James Cuénod's Newsletter 2012-08-24

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.

Time has flown since I last wrote and I realise now how much has happened
here, I'm sorry I haven't been better at keeping you up to date. I'm
starting realise that graduation (or not...) is much closer than I had
thought and I had better get cracking. Last Friday I handed in a rough
draft of the first chapter of my dissertation not knowing whether it was
even vaguely what I was supposed to be doing but the response of my
supervisor was pretty positive. This means that now he knows how much I've
done so I can't fool him into thinking I'm working when nothing more is
being produced but it also means I have direction and he can provide some
more guidance to me. He wants a full draft by the 17th of September – the
day after college holidays – and the whole thing has to be finished for
final submission by the 2nd of November which is a little daunting.

Because of work here, I may not have a chance to get back to Joburg these
holidays which is unfortunate but I guess I really do have to make the
most of this time now and I'm still enjoying my dissertation – something
people had told me not to expect. The second week back we begin with our
OT course on Exodus Dr Abel Ndjerareou
(I don't know how to say it either). It looks like it'll be good but it
also means much less time than is apparent for our dissertations (which
means I really do need to get cracking).

Having said that, this coming weekend brings with it an enjoyable annual
event: the bishop's weekend. Frank Retief (the retired bishop of CESA)
takes away the men of at college and talks about full time ministry. The
weekend is always a highlight not only because of books and chocolate but
because of the deepening of relationships that can happen there.

The Friday before last my flatmate was at a wedding in Durban and while he
was away I decided to remind myself about the fragility of material
possessions. While reading Lord of the Rings (Frodo just chucked the ring
into mount doom – more excitingly than I just made it sound though) I
heard some wailing outside but I dismissed it; "it's Muizenberg," "this is
the ambiance..." I decided to at least look around though and when I did I
realised that they were braaiing at the married res. It was a big braai
though because there was black smoke. "let's be responsible James, at
least go outside." Outside of course, I realised that the house next door,
that three college people called home, was the braai fuel and not much
braaiing was happening. I learnt that MTN's emergency number is worthless
after dialing it and hitting 1 because the emergency was life threatening
and in spite of their warnings about the criminal offence of calling it
when there was not an emergency situation and then subsequently holding
for about 5 minutes at which point I figured I was dead to them. I also
got to watch the roof of the house collapse, I think it would have been
more impressive than horrific if it hadn't been the roof of someone I'm
studying with and there hadn't been a crowd people filled with what I can
only think is sadism gathered around to watch someone's house burn down.
So that was Friday.

Speaking of fire, we could use some in our Bible study where the
Christians are mostly disinterested. The one exception is the
non-Christian girl who highlights, reads ahead and asks good questions and
answers questions intelligently. I'm a bit discouraged by their lacklustre
interest in the gospel but I suppose that they're preparing me for
ministry – which is also a bit saddening.

Plans for next year are still not occupying much time in my mind. I'm just
waiting for churches to get back to me and I'm okay with the fact that
meetings and discussions are lengthy and often contingent on other issues
being resolved. It's not a concern yet but I think by the end of next
month it will be.

You can pray for the families of the burnt house and for the non-Christian
girl at Bible study. Please also pray that I work hard in the coming month
especially and get a quality first draft done so that in my revising it's
editing and improving not rewriting. Please also pray for me as I try to
(co-)lead Bible study (and lead a small group table at Friday youth), that
I would be able to do so with wisdom and insight and that God would work
in my groups' hearts.

In Christ,
James Cuénod


--
James, a bondslave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
http://www.rekindle.co.za