Mission In Practice Impossible

Once a week whilst studying at All Nations our tutorial groups were posed with a conundrum under the guise of Mission In Practice. There were rarely straightforward answers and more often than not no real answers at all, just plenty of discussion, some good arguments and the occassional chance to wind someone up for a laugh!

So here's one for today..

Life, Death & Cake!

Once again the weekend demonstrated what a diverse life we seem to live at the moment, and quite how many opportunities we have to participate in all walks of life and be ready with a word of encouragement, listening ear, tissue(!) etc. etc.

Puppet Master

I joined Joel in class today to help with the final stage of his puppet making. Each of the children had to design a puppet, work out what they needed, get the materials (plenty of running around for Mummy!) and then make the puppets. So today's stage was finishing off the puppets and the parents had been asked to come and help and I was the only Dad there.

Trees

We missed the National Arbor Week last week but may just have made ammends this week.

With a bit of help from my mate Rod we've just planted four indigenous trees in the garden. I love trees so it's a real privilege to be able to plant some and especially to plant indigenous trees that are in harmony with the environment.

You Get Less For Armed Robbery!

Today we celebrate our 19th wedding anniversary which is quite amazing! We keep being asked if we're doing anything special to celebrate our anniversary but to be honest it feels a bit odd as next year is a bit of a biggy being the china anniversary (20th).

Still we've got a great evening lined up as we'll be out enjoying a good meal with good friends as we celebrate Jo With The Blue Car's 40th birthday. It should be a lot of fun!

Bring on the next 19!

A few previous posts about our anniversary.

Elf n Safety

I'm not one for all the politically correct nonsense that surrounds so much of what masquerades as 'Health & Safety', particularly in places like Blighty where it's all gone way over the top!

Having said that, I do think there's a place for exercising a degree of common sense and looking at the 'scaffolding' being used by these plasterers on the house being built at the back of ours, I would suggest this might be a good opportunity for applying said common sense!

Another Fun Morning

We had a lot of fun in the Nature Reserve this morning. The highlights were watching Eli climb onto the roof of the jungle gym whilst a young mum pushed her 18 month girl in the swing. She kept looking at us and then looking at Eli as if expecting us to do something. We just chuckled. If she ever has a boy she might one day understand. She did look really shocked though when Daddy announced "Last one back to the car smells of dog poo." Joel & Eli rose to the challenge!

Is This What Jesus Told You Guys To Do?

I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the whole issue of church and what it is or what it shouldn’t be and what we as Christians should and shouldn’t be doing.

A case in point at present is the whole media circus around a tiny church of 50 and their idiotic pastor. Either he’s a marketing genius who has got himself known all around the world or he’s a lunatic. Either way there's very little of the grace of God in his interviews etc. Anyway, he’s not my main topic here and he’s already had way too much publicity so back to the question in hand.

Two things I’ve read lately have come back to bug me and the more I think on them the more I feel they are simply wrong. It took me a while to come to this conclusion because one of the comments came directly from a church leader I have massive respect for and the other came from a leader in the same church.

Learn To Earn

Yesterday we realised another dream as we were able to take 3 ladies, from the 3 different communities in which we work, to visit a local empowerment project, Learn to Earn. It is based in the largest township outside of Cape Town (around 1 million people!). Their motto is 'a hand up, not a hand out', which we love -that is the only real way to empower people.

They offer courses in sewing, cooking, woodwork, computing, graphic design and admin skills to the unemployed, asking them to contribute 5% towards the cost of the course (ie: approx £20 to £40).

Weekend

The last two weeks have been pretty much a write-off as far as I'm concerned as two weeks ago I had a bout of flu which by last Monday was over and I was starting to feel much better but then on Tuesday I got hit by something else and was feverish and in pain for most of the week. Thankfully this weekend was much more back to normal! I was really annoyed by this having got through winter with no illness to suddenly get walloped just as the season is changing. Not good!

The rest of the gang have been fine throughout, suffering only the vagaries of a very grumpy dad and husband but they seem to put up with me well.

Heroes Of The Faith - Pt 2

I first met this amazing woman almost 6 years ago and remember even then being so impressed by her. As her story began to emerge over the months in my Bible study group and home visits my respect and love for her began to grow. X grew up on a local farm where she lived humbly but happily and later married a man whom she loved dearly. Together they had four sons and, though things were very tight, lived happily as a family and enjoyed the many friends living together with them on the farm. Both X and her husband were committed Christians and taught their children Christian values and ethics as they grew.

Gods Of Rock

I had the Gods of Rock on VH1 on TV in the background for a while this afternoon and I could see Joel had one eye on it whilst doing some drawing at the table.

