The Eight O’Clock
News August 2019 8 am Service, Christ Church Kenilworth 021-797-6332
The Fatherhood of God A while back, and in the light of the current preaching series around the Lord’s Prayer, I was asked to write something about ‘The Fatherhood of God’. This arose from the very challenging sermon preached by Andre Frieslaar on just this subject (see p5)… the opening words of the Lord’s Prayer Our Father. But what was so challenging in Andre’s address was not only his understanding and expression of the Fatherhood of God; but also his and his family’s response to the huge prevalence of fatherlessness in our local experience, in our city, in our country and indeed in our world. Right at the outset, I need to suggest that I am stepping into big shoes after Andre’s sermon and any attempt on my part to write something of my own understanding of God’s Fatherhood, will be mere words; but hopefully something of which will enhance our understanding of God as Father. I have been astonished in recent days and weeks at how often, not only in the course of my reading, both from Scripture and from books about Scripture, but also in visual imagery, the pertinent image of sparrows has been prevalent. Of course, the classic reference to two sparrows in Matthew 10:29-31 refers: “What is the price of two sparrows-one copper coin? But not a single sparrow falls to
the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So, don’t be afraid, you are worth far more than a whole flock of sparrows”. Some time in the last few days I read about a young boy in the UK who belonged to a church group called ‘The sparrows’. Once inducted into this group, each child was given a copper coin with a sparrow on it to hang around their necks. I have just rummaged through a cache of old coins in a special box here at home and was delighted to find a 1961 South African copper coin with indeed two sparrows on it! It must have been one of the last predecimalisation copper coins (that event of decimalisation coincided with South Africa becoming a republic in the same year, 1961). Over this last weekend, Ed and I celebrated our wedding anniversary in a mountain hut in the Cederberg close to where we had honeymooned 39 years ago. After a day and a night of wild winds, and the harbingers of the first cold front to make land had mostly subsided, we woke up to a flock of weavers swaying dizzily in their nests in the tree next to our hut. They were eager for the crumbs we had thrown, and amongst them came two shy sparrows, their top hairs ruffling in the wind. How poignant it seemed to me, to watch them; and to sense that with God as our Father, we were more precious than not only those two sparrows but more precious than a flock of them. - Jessica McCarter [Next month—an article on the origin of the ‘sparrow’ coin]
HAPPY SPECIAL BIRTHDAY Glynis Saville (3/8) Judy Bates (5/8) Lindy Robertson (10/8) Alan Lindhorst (16/8) Jane McDonald (25/8) Barry Jessop (29/8)
This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike ‘What’s next, Papa?’ God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who He is, and we know who we are: Father and children. August 2019 Eight O’Clock News
Romans 8:15 [The Message]
Jean & Tony Westwood At Christ Church (CCK) when you hear the name
‘Westwood’ you think of music. Jean and Tony are very firmly woven into our musical fabric. They are an example of quiet (but very melodious) sacrificial service. I recently spent a lovely evening with them in front of the fireside in their cosy home, learning something of their past, present and future. Theirs is a very interesting story with music playing a very important role throughout their lives. Central to all of this is God and His direction in their being. They have entered their retirement years and are looking forward to spending more time on their many interests, as well as spending more time with family. Three of their children live in South Africa. Andrew is an attorney, Jeremey is a software developer, Christopher is a doctor. Ursula is currently in Oxford doing a D Phil. Added to this are three grandchildren. Hannah is two, Emma ieight weeks old, and Charlie is 10 months old. Early Years Jean was born in Cape Town, one of a family of seven children. CCK has always been part of her life. She was baptised here. She went to Wynberg Girls’ Schools, and later studied music at UCT. This was followed by a year at the Academy of Music specialising in organ playing. She then taught at Rustenberg Girls, Victoria Girls in Grahamstown, Wynberg Girls Junior and Oakhurst. Alongside this she always had a few private pupils whom she taught from her mom’s home in Wynberg while her parents enjoyed time (she hopes, says Jean) with the children. Tony was born