Into Zim - Part Two

Phew! Hectic week, which I'll tell you about at some point. Anyway, I'm due to tell you all a little bit more about Zim.

When we got to the church I was soon off to my hosts' home in Harare. They were a really great couple called Spike and Josie, who, for those who know them, were actually good friends of Sabrina and Toni Bin-Ali/Wiebe! It was a bit of a weird thought being in the church where they'd spent much of their lives and to see pictures of them on the wall at my hosts' house! Of course when I arrived we couldn't see anything as it was fast getting dark and the electricty was out. That also meant that water was out too, as municipal water isn't usually reliable and electricity is needed to operate the pump that takes water out of a 20m deep bore hole nearby! Given that this was a regular occurence it was interesting to hear Josie say, "You know what? We've just got to recognise that we're living in Zimbabwe and so we need a generator"! Every man needs to be an island (self-sufficient) because you can't rely on what others will supply. After a couple more hours the fridge started buzzing away and we knew the electricity had returned! It was so interesting seeing the number of ways even these relatively well off people had to adapt to everyday living. If you've got some resources you've got the means to adapt. If you don't, you're stuck.

We were soon joined by Bertin, a leader of a number of churches in Congo, and Kenneth, a young pastor from Zambia (and later Drew, our leader at Hope Church), and we sat down for a meal. Thankfully we were in a good house (Some of the houses in Zim are just huge colonial throwbacks. This one, owned by someone else, had a front garden and porch big enough to host a 500 seat concert, I'm sure!) and up on higher ground than much of Zim so we weren't seeing any mosquitoes, so I went to sleep, albeit on a thin matress on the floor (which is better than I was expecting!) and recoved from all the long journey.

Next day we were off to the church. Our "fast" didn't really begin until 11am, so we had breakfast, including loads of the "rare" (e.g. grapes, apples, etc) fruit that had not been eaten on our journey. Zimbabwean cornflakes were on offer too, with the price tag still on it reading 1,235,000 ZMD!

With breakfast inside of us we were off to the church again. I'd seen enough that made me want to pray for this place and was keen to get into things.

As ever we started off simply worshipping God for who He is, irrespective of what is going on in the world. For the Zim guys it was amazing how they generally didn't even seem mindful of the everday annoyances and hassles and hardships that a first timer like me was noticing. These people were genuinely joyful in God. It wasn't their pick me up, they were seriously more mindful of the greatness of the Gospel than they were about life. And so we celebrated as only Africans (though Dave Devenish told us that the Russians tend to celebrate just as wildly) do with infectious fun, happiness, and dancing. Coming from England it's actually so refreshing to see people who don't just dance, but are so happy that they love to dance! The passion, the confidence, the boldness continued into prayer. We spent much of our time praying for Zim, of course, and how the guys led us was excellent. They weren't at all concerned with their own "best interest" but purely those of the Gospel. They guided us to pray from 1 Timothy 2, which calls us to pray blessing, not cursing upon all those in authority so that we may live peaceable and godly lives. This is connected to the following verse which says this is pleasing to God who desires all to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. They asked us to call on God for more peace, more justice, etc, so that the Gospel not be hindered! Indeed these Scriptures were written when there was a harsh Roman Imperial governance over them that often persecuted the Church, and similarly these Zimbabweans responded in the same spirit of humility and God-centeredness as these early believers. They recognised that all authorities are put in place by God and that all kings and rulers ultimately serve His purpose, even by rebelling against Him. Their clarity of insight was incredible - seeing right past the present difficulties to eternal priorities.

These guys didn't miss a beat and we heard many stories of how the Church was responding with great success to the problems around and giving great witness to Jesus' power to save to the uttermost. They weren't simply offering people a bright hope for when they died, but even for life. We heard of care for AIDS suffers led by a doctor in the church we were in, and how they had confidence that God would display His wisdom through the Church (Ephesians 3:10). There was a college that was being built near Bulawayo to train people in many essential skills alongside a lengthy mentoring program that really addressed some of the bigger issues with the light of God's truth. Farming God's Way was another initiative being put into practice in Zim and seeing great success at turning people from dependents into suppliers. There were strategists and other Church connections looking to link people from the aforementioned college and others with world-class markets as part of a huge strategy of growth and empowerment. As I've said before, this is not merely humanitarian either. Their vision is through and through from the Bible, seeing the world as God's world, seeing with faith the abilities God has given all people to produce wealth, etc. The reason the Gospel wasn't a tack on to an aid program was that they saw everything through the eyes of faith and were able to give faith-based answers to practical situations where no one else had anything to say! That was one of the amazing things about this church - they could see no distinction between the natural and the supernatural - all things were God's!