His attention was then fully grabbed by AC/DC's Back in Black.

When he'd finished he brought over his picture and proudly announced that he's going to get the red guitar when he's older and play like the man in his school uniform.

He makes me so proud!

Heroes Of The Faith - Pt1

One of the ladies we've got to know recently would probably be dismissed by most as just being a quiet and even timid church mouse. If we were to judge by appearances she's unremarkable and would probably just get lost in a crowd.

Thankfully, we don't judge people on appearances but rather by what we see in their actions in life. This lady is truly a hero to us!

After church on Sunday most of us trotted off home for a decent dinner, maybe some roast vicar with acidic gravy followed by the obligatory kip on the couch.

Heroes Of The Faith - Intro

I'm starting a new mini series which will run sporadically over the coming months about some of the amazing folk who I/we consider to be the real heroes of our faith.

It would be really easy to do just such a series on the likes of the amazing George Műller, Hudson Taylor, C.T. Studd or Jim Elliot to name a few that come to mind. However just about all that can be said about these heroes has been said and I'm not pretending to have any new insight into their extraordinary lives. If you're interested in the lives of some of these heroes and church history generally pop over to the Church History Blog by Lex Loizedes, it's a great read!

Cape Town Museum

We had a lot of fun today as we went into Cape Town and spent ages in the South African Museum and Planetarium.

The guy on the door gave a knowing smile as the boys shouted "DINOSAURS!" and ran off to the dinosaur gallery. Guess where we spent most of our time.

the boys were inspired to ask to go to the museum again after watching Night at the Museum 2, it's a really good fun film and certianly fired up their imaginations.

Afterwards we strolled up to Long Street which is full of great cafés and pubs and we had a cracking lunch.

Caring Through Training

Today was very special as the HOPE home based care team, prospective carers and spouses of some of our patients received customised home based care and HIV/AIDS training from Nicky Welsh. This is something that Paula has been wanting for over a year now and it has taken this long to 'pin down' Nicky and make the most of her excellent training skills!! We had loads of fun as well as refreshing (for some) our knowledge and skills base and having the ability to further customise the training for our final session next Friday.

Wounded Soldier

Eli was whisked off to the Emergency Room for the first time this afternoon as he needed three stitches in his top lip.

Initially we thought he'd fallen off his bike trying yet another daredevil stunt but it turns out Rosie (the dog) bit him. Daddy's first response was to get rid of the dog but the Dr that treated Eli reassured Mummy that this is quite a common injury and not to be too harsh on the dog.

It turns out that Rosie had just been given a bone and Eli bent down next to her to pick up a ball but Rosie thought he was going for the bone. The rest as they say is history.

Wiersbe Quote

"We have two ears and one mouth, which ought to remind us to listen more than we speak."

One of my favourite quotes from Wiersbe which I feel is particularly pertinent to those of us in church leadership. I'm convinced more leaders would at least look wise, even if they're not, if they exercised Wiersbe's advice.

2010 SA Blog Awards

Our blog has been nominated in the Best Personal Blog category of the 2010 South African Blog Awards.

This is pretty neat after 6 years of blogging, thanks to Jo for the initial nomination.

Please click on the image and cast your vote for Facing The Mountain

PS. Voting opens on 1st September closing on the 17th.

Blissful Weekend

Montagu is a little taste of heaven on earth and that is exactly what we enjoyed as a family last weekend! We have loved staying at 'Farmer Koos's' farm over the years and the boys definitely treat it like a second home.

The weather was perfect - 29 degrees in the winter! - beautiful sunny days. Joel and Eli spent the whole time outside making up adventures on the rocks which they could now climb, playing with the animals that roam freely around the farm and enjoying braai'ing and eating Dad's beef potjie!

We also enjoyed a great meal out together on Sunday night at Jam Tarts, a restaurant we have got to know. They cannot do enough to make us welcome and Joel, in particular, enjoyed his garlic prawns - which the lady knows to make, despite them not being on the menu!!!

Snowing In Africa

As we were driving home yesterday morning we were amazed by how much snow there was on the Grabouw side of the Hottentots Holland mountains. Sadly I completely forgot to take a picture of the snow until this afternoon when I was on my way into Chris Nissen to deliver the maize meal and sugar to Tiny Bubbles Créche from the boys school.

Zantedeschia

Zante..what?

Zantedeschia is the proper name for this beautiful South African flower more commonly (but wrongly) known as the Calla Lily. They say you learn something new every day and that's what I learnt today. Anyway, the point is that this beautiful flower is growing in our garden which I'm delighted about, though it seems the dog is too as she ate one of them!

