the power of God. Biblical logic dictates to me that if we are to do anything significant it must be that Jesus is in the centre and is making us fruitful. Biblical logic tells me that if we go out into the world as just flesh and blood, we will be marginal at best. Anything that is really going to "improve the world" must be accompanied by and come from a supernatural intervention of God - the favour of God. We must believe for and look for something beyond ourselves to come into this world when we work in it. We must be looking for what can only be described as God's kingdom come to make His will be done. I write this to myself, I write this to those who labour in "world improvement" at Beulah where I have left this work to others, and I write this to all who know Jesus. So often we're at best playing catch up to charitable organisations. I dream of days when people will not just look at the Church and say, "It's nice they're doing charity work too", but when they will look and say, "Their God is the hope of the world!" and that "mere" charity is seen as but a shadow and pale imitation what restoring work is happening through God's Kingdom power amongst us! Can I get an "amen"?
So after all that talk, was it just all talk? Well, we've started our food collection program to support the needy among us. Regularly we will either buy a batch of non perishable goods, or just pick up a few extras of things as we shop, and put them into storage for distribution to people among us in need as and when it's necessary. Many bags of food were brought to church for our offering this Sunday and we shared it out, each presenting a piece as a representation that we will each contribute to feed the hungry around us. We're believing it's a prophetic demonstration of what we as a church will do in much larger scale in the future.
We also collected nearly R10,000 in cash and IOUs, which is about £700. For a small church with a lot of students and in Durban, believe me that's a sizeable amount, and one we aim to replicate again and again. We're currently looking at projects involving HIV, pregnancy crisis, peer education, and probably some more. This will certainly help us to start. Please feel free to help us to continue by supporting us. Just let me know if you want to and I'll tell you how.
Making His Name of compassion known and restoring His world in His power
Andrew
Drew preached last week telling us about God's heart for the poor. He referenced Jesus' great manifesto in Luke chapter 4: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me to declare good news to the poor" including those who were mourning, hungry, sick, blind, and captive to powers stronger than themselves. It was a declaration of the season of God's favour coming to the earth, which Jesus said he was the fulfilment of. While there were many things said, I think what cuts to the heart of it was the statement that what will change the situation of the poor is an encounter with Jesus. While that can include people turning around to follow him, it is not always just that. Jesus did much in healing and teaching for people who never ended up following him, but their lives were definitely changed! No one left an encounter with Jesus the same, even if they didn't leave as his disciple. Philanthropy was around long before Jesus, but it was in Jesus' coming that he could say there was finally some "good news" to the poor, backed by the power of the "Spirit of the Lord". If we read the passage Jesus quoted from in Isaiah 61 we find not only are the poor helped, but they become "oaks of righteousness" and ones who rebuild what has been torn down. Those who were broken are healed and made healers of others who are broken. It's a radical change from a perpetual dependency that often comes with "missionary" and "humanitarian" work, as good as those things are. What is needed is for people to encounter Jesus Christ, here and now, as he operates through his people. They need to encounter his compassion expressed through our hands, his comfort expressed through our words, his healing expressed through mountain moving faith, his righteousness expressed in our integrity, his humility expressed in our willingness to be become lowly, and his saving love expressed in his death and resurrection. When we help the poor, brothers, we must bring more than ourselves to the table, even if we don't necessarily mention Jesus every time. But we must bring, by faith, his season of supernatural favour by the same "Spirit of the Lord" that was on Jesus.
One further point of conflict with our natural thoughts was God's reasoning in delighting in the poor. Jesus said he came to "proclaim the year of the Lord's favour". It's much more than proclaiming a year of "justice" or of "equality" - it's favour, i.e. above what is "necessary". God, being full of love and generosity, being eager to give his favour chose the poor. Why? We want to say, "Because they need it more", but the Bible never really gives that as a sufficient reason. It tends to say more that God gives to those that have nothing so that there can be no claim that they deserve it (quite what I was saying before with, "The poor don't deserve our help"). God wants it to be clear that his favour is given because he is favourable, not because certain people impressed him or had something he needs. For people to know truly that they are loved without regard for merit, that is certainly necessary. Rich and poor people are both equally "deserving" of God's favour as ones created by Him and for Him, but yet God seems to favour the poor because that allows is the freest of loves (not the compelled sort we tend to associate with working with the poor). It may seem like a side-issue, but it's actually central. If we are to be overflowing with favour it must be because we see God's overflowing favour and desire to give, not just a compulsion to help. Our Father is compassionate and is not unmoved by suffering, but He is more moved by His own swelling character of love.
Gary and Nicky summed up the mini-series this week by helping us think biblically about the issue of HIV in our culture. If HIV is considered a problem in Europe, it's a huge thing in sub-saharan Africa. Nicky, being an HIV trainer, gave us the rundown on how things are in South Africa. I don't remember all the numbers, but they were very very shocking. In KwaZulu-Natal, where we are, it is reckoned that anywhere up to 40% of people are HIV positive - a breathtaking figure! While it can be spread from parent to child at birth (approximately 60% risk, easily halved to 30% with early detection, and possible to reduce to 0% with a fair bit of cash), or from contaminated needles (either between drug users, or accidental infection, say in a hospital), or from blood transfusion (not too risky in SA, but much more so elsewhere in Africa), the overwhelming majority (as in about 95%) of cases are transmission by sex.
It's an interesting dynamic here. Sex is both taboo and also widely practiced. A sex industry is very evident, but the society as a whole would not really talk about it and generally think it to be the preserve of a certain shameful group. Young people, it would seem, get themselves into sexual relationships quite readily, but it's usually hush hush. In townships and more rural areas this is especially so - people with little else to do and little hope having casual sex, but not talking about the consequences. Ironically also with many the threat of contracting HIV just isn't such an issue as they reckon they'll always be poor and will die young - there's not a lot to ruin by becoming infected.
Because of the taboo nature of sex it does mean that there's also a great stigma attached to HIV. It's not just a disease - it's a statement that you've likely been doing something you shouldn't have been doing (which isn't necessarily true as you could get it from a cheating husband or wife, for example), and so people don't readily go for tests or seek help. HIV has achieved a very ominous status to the point where it is assumed that everything connected with it is a scary ordeal (e.g. even being tested).