in England, and moved with his parents to Rhodesia, where his dad had a teaching post at Plumtree Boys School. He had happy childhood years enjoying all the benefits of living on a boarding school campus and having lots of people around. He has a brother in Cape Town and two sisters who live in Australia. Music has always been an important part of his life. It runs in the family. His mom, aged 85, has just retired from being an active member of the Philharmonia Choir in Cape Town. After school, music and medicine were strong options for future studies. He came to Cape Town to study either medicine or music, and on discovering he’d been accepted at UCT Medical School, opted for the latter. As a child he attended church services but his faith took on new meaning when he came to Cape Town and was introduced to a Bible study group. This is where the story gets really interesting. Chris Dare was a medical student at the same time as Tony and discovered that he played the clarinet. She invited him to join the Parish Orchestra. Jean also plays the clarinet and was part of the orchestra. That was the start of a lifetime of Tony and Jean making music together. (Chris Dare, it seems, was the catalyst for so many things that happened in CCK and the wider parish.) Soon a romance started. Jean and Tony completed their studies and Tony returned to Rhodesia to do his internship in Bulawayo. They continued their romance via letter-writing. Jean, an excellent baker, used to make date cookies and post them to him. Date substitute? No, it was because these cookies stayed fresh longer, and survived the time in transit. One morning, before six, Tony ’phoned Jean from Zimbabwe and asked her to marry him. She said ’Yes’, and went back to bed, astounding her family with news of her engagement when they August 2019 Eight O’Clock News
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woke up. They were married at CCK in 1982. Tony says he came to Cape Town to do an exam and to get married, and he wasn’t sure which one was more terrifying! They returned to Bulawayo to start life together. It was a difficult time. Jean missed her family and friends and was unable to work fulltime. This due to visa issues with Tony being a British citizen and regarded as an ex-patriot. Many people were leaving the country which was very unsettling. Tony worked one in every two or three nights so she was lonely. They returned to Cape Town in 1986 and Tony began working at Red Cross Children’s Hospital. He loved working with children and specialised in Paediatrics during this time. Jean was able to return to teaching. Their family started to grow. They became involved at CCK again and have been here ever since. Middle Years The middle years of their lives have been very busy ones, with parenting four children (all of whom went to different high schools!), Tony’s role at Red Cross Hospital and later at the New Somerset Hospital, Jean’s music teaching, and their involvement in CCK. Tony says he has been very fulfilled by his career at Red Cross Hospital and later at the New Somerset Hospital. He has lectured students at UCT Medical School and is well-known for his ability to set medical information to well-known tunes to enable students to remember details. Breastfeeding, diarrhoea and hand-washing are among the topics featured. Music, he feels, can enhance any situation and be used to get ideas across. His involvement in the governance department of paediatric services for the province has been very satisfying as he is passionate about maternal and child welfare. Jean has filled the busy role of getting children to school and various activities, teaching music at schools and to private pupils, baking and cooking for a large family, and making sure everything ran smoothly. Somehow she also found time to do needlework and knitting as well. Through all this she has been involved in Mums Connect, making meals for TLC, crèche and Sunday School teaching. Tony says there have been times when work has taken precedence over home and family, and he and Jean had to work hard to get the balance right. Some years ago Tony went through a difficult patch spiritually. He was able to work through this and emerged stronger for having this experience. Tony loves writing, both words and music. He wrote a musical called ‘Love in a time of Tuberculosis’, based on the book, ‘The Magic Mountain’ by Thomas Mann. Tuberculosis is used as a metaphor for human difficulties. He enjoyed communicating the gospel to adults via the children’s ministry at the all age service. Both Tony and Jean have been very involved in the musical life of the church. As a person in the pew one often sees Jean at the organ, Tony at the keyboard, Jean in the choir. They have played an important role in organising special choral events at Easter and Christmas, and in the parish orchestra. Both see their musical ability as a conduit for service, not a
