“Why did you take you so long to get here?”
Fr Lazarus Ngube looked at me enquiringly.
It had taken us longer than usual to get to
Windhoek as we had wanted to first visit Fr Martin Kauna in the isolated
coastal town of Luderitz…
So we had taken the long way round through
Sendelingsdrif (Missionary’s Fjord) where we were floated across the Orange (or
Gariep) River from South Africa to Namibia. This is a harsh and rugged
landscape, but because of the generosity of our partners in the US, we had what
we fondly call “The Godmobile” (thanks Jim Bannister for the name!), a Mahindra
Scorpio 4 wheel drive SUV…and she was at her best on the most challenging
roads, whether rocks and boulders or really thick sand. One of the things I
like best about the Godmobile is that she “purrs” when in 4 wheel drive.
So, it had taken us four days to get to
Windhoek instead of two…plus I was presiding over a wedding in the stunning
Kalahari dunes. My cousin’s daughter had asked if I would consider officiating
when we saw them at her grandmother, my aunt’s funeral last December. What an
honour! Anib Lodge was the location…very close to where my cousin and I grew
up…so while we made new memories we also remembered old ones.
Four days later, we started the training at
St Michael’s Anglican Church in Katatura…
But I knew that travel time was not what Fr
Lazarus was taking about. He was talking about the disciple making training we
call Strategy. The small group of four, Fr Lazarus, Fr Immanuel, Fr Paulus, and
sister Eunice (we also had a pre-med student the first day by the name of Fillemon)
all agreed that this material was what they had been waiting for a long time. Following
Bishop Martin Breytenbach’s lead, we took three days to complete the training
instead of two. It is such a huge paradigm shift from the maintenance method
(or attractional model) to the missional method (or disciple making model) that
one has to allow time for questions, discussions, and reflection.
At the end of three wonderful days, we
decided we needed to start making plans to return next year, but not only for
three days in Windhoek! Because of the vast distance and the great expense of
getting folks together in one place for training, we thought it best if we
travelled throughout the length and breadth of the country, training in as many
areas as possible. Such a feat would take about three months…but it would be
well worth the effort!
We also visited the smallest Anglican Cathedral
in the world…St George the Martyr in Windhoek…that also happens to be the
church where I was baptised back in 1962! Apparently the font had been donated
to St Michael’s a few years ago…but we didn’t know that until we had gone. Sigh…next
time.
We spent two more days with my dear cousin
and her husband at their lovely retreat close to Rehoboth. It was a good time for
us to rest and for Louise to recover from a very nasty tummy ailment.
We returned to South Africa to find that
our Lord was answering our many prayers for rain! The level of one dam went
from 4% to 40% overnight! We have yet to see our Theewaterkloof dam, but we
have heard that it is significantly fuller than when we last saw it two weeks
ago! Praise the Lord with us for His grace and mercy!
God willing, Louise and I will leave for
Ethiopia and Egypt this Friday. We will be attending the first graduation of
the College we started four years ago where I will deliver the main speech. We
will also be training students, local priests, and staff in both Strategy and
Foundations while there. And I will also be presiding over the blessing of the
marriage of one of our former students! We will then move on to Cairo where we
will meet up with so many dear friends, and also train folks in Strategy.
Please keep us in your prayers…we really
need our Lord to bless this trip with His amazing life-changing Presence! Then
again…we always need Him, don’t we. We really can’t do anything without Him and
we really can’t do without you all either! God has given us an amazing body of
people with all sorts of different talents and skills – we need each one of you
if we are to function in a healthy manner.
Thank you again and again for your love,
support, encouragement, and partnership in the Gospel!
Many blessings
Johann and Louise