Another Average Day

From what I know of most other folk serving in a foreign culture far from home, from time to time they get asked something along the lines of  "What does a typical day look like?" That's a tricky one to answer but here's a great post by Hazel on the subject: Two Days, One Life. What I also know from reading the various blogs and websites of other folk serving in a foreign culture far from home is that this is a bit of a dreaded question. In part because trying to explain running around in ever decreasing circles isn't really very edifying and telling folk that you drink tea or coffee all day whilst talking to locals isn't really deemed to be work by the good folk back at base. Added in to the mix is the need to justify to supporters why they should carry on supporting and it all becomes a bit sensitive.

I would like to pretend that I am above such things but in reality I sometimes feel the need to justify my existence just like anyone else...

Eli Learns To Skateboard

Here's a few of Eli's earliest attempts at learning to ride his skateboard. He's desperate to go to the local skatepark and judging by his progress so far it won't be long before he's there. One senses a trip to the ER might be in the offing.

It's Life Jim, But Not As We Know It

Tuesday mornings are always busy visiting mornings for Paula in Macassar. Today was no exception and a good example of why we love our work so much. No two days are ever the same and quite often we do not know what we will find when we get to people's houses. Most cannot afford to run a cellphone, so quite often we will arrive and find no-one at home because something has come up and we can't be informed - frustrating but that's life!

Wheels Coming Off

If like me you like spending a bit of time watching stuff on Youtube you may well enjoy the stuff where people get hurt. I'm particularly fond of the faceplant clips of cyclists going over the handlebars, but to be fair, I'm happy to watch just about anything that involves someone else getting hurt through their own foolishness. As the old (or perhaps more modern) adage goes; life's only funny until someone gets hurt, then it's hilarious.

Wedding Day

We were privileged to attend another very special day in the life of the church as we celebrated the wedding of the daughter of two of our cell group members.  Taswald and Chrisandre have been coming along to Grace for many months, and we have enjoyed getting to know them a little bit.  Chrisandre's parents, Chris and Veronica are very special to us and we enjoy them and their input - albeit Chris is a Chelski supporter!!

The wedding was beautiful... perhaps the simplest we have ever attended.  The pastor was 'spot on' and the bride and groom's love for one another was so evident, they adore each other!  Perhaps the loveliest part of the service was the prayer at the end for all marrieds - we all had to hold hands with our spouses - aaahhh!

Daft Drivers

As I was driving into Macassar this morning with Michael we noticed this pair of legs sticking out of the back of the lorry. At first I presumed it was a joke pair until Michael pointed out that there was a hand holding the door closed. So I passed him the camera and he got a pretty decent shot of it.

One can only wonder at why someone needs to sit and hold the door closed and marvel at his bravery (or should that be stupidity) for actually doing it.

The Good Life

I finally finished my compost bin this evening, putting the door on and covering the sides with chicken wire to make it dog and rodent proof or at least rodent resistant. I'm quite chuffed and think it turned out well, even if I do say so myself. Now I just need to get an old bit of carpet to put on top to help the composting process.

It's made from old pallets and apart from the latch and the nails for the chicken wire everything else is recycled so I can feel a bit smug about helping the environment.

Ups & Downs

I think it's fair to say that I'm not known for my administrative skills, in fact I would go so far as to say that I actively seek to avoid such unpleasantness but there are times when it is simply impossible to ignore the stack of jobs that just won't do the decent thing and go away.

This morning was a rare morning in that not only did I get a lot of the yucky admin jobs done but they seem to have been done quite well (even if I say so myself). I guess time will be the better judge of this but I'm optimistic that my efforts will stand the test.

The Blog Is Back In Town

We're back!

So here's the revamped blog in all its glory.

First things first, a MASSIVE thank you to all of you who took the time to enter the Renaming Competition. We had some great ideas but were really struck by Facing The Mountain suggested by Katie Machell.

Entries Close Soon

Well I'm very excited about the relaunch of this blog.

I've got a totally new template with some neat features in it.

I've almost got a new name, there is a clear frontrunner at present but there's still time to stick your two-penneth worth in so go on and give it a go. You can submit your ideas via any of the following: blog comment on this post, Contact Us button at top, Facebook or good old fashioned email. Now if that's not enough options you need help!

Life Is Messy

The nature of the work we're involved in is completely relational and as such it tends to be quite slow with many ups and downs. All too often the downs are more noticeable than the ups but that is the reality of many people's lives and as we get to know folk and walk with them we experience their highs and lows with them. Obviously this brings joy and sometimes heartache but we love what God has lead us to do. It's a real privilege to get to know certain folk intimately and to be there for them as they walk the narrow path with God.