performance. Jean feels her spirituality is linked to music and sees the role of the organist as that of enhancing worship. She says that her role is to play whatever she is asked to play, whether it is ‘her type of music’ or not. Adaptability is very necessary. She tells a funny story about initially adjusting to playing the organ at a sung eucharist. “They would just have done the bread bit and I would come crashing in with all the wine chords!” This was because she couldn’t always see what was going on from where she sat at the organ. And through all this their family flourished and developed. University degrees were earned, marriages happened, grandchildren arrived. There have been trips to Oxford to visit Ursula during her time there, and a trip to the Isle of Man to visit Jeremy when Charlie was born. Much to their delight, Charlie’s family has now returned to South Africa and live close by. A big excitement was when the whole family went on a trip to Italy a few years ago—all of them, including spouses. The Later Years : Retirement or Re-energising? One would think that this busy couple would want to sit back and do nothing after such busy years, but that is not the case. Tony is still involved in teaching an online post-graduate course in Child Public Health, as well as continuing to take an interest in child and maternal welfare. He’s involved in the Social Concern Committee at CCK, and has a keen interest in the future of the Summerley Road house. He hopes to do lots more writing and spend more time playing music and developing his skills. [Have you heard him on Fine Music Radio?] Jean has joined the Vox Acapella Choir, which, according to it’s website, VOX Cape Town, is ‘the city’s most innovative choral collective, spans musical history in its focus on a cappella works,
Snippets from trip to USA On a recent visit to New Orleans, a friend and I found the city
to be all that we expected: houses decorated with ‘broekie lace’, jazz players on many street corners, art everywhere—plenty of evidence of their interesting Spanish/French history and the mighty Mississippi river. In the 1800s steamboats were introduced to speed up trade, particularly cotton. Several now take visitors on cruises. As the city grew, transport was needed and steam-driven street cars were introduced in 1835. They were later pulled by mules and now by electricity.
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oratorios and local compositions to enrich the musical life of Cape Town and South Africa. It intends to invigorate local choral music through imaginative programming and staging to create intimate, immersive sensory experiences’. She is greatly enjoying this. There have been performances in some very interesting places, including an art gallery, a museum, a wine cellar, and at a winepairing function. Tony recently joined the choir. Jean says she will stay in the choir for the near future (because she loves singing!), and will be available to play the organ or piano when/if the need arises. While both have enjoyed their careers and their various commitments, they are looking forward to having more time to develop their interests in a wide variety of things. Obviously more time with family will be a feature, especially time with the grandchildren with whom they are already very involved. Jean has a close relationship with her niece, the daughter of her late sister, and loves being a granny to her children as well. More time to do handwork, sewing and knitting will be a big bonus. They are planning to stay in the house that has been their home for many years. It will continue to be a happy gathering place for all the family. I asked Tony if all their interest in music has led to a very harmonious marriage. His response? Discord is part of music. Jean and Tony, may the Lord richly bless you in this new phase of your lives. May it be rich and fulfilling—and, hopefully, more relaxing. May the harmony and discord be well- balanced. Thank you for all the years of wonderful music and your example of servant leadership in so many areas.
- Jeanette Harris
We were awestruck by the Grand Canyon and viewed the Colorado river from the edge of the canyon. We had many challenges on this trip, including lost luggage—and connecting with our canyon trip by the skin of our teeth! We praise God that He kept us safe, enabled us to see so much interesting natural beauty and got us home safely.
- Jenni McMaster
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Dr Sue Dennis... Thank you for your kind interest and invitation to share my story.
