(2006Year of Action) APRIL - month of CLARITY

So this year is one of ACTION and that's all cool, but APRIL is going to be a month of CLARITY, I believe. And to celebrate this I am going to spend most of it away from Leamington...

Back last summer I had some conversations, well lots of conversations, with God that pointed towards something major happening in April 2006, although God, being the Almighty omniscient and omnipresent transcendent Lord of the all the Universe, chose not to go into much detail at the time, leaving me in a trusting state of waiting for more revelation from Him...
Back then I didn't know I would be moving to Africa, I didn't know how exciting my life would be becoming, or what God would be asking me to do next in preparation for heading to the Southern Hemisphere.

So expect some spiritual blogs over the next few weeks, in between time away at Center Parcs (this weekend - hurrah!), Tywyn in Wales to eat honey ice cream with my favourite Californian surfer chick (I love Easter holidays!) , London for yet another Italian-related wedding festa, and finally off to Napoli for some real Italian sunshine.

Interestingly, as I also seem to have the hand of destruction on natural sights (Pisa 95, Assisi 97 to name but 2 natural disasters that happened in the wake of my visit), keep your eye on Mount Vesuvius, currently due to erupt again having been dormant since the 40s...
'See Napoli and die' is the favourite phrase about that part of the world. Well I have no intention of dying at the hands of any crazy neapolitan driver thank you very much...

I love it when God and I have big talks about stuff, when he gives clear and direct instructions and works miracles in my life and he's been doing a lot of that recently, which is COOL!!
The verse that's going round my head this week comes from Proverbs 29v18

'Where there is no revelation,

the people cast off restraint;

but blessed is he who keeps the law'

I think it's a warning about getting the vision straight and running directly towards it with perseverance, giving up stuff now for future wonders to come. There's not room in my head for distractions from my purpose right now (which is easy to write about and slightly more difficult to put into practice). Pray with me that I'll keep on track and for more of God's vision for this important work with AIDS orphans to develop over the coming months of preparation.

2006

Hotel Rwanda

Finally watched this on DVD this evening. It tells the true story of this hotel manager called Paul and how he sheltered many hutu and tutsi refugees during the Rwandan genocide in 1994.
As one would expect, the film is both moving and shocking, although it's only a 12 certificate so it's not as violent as it could be.

Like so many of these movies, I am reminded that people can be so horrible to each other and how race causes so many issues. It's good to think about what my response is to these kind of attocities, although I am not going to be moving to a war-zone, there will be conflicts as I live in S.Africa.

If you've read the book, you'll know that when Heather and Patrick (founders of GGA) first started taking Zulus in to their home they had trouble from some whites who lived around them. And this finally lead them to move to their current location. Some people couldn't understand why they were taking in 'black babies'... This is beyond my comprehension at the moment, how anyone could judge another on their colour. It's a deeply embedded problem that probably can't be resolved overnight. Prejudice. And we are all prejudiced to some extent, because we are all flawed human beings.

I was at a party recently here in Leamington and was introduced to some guys from S.Africa. When I told them that I was going to S.Africa soon to work with AIDS orphans, one guy's instant reaction was a rather patronising 'Why would you do that?' My reply was 'Because they need help.' But I was rather shocked at the attitude of this guy. He has a problem. I did not feel like pursuing it so didn't bother to talk more with him. Maybe sometimes that is the answer, to walk away from this ignorance and prejudice.

I get the feeling this won't be the last time I blog about such issues.

One good thing about the film though, was that it was filmed in South Africa and it is beautiful. There were scenes of lots of kids running around happy and I thought, 'That'll be me someday soon, surrounded by lots of African kids'. It's little thoughts like this that encourage me greatly. If only I could fast-forward past all the preparation time and be there now...

oh and I own the DVD of Hotel Rwanda, so if you fancy borrowing it sometime, have a word.

50th post ... on vaccinations

I've reached 50 posts already :) nice...

So, this vaccination lark... what's it all about...
I suppose I am making the most of actually having enough money to buy these incredibly expensive vaccines now before I chuck away my salary for the love of NGO work...