The Church was in fact being granted a lot of open doors and favour by people who were seeing that there was leadership, motivation, vision, and of course power backing what they did, and all in all they were making Jesus known famously. I still struggle to remember some of the things they were doing and all of their breathtaking vision, but it certainly made an impression not only on me, but on Zimbabwe. That's one of the main reasons I want to go back there - they filled me with such faith, but it's all leaking out of me. When they speak you can so tell there's something so much more than mere human strategy, but now I struggle to remember it all and so I want to get something that will leave a bit more of a permanent impression. Currently flights are about R3200, which is about £225, so that's out. Might see about another drive with some people. Maybe take a coach. Who knows?

Sam Poe, with us from the USA, brought a prophetic word from Genesis 49 for the Church in Zim.

"Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; his branches run over the wall. The archers bitterly attacked him, shot at him, and harassed him severely, yet his bow remained unmoved; his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob." (vv 22-24)

Like Joseph, the Church in Zim have been feeding much of the nation and developing strategy to help it feed itself and make use of its abundant resources. He said God, like this, was beginning to grant them more and more power to not by stopped by obstacles (walls) but to simply grow around them and envelop them with a logic-defying ability to grow (this again informed our praying about not seeking to overturn the government but to simply grow around the difficulties by God's grace). The Church in Zim is on course, having endured much they have, and are to continue, to keep their "bow" steady and continue to press into things not yet seen. More than this he felt God was pioneering something special with the mix of gifts and abilities learning in this hard place that would go beyond Zimbabwe and see their success replicated in many nations of the world also in similar need of the Kingdom of God to affect everything. Wow! God is doing something amazing in Zimbabwe, He truly is. Again, I want to see what's going on and touch just the cloak of this blessing. Like these guys, I'm not just looking for God to bless me (to be a recipient), but to become a blessing (to be a source). Indeed, that is what God promised to us - that He will bless us and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through us.

I made tonnes of friends up in Zim too. I was forward thinking enough to take a football with me so a bunch of us were kicking around during some of the breaks. It seems football is an almost universal cultural in road! It was great to catch up with people like Scott and Mbonisi and Tash while we were there too - all of whom extended invites to come back.

One of the pictures you'll see above is of part of the food offering the various delegates brought, placed next to the world map in the church. This is no gimmick. Again, we saw so many evidences here of a church with a global vision, even though the local scene is so huge. They have big plans to be sending churches - sending people to all the ends of the earth for Jesus. With all their challenges, and perhaps because of them, these guys are some of the best examples I've seen of communities of God's people on His mission.

We also prayed a lot further afield, including SA, Lesotho, Tanzania, DRC, Zambia, Malawi - all of whom were represented amongst us. Like us, many of these people had travelled for days to get here, and the commitment to simply being together is just amazing.

There were of course loads of things happening as the Spirit of God was amongst us, ministering to us in a more general way that just made this gathering inspiring and powerful to be a part of. And yet, this is nothing more than normal biblical Christianity! If only we could all get a hold of just what God has done in Christ! That's why the NT so often prays for us to have wisdom and strength to comprehend what God has done and for grace to know exactly what the expansive will of God is. If we could just get that....! I encourage you each, find someone, something, that makes you feel like you've only just begun to understand the Gospel and feed on that. Your life will never be the same!

Into Zim - Part One

I'm finally and fully back from Zim with all the connected things (see later) now resolved. First of all, praise God! You'll see as I tell you about the multitude of things that have happened in the last week that God has so helped us, is so helping the Church in Zim, and is just altogether great and worthy of praise.

In this installment I'll tell you a little about the journey there, particularly my experiences of Zimbabwe through that journey by road.

It's about 2,000km from Durban, South Africa, to Harare, Zimbabwe, which is going to take some time no matter how you go about it. We were travelling with the guys from Mtubatuba, about 2 1/2 hours drive up the coast from us, so we went the slightly long way of going to them, and from them mostly up along the coast, cutting in before Mozambique. We left at about 8:30am from Durban, though we had to go back down the road to Amanzimtoti because someone forgot their passport. Anyway, before long we were off on our way and hitting some nasty rain on the way up to Mtubatuba. By the time we were there it was in full force and much of Mtuba was a squelchy mess. While we had arrived early it seemed there wasn't any point to it, so there was a frustrating wait until we finally left at about 3pm - once more in the pouring rain. Myself, Themba, and Mandy, the Hope Church people, were actually now all travelling in a car owned by the deceased uncle of one of our church members, which we were returning to his family in Zimbabwe. It was a slight last minute twist, but on the whole it wasn't a big issue.

