Plagnet WEC

a book and a movie

2008-08-20T02:02:06Z

Just thought i’d take a moment to review write something about a book and a video dvd.

The dvd, i was sent for my birthday. its called “Faith like Potatos” and, set in the late 70s, is the true story of a south african farmer [Angus Buchan]. It tells the story of his life from being an angry, troubled farmer, to his encountering Jesus, and entering into a life of the miraculous. The movie was made locally, even on the real farm, and a large part of the cast are actually his children/locals. They have kept as much realism as possible. definately worth a watch, or if you arent into movies, read the book.

for a real review check out http://www.joymag.co.za/mag/3-2006/3-2006-angus.php but be warned, it contains spoilers, but maybe they make you want to watch it more. i recommend this book for anyone. even potato farmers in the middle of a drought.

It is both inspiring and faith building. definate watch. i’d never heard of him before, but having a quick google of his name has brought up many pages, so he’s obviously still going strong about God’s work.

*******************

oh and now the book. whilst at HQ a book jumped off the shelf [in the library] at me [you know how that happens sometimes] and i felt like i had to read it. Well it was one of those ‘devotional’ books. ive never been into those really. ive tried a number of times, and most of them seem to give a bible verse and then an illustration about them [usually to do with baseball, basketball or american football], or an explanation of what it meant to them or something… so i was a bit like “hmm…God…Why this one?” but i took it up with me despite my reservations.

but amazingly [thankfully] this isn’t one like the others i’d tried and got nowhere with. rather than seeking to give you an understanding of a scripture, or an illustration from someone’s life to the outplaying of the verse, this book is written, to quote, “in true prophetic style, The Highroad brings you God’s own word to your own heart…that it stimulate a hunger for a deeper appreciation of the Bible, the supreme revelation of all truth.”

Its title is On the Highroad of Surrender, by Frances J Roberts [and has a copyright from '73, so its been around for awhile, but is still relevant]. It is written prophetically, and is topical rather than verse-ical [if i can make up a word] as God speaks truth [even the hard bits] into different areas of our lives, thoughts and attitudes, as He calls us to surrender our all unto him. For example a few of the topics are “Praise transforms”,”Identity”, “Spiritual house”, “the law of plenty”, “inner calm”, “Quietness”, “Pride”, “Trust” etc.

I’m currently still reading, but am finding it inspiring, even if not all new, its bringing a freshness back into my quiet times, that has not been there for awhile, making me check my attitudes and thoughts, and drawing me ever closer into God’s heart.

So, maybe there is a devotional book for me. And here at this time, God knew enough to throw this one off the shelf at me. Thanks Lord. its just what i’ve been looking for.

so next time God throws a book at you, pick it up and have a read. Or maybe he just does it with, me, as its about the only way i get around to reading these days.

later.

PS: Oh, and ive yet to come accross a passage about american sports. ;o)

After the blur.

2008-08-20T01:12:58Z

Wow. if they werent a couple of exceptionally quick weeks. just blurred by.

Camp season is now officially over and today is my third day back in classes, although i had been staying at camp until this morning - just commuted an extra hour to/from school these last couple of days. was nice to wake up to a quick swim before heading to class. But now we are home [well i am, jess will come back later today] and [i think] here to stay for awhile.

Not sure if summer is actually over yet, but we have noticed some of the trees beginning to turn red, and we are enjoying the drop in temperature these last couple of days. its now down to a nice cool 32ish day with only 60% humidity. it does actually feel ‘cool’, though perhaps not as much as those of you enjoying the snow recently [or not enjoying]. Im just waiting for it to drop another 20 degrees.

so what has been on these last few weeks… what did i post last? ah, the holiday. well since then, we spent 2 weeks at the WEC JAPAN HQ. We were there in the role of ‘host’ for a couple of short term teams, one from Hong Kong, the other from Korea. We were also equipped with a van to play taxi for the teams. perhaps it should be noted that no-one actually lives in the HQ at the moment, although one of the japanese pastors has a house next door. HQ is in a small town called gokasho [11,000 people], and is basically in the middle of nowhere. mountians on one side, rice fields on the other. but there are a few larger towns nearby that appear to be growing still, with seemingly little in the way of churches. [i am left wondering why, if the HQ has been there for decades, there is no church in the area (yet), but i dont know why.]

