There and Back Again....

Uncle Greg and Aunty Noeleen who led us on the trip

Well, i'm back from my SE Asia trip for about 2 weeks now......it was........catalytic! It was really eye-opening and paradigm shifting too. We went to Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Korea - that's nuff for 13 days eh? we really maximized every moment and i have to say that in Singapore i was like a kid in a Candy Heaven! i was luvin every moment of it - the urban culture, night life, presence of the arts, role of the youth.....it actually reminded me a lot of TO in these ways. Singapore is not the most popular of nations when it comes to our western conceptions of democracy and liberty but it was like breath of fresh air to me. It gave me something to aspire to, especially when i saw the role of youth in the Church. They really have their place - in one Sun am service we seen b-boys and b-gurls doing their thing! The Church also has a lot of influence because they are interested in engaging current issues in a relevant way - Singapore will host the first ever Youth Olympics because of City Harvest Church and a Christian based youth NGO bid for it! Dat's influence fo sho...

View of Singapore from 30th floor church

Korea was madd cold! We were in Seoul and it was jokes cuz all the SA'n were saying how they look forward to Seoul's negative temps cuz they prefer cold over Singapore's and SA's heat. Well....it just took one gust of minus something wind and flurries to make dem dizzy! They must've bought out an entire store - 3 scarves, 2 hats, and much more per person! lol. But Seoul is an amazing, it's a HUGE metropolis - 10 million strong. We looked out from the Seoul Tower and all i could see was skyrises to the horizon. We also visisted Dr. Paul Yongi Cho's church and heard him teach - was a really interesting place. The Church there also has a lot of influence. We even went to prayer mountain and joined the ppl's there for late night and early morning prayers; that was an experience - you sit on the floor on these mats with little back supports....they're serious about prayer there.

Yours Truly proudly reppin da Dot in the Seoul Tower

Indonesia was interesting - we went to the island of Batam which is only an hour ferry ride from Singapore. It's quite underdeveloped in comparison to Singapore, but i enjoyed the rawness of the experience if you know what i mean? reminded me nuff of SA and everyone there rides a motorbike - some had 5 ppl to one!

Motorbike Galore!

Malaysia....well i missed this day trip as i was back at the hotel sick with food poisoning from Indonesia - terrible thing. Had me upchucking (lol - nice word) my guts out. Thank God, after an injection in my backside (those hurt!) i recovered quite quickly and was ok for the rest of the trip. We also had 2 nurses on the trip who really helped me out.

That fateful restaurant in Indonesia where my stomach met its Moses

Ya, it was catalytic in that it gave us a picture of what happens when certain principles within the Kingdom of God are lived out.... it helps one to conceive of what they're striving towards - not that we aim to mimic what we've seen but we've mos def been encouraged by it...

But on to better things - as you can see on my FB page i've extended my hand (or been extended to? Queen's english...) in marriage to a young damsel by the name of Lerissa Paul. Wow - it's been a journey, a beautiful one! God has more than restored, renewed, revitalized....as His word says, the latter will be greater than than the former! Our God is so great - when He restores what the locusts and caterpillars have eaten He makes it better than what it was before. Nuff said, in the pic below we were on a cruise in and around Durban to celebrate the engagement with close family > an epic night.....

So Family, stay intensely focused on this plane (you know which cliche i'm avoiding?).

Til we meet again,

Wunness

Gogo Sikakane

Ps. Sikakane and Aunty Emily

Farewell Aunty Emily - sizokubona Gogo. You left a legacy that can never be erased, you were a rock that could not be effaced. So many were made rich because of your kindness, your smiling eyes, the love that you shared so freely. I am excited to know that this is only a beginning, that we will be in each other's presence again around the throne of the Lamb of God. We remember you, we miss you, we love you.

Wow it's been a while....

And i'm leavin on a jet plane.......on my way out of the country tomorrow.....

