A paragraph that he wrote really struck me:

All-or-nothing reformations and all-or-nothing revolutions are not true reformations or revolutions. Most history, however, has not known this until now. When a new insight is reached, we must not dismiss the previous era or previous century or previous church as totally wrong. It is never true! We cannot try to reform things in that way anymore.

I would describe myself as someone committed to and convinced that as a world, a country and a church we need reform (or even revolution) but I have also come to realise that what Richard Rohr says above is really true. This reform or revolution that needs to take place must also seek to preserve all that is good in that which has preceded this moment. The arrogance of saying that, ‘we have got it right and to hell with everything before us’ must give way to humble and generous reform. A reform that has ‘eyes to see’ and ‘arms to receive’  the gifts of people and generations that have gone before us.

At NieuCommunities we are committed to speaking openly and honestly about areas we feel need reform in Christianity and our society but we try our best (though admittedly we sometimes fail) to never fall into the ‘all-or-nothing’ reform that Rohr describes above. We want to be open and generous in everything we do, even our criticisms!

Lord have mercy.

Not to be confused with Gondor, Gondar is (according to our guide Haile Selassie) the ‘Camelot of Africa’ . Out of everything I saw in Ethiopia this was perhaps the thing I least expected to see, ‘Castles, in Africa.what the…?’ It is so different to anything we have in Southern Africa and goes a long way to re-configuring stereo-types about Africa. Beyond that it just added another layer to the mystique and intrigue that seems to characterises so much of Ethiopia.

Enjoy!

We arrived back from Ethiopia just before Christmas and many of you have asked to see pictures from the trip. After just a few more sentences your curiosity will finally be satisfied so hang in there! An experience like this is quite difficult to put into words so I have decided to just let the pictures do the talking (he says while he continues to type more words).

After two years of saving, many hours of planning and a couple of setbacks that nearly derailed our trip, including the possibility of supplementary exams, Becky and I were finally able to travel to the enigmatic and magical land of Ethiopia.

We travelled nearly 3000 kilometres, to7 destinations using a multitude of transportation including taxi’s, buses, minibuses, horses, planes, tuk-tuks and boats. We experienced both the vibrancy and poverty of Addis Ababa as well as the overwhelming beauty of the Bale mountains. We befriended locals and we befriended foreigners, we were treated with warmth and hospitality and we were ripped off.  We wanted to stay there longer and we were ready to come back home. We experienced a full range of emotions with the vast majority of them being positive.

Without a doubt this was the most memorable trip that I have been on and if you are considering a travel destination, Ethiopia should be top of your list.

Well, you might not miss me but I will miss you and I hope this last part of the year is good for you and all those you care about!

Speak soon

Peace

Curtis

GRATITUDE

When Job’s life is about to be taken away from him, he can say one of two things. He can curse God, as he is tempted to do, and say, “God, why not fifty-one years of life?” Or he can surrender to love and say, “God, why even fifty years?” Why did I deserve life at all? When we take on that attitude, we’ve made a decision for grace.

“Naked I came into the world, and naked I will leave,” Job says (Job 1:21). What do we have, brothers and sisters, that has not been given to us? All is grace. All is given. Who gave me this hand? Who wiggles these fingers? Who created these eyes which I cannot explain or understand? I cannot even make this hair grow. It is all gift.

From beginning to end, everything is grace, everything is given. There is nothing that we have a right to or that we deserve.

We pretty much had a ‘traditional Christmas lunch’ which included:

1. Vegetarian Sushi Starters (maki rolls made by Becky and I)
2. Cranberry and Vodka Cocktails
3. Weber cooked succulent Chickens and Potatoes
4. Butternut and Beetroot salad
5. Green Salad
6. Granadilla Cheese Cake
7. Reeses Peanut Butter Cups (from my recent trip to USA)

Here are some pics from the day, taken by my brother Dale and Me.

For those of you who have early Christmas lunches or dinners coming up, I hope they are a good time of connecting, relaxing and eating!

This is a seriously great idea! You see some of the craziest things in Youtube comments…eish. You wonder what some people are thinking when they write that stuff. You can check out more from xkcd here

“Living without speaking is better than speaking without living. For a person who lives rightly helps us by silence, while one who talks too much annoys us. If, however, words and life go hand in hand, it is the perfection of all philosophy.”

- Isidore of Pelusium

So I arrived back from an amazing trip to San Diego, California last week. Although I was only there for a week it was a experience-crammed week! It was so good to see my friends Rob and Laurie (Founders of NieuCommunities, amazing hosts and all round good people) and the NieuCommunities San Diego people. Very inspiring to see and hear about the ways in which they are seeking to participate in God’s healing and restoring work in their neighbourhood of Golden Hill and the  city of San Diego.

The trip had a few purposes:

1. To visit NieuCommunities San Diego and get a taste for their life and rhythms.
2. To participate in the planning and structuring of a book being written about the work of NieuCommunities by a gifted writer Jon Huckings.
3. To see the US of A a little.
4. Catch up with some NCSA friends who were back in the states.

All is all my expectations were met and indeed exceeded and I had a great time. Mexican food is great and San Diego is city worth seeing! I had such a good time that I didn’t take many pictures but here are three (of the 5) that I took.

The pictures are of the house I stayed in, the view from my balcony and the three of us working on the book.

The only downside to the trip is the long-as-hell flight there (and back!) which also became a moment for me to confront my own mortality. Let me explain.

I honestly thought my life was about to be cut short, flying through an epic storm soon after take off from Atlanta to Johannesburg.

At one point the plane just kind of dropped and a whole bunch of people shrieked. This was followed by the engines roaring uncharacteristically and the nose of the plane pointing precariously towards the ocean below. I would like to say that I peacefully sat in my chair continuing to watch Lincoln Lawyer,while this went on but the reality was I was thinking to myself, “I am too young to die…what about Becky…and my family?” Definitely one of the rougher flights I have been on.

In hindsight its kind of humorous and I chuckle to myself as I recount it in my mind. Being confronted with death has a kind of light side to it because in the moment all the petty things in life are suddenly jolted into stunning perspective and you can’t help but smile.

On that note, have a great day

Curtis

I am fortunate

Very fortunate.

I have a house

And a window.

Through which to see

This devastation of lilac

This excessive ripening

This sudden wilting

This silent, weeping grace.

How lucky am I

How lucky am I