Leadership Facing Up To Reality

We heard recently that our dear friend Pete Smyth (known to most as PJ) had been diagnosed with  a cancer known as Hodgkin’s lymphoma and Pete is now undergoing a six month course of chemotherapy as the Dr.'s seek to destroy the cancer.

Cancer really is the word no-one ever wants to hear and is a word that can truly crush even the bravest soul, so as I was reading Pete's Personal Blog I was really encouraged by his positive outlook on the diagnosis and prognosis.

Competition Update

Thanks for your comments, emails and encouragements.

Maybe I should clarify one issue; I have no intention of giving up on the Blog. What I am intending to do is revamp it as after 6 years of blogging it feels like time for a change.

Air Powered Car

On our last trip to the Sciencentre we got a kit for making an air powered car with a coke bottle so this afternoon I set about having some fun with the boys seeing just what this air powered car can do. As you can see from the video below the results weren't stunning although we did have some better successes later on. The main thing we found was that the harder we pumped the car the better it did on the grass.

Competition

So here's the thing; I'm bored of this blog!

I'm bored of the way it looks, I'm bored of the name (more on that in a mo'), I'm bored of the layout and I'm fed up with the lack of interaction from you our readers, assuming that anyone is actually reading this stuff given that hardly anyone ever leaves a comment.

Back To School

Today is the last day of the school holidays and we had a lot of fun with the boys as we took them to one of their new favourite places - the MTN Science Centre in Cape Town.  This is always a great fun and educational day out for the family - and they do great coffee, which is a bonus!!

We certainly have 2 very different boys, 1 is thrilled at the prospect of school re-starting tomorrow and the other is very non-plussed... no prizes for guessing who is who!!  Despite that, both are very much looking forward to seeing friends again and mum and dad are thrilled at the prospect of life returning to 'normal' again and being able to get on with work without having to dance around the other in terms of child care!

Happy Birthday!

Today Paula celebrates her birthday so to help her we all piled into a coffee shop in The Strand for lots of coffee, milkshake and cake.

It's been such a lovely day that we just had to take a stroll along the beach to ensure we all had sufficent room for the cake which seemed to work well.

Paula has been pleasantly overwhelmed by the number of sms's and phone calls from friends wishing her a happy birthday and feels particularly loved by our family at Grace!

Spain v Portugal

I had the pleasure of enjoying my last World Cup game last night and have to say it was a joy to watch the game as a neutral. Whilst I started off hoping Portugal might win it after their demolition of N.Korea, it quickly became apparent that a different Portugal team had rocked up for this game. I reckon the best I can say about them is that Spain were brilliant! Apart from Torres who's been ineffectual through most of the tournament the rest of them were great and what a pleasure to watch the likes of David Villa in the flesh. He really has been impressive in this World Cup.

The Family Of Grace

As is becoming an increasingly regular occurrence, Grace Community Church could not get the Civic Hall to meet for church this morning. Not to be put off by this, we all agreed to meet in the home of one of our members and, as one of our friends commented, you might be able to close the venue down but you can't stop God's church!!

We had an absolutely fantastic time together.The atmosphere was so free and open and everyone felt able to be vulnerable and to share needs etc. The Holy Spirit was given huge freedom to move among us and we experienced an amazingly intimate touch as God ministered amongst us.

Portugal v N.Korea

No doubt the TV and newspaper pundits have said just about all there is to say on Portugal's fantastic win over N.Korea so I'll not add to them. All I will say is that N.Korea had a reasonable first half and were somewhat unlucky not to be level at half time but that is probably academic in the face of what happened in the 2nd half.

For fear of repeating the post below I'll not say too much here, rather I'll let the pics do the talking, click the link under the last pic for the full album. Suffice to say that we had a great day which was rounded off nicely by Ronaldo et al.

Goal Fest!

Having left the house just before 9.30 and getting home at about 6.30 has made for a long day but man it was so worth it! Despite the best efforts of the rain in the morning and the fact that we got soaked we had a lot of fun and were rewarded with a stunning goal fest by the Portuguese! What a pleasure to see Ronaldo and co at the top of the game and playing for the sheer fun of it. Definitely a memory to treasure.

England v Algeria - Oh The Shame!

