Baptisms

We like to do things a bit differently at Grace Community Church and it's always great to mix regular Sunday fellowship with fun, laughter and lots of food. So this morning we had our service in Daniel's garden and baptised four folk in the swimming pool. It was a real privilege for me to be doing the baptisms with Mervin. We started with a time of worship before the dunkings and after the formalities the adults decamped to the rest of the garden for food whilst the kids colonised the pool.

Weekend

We're all well and enjoying a bit of warmer weather. Apparently it's going to be over 30°C tomorrow and we can't wait! winter was too long and the rain is still lingering, we had 20mm of the awful stuff on Thursday.

The good news is that we managed a night away sans enfants on Friday which was bliss. Some really good friends looked after the boys and very bravely took them camping (which involves a long story which culminates in the tent falling down at 4am!). Anyway, we had no such dramas, just a very relaxing evening and a lovely slow drive home stopping at all the farm stalls enroute. It really is a rare privilege to be able to peruse these places at leisure without being hassled for sweets or a toy.

Who Did You Vote For?

Over on the BBC News website there is an article about the US election entitled: Who voted for Obama. It makes for some very interesting reading and tells you quite a lot about modern America. One of the things that struck me from it is the fact that older whites are generally pretty scared of anything resembling change, especially if that change is represented by anyone other than an old white man.

A Brave New World

This morning I've got to express my sense of pride in the American people. By electing Obama to the presidency, they have given the Republicans a 'bloody nose' and said 'enough is enough' to Bush and his cronies. This election result also says a huge 'no' to war. Forget the history of the first black president, this result is about change and the fact that the ordinary American wants to see things change big time.

Michael

I couldn't resist taking this picture of Michael & Hayden in Chris Nissen Park yesterday. Michael was showing me how his 'extension' is coming along and Hayden really wanted to be held by Michael.

We sang Michael's praises whilst we were on mission education in June/July. He really is such a quality guy who has grown in his faith an amazing amount. I love the way so many folk in the community seek him out for advice, help and even just a chat.

Caption Competition

The weekend is just around the corner, it's Friday afternoon and you should be working but the internet has a far greater appeal. Anyway, you've ended up here, so let's have some fun.

Leave a caption for this photo in the comments bit and we'll post the best one. No swearing and nothing filthy, thank you!

Tiny Bubble Registration

We heard some really good news from Sandra at Tiny Bubble créche today. After several months of much frustration, form filling and scraping before officialdom, the créche is now officially registered.

This is great as it means Sandra and her staff can now seek some financial assistance from the education and social welfare departments. They will also be able to seek help with wages as presently they work voluntarily.

South African MP's Chair Mishap

This is SO worth watching on the BBC: South African MP's chair mishap.

Hope it brightens up your Friday and makes you laugh as much as it did me.

PS. Also available on YouTube.

CNP Update

We're in the final stages of working out exactly what we're going to be doing in Macassar with Grace Community Church as well as thinking about ways in which we can best serve the church. We're really enjoying church life again and it's great to be involved in something fresh and vibrant.

"THERE'S PROBABLY NO GOD"

I had to laugh when I saw this article on the BBC website: 'No God' slogans for city's buses. My amusement stems from three aspects of this 'advertising campaign'. Firstly, I love the use of the word 'probably'. One always needs to hedge one's bets just in case.

Farewell

Last night we officially left HCC. To a certain extent it was a mere formality and a box ticking exercise. It certainly wasn't an event we were keen to attend. Not because we'd done anything wrong but simply because we've moved on and are already seeing God at work in our lives and in Macassar and we're really excited about the future! To return to HCC and dredge up the past simply wasn't an exciting prospect.