Bog?

19 Mar 2012

So why the "Slovenia Bog blog"?

Well I trust the "Slovenia" (location) and "blog" (communication medium) parts of the blog title are clear enough. So what about "Bog"?

Basically, the Slovene word for God is 'Bog'.

Whenever I think about this, I am reminded of the atheist dyslexic insomniac, who stays awake all night wondering if there really is a Dog.

Maybe there is an example of language learning right there.

Jokes aside, it seems appropriate to call a missions blog, a Bog (i.e. God) blog, since mission is an outworking of what God is doing in the world through his church. I don't think I will have much time to go into great theological depth concerning such things, but we certainly want to share what God has been doing in Slovenia through his church and through us.

So I trust that gives you a little bit more of an insight into our blog title. Hopefully something a little bit more meaty next time.

Can how we work together make a difference?

14 Mar 2012

I'm in the office of "Corazones Unidos" ("United Hearts"). This is an organisation which supports people with disabilities, providing practical help with wheelchairs and also helping to bring this community together. It is a partner organisation of Joni Eareckson Tada's "Joni and friends". Our church here, Calvary Chapel Arequipa, works with this organisation - our pastor Efrain manages the office and coordinates events along with his wife.

Efrain and Dorkas

I'm currently doing something really simple - backing up several years of computer records that had never been backed up and setting up a boot password. In a place where computers are often a target for theft, this is a good idea.

David at the computer

Our pastor is currently working on a much more pressing need. Their lease on this current office is running out and they need to move out of this building. So how do we find space with an incredibly tight budget?

Efrain has been speaking with businesses, churches and individuals in the area to see if someone is willing to rent space at a highly subsidised rate. It involves knocking on doors of business that seem to have a spare room and explaining the work of Corazones Unidos and seeing if they are willing to negotiate a price. It also involves visiting other local churches and seeing if we can work with them. Often rooms may only be used once or twice a week and there is the potential to somehow share the space. I'm learning a lot of about how things work here. It's so important to have of a strong network of friends/contacts and it is also so important for churches to work together.

Maybe the love of Christ can be shown just as much in the way that we Christians work together as in what we do.

Renovating can be a steep learning curve!

11 Mar 2012

We are loving our new home, but still tied up in renovating the kitchen and have some tiling to do in the bathrooms.

What a challenge it has been! And thank the Lord for those who have willingly given their time to help us. It's quite a business when you want to do it properly!

I've realized yet again how much I hate going back over things or re-doing things. I used to be like that for school and uni work. Even as a teacher I really avoided having to re-do things, go back over things or start again. Which was rather hypocritical, since I always encouraged my students to have a go and not to be afraid of mistakes!!

How stressful that attitude can be! You fix high expectations and put off getting started until you are sure you will get it right. I strive for perfection, I try and avoid making mistakes, and yet I know it's not possible.

Living out one's faith is all about  getting started, taking one step at a time and relying on God to guide and prepare the way. Christians make mistakes. Missionaries make mistakes, see things come undone (not necessarily their own fault), have to stand back and watch others make mistakes because that is the way we learn and advance.

I'm less scared of picking up a paint brush and of choosing a colour, but I can't bring myself drill a hole - that's too irreparable for my comfort levels!! Maybe in our next house....

World Day of Prayer

11 Mar 2012

Women of three churches in our town got together to prepare the Women's World Day of Prayer Friday 2nd March. The women of Malaysia wrote the celebration that would be read in all participating countries on the theme of "Let justice prevail".

Malaysia visits our church

For 3 years now, our organising committee has been looking for ways to keep this rendez-vous going. How could we get the younger generations interested ? Since French children don't have school on Wednesday afternoons, we decided to have an activities afternoon for Primary-age kids. This presents the concept of worldwide prayer, introduces them to a different country each year and they hear and work on one of the biblical passages chosen by the host country. This year we included a drama workshop on the Widow and the Judge of Luke 18:1-8. We also improvised a Malaysian dance.Let's dance!

Malaysia visits our church and had various activities to prepare decorations for the celebration on Friday.

Making coco balls

Only 20 kids showed up this time (in previous years we had 50), but it was a successful afternoon.

The Friday activities included sharing thoughts on the Bible passage, a Malay lunch and the 2 celebrations. The evening one includes the children and is where we hope to get families along. The challenge is keeping everyone interested, helping the 3 communities to accept the other and promoting Christian brotherhood.