HIV suffers are very much like the lepers of Jesus' day. Gary spoke to us of Jesus' compassion on them and power to heal them in Luke 5, followed by Jesus giving healing to a paralysed man but being concerned first to grant him forgiveness of sins. Lepers were basically anyone with a visible and contagious skin disease of any kind. In the interests of keeping this from spreading to the entire neighbourhood lepers had to be seperate and were "unclean". Many took this to mean that they were defective, devalued people who deserved to be shunned. Jesus (and the OT) did not view them as this, but merely as people who needed to be seperate for the sake of others. The OT, I think, envisioned care and help being offered to the leperous, though with some seperation because of health reasons. Why else were they permitted to remain in the camp?
Jesus went right across what was culturally accepted and offered compassion to the leper. We also must push past the shame associated with this disease and reach out to the many who are dying with HIV/AIDS. But again, it is the encounter with Jesus that was important. Gary reminded us that we're not on a "world improvement program" - we reach the poor because it's God's heart, and we do so while preaching the gospel and saving people from far worse than HIV. What does it profit someone to be even healed of HIV and to remain in darkness and death apart from God? Our aim is not to fix everything or to create perfect comfort for all people, but to make God known.
Sounds a bit unfeeling, huh? Well let me take what Gary said and explain it a bit further. A "world improvement program" basically says, "People are all fine, but their surroundings need to be fixed. They need education, opportunity, healthcare, family support, justice, etc" - which they do. But we would be labouring on the finer points if we focussed only on these things (even though they are massive "fine points" that God calls many to spend their lives pursuing for His sake). The fact is that people are not fine and what is necessary is not just a change in circumstances, but a change in them. God looked at the world and decided that the root of the problem was not what happened to people, but where people stood in relation to Him - as enemies (A place where you can only really expect bad things! The Bible never has much problem with the question, "Why does God allow suffering?" but addresses the much more baffling one of, "How can a righteous God show favour to sinners who deserve His wrath?"). Hence Jesus came, taking on human flesh, and died to put an end to bring an end to that status for the creation and for all who would turn and accept Him as their Lord once more. God's "world improvement program" does include a change in the world where "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away" (Revelation 21:4), and that as a consquence of the dwelling place of God being with man once more (previous verse), but it also includes a change in people through dealing with their sin and fallen standing before God. To be just about "world improvement" would be a fallacy. The gospel of Jesus Christ must be preached, the evidence of it's power and of God's compassion being seen in our works of kindness on His behalf. For indeed, "As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me" (Matthew 25:40).
What struck me when considering this though is how all our efforts can only change external things. It quite reminds me of Jesus' statement in John 3 - "flesh gives birth to flesh". Even that which will really change the state of play in the world, conquering death, disease, disaster, and division, is done by God's power through the Cross ("If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation" - 2 Corinthians 5:17) as a supernatural work. So all our efforts even for "world improvement", which is a concern of God's completely in line with the "spiritual" things of worship and eternal life, must really come from the power of God. Biblical logic dictates to me that if we are to do anything significant it must be that Jesus is in the centre and is making us fruitful. Biblical logic tells me that if we go out into the world as just flesh and blood, we will be marginal at best. Anything that is really going to "improve the world" must be accompanied by and come from a supernatural intervention of God - the favour of God. We must believe for and look for something beyond ourselves to come into this world when we work in it. We must be looking for what can only be described as God's kingdom come to make His will be done. I write this to myself, I write this to those who labour in "world improvement" at Beulah where I have left this work to others, and I write this to all who know Jesus. So often we're at best playing catch up to charitable organisations. I dream of days when people will not just look at the Church and say, "It's nice they're doing charity work too", but when they will look and say, "Their God is the hope of the world!" and that "mere" charity is seen as but a shadow and pale imitation what restoring work is happening through God's Kingdom power amongst us! Can I get an "amen"?
So after all that talk, was it just all talk? Well, we've started our food collection program to support the needy among us. Regularly we will either buy a batch of non perishable goods, or just pick up a few extras of things as we shop, and put them into storage for distribution to people among us in need as and when it's necessary. Many bags of food were brought to church for our offering this Sunday and we shared it out, each presenting a piece as a representation that we will each contribute to feed the hungry around us. We're believing it's a prophetic demonstration of what we as a church will do in much larger scale in the future.
We also collected nearly R10,000 in cash and IOUs, which is about £700. For a small church with a lot of students and in Durban, believe me that's a sizeable amount, and one we aim to replicate again and again. We're currently looking at projects involving HIV, pregnancy crisis, peer education, and probably some more. This will certainly help us to start. Please feel free to help us to continue by supporting us. Just let me know if you want to and I'll tell you how.
Making His Name of compassion known and restoring His world in His power
Andrew
The end or the beginning?
Well, she's back: Saabine (my car) has returned to me. I picked up the car on Thursday evening and drove it home, and although it was great to finally have a car again, I wasn't entirely satisfied. With my car there's a strange feature that you need to put the car in reverse before you can remove the key from the ignition (which is down near the gear stick). This mechanism was proving to be quite tricky and I wasn't sure if I'd get the key out again at times. The gear stick was also a bit sticky since the gearbox had gone back in, and changing to first and second wasn't very smooth. Also the bonnet release that was supposed to be fixed when I bought it wasn't, so I couldn't open the bonnet. Worst, after Gary had spread his celebratory beer over my car, we rolled it back and there was some oily substance on the already wet floor. Not happy!
Was the problem not fixed? Nah.... they really couldn't be that incompetent to do a job so bad I'd be right back down there to make them fix it again. It was probably a smaller oil leak masked by the larger one from the transmission. Still, it could be quite annoying and even costly if something like the head gasket leaks.
But keeping an eye on it it seemed that not a lot of oil was leaking, though it was consistent. The gearbox loosened itself up, and so did the ignition, just as the lubrication gets moving about. So on the whole it looked good.