Driving in the remaining daylight up the N2, which at this point is a single carriageway with no lights and many trucks, was difficult. The rain spray often meant you had no chance to overtake. Every time you thought about it a car would suddenly emerge from nowhere out of the spray thrown up by the lorries. It was going to be a long trip.

Things continued mostly like that until we got to Ermelo, in Mpumalanga. We'd had some pretty crazy lightning, which at one point completely blinded us, as well as the rain, which was still coming down. We stopped in a dark garage at about 10pm and ate our dinner. Someone had lovingly made lasagne for us and then found an ingenious way to insulate it using pillow cases and polystyrene beads. All these hours later it was actually at a very nice temperature! That was one of the last nice touches we were going to get on the journey.

We settled in for the long haul and started driving once more. By now everything was dead. We often passed through towns which were reasonably lit up, but there was not a person, not a car (not even parked), not a single sign of life in sight - which is pretty eerie! When not in towns (most of the time) we were driving through countryside in the pitch black along wet single carriageways. It's a battle to stay awake, but we helped one another. Shane, the hardcore driver of the van from Mtuba in front, was driving along with plenty of haste, even with a trailer on the back. He was headed for the border and he wasn't in any mood to waste time. We followed him along another winding, dark road when suddenly he braked, swerved, and then put his hazard lights on. We couldn't see what the problem was, but we slowed down anyway. Before long we could see something in the road that looked big enough to be a problem. Themba slammed on the brakes and we skidded to a halt no more than a few feet away from....... A COW! It was a huge, light brown (if it had been dark we might not have missed it!) cow just lying down in the middle of the road facing us. It barely even blinked as we nearly turned it, and ourselves, into mincemeat. It was shocking to see how such a massive cow could only just about be seen in time, and certainly made us more cautious as we continued the journey. Almost anywhere in SA at night the combination of unfenced, unlit roads, and loads of wildlife, means you've got to be very careful when driving at night.

At about 2am I decided I needed some sleep and drifted in and out between wherever we were and the border. Our last stop in SA was at a filling station just north of Messina, Limpopo. It was now close to 4am and signs that we were near the border were evident. Every vehicle around us was stacked to overflowing with all manner of things from beds and bikes, to foodstuffs and fuel containers. Literally every piece of available space was used, with wide loads sticking out of top and sides of pick up trucks and anything else. Empty containers hung on the outsides of these wheeled masses (the vehicles generally looked smaller than what they carried) like decorations dangling from a Christmas tree. Just what kind of place were we going in to? Things like toilets had gotten worse as we got north too and in a dimly lit rest room at the service station we were met with all sorts of smells, stains, and mosquitoes breeding all over the urinals! If this was SA, what was to come?!?! As with many places in Zim I was itching to take pictures to show you all just how mad it all was, but in many of these places you barely felt safe as a normal person, let alone one waving around expensive electronics.

So on it was to the Beit Bridge border crossing. We arrived at the SA side and queued (thankfully ahead of a number of buses that started to arrive) to clear our passports for exit and to register our vehicle for return to SA later. The car we were returning had been imported on a temporary import permit into SA and we needed to present that in order to get a gate pass to be allowed to head on to Zimbabwe's immigration area. Things looked bad when the woman I was dealing with insisted that the original, not the certified copy, of the import papers be given to her. We didn't have it, we didn't know where it was, but she wanted it and implied that we might use the original for some unlawful purpose. After a little argument however she relented, and stamped our gate pass shaking her head. Although it was 4:30am and there were many people at the border, everyone was dead quiet, and the atmosphere was palpably tense. Again - what were we headed for that seemed to produce such solemnity in everyone around?

As the sun began to rise we passed a troup of babbons, seemingly emigrating to SA, as we headed on toward Zimbabwean officials. Our car was waved on, but the van was stopped for a while. We waited, and it was not going to be the only time that our being able to be seperated was going to make for nervous times. All the people who had lived in Zim were in the other vehicle, and so all their experience and knowledge was not something we wanted to be cut off from - they were our guides! After a long few minutes they came through and the clouds filtered Wednesday morning sunshine onto what looked like a post-apocalytpic border crossing. Again, I would have taken pictures, but here it would have been guaranteed trouble from the security guys, some of which walked around with AK47s. But it was mad. You saw all these vehicles bringing everything they could carry, a border post that looked like it had had no maintenance in a decade or more, broken rocks and abandoned stuff strewn all over, all sorts of people frantically trying to wave you on so they can sell you forms that are free and perhaps con you into paying them the border fees, temporary buildings for cops, and just general chaos everywhere! It looked like people were fleeing from some disaster, but in reality people were fleeing into the disaster zone. For some unknown reason we saw a man running back toward SA and another man followed and shouted, "Get him!" Immediately soldiers started running after him and soon brought the man back. What happened to him or what he did no one knows, but it was not a helpful image at this point! We got out and went into the immigration office, batting off the mosquitoes that would sneak up on you every few seconds.