I have been enormously touched and encouraged by many lovely friends both at Christ Church (CCK) and beyond during these past four years at UCT. It’s been a journey that I never ever dreamt of taking and yet feel so blessed that the Lord led me in this direction. For that is indeed what He did—the circumstances around my return to UCT were most surely engineered by Him. Having completed my postgrad studies in 1990 in Pretoria about a year after my husband Dave and I were married, I was in the fortunate position to be a stay-at-home Mom to our four children, Matthew, Timothy, Simon and Hannah. I loved my work in the lab finding it both stimulating and very interesting, but I loved being a full-time Mom equally much and have always felt it was an enormous privilege to have been able to do so. There were definitely times when I would think back to my time in the lab and wonder how the research was progressing, but my life was filled with so much else and the idea of returning to work one day remained an elusive thought that I never really expected to materialise. As Hannah approached the end of her first year at high school, I began to think a little bit more seriously about whether that would ever be an option and prayed that if it was something that the Lord wanted me to do, that He would guide me in the right direction. I didn’t really have a clue where to start and the only thought that entered my head was perhaps visiting UCT and talking to Professor Ed Rybicki, who had been my Honours degree supervisor many years earlier. The only reason I knew that he was still at UCT was because our son Tim was a student in the Science faculty at that time. Then one day as I was waiting for the lift in Cavendish Square, the doors opened and out walked Ed and his wife. I had not seen or spoken to either of them for 25 years! I hesitated for a few seconds and then knew I just had to approach him. I was not even sure how well he would remember me, but in the ensuing conversation which lasted about five minutes, he told me that his department had just received approval for some funding and invited me to visit him on campus. Not long afterwards, Dave and I attended Tim’s graduation and one of Ed’s students happened to be graduating at the same ceremony. The topic of her research was none other than the same work I had been involved with during my studies in Pretoria. I spoke to Ed again after the ceremony and when I commented on this, he said that that was exactly the field for which the recent funding had been approved. How perfect God’s timing is... To cut a long story short, he subsequently suggested that I return to his lab and register for a PhD degree involving the development of a novel vaccine against African horse sickness. All I had thought of doing was working in the lab again, but our God is loving and giving, generous and faithful beyond all measure, blessing us far beyond all we can imagine and ask for… The last four years have been a real adventure with the full range of emotions experienced and negotiated, sometimes more successfully than others. The added blessing was that Tim registered for further study in the same department at the same time. On more than one occasion, when it really felt like the wheels were coming off, he would say to me, “Mom, you and I both know that the Lord really meant you to be doing this…!” There is so much more I could say about how the Lord has answered prayer, provided opportunities, facilitated discussion and even directed my research—He is after all the Creator of everything! I never cease to be amazed at how beautifully and August 2019 Eight O’Clock News
intricately our world is designed. Dave has been an incredible support throughout this unexpected turn in our life’s journey together, as have Matt and his wife, Tory, Tim, Simon and Hannah. Matt teaches music at Wynberg Girls’ Junior School and Tory is a member of the Anaesthetics Dept at UCT Medical school in the field of pain research. Tim is taking a break from his studies and teaching English in Vietnam, while Simon is studying Computer Science at the University of Stellenbosch. Hannah matriculated last year and is currently taking a gap year during which she is doing some training courses with the YWAM organization. We began attending CCK as a family when we moved from Edgemead to Newlands in 2000 and have been blessed to call it our spiritual home since then. Our children have been nurtured and encouraged right through Childrens’ Church and Ambies and Matt and Tory were married at CCK three years ago. Thank you so much to all of you who so faithfully and prayerfully supported me during my studies—I trust that I too may be given the opportunity to bless you in some way in the years ahead.
- Sue Dennis
Dying in Service One Sunday morning the pastor noticed little Alex standing in the foyer of the church staring up at a large plaque. It was covered with names and small national flags mounted on either side of it. The six-year old had been staring at the plaque for some time so the pastor walked up, stood beside the little boy, and said quietly, ‘Good morning, Alex’. ‘Good morning, Pastor’, he replied, still focused on the plaque. ‘Pastor, what is this?’ The pastor replied, ‘Well, Alex, it’s a memorial to all the young men and women who died in the service.’ Soberly, they just stood together, staring at the large plaque. Finally, little Alex’s voice, barely audible and trembling with fear, asked, ‘Which service, the 8 am or 10 am? - Source unknown
God our Father Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him. 1 Corinthians 8:6
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The Fatherhood of God There is a God in heaven who cares about you.