Am I getting you worried? Well, don't be. I took it to the dealer again today and they said of course they'll sort out the bonnet and they'll have a go at the drip. When I rolled the car back to show them the drip the mechanic put his finger in the solitary spot (over an hour or so it's a few more that come out) and held it to the light. Looking at its reddish colour he reckoned it was actually power steering fluid, which is likely to be a lot better news than oil. I'm guessing also it could be brake fluid from the colour, but from where it seems to come from it's less likely, I think. So far my brakes and my power steering work fine! They'll take it in on Thursday.
So hopefully this is the end of the troubles with my car, not the beginning of more. In all things God is good though, so have no worry about them but present your requests to God with thanksgiving.
Was the problem not fixed? Nah.... they really couldn't be that incompetent to do a job so bad I'd be right back down there to make them fix it again. It was probably a smaller oil leak masked by the larger one from the transmission. Still, it could be quite annoying and even costly if something like the head gasket leaks.
But keeping an eye on it it seemed that not a lot of oil was leaking, though it was consistent. The gearbox loosened itself up, and so did the ignition, just as the lubrication gets moving about. So on the whole it looked good.
Am I getting you worried? Well, don't be. I took it to the dealer again today and they said of course they'll sort out the bonnet and they'll have a go at the drip. When I rolled the car back to show them the drip the mechanic put his finger in the solitary spot (over an hour or so it's a few more that come out) and held it to the light. Looking at its reddish colour he reckoned it was actually power steering fluid, which is likely to be a lot better news than oil. I'm guessing also it could be brake fluid from the colour, but from where it seems to come from it's less likely, I think. So far my brakes and my power steering work fine! They'll take it in on Thursday.
So hopefully this is the end of the troubles with my car, not the beginning of more. In all things God is good though, so have no worry about them but present your requests to God with thanksgiving.
Thursday 18 October 2007
Start spreading the news
That's right - I'm leaving town! Well, not yet, and not for good, but I am leaving town for a while in November because I'm going to be joining a number of other guys for the Newfrontiers Prayer and Fasting (Southern Africa) in Harare, Zimbabwe! I wasn't sure I'd be able to make it because of the cost of flights, but thankfully those guys at Mtubatuba are travelling in a big van/small bus and have space to take me and two others from my church (with another 6 or so going by plane) for the measly cost of only R200 - which is about £15. Durban to Harare, if you didn't know, is a very long journey by road and will take probably about 16 hours, maybe more. I'm a fan of road trips though, so it'll be nice to drive through the country and get a better feel for Southern Africa.
If you've not really noticed recently, Zimbabwe is in a right mess. It's politically unstable and economically devastated. You simply can't count on finding any working infrastructure (apart from roads and maybe a few other things) in once rich and efficient Zimbabwe. Local money is practically useless as you need suitcases of it to buy anything, and more than that it's value goes down by the hour. One of the contributing factors (and results - cause and effect are often one and the same in economics) is that if you do trade something useful like bread for money, you might find there's nothing you can spend the money on because the shops are empty. Food is scarce, as is petrol, so just going there presents a challenge. We're taking a large trailer with us, partly filled with fuel we'll need for our driving in Zimbabwe (refilling at the side of the road is going to be interesting!), partly with our stuff, and the rest filled with whatever we can take to help the church in Zim. We are literally taking stuff like sacks of maize and drums of oil - absolute staples. We also need to take all the food we're going to eat (obviously not during the fasting times!) with us, and make sure that it stays decent from the time we leave on Tuesday 6th November, to when we come back on Saturday 12th.
Prayer and Fasting is going to be great though. It'll be a really good chance to meet lots more people, get a taste of a distinctly African setting, get a taste of what God's doing across Southern Africa, and a chance to see Zim. I hope to establish some new relationships, and strengthen some existing ones with people in Zim, hopefully ones that will last well into the future.
Anyway, please pray for us particularly at this time because we're i) Going into an unstable country that's full of difficulties (both serious and not so serious) and potentially dangers, ii) Wanting to be free and able to seek God and strengthen one another and the church in Zimbabwe at this difficult time.
I look forward to telling you more on my return!
If you've not really noticed recently, Zimbabwe is in a right mess. It's politically unstable and economically devastated. You simply can't count on finding any working infrastructure (apart from roads and maybe a few other things) in once rich and efficient Zimbabwe. Local money is practically useless as you need suitcases of it to buy anything, and more than that it's value goes down by the hour. One of the contributing factors (and results - cause and effect are often one and the same in economics) is that if you do trade something useful like bread for money, you might find there's nothing you can spend the money on because the shops are empty. Food is scarce, as is petrol, so just going there presents a challenge. We're taking a large trailer with us, partly filled with fuel we'll need for our driving in Zimbabwe (refilling at the side of the road is going to be interesting!), partly with our stuff, and the rest filled with whatever we can take to help the church in Zim. We are literally taking stuff like sacks of maize and drums of oil - absolute staples. We also need to take all the food we're going to eat (obviously not during the fasting times!) with us, and make sure that it stays decent from the time we leave on Tuesday 6th November, to when we come back on Saturday 12th.
Prayer and Fasting is going to be great though. It'll be a really good chance to meet lots more people, get a taste of a distinctly African setting, get a taste of what God's doing across Southern Africa, and a chance to see Zim. I hope to establish some new relationships, and strengthen some existing ones with people in Zim, hopefully ones that will last well into the future.
Anyway, please pray for us particularly at this time because we're i) Going into an unstable country that's full of difficulties (both serious and not so serious) and potentially dangers, ii) Wanting to be free and able to seek God and strengthen one another and the church in Zimbabwe at this difficult time.
I look forward to telling you more on my return!
Wednesday 17 October 2007
Batchelor Pad
Okay, here's some pictures of my place, as promised. It's taken me a while to 1) Be around when there's some light. Being on the side of the house that gets nearly no direct sunlight and being flanked by big trees that mark off the neighbours' property, I don't really have much natural light coming in most of the time. 2) Get around to making the whole place tidy enough to take all these pictures in one go. 3) Just have some spare time in general as the last couple of weeks have been quite busy.
