Do you grieve over someone who has fallen away from the faith? I do!

O CHRIST, OUR TRUE AND ONLY LIGHT

Do you know someone who has fallen away from the faith?  Do you love someone who has fallen away from the love of Jesus Christ?  I do and it causes me to grieve.  In my grief I cry out to God Almighty to steadfastly pursue my love one and gently, or not so gently, gather them back to the saving grace of our Savior. 

This hymn comforts me.  Rather than sing the words I pray the words over those I love.  Over those I grieve who have lost their way and are living in darkness.

O Christ, our true and only light, 

Enlighten those who sit in night; 

Let those afar now hear Your Voice 

And in Your fold with us rejoice.

Fill with the radiance of Your grace 

The soul now lost in error's maze; 

Enlighten those whose inmost minds 

Some dark delusion haunts and blinds.

O gently call those gone astray 

That they may find the saving way! 

Let every conscience sore oppressed 

In You find peace and heavenly rest.

Shine on the darkened and the cold; 

Recall the wand'rers to Your fold. 

Unite all those who walk apart; 

Confirm the weak and doubting heart.

That they with us may ever-more 

Such grace with wond'ring thanks adore  

And endless praise to You be giv'n 

By all Your Church in earth and heav'n.

Lutheran Service Book

Mission and Witness

839

Fill 'er up - NOT

It's a bad habit and one I need break.  When I sit in the front seat of the taxi I ALWAYS look at the gas gauge.  I don't know why... there is nothing I can do about the amount of gas in the vehicle I'm a riding as a passenger.

So here yet again, the taxi is on E.  Empty; actually below E and I couldn't help see the bright, red warning light was also on.

Never mind that Ginger and I and everyone else on the taxi needed to get to work, the driver (pictured above) stopped at the petrol station.

In South Africa there is no such thing as self-serve gas stations, oh no this country has employment opportunities of every imaginable type - most you are expected to tip the person performing the task.

So yes, one is expected to tip the guy who pumps your gas.

11.32 Rand per liter = $1.42 but remember that it takes 3.78 liters to make ONE gallon. so that's $5.36 for one gallon of gasoline.

200 Rand = $25 

Back to the employment in South Africa, they hire a ton of people to work at most everyplace.  So finding an employee willing to pose for a picture or just sitting around is easy.

It adds up quickly.

Ginger Taff my ministry partner waits in the taxi with the other ladies.

We got our petrol and we are ready to roll.

Never in my daily commute in taxis have I been in one with a full gas tank.  Never in all the times we have stopped to fill up for petrol has the driver put anymore than a few hundred Rand into the tank.

Never will I hear the words... fill 'er up.

Lazy Zeal

Reading! How important is reading?  

Jesus!  How important is Jesus?

The answer is VERY to both questions.  Each week I have the humble privilege to pair these two crucial elements in our lives at Ntshongweni Primary school Tuesdays at 1400 and at Charles Primary, Wednesday at 0730 

But it's winter here in South Africa and I've been fighting a cold for over a month.

So, I got lazy and instead of reading to the 5th grade classroom - I brought in Christian word-find sheets and new, sharp pencils.

and if you look for it as for silver
    and search for it as for hidden treasure, 
 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
    and find the knowledge of God.

Proverbs 2:4-5

Each week the school's assistant principal ushers my ministry partner Ginger and I to different classrooms.

Typically, the classrooms can have between 40 and 50 students.

This day I had a mere 35 students.  

The teachers are thrilled to have us, mostly because they leave the room.  

So, here I am alone with the throng with little to no Zulu under my belt and them with their emerging although limited English.

I paired the class into three's and gave each group one WORD FIND sheet and one pencil.  

They were beyond excited and knew exactly how to look to find the listed words.

The WORD FIND sheets were from a Christian book.

Psalm 33:4
For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.

Any which way to work on the Word-find.

Hey, this is fun!

Students outside of our classroom waited to come inside... sorry buddy.

Interesting to see who has an August birthday.  Happy birthday Mthobisi & Lwazi.

We all just love posing for pictures - cheese.

Don't break any rules.  Notice #14.  When I walked in the entire class stood to their feet and said in unison, "Hello Teacher."

Chalk boards and real chalk.  In the office are the boxes of chalk.  Notice that there is not a desk for the teacher nor anyplace for the teacher to keep anything.  No books, no pencils, no computers just an American missionary bring the Word of God to these precious children.

Sing the National Anthem

  

Bible Camp is held at the Lutheran Church in Ntshongweni every time there is a break in the school year; which is four time though out the calendar year.  June 25 - 29 happen to be the winter break and thus as a missionary serving in this place provided a week of Bible stories, music, games, crafts and the all important snack.

Our theme for this week of fun was John 3:16 and using the Olympic color rings explained the salvation story.

Monday began with BLACK and our sins.

Tuesday continued with RED and the Blood of Jesus Christ shed for us

Wednesday was BLUE and the waters of our baptism

Thursday was YELLOW and heaven our eternal home

And Friday ended with GREEN - growing in Christ.

