"Cinder"ella

I succesfully burnt myself to cinder over the weekend. A couple of us
took some kids from the township to Kenton for the day. Of course I
didn't have any sun screen as usual. Except this time the unthinkable
(in my mind anyway) happened. I got burnt. Badly. I have now learnt my
lesson. From now on I will start using sun screen.

Yesterday I was finally able to wear a shirt without wanting to
scream. And the blisters on my forehead seem to be healing nicely. In
fact today I am quite cheerful.

Now I just need to find out where the rest of humanity purchases it
from. mmm I imagine it can probably be bought from any grocery store.

Someone named Joesph Natalie asked me on my previous post what church
I belong to.

Currently I belong to the Grahamstown His People Christian Church. In
a few weeks I will be attending the His People church on RAU campus in
Johburg. His People is part of Every Nation Ministries. Every Nation
was formerly called Morning Star International. The name was recently
changed because too many people were mistaking us for Rick Joyners
Morning Star Ministries and because we felt that Every Nation conveys
more meaning as to what we are about.

A bit short of time... so maybe my next post will be a little about my
Spiritual Family.

Ankles, Men and Might

Hey guys...

It definately sucks when you don't have 24hour internet. Well... I
decided to quickly jump on the net on my trip back from the doctor.

I ruptured legaments in my foot again. This time the left foot. In
fact I even have a photo this time. Where you can see all the blood
that has collected on the side of my foot under the skin. The blood
can even be seen in my toes. Ergh.

You'll have to wait till I can put up a photo.

I am relieved though that this time it is not as bad as last year. I
don't have to go into a cast. Doctor wants me in an air-cast for a few
weeks and off the courts for 2 months. Thats the bad news. The good
news is that I did manage to beat Steve at a game of squash (only to
twist my ankle in the next game).

On a more serious and exciting front:
We had our Men's Ministry Camp this weekend. The them was manhood and
might. We looked at what is might and where a man gets might from. It
was a great time with a turn-out of 42 men. Oh yeah. It was really
great to see the younger guys in the church ignited with a passion to
step up to the plate and be men that honour God and woman.

It really allowed me to reflect a lot on how much God has done in my
manhood since I went to my first mens ministry meeting in 2001.

To summarise these last few years of manhood I can say I have grown into this.

1. A four pillard man. (I am a King, a Warrior, a Mentor and a Friend.)
2. I walk in Integrity and Intimacy, have Influence and a strong Identity.
3. I have a battle to fight, an adventure to live and a beauty to rescue.

Ok... so I don't know who the beauty is yet... but I'm ready for her,
and when I find her she will have a man that will love, protect and
pursue her for the rest of her life (unless I die first). Anyway...
before I break out into poetry let me end by saying that it is good to
see so many young guys burning with a hunger to be men that are
unashamed of God or strength that God has given them.

ciao

Blogging around

Hey everyone...

I am now working from home and no longer have 24 hour ADSL. **sniff** **sniff**.

My monumental news for the week is that I hand over the leadership of
my cell this week. Andrew will be taking over from me on wednesday. I
am quite excited about it. I really feel that he is the right guy for
the job. Solid, faithful and hungry for God. I couldn't be handing
over my cell to a better man. I am looking forward to cell this week
when I will lay hands on him and ask God to transfer the mantle of
leadership. I just love the practical power of God.

I have recently started thinking a lot about what I should put on this site.

Pehaps I should set up multiple blogs that cover different aspects of my life.

I am thinking that this one could have general news and photos. And
then perhaps a second one where I review some of my favourite books
and share some thoughts on stuff that I have been meditating on.

I am keen to share some of my revelations that I get from quite times
for the purpose of getting some feedback.

We'll see where this goes.
--
Zmariyalai Abdul Jameel (ferocious, lion-like servant of the "Beautiful One")

Plans for Next Year

Alas, it is official. My time in Grahamstown has come to an end. I made my final decision on monday while driving back from Cape Town. I am heading off towards Jo'burg next year. Actually before then, I will be settled in Jhb in the next 2 months.

My plans are as follows:
To gain industry experience in programming, systems analysis and project management. Specifically focusing in on Java. So I have bought myself a exam study guide to become a Sun Certified Java Programmer. Hopefully I will write the exam within the next month. It doesn't look difficult at all. In fact I was suprised (considering that I have no REAL experience) how much of the stuff I know. It has being two years since I did my computer science major.
Man...

Time flies when you're having fun...

or if you are a frog

Times fun when you're having flies.

A lot more to say... but perhaps tommorrow is a better day. Time to get some more work done.