I'll be boarding a plane to Singapore where i'll be for about 2 weeks with some of my church family. It's not so much a mission as it is an educational, inspirational trip. The focus is actually paradigm shifting. We've been meeting once a month as a church and to connect with ppl who did unconventional and innovative things - breaking through paradigms - to become successful at what they do (of course your defn of success is important). It's amazing cuz many (all?) biblical leaders had to allow God to break their paradigms in order for Him to do mind-blowing things in and through them - Moses, Elijah, Nehemiah, Paul, Jesus! So we'll be meeting with similar ppl out there...should be exciting....we also gonna hit Malaysia, Indonesia and Korea in the same trip - should be intense!

A Chinese Tea arrangement that my boy's friend served us,

I was fascinated by the size of the cup and all the tea making instruments

ya apart from that things are shaping up. Here at AE i've been working steadily on the film festival; the good thing is that now my workload is spread out among more staff. For a while there i was pulling the whole load on my own - was too much! It's looking good for next year tho - any interested visitors????

My car was in the workshop for a bit; had to do pretty much an overhaul on the engine. That was kind of sad, but at least i was still able to get around using Lerissa's car (luvin respeks!) and it's healthy again. There are a few other things to mess around with on it though....i'll do that after the January blues most likely.

Nelson Mandela's house in the Transkei

What else..........oh, believe it or not i'm playing piano in church! I used to play years ago (over a decade) and didn't remember much. In fact, i wasn't even interested in relearning it. But God is amazing eh? I went to a women's conf our church was hosting and this lady prophesied into my life about how the piano playing ability was laying latent in my fingers - she said she could feel it. So the very next weekend i took a step of faith and began playing for our worship team - God is great and greatly to be praised! Things are happening on that front which is kool cuz it's opened a whole new way of experiencing God in the music....beautiful!



Aight famz, that's all for now! Be strong!

Tapfuma

Xcelleraaaaayshunnnnnnnnnnnnnn>>>>>>>>>>>>

Forward movement, God is good.......

The new season is already here and the Kingdom is getting established in ways we never realized. it's amazing cuz i'm seeing acceleration and release all around me right now in people's lives - people walking more fully into their inheritance as children of the King.

Me: "music and social justice" That latter term i think has been adulterated by our common western move to try and find something to fight for - all too often a self centered motivation that has wrought a lot of damage. Unfortunately, many of us have fought for justice out of bitterness because of what's been done to us and our people; not out of deep compassion, empathy and love for sufferers - empowering them to bring change and release even for their oppressors. "Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?" I know this because i used to be a passionate hater of oppression and its agents - in this my whole life mission had become determined by the "other". I've now learned that my life mission originates in an eternal, extra superior, peerless, majestic, unsearchable, gracious, forgiving, caring, beautifully divine Creator (words fail me). Whose life mission could ever be determined by a mere human being?????????

Anyway, God has been great in bringing a lot of this back into my life. I'm excited cuz the possibilities of what is to be done are endless! I pray the same for you, that you would just kool in the quiver - this ain't retreat, it's the patient waiting for the time of release. For those who already launched, enjoy your flight...........

Nuff blesses! Wun

The Latter iz Greater

Ya Fambz,

it's about time i sign in again and speak to you. Let's get all the formalities out the way first though - how you been, wut u up to, ndiepi, lei ho ma (sp?). Me? I'm grand by God's great grace!

I was hugely blessed by a visitation from Dad and Phil a couple of weeks back. They were here for only a week but it was incredible to reconnect and our time was so fruitful. They were here on personal business which required a lot of meetings, etc. and God gave us the grace to accomplish what most human beings should only be able to do in a month! haha, it was great.

Last week i took time out, for the first time in my life i realized i needed a holiday. You know before holidays were fun family trips - a luxury so to speak. Now, i know the meaning of getting away to get refreshed! It was good time, didn't relocate but just did my own thing - no time requirements, no early mornings and a lot of music.

I feel that i'm moving into a new season. This season has many dimensions. Firstly, i'm stepping away from facilitating the Intern program at AE. This means i plan to be at AE 2 or 3 days a week during which i'll only focus on the Film Fest. Secondly, it's time to get down with music - i feel that it's a time of release in that area of my life. I feel i'm called to that and i have been for a minute but now i'm ready to make more moves. Pray for me there. Thirdly, i'm still in the community and working with different types of people - esp. Zimbabwean refugees. I want to take that further and tie that up with the music... i'll explain more as it unfolds. Fourthly, there's a young afro-dread in the happenings.......

