Small Blessings

by | Aug 25, 2018 | Vietnam

26 August

I have had a number of small blessings this week, from finding the Buffalo Travel office almost by accident last Saturday, and then finding a small staff working on a weekend afternoon, to my decision this morning to walk to the Big C for some shopping, and finding the day less humid and with a breeze. The blessings did not include losing my glasses, apparently leaving them in my shopping cart, but after a search I was able to find the spare pair I brought with me. I had a small blessing when I entered the Big C: its security check rivaled the airport. The straps of my little back bag were zip-tied together after an inspection, so I would be unable to reach my wallet (I later cut the tie with the small jackknife I have been carrying with me), and I was told I had to surrender my full water bottle. Aside from my umbrella I always have a full water bottle with me I opened it and took a drink before giving it up, and was about to hand it over when a second security person came along and indicated I could keep it … perhaps having seen me take a drink she realized it was only harmless water. The Big C is a larger version of a Costco or BJs, where one can buy soup to soap to cereal to nuts to fridges, washers, ovens and just about everything else in between except vehicles. I wandered all the aisles, including toys, linens, appliances, jewelry and groceries, of which I bought a few, including skim milk (fortunately my room has a small refrigerator) and sweets. I have not had sugary snacks, not even my beloved chocolate, for over a month and found I have nearly lost my taste for them. When I was finished I thought to catch a Grab Bike so as not to have to carry a heavy-ish shopping bag but realized my last driver had kept the hotel card with its address. So, I had no alternative but to walk the mile back to the hotel in the warming day.. After a few blocks I set the bag down to take a photo of an interesting blue building and suddenly another small blessing. I was kinda struggling to pick the bag up again, with a long baguette sticking out, when a Grab Bike stopped and – small wonder- the English-speaking driver asked if I needed a ride. Of course he asked for the address which I, of course, did not have. I told him I could tell him how to get there and he could set the fare when we reached the hotel. We arrived without incident and he charged me 50 VND, a little high for the short ride, but I was quite willing to pay it.

Sorry for the delay

by | Aug 24, 2018 | Vietnam

25 August – it has taken a week to find an internet connextion that does not cut off in the middle of what I am writing, but I have discovered the WiFi in the hotel breakfast room, which is high up, is often the best.  It has been an exhausting week.  I have been staying late at school to help the head teacher score student tests and file mountains of paperwork, not leaving until nearly 8:00 p.m.  I also discovered that Lheonie Ver. , the head teacher, lives on the fourth floor of the school. She is the most experienced teacher, having taught for nine years at a Christian school in Ho Chi Minh City.  With the need to be at school by 7:30 a.m. that makes for a long day.  Slept in this Saturday morning, all the way to 6:30.

I am thoroughly enjoying this mission, loving the students and believing that I am helping.  I have at last been able to conduct some small conversation groups, with from three – five advanced students.  They are doing well, speaking in front of classmates for extended periods, telling me about their families, where they live, what their interests are and other subjects.  I also spend an hour each day with the toddlers, who have minimal, if any, English, except for one four year old whose parents both speak English and who have been teaching him at home. He is a bright light in my mornings.  The classes are getting larger: there is a group of seven would-be advanced students who are late comers to English and are being tutored to try to catch them up with the rest of the class.  They will join the 20 other Eagles when the school moves to its new building at the end of October.  That does pose one problem:  right now there are only six teachers, one with the toddlers, one with the intermediates and four with the advanced students.  There is one woman who comes just once a week for conversation with the oldest students, one other part-time woman and, just this week, a part time young man from Singapore.  Not enough to cover the required ground.

This week we had a visit from the Bishop of Singapore, who oversees the church in Nepal and Vietnam, along with the Dean of Vietnam.  The primary reason for their visit was to see the new school space which is still being prepared, but for which the diocese of Singapore will be paying … that is for the purchase of the space only, but not for furnishings and other needful items.  I shall never forget the bishop’s name:  Rennis.  He said his name is “sinner” spelled backwards.  Heasked to be remembered to Bishop Guernsey. I sent the latter an email with Bishop Rennis’s greeting.