All this to say that was I was explaining the Olympics and how it works... since most of the children of this township had no earthly clue what the Olympics were!  With no television they had never seen any of the games played.  I explained that when the athletic won a metal they are given their prize, their country's flag is raised and their national anthem is sung.

Suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere, the children bursted out singing their national anthem.  Now I wanted to cry.  It was the most beautiful sound I had ever hear.  The Zulu's sing with amazing harmony and richness make any old song seem magnificent.  I realized that I'm not positive what or actually which song is the American national anthem and I certainly realize that I could never sing it unaccompanied and in perfect pitch - as an adult nor as a child.


Here are the words and an explanation of the South African National Anthem. 

Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika

Maluphakanyisw' uphondo lwayo,Yizwa imithandazo yethu,Nkosi sikelela, thina lusapho lwayo.

Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso,

O fedise dintwa le matshwenyeho,O se boloke, O se boloke setjhaba sa heso,Setjhaba sa South Afrika – South Afrika.

Uit die blou van onse hemel,

Uit die diepte van ons see,

                                       Oor ons ewige gebergtes,Waar die kranse antwoord gee,

Sounds the call to come together,

                           And united we shall stand,Let us live and strive for freedom,In South Africa our land.

Translation

The isiXhosa and isiZulu of the first stanza, the Sesotho of the second stanza and the Afrikaans of the third stanza translate into English as follows:

Lord, bless Africa
May her spirit rise high up
Hear thou our prayers
Lord bless us.
Lord, bless Africa
Banish wars and strife
Lord, bless our nation
Of South Africa.
Ringing out from our blue heavens
From our deep seas breaking round
Over everlasting mountains
Where the echoing crags resound …

History: two anthems into one

Before South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994, the country had two anthems – an official and an unofficial one. The official anthem wasDie Stem, in EnglishThe Call of South Africa. The unofficial anthem,Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika, was a symbol of independence and resistance to apartheid, sung by the majority of the population and at all anti-apartheid rallies and gatherings.

In the official anthem of the new South Africa, the two anthems merge into one.

Die Stem van Suid Afrika (The Call of South Africa)
Die Stem van Suid Afrikawas originally a poem, written by CJ Langenhoven in May 1918. The music was composed by the Reverend ML de Villiers in 1921. At the time, the South African Broadcasting Corporation played bothGod save the King and Die Stemto close their daily radio broadcasts, and so the public became familiar with the Afrikaans anthem.
Die Stemwas first sung publicly at the official hoisting of the national flag in Cape Town on 31 May 1928, but it was not until 2 May 1957 that the government accepted it as the official national anthem. In 1962 the English version,The Call of South Africa, was accepted for official use.

Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika
Nkosi was composed in 1897 by Enoch Sontonga, a Methodist mission school teacher. The words of the first stanza were originally written in isiXhosa as a hymn. Seven additional stanzas in isiXhoza were later added by the poet Samuel Mqhayi. A Sesotho version was published by Moses Mphahlele in 1942.

Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrikawas popularised at concerts held in Johannesburg by Reverend JL Dube's Ohlange Zulu Choir. It became a popular church hymn that was later adopted as an anthem at political meetings, sung as an act of defiance.

The first stanza is generally sung in isiXhosa or isiZulu, followed by the Sesotho version. Apparently there is no standard version or translations ofNkosi, and the words may vary from place to place and from occasion to occasion.
I certainly hope that was the 2012 Olympics are set to begin that the beautiful primary colored flag of this magnificent country is raised for the Gold winner and this proud anthem is sung!

Hot Chocolate

	Chocolate. There are few foods that people feel as passionate about -- a passion that goes beyond a love for the "sweetness" of most candies or desserts: after all, few people crave caramel, whipped cream, or bubble gum. Chocolate is, well, different. For the true chocoholic, just thinking about chocolate can evoke a pleasurable response. You may want to grab a bar or make a nice cup of hot cocoa before you begin exploring here.

June 23, 2012 Reed Lessing and I visited this Belgian Chocolate and Coffee Shop in the Midlands Meander where he bought me a very special treat. 

My treat was something I've never seen before ... a hunk of milk chocolate on the end of  a stick. It was winter that day in June when my friend bought my gift.

 And while it was cold in late June, today it's 23 July and the dead middle of a freezing winter.

Our flat, nor any other dwelling has central heat so when it's cold outside... it's cold inside.   Very cold.

So this wonderful sweet treat was marvelously fun and delicious on this dead center - middle of winter night whilst watching one of my favorite television shows.

Can't see the steam rising from the hot mug of milk... chocolate is waiting patiently.

In dives the block of chocolate and begins to melt.

Specks of sweetness begin to appear and the yummy begins.

Getting smaller and the milk is getting darker.

Tiny

licking the goodness - self portrait.

Wearing long underwear and a flannel shirt and wrapped in a wool blanket, drinking my warm, sweet bedtime snack.