gateway: February 2008

this is the view of where we live ( the houses at bottom right)

I'm sitting sweltering in the heat of a King Willaims Town summer day. This is the Town i spent much of my childhood in arriving in 6th grade to boarding school. It is not exactly pleasant to be back as most of my memories of this town and school are not pleasant, however it is good to spend time with my family and enjoy the growing relationship between us. The boys are loving the swimming pool at my brothers house and Skye is loving going to school with his cousin Nathan. Tim has been to the playschool at Grandma's house a couple of times too. (grandma lives at the church where the shool is) Keldan the chip off the old block would not even set foot in the school, not even for the experience. Just as well we're home schooling him! We spent a day at the beach where i learned to surf as a kid and the boys caught fish in the same rockpools i did with my Grandpa. I think that after a week and half we are looking forward to getting back to the cooler less humid mountains at Kululapa. (Anton and Hazel's farm)

The men's camp that we had at Kululapa jst before we left was an eye opening time for some of the guys and a good reminder for the others. The guys who led the wek end was one of my childhood heroes. Sean was on YFC team when i was a kid and used to stay at our house often. I enjoyed getting to know him again and see how Jesus is using the heart that i loved so much back 31 years ago. The morning of the camp i had planned to book the rental car that we were to drive down to King williams Town with. I felt led not to do that, but instead asked Father if He would provide us with one. That week end one of the guys at camp who i recognised from the years i lived at L'Abri offered to lend us a car. He is a car dealer and set us up with a luxurious van for the drive. What a blessing, as we would have to have crammed ourself into a small car as that was all we could afford. So once again we are recipients of our Father's rich blessings through the kids who love Him. We will be staying with Greg and Alice his wife and their 5 daughters and son on our way home. They have an 1800 acre farm that they long to turn into a community where the tenets of Jesus Kingdom can be lived out practically. Sadly they can't find any "christians who want to take Jesus literally. Everyone seem's to be too busy building their own kindom's living out their own plans and storing up for themselves treasures on earth and worrying over how to safeguard them from theft and depreciation.

I wonder at how easily the enemy has duped us into blieving that happiness and security come from posessions, and 401K's and investments in the so easily destructible stock exchange. How easily we are impressed by the words of men who care only for themselves, and so little for the words of Jesus who loved us so much that He gave up his Glory and was rejected by His Father and died for love of us.

As Becky and i live out this season, we are deeply challenged to look at ur priorities and lifestyle again. As i weigh them up against Jesus words i am left feeling the hollow self centredness of much of what we have built and gathered around ourelves. We are looking forward to something deeper as we journey with Jesus. The only thing that can change the world is His presence and His love lived out through us.

For He who would seek to save his life will lose it, but he who would lose his life for my sake will gain it.