Bouncing in the Bush in Zambia

Well, sorry it’s taken me a few days to get around to typing a few musings about our visit to Zambia. In fact if you look at this blog, you will probably notice that it has actually been a couplle of months…..

We’ve now been here 6 days and well i actually think we have managed to do a lot. I don’t want to bore you with all of the details but I’ve included a few highlights here for your esteemed consumption…….

The Strangely Amazing Meeting in Lusaka

We had just arrived in Zambia and went to freshen up (code for diving in the shower and trying to sleep!) before we started our 7 hour bus journey northwards. Dave Thompson, owner of the Lusaka Hotel and all around good guy, let us use one of his rooms and insisted on giving us a complimentary breakfast. Good one Dave! We walked in to the dinign room where Bill was meeting Hughie from harare, Zimbabwe. Lots of cool possibilities were talked about at the meeting, but that isn’t the point. Let us fast forward a few days. Me and Rob beamish and a guy called Bill Raven are standing by a well in the bush. We are talking about needing to get some kind of advice on hydrology about supplying water to 10 villages. Rob mentions Hughie the Zimbabwean who also happens to be a hydrologist. then the amazing thing happens…. Bill the councillor who we are with, knows Bill…… People from 3 countries a couple of chance meetings and maybe all so that some villages can have a water supply. Spooky isn’t it? Some people call that God!

Bill Raven, the Esteemed Counsellor

Bill is a good guy. He really has a heart to help his community, which is Ipafu ward. He is their newly elected councillor. I’ve got to know Bill over some time and it seems to me that maybe this is the Lord opening up another avenue of work. So we spent some time driving around the bush with Bill to see how the ground lies so to speak. We saw villages where people must walk 8 miles each way to get water (yes 16 miles in total!), we saw perhaps one of the greatest wastes and tragedies i have seen in terms of resources. Ipafu Hospital. Beautiful buildings, full running water, power, staff houses, equipment……. most of it still in the wrappers as it has been for the previous 5 years. All becasue of politics between the government and the catholic church. Simply not good enough. Hopefully we can help a little in the area.

Mibila Clinic – working!

Wow! Is all I can say. I’ve just come out of the bush fro Mibila having been there for the last 24 hours. I’m still quite stunned by what I have seen. A sense of unreality pervades me. I visited Mibila when there was nothing at all a few years ago. Now people are being treated, there is hope, the whole community is beginning to change. People are living. What a difference! I’n not trying at all to be proud here, I really am not, but in some ways that is down to me (and Barry and plenty of other people as well!) I find it utterly stupefying! How does God use me to do such things! I’m simply not worthy! But this is worth listening to – he chooses to use us – and the results can be simply amazing. The clinic has so far treated over 1000 people, has the best drug supply in the area and is simply doing it’s job! Nurse Grace who is living there is amazing and is really a community leader, starting clubs, improvements in agriculture etc. I’m really humbled. Thankyou Jesus!

The Team and other Stuff

The conferences so far have gone very well. The pastors seem challenged and encouraged. Dave and Jan have done paticularly well on their speaking debuts in Africa. At the moment it all seems worth it! Rob (“of weak constitution”) Beamish is doing well (sorry private joke!) and Mark (Blag It) Burton is feverishly photographing and recording everything that moves….. It all seems well.

Please pray for us over the next few days as are doing a lot of travelling, especially with a vehicle with a very dodgy clutch. TIA (This is Africa!)

I’ll write more soon. Jon

 

To Lose a House

Some of you that know me, will know that for the last 3 weeks or so, Jude and I have been pursuing a house in Scotland. We want to set up some kind of holiday letting business, and have a retreat that we and our friends can use.

Well today, we missed out on the latest property we have been pursuing. I think I felt a little disappointed. We probably missed out by having out bid a few hundred pounds below the highest bid. Now if I was feeling ultra-spiritual I might think well, does the Lord want me to do this? I think Brother Andrew (of smuggling Bibles everywhere fame) has a phrase called christian fatalism to describe it. We always assume that everything will go hunky dory if it is God’s will.

I don’t think guidance is as simple as that sometimes. To achieve many of the triumphs we have managed over the last few years, we have had to smash through a few barriers to get there. Disappointment is one of those barriers. Suffering is another barrier. Tiredness, Attack, Stress in fact most things can be barriers. The ‘older’ I’ve got in spiritual terms, the more I have come to distrust my circumstances. For example, we often feel that our lives are impregnable. Are they really? I think not. Following our circumstances for guidance is no more reliable than a boat looking at the sea to work out which direction to go in. Looking around us, makes us feel insecure, blocks off possibilities and makes us fatalistically accept whatever comes our way.