Reflecting on South Africa

10 Mar 2012

As our vision trip to South Africa comes to an end we have gained a fresh first hand perspective of the country and a far greater understanding of why God has called us here.

Before we departed on this journey, many asked why South Africa.  One gentleman even questioned why we would go the richest country in Africa when there were so many other countries on the continent whose needs were far greater?. Many in the West think of South Africa as an exception to other countries is Africa. Basically  speaking they consider it the same as a first world western democracy that just so happens to be located in southern Africa. 

The fact is South Africa is a very complex and diverse society that cannot really be ladled in regards to a world class. One of the people and a great man of  God I have gotten to know since being here put it this way. Our country has first world cities and the rest is third world. After being here and observing for over two months I tend to agree with that assumption. Take here in the town of Newcastle proper.  Everything here including the shopping, roads, homes, hospitals, commercial buildings etc. reminds me very much of what you would find in any western civilized town. However, it is when you venture out a few kilometres you get a whole different perspective.

There is a densely populated area just outside of Newcastle which houses about 300,000 people, everywhere you look you see abject poverty and realize quickly you just entered a different world. Additionally, the countryside throughout this region is dotted and consumed by makeshift townships and camps. Many of these places are full of dwellings that would not pass any building codes common in the western world. Also much of these areas are void of basic necessities including, running water and electricity. Let me contrast this. The town of Newcastle proper has a population of about 17,000 people, the poor areas I just described are home to nearly 4000,000.  This only includes this immediate area around Newcastle. I can only imagine what the numbers are like nearer the big cities and in the vast rural areas of the country.

Before we came here, we really felt like God was telling us He was sending us to a place that has been neglected and what we found was an area that was ripe for the hope of the Gospel. The need here is vast and seemingly never ending and we are privileged that God has called us to this place at this time. Even though we are looking forward to going home, seeing loved ones, share our adventure and articulate the need. We also take back with us an excruciating burden for the people here and cannot wait to get back.

Dog Bite

06 Mar 2012

I knew the run on Saturday was going to be hard but I got a surprise I didn't expect. I ran with Allen, our team director and fitness fanatic, and another friend. Both these guys are in training for a marathon in Lima. About half way into the run a little dog chased us, along with a bunch of other street dogs. Normally they get close but not too close but this one bit my ankle. I stopped and shouted at it and it scuttled away. It was a small bite which hardly broke the skin. We stopped and washed the bite area and then we continued our run - another 6 km home.

Later we decided that even though the risk of rabies from such a superficial bite was incredibly low it would be safest to get the rabies vaccines. My cousin Deepa also pointed out that the consequences of rabies are so severe that it is never worth the risk. Someone in her family had a horrible death 30 years ago when bitten by a someone's pet dog.

Hospital Visit

6am on Sunday morning I headed to a hospital nearby to get the vaccine. At first they wanted a referral from a doctor but eventually agreed to let me see a doctor. The doctor told me that here they had only limited amount of the anti-rabies vaccine and this was reserved for people who had been bitten on the face or on the arms where the risk of contracting the disease was high. He said that there was a private clinic I could go to but this was open only Monday to Friday. I began to explain that I really needed my first injection within 24 hours of getting bitten but I could see that was not going to get me anywhere. With the limited resources they had, I was a very low risk case and was not a priority.

This was my first experience in a large Peruvian hospital and the place made me uncomfortable. The bed that I saw had dried blood stains on the foam where the plastic cover had worn off. I was glad I wasn't sick. As I walked out a nurse ran out after me. She explained that there was another hospital at Goyeneche, not too far away, that could probably help. She spoke to reception and they made a phone call for me. The reply was that they couldn't help me today. The lady at reception suggested that I just turn up in person at the hospital and see what they say. So I hopped on a bus to Goyeneche hospital.

Second Try

This was a beautiful 100 year old hospital. It was a bit run down on the outside but was a clean and friendly hospital. I found the anti-rabial centre and had a great chat with the doctor here. Apart from rabies he also has a specialisation in venomous bites. We talked how dangerous it is to live in Australia with so many venomous snakes and spiders.

