from June 2024
I am fresh off an overnight flight from Singapore to Johannesburg and now I am in Durban. It is lunchtime and I am sitting at an outdoor table overlooking the Indian Ocean, imagining I am home in Australia. It is Saturday afternoon and work starts tomorrow. This could easily be any coastal town in Australia. Yet, I am aware that Umshlange is a well-off beach/surf destination, not easily accessed by the general population. For me, it is not overly expensive, for many it would be prohibitive.
So, I sit waiting for some fishcakes and sip a glass of wine, the first I have ordered in months. For a couple of hours, I am taking a holiday from the mission life. As I pause and reflect, there is much to give thanks for and much to question. On the screen, over the bar, Arsenal are playing - I can almost sense Terry’s presence. Right now he would be yelling: SAKAAAAAA!
Perhaps football helps me gain some perspective. So much mission activity seems to be about survival and justice, but life is more than the next meal or the longing for a secure roof over our heads. Footballers (fans and players) refer to the cup of life. Raising a cup of victory is celebration of joy and teamwork, of hope and of achievement. The cup of life is a cup of thanksgiving for life itself and all the relationships and elements that go with it. Let is raise a cup to the Bride, or the Groom, or the Parents, or the Attendants! Let us rase a cup o the Guest of Honour! Let us raise a cup to new friends! Let us raise a cup to the Creator of this Life!
It is easy to get philosophical with a glass of wine in hand. Yet, I am seated alone at a table for six (because I asked for a view of the waves). I know which of my friends would be enjoying conversation in this setting - yes, I think of you often! I have the privilege of being here. You have the privilege of being able to gather with one another. By the time I get back to the hotel, it will be too late to zoom you. Perhaps I will try to do so before breakfast?
Last time I walked this beach, I had to educate some of my colleagues about blue bottles and where to walk.
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