Letter To The Editor

The following is an extract from a letter in the current 'Weekly Telegraph' and to a certain extent sums up all that is wrong with contemporary Christianity and the church:

"SIR - I am a white, British moderate Christian who never goes to church. ..." (The Weekly Telegraph Issue No. 732)

Bubbles

Today is Women's Day so we're enjoying a public holiday (SA has several more 'Bank Holidays than the UK does!) and the weather has even brightened up a little, with the rain stopping and the wind easing up. It's been great to have an extra day together and Joel has really enjoyed the extra attention. This afternoon we went to the Nature Reserve and met up briefly with some friends, Joel enjoyed playing with Sean.

Zapiro Cartoon

Ordinarily we tend to avoid politics in this Blog, but we thought this cartoon by Zapiro was quite poignant with regard to the current situation in Zimbabwe and the fact that Mugabe has approached SA for a loan. The cartoon is a spoof of a series of posters in SA published by the local tax office.

Thursday Mornings

We both run small groups on Thursday mornings and have done for a little while now. Dean leads a men's Bible Study group in Chris Nissen Park between 10.30 and 12pm whilst Paula leads a Cell Group at the church building which is intentionally cross cultural, attracting some whites and 6 ladies from CNP.

Good & Bad

Dean had an excellent afternoon on Chris Nissen although he encountered both good and bad news. Firstly, Michael told Dean that the police had arrested three men for the rape and murder of his daughter Michelle (see post: May 17). This has really encouraged Michael and he's now looking forward to going to court to see the trial.

Christine

Dina rang Dean yesterday morning in tears to tell us that her good friend Christine had died. We knew Christine reasonably well and had visited her a number of times in hospital. Christine was very open about her HIV status and was a great role model to others in CNP, she was also a lovely lady with a heart of compassion for others in CNP. When Dean first met Christine, she was looking after a man called Michael aka. Rasta, who was in the latter stages of AIDS and died shortly afterwards (see post: Oct 7th) .

Ronco's Visit

We've had a lovely week with David & Jacqueline Ronco and thought we'd post some photographs of our last day together on Sunday. We went to the Helderberg Nature Reserve after lunch and had a lovely afternoon with Joel watching the wildlife and enjoying the scenery. This morning they left to go to Mossell Bay where they will spend a week before returning to Cape Town to fly home. We've enjoyed their company and Joel has had a ball playing with david & Jacqueline!

Ronco's Visit (2)

Here are some more photos of out time in the Helderberg Nature Reserve on Sunday with David & Jacqueline.

On The Beach

We've had a lovely morning on the beach and thought you might like to see a picture of Joel with his feet buried in the sand. Today was one of the first days that we could consider going to the beach as it was a lovely day. The rain is due back tomorrow, but we're hoping it will stay dry as we're planning to go to the Nature reserve with David & Jacqueline after church.

Tyrone Update

Great news about Tyrone... he has an appointment for the 16th August at 13.30 to see the Dr and have his eye corrected! We are so pleased and as you could imagine Tyrone's family are ecstatic.

After Tyrone has had the operation we'll post 'before & after' photos so you can see the results.

Thanks for your prayers!

Ouma Sophie

This photo is of David & Jacqueline with Ouma Sophie outside her shack. As you can see the shack doesn't improve and with the recent wind and rain the little bit of waterproofing she has on the roof has been severely battered and is now almost ineffectual. 

Please pray that Ouma will see sense and return home to her family in the Eastern Cape where she has a perfectly good home and family who love her.

Paula's Cell Group

This photo is of the ladies at Paula's cell where Jacqueline was the main speaker. The photo shows the ladies enjoying tea, coffee & friendship prior to the meeting.

CNP Bible Study

This photo is of David at Dean's Thursday morning Bible study in Chris Nissen Park. This study was particularly exciting as we had 5 men which was a first. Peter came (see photo below) and so did Alfred from Nomzamo. It was great to have someone from outside CNP join us. David was also a blessing to the group and helped stimulate some of the discussion.

Arrived!

David & Jacqueline arrived safely yesterday afternoon, Praise God! Against the odds they managed to get a flight out of the UK (BA duly obliging) and arrive in Jo'burg where they had a few hours to kill before getting a connecting SAA flight to Cape Town. We’re quite amazed that they got through at all as the SAA strike is still going strong and is set to escalate as the Technical staff are on the verge of joining the industrial action and SAA's pilots are on the verge of striking, but for different reasons. As you can see from the photo, we've enjoyed a nice meal out tonight.