Everyone told you something different. You'd fill out one form only to be told you didn't need to, be directed to the wrong person, etc, etc. With all the foodstuffs we were carrying we struggled to work out how to declare it so that each person took a share of it on their duty free allowance. We wanted no mistakes, because we knew these border patrols would take any opportunity to fine us, confiscate stuff, or worse. In the meantime the brits among us got our visas, each costing R390 (about £30). After about 2 hours we had our paperwork done and went to go through customs. We were told we needed another gate pass, which is actually a bridge toll. We had already paid it, but were given no pass. There was no use contesting that though and simply had to accept it. It's so difficult when you have no idea what to expect and when you can't trust the people who will tell you. After unloading everything from the cars for inspection (I was at this point a little more worried than I had been about all my camera gear which Shane, an ex Zimbabwean, said wouldn't be a problem) and then paying the relevant duty we loaded up and were on our way. As soon as we were clear of the border we all shouted for joy. Phew!

However now we were in Zimbabwe and the tale of ruin continued as we saw all sorts of disorder, people everywhere, broken down stuff all over, and people clearly having salvaged anything they could to get by. There was so to keep grabbing our attention that by this time I can't really remember any of the specifics of that point. Being weary from lack of sleep only intensified the feeling of uncertainty.

Our celebrations at getting over the border were short lived. Within only a few minutes we met a police check point. The van was ordered to pull over while we were ordered to drive on, once again seperating us. We decided to pull over at the next junction for Harare, from where we could still see our travelling companions. With so many desperate people about it was not really a comfortable feeling sitting and waiting. Nonetheless after about 10 minutes they were moving again and we followed them into the countryside. After another hour of so we stopped for breakfast in a large layby and found out that the other vehicle had picked up a passenger! In fact there were two - one of the police officers and his mother, who were both needing to get to a funeral! Not surprisingly the police didn't have any vehicle they could run for that, at least not where we were, and "commandeered" ours! I say not surprisingly because you could see this police check point was pretty ill equipped by the small folding table that functioned as their "desk" at the side of the road. When seeing that Mandy remarked, "This whole thing is a joke", and she wasn't wrong. Many of the police and border officials had no uniforms, or perhaps only a luminous bib with the word "police" for their uniforms. They all try to keep an apperance of formality and of their official status, but it's an attempt that doesn't work so well. What a statement of Zimbabwe though - hitchhiking police officers!

The "joke" started to get a little more serious as we went on however. On the main road from the border to Harare, the capital, we were seeing hardly any traffic. But we would pass areas where there was perhaps a couple of shops, or sometimes just a clearing, and there would be hundreds of people standing around, or lying down, or burning some wood - just waiting. Many were hoping to catch a lift, no matter how slim the odds. Others just seemed to be waiting around. When I said to my host that it seemed everyone was waiting around expecting something to change he said that was a pretty good description of Zimbabwe. Some, I'm sure, were hanging around hoping to be the first when fresh stuff/any stuff came into the near derelict shops. Where there is simply no such thing as an economy there isn't a lot for people to do but wait.

We reached Masvingo, the first "major" town on the way to Harare and the scene was much the same, only on concrete streets. People manned petrol stations that had no fuel, nor anything in the shops. If they don't the government seize the "disused" property. Everywhere there was people there was police. It would seem like their job is mainly to make sure that people carry on as normal and don't descend into rioting and looting. The empty routine does at least give people something to do. Many queued at ATMs to get cash, others stood around counting theirs (we saw a lot of people doing this in Harare especially - money is an obsession in Zim), and people walked the streets in great numbers going who knows where. One large clothes shop was open and I managed to catch a glimpse of one woman looking at something on one of the three small rails of clothes that were in the otherwise empty shop. It's just bizarre to see - shopping when there's nothing to buy, selling when there's nothing to sell, trying to go on as though things were before but being constantly shown how things have changed by the things that haven't, e.g. many petrol stations for few cars, big stores for little or no produce, etc.