And He is called
Father. The Lord’s prayer was taught by Jesus to His disciples during His ministry and is recorded in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6 and Luke 11, in response the disciples asking Jesus how to pray. In Matthew Jesus teaches us that we should pray simply to our Father in heaven and warns us to be cautious of those who peddle techniques and formulas for trying to get what you want from God. He goes on to say: This is your Father you are dealing with, and He knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. And then He teaches us the Lord’s prayer. Jesus starts the prayer with these words: Our Father. When you hear the word Father, what is the image and response that comes to mind? So what has God got to say about being our Father? In the Old Testament God is referred to infrequently as the Father, and when He is called father, it is in the context of Father of the nation of Israel. Then in the New Testament we find Jesus calling God, His Father, more than 60 times. God revealed Himself as our personal father by sending Jesus into the world. By putting your faith in Jesus Christ, God becomes your Father—He adopts us as sons and daughters. In Galatians we read “But when the set time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are His sons (and daughters), God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are His child, God has also made you an heir. (See also Romans 8:15.) So Jesus came to tell us that by trusting in Him, we would become children of God. We can look to God and call Him Abba / Daddy. Martin Lloyd-Jones commented, if you should ask me to state in one phrase what I regard as the greatest defect in most Christian lives I would say that it is our failure to know God as our Father as we should know Him. Who is God in your imagination? Is He this mystical powerful force that created the universe? Is He this perfect deity that you can never please? A policeman waiting for you to mess up so He can catch you / a customs officer rifling through your moral suitcase / a strict principal spoiling your fun, waiting to dish out punishment? What an impoverished understanding of God the Father! These are common projections we make based on our earthly experiences of our fathers! What a terrible deception! The true God is the one we see in the person of Jesus. Jesus came to make the invisible God, both visible and audible. Jesus said: Anyone who has seen me, has seen the Father (John 14:9). So if you want to know what your heavenly Father is like, look into the eyes of Jesus. He is the full and astonishing revelation of the Father. Jesus is the human face of God! God is love! God is loving! God only loves, shedding his warmth and light on those who would receive them. Jesus gave us a clear illustration of His love in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:1-32). Did you know that you’ve never done anything that could make God stop loving you? “But you don’t know what I’ve done this week.” That’s all right. God knows, and He loves you anyway. Have you been imagining things that could make God stop loving you: August 2019 Eight O’Clock News
‘I’m far away from God.’ He still loves you. ‘I’ve sinned.’ He still loves you. ‘You don’t understand. I don’t have to understand. He knows and He loves you anyway. ‘I don’t care. I’m going to go my way.’ It doesn’t matter. He still loves you. And when you’re ready, He’ll be ready. When you turn around, and you will, He’ll be standing at the door to welcome you back. That’s the mighty love of God. - Extracts from Andre Frieslaar’s sermon Full sermon available on website
Imitating the Fatherhood of God Andre and I have five children from three mothers and three
fathers. There are our three biological children—Rebekah 24, Emil 22 and Greta 18. Then there is Samuel age 13 who was adopted as a 9-month old baby and lastly, Yeshe who came to us when she was 16. She is now 24. Andre came home from work one day having seen some jawdropping statistics about the number of AIDS orphans this country was going to have and he said we should adopt. Children belong in families and we have a family! My philosophy too—but at the time Greta was 6 months old and firmly attached to me, where she remained for a good two years! I hadn’t slept properly in years so I suggested that God could bring the baby to our doorstep if He wanted us to have one! That didn’t happen but my heart changed and eventually I felt ready to embrace another baby, Samuel was 9 months old when he came to us. He had spent several weeks in hospital and then the rest of the time in a ward in a children’s place of safety. He had never experienced one-on -one bonding. His toddler years were very tricky as he screamed and screamed for no apparent reason. It was incredibly difficult and we clung onto God, trusting that He would help us because it was His idea after all ! We had felt we should adopt two children but realised that we could not do babies again! There was still a place in our family for a girl so when Rebekah (16 at the time) said that her friend Yeshe needed a home, it felt like an answer to prayer. This was the girl we had been waiting for! Our family life is rich and full but we moan like mad about our kids. I’m always telling them to grow up and move out, but when they’re not around I don’t really know what to do with myself!