Photos

These 2 photos should be in with the ones above, but Blogger will only allow us to post 3 at a time. The one above is of Ben, he's a good guy who looks after himself and Dean enjoys visiting him from time to time. Ben is the one who collapsed and almost died in CNP and had it not been for Jonathon & Rachel (the visiting Dr's on Elective) he would have died. Jonathon simply moved Ben into the recovery position, a very simple procedure but it did the business!

SAA Srike

South African Airways have been on strike for about 3 days now and this has caused the airline to completely cancel all flights. This had a serious impact on Julia as she was flying SAA to Jo'burg to get a connecting flight on to Kenya, but missed the connection because of the strike and has been held up in Jo'burg since Saturday evening as a result. Julia could be stuck there until Wednesday if no seats become available on any other flights. Even if she gets to Nairobi, she still has to fly on to Kampala! Please pray that things would work out for Julia and that she manages to get home to Uganda quickly and smoothly.

Esse Quam Videre

Below is a poem from Ben Witherington. We thought it was quite good and worth sharing.

To Be, rather than to Seem
Esse Quam Videre - To Be, rather than to Seem

Our Week

Here are two photos of ourselves with Julia Downing. Julia and Paula grew up together in the village of Weald in Kent, so they've known each other for over 30 years! The bottom photo was taken 4 years ago when we last met up in Harare, Zimbabwe. The years appear to have been harshest on Dean, but we'll let you make your own minds up. Joel was in bed at the time of the photo. Julia is currently the Director of Training at the Mildmay Centre in Uganda, but was in SA to spend a week working on her PhD.

Tyrone

Dean spent most of this afternoon with Tyrone and his mother taking them to see Gavin Bingham (the eye Dr from church) at his rooms. Tyrone was excellently behaved and allowed Gavin to do what was necessary.

Goodbye To Lorraine

This morning has been a very sad, yet extremely culturally interesting one for Paula as she attended Lorraine's funeral at her home in Chris Nissen Park. Death really is just part of life and this was highlighted throughout all the proceedings. In many ways as white westerners we may have felt that some of the things that happen are disrespectful, but it was such a good reminder that death really is a natural part of life and nothing to be feared. As is customary for Cape coloured funerals, Lorraine's body was brought to the house and taken inside. The lid is taken off to reveal the face of the deceased and within seconds there is almost a rugby scrummage for people to get inside the little house to pay their last respects. People cannot wait to see the body.

Remarkable Puzzle

Here's a bit of fun for those dull moments. We will not be posting the answers, however, if you get really stuck, we'll email you the answers.

A Most Remarkable Puzzle

by Kaimi Wenger

BIBLE PUZZLE: There are 25 books of the Bible in this paragraph. Can you find them??

Lorraine

Lorraine sat outside her home in CNP. It's not a great photo of her but it it's the only one we have, so we thought it would be good to share it with you again. We're really happy that at last Lorraine has peace and is at rest. She was a deeply committed Christian so we can rejoice with her at her graduation.

Please pray for David (her husband) as he considers what to do next, particularly with regards to their daughter Devedeen, pray that he'll make the best decision for her.

Life & Death

As Dean was away all of last week I only had chance to pop in quickly to CNP on Friday (also my birthday!). I was so glad that I did as I got to see most of my cell group ladies and had good chats with them all. They had been really missing Dean, so it was great that I was able to go in.

That Was The Week That Was...

After a weeks break we're back to 'blogging'. Dean had a mixed week in Pretoria. The content of the workshop was top notch, with some excellent speakers and people that ordinarily we mortals don't get to speak to. Dean also got to visit the UNAIDS library which was excellent and enabled him to fill up on loads of resources from the UN. However, the timekeeping, communication and general organisation (or lack of it) was quite appalling at times and a source of frustration for Dean!

Guitar

Joel has recently become obsessed with guitars and particularly enjoys worship on Sundays as there are at least 3 guitarists in the worship band. Here Joel is being shown how to play by Barend. Maybe we have a future worship leader in the making.

Ups And Downs

Friday was another day of contrast for Paula in Chris Nissen. First she visited Aunty Poppy, a lovely widow and granny, known and loved by everyone in the community. She lost her husband 2 years ago and is still very very lonely. She is a wonderful woman and Paula really enjoyed chatting with her out in the sun on her 'stoop'. The great news is that she will now be free to go to Paula's cell from the end of July. This will greatly help the cell as Aunty Poppy is a keen and mature Christian, with a great command of English.

