May 2007 Report

Anathoth is the headquarters of Africa Upper Room Ministries. On five acres of land near Johannesburg, South Africa, it takes its name from the Jeremiah passage in which land at Anathoth is purchased as a sign of hope for the future. Anathoth is, for Upper Room Ministries, a sign of hope for the future of Africa. This newsletter from staff-person Roland Rink brings news from this important ministry.

"NEW LIFE"

Greetings to you from Nashville, Tennessee. Thanks to the wizardry of modern technology we're still able to assemble all the staff thoughts on new life and publish/broadcast the newsletter as if we were all sitting in Johannesburg.

As Easter disappears into the cloud of memories, the theme of new life should continue to resonate and reverberate amongst us as Christ followers. Here are the collective thoughts on the theme from the staff of Africa Upper Room Ministries:

There are actually lots of things to say about the New Life in Christ! As believers in Christ, we encounter numerous opportunities to express the love of Christ to the lost and a dying world. Many times, we're faced by lots of demands; neighbours, relatives, colleagues and everyone else around exerting sometimes very unrealistic expectations from us simply because of our faith in Christ.

But as Christ assures, we need to be all joy for Christ also experienced all these. Through our new life in Him, we have hope and courage that He has already overcome everything on our behalves. Let blessed assurance be with us always.
- Philip Polo (Kenya)

When C.S. Lewis was 10 his mother developed cancer. The young boy searched his own faith for healing to happen but she died. Again he prayed for a miracle to bring her back. Despite his disappointment he never rejected his God but rather sought more understanding as to what had happened and why.

Perhaps new life is found not in the mountain tops of miracle and spectacular but rather when we walk through the valleys of deeper understanding, greater wisdom and more meaningful relationships. New life happens when we grapple with things that really matter.
- Gavin Leverton

We are into the season of autumn that is often a dry and dead time of the year which I have never really enjoyed. This autumn has been different in that I have witnessed and experienced so many exciting things happening that can only be associated with the New Life that the resurrection of Christ offers. Just one such happening is that I have seen God at work in the life of little Zanele. A few weeks ago as she got very ill and with every incoming call I held my breath that it maybe the hospital calling to say that she had passed. And yet just a few weeks down the line I see a healthy, enthusiastic, feisty little girl with a bright smile that can only melt your heart. This is a sure sign of New Life.
- Nancy Herron

They had been fishing the whole night (John 21:1- 9) and they had caught nothing. At the dawn of a new day, some things happened.

1. A stranger joins them. (New life means for me, arriving at crisis time.) 2. He calls them children. (Just born -- New life.) 3. He has prepared their breakfast. (At the beginning of a New day.) 4. He finds a fishing spot for their nets. (New life means new and fresh food.) 5. They catch 153 fish. (New life means an inclusive life; a life that is not biased but accepting of all.)

When Anathoth shall be a Community Centre for the Eikenhof Community, new life shall have begun, and these people, the children of God, will be able to dream together about themselves, about what it means to be free to listen together to the God who ushers them into a new life, life that invites them to grow together in the love and care of God (through the Anathoth spirit), and they will learn how to fish for their families and do it with an inclusive enthusiasm, that builds them together with us and all around us. This means that together we will then EASTER OUT. New life will then be experienced by all through the power of the risen Lord. The present "climate" and spirit at Anathoth says this to me.
- Ike Moloabi

God prunes and new life develops. It's been encouraging to see the signs of transformation in those to whom I've been giving copies of the Upper Room Daily Devotional guide. They eagerly await each new issue. Especially heartwarming have been the signs of renewal in the life of a close relative who, owing to ill health, is mostly house-bound and so has much time for reflection. The devotional guide is his daily companion, where before, cricket was his religion.
- B Smith

Showers of blessing? Not content with rain drops? God in his wisdom sends only raindrops.

Like a flower appreciates and values a drop of rain so I am grateful for every single raindrop God chooses to drop on me. I can savour them, one at a time, taste and re-taste them, give thanks for them until God chooses to release from his bountiful store the next drop of blessing he has for me. I do not know, nor do I wish to know when and what the next one will be. The wonder of these blessing drops is that I do not expect them. They come when bad weather threatens, but then the sky changes its mind, releases only a few drops with the promise of more to come. The thrill of the surprise is blessing in itself. To have a shower of thrills would erode my expectation of waiting on the hand of the Lord, and I would drown in the pride of assuming that I am God's chosen one. I would worship the shower and forget to love and thank the Giver of drops and showers.

Each daily drop of friends, children and grand children who appreciate and love me, birds that gratefully peck up what seeds I put out for them, a wild yellow not very handsome cat that has chosen to take up residence in my yard, and counts as his blessing what food I choose to give him (as I count on what blessing God chooses to give me); these and so many seemingly insignificant happenings -- these give me new life.
- Winifred Montgomery

On table Mountain there is a flower that only comes up and blooms after a fire has devastated the growth on the mountain. We in Cape Town always feel a certain amount of anger at the carelessness of people who start these accidental fires that cause such havoc. Yet, there is this beautiful flower that only blooms after the devastation. It comes out from the black scorched earth. In the same way our Father can bring new life in a beautiful way to lives that have been devastated, sometimes so badly, that there appears no hope. When we have given up on ourselves or on someone else He, our Lord and Savior can produce the miracle of new life that is beautiful, complete and whole in a way that it could never have been before. "... to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes ..." Isaiah 61:3
- Elaine Richardson

Our family tradition is to share a meal at least once a week together. Usually we sit outside around the table. With time, the sun, wind and harsh weather had weathered, wrinkled and blistered the original shiny tabletop. As lent began, I started sanding, stripping and scouring the cracked old wooden table. It was long, tedious and laborious work.

On Easter Day, after the sunrise service, I began oiling that tabletop. It was amazing to see the new life in the wood. The beautiful grain and colour were immediately restored and a once dry and distorted piece of wood had been transformed. I sense that I have new insight as to what Lent and Easter are really all about.
- Roland Rink

We continue to pray that we might become one with God, one with each other, and one in service to the entire world.

We do go forward!

The Staff of AURM