Author Archives: Steph E

See you at the wedding

The old missionaries say that in their day, the 3 week boat trip was part of the grieving and transition process– the first half of the trip was spent saying goodbye to one country, and the second half was looking forward to the new. We’ve had lots of goodbyes this past week, and we’re lookingContinue reading “See you at the wedding”

Blog posts I should have written, and a hike!

So, there are many blog posts I could have written in the past few weeks. I in fact, wrote them perfectly and completely in my head. They were things like: “Black people don’t camp”…and other race lies we believe that actually have nothing to do with race… based on going camping with the other iThembaContinue reading “Blog posts I should have written, and a hike!”

The Passing of the Peace

 I confess I was disappointed as we entered the spired stone church in down-town Capetown, when I saw the priest setting out communion was not Archbishop Tutu. This was the only time we had to chance a meeting with the Archbishop. I’d heard that at Friday morning communion, free chuckles, autographs and breakfast afterwards wereContinue reading “The Passing of the Peace”

One of the best short-term trip resources out there

Ok, so if you’ve read this at all, you’ll know I’m a huge fan of the book “When Helping Hurts” because it explains a lot of the problems we Christians have when it comes to helping people. We think our good intentions are enough… but the sad truth is sometimes even the best intentions canContinue reading “One of the best short-term trip resources out there”

Feminism+women+churches and all that

I’ve been contributing at my friend Amy’s blog this month in her “Feminism February” theme. There’s a 200 word-count limit though, and this is something I feel so strongly about I thought… wait… I have my own blog. I can rant as much as I want. So sorry this is long. For my friends whoContinue reading “Feminism+women+churches and all that”

Keep On Keeping On.

This is my first Five-minute-Friday link-up. Several blogs I follow: Velvet Ashes, a community for women serving overseas, and Lisa-Jo (now at Kate Motaung’s blog) have a Five-minute-Friday link-up party. They post a word, and encourage people to blog about those words for five minutes. No editing. Just writing. And then share your story with othersContinue reading “Keep On Keeping On.”

I’m going to swim a mile.

This means that even in the “family fun” section (the race that we’re swimming in) you get these hard-core competitive families who’ve travelled all the way down from Joburg (which is 6 hours away) and have arms like Michael Phelps and matching swimsuits. MATCHING. This is not a joke. This is a competition.

Fear not

I was given some magazines this week put out by a prominent evangelical organization. The covers of each of them (accompanied by full cover photos of explosions, fire, and swords read): “Is Islam really a religion of peace?” (Photo of a bloody sword) “Crisis After Crisis, who can save us?- Pestilence as Ebola Spreads, OppressionContinue reading “Fear not”

Peace Walls (Advent week 3)

We sing peace on earth goodwill toward men at Christmas. We celebrate Jesus the Prince of Peace. But what do we mean when we say peace? Shalom in the Bible is wholeness, perfect order, everything in right relationship with everything else. Like a huge garment, with every thread woven in place and connected to everyContinue reading “Peace Walls (Advent week 3)”

Muck is still muck no matter who sits in it with you (Advent wk2)

So, this week I’m going to be reflecting on the incarnation–the-God-coming-to-earth,  God-with-us part of Christmas. But before I get poetic about baby Jesus’ cute fingers, and how amazing it is that God himself would condescend to dwell with us, I’m going to say what it’s not. The incarnation is not just about God experiencing burpsContinue reading “Muck is still muck no matter who sits in it with you (Advent wk2)”