I love it when England play because it allows the rest of the English footballing fraternity know what it's like being a Palace fan. You have a great team with brilliant potential, you should win every game and play your opponents off the field and yet somehow you manage to make it all look like really hard work and have very little to show for your endeavours. That's what it's like being a Palace fan, but as Palace fan I got used to that a long time ago. Sadly for the rest of the England fans the reality may just be dawning.

Despite Rooney et al's best efforts to ruin our amazing evening they thankfully failed in their quest. Yes the game was a turgid affair and we made the Algerians look good but it was still an amazing vibe and the Cape Town stadium still impresses and it was great to share the evening with our mates Jo and Mark!

Toad Slobber

We're enjoying one of South Africa's many public holidays. Today is Youth Day which is a really important date in SA's history. We first became aware of this holiday whilst in Tanzania where today is celebrated as the International Day of the African Child. The date was deliberately chosen to coincide with the massacre of children during the Soweto Uprising in 1976 when on June 16th about ten thousand school children marched in a column more than half a mile long, protesting about the poor quality of their education and demanding to be taught in their own language.

Italy vs Paraguay

Just had another fantastic evening in Cape Town enjoying the World Cup spectacle. This evening I went with my mate Gary to watch the Italy v Paraguay match and we had a lot of fun. Sadly the game wasn't the best, though it was a dramatic improvement on Friday's! The best bit about the game was that both goals went in right in front of us so we were well pleased with that. Despite the game, the vibe in Cape Town and the stadium was just brilliant once again! It's a real privilege to be able to see so many games live and to soak an amazing carnival atmosphere on the streets of Cape Town.

World Cup Vibe ========<() !!!!

I'm not really sure how to begin to describe the feelings from my first ever World Cup experience, it really was a stunning event and for me, only the first of six and maybe even seven of the Cape Town games.

From having stressed about the best way to get to the game and what time to set off Michael & I decided to go with Daniel and Zelda (Daniel leads Grace Community Church) to Grand West and get the park n ride shuttle from there and it all went perfectly though a bit of a hiccup on the way home as the promised bus never materialised and we had to take the train which was interesting!
30 Jun 202012 Jun 2010

World Cup Fever

We've got a serious bout of world Cup fever in our house and the boys are really into it.

So today they had their faces painted and my English son chose the South African flag whilst my South African son chose the English flag. So which one is the traitor?

I'm now really excited as Michael will be here for 4pm and then we're off into Cape Town for the Uruguay v France match. My first ever World Cup match. Can't wait!

World Cup Ready?

So is my bakkie ready for the World Cup or not?

You decide.

Joel's Musical Debut

We're really proud of Joel and how he's suddenly got to grips with his recorder. Thanks must go to Mrs Muscat who is a great teacher and a brilliant friend! Joel's enjoying the recorder and is focused as he knows that if he does well then he'll get an electric guitar. Watch this space!

Miles For Smiles - Update

Joel and Eli were proud and thrilled to come home from school today with Certificates for Outstanding Contribution for raising so much money for Miles For Smiles!  Thank you so much to all of you who contributed and made this possible. The school have raised over £2500, which is great news for the children needing the operations. Well done everyone for your combined efforts!!

Family Bits & Bobs

Family life continues apace with the boys thirst for knowledge and new experiences seemingly insatiable, but to be honest we'd have it no other way. At a very simple level life revolves around eating, sleeping, school and riding their bikes and whilst this is not an inaccurate summary of life it's also far from the whole picture.

Father's Day

Apparently it's Father's Day soon. I personally don't have a lot of time for this given that most Dad's do considerably less around the house and for their families than the Mums do. As such I really don't think we deserve a special day to commemorate our domination of the remote control. I also think it's just another cynical ploy by the greetings card industry to ramp up their sales.

World Cup Tickets

I picked up our World Cup tickets this morning and it feels really good to be going to so many games in such a short space of time.

Joel's particularly excited as we're taking him and Eli to the Portugal v N.Korea game as his teacher has Portuguese roots and he loves his teacher!

We're just thrilled to have this amazing once in a lifetime opportunity to see some of the world's greatest football players right here in our own back yard. What a privilege!

World Cup Kick Off 2010

On Saturday Grace Community Church joined with Ukuthasa Peer Education to support their World Cup Kick Off 2010. This was an event to raise money for fixing the many broken windows in the schools in Macassar.

As a church we decided to serve coffee & donuts from a tent on the edge of the playing fields and it has to be said that our tent was brilliant! We were by far the best stall there and as a church we were well represented throughout the event and with two teams in the competition we certainly achieved our aim of raising awareness of Grace Community Church.

Eli's Latest Bike Trick

Eli's only been riding for a week without the baby wheels but he's already keen to develop some new skills on the bike.