Back on the topic of my bite we discussed the 8 injections I would need. Ideally if we could find the dog that bit me, they could check if it had rabies and save me a lot of pain. In my case that was not possible. The doctor warned me of possibly allergic reactions and side effects of the injection. He said I had to abstain from alcohol and smoking - not hard for me to do. He continued with a list of other things I had to avoid for the week:

  1. spicy food
  2. exercise
  3. sex
  4. getting too hot or cold
  5. coffee
  6. eating too much cold stuff eg. ice-cream
  7. pork

 

Allen, our team director and doctor, found this list was quite amusing and has had fun suggesting ways I could break many of these rules at the same time. I've tried to be a good patient and I've only broken two rules. No they're not the ones you're thinking!

So everyday I go in for an injection and it's all free thanks to the Peruvian government. Apart from an aching arm I have had no adverse side-effects. Thank God that we've got good medical help in Arequipa. Also, thank you for those who have prayed for me.

What have I learnt from this?

Several people have suggested I stay away from stray dogs. Running seems to attract dogs that want to bite so requires caution. I normally carry a couple of stones to scare these dogs.

As for keeping away from stray dogs generally... Some of them are just so cute and they're happy to come up say "Hi!" (actually "Hola!" because they're Peruvian). Here are two pictures of dogs on the street that did just that.

Do I really need to keep away from the friendly stray dogs?

An update from us

29 Feb 2012

Hi friends,

An update for you, thanks for your prayers & support. We will be producing a newsletter in the next 2 weeks so keep an eye open!

1. Praise the Lord that Clarissa has started school well and seems to be enjoying it.  She has been tired with all the transitions but seems to be settling in well.

2. Pray for Jan as she is still seeking the Lord as to how to use the extra time she has now that Clarissa is at school.

3. Sean has been studying a unit with our training team: "Reproducible Storytelling for cross cultural discipleship and evangelism", which is every Monday for a 6 weeks and culminates with a three day intensive at the end of March.  Pray that God will give him opportunities to put into practice what he is learning.

4. Jan has WEC Australia board meetings from 7-9 March, please pray for wisdom and clarity of thinking in these meetings.

5. We have a tentative date for 20th March for Clarissa to have her final test at the Children's hospital, she will be staying in overnight.  Please pray for God's protection over her during this procedure and for Sean and Jan to know God's peace as we wait at the hospital.

6. Jan with another of our mobilisers is organising a Cafe night on March 23rd with three of our missionaries sharing, pray that this will be a good night of challenging young people for missions.

7. Sean is facilitating a Testdrive from 25th March to 1st April with a group of 13 students from a local bible college, they are all interested in missions long term and are an enthusiastic group.  Please pray for wisdom for Sean as he leads, and that it will be an eye opening experience for these students and that people in Western Sydney will hear about Jesus.

Thanks so much for your prayers, SJG&C

Praise the Lord!!!

27 Feb 2012

Had a wonderful Sunday yesterday at Wycombe Farm Village.  Deena was supposed to present to the children for Sunday School however, There were only a few children so she presented to the whole church.  There were probably 15 children at this outdoor church service. Deena presented a simple message using props to show how a black stained heart can come white through a relationship wi Christ. Even though the message is geared toward children one of the adult ladies came forward with tears in her  eyes wanting to accept Jesus. We got the entire service on video and will post on facebook/youtube in a day or two. The amazing thing was, the prop failed but the message went through. The harvest field is truly ripe and we are humbled God chose us as the laborers.

Also Deena has been working fast and furious and is starting to see the fruits of her labor in regards to her service to Shekinah Christian Academy. The reading curriculum she has been working hard to implement has been accepted by the Department of Education here. She also has developed work sheets to go with the curriculum and has implemented remedial reading groups that are starting to show real results with students who have reading challenges. Please pray that the school will find a volunteer to take over the remedial reading group until we return hopefully by the end of the year. 

Please stay tuned, more updates to come as the week goes by. So much happening as our time runs short!!

March 2012 Prayer Points

27 Feb 2012

Dear Friends in Christ,

Today our children went off to preschool dressed as Spider Man and a beautiful Princess! This is not our normal habit, although if Philippa had her way it would be! The past few days we have been celebrating “Pust”. This is basically carnival time in Slovenia, with the aim of scaring away winter and welcoming in Spring. While we don’t support the superstitious undertones of this, at the end of a cold winter it is fun to dress up and look forward to sunshine, flowers, warmer temperatures and spring. As I write this today, the sun is shining and the snow is melting.

