The next chapter

So I'm off to South Africa the day after tomorrow. I'm gonna be writing the team blog so I won't be updating this one as often but when I've got the team one sorted I'll post the link.

I hope you have a great Christmas.

Season's Greetings

Hey. Hows your Christmas going so far? Finished your shopping? Been to any carol services? Sent all your Christmas cards? (I’ve massively failed on the Christmas card front this year. Not because I don’t love you and want you to have an unmerry Christmas, but because it’s so expensive to post home. How paper can cost so much to send I’ll never understand).

For me Christmas this year is a bit different. To start with its not cold. In my mind a prerequisite for  Christmas is that it’s a bit cold. It doesn’t have to snow  (it never does) but a bit of frost wouldn’t go amiss. Not gonna happen here. It’s in the twenties at the mo and it’s still raining. We spend a lot of time complaining that it’s so humid. Kinda like it probs was when Mary and Joseph trekked to Bethlehem (did you see that seamless transition from weather to seasonally relevant Bible story? The weather really is a good starting point for any conversation).

So we all know the Christmas story, so much so that you might zone out a but when they read it in carol services (or maybe that’s just me). But how well do you know the Christmas prophecies? You know, the short readings before the nativity bit gets read?

So the other day I was reading Isaiah 9 when my Christmas prophecy alarm bell was triggered (it sounds like Away in a Manger and smells like mince pies and mulled wine):

For to us a child is born, 
   to us a son is given,
   and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
   Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
   Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
 Of the greatness of his government and peace
   there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
   and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
   with justice and righteousness
   from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
   will accomplish this.

This year this scripture means more to me than just another part of the carol service. It’s a promise that I place alot of hope in. It’s the promise that injustice will end. I believe in God’s promises.

Not that I think we have no responsibility and should wait for God to fix everything. He’s put us here for a reason, one of them being that we are to bring bits of His Kingdom here on earth. I believe that we have to help those who suffer. Sure we can’t fix everything but we can make a difference, even if it’s just to one person. We can make a difference between loneliness and love. A difference between health and sickness. A difference between slavery and freedom. A difference between hunger and food. A difference in illiteracy and education. A difference between justice and injustice.

 So this year Christmas is different (I’m really trying to not sound cheesy but it’s harder than you think). This year I’m wondering about differences.

I hope that you have a Christmas filled with differences. Differences of Hope, Joy and Love.

Another Rainy Day in Auckland (Week 12)

So what have I done this week?

Clean like there’s no tomorrow (but that actually doesn’t make sense because if there was no tomorrow then you wouldn’t really bother cleaning would you?). LoveFeast. Eat like there’s no tomorrow. Say goodbye to Team Thailand (the Fellowship is broken – sad times and tears). Go see some Christmas lights. Get carried up a mountain. Shop (I finally had a legitimate reason to shop). Get stuck in traffic. Walk in the rain. And a few other things.

So I’m guessing that you’re wondering what a LoveFeast is. Sounds like some weird hippy cult thing right? Fear not, it’s just a YWAM thing. We all dressed up (not an easy task when all the clothes you have are suitable for lazing around in) and had a feast. And I mean FEAST – like in Beauty and the Beast but with less (make that no) singing household items – however we did have a boyband serenade us. The kitchen crew slaved away for hours and hours to make what was probably the best meal I’ve had in the last three months – I was so glad I was wearing a dress with no waist band. We had food, Secret Santa and awesome slideshow and video (can I say video? Sounds a bit old skool. What are you even supposed to call it?) of the last three months. It was crazy how many things we’d done that I’d forgotten about.

On to the next big thing of the week: shopping.

This was the first time I’d been proper shopping in three months. Three. Long. Months. It was a bit of a culture shock to go to an actual real life shopping centre. It was even better than what I dreamt it would be. When we first got there I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to look at every thing and go in every shop. I think my jaw dropped. To top it all off, what should have been a twenty minute journey back to the church took two hours. I’m blaming it on the rain (Team Thailand took the sun with them and its rained for the last few days). Fortunately all was not lost – as we were too late to prepare dinner (leftover vegan food) and so we went to MacDonald’s instead. Goodbye healthy vegan food, hello evil fastfood food.

