Home sweet home

Back two days in chilly Cape Town after quite a substantial stretch in the somewhat warmer and drier climates of Namibia and Zimbabwe and I’ve already got my famous lists going. Here’s my top 5 reasons why I’m happy to be home.

1.       Clean clothes

18 nights away, 6 different places to sleep, a very full schedule and a small suitcase leads to the need to have my skinny jeans and limited amount of secret socks washed farely regularly...and when you’re constantly on the move in foreign homes, the smell of Omo is a very welcome sight!

2.       Ster Kinekor

With the majority of cinemas shutting down in Zimbabwe due to the skyrocketing prices and burgeoning  piracy market, just the knowledge that I can go watch the latest Hollywood fare with popcorn and coke in hand puts a smile on my face

3.       Photo’s on facebook

As with most events these days, everything is put on mainly so that you can tag yourself in all the facebook photo’s afterwards. I particularly like the picture above cause it reminds me that popular South African band The Arrows opened for my preach last Saturday night. Doesn’t happen too often!

4.       Life Changers

The oft quoted, “absence makes the heart grow fonder” was definitely not first penned knowing that it would ring ever so true in my heart! But everytime I’m away from home base I am reminded what an incredible privilege it is to be a part of this beautiful local church here in Tableview. A church rich in resources, wealthy in community and overflowing with raw love for her King, Life Changers are a people that are truly supernatural!

5.       Planning to go again

The nations are our inheritance. The nations are OUR inheritance. I want to go again and again and again...and I want  more and more people to come with me! So start saving now...and then you'll be able to start writing your own top 5 lists!

Namibia Part One

I've been in Windhoek for just four days so far, but my penchant for making lists has already kicked in. Here's my top 4 things of interest up to this point:

1. The weather
-After 6 years in Durban's hot and sticky all year round humidity, and now three freezing cold and wet winters in Cape Town, the incredibly dry nature of Namibia has lead to a permanent blocked nose and a desperation for Nivea body lotion to keep my skin from becoming even more gaunt and wrinkled.

2. Volker and Esther Backhaus
-This couple have been married for 41 years and have lead All Nations Church here in Windhoek for +-35 years! Fresh out of bible college they took over the leadership of this local church and have since lead it from being very reserved, congregation lead and very fearful of the Holy Spirit to  where it now is a wild people who embrace the call to the nations, the Holy Spirit and an eldership lead body... and it is still pioneering new and fresh Gospel inspired initiatives. A model example of faithfulness and the oft quoted phrase, "there's no such thing as retirement in the Kingdom of God!"

3. Double morning meetings
-With the city closing down most evenings, this local church decided that growth would come with having two morning meetings instead of pursuing an evening congregation. For them this means having short and sharp services (an hour each which makes 30 minute sermons a must...yes, I did manage this. A modern day miracle!), mainly because they place a huge emphasis on the community aspect of being the church. Neither the sermon nor the worship are held as the high point of their reason for gathering on a Sunday, but each are given equal value linked with their connecting with each other after each service. Their conversations around coffee and hot chocolates were louder than the worship times!
Or is it all worship?

4. The high schools
-Have had the privilege of preaching the Gospel at two local high school assemblies the past two days. Both had the marks of being very prestigious institutions once upon a time, but now have been left largely uncared for and untended. But what the grounds lack in upkeep, the students certainly make up for in character and manners. Having to address 900 and 600 teenagers from another nation and culture is particularly daunting but the incredible amount of respect and attention I was given was almost supernatural (or maybe it was because it was the first time they'd been publicly spoken to by a red head?). But even better was their response! Many saved, and lives dramactically interrupted by the Gospel. This is what I live for!

Here for 5 more days and trusting for ever increasing fruit, deeper relationships...and to buy more moisturising cream!

Thanks for praying