So far I've survived:
Hep B (injections 1 and 2 of 3)
Hep A
Typhoid
Polio
Tetanus
Diptheria
Rabies (1 and 2 of 3)
Cholera (1 of 2)

Check it out, how tough am I? And I may be getting over my fear of needles, didn't even have to lie down this last time, didn't feel faint at all ;-) progress!

Pleasures still to come:
Hep B, booster Hep A (that one's a freebie!), Rabies 3, Cholera 2,
Meningitis
Yellow Fever - for which I get a lovely certificate so I can fly in and out of places like Kenya.

In total I will have paid well over £400 for these precautions. Better to be safe than sorry. At this rate, the only vaccine I won't have got ticked in my 'I spy' vaccinations booklet is Japanese Tick Borne Encephalitis... I hope no Japanese Ticks decide to go on holiday near the Indian Ocean any time soon. Shame that one has to pay such a lot of money for these drugs when I am going to work for a charity. You'd think there'd be some sort of discount... Long live the NHS eh!

Praise God that so far I've not suffered any major problems apart from a sore arm (and thankfully only in my arm!) The worst one so far has been this week, Rabies 2 and Cholera. Probably would have been ok except I was recovering from tonsillitis which has left me totally drained... children have suffered at the hand of impatience as my arm swelled and distracted me from my usual jovial self...
I fell asleep in house group... amusing as there was a dog next to me at the time and I can blame him for the snoring noises... was supposed to be meditating on being in the throne room of God, instead I was dreaming of being in new Starbucks in Leamington with a certain person... hmm, maybe a subliminal memo to myself there.

Anyway, am hoping the tiredness improves over the weekend and I'm back to being energetic in time for another week at school. It's always hard at the end of term but this one has been particularly difficult. And I still have 2 parents' evenings to endure before then... still, am leaving half way through one of the parents' evenings for the next round of injections, so there are some advantages to getting all these shots...

'You will keep in perfect peace

her whose mind is steadfast,

because she trusts in you.'

Isaiah 26:3

Embrace

It's not often that I totally love a song on first hearing it, but last week, as I was working hard on the cross trainer, I caught a great video set in a snowy woodland with a group of blokes whose shaggy hair style could rival any funky Ridley ordinand... and that was it, total love at first sight!

But what I can't understand is how these guys can have been around for SO long and how I've not come across them before... (well I had been introduced to them at new year by an eager fan, but for some reason they hadn't stuck)

Anyway, NATURE'S LAW, amazing piano introduction and cool video, especially towards the end when the lead singer, Danny, wanders off into the snow as if he's given up and then turns around and comes running back to finish the song. Kind of Coldplay-esque. Magic.

'Embrace celebrate spring 2006 by releasing their fifth album. The journey they're on isn't about reputation or perfection. It's about romance, about adventure, about passion. Your reach should always exceed your grasp. Because otherwise what's the point? Set your sights too high and you might just reach them. '

Am I in danger of actually buying good music for a change?!?!?
Answers on a postcard, DJ Potts...

we are all involved...

'Leo Tolstoy, the Russian novelist and social critic, met a beggar one morning.
Embarrassed that he had no money to give, Tolstoy said to the beggar:
"I'm sorry, my brother, I have no money."
And he began walking away.
Barely audibly, the beggar called after him:
"Thank you."
Tolstoy turned around and told him:
"I didn't give you anything."
The beggar replied:
"But you called me brother."

Surely, this is our job, as Christians, to be a brother or sister to those who are affected by AIDS, often dying alone, abandoned by their families, or leaving behind vulnerable family members. The statistics about AIDS are horrific, but sometimes they just numb us to the individual stories behind each case. We are called to demonstrate love and compassion.
As I read this book, see below, I am struck by the way in which the church has been blind to the plight of those who need help, love and compassion. How it has been preached in many churches about AIDS being judgement from God for sin etc etc... Thankfully the tide of truth has turned and God's people are realising that it affects every type of person. In the paper this weekend, it was reported that a pastor in Kenya publically apologised for preaching against those with AIDS. But our role is one of reconciliation not judgement. To walk alongside our brothers and sisters. In GGA, some children have passed on from sicknesses, yet they have died with dignity and they haven't died alone or abandonded, but surrounded by love.
I often ponder what it will be like to be in that environment. I can't imagine what it must be like being there when/if a child loses its fight for life... it will be so tragic, and yet the rhythm of life goes on, there are so many more children who need love and acceptance. When a child dies at GGA, they sing somthing like a song about another star being born, and about that child walking with Jesus. So even through tragedy, hope continues. The Zulu word for hope is 'Themba', it's going to be a very important word in my vocabulary.