- Andy Frieslaar in an interview with Lindy Tomalin
Beryl Greig 1925-2019 Beryl Grieg was
born in North London in 1925. She was an only child who had an interrupted education due to being evacuated in her teenage years due to 2nd World War. She served in the Wrens. She worked at Enigma doing decoding work of enemy radio messages. After being demobbed she took a Secretarial Course. Beryl belonged to a Study Group and presented a paper once a year.
Beryl enjoyed being a member of CCK from when she moved to Kenilworth in the 1970s. I met her at the Wednesday morning services and visited her at her Wynberg flat. I only knew Beryl for a few years. Bevan and Glynnis Dryden were great to her as they visited her and took her shopping. Bevan took care of her Computer. When they moved to KZN a few years ago, Beryl had become frail and had been moved to Murambi. The Drydens, fantastic friends as they were, sorted out her flat in order for it to be sold. Beryl was an avid reader and for the past years another good friend Lyn kept her stocked with suitable books which she ‘devoured’. Eventually her request was that the books should have a happy ending. By that stage she was praying for a happy ending for herself. Beryl was quite a character and had a good sense of humour but in recent months she had become very depressed and begged God to take her home. She questioned why it was not happening. Not an easy question to reply to and even more difficult when her deafness worsened and hearing aids were inadequate. Writing was how conversation took place and made caring for her even more difficult. Beryl however, was feisty and quite amusing right up until days before she died. She asked a visitor whether he had brought his ‘flu bug’ with him as this would hasten her departure! She will be missed.
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- Bev Williams
10 Countries, 13 Cities in 14 days How blessed we were to do this wonderful chocolate box tour,
just tasting and enjoying each city and country briefly. The beauty was breath-taking, the history complex and painful. We visited four republics of former Yugoslavia—Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia. Evidence of the war in the 1990s was still visible but most of these countries now appear to be developing rapidly with excellent infrastructure and vibrant tourist economies. [Germany, Austria, Yugoslavia were also visited.] We were warned by our tour guide that our tour bus waits for no one. The times for departure are strictly adhered to and if you are not there, it is your responsibility to get to the next stop. On day 2 of the tour, one of the American tourists got into the bus as we were leaving Salzburg to say that he’d left his passport somewhere… The bus went back to Salzburg and left him there to look for his passport and meet us at the next stop—Ljubljana in Slovenia. Fortunately, he was able to do so—but no one was
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ever late again—and looked after their passports like gold! Some of the highlights—the Plitvice Lakes National Park— their distinctive colours magnificent; the old town of Dubrovnik in Croatia surrounded by ancient city walls next to the shimmering Adriatic Sea; Budapest, Hungary’s capital, bisected by the River Danube was a wonderful surprise—a beautiful city with flamboyant architecture—we loved floating down the river enjoying the beauty of the city doing a day and night cruise. We were so blessed to have had this experience and to be able to have enjoyed good health (with a little help from Dr Charlie Miller) on this trip. Our fellow travellers were also fantastic. We have expanded our horizons and understand how precious freedom and peace are. We thank God for His abundant grace and favour and that He made this tour possible for us.
