The Bandjoun nomad

Today's society has got us hooked up on buying into the ever-changing world of technology. If's not the Ipad2, Iphone 4, the Sony Ericsson Xplay, it's some other gadget with even more jaw-dropping features. I won't be surprised that in the next few years, cell phones will be new way of compiling documents, making presentations and even shopping online (oh wait that's already happening). It's really crazy how smartphones have become the new gadget to have among the array of 'cool' toys. Even at church you can't help but notice Christ-focussed (supposed to be) believers being hooked up into this technology frenzy. The number of hardcover bibles and notebooks are slowly disappearing into the hazy mist of antique technology. Eventhough I'm writting with a sense of untouched or unblemished lifestyle (so i thought), I must be honest I have been lured into thinking what will be my next smartphone gadget that will replace the ever-faithful and long-ti...

What a weekend that has just gone past! The single's ministry saw two men getting baptised on Sunday after church! What a rush!!! I had never dealt with two people baptising at the same time. Truly the bible is true when it says that "repentance brings times of refreshing". Seeing the excitement in those guys faces made me realise how blessed we are at having being "fished out" of the water at such an early age (I was 18 and my wife 14). Through his grace, I've experienced much love and much pain in his kingdom yet through it all, knowing that His Spirit can continue to guide me as long as I stay close to him. The crazy thing about yesterday was the realization that God is definitely moving amongst the churches all around Southern Africa and it felt really good to know we were making news (although small in comparison) of our own. There was almost a sense of disbelief among those who have been doubting whether God can still do miracles. My prayer and hop...

I was doing a class tonight at church with our visitors and we talked about our view on the love we have for each other and how much it differs from God's love for us. It was interesting to see that we often make a clear distinction between the love we have for our mothers, siblings or even pets. But very often (and quite surprisingly), we admit that this love is conditional and a two way highway. Most of us have boundaries that if crossed, we tend to retreat our hearts or completely move away from those who hurt us. But yet God's love, as its explained in the bible, shows us that it has no limits to how much God has loved us through his son. So is it really love when we deal with each other with a pinch of salt. One moment we're in cloud nine, the next you want to throttle that very person. It is obvious that the very person that created love hav only one rule for us mere mortals: love as i have loved you. Although a foreign concept to most of us, it is a theology that we ...

Hi to all singles, If this is your first time to my blog, you're a welcomed guest. You can always become a follower of my blogs and leave your comments at the end of the blog. Ok. Back to business. Next Friday, which is the 1st of April, we're planning to have a single's devo. The plan is for us to watch a movie and have popcorn together. The plan is to hire a movie so that it can accommodate most people in the single's ministry. So in the spirit of democracy, you have a change to let us (my wife and I) know which movie you will love to watch. Please add a comment below of the movie you would like to see. Later

This morning, i woke with no enthusiasm to care about anybody but me. You know that feeling of "what am I going to eat today?" and then your wife or roommate reminds you that today is charity day? Do you remember that jaw-dropping feeling as if the whole world had just caved in and crushed your desires to indulge in selfishness? Well, that's exactly how i felt this morning when my wife told me we're fasting for the people suffering around the world in places like Libya, Mexico, Ivory Coast and Japan. At first, i was mad. Who cares about these people? I've also got problems of my own. But then I realised that in bible it says "true religion is taking care of the widows, orphans and the oppressed". Realising that Jesus didn't have to die for us made me accept that, once in a while, i need to die to myself for those who don't have the hope of a better life. May the Lord forgive me, as I'm a sinner and cannot (with a right mind) believe this life...

I watched The insider with Al Pacino and Russel Crowe. Although it was a public holiday, it wasn't such a bright idea to watch a 2.5 hr movie at 8pm!!! My lovely wife is growing bolder in her powers of persuasion. Ha ha ha. I hope she didn't hear that!! On a serious note, the movie was Brilliant!!! Check the rating yourself on Rotten Tomatoes if you don't believe me. Rato (my wife, fullname Lerato for those who don't know) and I were reminded of the actor heroics between Hoffman and Hackman (check rating ) in Runaway Jury. Absolute classic!!! The mammoth courage to go against a multimillion dollar industry; loose the very family that you fight for; the integrity to stand by your word and promise has brought a timeless classic onto the big screen. I know what you might be thinking, this movie was made in 1999, so what's the big deal? Well, 1) I didn't know this movie existed 2) We got this movie on special for R33 (can you believe it!!) 3) There's so many ...