For example, many people feel they must get jobs to stay afloat when in fact they are OK. Some believe they cannot make a difference until their kids grow up, until this is done or that is done. Life and guidance are not about such things. There’s a story where Peter walked on the Sea of Galilee at Jesus’ invitation. His eyes were fixed on Jesus, not on the water he walked on. There’s a very powerful example there.

Often the voice that stops us is an inner voice. We paralyse ourselves, by accepting a fatalism in life, that I frankly don’t believe is God’s invention. That fatalism says things like: If it is Gods will that the person is healed (as if God wants someone to suffer inane pain!). They must have done something bad to deserve that (an you too?) . It’s too big to make a difference to. I can’t do it. I’ll pray about it (Christian code for ‘go take a hike I’m not doing it’ – just for the record on that one, NOONE in 18 years of me bring a Christian has ever said yes after saying they will pray about it!).

I’m not trying to be simple here, but if we think in such a fatalistic way we are dead before we have begun. Did God exercise his divine will to make someone bid higher than me? Or did I simply get my estimate of the price wrong. Again for the record, the price we offered, was a random number picked by Sarah…… maybe it’s her fault (joke!) Sometimes these things happen. Now I do believe in certain situations God does block us from doing things, but I think you know that when you are in relationship with Him closely. That is a far cry from the fatalism that kills us everyday, keeps our lives contained and all but kills our effectiveness in meeting the needs of this world and bringing people into a relationship with God.

I ask this question of myself. When was the last time I did something so utterly selfless and sacrificial that it hurt me to do it? The problem with sacrifice is that each time you bring it – it must be more that the time before, or to put it another way, the bar is raised.

Maybe God doesn’t want me to have a house in Scotland but for now I’m not going to get all fatalistic and stop trying. But I’m not going to stop listening to him either! But I am not going to listen primarily to what is around me – or at least I’ll try because believe me – on this saint it is still very much work in progress….

 

Taking a Chill Pill

Funny isn’t it? We spend most of our lives running around in some very busy state. Even if we are not physically running around we can be mentally running around. Speeding around our various problems, hassles and the like is quite common.

Take Thursday for example. I was at an Alpha Conference in London, trying to buy a house in Scotland and arranging a board meeting at the same time. Talk about mental work….. The thing is too much of my life can be like that.

Even when I ‘relax’ sometimes, I’m not actually relaxed. My mind is still whirring around – thinking of new possibilities, new things to do. Over the last few months I’ve been praying about what drives me in that. What is it that makes me so restless? I think in some ways it is an insecurity. It doesn’t help that our whole working culture is about being ‘busy’. We gain status by looking busy. How many people do their ‘hours’ at work? Don’t go home early because no-one else does? It’s all a bit stupid, but I think it does affect all of us.

Many times in the last few days have I had the thought to slow down. Now for me that doesn’t actually mean not running around, it means slowing down my inner personal life. Another way of putting it would be to slow down my spirit. Why do I run around anyway? If it is to find fulfillment, then I’m on the wrong track. I think I believe fulfillment is only fully possible from knowing Jesus. Now this is very important, because it is not even in finding what Jesus wants us to do, that we find fulfillment. That again, is the same lie, that we find our purpose by doing.

Fundamentally, it is through knowing that I’m a child of God, a son of a King with a future that is in some ways wondrous. I know this by knowing Him. It is the greatest protection from stress, from attack, from disillusionment that I know, to spend time with Him. We don’t even have to see the possibilities, we spend time and enjoy. So my advice from what I am trying to do? Slow down, enjoy life, enjoy God and do what you can, in fact ALL that you can, but do it in that order. Don’t worry about the life that you want to lead, the influence you want to have, spend time with him and His life will come through you and around you.

All of this is strangely liberating to me. I haven’t by any means mastered this yet, but I know this is significant for my life. Jesus talked about only doing the will of his Father. I think this is partly what he was talking about. In my line of work, there’s a subtle pressure. A pressure to succeed, a pressure to influence many people, a pressure to solve everything you come across. What’s the antidote? To be led by the Spirit and mastered by the Spirit.