- Monty & Marlene Poolman L) in photograph Above: Mostar Bridge, Mostar, Bosnia
Equipping for Ministry Joy and I are very happy to be back—we desperately missed
Cape Town and feel that we have ‘come home’. We completed two months of border training courses in Suwon, S Korea and a 1-month overseas field training course in Baguio, Philippines. It wasn't easy—it was quite demanding: early morning prayer, compulsory jogging, 7 hours of lectures, daily devotions, various assignments, tests and presentations about our mission strategies. In Baguio it was strictly forbidden to speak in our mother tongue—English only—very awkward but definitely helpful. The most valuable benefit of the programme was the opportunity for Joy and I to spend much-needed quality time together and focus on each other without all the many normal distractions!! Although we achieved Global Mission Society memberships including the confirming process and a wonderful dispatching service in our mother church, we still need to sort out the difficult tasks such as fundraising. During this trip I have encountered many miraculous encounters at God's hand. I thought my thirteen years of life in SA might have been futile but God used them to meet up with many fine people who were a great source of encouragement for us! Joseph's wedding to Gahee slotted in wonderfully between two
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training courses!! We had a blessed ceremony with an unexpectedly huge attendance and we were reunited with many old friends. I thought I was a forgotten man after these many years, but they remembered and warmly welcomed me—I felt that I had recovered my lost twelve years with many friends and relatives. I really believe that God has provided this for us. We have had time to reflect on past work at Jim se Bos and now have a better understanding of what God wants us to do—to engage our local community in transforming ways through teaching and living the Gospel and to continue learning and growing as missionaries. To this end I intend to continue at Cornerstone and Stellenbosch and Joy will receive English training. We are praying hard for teamwork with partners who can help with Bible teaching, Early Childhood Development and after-school care. Thank you for all your prayers—please don’t stop! - Seung Young and Joy Jung
Joseph & Gahee
Joy & Seung Young In Laos
Don’t Count Sheep—Talk to the Shepherd During the Alpha weekend away, I managed to participate in the
Saturday afternoon session only. After watching the video, we all stood in a circle, and leaders went around praying with, and for people at random. One of my Alpha table leaders asked if she could pray for me and what I'd like her to pray for. My insomnia came to mind, as I had been worrying that week that I was slowly getting dependent on sleeping pills. She prayed with me. Soon after she’d finished, Evelyn Els came to me and asked if she could pray with me. I accepted. She asked what I needed and I said what was in my mind and that it had been prayed for. Evelyn said it was okay, we could still pray again. I told her about my insomnia—that every night I went to sleep at night only to wake again at 2 or 3 am and not fall asleep again. Evelyn said to me, in a matter of fact way, ‘You must ask, 'God make me fall asleep.’’ I smiled or laughed as I thought Evelyn, the comedian, was joking. I was thinking, ‘Haven't I been praying for sleep all these weeks?’ Evelyn continued, ‘Use the time of wakefulness to pray and be precise about what you want. Scripture says, 'Ask and it will be given to you.’’ I realised Evelyn August 2019 Eight O’Clock News
was being serious. I accepted the advice. That evening before sleeping I asked God for sleep, using the exact words I’d been told, and I slept throughout the night. The next days when I woke up in the middle of the night I asked God to make me fall asleep, and I did. I found this a mystery, because it seemed I'd always prayed for sleep without success. On the other hand, it was a revelation that it was when I asked God directly for what I wanted that I was granted what I asked for. It's the end of July now and I haven't touched sleeping pills since the night before I went to Alpha on Saturday, 18 May. I'm very grateful.
