Stanley Bellord

We have all taken it in turns to get the flu. At the moment Graeme is on the recovery.
Stanley Bellord has been in hospital for a few days now. At first it was thought that the pain in his back was just that - a back problem - but we later learned that he was suffering from kidney failure.
At about 6.00pm we received a call from the hospital, telling us that Stanley had taken a bad turn. I was shocked to see how thin he had become. He was struggling to breathe, but seemed to be aware of who we were.
Over the next 2 hours, his sister, Patsy and I sang a hymn to him, Graeme read Scripture and prayed, various family and friends called. His breathing got more and more shallow, and by 8.00pm he had slipped from this world to be with his Lord.
He was one of those "salt of the earth" people who quietly and sincerely served the Lord. Here is a photo of him when he was still able to ring the Sandy Bay chapel bell for service

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Richard Wurmbrand

I have just finished rereading Richard Wurmbrand's book "Tortured for Christ". He was imprisoned for his faith for a total of 14 years in Rumania, while it was still under communist rule. Both Graeme and I met him when he visited South Africa in the 1970's. He left a big impression on me.
Although imprisonment and torture for their faith is not as severe in communistic countries as it was towards the end of the 1900's, it is still being practised in other lands. I don't think that we western Christians, with our love for ease and comfort, can come close to appreciating Christ like the "suffering church" does.

More time

Business is very slow at The Consulate, and it was agreed that I could cut back on my working hours. I now have Tuesday and Thursday mornings free, and only work 8 hours on Mon, Wed and Friday. This is a most welcome change. I am able to be home by 4.20 pm and cook supper calmly before going out to take the Bible studies on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. I was also able to resume the Thursday coffee morning ritual with Elza, Maureen and Bev today. Elza was delighted to receive a gift of beautiful scrapping paper from Lynn, via a parcel sent to the manse. Bev's little girl, Kate, has grown into such a little cutie. She wrinkles her nose when she laughs, and so "squeezable". Here she is being held by Elza.

du Toits

Today was a public holiday and we had the new Dr Deon du Toit and his 2 children, Rene (10 yrs) and Celliers (7 years) over for supper. It was good to have fellow South Africans to chat to. We even had SA lamb chops - kindly brought back to St Helena by the SA dentist and his wife.

Bolders and Rockies

Only one young girl, Sunna, showed any interest in attending the Saturday morning meetings that used to be the Good News Club - now called Bolders. So we agreed that I would meet with her and her cousin - who just happens to be Danni - and have a "one-on-one" type study through the very small epistle to Jude. We had our first study today, and it was encouraging to have a bit of interaction from the 2 "young ladies".

On Sunday morning we found out that Sunna and Danni's Uncle Haven was dying in the hospital. Although Danni was at the hospital for a good part of Saturday night, she still managed to come to help me with the Sunday school children's hand work at 10.00 am. Muchly appreciated.

Ascension postponed

Graeme was told today that the only accommodation that could be found for him in Ascension - the empty Anglican vicarage - will no longer be available. A new vicar is arriving, and they need to have it ready for him. Graeme and Vincent had to reschedule their visit for Jan/Feb next year. If all goes according to plan, Graeme will return from Ascension on 7th Feb 2012, and Arthur and I will leave for SA the following day. Not ideal timing, but when one is dependent on only one means of escape from the island - the RMS - then one just has to accept whatever dates and schedules are available.

Relaxing

After a "hard day at the office", I came home to this scene in the lounge.....

AGM week

Arthur finished writing exams on Tuesday. There has been so much rain lately, that the BWA meeting in Sandy Bay was cancelled due to the poor condition of the roads in that part of the island. The Bolders (ex Good News Club) meeting on Saturday morning was a "no show" once again. 4 children came to Rockies (Sunday School). The church's AGM was held and all the present deacons/ deaconesses were re-elected. As you can hear, things are following their routine - nothing much in the way of events to tell. So I thought I would explain one or 2 Saint expressions....

The standard Saint reply to the greeting "How are you?" is "Not too bad, thanks." I once asked why they don't reply "Fine, thanks" like us Whiteys do. The answer, "I can't say 'fine' when I am having problems." Conclusion : us Whiteys don't want others to know that we have problems, when we say "fine", and the Saints let you know that although they have problems, they are "not too bad."

Another expression that I enjoyed was : Saint No. 1 asks Saint No. 2 "How are you?" Answer : "Some days, diamonds, and some days, stones."

Often, when a group of 4 Saints place an order at the Snack Bar, they will ask for "two two's" of whatever they want. Arthur (who was serving them) heard the request for the first time, he had to stand and think for a bit before he realised that they were asking for 4 portions. We checked, and this is a common Saint way of asking for 4 portions.