Recently I’ve asked the Lord to show me what really drives me, it has been one of the hardest times of my Christian life and still is. Insecuity, Pride, the need for Praise have all surfaced. I’m not ashamed of that, in fact I’m glad I’m beginning to see these things for the shallow imitations that they are. It is only when I’ve done that, that I can ever hope to grow, learn and move away from them.

I’m convinced that the more I become like Him, the more I will affect those whom He puts around me.

2 years of wisdom that I’m still learning. There for you in a few paragraphs.

Chill out.

 

The Final Word on India

Thought I would try and write some final thought on my first foray onto Asian soil. The final word is that India is GREAT!  Some of my thoughts about the trip now that I am back in the UK are:

Longer

I would have loved to have spent longer. The people are so hospitable and generous. I would love to know the country and its’people more

Opportunity and Fragility

The opportunity in the state of Assam is huge, and with the social relational nature of Indian society, Alpha could really work! After all its’ the work of the Holy Spirit anyway. The opportunity is vast, and I mean really vast. It’s like a big ocean of possibility that one could dive into. I am struck about how fragile opportunity can be. It’s true that tim waits for no – one and sometimes opportunity can be snuffed out so easily. My hope for Prafulla and his team is that they will sieze what is before them. But in the light of the task that faces them, the team, the leaders, they seem so fragile in an ocean that is overwhelming.  Even small ships can cross an ocean though.

Curry

Need I say more….

Our Role with those No-One cares about

Let me tell you a little story. When we originally were presented with a list of places to go in India, I knew we wold end up with Assam. It was a little troubled, a little harder to get to, a little more remote etc. I absolutely knew it! However, I thought lets go for somewhere easier. So I piked Hyderabad. That was gone, then another, that was gone. We even centred upon another location, then there was a mix up and that was gone. Finally, the only one left was Assam. Funny eh!?

I don’t know if in my life I will tour the great cities of the world, Sydney, New York etc. but I do think I am more likely to end up in the great backwaters of our world, with people who can be seen as ‘backwaters’ of humanity. It seems to be a developing pattern. And do you know something? Those people are beautiful in every way. I think of Annie, a young convert from Hinduism of her faith – she is very intelligent, but in India she is from the wrong place.

I think of Meshech in Mibila village in Zambia. He is someone that most of us would want to avoid. As I write this, something in me wants to hug him, to embrace him in his rags and meet with him in his poverty. I might not be able to fix it all but I can treat him like a human being and not ignore him. I can treat him as God would treat him. That same priciple is there in India, Africa, the UK – in fact wherever I am. I’m even thinking of some scallies I had a go at the other day – maybe I should go and apologise to them. We may think – it ain’t worth it – they are just …. well whatever, and thats the point, they aren’t whatever, they are people who God loves and for whom my heart has to break.

Why is it that in Tezpur the most alive Christians I found were an old pastor and a group of young men who were full of the Spirit and full of His love? A group of country boys and their old friend!  God revels in using the unlikelyto do His work. That’s why he uses you and he uses me.

Being in India has shown me that again and again, we’ll end up in the ‘backwaters’ with people of the ‘backwaters’.

The Final, final word

I could go on and on, but the final word is that we were meant to go there. We were meant to meet our friends. We were meant to encourgae them. We were meant to learn with them. We were meant to pray for them. We were meant to help. That means there’s a plan and we have begun to play a very small part in it.

That excites me. 

 

Everywhere in Mind But Home…

Sorry I haven’t updated this since Guhawati – but I kind of never got a round to it. But I am now back home, and back home for a little while. That for me is always a comforting feeling. Well as I’m here, I may as well tell you all some of what has been going on and some of the thoughts that I’ve had recently.

I’m often struck how life can whizz by at some speed. Take the week after I got back from India for an example. Sunday morning I’m in Calcutta. Then spend a few days in Manchester, and as for anyone coming back to ‘work’ can be a bit of a stress. Then Friday evening Jude and I took the kids to North Yorkshire for the weekend. I mean what a diverse week. From the smells and car horns (complete with wildly swerving cars) to cows in the North Yorks National Park. (and they are fine cows – it must be said!)