- Thobeka Mda
God as Father All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. Matthew 11:27
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Retirement or Retyrement? I had a clear call to mission work in
my final year at school, and all that has happened subsequently has fallen into God’s calling. For the first almost 20 years it was medical mission work at Morgenstêr Mission in Zimbabwe. What a beautiful place to work! Then we came to Cape Town where I worked in one of the day hospitals for 2+ years, and then was asked to join the newborn care service to work in the Midwife Obstetric Units (MOU) - primary care maternity clinics in the townships, staffed by midwives. In the mission hospital environment, it was clear that the nursing staff had to do a lot of the work which would normally have been done by a doctor, and they were also being trained to work in the clinics. It was therefore necessary to train them to be able to do these tasks correctly. It was in this situation that I found that God had amazingly given me the gift of being able to sort out what the nurses needed to know in these circumstances and to teach it. Then in the Day Hospital, I was able to assist in the training of Clinical Nurse Practitioners who worked in the Day Hospitals. The work in the MOUs involved supervision and training of the midwives in the care of newborn babies—much of which I also had to learn at that stage! Initially, my calling was very clear to ‘traditional’ mission work. The move to Cape Town was not as clear, but in retrospect it was God’s guidance which was working in a quiet way. When I had been in the Day Hospitals for about 2 ½ years my friend, and in many ways mentor, Atties Malan came to me and said, ‘We want you to come and join us in the newborn service’. That was pretty clear! Then, about 17 years later, came retirement—a time to rest, or so I thought! Two weeks later, Atties again came to me and said, ‘We are starting an outreach programme in Limpopo Province to improve care in the District Hospitals. We would like you to join the team’. That sounded rather like Paul’s call to Macedonia! So for the next 13 years I have been able to help out with the improving of newborn care at a primary (hospital) care level. Initially, it was in Limpopo Province, advising on how to improve the facilities, what equipment and staffing was needed, and training, both doctors and nurses—midwives, enrolled nurses and assistant nurses. The programme was managed by a senior paediatrician in Polokwane, Anne Robertson, and the outreach team of Atties, myself and two midwives, Zo Mzolo and Lollie Mashao. We would go out to visit hospitals in teams of a midwife and doctor, which we found really complementary from a point of view of both knowledge and expertise. One of the major outcomes of this team effort was what became known as the Limpopo Initiative for Newborn Care (LINC). A manual on how to care for small and sick babies, with appropriate hospital records and training material has come out of this, and this has now become standard practice for newborn care in District Hospitals in South Africa. I was also able to assist in this work in Zululand District in KZN and OR Tambo District in the Eastern Cape, ending at the end of 2016. August 2019 Eight O’Clock News
In retrospect, it has been amazing to see how God works. He prepares the way—the need, the training of those whom He wants to go, and the provision for the work. God never fails. From a personal point of view, it has been a great blessing to have done what I was called to do, and which God has equipped me to do. It was never ‘me alone’, but always as part of the team that God had prepared. Great people and wonderful friends. There was always someone to walk the road alongside and there was on many occasions moments where the Lord’s presence was very much there. It is no secret what God can do—even in retryrement!
- Dave Greenfield [Dave & Dawn—away in Australia for several weeks] The LINC team: Lollie Mashao, Atties Malan, Anne Robertson, Dave, Nokuzola (Zo) Mzolo
The Reunion Lunch A group of chaps, all 40, discussed where they should meet for
a reunion lunch. Eventually they decided on Wetherspoons in Uxbridge because the waitresses had mini skirts. Ten years later, now aged 50 the friends once more chose Wetherspoons in Uxbridge because the food and service was very good and the selection of beer excellent. Ten years later, aged 60, they again chose Wetherspoons in Uxbridge—there was plenty of parking, the area was quiet and they could dine in peace and it was good value for money. Ten years later, now 70, Wetherspoons was again the choice— this time because it was wheelchair accessible and had a disabled toilet! Aged 80, they discussed where they should meet for their reunion. After some discussion they finally settled on Wetherspoons in Uxbridge because none of them had been there before!
- Origin unknown, sent in by Ronnie & Ed Morgan
Cheryl Anderson at Victoria Falls
Editorial Team Tel/e-mail Ev Els
021 696 0336 emichael@iafrica.com
Cheryl Anderson
083 272 1530 canderson@beckman.com