Monday, April 23, 2012

Action Man

 
 This past Saturday, the men of the Goedverwacht Moravian Church prepared a Harvest Festival display (see photo). The Church is divided by a board down the middle. One of the men said to me: "The men and women used to be separated. We're mixed now. It's taken some getting used to for some, but it's more natural."

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Keen Sense Of The Divine

I have received warm support from ministers, in a difficult time in ministry. Recently I received a 600-word message from a neighbouring minister -- who wrote, among other things: "The Lord has dealt with the problem way ahead of time ... The battle belongs to the Lord, and the picture that I receive is one of great victory for your Church, ministry, and personal life. You are true to the gospel message in your ministry and in your life." OBSERVATION: I like the keen sense of the divine in this message, which is a vital perspective. By "victory" I read: the Lord's victory, not mine.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Retiring My Leica


I am retiring my Leica C-Lux 2 camera, after nearly 2½ years of service, and nearly 10,000 photos. It has seen hard use, as this scan shows (you may click on it to enlarge). I routinely give my cameras away -- so someone is destined to be the lucky owner of a Leica. This is one of the best compact digital cameras I have owned -- one I could be satisfied with. A small device, and durable, it took wide- and narrow-angle shots of excellent quality, and some impressive macro-photos. This having been said, it was too automated for my liking, and several times suffered sensor-burn, which is bad. I have asked Leica what the problem was, and they are looking into it. My own suspicion is that I used spot-metering into the sun, instead of multi-metering.

Friday, April 13, 2012

Fight Or Decline?

I debated within myself today whether I should permit determined people to press our Church in a general direction which I feel certain will have me presiding over the decline of “our beloved Church” – or whether I should fight a good spiritual fight, with others by my side, for its continued viability and vitality. OBSERVATION: I have little regular authority as a Congregational minister, yet have fought spiritual fights in the past for the sake of a thriving Church – which lifted it out of debt, improved its properties, increased its congregations, and deepened its spirituality. My "debate within myself" did lead to the conclusion that, while the fight is necessary, it should be without the element of control.

Friday, April 6, 2012

Called To Mission: The Book


I am delighted to announce that my late wife Mirjam's book, Called To Mission, is now entering distribution channels worldwide: among them amazon.com, Baker & Taylor, and Barnes & Noble. I have decided also to make the book available to small bookstores. It is a very special book -- an intimate portrait of why missionaries "suffer collapse" -- and why many recover. Mirjam devoted ten years of her life to this work, "plundering" archives, and conducting nearly fifty interviews. The book is 210 pages in expansive Quarto format. The list price: $20. Postage to South Africa: $8. The book may be ordered by clicking on the link above.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Wart Zapper


One of my "classic" electronic circuits has just been rejuvenated by Circuit Exchange International -- the Wart Zapper (which see). The diagram here shows the voltage tripler at work. My Wart Zapper represented the first effective do-it-yourself method of wart removal. It has since been adapted to treat herpes simplex, among other things, and the concept has gone into production several times over. Thanks to Andy Collinson for a very nice "new edition". OBSERVATION: I did this particular design for a major magazine. They rejected it over safety qualms I think -- and I donated it to the public. However, other magazines ran with the concept, among them Popular Mechanics.