DON'T LEAVE ME BEHIND!

EVERY SUNDAY, in our Fellowship, we Break Bread, and share Communion, with those who have come to believe and trust in what God did for us through Christ dying on the Cross on Calvary.   I was reading through 1.Corinthians 11 yet again last week, and came across words, well known, but suddenly speaking to me - ' Wherefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat (the Lord's supper) tarry one for another.'   WAIT for one another.     

Some Congregations vary in the way they deal with this occasion.   Some may celebrate Communion (or Mass) once a year; others quarterly, monthly or weekly.     Sometimes the Bread and the Cup are handed round where people are sitting, whilst in other places the people wishing to partake go out to the alter rail and kneel down to receive from the Priest.      In our Fellowship those who Believe come to the front where the Bread and Cup are laid out upon a Table, and then, as they pass by, they are given first the Bread and then the Cup, one by one, and then return to their seat.     This means that we NEVER wait for each other.    Never eat or drink TOGETHER as one.    Conversely those who receive the bread seated in the congregation hold it in their hand and then, when all are served,  partake of it together at the same moment.     With the cup - especially if only one chalice is used - this is not the case of course.    And the Scripture actually emphasises the EATING rather than the Drinking.   But our Catholic brethren tend to get over this problem by receiving a wafer of bread dipped in the wine and so are able to receive both at the same moment.

BUT MY ATTENTION was drawn just to the injunction to WAIT FOR ONE ANOTHER!    I felt sure this was not just a matter of eating and drinking together in unison.    Somehow there must be some other matter Paul had in mind.    PAUL had in fact mentioned the various differences in the church.

Those attending were all seeking Christ, but had their own opinions about how to go about it.   All were at different stages in their faith - in their appreciation of what it really was to be a child of God.  From being born again, there were many still babes, and others children, teenagers, adults in their NEW life.

No doubt this also meant that many judged each others spiritual worth and status.    They would come to the Table to remember the Love of God for themselves whilst perhaps harbouring unkind and un-neighbourly thoughts concerning each other.     Pride of status, and even sin, could be present in the communicant.........Greed and even drunkenness!?    I felt a little alarmed.     Most Bible Commentators manage to argue that this was NOT the case, 'the Christian was not a drunkard'......but the Word IS used to describe people IN the church Meeting, partaking and sharing...... AND there is little doubt that even today the outward Christian attending Church is not perfect - may even be given to strong drink!   The Grace of GOD???

Be THAT as it may, I felt spoken to in as much as it bothered me as to how much we DO love each other, and value each other in Christ.      AM I ready to WAIT for my brother/sister to catch up to where I am in my spiritual aspirations?   Or do I 'look down upon' or disparage those who seem to be less appreciative of 'so great salvation'?   Do I love some LESS than I love others as my brother or sister in the Christian Walk.    Do I hurry past some; do I neglect to pray for some, and even keep myself away from others who I feel do not see eye to eye with me.      

When I married Esther, the day afterwards we were walking in Nairobi, chatting as we went.   It was a beautiful sunny day and the street was full of people and action.     Suddenly as I was saying something I looked down (she is shorter than I am) to where I expected her to be - and she was not there!   I looked behind and found her some two hundred metres or so behind be talking to someone else who had momentarily demanded her greeting. I had not realised she was no longer by my side!  I WAITED for her to catch up.     I did not go on increasing the distance between us.   I loved her, wanted and needed her company and fellowship.  I WAITED and when she had caught up with me, we went on together.      Life is like this.   We, each one us, are not always quite 'TOGETHER' in thought, appreciation, opinion, and understanding.    It is easy to become ' out of step '  and we need to guard against leaving the other behind.   It is not pleasant to be outdistanced without being missed.      

WHEN WE CONSIDER CROSS ON WHICH CHRIST DIED, it is not for us to so selfishly see that it was for ME, but also for the one next for me, and indeed for each and every soul.    Academically clever and gifted,  or less able to grasp the ideas of others;  physically attractive or otherwise;  younger or older, spiritually gifted or still seeking.....our Father has longed and DOES long for the fellowship and intimate closeness of EVERY one.  AND HE WAITS for each one - for as long as it takes.    If He is in me by His Spirit, then should not this longing be in ME, in YOU.      Let us WAIT for each other, and and as we come to the Table of the Lord let us SLOW down enough to SEE one another as being with us, and be GLAD and THANKFUL for each other.       DO THIS as often as YOU WANT to, affectionately calling HIM to mind, AND  in doing so calling each other to mind as well.

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ALL IS WELL HERE.     We are hanging on, and JESUS is with us, steering the ship.   The weather remains uncertain,  cloudy and overcast at times.   In fact a few days this week the sky has had a yellowish look, as if it was burning.     At times sandstorms from the Sahara are carried here in part though this is the first time for many years that it may have happened.     Today the sky is clear again and the sun hot and welcoming to our children now on Half Term holiday.    A good many of them in the pool having a great time as I type.   Quite a breeze in the air, and the trees all enjoying a chance to be moved and energised to dance and jig their leaves into cool whispers and rustlings all around.

IN DECEMBER, whilst she was labouring with us, Tammy from Adelaide, felt a desire to help us renew some of our ageing bunk beds.   They had been made of metal more than thirty years ago, and were looking the worse for wear.     We cannot thank her enough for making is possible for

us to replace more than twelve beds.    We therefore want to enclose a few photos of them.   Some went to Jacaranda Cottage and others to Testimony House.     Timber bed frames are undoubtedly better and more stable than metal ones.    However, in Kenya these days, it is very difficult if not impossible to obtain seasoned timber.    There is always a risk it might twist or warp as it dries out.   We used a previously known carpenter to do the work, and he did his best, though in the end we have had to return one or two beds where the timber actually cracked and split apart.    But the final conclusion is good, and all are happy and glad.    We hope you enjoy the photos and the happy participants showing off their new beds, and we hope you will join us in our Thanksgiving to Father for moving Tammy's heart on our behalf.

Yesterday we saw three new children brought to us.     Their mother died of AIDS just a few days earlier, and the father is a drunkard.    The children are not fed, and have been locked out of their squalid home so that they were all without shelter or comfort.      They were brought to us by a concerned Pastor to hold for a few days whilst the Authorities decided what to do.     We ourselves can accommodate the two youngest, but the eldest is a boy of 13 who has never attended School.
Children her commence their first Primary School year at SIX having already learnt basic language and maths in Nursery School.      We have not completely closed the door on him, but it would be better if a more suitable alternative could be found.      The Little girl in arms is one and a half and her follower is 5.     Please pray for them, and for whatever the Lord wants of us relative to their future.
Some here are asking WHY we are taking in more children - three more are in the offing in fact - since we are experiencing economic problems.     BUT we are here for children in need.    We have never before made our own poverty a reason to shut the door on a needy child.    And we have always survived and the child has grown.       No, our hearts find it hard to shut the door.     When we SEE a child, dejected, alone, miserable WE find our hearts enlarged rather than hardened.    .....


Let me end this week with the sound of children laughing, and making a splash in the Pool.    It is a busy place through the week.      24 Classes all have at least one swimming class a week - sometimes two.    Additionally we have two other schools using the school during the week.     Weekends, staff and school parents, together with outsiders AND our own children all have times when they can enjoy the use of it.    The pictures you will see here were taken this morning when not SO many were there - a group LEARNING to swim and a few advanced swimmers as well..

We love you all with Thanksgiving.     We are praying with an for you.

John and Esther - and Daryl.