Helderberg Mountain

This is a view of the Helderberg Mountain seen from within the Nature Reserve. We are so blessed to have this right on our doorstep.

Rare Moment

Joel sitting enjoying the sunshine in the Nature Reserve, this is quite a rare moment these days!

Soaking Up Sunshine

Joel & Mummy on a bench in the Nature Reserve. The weather was spectacular today, so we made the most of it and went to the local reserve.

History In The Making!

Last night Paula was invited for the first time for tea with some ladies in CNP. She drove down at 7 pm last night to meet 5 ladies for tea and cake despite the freezing conditions. They spent the time in the house of a lady whose house had been deliberately burnt down a while back and whose court case against the perpetrator was about to draw to a close the following day. Paula was really humbled by the reception she received. The ladies simply cannot believe that she, a white woman, will drive alone to CNP at night and spend time with them. On top of this, it really dawned on her for the first time that for 3 of these ladies, this was the FIRST time since independence (10 years now!) that they had sat and had tea with a white person. They were incredibly nervous at first whilst history was being made, but soon warmed up as the conversation, cake and laughter flowed. God was so good as He allowed them to talk about being one in Christ as well as speaking plainly about the problems of gossip and dissension in such a small community.

Life In CNP

Below are some photos taken in the last few days in Chris Nissen Park, we hope you enjoy them. We feel that they give a taste of life in CNP and some of the issues people have to deal with on a daily basis. As you can see in the photos the sun is shining which has been a welcome break from the rain, Sunday was truly awful! As soon as the sun is out in winter we all pile outside to get warm! We know most of you don't believe us when we say it's cold here in winter, but this morning there was ice on my windscreen and I had to spend a few minutes scraping it off!

Free At Last

Jerome with his mum & dad. Jerome was released from prison yesterday morning after a year inside. He was so glad to be back home! Please pray for Jerome, he is basically a good lad but is easily led and has previously fallen in with a very bad crowd. Pray that he would get work so as to distract him, but also pray that he'll be strong enough to stay away from his old crowd.

Seven Leaves Utd

Seven Leaves United. These are some of the men from the football team which is mainly made up of Rasta's. We'll let you work out the significance of the name!

Many thanks to the subscribers of CP-FRIS and Neil at the Palace Echo for the shirts.

Aunty Poppy

Aunty Poppy enjoying a bit of sun. Aunty Poppy has not been well lately and she appears to have some long term health problems, but like so many folk in CNP she's not really pursuing the health service to get them sorted.

Dina & Miriam

Dina with her boss Miriam from the local ANC office.

Child-Care

It's not uncommon for older siblings to be left 'holding the baby' whilst parents are out working or otherwise engaged. This is an area of need in the community, if we had a suitable building for a pre-school, the lives of so many kids would be improved dramatically.

Chatting

Some of the CNP menfolk stopping for a chat on their way home from work. Thankfully unemployment within the community is quite low.

Playground

Kids playing in CNP. The swings are still holding out and the kids are having a ball enjoying a sunny break from the rain.

Scrapyard

Many folk in CNP seem to turn their gardens into scrap yards. This household has 3 wrecks in the garden and they're trying desperately to get one car working so they can go into business.

Live8

We've recently been asked what we think about Geldof's Live8 and the general issue of Africa, Aid & Debt Relief. These are huge areas and brief answers will always be inadequate. However, we will try to respond as briefly as possible.

Firstly, anything which moves this glorious continent toward debt free existence should not be knocked gratuitously, after all, Africa really needs all the help she can get. We fully support the principals of the 'Make Poverty History' campaign and are pleased to see Gordon Brown doing so much to champion African poverty. Equally however, Africa cannot be generalised about, especially in terms of development as the continent is huge and incredibly diverse. If you've not travelled to more than a handful of countries you can never fully grasp the diversity of this beautiful land!

Dean's Week

Dean's week was generally good, but unfortunately he was told on Thursday that he could no longer use the containers in CNP for his Men's Bible Study group. The reason given was that the key will "..never be given to one of Dina's friends." Oh dear! The petty mind games have begun again. Thankfully Dina has risen above this and is not bothered, but the men in the group are absolutely livid. Cyril went to see the person who made the comment and got a few things off his chest (well done that man!).

It Wasn't Me

Joel had a bit of a disaster at lunchtime... he discovered a pot of Sudocrem and spent quite a while in his bedroom massaging it into his scalp as well as the carpet and on the door. We tried really hard to wash it out but unfortunately the cream is waterproof and after using a whole bottle of washing-up liquid we had to resort to some fairly drastic action...