I made one reslly good discovery at school.  There are two student WCs that, as you may imagine, are a mess after use by the school’s total of 45 children. One these restrooms has no working lght.  I had never been to the fifth floor, but ventured up there this week, to find a large, clean WC that is seldom used. The floor has the school library, now all packed in boxes, and a game room with a ping pong table.  After lunch, when I want to brush my teeth, the students are all in nap time – yes, even the sizteen year olds – so no one is on the fifth floor. I have claimed that clean bathroom as “MINE”.

I have done only a little sightseeing, and one afternoon discovered that the Hanoi Hilton was just a few blocks from where I was strolling. I had always imagined that the prison was somewhere in the jungle, but No, there it was right in the city.  It is open for tours but I had no desire to pay to see where sAmerican POWs were somercilessly tortured dor yesrs.  Curiously, there is a John McCain memorial which resembles nothing remotely identifiable. It consists of two red sandstone pillars said to be a bound prisoner hanging upside down, but I am derned if I could see that.  The memorial is across the road from the lake into which McCain parachuted when his plane was shot down.  I was blessed when I left church a week ago when a member asked where I was going.  I told her I wanted to see the McCain memorial and was planning to take a Grab Bike, the motorbike taxi swrvice.  She offered to take me on her motorbike since she was headed home and lived near the memorial.  She was a much more cuatious driver than the Grab Bike operators, but the traffic was nonetheless horrific.  

My driver “swan” xuan, whose name means spring.

 

Pastor Thai, my host, invited me for a walk withh his wife one evening this weekend to get a taste of “the real Hanoi nightlife.” I am much looking forward to this.

Trusting God

Trusting God

by | Aug 23, 2018 | Africa, South Africa

1 Kings 8:1-6, 10-11, 22-30, 41-43    Psalm 84    Ephesians 6:10-20    John 6:56-69

Trusting God

 

A story has been told about a man who went hiking up Table Mountain. As he was walking, the famous tablecloth descended upon him in thick, impenetrable folds – so thick he could not see where he was walking. He knew he needed to get off the mountain as quickly as possible, so he gingerly picked his way forward towards the path leading down to the parking lot below. At one point, he misjudged his step, slipped on a wet rock, and went plummeting down the cliff side. As he fell he instinctively grabbed for something that would break his fall…and to his relief, a rather large bush just happened to be growing out of the side of the mountain, and he clung on for dear life.

 

But he knew this relief was only temporary…he had to find a way to get his feet on firm ground so that he could scramble to safety…but he could not see anything and, try as he might, swinging back and forth with his legs, he could not feel anything. Then he felt the bush give a little…some soil and a few pebbles fell on his head. It was only a matter of time before his weight would prove to be too much for the bush’s shallow root system and his perilous descent would recommence.

 

So he summoned every ounce of strength left in him and cried out with the loudest voice he could muster.

“Help! Is there anyone out there? Please, help me.”

To his immense surprise, he heard a voice remarkably close by…in fact it almost sounded as if the voice was close to his ear.

“I am here. Do not be afraid.”

“Oh, please,” the man cried. “Are you able to help me?”

“I am,” the voice replied, “Are you willing to trust me?”

“Yes!” shouted the man, “Yes, I am. Please help me. Quickly.”

“Let go of the bush,” the voice said calmly.

“Say what now?” cried the man.

“Let go of the bush,” said the voice.

“Let go of the bush? You’re kidding me, right? That’s not funny. Please, I am very scared…and I’m slipping…the bush is giving way…help me. I can’t hold on much longer, please. I don’t want to die!”

“I am here to help you. You will not die if you just trust me. Let go of the bush…there is a wide ledge a few feet below you. Trust me. I give you my word. Just trust me. Let go of the bush.”