Anyway, presenting casa del Cocinero ('Cook's house' in
spanish):
The first picture is how you see things when you walk through my front door. There's the open plan kitchen/diner/living room area, and then the left hand door leads to the bathroom, and the right hand one to the bedroom - both of which are shown in the following pictures. The bedroom has a big sliding door should you want some ventilation, but generally better is to use the air conditioner - especially at night because otherwise you will be mauled by bugs.
The whole place isn't quite as big as my ultra wide lens has made it look, but it's a comfortable size for one person. What is the crowning glory of it though is the access to Gary's back garden and pool which I can use pretty much whenever. Take a peek!
Pretty nifty, huh? Beyond the pool it's actually the brow of a hill and the garden extends a long way further down a hill and to another flat bit. There's enough green around that you get all sorts of wildlife populating the garden, which can be a pain as much as a pleasure, but it's generally a nice touch.
Anyway, who's coming to visit now? :o)
Anyway, presenting casa del Cocinero ('Cook's house' in
spanish):
The first picture is how you see things when you walk through my front door. There's the open plan kitchen/diner/living room area, and then the left hand door leads to the bathroom, and the right hand one to the bedroom - both of which are shown in the following pictures. The bedroom has a big sliding door should you want some ventilation, but generally better is to use the air conditioner - especially at night because otherwise you will be mauled by bugs.
The whole place isn't quite as big as my ultra wide lens has made it look, but it's a comfortable size for one person. What is the crowning glory of it though is the access to Gary's back garden and pool which I can use pretty much whenever. Take a peek!
Pretty nifty, huh? Beyond the pool it's actually the brow of a hill and the garden extends a long way further down a hill and to another flat bit. There's enough green around that you get all sorts of wildlife populating the garden, which can be a pain as much as a pleasure, but it's generally a nice touch.Anyway, who's coming to visit now? :o)
Monday 15 October 2007
Get in there!
The title is first and foremost a comment about the England rugby team facing South Africa in the final's of the world cup this Saturday. People are very, very passionate about rugby here, and being an englander at this time can be bad for your health! Still, it won't stop me bragging if we do actually win the cup (again) and set the score straight on the thrashing we endured from SA in the group stages.
I've never been into rugby much, but between everyone here being so and the fact that someone's got to stick up for old Blighty, I've decided to take to it a bit more.
The title is also a bit of a description of my weekend. Saturday I had a huge braai (BBQ) while Gary and Nicky were away and had about 20 people show up - virtually all students. It was great to properly break the ice with a number of people, and when the speakers and music finally showed up we were getting a bit of a party going. I was also taught what must be the African equivalent of 70s disco moves too, which was a good laugh!
Being students most of course didn't bring anything with them. Being Africa too it's largely expected that the host will just take care of everything anyway. I bought stuff in on the basis that even if only every other person just brings a small amount there should still be a good amount to go round. Turned out that I had to go get some more meat in the end! With my home-made selection of Sticky BBQ, Citrus Thai, Italian tomato and herb, and Cajun spice to put it all in though there was plenty of flavour to be had and it would seem many were roundly impressed at my cooking! :o)
Sunday I brought a football, as promised, to church for a game with the lads I've been getting to know at church from Cato Crest (township). We had a great game in the boiling 11am sun (by which time it was already 29C!) and it only strengthened the relationship that God seems to have opened up there. What was great was that when I dropped some of them home , following another car with the others, the lead car didn't do the usual drop off at the main road but drove right into the township. I keenly followed, eager for a taste of what it's like without wandering in as a presumptuous tourist. It was very interesting to see. Most of the suburbs of Durban are quiet by London standards with very few people about and very few cars on the roads. This was a complete turnaroud - people and cars everywhere! People seemed far less surprised to see a white man in a BMW driving up than I would have expected and on the whole it seemed like a fairly normal place. The party line in SA is if you go into a township you'll be robbed, raped, and ripped apart within 20 seconds, but this didn't seem a problem at all. Ros, the girl in the other car, caught a few dodgy glances from some guys in another car as we were leaving, and I would think someone like her a lot more vulnerable in that setting, but for me it didn't seem too risky to be there. Of course, because there's nothing there except people's houses and no through route to anywhere else, you do need to have a reason to be there, and should really have some local people you're with, but in such cases it doesn't look like there's too much to worry about.
Coming back from there I was absolutely boiling and took the opportunity to plunge myself into the swimming pool when I got home (pics of the pool to follow). Finally I could see just why it was so desirable to have a pool in places like SA. It's nothing to do with swimming at all! It's all about cooling off. There's no measure to how refreshing it is to be able to just leap into the pool all in one go and just lie there when you're just boiling. Being in the tub indoors is just not the same as being outdoors in the sun and with freedom to move about in the water. Problem with an outdoor pool is that it does collect a lot of leaves, dirt, and insects however, so I got out before long and started skimming the pool while trying to avoid burning my feet on the paving.
Another place I "got in" was the sea. For weeks I've been here and either had too much to do, rubbish weather, no car, or no idea, when it's come to going to the beach. Wednesday evening to Friday morning was our church's leadership retreat for prayer, planning, and fun, and we went to a large house near the beach at a place called Salt Rock. During our free time on Thursday we went down to the beach and I tried out the waves. Though I'm not a surfer, it's still great fun to catch a good wave and swim, letting it carry you a massive distance. These things were scary though! The waves were big and the slope of the beach was steep, so the pull back from the waves was borderline dangerous! Plus it churned up all the sand so much that it was much more like getting hit by a wall of wet sand - knocking me clean over and throwing me about a couple of times. When I did manage to time it right and get a good wave where I was sure I wouldn't be swept out to sea, it was incredible to ride the surging power of the waves here. My feet soon regretted going to the beach though. The sand at this particular beach was so harsh, with massive grains that would have been classed as pebbles if any bigger. Before long I found myself laden with camera gear at another end of the beach and very much feeling it - knowing I had to walk all the way back ever increasingly in pain. When I got back there were dozens of bits of shredded skin hanging from the soles of my feet (lovely, I know) and they hurt for a couple of days. I'm sure they'll be all the tougher for it though - something I was amazed at when I was playing football with the guys, because some of them ran on hot asphalt barefoot like it was nothing!
