Daylight Saved from today...

So I'm back from church and very pleased with myself and the congregation. We made it by 9.00am last week's time. We were officially there at 10.00am. Actually we were there at 9.10am last week's time. I religiously changed all the clocks except Sheilagh's watch - hence the tardiness. Oh - church does start at 10.00am here.

You could be forgiven for being confused by this outburst, but if you have never been in a country that puts its clocks forward or backwards at various times of the year, these things will make absolutely no sense. In short what matters is that Australia is 4 hours behind us now, while South Africa is now 1 hour ahead, although you have to switch from day to night or vice versa. Makes phone calls quite interesting.

Less confusing is this fact - that school has closed for the holidays. The Chaplain is always in an invidious position. The political situations determine what people hear in the sermons, even though I usually attempt simply to talk about what the Bible says, what it means, and how we should apply it to our lives. The fact that it does apply does not necessarily mean we are any worse than other schools. Sometimes we need to be more encouraging, at other times kinder, and every day grateful for the blessings we have. Like the average local church, the hearers tend to apply the message to everyone else except themselves.

On the home front, I am still praying that my children all find their direction and purpose in their respective lives. Chris is on the brink of a new job application process in a second interview phase. Not sure if that will make sense for you either. I pray that he finds the right job which will enable him to pursue his goals. David is a bit behind in that process but on the road. Roxanne is excelling at Art at school and has chosen her subjects for Level 2 - including Design and Painting. I am amazed at her creativity. She has exams next term to complete Level 1 NCEA (NZ year 11, Australian year 10, and South African who knows what- grade 10 I think).

Sheilagh is venturing into a new position in addition to her part-time library work. The local Baptist church has a centre called FAMILY SPACE and one of their programs starting next term is an aftercare centre. Sheilagh has been appointed as the Supervisor of this ministry. I guess you can call it a ministry. So there is much to be done in that department as things get started on 13th October.

My last two weeks have been quite hectic. The ski trip to the mountains was great fun, although I did not actually ski. Playing in the snow was fun enough. I found the stuff quite claustrophobic - perhaps because I was stuck on a mountain while it was actually snowing. The boys we took there were an interesting blend of internationals - some hours of Japanese singing on the way up and back proved entertaining.

The last weekend in Melbourne was dominated by the IB course called TOK (Theory of Knowledge). Met some fascinating people. Sheil went over the Tasman with me and the other 9 teachers from school, and enjoyed a three day tour including a proper bus trip up the coast to real touristy places. Melbourne is a lovely city, but sadly the wind there is more extreme in some ways than Wellington. The fact that there are more people living in the city than the whole of New Zealand is just another bit of trivia.

Since last writing to you, the South Africans in our number have a new President and cabinet, including, thankfully, a new health minister. Away with Dr Beetroot and Garlic. I'm not sure that New Zealand will manage to change prime ministers with such little obvious fuss. Our election is drawing near and most of us believe we need a change. Politics are rather messy here - too much personal muck dug up about people. I think we need more focus on policies. With the world economic melt down. more interest will be focused on the US. In a matter of time we will know the outcomes of all these things.

We are half way to that place when we will have the option of applying to become Kiwis. It takes 5 years of being permanent residents before you can do that. So two and a half years down the track what has changed for us? I guess we feel less like South Africans as such, but not more like Kiwis. I talk about being an African, which creates some confusion in those who make assumptions. We do feel like global citizens - a bit more connected with the wider world, even though we have never crossed the equator. Our Christian identity makes so much easier for us - we have this wonderful worldwide family. Maybe that's what we all need to work on - being people of integrity in living out our faith.

So as we enjoy the benefits of spring, the onset of summer, and the extra hour's daylight we have saved by fiddling with the clocks, may you feel the warmth of love and support you need from your family and friends. Community needs to work for it to be the added bonus of a safe place where people know and accept you as one of them. Perhaps that is the African thing that I can't shake off.

Spring

We live in hope. As September approached I was really hopeful that the sun would shine on a more committed basis. I am reminded of our years in Rustenburg where a twiggy little fig tree would produce a green leaf just on time when Spring started. When summer comes we have daylight saving here - and the evenings are the sunny times with long walks on the beach.

Greetings from these wobbly islands. An earthquake of 5.9 in the Hawke's Bay sent bottles of lovely wine crashing on the floor in the supermarkets recently, reminding us of the fragility of things. There are some 15 000 quakes a year - a secret not revealed to us when we first considered moving here. Wellington, lying lazily on two fault lines, has the most amazing houses perched on the sides of hills. Auckland is more stable, but above average rainfall over the last three months has caused major land slips and large town house complexes are now at risk of slipping down the hill. As are other very nice houses. There is this story in the gospel of Matthew about houses on rock and sand, if I recall.

The steady things in our lives - work, children, food becoming more expensive, and the delight of a gas heater which can warm this icy house. All in all we can not complain, as we are blessed in so many ways. The winter ailments caught a number of people, especially young people.

The local political scene is hotting up as New Zealand approaches its next general election. The opposition is still ahead in the polls, but is losing ground. I suspect Labour may still sneak in as so many people will vote for the safety of its rather socialist system.

Our personal challenge is to present a relevant and consistent Christian witness in the community. School life is quite hectic, but there are regular sources of joy and celebration as we continue to try to make a difference through our presence there. We enjoyed a worship celebration recently - over two hours of worship and listening to Scripture, which was edifying and refreshing. Our neighbours invited us to their local church for that. Chapel services at school are not exactly the most riveting worship experiences - it takes a long time to get students to learn new songs!

Blessings and peace to you all. Do take care.

love

Robin