What is our role?

It seems odd that one should have one’s eyes opened in Johannesburg by a blind man from Wales. But Mike Endicott is a man with a mission that challenges some of our received wisdom. He is a otherwise known as the Blind Healer, endorsed by no lesser person than Rowan Williams, the last Archbishop of Canterbury.

Far from accepting that healing by faith is a fringe activity within the Christian fellowship, he places it much closer to the core by reminding us that Jesus commissioned His disciples to go out and do likewise, and gave them means to do so. The ability to deliver this was and still is intended to be a fundamental demonstration of God’s love and power and is within us all. Mike commends us to pay close attention to the Cross, and place ourselves in step with Jesus, rather than just simply relying on a stream of requests to Our Father.

Such few words do not do justice to His calling, so I recommend to you Mike Endicott’s book, The Blind Healer. Read it, and may your thinking never be the same again…….

Lessons for us all..?

Ella & Annemarie

Ella & Annemarie

What do you think you can learn from a South African township? Do you know what one is? (Try http://freebooter.me/2013/10/31/townships-a-different-aspect-to-south-africa/ if you want an idea).

Ella Mahlulo takes tours of Knysna township ( http://www.emzinitours.co.za ), and in the process educates and unwraps your in-built fears and maybe even prejudices. She is a human dynamo bringing hope into the daily grind, fostering neglected children, sheltering abused women, coaxing truanting children back to school, soup kitchen quite aside from bringing so many to faith. Her story represents a will to overcome the odds with the help of the Lord.

After dropping out of school in her teens, she went back in her mid-20’s by masquerading as a young girl. Having found Jesus, she went on to bring others to Him. When asked about any feeling of anger from those in the township towards their former oppressors, her response was they have none because they know that their next life will be better.

One of the noticeable features of the township is the number of churches, from tin huts to more substantial buildings. Christianity has a strong hold here amongst the (materially) poor.

So one conclusion you might draw is that those who have the least may actually gain the most….

Ring any bells?