In North Yorkshire we were staying with Judith and Robert Ventress. They are the parents of Sarah who works with me, I suppose my PA/kind of person who attempts to order some of the chaos that can surround me. They must have the best B & B anywhere, so you really need to go and stay with them and sample their breakfast and farming delights. You can even email them here on intakefarm@farming.co.uk and make a booking! For me what’s great about them is that I (and the family) were able to completely relax. For me it was great to talk about football and car engines etc. with Sarah’s dad, or sample homemade cake (I’m selling it to you aren’t I?), or even better watch Ethan and Joshua take great pleasure in the feeding of the sheep. They are just great people and I really appreciated being able to go. (If Sarah ever reads this she’ll think it’s all daft, and then she’ll tell me, she can be very blunt!). I think that I needed the break more than I realised.

I think that I can sometimes be everywhere in my mind but home. Too easily get caught up in things that don’t matter. Spending time with normal great people reminds me to take a reality check sometimes. I mean it’s not every minute we can think of saving the world…. For example, today I was thinking about flights to Africa to take a small team in April, then also thinking about going to Portugal to do a very intensive crash course in Portugeuse in June (Jude think that’s a great idea!), and then thinking about Angola in July. It can all get a bit all over the place, and I do get far too caught up in it. Even with the stuff closer to home, Alpha Courses in rural Cheshire, or thinking about running one at Ethan’s school. It can all fill my mind, and literally I can be everywhere but home. That is why I LOVE people who are not like that. They allow me to chill out. So if you are a normal person, find a Type A personality like me and help us to relax and calm down. I’m sure that’s why God created you, to cool down all the mini-inferno’s that go, or to slow down what a friend Lee Hardy would call an excalamtion mark on legs….

A Small Milestone 

Last night was a milestone, for the first time, I managed to get together a team that could help operationally run aspects of what Dignity is doing. From teaching to bore holes, security details to mailing lists we had the people there. A special mention must go to Mark who travelled 120 miles to be at the meeting, and of course Rob, who despite circling Stockport twice, valiantly battled on to my house. I’m truly blessed to be surrounded by people who are great! Now I know this blog is called the lonely highway, and it can be, but sometimes people join you on that highway and you go places together. That’s happening with a board, a team and friends and volunteers. I’m honoured and priveledged that some of my ideas could bring some of those people together.

Anyhow I’m gonna stop rambling and write a post about India.

 

 

In Guhawati

Well we’ve had the second conference in Tezpur and im sitting in a hotel in Guhawati, a very large city, and the capital of Assam. It’s tense, two bombs have gone off in the last 26 hours and there is a curfew from 11 pm. The conference in Tezpur went well, about 125 delagates turned up and God did some very powerful things, despite me being grumpy yesterday. Now before I waffle on this blog what are the highlights in the last few days:

Receiving an Honour

Today, some of the Boro people at the conference presented Julian and myself with handwoven scarves. They are beautiful and I did not know quite what to say. They were given to us by a young man who used to be a hindu ‘evangelist’. He had met jesus powerfully and had become a Christian. His story was amazing, comprising visions, being opposed. he was so very gentle and lovely. I felt very humbled by his kind gesture. Apparently receiving these scarves is a very high honour.

Learning to say the word Tai – No – Bat

Despite being English we have been trying to learn some of the language. Thankyou in Assamese is pronounced Tai No Bat. Simple enough you would think, but oh no! it has taken all of us to ask nearly every time we have had to say it. Now finally after a few days I’ve got it.

Death Defying Driving

To quote an email from Paul Nattrass

In the ten years since I was last here in India many things have changed but as you have noticed certain items definantly have not – after Kolkota, Jon i will never say anything about your driving again!

The driving here is quite simply terrible. Imagine avoiding lots of random objects at high speed, that’s Indian driving. On more than one occasion I’ve prayed, gasped, closed my eyes and generally thought we were going to die!

To Ulfa or not to Ulfa

One of serious problems we have encountered is the name of Alpha. Now don’t get me wrong, I really do think it will work very well here, and so do all of the delegates. However, Alpha in Assamese, the local language, translates to ULFA which also happens to be the name of the United Liberation Front of Assam. They are the terrorist organisation that has been shooting people and blowing things up this week. You may agree, that’s kind of a problem. Well I’m sure some clever sould somewhere will think of a solution. At best it is a joke, at worst it is a very dangerous potential for misunderstanding.

Listening to some brothers in India

I have been amazed to hear some of my friends here tell me of their life stories. Many of our conference delegates had been assaulted for being a Christian. Some had been thrown out of their areas and had to leave. Imagine that in the UK. I find it immensely challenging, the cost they are willing to pay for sharing jesus. I need to learn from them and emulate them.