Still waiting for my car. The date keeps rolling because of one hiccup or another, so I'm just going to wait and see if it really is tomorrow Saabine comes home. Sigh!
We had the second in our series of preaches on the poor on Sunday, which again proved inspirational and challenging. More to come on that soon.
Sorry if I've not had much chance to respond to all the emails, texts, letters, facebook posts, etc I've got. I do read them and do try to reply, but please keep sending them as it's always nice to hear from y'all. Sitting by the pool yesterday I felt so at home here, just like I would in the UK. It felt as though I should be able to walk out of the door and drive down the road to London, but unfortunately it isn't so, so please stay in touch in those ways available.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ!
Andrew/Cook/Cookie/Durf/Druff/etc
I've never been into rugby much, but between everyone here being so and the fact that someone's got to stick up for old Blighty, I've decided to take to it a bit more.
The title is also a bit of a description of my weekend. Saturday I had a huge braai (BBQ) while Gary and Nicky were away and had about 20 people show up - virtually all students. It was great to properly break the ice with a number of people, and when the speakers and music finally showed up we were getting a bit of a party going. I was also taught what must be the African equivalent of 70s disco moves too, which was a good laugh!
Being students most of course didn't bring anything with them. Being Africa too it's largely expected that the host will just take care of everything anyway. I bought stuff in on the basis that even if only every other person just brings a small amount there should still be a good amount to go round. Turned out that I had to go get some more meat in the end! With my home-made selection of Sticky BBQ, Citrus Thai, Italian tomato and herb, and Cajun spice to put it all in though there was plenty of flavour to be had and it would seem many were roundly impressed at my cooking! :o)
Sunday I brought a football, as promised, to church for a game with the lads I've been getting to know at church from Cato Crest (township). We had a great game in the boiling 11am sun (by which time it was already 29C!) and it only strengthened the relationship that God seems to have opened up there. What was great was that when I dropped some of them home , following another car with the others, the lead car didn't do the usual drop off at the main road but drove right into the township. I keenly followed, eager for a taste of what it's like without wandering in as a presumptuous tourist. It was very interesting to see. Most of the suburbs of Durban are quiet by London standards with very few people about and very few cars on the roads. This was a complete turnaroud - people and cars everywhere! People seemed far less surprised to see a white man in a BMW driving up than I would have expected and on the whole it seemed like a fairly normal place. The party line in SA is if you go into a township you'll be robbed, raped, and ripped apart within 20 seconds, but this didn't seem a problem at all. Ros, the girl in the other car, caught a few dodgy glances from some guys in another car as we were leaving, and I would think someone like her a lot more vulnerable in that setting, but for me it didn't seem too risky to be there. Of course, because there's nothing there except people's houses and no through route to anywhere else, you do need to have a reason to be there, and should really have some local people you're with, but in such cases it doesn't look like there's too much to worry about.
Coming back from there I was absolutely boiling and took the opportunity to plunge myself into the swimming pool when I got home (pics of the pool to follow). Finally I could see just why it was so desirable to have a pool in places like SA. It's nothing to do with swimming at all! It's all about cooling off. There's no measure to how refreshing it is to be able to just leap into the pool all in one go and just lie there when you're just boiling. Being in the tub indoors is just not the same as being outdoors in the sun and with freedom to move about in the water. Problem with an outdoor pool is that it does collect a lot of leaves, dirt, and insects however, so I got out before long and started skimming the pool while trying to avoid burning my feet on the paving.
Another place I "got in" was the sea. For weeks I've been here and either had too much to do, rubbish weather, no car, or no idea, when it's come to going to the beach. Wednesday evening to Friday morning was our church's leadership retreat for prayer, planning, and fun, and we went to a large house near the beach at a place called Salt Rock. During our free time on Thursday we went down to the beach and I tried out the waves. Though I'm not a surfer, it's still great fun to catch a good wave and swim, letting it carry you a massive distance. These things were scary though! The waves were big and the slope of the beach was steep, so the pull back from the waves was borderline dangerous! Plus it churned up all the sand so much that it was much more like getting hit by a wall of wet sand - knocking me clean over and throwing me about a couple of times. When I did manage to time it right and get a good wave where I was sure I wouldn't be swept out to sea, it was incredible to ride the surging power of the waves here. My feet soon regretted going to the beach though. The sand at this particular beach was so harsh, with massive grains that would have been classed as pebbles if any bigger. Before long I found myself laden with camera gear at another end of the beach and very much feeling it - knowing I had to walk all the way back ever increasingly in pain. When I got back there were dozens of bits of shredded skin hanging from the soles of my feet (lovely, I know) and they hurt for a couple of days. I'm sure they'll be all the tougher for it though - something I was amazed at when I was playing football with the guys, because some of them ran on hot asphalt barefoot like it was nothing!
Still waiting for my car. The date keeps rolling because of one hiccup or another, so I'm just going to wait and see if it really is tomorrow Saabine comes home. Sigh!
We had the second in our series of preaches on the poor on Sunday, which again proved inspirational and challenging. More to come on that soon.
Sorry if I've not had much chance to respond to all the emails, texts, letters, facebook posts, etc I've got. I do read them and do try to reply, but please keep sending them as it's always nice to hear from y'all. Sitting by the pool yesterday I felt so at home here, just like I would in the UK. It felt as though I should be able to walk out of the door and drive down the road to London, but unfortunately it isn't so, so please stay in touch in those ways available.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ!
Andrew/Cook/Cookie/Durf/Druff/etc
Wednesday 10 October 2007
'The poor don't deserve our help!'