For a brief moment the man hesitated. Then he screamed: “Is there anyone else out there?”

 

It is interesting to me that at the very heart of Solomon’s Temple – in the holiest place – the Holy of Holies – was a box containing just three rather ordinary things. One was a simple earthenware jug filled with a flaky substance…a small sample of Manna …the other was a simple wooden staff that had once budded…and the other was a block of stone with some words carved into it. If you didn’t know what these things were, they would look very plain and ordinary…

 

But in the right context, these things were very precious, not necessarily because all three were miraculous, but because they each had a remarkable story to tell…the strange, unknown bread graciously provided from heaven to feed God’s people in the desert… the dried out walking stick that had miraculously sprouted buds and flowers to confirm the God-given leadership of the High Priest, Aaron, Moses’ brother…and the Ten Words of God, or the Ten Commandments as we call them, carved out of rock by the very hand of the Almighty Himself.

 

You see, what made these items worthy of their placement in such a hallowed space was that each one represented the trustworthiness of God’s Word in the past…and, in the belief system of the Ancient Israelites, if God had done it before, He could be trusted to do it again in the present and in the future.

 

Or to use the words of the great King Solomon: “Praise the Lord who has given rest to His people Israel, just as He promised. Not one word has failed of all the wonderful promises He gave through His servant Moses. May the Lord our God be with us as He was with our ancestors; may He never leave us or abandon us.”

 

God’s Word is trustworthy…what He says He will do. But how can we be so sure? Well, basically because He has a proven track record. The stories in the Bible are there to show us that in spite of what humans think…in spite of what humans fear…in spite of what humans do…in spite of doubt, skepticism, cynicism, weakness, despondency, indifference, and sheer unbelief…God has always proved to be faithful to those who trust Him…and, graciously, sometimes even to those who do not trust Him.

 

Trust. I want you to see that this one word is key…it is central to our faith…trust. But not just a disembodied trust…it is a trust that is founded on His proven and tested Word.

 

When King Solomon dedicated the Temple, his focus was on the Word of the God Who had proved Himself faithful to His people and to His king. “You have kept Your promise,” he said, “You made that promise with Your own mouth, and with Your own hands You have fulfilled it today.”

 

And based on the fact that God is a promise keeping God, Solomon could confidently pray: “May You always hear the prayers I make…May You hear the humble and earnest requests from me and Your people Israel…(may You hear the prayers made by) foreigners who do not belong to Your people Israel…when they pray (to You)…May Your eyes be open to my requests and to the requests of Your people…May You hear and answer them whenever they cry out to You.”

 

The message seems clear: just as God heard the prayers of His people down through the ages, so surely He will hear the prayers of His people today and tomorrow and for all time, because He is a promise keeping God…He is a faithful God…and His Word is trustworthy.

This truth is crucial to our lives as followers of Jesus especially when it seems as if all hope is fading…when we just don’t understand…when we cannot understand…when we are hanging on by our fingertips…perhaps hanging on to things that are in themselves not trustworthy…things that are fragile and feeble and weak and failing.

 

Now, for a moment, I want you to put on the sandals of the disciples in Capernaum as they heard those baffling words spoken by their Rabbi, Jesus. Ready?

 

There you are listening – all anticipation – what is He going to say and do this time? And then you hear Him say: “Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me and I in him.” You do a double take? What was that? Eat human flesh and drink human blood? Cannibalism? Seriously? Surely that can’t be what He means, right? It has to be a metaphor…bread of life…bread of heaven…flesh and blood…this is really so hard to comprehend.

 

And then as you are still scratching your head, you see many other followers leaving…and they are leaving in droves!

 

Now, don’t judge these deserters too harshly…theologians are still arguing about the meaning of this text…during the Reformation, people lost their heads and were burned at the stake because someone did not understand what Jesus meant by “Eat my flesh and drink My blood”.