Yup, that's wut it is for now. Okay, stay chuned!

BLessd

Yo Famz,
tnx for the encouraging words and blesses. Tings here are moving well by God's great grace. The AE Int Film Fest is coming along, made some really good contacts yesterday. I'm trusting God to open wide the doors of funding!

THere is a gentleman by the name of Bryce Anderson who fellowships at our church, except he's always on the road and so we hardly see him. He is a prolific musician and this year won Best R&B Album from the prestigious South African Music Awards - hype eh? His album is called Undescribable. He came through with his band this past weekend and helped us out with worship and our church choir. They're nyyyyce! Looks like i'm gonna have the opportunity to do some work with them, looking forward to that.

And that's wut it is. Every blessing! Luv

Do you need some of dat? Me 2.

Well i been stupid busy as per usual, actually trying to slow down a bit cuz in fact there's more i want to do! I'm relearning the whole thing of putting God first, Family next and Work after. It's a big release attempting that balance but someone once said that balance is trying to hold a tray of glasses steady on the shifting deck of a boat - you never really arrive.

Ya, well nuff a gwan.....but most recently something pretty amazing happened. My passport expired yesterday and South African visa expired early in May. i couldn't apply for another visa until i had received my passport back and i only realized the visa expiry date......after the expiry date. So i was in a tight situation and getting kinda stressed out but all the while doing my best to trust Him and leave it in His hands. Well i got my passport to the Canadian High Commission only to realize that i needed my citizenship card which i had lost. So i now had to apply for a new citizenship card all the while my visa had expired (thick eh?). But i have to say the Canadian High Commission was really good - it takes months to get a new citizenship card so as soon as i applied for it they began processing my passport and had it to Canada and back in about 2 weeks!

Next ting was SA Home Affairs. I needed to somehow get them to extend my visa so that i wouldn't have to take any expensive and inconvenient trips across borders, etc. On my first trip there with a letter of motivation from AE's Team Leader, Uncle Gregs, dude told me i had to go back home without reading the letter! ANyway, on my way out this guy from the UK gave me a "pssst" and furtively motioned me over - fraudlent visa's? fake passports? nope! he told me you just need to pay a fine when leaving the country.

Anway, i ended up going in with a colleague who does a lot of ministry in Home Affairs and after a conversation with a lady we had the way forward. I went in this past Tuesday morning and they gave me my visa right there and then - no fees, no photographs, no applications - all praises to Him who sits on the throne!

keep blessed!

Check this lynx from a local zoo sort of joint, kept hissing at me!

For our Mothers.....

Mothers of Revolution you offered us solutions
pain in cracked palms, the tears, death, the nuisance
you grew thin so your seeds grew straight
the legacy you are can never be erased
you have struck a rock that will not be effaced!

April Showers

April was a month i won't forget - it was madd hectic, a beautiful time though. I was pretty busy planning for a 5,000 person rally which went off smooth by God's marvellous grace. There quite a few other things going on at AE which kept me busy. At church we also had our Easter Camp - dat was powerful! God's breakin us deeper into His Kingdom. A lot of movement has come out of that which is good cuz it's more than lip service, you know?

Radio KNI

Check the pic of some of us at Radio KNI, 103.0fm. It's a radio station where we had a month of airtime, 3hrs/weekday. I was on Friday's and we had a youth focus. It was kool - it was mainly a Zulu listenership which meant we had to translate it all. It was a little low budget but fun and hopefully ministered to some people. We did CD giveaways which was also kool cuz we made people freestyle/recite poetry to win them - peoples are talented!



Anyway, hope y'all iz gud!
Bless up

Window 2 my World

Peoples!