at the same time we had the summer camp program running. the junior high-school camp was at HQ, so though not officially involved, it was going on around us, and we sat in on a bit of the program. then at the campsite there was both the international friendship camp and the family camp.

so we kind of bounced like a pinball between HQ, camp, different churches and the airport these last two weeks, and ended up sending the van back with an extra 1000 or so kms on the clock. It was a bit tiring, but lots of fun. the camps were great, and the two short term teams were excellent. they did some really great minstry in the churches, camps and in public. including a number of dramas, songs and even dances.

not going to say too much about the camps in this blog, that can come in another. i took lots of video and hope to one day get around to putting a bit up here for you to see. [just dont ask when].

then the camps were done. the teams were gone, and it was time to pack up HQ and head home for a day [crazily doing homework] before joining another missionary at the campsite for a couple of nights [around classes].

And now, hopefully back to normalcy once again.

Carbon Reverse

2008-08-18T19:54:00Z

I should be working towards reducing my carbon footprint. My government has a great website to help me. But I am a failure - publicly.

Problem was yesterday. I went for a cycle ride in the morning - got as far as Keighley. 54 mile round trip - bum still hurts. Then time for church (7 miles door to door from home) - couldn't face that on a saddle so I took the car.

Bad move.

We are doing a series called "Reel Spirituality" (love the subtle title Andy!) Watching a film then talking about it. Nice idea after a strenuous day - problem was the film. An Incovenient Truth - inconvenient isn't in it...

For weeks now I've been cycling to Church to reduce my carbon footprint. (And stupidly ever so subtly droppping it in conversation.)

So I'm in reverse gear carbon-wise.

Think I got away with the fact that I had to take the red (gas-guzzling 2 litre estate with a carbon footprint the size of the West Riding) Volvo. Nobody saw me slink away.

Things to Learn from Rakusei Church

2008-08-17T12:33:00Z

Today I finished my four months of indigenous (Japanese) church placement at Rakusei Church. Let me relate what I have gained from being there.

First, a sense of freedom. I have seen this in the church members, from the first moment I met them. Many are divorced and have found the church in the last few years - they are not putting up a pretense with thier lives - they have come as broken people and been genuinely healed (it seems). The older members too, including the lady who was the starting member of that church, also beam with joy and freedom. They don't worry about what (not) to wear, and what (not) to do. If our newest Christian wants to go for a fag outside, he goes for a fag outside. If the daughter of one member turns up in the shortest shorts, with the past-self-harm scars on her arms not covered, no-one bats an eyelid. I like this - it's not about rules, it's about being family together.
And I could stop there.

But second, I have learnt about joy in the Lord. The pastor, Okumura sensei (sensei means pastor or teacher in Japanese), and his wife Michiyo sensei, always beam with energy. Nothing is to much trouble for them. And when really tired, Okumra sensei just missed the night of gospel choir to rest at home. These folk aren't 'martyrs' (in the bad sense of the word), these are people who are willingly choosing to look on the joyful side of life. They are light-hearted, rather than long-faced, even though I know they've dealt with sticky counsellng situations in the church. They like to try and hang around with church members. Which leads me on to...

Third, there is a sense of community. People work long hours in Japan, so the church's weekly schedule is light. That means on Sundays people choose to spend the whole day together - worship service, eating lunch, sitting on the floor chatting, making jewelery, drinking tea. They also sometimes socialise together, like going out to see band play, or something. Gospel choir is also social and it introduces people to the church, (as in the people, although also the building), before they come to 'church' as such.

Fourth, the time is maximised. Seeing as people are busy in the week, the church's leadership meetings take place after the service and before the lunch on Sundays, (not every week, maybe monthly). The time for new individuals to study the Bible with the Pastor is also Sunday afternoon; they slip into his office to chat while everyone else is still mingling in the next room. Practices for special church events are squeezed in after gospel choir on Thursday nights. English classes (while I was there), are held after the Sunday lunch. Basically this means people don't have to travel back and forth to the church; the pastors simply make use of the time they have with people rather than askng for more. And the service times also are geared for people: the first ervice is at 7am, so that those who have to work can come before work starts. The second service is at 10.30am. And the third, at 7.30pm, for those after work. There will also be a fourth in September, at 1.30pm, of contemporary worship, for those who can't be bothered to get up before mid-day on Sundays and so aren't at present even part of church.

