News for End of May 2006

Whoops - warning!

Sunday 14th May 2006 a thief(s) entered my home while we were all at church, and amongst the things s(he) stole was my memory stick. This contained a back-up copy of all my important computer files, which means that if the thief is able to work out how to use it, he will have people's addresses. I am writing this just in case people get strange correspondence as a result.

Please pray for the re-submission of my PhD thesis. A colleague to my supervisor is currently looking at it to assess whether he thinks that the revisions I have made are sufficient for it now to be passed back to my examiners.

Give thanks for opportunities to be involved in teaching on marriage and family, and some pre-marital counseling. Pray for much wisdom and deep insights in this role.

Give thanks for small victories in overcoming the extremely widespread conception that the only thing a white man is good for is his money. The victories are indeed small. Substantiation of the above is to the ontrary strong and consistent. (There are many white people proving that they can do what they do and encouraging local people to do the same using foreign money!) I know that this is hard to comprehend from the West. This is a battle that I am engaged in. Until God ceases to be a white man, he cannot have a voice of his own. Until people can learn to respond to a real world, and not only a compassionate aid-driven foreign presence, it is
hard to see a positive future for this Continent.

This was brought home last Sunday on realising, in hindsight, that my reception at the church that I was visiting was focused into my being convinced that I should part with significant funds for their building project. Pray for me to have more and more love for those who seem to seek to know me as a pile of cheques.

Journal Responses. Thanks for those people who have sent me feedback on my latest (May 2006) Journal. I value whatever feedback comes.

Best wishes,

Jim