Here are some prayer points for the month...

  • A few weeks ago we had a television crew come and film our REC bible study group, for a  “religious” program that is run regularly on national TV. The program seeks to  inform people about different religious groups in Slovenia, so we were happy for them to come and see what we do and why. Pray that when the program goes to air, people who see it might be challenged to read their Bibles and consider the truths of the Scriptures. We hope that it will also be positive advertising for our church.
  • Our women’s bible study group have come to the end of our study of Galatians. We were all particularly challenged by the practical instructions of the last chapter; to make sure our actions are in step with a Spirit filled life, to carry each other’s burdens and to not become weary in doing good. Pray for us as we seek to live this out in our day to day lives. We all decided that for our next series of studies, we will look at the topic of “contentment”. For this we will be following a series of six studies produced by the Good Book Company in England. This is an area that many women (all over the world) find challenging. Please pray that God will help us to understand his will for our lives and give us the gift of contentment.
  • It is visa time again! Mark received a temporary working visa several years ago, and the rest of the family have had visas for shorter durations over this period. It has been a blessing that we have been able to obtain visas during the past 8 years without too much hassle – just a lot of paperwork. All our visas are again due for renewal at the end of March, so Mark has been collecting all the documents in order to obtain permanent residency here. This is taking our residency status here to a new level. The only real benefit of this is the reduction in effort required to continually renew visas. We are hoping it has tax implications, allowing us to pay tax here (which we wouldn’t because we don’t earn enough), and hopefully will result in lowering schooling fees for the children. Please pray for a smooth visa application process.
  • Praise God that our health has been considerably better over the past month. Thanks for your prayers. The children still have niggling colds, but overall we are enjoying much better health.
  • On the home front, Rochelle has been busy with school enrolments for Matej (he will start at our local school in the new school year starting September) and organising for Philippa to transfer to the preschool around the corner from our new house (also in Sept). We are very thankful that we already know the principal and her assistant at the preschool, as the children’s current preschool comes under this main one. They have been very kind to us in allowing her to transfer and making it as smooth as possible for us (a very rare thing!). Although it is while off, please pray the both children will be put in good classes, with teachers who can accommodate non-native speakers.
  • We are looking forward to Rochelle’s parents joining us for a few weeks at Easter. It will be lovely to spend time with them and have some extra helping hands around the house. The children are already counting the days until they come! Pray that we will have good quality time with them and that we might be able to recharge our batteries a bit while they are here.

In Christ,

The Groombridges

Busy and Exciting Times

25 Feb 2012

Two weeks to go here in Newcastle South Africa on this particular trip. So many exciting things are happening and lots to do before we pack up and go two weekends from now.

tonight we are having the three teachers and their families from Shekinah Christian Academy over for Dinner to thank them for their service.

Deena and I are having lunch with Pastor Seeva Pillay of the Evangelical Bible Church after we attend services at Newcastle Baptist Church tomorrow. Pastor Seeva has been pivotal in connecting us with schools and ministries in the area that provide numerous ministry opportunities. He is alos my major partner on developing/planning the soccer ministry.  After lunch tomorrow he is taking us back out to Wycomb Farm Village where Deena will provide a Sunday school lesson to the children there. This will also be a site for at least two soccer teams when our league is up and running in early 2013.

Also next week we have may an opportunity to acquire soccer uniforms (Jersey, socks, shorts) for the kids at the School of Industries who play games with local schools once in a while. However, they have no uniforms and most of them play with bare feet. I attended a game last week and they had borrowed jersey's and played a team that was fully equipped.  Please pray that we will be able to supply them with the uniforms before we leave Newcastle on March 10.This will be a big step in building trust and showing these kids the love of Christ and letting them know we really do care and are committed to them. Also pray that we will be able to obtain good quality second hand shoes when we return to the States that we can ship to them in a couple months time. Deena is also looking into reading curriculum that will best serve the kids at the School of Industries  most of whom cannot read English. We hope to meet with the staff members at the school before we leave with examples and seek their input. Once we have something we all agree on Deena will work to acquire the curriculum when we return and will implement it and train the staff when we come back to South Africa.

Please keep us in your prayers as we try to finish strong here!!!! 

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