If you've been hooked in by my title, then it's done its job. It was a phrase used by Gary Welsh as we began our preaching series on the poor (pronounced poo-er here) at Hope Church this Sunday. Now it's important to understand the context. A phrase like that is usually used by people who want to justify why they should not have to have any responsibility for the poor. However here it was an expression of the fact that help that we give is not a reflection of merit (they've not earned favour) or of duty, but of what God is like. It's not my fault I'm wealthier than many people here (I didn't cheat anyone to get it) and the Bible simply accepts the fact that there will always be some who are wealthy and some who are not, and that not necessarily a reflection of the merits of either (e.g. I happened to be born in wealthy UK, and many poor are not simply lazy or suffering consequences of something morally askew in their lives).
But saying that the poor do not deserve help does not mean the same thing as saying the poor are not worthy of help. Isaiah 58 spells out that those in need around us are also our "flesh and bone", made in the image of God as we are, and so are worth what we are worth regardless of what's in their bank account (if they even have one). Helping the needy is a very worthy thing, and we can agree much with humanitarians that stress the value of human life. However our roots must sink deeper, both because of what we know and because only in God do we find the necessary resources, compassion, motivation, and faith for otherwise self-centred people like me to "spend ourselves for the hungry" as Isaiah 58 puts it.
God justifies much of his Law in the Old Testament with the phrase, "I am the LORD." That is the bottom line - this is about Him. The same is true when God talks of helping the one who becomes poor - help them.... I am the LORD! Why this is important is because it is very much in line with the character of God to be generous/gracious, and so we follow with grace to the poor - giving what is not deserved.
It's certainly a refreshing perspective - one markedly different from the guilt employed by most human logic that only tends to produce marginal giving to satisfy conscience, if that. Generosity leaves us free to draw a line where we will stop, but more than that leaves us free to enjoy giving lavishly to bring help to those in need.
But it is all about God. That's what's been hard to explain to people who have come over from England with my friend Nim for a wedding last weekend. "So what are you doing here? Like missionary work?" The instant assumption is that humanitarian relief and development is the priority, which is something that's difficult to give a simple reply to. What I end up saying is that I have come to build the Church here in Durban, which is a community of worship to God which expresses its devotion to Jesus in many ways, including working with the poor around us as we do the whole neighbourhood.
[Funnily enough while big agencies and international governments can do some great work - particularly in disaster relief - often solutions are only temporary. Every organisation must have an entry strategy, an objecive, and an exit strategy. The Church has no exit strategy - we're a self propogating community within a community, fully conversant with the local people, local needs, local solutions, and so on. So both smart, and ongoing solutions can be found, as well as ongoing social change in an area through the Church. Effects may not be as immediate, but they can certainly be very comprehensive.]
But the primary focus is that people see, know, and love God for all his works of kindness - ultimately his gift of eternal life to rich and poor sinners alike. I tell them (when I don't get caught so off guard!), "I'm building a community of people that make the glory of God known. If anyone is deserving it is God - deserving of praise, majesty, honour, glory, dominion, and worship from all peoples for all time! A reflection of His worth is His great love, which overflows to the poor whom he cares for, delivers, and avenges.
So Hope Church Durban are looking to care for the poor already amongst our church family, and also further afield. Why? Because that's what God is like and likes to do!
Note: On Sunday 21st October Hope Church are taking up an offering to kickstart our work with the poor. Anyone wanting to donate (as an act of willing generosity and conviction that this is a good way to express that generosity) can email me for my UK bank account details (if you trust me!) and I will pass the money on myself. This money will only be used for work with the poor, not for staff salaries, etc.
Poverty is still very much the norm here, though a big enough city as built up that you could almost ignore the problem and think it small by comparison to the "norms" of the city. Working with the poor (i.e. as people who are conincidentally poor, not as a faceless needy category) is our aim, and I'm glad that the boys I mentioned the other week seem to be getting to know me more and even flocking to me on a Sunday. I hope to be able to visit them where they live sometime and I'll let you know how that develops. Please pray for me that I can be humbly used of God in this common, but easy to avoid, situation around me.
But saying that the poor do not deserve help does not mean the same thing as saying the poor are not worthy of help. Isaiah 58 spells out that those in need around us are also our "flesh and bone", made in the image of God as we are, and so are worth what we are worth regardless of what's in their bank account (if they even have one). Helping the needy is a very worthy thing, and we can agree much with humanitarians that stress the value of human life. However our roots must sink deeper, both because of what we know and because only in God do we find the necessary resources, compassion, motivation, and faith for otherwise self-centred people like me to "spend ourselves for the hungry" as Isaiah 58 puts it.
God justifies much of his Law in the Old Testament with the phrase, "I am the LORD." That is the bottom line - this is about Him. The same is true when God talks of helping the one who becomes poor - help them.... I am the LORD! Why this is important is because it is very much in line with the character of God to be generous/gracious, and so we follow with grace to the poor - giving what is not deserved.
It's certainly a refreshing perspective - one markedly different from the guilt employed by most human logic that only tends to produce marginal giving to satisfy conscience, if that. Generosity leaves us free to draw a line where we will stop, but more than that leaves us free to enjoy giving lavishly to bring help to those in need.
But it is all about God. That's what's been hard to explain to people who have come over from England with my friend Nim for a wedding last weekend. "So what are you doing here? Like missionary work?" The instant assumption is that humanitarian relief and development is the priority, which is something that's difficult to give a simple reply to. What I end up saying is that I have come to build the Church here in Durban, which is a community of worship to God which expresses its devotion to Jesus in many ways, including working with the poor around us as we do the whole neighbourhood.
[Funnily enough while big agencies and international governments can do some great work - particularly in disaster relief - often solutions are only temporary. Every organisation must have an entry strategy, an objecive, and an exit strategy. The Church has no exit strategy - we're a self propogating community within a community, fully conversant with the local people, local needs, local solutions, and so on. So both smart, and ongoing solutions can be found, as well as ongoing social change in an area through the Church. Effects may not be as immediate, but they can certainly be very comprehensive.]
But the primary focus is that people see, know, and love God for all his works of kindness - ultimately his gift of eternal life to rich and poor sinners alike. I tell them (when I don't get caught so off guard!), "I'm building a community of people that make the glory of God known. If anyone is deserving it is God - deserving of praise, majesty, honour, glory, dominion, and worship from all peoples for all time! A reflection of His worth is His great love, which overflows to the poor whom he cares for, delivers, and avenges.