How you feeling today? I pray you're experiencing victory in Him and comfort in the fact that we, who belong to Jesus, with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is Spirit. (2 Cor 3:18)

View from Msinga mountain range where we were doing rural house visits for those affected by HIV and AIDS

By God's grace i'm well. Things have been pretty good - busy as usual, but i'm beginning to center down on the most important things: not what i can do but who and whose i am. That's what makes life worthwhile and satisfying; i believe that's also what releases the Father to accomplish His will through us. It's amazing because as we focus on who and whose we are, we also become less as Jesus becomes greater - a great paradox huh?

What a mystery, but all i know is that as i begin to focus my prayer life and communion with God on coming to the cross where self is crucified and "I" cease to be central...God is doing a great work in me. My desire is that His work in me is so complete that overflow into the lives of others as a channel of blessing will happen more and more naturally.


Amazing though because we are called to live at a place of brokeness - this is something i don't ever want to relinquish. I've seen awesome examples of broken yet whole people in my life. I think this must be a delicate balance cuz God don't despise contriteness and brokeness and when i'm weak He is strong....


As a final thing to meditate on which has rocked me in these last days:

"When Jesus was 12 he was mightily used of God in the temple where his earthly parents found him astounding to the teachers of his day with his wisdom - nowadays we would've released him into fultime ministry, he would've held workshops, seminars, talked at universities, etc. However, he had to undergo the maturation process of Luke 2:52 and grow into sonship - from a breastfed babe to a meat munching man. When he was 30 years old he was then baptized by John as the transition into being released into the fullness of His ministry. The Father said 2 incredible things of Jesus at this baptism:

1) this is my Son - Jesus was now clearly a son which speaks of having received the full inheritance of the Father and this stage of maturation applies to all, gender is totally irrelevant

2) with whom i am well pleased - Jesus hadn't even done any public ministry before this point and yet the Father was happy with him! Why? Because the Father was concerned with who and whose he was not what he could or couldn't, did or didn't do!"

That's big innit??? So, may you find true security in who and whose you are in the Father. You have been given the spirit of sonship by which you cry "Abba Father". Let that permeat your spirit, soul and body; I challenge you to discover what that really means. As we let go of external (and internal) pressures and we'll become - just as the I am is.......

Aight famz, that's all for now..............much luv and blesses!

You ever seen a white pumpkin???

Soul Shyftinnnnnnnnnnn..............,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,'''''''''''''''''''''}}}}}}}}}}}}}---------------

Wawrries and Prawblems <--> Graissse and Ovacuming

Hey Famz,



Howz everybody? I'm well by God's grace. Last night was pretty hype, hit a spoken word event at the BAT Center on the Durban harbourfront. The BAT Center is an incredible hub of creative energy - art galleries and studios, creative writing workshops, drama and nuff music...... Of late, i've been making some good connections there. At first it was kind of hit and miss cuz i would go and find out there was either something hype on or nothing at all. Finally, i guess i'm more ready for it and got some good peoples around me that can hold me down. The truth is that i see the Arts as belonging to God and there is so much redemptive and restorative work to be done to experience the glory, beauty and wholeness of God in it. So i'm looking forward to continued building from here - give thanks.


God works in great ways. For the past few weeks i've been feeling an urgency to be more involved again with people on the ground - i've felt too comfortable and unconcerned and having been asking God to break me into that. He has been answering that in an incredible way. One of the ways is through a connection to some fellow Zimbabweans who i met while working here at AE. There are 3 of them i bring them to church on Sundays. They are wonderful peoples. I just check their living space yesterday and discovered they're living in someone's back yard in a plywood structure that's about 8ftx8ft - there are 4 of them living in there........no beds, no storage space, no toilets, no cooking facilities. There are a few other similar structures in the same yard with other people living in them where they go to cook and use the toilet. It's a pretty ruff state and finding work is not easy for them. Please keep them in your prayers and keep us as a church in your prayers because i'm really trying to figure out a way to be able to help them out as much as we can in a meaningful and empowering way.


