Saturday, March 21, 2009

James Cuénod's Newsletter 2009-03-21

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To those
interested who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I now have only two weeks to go until the end of the term. My workload is
heavy but doable. I have a few assignments left and still a fair amount of
reading to do but that's about it.

I think I've probably mentioned the fact that for the last three days of
term we will be doing a course on African Traditional Religions (instead
of the normal academic program) which means that I have some more reading
to do (but not much) and another assignment.

Recently there have been discussions here about ministry week: A week,
normally towards the end of the second term (1st semester), when we will
be going to various churches around the country and doing whatever they
have planned for us to do. I have been assigned Bryanston Methodist Church
so it seems I'll never get away from all these crazy foreign theologies
:).

I would ask that you pray that I finish strong and can focus on my
studies. More than that though, you can pray for my home church which is
going through a rough time right now.

Thank you for your support and prayers; particularly now, I truly
appreciate them - keep up the good work!

In Christ,
James Cuénod

--
James, a bondslave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ

Saturday, March 14, 2009

James Cuénod's Newsletter 2009-03-14

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To those
interested who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

My last newsletter seems to have been so recent that I really can't think
of much news. I attended MCC again last Sunday; the service was good, our
principal preached from Hebrews. I must say, I really enjoy good ol'
exposition - verse by verse - which doesn't seem too common here. Tomorrow
I'll hopefully be going to Tokai (I say hopefully because quite often it
seems that these things are only definitely going to happen once they
actually materialise and you're on the way there).

I've had some time to relax in this past week and last night I went to one
of the college couple's res house for supper with a couple of other res
students. The workload is still quite heavy but I think I've got a
reasonable routine down now (at least I should hope I do after over month
here).

A lot of the guys at res (myself included) are now looking forward to
going home this April now that we are past the halfway mark. That's not to
say I'm no longer enjoying college; I'm still learning a lot and I'm
really loving it.

As far as prayer requests go: I just want to settle into a church here now
so that I can get involved so please would you pray that I am assigned a
church during the coming week (I plan to try to get the ball rolling a bit
- it seems that a number of the students who are not already involved in
churches down here - because they live here - knew churches in the area
and had contact with them; the apprenticeship thing in CESA seems to
assist in that area). Other than that though, just that my spiritual life
would grow at least as fast as my knowledge does.

Thank you, once again, for your support!

In Christ,
James Cuénod

--
James, a bondslave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ

Friday, March 6, 2009

James Cuénod's Newsletter 2009-03-06

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To those
interested who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Before writing this newsletter, I checked the last one (because it has
been two weeks since I sent it) and discovered that it was after my first
full week of lectures. I must say, work has picked up significantly but I
am thoroughly enjoying it.

Last week I had the oppurtunity to go to the South African National
Gallery to see the William Kentridge display called "I am not me, the
horse is not mine". It was typical modern art: Very abstract! I returned
to the exhibition last Saturday to have a second look at it and I do
believe that Kentridge is saying something - though it would be very easy
to dismiss it saying, "Look where post-modernism gets you". Since I've
mentioned it, while I was at the gallery on Saturday I also stopped in at
the "Wildlife Photographer of the Year" display which is at basically the
same place and was absolutely amazing. It was, in fact, the wildlife
photography that was the highlight of my visit.

Two Sundays ago, I visited St. Peters in the morning again which was again
good. That evening I went to St. Pauls which is essentially a church plant
of the morning service at St. Pauls but for students. The vibe there seems
great and the group seems nice (all but a few are students), they have a
Bible study on Wednesday nights and it is almost the size of the evening
service. The only problem is that it is about a 30-40 minute drive to get
there. Last Sunday I went to MCC in the morning again (the church that
uses GWC facilities) and then I went to The Message, a church next door to
the UCT campus, in the evening. The Message was quite a lot like St. Pauls
and I enjoyed the atmosphere and the preaching. Transport there is a
slight problem though so I don't want to be placed there.

Assignments mounted up during the week before last, most of them being due
this past week which is probably why I didn't get to sending out a
newsletter last week. I don't feel overloaded but I feel enough pressure
to keep myself focussed.

This coming Tuesday is the "Matriculation Dinner" which is a formal dinner
where they officially welcome the first year students. During the last 3
days of term (1-3 April), we will not be having normal lectures; we will
be doing a course on African Traditional Religions which promises to be
very interesting.

I think that everyone is settling into routine here. The most recent break
from it was that a new guy, Chaka (I can't remember his surname), has just
arrived from Zimbabwe. He had problems getting a visa and has only just
managed to get here so he has some catching up to do but he knows some of
the guys here already (who are also from Zimbabwe) and I'm sure he'll do
fine.

This may seem to get old but I really do appreciate your prayers. The only
prayer requests that I have are: One; that I discerningly learn as much as
I possibly can and in so doing take maximum advantage of my time here and
two; that my spiritual growth exceeds my intellectual growth while (and
that does not only apply to my time here).

In Christ,
James Cuénod


--
James, a bondslave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