Drastic Action

As you can see, drastic actions lead to drastic consequences! Thankfully Joel has a lovely smile to compensate for the 'knuckle dragger' hairstyle. If only it was as easy to get the carpet clean.

A Day In A Million!

Thursday morning marked a one-off highlight for Paula and her mum's and grannies cell group! They all went off to the Spur (equivalent of UK Aberdeen Angus steak houses) for coffee and dessert courtesy of a wonderful gift from 2 very special people in the UK (thank you, thank you!). It was a tearjerker as 4 of us drove in to Chris Nissen to collect the ladies and children. All 15 of them were there eagerly waiting, dressed up to the nines, some even with new hair do's and everyone else wondering where they were going!!

Praying The Future

As you might have seen from the posts below we've just had Mary (our Pastoral Director) from Crosslinks stay with us for a few days. Mary's visit was a great time, as we were able to take some time out to visit some of the sites such as Cape Town, the penguins at Simon's Town and drive over Chapman's Peak. We really enjoyed her visit and it was great to have a Crosslinks visit at a time when there is no crisis (present or looming) which need sorting as was the case in Zim when Andy Lines visited!

Panorama

Panoramic view of Hout Bay seen from the road on Chapman's Peak

Chapman's Peak

Paula & Mary standing in front of Hout Bay as seen from Chapman's Peak.

Cape Town

Paula & Mary in Cape Town. Unfortunately Table Mountain was covered in cloud so we were unable to go up, however we had a great time walking around the Waterfront and then going on for a drive over Chapman's Peak.

Emyezweni

Here are some photos of Emyezweni taken on Monday morning when we popped in briefly with Mary. Crosslinks are considering the possibility of SMILE teams coming and serving at Helderberg Christian Church and Emyezweni would be an excellent place for SMILE'rs to serve.

To see more photos and learn more about Emyezweni visit Deb's SA News

Nature Reserve

Dean, Paula, Joel & Mary in Helderberg Nature Reserve. We had a lovely afternoon walking around with Joel as he chased some Bok and discovered a tortoise.

Father's Day

Joel & Dad on Father's Day.

Excited By Penguins

Joel was enthralled by the penguins and made sure that he pointed out each penguin that he saw, as you could imagine we were viewing penguins for quite a while!

Exploring The Beach

Not really sunbathing weather, but this didn't stop Joel from looking for a close encounter with the penguins. Sadly, there were none on the beach today.

Mary, Paula & Joel.

We've posted a similar picture before with our dear friends from Zimbabwe. This really is an amazing experience to get so close to the penguins.

Enjoying The View

What a stunning view! Even Joel made time to stand and enjoy it.

Pesky Penguins!

We thought this was quite amusing.

A Day Of Contrasts

Dean went to Patrick's funeral in Chris Nissen Park this morning. It was a moving service conducted by Donald, one of the community leaders. He did an excellent job and Francois our lead elder at church gave a short preach. This was great and has really helped our witness in the community. Patrick's family were deeply upset, but again Aunty Kuku barely registered any kind of emotion, we are really concerned for her.

Patrick

Patrick died at lunchtime this afternoon, having been ill over the weekend the ambulance was called this morning and took him to hospital around 11am. Dean has just been with the family to see Patrick in the morgue and to start the claim with the funeral policy. Afterwards we returned to CNP to spend some time with Aunty Kuku. She doesn't appear to have registered Patrick's death yet and to be honest her relief will probably outweigh her grief for a while, but who can blame her, she's had so much to deal with over the last year.

Life Of Contrasts

Paula had another interesting and emotionally exhausting morning in Chris Nissen on Friday. She spent quite a while with Lorraine talking about her illness, general health and the various options that she now finds herself faced with , particularly with regard to her little daughter. She is very anxious and tearful about the future for Evidine, her daughter. Lorraine is not afraid to die, she said, but she is so afraid of what will happen to Evidine. This is such a common story and yet, thank God, she does at least have wider family who will care for her.

Pirate Party

These photo's are of Joel at his friend Sean's Pirate Party. As you can see from the photos Joel had great fun even though he was significantly younger than the other children.

The rain has been pretty relentless this weekend, don't be fooled by the sun in the photos below, the rain abated for Sean's party but kicked in again afterwards with a vengeance! The rain is desperately needed and the locals are quite excited about it but somehow, being English, we just can't get excited by rain!