 

But then Jesus turns to you and says: “Are you also going to leave?”

 

Can you hear it? What is behind this question? “Do you trust Me?”

 

How did Simon Peter respond? Listen carefully to what he said. “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the WORDS that give eternal life. We believe and we know you are the Holy One of God.”

 

How on earth did they know?

 

Well, during the time they had spent with Jesus these disciples had come to believe and know first-hand that the words of Jesus were trustworthy. He had not failed them before. He had done all things well. Why then would they abandon Him when the going got tough…when things were hard to comprehend…when it seemed as if they were on the losing side?

 

Now, don’t get me wrong. I am not talking about fatalism. I’m not espousing a “Let go and let God – a que sera, sera attitude to life. I’m not even talking about blind faith.

 

No, what I am referring to is the Word of a God Who has made promises with His own mouth and has fulfilled those promises time and again. The Scriptures and history itself testifies on His behalf. What He promised He did…His Word is trustworthy…

 

And it is this Word that helps us through trials and tribulations and troubles…it is this Word that defeats unbelief…it is this Word that quenches the fiery arrows of the evil one…it is this Word that keeps us afloat in the storms of life…it is this Word that is our only offensive weapon in the armoury of God.

 

What God has promised, He has done…what God has promised, He will do…what God has promised, He does. He is trustworthy…the Scriptures testify to the fact…the saints throughout history testify to the fact…and I am sure your own lives testify to the fact.

 

This is one of the reasons why I love the Eucharist so much. This is a picture…a portrait of our Lord’s trustworthiness. Way back when sin first entered our world, God promised that He would send someone…the Seed of a woman, as the older translations have it…to set things right. And He did. The second Person of the Trinity…the Son of God Himself…left His glory…He set aside His majesty…so that He might take on human form to annul a penalty that was mine…to die a death that was mine…to pay a ransom that was mine…

 

Here at His Table, we see His Word re-enacted…performed…demonstrated…with simple and ordinary elements…bread and wine…as simple and as ordinary as an earthenware jug, a dry walking stick, and a piece of stone. But in the context of this gathering of His people, these ordinary, simple elements take on a whole new meaning…a profound meaning…a life changing meaning…here these elements tell us a story of promise and fulfilment…a story of faithfulness…a story of love…a story of trust.

 

So when the clouds descend upon your life as a blanket…when you simply cannot see one step ahead of yourself…when you are hanging on for dear life…when others are losing hope…when so called common sense and logic fail you…trust Him…trust His Word.

 

Dearest beloved brethren, place God’s Word in the most sacred space in your life…at the very centre of your existence…and allow it to be the governing force behind everything you think and do and say. Only then will you be able to trust Him…

 

Johannes W H van der Bijl © 2018-08-20

An update on the political situation

by | Aug 23, 2018 | Uganda

Though a little long, this article gives a good overview of what led to the unrest this week, as well as an update on where we stand.

While things are diffused at the moment, unfortunately, this is is far from over, particularly since court cases can drag on for months and months because of many becauses.

Please continue to pray for peace and justice in Uganda.

Pray for Kampala

by | Aug 20, 2018 | Uganda

In Jeremiah 29:7, Jeremiah instructs the exiles to “… seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” While I’m not an exile, I think it is still a good practice to pray for the peace and prosperity of wherever you are.

Last week there was a by-election (off-cycle election) in Arua, in northwest Uganda. The president and other leading political leaders were there to stump for their respective party candidates, and in the fracas, several people were injured, some badly, including an extremely popular, recently elected young Member of Parliament. 

Unfortunately, there’s a bit more drama involved in this, and the public is justifiably upset at both what has happened and how it has happened. There was a demonstration in Mityana yesterday, and the US Embassy’s warning of potential riots in Kampala today was sadly prophetic, with reports of riots, tear gas, people plows, and bullets flying.

Please pray for peace, order, and justice to prevail.