For this whole week (including the remainder days) i've been attending a course that should (theoretically) improve our productivity in the workplace.But the underlying question is always whether the boss had put any small ounce of brain power to figure out what kind of 'course' will be required to achieve such a grand goal. In my few last years of working (i'm speaking with 'extensive experience' tone now) i've realised that the boss tend to misguide the employees in thinking that a life of knowledge will eventually lead to a life of "milk and honey". But is that really true? I've seen a gardener become wealthy (in money and otherwise) faster than a postgraduate student could spell salary bonus. What's my point? Having battled away in pursuing 'evergreen' education through completing my Master's degree, I get the evermore the resounding feeling that this is all 'chasing after the wind': It adds nothing and certainly ...

Striding Edge in Helvellyn described as narrow road each Christian must take. But often times, as it can seen vividly in this photograph of the ridge, the gravity of either swaying to the left or to the right is not truly appreciated. Unlike our modern highways which have an emergency lane on either side, the Christian road has razor-sharp cliffs on either side. The book of Galatians (which I'm currently studying out) compares the one cliff to Christian legalism. Fellow Christians that were once saved only by grace, have reverted back to a religion simply stated 'faith with works' saves you. The mistake (which i make more often than not) of feeling my relationship with God 'slip away' because of the things i should be doing which i haven't done such as: evangelize, quiet time, confess my sins, tithe, attend church etc... There's a thing in you that says that 'God isn't happy with you' which induces fear to approach God with any sort of confide...

This is an article from http://www.porn-free.org/index.html Since many sex addicts are single, we felt this was an important page to include in our site. I am writing this page for the person who has placed faith in Jesus Christ and desires to live for God.  age. It's hard to wait .  The Bible says, “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him” (Lamentations 3:25 NKJV).   Sometimes it is difficult to wait on God for the things that we want or need.  When I was a young teen, I remember how the hormones raged.  Sexual thoughts were often on my mind.  The idea of waiting till I was twenty-something to be married and enjoy sex did not sit well with me.  In my pride and impatience, I turned to masturbation, pornography and girlfriends to satisfy my burning desires.  Waiting on God is perhaps most difficult when we’re hoping and praying that the right person will come across our path for marriage.  Whether you're ...

Rato and i (the gran came along too) attended a funeral where both the preacher and the interpreter where on a got chase after Satan. It's amazing how someone can speak with such passion without ever opening the Bible. Being there (i'm still here) reminded me how God's word can be misused in focussing only on intimidation and instilling fear about our 'ticking clock'. In many ways people need to be reminded that the time to repent is now, but salvation does not come as a consequence of our fear of death. True salvation can only come through realising that we must shed our fear of death and suffering by fixing our eyes on Christ Jesus and the power of resurrection, the defeat of death itself that came with the cross. And with that, there're no need for an interpretation.

My Master's thesis is due Tomorrow. WOW!! it's been two LONG years in the making and i never thought i will get this far. This is really only through God's grace. Starting this ambitious project that involved two of the most challenging fields in modern engineering: miniature helicopter identification and neural networks. None of which i had a cooking clue when i started. I'm really grateful for my wife (my girlfriend then), my family and friends for encouraging me through the hard and difficult times. I'm especially grateful to my supervisor and mentor Dr. J.O. Pedro for believing in me and pushing me beyond boundaries that I had constrained myself. I'm really not sure what the future holds after my Master (definitely not PhD!) but I'm really grateful that now I can refocus on things that matter most: Living life to the full!

The last few days have been particularly challenging for me and my wife Lerato. Having someone around whose prone to serious lung problem is very difficult for me to relate. The fact that I don't (not yet) get sick so often makes it even harder to accept that Lerato's condition is here to stay. In my mind, i associated it with her not being able to 'toughen up' and I'm the perfect guy to help her to it. But I'm slowly beginning to realise that even Jesus could have taken the same stand with our continuous inability to look beyond what we see and feel. And if he did none of us will even be remotely close to receiving salvation. Unconditional compassion requires me to hope for someone to improve their physical state without ever judging the pace at which they strive to get there. Easier said than done.