So Hope Church Durban are looking to care for the poor already amongst our church family, and also further afield. Why? Because that's what God is like and likes to do!
Note: On Sunday 21st October Hope Church are taking up an offering to kickstart our work with the poor. Anyone wanting to donate (as an act of willing generosity and conviction that this is a good way to express that generosity) can email me for my UK bank account details (if you trust me!) and I will pass the money on myself. This money will only be used for work with the poor, not for staff salaries, etc.
Poverty is still very much the norm here, though a big enough city as built up that you could almost ignore the problem and think it small by comparison to the "norms" of the city. Working with the poor (i.e. as people who are conincidentally poor, not as a faceless needy category) is our aim, and I'm glad that the boys I mentioned the other week seem to be getting to know me more and even flocking to me on a Sunday. I hope to be able to visit them where they live sometime and I'll let you know how that develops. Please pray for me that I can be humbly used of God in this common, but easy to avoid, situation around me.
Friday 5 October 2007
One Just About Me
Okay, so enough of the spiritual truths from Guru Cook! Here's one just about me and the whole new experience of moving country, moving out, and anything else that comes to mind. I'll just rattle them off as I think of them.
Keep in touch, people!
- Well, the one that sort of exemplifies all the sorts of things I mean and was my example when thinking about writing this post is Nesquik - yes, Nesquik! I'm finding that suddenly I love the stuff. How have I lived without it for so long? I used to greatly enjoy it as a kid, but haven't had it for years. But, saw it in the Spar when I first got here, and I'm already over halfway through a big tub of strawberry! I think at home I never really knew whether if using up a big chunk of the milk at random would cause someone else some problems later (something I don't need to worry about here), so I never really used it on occasion, so never developed the habit. Strange, but go Nesquik!
- The way South Africans speak is just bizarre! The accent is one thing, but there's so many little phrases from putting "eh" at the end of every sentence, yet saying it with a lowered tone and not a high one like a question. It's like being in Canada! "How are you?" is actually, "How is it?", and "now" doesn't mean now! So if you say I'm going to do something "just now" that means more like "a bit later", or "at earliest convenience". If something will happen "now, now" it means very soon, but not quite yet. "Now, now, now, now..." means "right this second" as does "right now". Personally it seems people have to add more now's because "now" simply doesn't mean what it should! Grr! As South Africans would say, "Ach! Shame, man!"
- If South Africanisms are one thing, Afrikaans songs in church are something else! They are just so hard to follow. They tend to be very wordy, with slightly odd tunes, and just so unpredictable in the pronunciation. Imagine something that looks like German but has pronounciation like what would happen if someone decided to randomly change the sounds of all the english vowels around (so U sounds like E, and I like A, etc)! Zulu songs are very cool though - VERY cool!
- Cooking regularly is a new one (I can do it, but never really done it ongoingly). Cooking for one is silly as you end up using like 1/2 a clove of garlic and things! So I tend to cook for 3-4 and just use what's left for lunch the next day, or freeze stuff in my tiny freezer. Makes a better economy of time and money. It's good fun though and I'm enjoying learning new things and making some pretty tasty stuff, I might add! I'm a messy cook though. I clean up after, but during things are everywhere, and there's already a bit of splatter around! Finding ingredients in the supermarket is strange too.... things are all ordered according to some strange logic! Food is quite cheap in general though. Meat in particular is a lot cheaper than in the UK.
- I've not missed having no TV very much. It'd be nice to see a bit now and then, to be able to flick on the news, or watch the Grand Prix, or just catch the odd episode of something funny, but it's altogether a good thing just not having TV. I wonder how much I'll maintain the habit coming back to the UK.
- Insects are something else here. You can really tell that the wild world outside is a powerful one and wanting to push into every human establishment at any opporunity (e.g. monkeys jumping all over the roof at various times of the day). The ecosystem is just relentless here. So ants are around in a lot of places and I need to spray them with some stuff that'd probably be illegal in the UK! There are some nasty red suckers too - ants that are more like little spiders or maybe half a bluebottle in size. I would not like to get bitten by some of those! I chucked a millipede out of my place the other day when I found it on the floor after having a shower. There's loads of others about too that I'm sure I'll tell you more about some time. To top it all after all the rain recently we found a HUGE snail stuck to the side of the house. No kidding, this thing was 4-5ins long!
- I'm enjoying going to the gym. It's not as expensive as the UK (about half the price) so I can finally afford it. Feels good to pump some weight and to get some general fitness back. It can be a bit crowded at times, especially with poseurs on the free weights. I just need someone to spot me now.
- Last night I finally managed to make the clicks and pops of Zulu/Xhosa! You don't understand how happy I was! For days I'd been walking around sounding like Rebekah Clevely just making random noises, and then suddenly - breakthrough! It's not perfect, and my success rate is probably below 50-50, but I can do it now, and I'll be getting better. Wahey!
- Yet to meet any available young godly women :o( As ever, all the ones I start to take an interest in, or vice versa, I quickly find they're married or engaged! Grr!
Keep in touch, people!
Tuesday 2 October 2007
The never ending story
I hope to never have another day like last Monday.
Apart from the continual rain the day was going well as my friend Niemesh was over from the UK and we had met up in the Pavillion Shopping Centre with all of his group. We're walking around when the dreaded phone call came. I was advised that my gearbox had been removed (as per instructions) and examined and the gearbox bell housing (called a bell housing because it's shaped like a bell) had some cracks that meant the oil was leaking, that it had obviously been repaired before because there was clear welding, and that there was precious little way to tell how much damage (anywhere from insignificant to huge) has been done to the gears themselves inside. The recommendation was for a new gearbox, which was quoted to me as R26,000 - which is nearly £2,000! I was told that that would at least take care of some of the other parts I was looking at before, e.g. new seals, etc.