So now I’m guessing that you’re wondering why I was carried up a mountain?

On Thursday our team leader (Andy) set us a challenge - we had to walk to the top of Mount Eden (an old volcano about a mile-ish away) keeping one person off the ground at all times. We also had one person who was blindfolded and another who couldn’t speak. To make it harder the blindfolded person could only be led by the one who couldn’t speak.

Just picture it: eight people walking along the road, one with someone on their back, one blindfolded and another trying to communicate with elaborate gestures. Did I mention it was raining? Well it was raining, so throw in a few umbrellas and rain coats.

I think it was a combination of the promise of ice cream if we were successful, the challenge and male pride that got us to the top. It wasn’t an easy task but it was fun. Even though I had to suffer the indignity of being carried quite a bit of the way. Why was it undignified? Just ask yourself one simple question: would the Queen do it? If she wouldn’t then clearly it’s not dignified. But then again I’m not the Queen so maybe I’m setting my standards too high.  

Health and Safety (Week 11)

Final week of lecture phase teaching. Crazy times. Great speaker (another Brit who’s moved to NZ – you tryin to tell me something God?). Great teaching. New concepts.

It feels both like we’ve been here forever and yet like time’s gone so fast since we got here.

So this week we (Team South Africa) had a health and safety briefing on how not to get HIV/mugged/shot/attacked by baboons, snakes or spiders when we’re in SA. General conclusion: we’re probs all gonna die - mugging is far more likely but death is possible. However one of our speakers mentioned that he’s never met a DTS student who died on outreach so there’s hope for us yet (o how we laughed).

The point when I realised we might die? When we were told what to do if someone tries to hi-jack the van.

The point when I realised mugging was pretty certain? When we decided that its probs best to carry some money in your pocket so that when(if) you get mugged you have something to give them.

Fun times await.

Mum, quit freaking out, I’m exaggerating for comic effect (ahem). For real though, we were only told what to do incase it happens. The chances of it happening are pretty slim if we’re safety conscious. But then someone got eaten by a shark when the team were there last year and the chances of us getting eaten by a shark are pretty slim too…

The truth though. This was the first week that I began to feel real excitement for the trip. Until this week it seemed too far away to be real. But now it’s less than two weeks away. The crazy thing is that Team Thailand leave on Wednesday – tears await.

Decisions Decisions (Week 10)

So Week Ten came and went before I even realised it. I was hoping for a nice relaxed week on the character and nature of God. I soon realised that wasn’t gonna happen. Week Eight was high energy intensity, week ten was a low energy intensity. My brain did not have the opportunity it so wanted to sit back and listen. It was a good week though. I’m too tired to write much about it. It was good, you’ll have to imagine the rest.

On Friday our subject was refugees (Justice Friday remember). Our speaker was this awesome English lady who now lives in New Zealand. She’s had one of those crazy lives that involves living in a few of the ‘-istans’ (yep, you caught me – I can’t remember which ones).

It’s estimated that there are 44 million refugees worldwide.

That’s 44 million people who, due to political instability, genocide, famine, war or persecution, have been forced to leave their homes and seek safety somewhere else. 44 million people who have had to leave all their belongings and take only what they can carry. 44 million people who have had to leave everything familiar, travel to somewhere new and start all over again.

44 million people.

That’s 11 times the population of New Zealand. 11 times. I hope I didn’t freak you out but I had no idea there were so many. Did you?

A refugee has no home to return to. Often no rights within the country they seek refuge.  And contrary to popular belief, many refugees can only afford to travel across the nearest border, not into western countries. I was ashamed to learn that western countries, either through certain action or inaction, in the past or at the present, have caused the reasons for so many people leaving their homes behind.

I found this topic a real challenge as I was confronted with my own inaction. With some topics we’ve looked at its been hard to see how I could help other than by praying and giving money to organisations that work within these areas. But we don’t have to look far to meet someone who is seeking refuge where we live.