Anyway, it’s late and I’m tired (12.30 am here) and we have driven a very long way. Tomorrow we go to Kolkata, spend the afternoon and evening there and then fly home. Anyway, I’ll write some challenging and inspirational thoughts when I get home, for now let me go to sleep.

 

A Ride in a Rickshaw

Firstly, the last post should have been posted a couple of days ago, but it wasn’t sorry!

 This morning for the first time ever in my life I went on a rickshaw. 20p for some poor person to drag mw throughout the streets of Dibrugarh, with nothing but his legs for power. In fact it was myself and Julian that were on the rickshaw this morning. Things weren’t helped by the fact that we didn’t speak Assamese or the fact that if we did, we did not know where we were going anyway.

 Julian seemed to think that riding the Rickshaw was the equivalent of a space flight and had sufficient fear to match. Many whoops and oh ….. (imagination required, and Julian is not akin to such colour!) later we reached our destination. The main problem seemed to be that we were weaving our way through buses, other rickshaws and huge trucks.

Julian point blank refused to get a rickshaw back, and was only coaxed on half way back with the lure of filming the ride for his video of our trip.

The Conferences

 The last couple of days have been brilliant. We’ve been holding an Alpha conference for many leaders and church members in the area. The thing is, with the close relationships that seem to permeate Indian society, I actually think it can work very well. Everyone spoke very well at the conference. There were many highlights and I do not want to bore you with dross but to list some of them:

 1) Having some of the best curry you can ever have.

2) Seenig God really touch many Christians with a sense of forgiveness. This was extremely powerful, perhaps the most powerful time of ministry I’ve ever been involved in. Very humbling experience.

3) Jude and Debs being given Sari’s by our hosts.

4) Meeting some of the most humble yet Godly people I have ever met.

The question time at the end of the conference was hard, because of the depth and cross cultural nature of the questioning. It showed me that people were REALLY thinking. How do you reach a Hindu for whom jesus is one of many gods? People don’t talk ovr a meal so what do you do? You find an social equivalent was the answer. So may questions and so much positive thought and energy. Great!

Only perhaps 3% of the population of Assam, are involved in any contact with Christianity at all. That lent a new dynamic to our task. There really are not many initiatives happening in this part of the world at all. I realised that in some ways we were working apostolically to encourage the Chruch and many believers to start to see thier role as to reach the rest of their state. It just so happens that I think for them, Alpha will actually be a really good fit in many cases. So I’m very encouraged.

A Man of Peace

 I met a man called Abraham. In terms of presence he is head and shoulders above everyone. A man of kind and humble demeanour. His facial features are mongolian which shows his heritage in this part of India.

He is a person who is trying to reach the Assamese people. Only .25% (yes 0.25%) of the Assamese people group are Christian. Last year Abraham, was exiled from his homeland becasue of his relationship with Jesus.  That’s why I suppose I conencted with him, because we are both evangelists, that is people who want to show the love of Jesus in word and deed, helping others to do the same.

We spoke about many things. We both found it hard to leave our families, we both got discouraged sometimes, and we both had a passion to see things change. I feel there was more in our meeting than simply friendship. Time will tell, but something in my heart rose to his people group in particular, who are poor, marginalised and very very unreached.

In the past, he has recieved many beatings for his faith. Yet he is still with the Lord. That makes his faith far stronger than mine, who at most gets some gip from daft people occasionally. I wander in the UK why we are so afraid of offending people? I don’t think it’s being scared of offence at all, it’s more what people will say and think of us if we do. I think we could all learn from the example of Abraham. Do we live to please people? Or do we live to please God?

A Wider Family

Again I have been surprised at the welcome we have had here. The Alpha Coordinator Prafulla, a quiet humble man has been tring everything he can to make tings Ok for us. Last night a neighbour of DK (other Alpha person) dropped us off somewhere. People all over the world are so hospitable, and everywhere we go, there is a wider sense of fmaily that is tangible is real.

Anyhow, I’m out of ideas of what to write, however please if you pray (whether you are a Christian or not you can pray) please think of the following:

• Abraham, his life, his work.
• Prafulla and DK, the Alpha people here in Assam.
• Our Travel to Tezpur (and im late as im writing this!)
• Pray for Debs.
• Pray for the people we met yesterday, that they can start to use some of what they heard.