Fifth, multiculturism is important. We tend to think, as missionaries, that we have to become 'indigenous' to relate the gospel credibly. True, this is what mission theory has been fighting for for years, and it's a great achievement that we now all finally beleive it. But in Japan, English language is still a novelty. In short, it's cool. The new 1.30pm service wil largely be English songs, even though there wilbe no native speakers in the church, as the pastor says Japanese young people cannot connect with God singing modern songs in Japanese about God: it just doesn't go together. There might be larger questions for how we can get around that, but in the meantime, let's put on some internationaly-flavoured events to draw people in!

Sixth, you cannot please everyone. I missed one church event for personal preference of something equally/more valuable that night, and that was kinda embaraassing, but that will sometimes be a choice we have to make without always being able to justify ourselves to everyone or even those most senior.

Seventh, Japanese pastors and Christians do use some different phrases in services and when praying compared to missionaries speaking Japanese, so it's important for new foreign workers like myself to learn in a Japanese-context when possible.

Eighth, when people are asked to introduce themselves when they've come to an event for the first time, the normal thing is for that person not to say anything personal about themselves other than their name, and instead just to relate how they came to know of the church event/group, thier (positive) impressions of it, and that they'll come back again if they can. (I in contrast made the mistake of giving a 5-minute personal introduction all about myself, before I was asked to sit down!)

Ninth, Japanese people won't necessarily invite you to thier house or out for coffee, as you are in a higher position than them being in church leadership, but maybe they would gladly accept an invitation if you issued it. Sadly I discovered this too late (from one of my Korean colleagues) so have never had a coffee out with anyone there, sob sob. Although finaly after four months, two people have asked for my phone number and said to come round, smile, (& mental reminder: must go!)

Tenth, babies can sleep anyway! (Why do British peole always rush home after the service, if not five minutes before the end, to feed the baby and put him to bed?!) The church members here just feed the babies while eating lunch with (and at) the church, and then lie the baby down on a cushion and he sleeps. Further to that, the children fit in and are an integral part of the church family. And with that, here's some of the church people!

the best day

2008-08-16T10:48:03Z

Well, Geoff is away for a couple of days, so the kids and I are on our own. Having woken up this morning and feeling like making the day (Saturday) a bit more special than housework, I tried to think of something fun to do with the kids. Then the idea struck me! We would train into the city and visit the Australian Museum which has all sorts of ‘natural’ exhibits like bugs and birds and rocks and skeletons and the clincher, a dinosaur exhibit that opened permanently in March. I had heard about the dino exhibit and thought it would be fun to take the kids too and then found out as well that there is a special area in the museum for under 5’s - which both the kids are.

So, we made our way to the station for a 9:23 am train to the city and arrived at the museum by 10:30 am. What a great time we had and pretty economically as well since the kids were free and my ticket was only $12. We started with a hands on look at some taxidermic birds, several of which the kids could name, then moved on to the birds and insects behind glass. Next, the dinosaur exhibit was fantastic. The kids loved looking at the fossils, being pretend paleontologists, designing their own dinosaur on the touchscreen computer and comparing their footprints and sizes to dino ones.

We skipped out of the museum to Hyde Park for a packed picnic lunch and then back to the museum for more. ‘Kidspace’ for under 5’s was great. Lots of hands on activities and while we were there, a ‘real’ dino came wandering through the museum. The kids were a little bit nervous, but once Daniel worked out there was a person inside and it was only a costume, they were much happier around it.

We then had fun learning about Australian animals - from predators to poisonous to household to extinct. Then of course back to the dinosaurs! We also paid a visit to the gift shop where the kids were SO good. I wondered if I was nuts even taking them in there, but they behaved really well - no grabbing, screaming, tantruming. They listened really well when they asked for things and I said no. We did end up buying a little 3D dino puzzle that fits into an egg for Daniel and a dino stamp for Linnhe. By the time we left, it was 4:30! Who knew they (or I) could manage a whole day at the museum with NO dramas!

The kids even walked the whole way back to the train and back home without complaining or whinging even once. We did stop at Macca’s for some french fries to share too.

All in all, it was such a lovely day with so much fun had by all! Hopefully they will sleep in a bit tomorrow. They were certainly exhausted when we got home!