The other thing opportunity is a gentleman by the name of Sihle who approached me and my friend Dave one early Sat morning while we standing outside of our church talking. he was looking for money to get back to the rural area he came from but everyone was in prayer (we were making our way there too) so i asked if he minded joining us for the remaining 30mins then i could direct him to someone after. He was concerned that he didn't smell clean but i assured him it was kool. So he came in and sat next to me.....and the man started to weep. You could sense that God was really doing something in his life. So after the service i introduced him to Uncle/Pastor Greg and he shared a bit of his story. Sihle is a Christian who left his home because it was a tuff situation there and ended up in Joburg and PMB. He's been on the street for most of it, but while in Joburg was actually living with a pastor. He decided to move out though, feeling that God was moving him to and ended up living under a bridge in town. He's been facing so many hardships as you can imagine and just the night before we met him he had decided to turn his back completely on God - God is so amazing! By the end of the prayer meeting he said that he had come for money but realized that God had sent him here to call him back to Himself.


So after prayer i was able to buy him some food and soap (with money someone else had given me for him). He also showed me his place........

So again, we need much wisdom to know how best to help this brother. Please keep that in prayer too.

Ya, so that's what that is. On another tip, i'm looking at buying a car; peep it:

It's a pretty good deal - mechanically good, clean and upgraded engine and big sound! Please help me pray about whether or not this is a good investment.....thus far, it seems it is. I checked it a few times with a mechanic.

Aight family, much luv!

Strength in Weakness

Greetings Family,
i write to inform you that as the AE Family we have suffered a tragic loss this past week. One of our team members, Foxfire Luvuyo Duda, was taken earlier this week. It happened that as he was swimming with some friends the undertow took him and he never recovered. This has been a heavy experience especially for his fellow Foxfires and Dino who gives leadership to them. Please uplift the AE family and more importantly Luvuyo's family at this time. As many around me have constantly reminded me, there are many things on this side of eternity that we won't be able to make sense of. Please pray that there would be a complete mourning process and from there that those who have been touched by this incident would rise up again stronger than before. God is faithful, even when we are faithless cuz He cannot disown Himself; He never acts or moves outside of His character - His character is inherently good, His nature is to bless. So in this time let's continue to trust Him.
I hope that whatever you're facing at this time, that you are trusting Jesus as your source. He truly is the Author and Perfector of life - He sees the end from the beginning, you can trust Him. Be encouraged and renewed!

Much luv

Wunse-ah-ghin

Da Family Strong

Yes,


back in the lands of Republik of South Afrika....howzit peoples? It's gud to be back....it's always bittersweet leaving one home and returning to another. But my time with family was so important, refreshing and healing actually. I really feel that i'm at a new place being back here and it's being evidenced in the day to day. I'm so much more disciplined and balanced - basically life is a lot more wholesome. In fact, i was just reminded of Luke 2:52 where Jesus is grown in all the different facets of His life. Sometimes extremism probably feels better, like you're accomplishing more but i find myself in such a state of peace which reminds me of Isaiah's words that in "quiet trust is your confidence". It's really only him who is weak who needs to exert power in order to convince himself and others that he is strong - true power submits itself to the high calling of serving its Master and Creator....




ya, so at home i connected with famz, connected with frenz, took a trip to Phili with Tatenda, spent nuff time in Wing Chun and even hit a mic (at a debut concert for a band called The Renaissance Collective - big sound). It was a low key holidayz which i liked, i didn't really have the energy to be all over the place and meeting with nuff people.

Ill sounded soul shyftin....

Now that i'm back, i'm back at it. As i say things are pretty well balanced so it's back to work in the office, teaching a youth how to play the congas, doing some music in the park as an outreach, practicing Wing Chun, building with peoples and just continually looking for ways to keep growing......

There's actually some exciting things happening here at AE......we have a month at a local radio station (KNI 103fm) and the Foxes and i will be on air every Friday of that month. Our programme will basically create awareness of the Volunteer Intern Programme, the FoxFire Dept and provide a platform for some teaching and demonstration of the Arts. So we'll do some live music, hold a freestyle competition and do some CD reviews on the latter tip. Chune in if you can...


I'm also exploring a partnership with the International Film Festival South Africa; we're looking at taking that to a new level. I'd appreciate nuff prayer on that for wisdom and discernment....


Well family, much luv to you all.



Keep blessed!