PS. Deb’s bag turned up here in Dibrugarh! She’s very happy

Jon

 

Landed in Dibrugarh

Well we are here. A flight into Kolkata, a very short sleep and then back to the ariport for a short domestic flight to the small city of Dibrugarh. This city in particular really reminds me of smoe parts of Africa that I have been to. Lots of people hanging about etc. However, here there are various Hindu shrines around the city, you don’t get too many of them in Africa.

 We’re staying in what is quite a nice hotel, and it really is not expensive at all. Bonus! But that isn’t why we are here. We’re running two Alpha conferences starting tomorrow. The orgasation has been a bit difficult fue to the insurgency going onat the moment, in fact there are quite a lot of soldiers around. As I walked around the hotel I suddenly saw 7 guys armed to the teeth walk past me, that caused me to take a double take.

 The ever fantastic British Airways have managed to lose Deb’s luggage, so she’s going to go shopping tomorrow – sounds fun! fashionable saris and that.

 We’ve met two Indian brothers, one named Prafulla and the other Dillip who have been very helpful and welcoming. Please pray for them, as they have a hard job ahead of them. Only 0.25% of the population in Assam is Christian or has any understanding of Him. That isn’t much!

 Anyway this was just a quick update… everyone is completely knackered  – Julian especially dropping off at man opportunities.

We’ll write again soon to let you know how the conference went.

jon

 

The New Year

Well it’s 2007! At long last I’ve actually got around to updating my personal home in cyberspace. About time to I hear you say! Well Happy New Year. Well we’ve got a few interesting bits today….

Off to Assam

For those of you that know me well, it will come as no surprise to you, that I am off to the home of tea, Assam, in North East India. I’m actually off there at 7am from Manchester Airport so this is a little late in the day to be writing about it now – but there you go!

These are the words of Rachel Abraham, a delightful person at a church in London called Holy Trinity Brompton, “and finally… there are two conferences still taking place January 15tth to 19th in Assam which would love your prayer support. This is another ‘hotspot’ in India and we would love your prayers for the team going out – headed by Jon Witt and the local cooridnator.”

The term ‘hotspot’ is a very accurate term at the current time. This is an email that a friend of mine Jon-Man sent to me. He’s so encouraging…… and useful for getting hold of Kevlar (that’s body armour to the uninitiated).

This looks dangerous. I think you should take some Kevlar.

Violence in Assam

Anyway, joking aside, actually above I’m not joking, we are going to run two Alpha Conferences in Assam, India. This is to help some 300/400 church leaders start to work together with Alpha and The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Yes it might be a bit dangerous, it may not, I really don’t know. I do believe Jesus wants us there though, so we are in his protection.

It would be good to pray for the team as well. who are Judith, my wife, Debs and Julian who are two friends of mine (they’re not a couple either!)

There’s a very tight schedule and hopefully lots of fun to be had. To be honest, I really want God to move as it’s a long way to go for nothing! I do believe God heals, I believe he releases people and I believe he does it through His people….. so we’ll see what happens.

If you are praying, why not pray for Joshua and Ethan who are left at home. That would be great!

I’ll try and post some updates here throughout our trip.

Some more info:

My Hope India 2006
Alpha India

Some thoughts on Suffering

Thinking about all of the violence in Assam, it did make me think of the question of suffering. More to the point, why is it that we are so bothered about it and in particular blame God for it?

Have we ever thought that it is simply part of our existence here? I’ve met so many people in very very impoverished situations and they never ask the question. They are simply thankful for the presence of Jesus. I think part of the problem is that we expect life to be easy in the west. In Europe things should just be dandy shouldn’t they? What rubbish! People don’t moan about suffering in poor countries, because suffering is part of their world view. I’m not saying it is right that they suffer, I just think they have a better perspective on life and in particular the hard parts of life.

So next time you think about how unfair suffering is, maybe just maybe you need to change your perspective.

I know I haven’t solved the question, but really, stop blaming God – maybe He is our only hope, and I know I’m going to meet some Indians who see things the same way….. We spend most of our lives in an insulated bubble, litigation, health and safety etc. etc. etc. all because we can’t admit and hold in our hands the frailty of our existence. Maybe that is why we blame God for suffering, because to not do so, is to see ourselves as weak, as vulnerable, as human as we really are.

And on that note….I’d better go to sleep – up in 6 hours…

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Merry Christmas!

Just to wish everyone a very “Merry Christmas”

Also a quick update on the Hertz car charges. £50 for fuel, that was all. They’re not to bad really……. honest Almost human, which for a car hire company is almost impossible. Must be because its’ Christmas.