Friday morning, 4:45 AM…my alarm goes off
reminding me it is time to take my thyroid meds. Sigh…way too much fun. It is
really cold this morning and even three cups of steaming coffee don’t help. A
warm shower does the trick and we are ready to roll.
The Diocese has provided a vehicle for our
use while we are here…equipped with an interesting anti-high-jack device. We
know how it works…or at least, we think so. Half way down the road an alarm
goes off and the car cuts out. A passer-by gives us a weary look and then just
keep on walking. I turn the car off, push down the unlock button, the alarm
stops, and the car starts again. Moving along.
The GPS does not take us the way Fr Erich
had told us to go, so we are off to an adventure on our own. Thankfully the
electronic genius takes us to where we need to be. Christ the King Anglican
Church, Mondeor. It is a large church that can easily seat 600 comfortably.
We
are bang on time and we start training a brand new batch of disciple-makers! 13
in total with one returnee and two faculty members, one from Johannesburg
Diocese and the other from Highveldt.
This group is very diverse in age and
ethnicity. They are made up of clergy and lay-folk…they are engaged and are all
participating well…in short, a great group. I am sure we will see a number of
this group go on to become key Growing the Church Faculty members.
Lunch is amazing...spicy Durban curry! YUM!
I receive the long awaited WhatsApp message
from Heyns to say they are in Amsterdam. A KLM angel bumped them up to economy
comfort and Amelia slept 10.5 out of the 11-hour flight. Praise the Lord! They
had also just heard that an extra seat had been blocked for their use in the
flight back to Washington.
4:30 PM and it is time to call it a day.
The feedback is very encouraging with some saying they have learned so much
this day. They have been challenged to take the church out into the
community…their heads nodded vigorously as we showed them from examining the
ministry of Christ Himself that a church-centred program is not the way to make
disciples. We need to go to where people are…just as Jesus did…into homes, work
places, schools, and wherever folks spend their free time. Then meet them where
they are at in life…walk with them…point them in the right direction…challenge
them to turn away from worldliness and to turn to Jesus…build them up in the
faith…and lead them on to maturity. Not rocket science as a good friend would
say…simply walking as Jesus walked.
Our homeward journey turned out to be
another adventure. The GPS decides to take us the scenic route through a rather
seedy looking, run-down area. But we are home and are well fed and ready for
bed…a few more things to do and then…zzzzzzz
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