Jun 27 2010
Pastor’s notes
Greetings!
Margie and I are really looking forward to our visit back to South Africa and the opportunity to visit with our family and friends. We depart at midnight on Monday and after an 11 hour flight, arrive in Johannesburg at 5.25am their time. Our daughters will fetch us at the airport and we will spend a couple of days with them. On Friday the whole family (including our son Garth from Howick) will drive down to Manaba Beach on the Natal South Coast where we own a timeshare unit right on the beach. It’s the best place to be in the South African winter – the sea is warm and the sun is hot. We will return to Johannesburg via Howick where we will be staying with friends and visiting our former parishioners. I must also finalise my South African tax returns and wind up my financial affairs in South Africa. And then its back home to Merredin on July 20th!
Some good news is that the processing of our children’s emigration has stepped up a pace. After being given wrong advice about their nursing assessments, they are now back on stream. Tegan has applied for a midwifery bridging course in August at King Edward Hospital in Perth and will initially come across on a student visa to be converted into a permanent residence visa once the course is completed. Linda will follow the same route but will make the move a bit later because she still needs to make arrangements regarding her midwifery practice in Johannesburg. Garth’s situation has been complicated by a change in the Australian Skills List which now excludes anything to do with computers – apparently there is now no shortage in Australia. However he is pursuing a rural option (where these skills are still needed) and is looking around for job vacancies. He may come to visit with his wife Roxanne in time for my 60th birthday in October.
By the time we get back, we will have been here for one year. It has truly been a blessed year. The radical change of a new country, new church and new people has been the best thing ever. I have had cause to rethink my worldview as well as my understanding of God and the Church. There is nothing like looking at things from a fresh perspective to give you new insight into that which you begin to take for granted. It is so easy to get into a rut, and, as someone once said, “the only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth of the hole.” From the pressures of a leading large church, trying to deal with a cycle of poverty in a community, and the politics of separation at government level, I have found a new lease of life during the past year. Much of this has come from more time spent in God’s Word and in prayer. This has challenged my perspectives and enriched my understanding of God’s intention with us. We are not just passing through time – we are on a radical journey into a deep relationship with our Maker. On this journey He is constantly with us, to lead and to guide. On this journey we travel with others – we are to learn to love them, because in loving them, we will begin to understand how we are loved by our Father and how we are to love Him.
Thank you for your part in my journey and may God bless us as we continue this journey together.
No responses yet