So I went down there to have a look and to get a final price. Knowing there were some other issues in mind I asked the mechanic what it would cost if all the parts that are either dead, damaged, or suspect, were replaced by Saab and using new parts. I was in for the shock of my life when the total mounted up to more than R55,000 (approx £3,850) by the time VAT was added as well! There was no question about doing that - none at all. The car simply wasn't worth that money and I only paid R35,000 for it! I was essentially looking at a car that was a dead loss for anything but spare parts!
The Saab mechanic asked, "Have you bought the car recently?" and I I told him (again) that I had, and he said that there was definite grounds to take it back and demand that my car be made roadworthy. He was confident that the dealer knew about the problem and probably put the sealant that covered it up on in the first place because it was so new. If it was deception then I could have a clear case to fight, but he said that even with it sold "as is" it's simply not allowed to be that bad. You can't sell a car that's at a fundamental level faulty. If the gearbox had broken down a couple of months from now then that's tough on me, because it may have just been on its last legs (not broken) when I bought it. But it was not - it was already broken.
So I went back to the dealer with Gary, expecting a fight for any repair or refund or replacement. If it went to a legal battle it would be a bit costly and I probably wouldn't have the case finished much before I left the country - in the meantime being without a car! To my surprise the dealer took some responsibility for it. He denied that he'd put the superglue repair on it, but accepted that it was his responsibility to fix (whether he did the dodgy work and thought I could prove it, or he genuinely didn't and was just being fair, I don't know).
Currently repairs are being arranged. Obviously just getting new parts is out of the question, but the gearbox I think is sound apart from it being leaky. He'll have it repaired by someone who'll guarantee it for a year, the clutch (which the Saab mechanic said looked quite new, but was now contaminated) will be skimmed and made clean again, and the whole thing will be put back together and I will hopefully be alright from there. There are some more repairs to be done, but they are looking like hundreds rather than thousands of pounds.
By about 3pm yesterday I was ready to go to bed! I've had to shell out for the labour from Saab, but it's well worth it for the independent evaluation of the problem. While it's not quite as straightforward as I thought it would be when I bought it, it's not looking as bad as it can be now. I'm not out of the woods yet though, so please pray that this is resolved well for me and that I get a fair deal and a car that doesn't become a drain on me throughout the year.
As I described to someone today who was just hearing the full story, everything about the car suggested best case scenario when I bought it (the bodywork, the mileage, the test drive, the service history, the good interior condition, etc). Yesterday it looked like it had moved to the worst case scenario - total loss - and today it looks like it's more like what used cars are about. Buying a car is always a gamble, but it's so rare to get a best case scenario that turns out to be so bad. I've definitely been stitched up, or should I say, "stitched in"?
Any of you that have a working car that isn't costing you an arm and a leg..... thank God for it!
Apart from the continual rain the day was going well as my friend Niemesh was over from the UK and we had met up in the Pavillion Shopping Centre with all of his group. We're walking around when the dreaded phone call came. I was advised that my gearbox had been removed (as per instructions) and examined and the gearbox bell housing (called a bell housing because it's shaped like a bell) had some cracks that meant the oil was leaking, that it had obviously been repaired before because there was clear welding, and that there was precious little way to tell how much damage (anywhere from insignificant to huge) has been done to the gears themselves inside. The recommendation was for a new gearbox, which was quoted to me as R26,000 - which is nearly £2,000! I was told that that would at least take care of some of the other parts I was looking at before, e.g. new seals, etc.
So I went down there to have a look and to get a final price. Knowing there were some other issues in mind I asked the mechanic what it would cost if all the parts that are either dead, damaged, or suspect, were replaced by Saab and using new parts. I was in for the shock of my life when the total mounted up to more than R55,000 (approx £3,850) by the time VAT was added as well! There was no question about doing that - none at all. The car simply wasn't worth that money and I only paid R35,000 for it! I was essentially looking at a car that was a dead loss for anything but spare parts!
The Saab mechanic asked, "Have you bought the car recently?" and I I told him (again) that I had, and he said that there was definite grounds to take it back and demand that my car be made roadworthy. He was confident that the dealer knew about the problem and probably put the sealant that covered it up on in the first place because it was so new. If it was deception then I could have a clear case to fight, but he said that even with it sold "as is" it's simply not allowed to be that bad. You can't sell a car that's at a fundamental level faulty. If the gearbox had broken down a couple of months from now then that's tough on me, because it may have just been on its last legs (not broken) when I bought it. But it was not - it was already broken.
So I went back to the dealer with Gary, expecting a fight for any repair or refund or replacement. If it went to a legal battle it would be a bit costly and I probably wouldn't have the case finished much before I left the country - in the meantime being without a car! To my surprise the dealer took some responsibility for it. He denied that he'd put the superglue repair on it, but accepted that it was his responsibility to fix (whether he did the dodgy work and thought I could prove it, or he genuinely didn't and was just being fair, I don't know).
Currently repairs are being arranged. Obviously just getting new parts is out of the question, but the gearbox I think is sound apart from it being leaky. He'll have it repaired by someone who'll guarantee it for a year, the clutch (which the Saab mechanic said looked quite new, but was now contaminated) will be skimmed and made clean again, and the whole thing will be put back together and I will hopefully be alright from there. There are some more repairs to be done, but they are looking like hundreds rather than thousands of pounds.
By about 3pm yesterday I was ready to go to bed! I've had to shell out for the labour from Saab, but it's well worth it for the independent evaluation of the problem. While it's not quite as straightforward as I thought it would be when I bought it, it's not looking as bad as it can be now. I'm not out of the woods yet though, so please pray that this is resolved well for me and that I get a fair deal and a car that doesn't become a drain on me throughout the year.
As I described to someone today who was just hearing the full story, everything about the car suggested best case scenario when I bought it (the bodywork, the mileage, the test drive, the service history, the good interior condition, etc). Yesterday it looked like it had moved to the worst case scenario - total loss - and today it looks like it's more like what used cars are about. Buying a car is always a gamble, but it's so rare to get a best case scenario that turns out to be so bad. I've definitely been stitched up, or should I say, "stitched in"?
Any of you that have a working car that isn't costing you an arm and a leg..... thank God for it!
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