Making Bread

Here is my first attempt ever at making bread. It was my turn to cook again on Tuesday (As is every Tuesday), and so to keep up my reputation throughout Grahamstown as been not to shabby in the kitchen, I decided to bake some bread. Don't get me wrong rice, pasta and cous cous are great carbohydrates, but they are so predictable. So this weeks protein was some fried chicken (the way I learnt from my mom) and with veggies packed into the bread. The bread was normal dough, which I successfully kneed and then rolled out and cut into 2 strips. The topping (sun dried tomatoes, gherkins, peach slices and grated cheddar) was then generously sprinkled in the centre and the dough then folded over. It was then baked for about 50min at about 180 degrees. The next time I do bread, I will probably decrease the temperature and bake a bit longer so that the crust is not as hard.

I am happy to report that my first bread attempt was a raging success and that all 6 my housemates were impressed.

Cape Town

Ok, so I recently finally got the chance to go to Cape Town. Friday the 24 September was Heritage Day and therefore a public holiday. So I took off Thursday afternoon as well as Monday to make the trip worthwhile. The trip to Cape is 870km and so a good day is spent driving there.

The first noteworthy piece of news is that I stopped at Stormsrivier (Storms River) to check out the infamous ravine. I took a photo which in no way portrays the breathtaking sight. This is taken from the highway bridge that crosses the massive drop. It drop must be ten times deeper than the photo actually makes it appear (mental note: must buy more expensive camera).



While in Cape Town I stayed in Rondebosh at Leanne’s place (the girl who fixed up my shoulder during graduation). Friday was spent checking out the area and meeting up with some old friends. On the Saturday we went out on the wine routes. At one of the farms there were a whole lot of these soap stone sculptures. Here are the photos of my favourite ones.


Title: Elegant Lady
Artist: Tutani Mgabazi


Title: Elephant (Abstract)
Artist: Bevan Kututwa


Title: Keeping warm
Artist: Mishek Makaza
(This one is my favourite).

Then down to some serious business. Wine tasting.



To be totally honest, I didn’t enjoy any of the wine. Either my taste buds were having a bad day, or the wine that I got from my Dad is just ten times better. Mmm… actually the wine I got from my Dad was a various bottles that were awarded wines of the year 2002.
On one of the farms everything just kept on tasting like lavender and pepper. Ergh…

Oh well… after having tasted 3 whites 6 reds 1 sparkling and 2 brandies. I decided I better get something to eat and lay off on the wine tasting.

Undoubtedly the most beautiful farm was Spier. There was a wedding when we arrived so we just stuck on the outskirts. Spier is not only a place of great beauty and wine, but they also host a cheetah outreach program.



So above you can see a bunch of cubs (from 3 litters) busy cuddling up.

On Sunday morning we got together at 7 in the morning to hike up Devils Peak. We hiked with some of the UCT Mountain Climbing Society members. They have this little tradition (which I would only recommend if you are supper fit) of hiking up with their kitchen equipment strapped to their backs, so that they can cook breakfast on top.

It was really windy and moist so we only went as far as the saddle, and then came down to the nearest clearing for breakfast.





One of the guys I met on the hike is a guy by the name Alon which means Oak. He studied botany funny enough. Along the trail I was greeted by many trees that had these markings on them.



Alon informed me that this is basically how to kill a tree. Apparently trees are dead on the inside. So if you "gut" them on the outside they die. The reason for so many of these "gutted" trees is that the South African government is currently getting rid of all non-indigenous plantation to restore South Africa's natural beauty. The quick solution is merely to shave all the trees you don't want, and then wait for them to basically die, rot and fall over.


Sunday evening I went to the Every Nation church in Rondebosh. It was great. Was very glad to be invited out for supper at Pennelope-Hilton Barbers house (a friend of a mutual friend).

Anyway after great conversation and a full stomach I headed off back to the flat where I was staying to sleep and leave back for Grahamstown the next morning.

Another Baptism

Yeah... I was blessed with another opportunity to water baptise someone. Eben (the guy I am baptising) was recently led to God by John (one of the guys that I am discipling). Basically in a round about way (without trying to mess with anybodies theology) it means that spiritually Eben is my grandson.



I guess that’s what happens when your church comprises mostly of students and it only takes 3 to 4 years for a new generation come forth from your church. You might ask yourself, what happens after 3 years to these people? Well… if you are not familiar with Grahamstown then let me enlighten you. Grahamstown currently exists purely because of Rhodes University. People come here, study and then leave. That is why I am “fathering” John who is just 2 years younger than me, who is in turn “fathering” Eben who is just 2 years younger than John.

One of the things that I love about my church is how effectively we have raised up and sent out leaders into the nations of the world over the last 10 years.

Updates soon to follow

Yes Yes... due to the increasing demand for news about me... I will over the next few hours (as I have fleeting available moments) be adding some more pics and news.

So come back soon.