The joy of serving Christ

Our 2 day weekend was setup for brothers and sisters, to give them an overview of what the bible says about how ecclesia's should run, to help them understand that the ecclesia has many different aspects - including preaching, and sustaining the membears (as one brother wrote, and we've run with), and how we are here to show love to each other as if we are all Christ's.

The talks were very blunt, as there had been many issues that hadn't been clearly addressed to this point and I thought they were going to be negative at the beginning of the weekend, but by the end, I felt encouraged by the scriptual guidance. We looked at recovering lost sheep, that the leaders are meant to be shepherds, caring for the membears in the ecclesia, in effect washing each others feet. We closed the meeting with a meditation on 3 things I need to change, etc... quite powerful, as I don't think they'd been in a learning environment like that before. It was truely a training and development session on the path to the kingdom. We closed with 2 examples of literal feet washing, brother & sister.

At the end of the meeting Dad said a few brief words, to me it felt like Paul leaving Ephesus, cause most of these membears we won't see again until possibly we can come back to this area... and so the words were few but meaningful. Dad wanted to see them all by God's grace accepted as sheep in the day of judgement. Brother Swapan Mondal got up and said a few words of encouragement to us, that our time here has not been in vain, and that the brethren and sisters are grateful for the love that has been shown to them, and that they have learnt at least in theory that to move forward in this area they need to start caring for each other, and helping each other to the kingdom. As soon as he finished talking most of the sisters rushed to the front, trying to wash Dad's feet..it was truely moving, and then some of the sisters came to the front to say goodbye and started to cry. We felt loved.

Then it was decided to stay at the camp an extra night. There was no way some of them could leave because of bus strikes. The spontaneity was fab. There was no massive program so we decided to have another sisters class which I led on 'endurance' and we had an evening class on prophecy. The brothers wanted the class to go all night, but most of them had to leave first thing in the morning so we ended at 10 when we were kicked out of the room by security. They need so much more food. They were all enjoying learning, but they only get fed once a year at bible week, and most of them don't see any Christadelphians till the next year. How would I do in that sort of situation? I'd go insane.

That night Wes had been into Sudder St and brought back some Flurry's cake for us all to much on, while mum told Erina the story of Goldilocks and the 3 bears. It all came from a letter one of the brethren had written, using the word members, but spelling it as membears as I've already alluded to..and just went from there. You might think it strange, but there was definitely a time to let off steam at night in mum and dad's room:-)

I was much saddened to hear of a brother who was baptised 2 years ago who had got gangrene in his foot due to not being visited by the Christadelphians in his area, which shows the real state of the ecclesia there (not really a functioning body) and he now has to get it amputated. I've been so upset ever since I heard this report when I got back from Bangalore early December. Anyways, I tried to spend some time with him and his unbaptised daughter on the weekend, and as they were saying goodbye to me, they asked me to come visit Contai as they have a talking cat there. I was like, 'but cat's don't talk'. 'This one does', they said. I walked away devastated. I'd heard the joke about the prophesying cat in Contai, but somehow it would've been different if it hadn't been this mans cat. He's finally back at a meeting, and fellowshipping, and we find out he believes his cat is talking. He is old, and possibly a little senile, but his daughter was the backing up everything he said. There is still so much learning to be done in this area. The newly baptised are trying to lead ecclesia's, but don't actually have much knowledge themselves.

Arriving back the next day we went to Amazon for dinner, and when we asked for a serve of 'plain rice' he responded, 'not available'. Sometimes you can contain your laughter, this wasn't one of those occasions. We exploded. An Indian restaurant, not selling rice?? We said it two or three times and then another waiter came along to help out, there was a side nod, and the dish was noted. I don't think we'd stopped laughing by the time it was served!!

I have to go. We're having a memorial with David before he starts work tomorrow, and although it is our last night, we have to be somehow functioning to complete the packout of here tomorrow.

The night watchment is blowing his whistle.

And tonight we responded with ours.