At Masvingo we got pulled over again by police. We had had another stop before this, again with us in the Zim car going through and the others being detained. That time it was only a few minutes before the others caught us up. This time it seemed something was wrong. We drove on slowly thinking, "They must be on their way by now, just needing to catch up". But after a while of driving and thinking they'd show up soon we decided to pull over and wait. Some 15 minutes passed, so we reckoned that they were at least 25 minutes detained. Something was wrong. We had hardly had any mobile phone signal since being in Zim, so no chance to call them and find out what had happened. Should we turn back? Should we wait? Should we carry on? We prayed. We had enough fuel to get us back to the border (though we could not have gotten the car back across), and enough to get us to Harare, but not much to play with for looking for other people. What if we went back and they were no longer there after such a long time? We could go on to Harare, but they were the ones who knew where to go, and had the contact details of the people we would be meeting. We'd have no chance of finding our way around in Harare! So there we were, in a completely foreign land, no place we could really go to, no way to contact people, with no chance of finding anything along the way to help us. We were in a right mess and it began to get more and more tense as the minutes ticked by.

In the deathly silence we saw a cow scamble over a fence and wander into the road. A large coach started to head our way and seemed to presume to cow would keep moving. It didn't, and the coach braked and lurched to the side, but ended up slamming into the rear legs of the cow and knocking it to the floor. It got up and hobbled away, with the coach stopping to investigate. Just then our fellows came along (who thought, "Oh no! They've hit the cow!"). We got back into the car and drove like the wind, not wanting to hang around this crazy scene unfolding around us. Mandy commented that in SA a similar thing happened and people simply got out and started carving up the cow! We didn't want to stick around for perhaps more police to show up or anything else.

What had happened was that the police in Masvingo decided they'd like to try and throw their weight around. They said, "Your vehicle is only allowed to carry 8 passengers". The reply was, "Fine, we have 8 people in the vehicle!" They then continued to change their mind, reducing the number until it became clear they wouldn't get anywhere with that. After a while they started to concentrate on the trailer. Unknown to us in the other car it was only found out at the border that the trailer's paperwork didn't match up with its markings! Somehow we got through, and other police didn't look carefully enough to see a problem. But these guys were threatening fines and who knows what else. After some discussion and telling them that we were on our way to a church prayer and fasting gathering they eventually changed their minds and said, "Make sure you pray for us then", and let them go! It was so odd, and it was a reaction we got a few other times too. It made for a very anxious half hour on both sides though!

Onwards we went to Harare. We reached the outskirts and went to the house of the in-laws of one of the ex-Zimbos in the van. We in the car weren't really told what was going on, so we never quite knew what was happening. We asked and were told, "We don't know exactly where the church is!" This guy had gone to find out though, so that wasn't too bad. After a while we set off again and drove through Harare. Harare was very different from all else we'd seen. There was some evidence of decline, but it was busy, full of cars, and it almost looked like there wasn't any real problem there. It was very grey though, full of police and soldiers, and full of dried out grass. Following the guys around town we almost lost them, but eventually turned up outside a store somewhere in a busy neighbourhood. After a while we asked, "What's going on?" and were told "We're just looking for a phone book and a phone to see how to get to the church!" I bit my tongue and held back the understandable, but useless tirade of questions coming into my mind. Just another stressful element.

So driving around the grey, harsh environment of Harare, doing U turns every now and then, and having no idea when or if we'd actually arrive, you can imagine our relief when suddenly we spotted the church! It was literally at the end of a strong rainbow (I've got pics of that,as you can see!), and had flowing fountains, lush green grass, bright colours, and just a general sense that some standards were maintained. All this stood in such contrast to the city around and it was like some beautiful oasis to us. We had arrived! For the first time since getting near to the Zim border we felt like we could relax.

For this experience I'm glad we drove. Flying we would not have seen anything like as much. What it helped me to understand was the sense of continual anxiety, frustration, and uncertainty that much of Zimbabwe (and many other places) must live in all the time. Nothing could be relied on, nothing could be trusted, nothing was predictable. If you were fine with one set of police, who could say about the next. Having the official papers doesn't mean you won't find trouble with them. If something works for you at one time there's no certainty about next time (e.g. bread in the shops). If you set off on a journey, you couldn't tell what you'd find at the other end or along the way - you had to take everything you might need with you. If something broke down on your journey, what could you do about it? You're very much on your own and it feels very vulnerable. Nothing is routine, everything must be questioned, and all your plans can fall apart at any minute. It's enough to drive anyone insane, which is what makes the Church in Zim so impressive. But that's part two.....

No escape

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!

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)!

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!

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

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.