story taken from 'The Hope Factor: Engaging the church in the HIV/AIDS crisis' and excellent and challenging book that I'm sure I'll quote from again.

some information...

Thought I might put some extracts from the excellent book about GGA, to give a flavour of what I shall be involved in... Here's the first of those, it's not easy reading.

‘The shadowy impressions of two human faces appear in the front window of a nearby rondavel. Heather sees them and waves. “If you look to the left of that hut you will see two graves by the neighbouring dwelling with a large piece of roof missing on the corner, and the windows broken. I’ve just seen people in there. The water is pouring into that house. They are kids and they don’t know how to cope, how to rebuild their house. They don’t have the means, and there are no adults to show them. They are probably starving, and yet they are not even on our programme.”
She sighs: “It’s a crisis. South African society in the rural areas is imploding, but many people in other parts of the world don’t yet grasp how serious it is, and many richer people in this country don’t seem to think it’s their problem.”’
(p37 God's Golden Acre, biography of Heather Reynolds by Dale le Vack)

new hobby...

It appears I have a new hobby : RANTING...
I don't know what has come over the kids at school, they used to be a fairly decent load of kids, a bit weird, but understandably so.
Yet suddenly over the past few weeks they've turned into the spawn of satan with no reason whatsoever...
well not all of them, but a good number of them...
I am fed up of having to repeat myself 5 times before a child will turn round to look at me to hear what I'm saying, I'm fed up of having to wait for several minutes for the kids to shut up when it's obvious that all the teachers are waiting for them to be ready. I'm fed up of having whatever I say taken to pieces and quoted back at me in a mocking manner, I'm fed up of kids who know they are supposed to eat only in certain places deliberately taunting me by pretending to eat in front of me. I'm fed up with the so-called 'well brought up' little kids who think they know it all and have free run of the school....
And when I take a stand to deal with this amazing disrespect, the trustees step in to say that sometimes adults don't help the situation by provoking the children!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PROVOKING!!!!?????????
I'll show you 'provoking' if you like, Brethren, and it won't be pretty....
I left the comprehensive system to escape from yobs like these.... is nowhere safe?

If I manage to stay working for the Brethren and not leaving and sueing them for emotional abuse before the summer it will be only because of an act of extreme grace... and I'm not joking anymore

what's our focus?

Great verse that stood out this morning in church, inspiration of what we should be praying for each other... that God would fulfil HIS calling and purpose in our lives, which is going to be different for each one of us... but walking his paths are the most satisfying ones we could ever walk on.

2 Thess 1v11
‘With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfil every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.’

Oh and here's a great Zulu phrase I learnt this weekend, should be useful in dealing with kids..

Mtshele ukuthi ngithanda ukumbona

(tell her I'd like to see her)

and another one, which everyone should learn (except the 'q' is pronounced with a click!) :

Ngiyaxolisa kodwa angiqondi kahle usho ukuthini

(Sorry, but I do not understand what you are saying)

Useful.

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Advanced
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The cost of commitment part 2

Well, I've not 'blogged' for a while...
Still alive.
Still weighing up the cost of commitment.
Knew this would happen.
I just didn't think it would be so hard...
The recurring thought is that I must be SINGLE-MINDED about Africa
but distractions come left, right and centre, thick and fast and sometimes from the most unexpected sources...

YET, that is positive, as it means that the work I am going to do is
SO IMPORTANT
that it is worthy of extreme distraction from it...

If you are one who prays, i could really do with some extra prayer coverage to keep me on the right paths, not diverting off to the right or to the left, and some self-discipline in making the right and wise decisions every day... cheers!